The Price of Flesh

Chapter 6: To your flesh and blood, to the marrow of your bone.

Pain was something Im Yeseul was accustomed to. He was born sickly.

He still remembers his childhood days fondly, times where he'd trip and fall in the playground, bruising himself which leads to crying and screaming for his mom. Times where he had to be rushed to the ER due to his heart being too big for his body.

His family wasn't well-off but they weren't poor either. His mom used to be a housewife, but she had to find a job after Im Yeseul was born to support their hospital fees.

He had a normal, happy childhood. He was content with everything they had. I mean of course he was, he was 10 and had two little sisters who practically hung off his every word and parents who supported him every step of the way.

However, no matter how content he was, it didn't shake off the very obvious and glaring detachment he feels with his own body, his own identity. If anything, each passing day made it worse. It's a feeling he cannot put into words. He felt wrong, wearing some sort of skin to protect the real Im Yeseul underneath. Living a walking lie.

And how ironic it is to continue living with that same fear now. In a fantasy game world where magic is commonplace and demons are rampant and nobody certainly has the time to question if they were a boy just stuck in a girl's skin. A game world where you wear the skin of a dead boy because you are on a time limit and need to survive.

"You're up already, dove?" He hears the door clicking open. It swings inward, revealing Cerberus whose voice rings out from behind the door, holding a small, leather pouch.

Im Yeseul doesn't know what to say to the perverted man who wants to take Caelus' virginity and has agreed to help him on what is essentially a suicide mission. He turns his head to the side and doesn't answer.

Narae still isn't back.

Cerberus seems to have expected his reaction because he huffs as he steps inside the room, closing the door behind him and locking it. Something tells Im Yeseul it's not to keep him in, but rather for the sake of privacy.

"I didn't expect you to wake up so early. Are you hungry?" Cerberus dumps the bag on the bedside table before closing the window shutters. Im Yeseul watched him, pressing the blanket closer. He would've found it sweet had Cerberus not crossed the room a second later and taken out the contents of his purchase from inside the pouch.

Lube, condoms, a sizeable dildo, a collar that looks scarily similar to a dog's (nametag, leash and all) and... candles.

This fucking pervert.

He glared at the lube and condoms and dildo, thinking to himself: they exist in this medieval-esque world? "You said you'd wait."

"Who said these were for you?" Cerberus' head shakes as he laughs.

Touché. Idly, Im Yeseul thinks he looks like a dog.
Unable to retort anything, he snorts and narrows his eyes, staring at the man in front of him warily.

Cerberus laughs at his expression. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't imagine you already naked on my bed while I was on my way here." He tosses the pouch to a nearby bin and drags out the only chair in the room and sits on it, his back flush against the backrest with his legs spread across the sides. He folds his arms across his chest like he's expecting something, but when Im Yeseul doesn't move a muscle, he stretches out his hand.

Im Yeseul hesitantly takes it, allowing Cerberus to interlock their fingers together. He raised an eyebrow at Cerberus as alarm bells rang in his head. "What are you doing?"

"Just checkin', doll." Cerberus replied, slow and easy. His fingers start to pad at his wrist right where his pulse is located and left it there, choosing to just hold onto him.