The Black rose (Minsung ff)

Killing me everyday.

The mansion loomed over Jisung like a cage of stone and glass, trapping him within its walls. He could feel its oppressive weight in every corner, every shadow that seemed to follow him. And yet, even with the odds stacked against him, he couldn't stop thinking about freedom.

Jisung had made up his mind. This time, he wouldn't turn back. He wouldn't let the pain stop him. He had to get out.

With trembling hands, he grabbed the brass handle of the mansion's side door, pushing it open as silently as he could. The chill of the night air rushed in, biting at his skin, but he didn't care. The darkness beyond the mansion's perimeter beckoned him—an endless expanse of possibility.

He stepped through the door, his breath ragged as the cold hit his lungs. The silence of the night seemed almost mocking, like the world was waiting for him to fail. But Jisung had never been more determined. His bare feet barely made a sound as he crossed the courtyard, his eyes fixed on the iron gates just ahead.

Freedom, he told himself. Just a few more steps.

But as his foot crossed the boundary of the mansion, the familiar, horrifying sensation began.

It started as a small, sinister tremor deep in his neck. Jisung faltered, his fingers grazing the wound where the implant had been lodged months ago. Panic gripped him as the tremors grew stronger, more insistent.

Then, without warning, the chip surged. pain shot through his spine, and Jisung cried out, stumbling to his knees. The chip twisted inside his neck, its sharp edges slicing through muscle and skin as though it had a mind of its own. His vision blurred as blood began to seep from the wound, soaking the collar of his shirt and staining his skin red.

"No..." Jisung gasped, clutching at his neck, trying in vain to hold the pain at bay. "No, please, not again..."

The chip seemed to mock his desperation. With every step he took forward, the pain intensified, the chip sending vicious jolts through his body that left him trembling and broken. It was as though the device was alive, moving under his skin like a parasite, feeding off his misery.

Jisung's knees buckled under the weight of the agony, and he collapsed onto the gravel path, his hands clawing at the dirt. His vision swam with spots of black, his chest heaving as he fought to breathe through the pain.

But even through the haze of agony, he refused to stop. He had to get away. He had to.

He dragged himself forward, inch by agonizing inch, his fingernails digging into the ground as he crawled. Blood dripped steadily from his neck, pooling beneath him, but Jisung didn't care. He ignored the sharp sting in his throat, the way his entire body screamed in protest. His mind was focused only on the gate ahead. Just a little more. He was so close.

But the chip wouldn't ever allow it.

With another brutal twist, the chip sent a wave of searing pain through his body, and Jisung screamed as he fell flat against the ground. The pain was unbearable, ripping through him like wildfire. His body convulsed, his muscles locking up as the chip burrowed deeper into his flesh, refusing to let him go.

The blood pouring from his neck wasn't a trickle anymore—it was a steady stream, warm and slick against his cold skin. Jisung gasped for air, his vision fading in and out, the world around him reduced to a blur of darkness and pain.

It was over. He couldn't take it anymore.

He had failed.

Jisung's trembling fingers loosened their grip on the ground, his body limp and defeated. He lay there, the taste of dirt and blood on his tongue, staring blankly at the iron gates just meters away. Freedom had never felt so far.