By Zephyria 
That fucking piece of shit.
His vision was blurry. He blinked several times, but he still couldn’t focus. Ben crawled along the floor, forcing himself to wake his sinking consciousness. Pretending to be unconscious had been a good choice. Chrissy had been fooled, and he had left this place, dragging along those useless burdens. He had been robbed of his radio, but it didn’t matter. Gasping for air, he reached out toward one of the walls. There, an emergency bell had been installed for such an eventuality.
Hope, you’ve turned into such a cunning adult.
Trembling all over, he stretched out one hand with all his might and gripped the wall. He felt the slightly raised button beneath his fingertips. A bitter smile spread across Ben’s lips.
Naughty children need to be punished.
After pressing the bell with everything he had, he collapsed from exhaustion. And as the loud ringing of the bell echoed throughout the entire building, he lost consciousness. A faint smile still lingering on his lips.
7｜
“… …… ….”
A faint sound reached him from somewhere. He couldn’t even tell if it was laughter, voices, or music. Perhaps it was a mixture of everything. As his consciousness gradually returned, Chrissy slowly realized that his last guess was correct. Along with that, he realized he had been thrown into a nightmare.
Clink. A grating sound echoed as he moved his body. It was then that he saw the heavy iron chains wrapped around his ankles. Chrissy looked down while sprawled on the floor, then slowly turned his head.
Past memories unfolded in his mind like a panorama in an instant, then scattered again. The loud alarm that rang before they could fully exit the corridor, and the men rushing out from everywhere. The children fleeing from them, and his own last memory of trying to stop them somehow, only to be hit in the head and knocked unconscious.
What happened to the kids?
Amidst anxiety and restlessness, he struggled to grasp the situation. Where Chrissy lay was a corner of some massive hall. Whether it was to prevent him from escaping again, or to remind him that his existence here was nothing more than that of livestock, one of his ankles was shackled. More important than where the chain led was what—or rather, who—was around him.
The hall was dark. Acrid cigarette smoke hung thick in the air, making him dizzy. Quite a few people were sitting on sofas scattered around, all of them laughing and chatting while watching a video being projected on one wall. It looked like a scene from some salon, but it felt somehow eerie. It wasn’t because the surroundings were dark. The problem was the video being screened before them. The camera was obsessively scanning the body of a naked boy. Just as the slowly moving camera zoomed in on a part of the body, a voice suddenly sounded from above his head.
“Wow, he’s awake.”
Startled by the voice, Chrissy jerked his head up. A large man was looking down at him with a smile. Before Chrissy could even react, the man continued.
“I didn’t know you were planning an event like this. Were you worried we might get bored? Thanks, it was quite entertaining thanks to you.”
At the man’s reaction, Chrissy’s heart sank. Did they fail? Did not a single person escape? What if the children were hurt…
As his heart fluttered with anxiety, the man continued.
“How did you know today was the day? That’s why we set up this gathering to repay you.”
His voice sounded strangely excited. Just as Chrissy felt an ominous premonition, a short whistle suddenly sounded in his ear. The moment his entire body froze, he realized it. The surroundings were far too quiet.
Slowly, Chrissy turned his head. The whistle sounded again. He knew. He knew what this whistling meant. And when the third whistle sounded, Chrissy confirmed who the protagonist of the video was. Upon seeing the face in the video head-on, his entire body froze. To Chrissy, who had turned pale as if all the blood had drained from his body, the man shouted in a highly excited voice.
“Now, Hope. This screening is for you.”
‘Daddy….’
The boy in the video whispered, opening his mouth wide. A seven-year-old Chrissy Jin.
8｜
“Mr. Miller, welcome.”
The master of the mansion stepped out of the car and greeted the platinum-blonde man, appearing flustered.
“How—what brings you here? I was shocked to receive your sudden contact. I heard you weren’t attending today’s gathering….”
Until he actually saw the man with his own eyes, the master had been skeptical. Since Nathaniel Miller rarely attended the gatherings, this was highly unusual. Moreover, it was the first time he had seen him pouring out such a thick scent of pheromones from his entire body. For Dominant Alphas, leaking pheromones was a daily occurrence. However, cases where they literally ‘poured’ them out like this were rare. The master, who had only seen him spread them subtly, like a perfume, couldn’t help but be bewildered. This situation meant the man was either incredibly excited or furious, and the master could bet his entire fortune that it wasn’t the former.
“Um, was there something you were displeased with…?”
The master asked, hurriedly following Nathaniel, who had walked right past him into the mansion. Because Nathaniel had a long stride and walked quickly—almost as if he were power-walking despite using a cane—the master had no choice but to run to keep up. Ignoring the man, Nathaniel spoke while looking straight ahead.
“Is he here?”
“Who are you referring to?”
Fortunately, his voice sounded calm and cold as usual. The master, still on edge, forced a smile and asked. In his head, he frantically tried to think of who this man could be looking for in his house.
“…The prosecutor.”
After a pause, Nathaniel turned his gaze toward the master for the first time. Looking down at the man, who flinched and shrugged his shoulders, Nathaniel muttered in a low, threatening voice.
“Where is Chrissy Jin?”
Chrissy remained slumped on the floor, looking completely devastated. He didn’t even blink. His own image loomed large on one wall. A boy, filled with fear, forcing a smile and bending his body and spreading his legs as told, filled his wide-open eyes.
‘Daddy, I love you.’
‘Daddy, give me candy. I love your big candy so much.’
‘Daddy, please spank my butt. Slap, slap, like this.’
‘Yes, I like it. I love it. Hope loves it when you touch me here….’
“Haaa. Isn’t it just so erotic?”
The man above him murmured with a sigh. The sound of buckles clicking open could be heard from all directions. The man also continued speaking while rubbing the front of his trousers.
“You really were the ultimate superstar. There’s still no child as erotic and lustful as you. If you were still like that, we all would have adored you.”
His head spun. Chrissy felt the urge to vomit, but all that came up was bitter gastric juice. He heaved and spat saliva onto the floor, but the man continued to prattle on, indifferent to his state.
“You were such a talented child. There’s no child who licks candy as deliciously as that.”
“…Shut up.”
Chrissy barely managed to make a sound, but the man continued to talk incessantly.
“Ah, I wonder how deliciously he licked my candy. Wonderful. A natural-born child like you should have never grown up. Look, that tiny mouth is full of the cream your daddy poured in….”
“Shut up, shut up, I said shut up!”
Finally, Chrissy screamed and tried to lung at him. However, he was immediately caught by the chains at his feet and collapsed pathetically. Seeing this, the men burst into laughter from all around. Amidst that, excited moans could be heard. They were the sounds of men masturbating while watching the video. Eventually, Chrissy let out a cry like a scream.
“No, I didn’t want it! I was just scared, I never once did it because I wanted to!”
“No, you wanted it.”
The man denied his words without hesitation.
“That’s why you’re so erotic. If you hadn’t seduced him, how could your daddy have done such things to you? Isn’t that right?”
“No, I didn’t do anything.”
“Oh, you definitely did. We are all witnesses.”
The man smiled and looked around. Several men laughed in agreement. One of them stood up, walked toward Chrissy, and said,
“You wore short pants and shook your erotic butt at your daddy.”
“I was five years old then. I was just showing him the dance and song I learned at school.”
Because I wanted to be loved.
For a moment, Chrissy felt as if something large was stuck in the back of his throat. Yes, because I wanted to be loved. By my adoptive parents, by that damn pervert.
That was all it was.
“It wasn’t my will….”
“My, my.”
At the voice that barely squeezed out, another man looked down at him and sighed.
“You’ve grown too old. Unfortunately.”
He seemed to genuinely believe so.
“That’s why I’m jealous of the past you.”
He leaned down and whispered over Chrissy’s head.
“Poor thing, to have grown so much that you’re no longer cute to anyone.”
In the video, the young boy screams. The men groaned and ejaculated as if those screams were moans of pleasure. But Chrissy knew. He knew that those weren’t moans, but screams for help.
I always prayed. That the door would open and someone would save me.
Staring with empty eyes at the tightly closed doors of the hall, he remembered.
Every night I prayed. That the man wouldn’t come into my room.
Every time I bathed with that man, I prayed for an angel to descend and take me out of here.
How much I prayed for that camera to break and for this situation to end.
Even though I knew all too well that such a thing would never happen.
Please, please.
Someone, take me out of this hell….
Right then, with a violent sound, the door flew open and light poured in.