Write Down Your Sins

"Alright, you have six hours. Use those six hours to write down exactly what you did wrong." Dohyung tossed the ballpoint pen to Jia and walked out the door.

Jia could only stare blankly at the paper, the pen clutched loosely in her hand. She still couldn't believe this was her reality. Then, the door swung open again, and Dohyung stepped back inside.

"Oh, by the way, I forgot to mention..." Striding over, Dohyung leaned his face close to hers. A chilling, horrific smile spread across his lips as he spoke.

"If you don't do a good job, you're getting beaten again. Tell you what... I'll be generous. If you can fill out at least twenty things, I'll let you off without a beating." As if to remind her of the pain, Dohyung slapped her across the cheek once more.

"Kyaah!" The force of his palm sent Jia reeling. She nearly collapsed sideways, but the iron collar around her neck snapped taut, keeping her suspended in midair.

"Well, I'm off. Do your best! I'm rooting for you." Watching Dohyung leave, Jia dragged herself toward the low table and gripped the pen.

Fuck... Twenty? I have to write twenty things just to avoid a beating? Jia wasn't stupid; she knew exactly what Dohyung wanted. He had thrown the paper at her so she would write down how she had bullied him in the past.

Jia tried her best to dredge up memories from ten years ago. "Ah, fuck... I can't remember..." But because so much time had passed, everything in her mind was a hazy blur. Still, she began writing down whatever she could recall, one by one.

Fuck... I can't think of anything else... Jia squeezed her brain, desperately trying to reach twenty, but she couldn't think of a single thing past those nine.

What else was there? Damn it... As she racked her brain, her thoughts gradually turned into resentment toward others.

But honestly, Taehyun and Eunji were the ones who led the bullying! Out of everything written here, I barely did any of it myself... Why do I have to suffer like this?! Jia felt a deep sense of injustice. In her mind, she hadn't been that active in tormenting Dohyung. Of course, this was nothing more than self-rationalization.

Sure, I slapped him a few times and made him run errands... but Taehyun was the one who did the really bad stuff, not me! With no clock in the room, she had no way of knowing how much time had passed, which only fueled her growing panic. No matter how hard she squeezed her brain, she could only manage one or two more. Beyond the eleven items now written on the paper before her, her mind was a complete blank.

Terrified that she would be beaten again if she didn't hit twenty soon, Jia began writing down anything she could think of. She ended up writing down generic things that typically appeared in school violence cases just to pad the list to twenty. Eventually, the door opened, and Dohyung walked back into the room.

"Now, let's see how well you did, shall we?" Dohyung walked over slowly and held out his hand. With a trembling heart, Jia handed him the paper.

"Hmm... Is this really everything?"

"Y-Yes! It's true! I wrote down all twenty things I did wrong. How is it?"

Dohyung slowly read through the twenty items Jia had written. Then, right before her eyes, he ripped the paper in half.

Jia's anxiety spiked at his action. Fuck... Is that not enough? She had filled the list with generic school bullying tropes, thinking that would appease his anger. But Dohyung wasn't so easily fooled.

"Are you fucking kidding me with this? How can you not even know your own sins... you fucking bitch!"

"I-I'm sorry... It happened so long ago, I couldn't remember... I'm really sorry!" Terrified of how he might react, Jia rubbed her hands together, begging for forgiveness. She had no idea that her desperate pleading had absolutely no effect on him.

"That's not my problem. I remember it all vividly. I was generous enough to ask for a mere twenty, and you couldn't even manage that. Now, does it make sense for me to forgive you? Or not?" With ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that, Dohyung turned around and walked toward a closed door on the left.

When Dohyung opened the door, a vast array of tools was revealed inside. From among them, he pulled out a thin, black cane.

"Alright, out of everything you wrote, I only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠recognize eleven. I can't accept the rest. So, you're getting exactly nine strokes." Dohyung walked slowly toward Jia, whipping the cane through the air.

Whoosh! The sharp sound of the cane slicing the air echoed through the room. Imagining that thing hitting her skin, Jia's face drained of all color.

"Y-You're going to hit me with that? Please, Dohyung... I was really wrong. Please!!" Staring at the painful-looking cane, Jia begged even harder.

"Shut up, stand up, and roll up your pants. That's where I'm hitting you."

"Please... Dohyung..."

Despite his command, Jia wept and begged. But to Dohyung, her tears only provoked disgust.

"Sigh... I guess I have no choice." Letting out a deep sigh, Dohyung kicked the table out of the way.

"Kyaah!" Startled by his sudden movement, Jia shrieked. At the same time, the chain connected to her collar slackened, and Dohyung grabbed her hands, hoisting her up.

Even though Jia was an idol, she wasn't weightless, yet Dohyung lifted her with one hand as if she were a feather. Suspended in the air, Jia thrashed wildly to escape, but it was useless.

Dohyung spun her around so her back was facing him, then hooked the chain between her handcuffs onto a bracket mounted high on the wall, locking her in place. Jia could barely touch the floor with her toes, her hands secured above her head, leaving her completely immobilized with her back exposed. Desperate to protect her calves, she shifted her legs back and forth, but even that movement was cut short when Dohyung shackled her ankles with a new set of irons, anchoring them to the floor.

"Now, we were originally going to do nine, but since you resisted, let's make it a clean ten."

Crack! The moment the words left his mouth, the cane struck Jia's calves.

"Kyaaaah!" The unprecedented pain in her calves forced a scream from her throat.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Ugh... Huh?" Forgetting the searing sting on her legs, Jia froze in terror as she met Dohyung's cold, glaring eyes.

"You need to count the strokes so I don't lose track. Don't you think? And if you're truly sorry, shouldn't you apologize with every strike?"

"I-I understand! I'm sorry! I was wrong!" Jia's mind couldn't keep up with what he was saying, but the agonizing pain in her calves ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠made her nod her head frantically.

"Good girl. Here we go again."

Crack!

"Aaaah! Two! I'm so sorry!"

Dohyung's arm, which had been poised to strike again, suddenly stopped.

"Hey, I told you... we're starting over. Didn't you hear me? We start from the beginning!"

Crack!

"Ugh! One! I'm sorry!"

"Sigh... Is that how you apologize? Put some actual sincerity into it!"

Crack!

"Aaagh! Two! I sincerely apologize for bullying you in high school!"

Tears streamed down Jia's face from the sheer agony. The tears she had shown Dohyung earlier had been fake, a product of her acting skills, but these were one hundred percent genuine, born of pure pain. Having never been beaten in her entire life, the pain of the cane was far beyond anything she could have imagined. By the time the eighth stroke landed...

"Waaah! Dohyung, I'm so sorry... It hurts so much... Ugh! I was wrong! Please, just spare me this once, please..."

"You guys are really something. When I begged like this, not once did you listen to me—you just laughed. So why should I listen to you?"

"I'll apologize for everything! Do you need money? I'll give you money. I made a lot of money, seriously! I'll give you as much as you want, so please, just stop..."

Looking at the begging Jia, Dohyung's heart swelled with dark satisfaction. The very person who had once tormented him so viciously was now on her knees, begging him for her life. But Dohyung had no intention of stopping here.

"Fine. Then will you do exactly as I say?"

"Huh? Y-Yes! I'll do whatever you tell me to!"

Hearing the shift in his tone, Jia answered instantly. She didn't have the strength to endure another beating if his mood changed. If he reset the count again, she felt like she would go completely insane.

"Since you put it that way, a generous man like me has no choice but to grant your request."

Dohyung unlocked the shackles on her ankles and released the chain from the wall bracket. Jia quickly spun around, pressing her back against the wall, terrified that he might strike her calves again.

"Geez, I said I won't hit you. Unlike you guys, I keep my promises. Now, sit back down."

At his command, Jia sat. Dohyung reattached the chain to her collar. Then, he picked up the table he had kicked away, placed it back in front of her, and set a stack of paper and the ballpoint pen on top. Unable to comprehend his actions, Jia looked up at him with a dazed expression.

"What are you doing? Pick up the pen."

Jia immediately did as she was told. "Now, write down exactly what I dictate on that paper. You can do that much, right? You did say you'd do whatever I told you to."

Jia felt an ominous premonition that things were taking a terrible turn, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she couldn't bring herself to say a word. She was too terrified that talking back would earn her another beating with that cane.

"Alright, write this down. First: I, Lee Jia, swear to obey Kim Dohyung's every command from this moment forward. Write it."

Startled by his words, Jia reflexively turned her head toward him. Dohyung smirked at her shocked expression. "What are you waiting for? Write it down."