The Iron Plate Dogeza
A few hours before Eunji screamed madly at the electronic display as the numbers dwindled, Sujin and the other three had been trapped in the Basement for two full days without food or water. They couldn't move an inch. After the first day, they still had enough strength left to exchange a few words. But once two days had passed, none of them had any energy for conversation. In a space without even a toilet, they desperately held in their bodily waste to preserve what little human dignity remained, but even that had reached its limit.
Every time Dohyung entered the Basement, the four begged him to at least let them use the bathroom. But to Dohyung, their pleas were laughable. He brought the same absorbent pads he'd once given Jia and tossed them at the group. With no other choice, they relieved themselves on the pads in a corner of the room, then wrapped the pads as tightly as possible to contain the stench. Still, the leaking odor was enough to make them want to die.
Starving, parched, and desperate to escape the foul-smelling space, their eyes kept drifting back to the still-red-hot iron plate as time dragged on.
Ah... if I just press my forehead against that... can I get out of here?
Maybe I should just bite the bullet and do it...
At first, the unimaginable pain had made it an impossible act. But now, half out of their minds, the four were driven by the fear that staying like this would kill them. Their gazes kept returning to the iron plate. At least Dohyung hadn't designated an order, so no one was forced to go first. Even so, volunteering to burn their foreheads wasn't something that came easily.
While all four stared blankly at the plate, Dohyung entered the Basement once again that day.
"Good morning, everyone. Lovely day, isn't it?"
With no windows to see outside, their sense of time had long since dulled to nothing. They couldn't guess what hour it was. The only way they knew whether it was morning, afternoon, or evening was from what Dohyung said when he came in. The four both hoped and dreaded his visits. Part of them still wished he would release them, but whenever he entered, he simply ate his own meal. And he always chose dishes with strong aromas so the smell would reach them clearly.
They wondered how he could eat such food in a space reeking of filth, but his all-purpose magic made it effortless. Seeing him arrive with food again today, the four staggered toward him.
"P-please... water... just some water..."
"I'm going to die... anything to eat or drink..."
"Please, save us..."
"We were wrong... please..."
They begged desperately, but Dohyung paid them no mind and simply ate the meal he'd brought. He looked at their pathetic state and let out a small chuckle.
"I told you, there's no point begging me. The one you should be begging for forgiveness is Mina. Not me—Mina! I even prepared that iron plate over there so you could give her a truly sincere apology, yet not one of you has done it in two days. Why should I give you anything?"
His words filled them with despair. No matter how much they pleaded, he wouldn't yield. It really seemed the only way out of this hell was to burn their foreheads on that plate.
Just then, Sujin gathered what little strength she had, staggered to her feet, and began walking toward the iron plate. The other three stared in shock, unable to believe she was actually going through with it. Sujin reached the plate, dropped to her knees, and sat before it.
"Huu... haa..."
The scorching heat radiating from it was palpable even from this close. It made her question whether what she was about to do was truly the right choice. But if she didn't, this hellish existence would continue, and eventually they would all reach their limits and die. Two days without food or water. Dehydration would kill them soon. If she wanted to live, she had no choice.
Mina, you fucking bitch... what kind of bastard did you hire to get us caught by a psycho like this? Once I get out of here... I'm going to find you and kill you!!
Dohyung had told them to apologize while burning their foreheads, but there wasn't a shred of apology in Sujin's heart. All she felt was resentment toward Mina for creating this situation. She had no intention of seeking forgiveness.
"Oh, you're finally doing it? Let me remind you—one light touch won't lower the number. You have to press your forehead down with all your strength for it to register and reduce the count. So apologize with everything you've got."
Sujin swallowed hard at his words. What she was about to do would bring more pain than anything she'd experienced in her entire life. It was an act no ordinary person could ever perform, yet here she was, forced to do it.
"You... fucking...!!!!!"
With a scream that came from the depths of her resolve, Sujin slammed her forehead onto the iron plate.
Chiiiiiiii...
A sound like meat searing on a grill filled the air.
"Ugh... AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!"
The agony of her flesh cooking made Sujin want to rip her forehead away instantly. But she knew that would only delay the pain, not end this nightmare. Gritting her teeth, she pressed down harder, forcing the plate downward. The other three watched in awe as she endured the insane torment of burning her own skin. It was an act they doubted they could ever manage themselves, and they felt a twisted admiration.
But for Dohyung, it was pure satisfaction. He had created this game to inflict the same unbearable pain on those who had left Mina with scars that could never heal. He intended to brand their foreheads with burns just like hers. And right now, a massive burn was being seared into Sujin's forehead in real time.
"Ugh... AAAAAAHH!!"
Sujin clenched her jaw with everything she had, trying to endure, but the pain was beyond what any normal person could bear. In the end, she screamed again. Still, she didn't lift her head. If she pulled away now, she knew she would never be able to repeat this madness. So she held on with all her might, praying desperately for the number to reach zero.
The pain was so intense she couldn't even count in her head. Her mind felt like it was about to shatter. After holding on as long as humanly possible, the moment came when she simply couldn't take any more. She finally tore her forehead from the plate.
She had kept it pressed down for more than ten seconds. The burn was horrific, and when she yanked her head back, the skin that had fused to the metal ripped clean away. The three others watched her collapse and clapped their hands over their mouths in horror.
In her fading consciousness, Sujin checked the number on the machine.
After all that... if it's not zero...
She didn't think she could do it again. She prayed with everything left in her that the number had reached zero.
But...
The count has stopped at 1.
"Whoa, it really stopped there? Puhahaha!"
The number on the iron plate remained at 1, completely unchanged. As consciousness slipped away, Sujin saw it and fell into utter despair. Even one second more felt impossible. The insane agony of burning flesh was not something a sane person could repeat.
The other three, however, snapped back to full alertness watching her collapse. They had been so hungry and thirsty, so desperate to survive, that they'd actually considered pressing their own foreheads to the plate. But seeing the horrific result Sujin had suffered first made them realize they could never do it. And she hadn't even succeeded. What felt like more than ten seconds—maybe even twelve by their internal clock—had passed, yet the number hadn't dropped from 1.
The only person who could still laugh in this place was Dohyung.
"Puhahaha!! Looks like you ran out of strength with just one second left. You should've pushed a little harder."
He walked over to the unconscious Sujin and hoisted her onto his shoulder.
"Still, I'll give you credit for being the first to try. I'll count that as a pass."
The three remaining girls were stunned. They hadn't expected him to accept it when the number hadn't reached zero. They even regretted not going first.
"Do your best, the rest of you. I'll be taking her with me."
As Dohyung turned to leave with the unconscious Sujin, Hyemin raised her hand.
"W-wait! Where are you taking Sujin?!"
"Where? I can't just leave that forehead like this. I have to treat it before I feed her."
Dohyung answered as if it were obvious. Indeed, Sujin's torn forehead was dripping blood.
"Good luck, you two."
He carried Sujin out and took her into a newly constructed Basement room right next door. The three left behind watched her go and wondered if they really had to do the same. But remembering how Sujin had passed out with that terrible wound on her face made it an impossible choice. Especially for Hyemin, who treasured her appearance, and Ara, who as a nurse could easily imagine how painful such an injury would be. It was even harder for them to steel themselves.
So Dong-eun stepped forward first, approaching the iron plate. Right on cue, Dohyung returned to the Basement.
"Oh, you're going to apologize too?"
Seeing him return, Dong-eun made up his mind. He wanted to finish this and get out of here as fast as possible. Dohyung watched him stand before the plate, then reset the machine, changing the number from 1 back to 10.
"The plate's ready. Go ahead if you're doing it."
Dong-eun glared at Dohyung, furious at his amused tone. He couldn't understand what grudge this man held against them to do something like this in Mina's place. But complaining now was pointless. Swallowing dryly, Dong-eun pressed his forehead to the plate just as Sujin had.
"Ughhh... AAAAAHH!!!"
Just like her, he screamed as the pain of burning flesh tore through him. He felt like he would pass out several times but somehow held on. In the end, he confirmed the number had reached zero before collapsing unconscious. Dohyung carried the fainted Dong-eun out as well, leaving Hyemin and Ara to figure it out themselves.
Thus, the two of them had passed out with horrific burns on their foreheads.
Meanwhile, in another Basement room, Jia, Jiseon, and Eunji stared at the electronic display in despair. The number they hadn't chosen—number 3—had reached zero first. If only that hadn't happened, none of them would have been punished. But of all possibilities, number 3 had hit zero first. Of course, no one knew that Dohyung had secretly used magic to prevent the first challenger, Sujin, from actually reaching zero.