Becoming a 'Civilian' Test Subject in the 'Research on Despair' [Hospital #3]
Late at night. Inside the darkened hospital, a space that had originally been empty. Officially, it was an unused office. This fairly spacious room concealed a secret purpose. At its center stood Lee Ah-young's bed.
Lee Ah-young slept soundly, her pretty face peaceful. Everyone gathered around, watching her.
Swish! Her pants were pulled down. Once again, her legs were spread apart. A female doctor in a white coat applied and injected something onto Lee Ah-young's clitoris.
"This should almost completely eliminate the aphrodisiac effect."
Lee Ah-young's clitoris was once more exposed before countless people, yet the sleeping girl felt no shame. Her lower body now bare, she was flipped over. Face down, her buttocks raised toward the ceiling. Though her pale, beautiful rear was revealed, two grotesque tattoos marred the skin. Lee Ah-young remained fast asleep. Was there a reason she couldn't wake even now?
The people surrounding the bed stared.
"Eek!"
Both tattoos on her buttocks came into full view. Some of them gasped at the sight of the "lush pubic hair" tattoo.
"I've seen the Brand of Livestock before, but engraving the Special Livestock pattern this brutally... isn't common."
"It doesn't matter."
The female doctor stroked the tattooed and branded area on Lee Ah-young's buttocks, then donned a mask and gloves. She retrieved a container holding a thick, viscous liquid.
⚠ DANGER: (Livestock) Human-Use Super Adhesive
The container bore a bright red warning label. The doctor picked up the adhesive and a wide, flat brush used to apply it, then addressed the others.
"She'll probably wake up. Everyone, hold this livestock down and make sure she doesn't thrash around."
"Yes!"
The moment she finished speaking, the doctor carefully dripped the dangerous liquid onto Lee Ah-young's buttocks.
Sssssssst!
A sound far too hazardous to come from human flesh echoed from her rear.
"Hnnk!"
Just as the doctor predicted, Lee Ah-young jolted awake. A searing pain, reminiscent of the moment the Brand of Livestock had been seared into her, flooded her buttocks.
"Nngh! Nngh!"
Lee Ah-young writhed and struggled, but the many hands pinning her down rendered her completely immobile.
"...Doctor, what was that just now?"
"...Livestock-use human adhesive. A powerful and dangerous one."
"...I see..."
The acid-like sizzling sound left everyone except the doctor visibly shaken.
Sssssssssssst!
Still disoriented, Lee Ah-young could only moan in agony, unable to grasp the situation.
"Nngh! Nngh!"
The restraining hands easily overpowered her thrashing. Trapped in her own private torment, Lee Ah-young fought a battle she could not win.
Sssssssssssst!
"Nngh! Nngh!"
The doctor spread the adhesive generously over the tattooed areas. Wherever the liquid touched skin, that grotesque sound rang out and her buttocks burned. Judging by Lee Ah-young's reaction, the pain far exceeded imagination.
Swish, swish! The brush continued its work, evenly coating the skin. Once satisfied, the doctor lifted a thin, flesh-colored sheet. It was incredibly thin, almost translucent, more flexible than paper. She pressed it onto the adhesive-covered buttocks.
The sheet itself contained no additional pain-inducing agents, yet Lee Ah-young's rear still felt as though it were burning.
"Nngh! Nngh! Nngh!"
Her mouth covered, she couldn't even speak properly. She struggled endlessly yet remained utterly still. The doctor tapped the applied sheet, then began applying adhesive to the opposite buttock as well.
"Nngh! Nngh! Nngh! Nngh! Nngh!"
Sssssssssssst!
The bizarre sound echoed from both sides. Lee Ah-young's pained moans grew louder. Her thrashing lasted nearly an hour. Even after the doctor finished the procedure, the burning agony continued for another hour. Throughout it all, the force restraining her never wavered.
Save me! It hurts too much! Please, please!
"Nngh! Nngh! Nngh! Nngh!"
—
"Haa... haa... haa..."
Lee Ah-young, half-exhausted, sat in an office chair. Her eyes slightly unfocused, she panted while feeling the lingering effects of the vanished pain. Documents lay on the desk before her. Across from her sat a man and woman in suits. She wore a hospital gown, though her pants had been replaced. Mechanically, she signed and stamped every paper they presented without understanding their contents.
"Here as well. And here."
She signed and pressed her seal, unaware of what documents she was endorsing. The two people addressed her.
"It's done. From now on, Lee Ah-young will participate in our research as a test subject."
It was less an explanation than a notification. Still dazed from the pain, Lee Ah-young could only receive it passively. The contract—or research proposal—spread before her eyes.
The Influence of Despair Emotions on Women
They intended to use Lee Ah-young as a research subject. Or perhaps "test subject" was the more fitting term. The very title of the study was absurd. Researching despair emotions... did that even make sense?
"Special Livestock Lee Ah-young will participate in this study as a 'civilian female volunteer,' not as livestock. Please remember that this is purely nominal. You will not actually become a civilian."
"Yes...?"
As a civilian? Then... isn't that a good thing...?
"Throughout every stage of the research, Lee Ah-young must obey all instructions and situations absolutely. Everything has already been decided. Refusal or rejection is, of course, impossible."
Absolute obedience... Well, it was no different from before. Obeying as a civilian rather than livestock was surely better, wasn't it?
"All other information is written on the papers we just gave you. Please return to your room and read them again."
Lee Ah-young accepted the documents.
"We warn you, Special Livestock Lee. If you disclose any facts about this research to anyone, we will immediately send you to a livestock correctional facility and subject you to eternal torment."
"...Yes... I... understand."
"Since you are participating as a civilian, the Brand of Livestock on your buttocks has been temporarily covered. You may return now. We will handle the rest."
"...Yes... Understood..."
Following orders, Lee Ah-young lay back on the bed. Several people wheeled it out of the office and returned it to her original hospital room. She still couldn't comprehend the situation. What exactly were they planning that required disguising her as a civilian for the study?
Upon arriving at her room, the first thing Lee Ah-young did was rush to the bathroom. The perfect woman in the mirror pulled down her hospital gown pants and examined her buttocks.
...It's... completely gone?
The Brand of Livestock and the additional tattoos on her buttocks were entirely concealed beneath the thin flesh-colored film. Though it was somewhat obvious that something had been applied, the crucial evidence of her livestock status was now invisible. Her heart began to pound. It felt as though she had taken the first step toward shedding her livestock identity.
"Haa... Lee Ah-young! You can do this. Definitely!"
She pulled her pants back up, met her own gaze in the mirror, and made her resolve. Then she read the papers she had been given.
The Influence of Despair Emotions on Women
[Research Overview]
1. Study the despair emotions that arise when young women face humiliating or extremely shameful situations.
2. Quantify women's despair emotions and conduct further research based on that data.
[Research Subject]
Name: Lee Ah-young
Gender: Female
Age: 24
1. I, Lee Ah-young, will participate sincerely in all research processes without raising any questions.
2. I, Lee Ah-young, consent to all research processes being recorded via photos and video, and to all resulting materials being shared.
3. I, Lee Ah-young, will accept all social suffering that arises from this research.
Once you acknowledge the above and comply with all subsequent instructions, you may proceed. Refusal or non-compliance will result in appropriate punishment. You must never disclose any information about this research.
Lee Ah-young read the papers, yet she had no idea what she would actually be doing. It seemed like fragments of the research proposal had simply been pasted together. Most of the content was deliberately abstract, as though they had no intention of showing her the full details. One thing, however, was certain: this Despair Research would never bring her happiness. It would only bring hardship and suffering. She didn't know what the final phrase—"social suffering"—meant, but it was clearly nothing good.
"...Haa..."
Her eyes fell on the "salary" section. It stated she would receive 100 million won for 30 days. Tragically, Lee Ah-young would obviously participate in this research without pay. Even if they disguised her as a civilian, the fact that she was Special Livestock remained unchanged. Naturally, she would receive no money.
Though she had learned little, she decided to sleep again. She was still exhausted. Her buttocks tingled, but thinking of the temporarily hidden brand lifted her mood slightly. For a brief moment, she felt like Lee Ah-young the civilian, not livestock. With that pleasant thought, she drifted off.
—
The now-empty office. A man in a black suit and the female doctor sat inside. Creak! The door opened. A man walked toward the doctor. She greeted him.
"Good evening, Director."
The man she called Director was Kang Ju-hyeok—Lee Ah-young's official owner and the mastermind who had framed her and turned her into livestock. He had come to the hospital.
"As you instructed, we are having her participate in the research as a civilian."
"Well done."
Kang Ju-hyeok smiled with amusement.
"The despair felt as an ordinary person may be far greater than what she experiences as livestock. The way others look at her will be very different depending on whether she is livestock or civilian."
"Yes. We will begin tomorrow."
The female doctor and Kang Ju-hyeok exchanged glances before everyone vanished from the office.
Thus, Lee Ah-young became a participant in the "Research on Despair" as a "civilian test subject." Or rather, as a "test subject"... a special "civilian" who would taste new depths of despair.