The Livestock Sentencing
“Ugh…”
Lee Ah-young wore an orange prison uniform. Her upper body was bound tightly with ropes. The same officials who had once forced her to strip naked outdoors were now securing her. The long ropes wrapped around her torso at least ten times, completely immobilizing her. She looked exactly like the vicious criminals she had only ever seen on the news. The bindings felt so excessive that the blood seemed to stop flowing, yet Ah-young offered no complaints. She simply kept her head bowed low.
When she lowered her gaze, all she could see was the orange uniform and the ropes cinched around her. The reality that she was now a convicted criminal struck her with painful clarity. It was unbearably unfair. The prosecutor’s words echoed in her mind: “In other words, Lee Ah-young is the kind of human scum who would hold an exhibition using the corpses of the people she killed.” Everyone in this courtroom surely believed that story. They all thought she was a psychopath who had dismembered people without a shred of remorse. The injustice burned so fiercely that she wanted to collapse and sob right there.
She would be dragged into the courtroom and sentenced. The Brand of Livestock would be officially confirmed. Why? Why did she have to endure this? The despair, the horror, the agony were overwhelming.
“…I don’t want this…”
Amid the chaos in her mind, one final thread of hope remained. If she could endure just three years, she could escape this false accusation. She had successfully completed the man’s proposal and received approval to become a Special Livestock. Though the thought of what that status truly entailed filled her with dread, she clung to the conclusion: after the trial, she would be designated a Special Livestock. All that remained was to survive three years as a serial killer and a Special Livestock. Once that time passed, she could return to her original life. That man—the devil—had become her last hope. It was absurd, yet the fact that it was true made it even more absurd.
— “The trial of Lee Ah-young will now begin. Defendant, please enter.”
Ah-young was forcibly dragged forward by men in uniform who appeared to be prison guards. Even though she could have walked the distance herself and had no intention of resisting, they shoved her roughly until she stood in the courtroom. While everyone else sat in chairs, she was forced to remain standing. The courtroom looked different from what she remembered. She stood on a high platform at the very center—the highest point in the room. Normally the judge should occupy that position. Two guards stood at rigid attention on either side of her. Beyond a railing, roughly twenty people sat in a row of chairs. Directly ahead, a middle-aged man presumed to be the judge sat behind a wide desk, watching her. A wooden gavel rested on the desk in front of him.
“I never imagined I would be sentenced by that gavel I only ever saw in dramas or movies…”
“We will now commence the livestock sentencing of the defendant, Lee Ah-young.”
The prosecutor’s low voice echoed through the courtroom via microphone as he stepped forward. “Defendant Lee Ah-young is an atrocious criminal who committed serial murder of eight people over the course of one year in XXX District, Seoul, and its vicinity. She used her own attractive appearance to lure the victims before brutally killing them and disposing of the bodies.”
Every eye in the courtroom turned toward the “murderer” Lee Ah-young. Feeling their stares, she lowered her head and fixed her gaze on the floor. She wanted to cry. It was so unfair. Yet there was no way to stop the sentencing now. The Brand of Livestock had already been seared into her.
“The prosecution immediately applied the Brand of Livestock upon the defendant’s arrest. We will now verify the brand.”
“Verify…? My… brand…? H-how are they going to verify it…? D-don’t tell me…”
The guards climbed onto the platform. Ah-young’s heartbeat accelerated violently. Her fears proved correct. They grabbed the waistband of her prison pants and yanked them down to her ankles in one swift motion.
“Kyaaah!”
The officials had provided only a top and bottom—no underwear. In front of more than twenty people, her pants were stripped away. Naturally, her buttocks and more intimate areas were fully exposed. The courtroom erupted into commotion. The pants tangled around her ankles acted as makeshift shackles. Ah-young tried to move in panic, but could only stamp her feet helplessly. Because she stood on the highest platform at the center of the room, every gaze converged on her—especially on her exposed pubic hair and buttocks.
“Everyone, please examine the defendant’s buttocks.”
Her heart pounded wildly. Her face flushed crimson in an instant, and tears welled up. How long would she have to endure this humiliation? The prosecutor ascended the platform. The guards seized her bound upper body and forced her to bend forward until her torso was at a ninety-degree angle. One guard held her firmly in place while the other removed the pants completely from her ankles.
“Defendant. Spread your legs.”
“Ughhh…!”
The guard who had removed her pants forcibly spread Ah-young’s legs apart. Her posture now presented her buttocks directly toward the judge, legs wide open. Bent over with her rear thrust out before the entire courtroom, she looked as though she were shouting, “Please look at my vagina!” Tears streamed from her eyes and fell to the floor. Overwhelmed by shame and terror, she wanted to struggle, but the guards’ strength rendered resistance impossible.
“Please confirm the Brand of Livestock on the defendant’s buttock. Jurors, examine it carefully.”
The prosecutor pointed at Ah-young’s buttock. “Livestock number 169. Lee Ah-young. After the official livestock branding iron left a burn mark, special ink was used to ensure a permanent tattoo.”
The intricate tattoo and lettering on her left buttock—including the name “Lee Ah-young”—were rotated in every direction so the entire courtroom could see. Her feet shuffled awkwardly as the guards manipulated her. Everyone inspected the brand, paying no mind to the humiliating view of her genitals that accompanied it.
“Well, Prosecutor, you seem unusually enthusiastic today,” the judge remarked with a bored expression.
“Your Honor, the defendant Lee Ah-young has voluntarily applied to become a Special Livestock.”
“Eh?”
“What?”
“A woman?”
“Is she insane?”
The courtroom grew even noisier. Though Ah-young could see only the floor, she heard every word. Her heart lurched.
“Oh… is that so?”
“Honorable Judge, I request that the defendant Lee Ah-young be sentenced as a Special Livestock.”
While her buttocks and brand were on display, her genitals and rear were completely exposed as well. Her legs trembled beneath her. From the judge’s vantage point, only her pale, shapely buttocks were visible.
“Hmm… This is the first time I’ve heard of a woman volunteering to become a Special Livestock…”
Ah-young now understood with painful clarity that becoming a Special Livestock was an even more horrific punishment. The man’s claim that she would simply live as livestock within society had been a lie. Surely… the three-year promise was not also a lie…? Her mind grew hazy.
The sound of the judge shuffling papers reached her ears. Ah-young remained bent over, trembling violently.
“Defendant Lee Ah-young!” the judge shouted.
The guards released her. Ah-young straightened, her face flushed crimson from the blood that had rushed to her head, and looked up at the judge. In a trembling voice, she whispered, “W-what… exactly is… a Special Livestock…?”
“The defendant Lee Ah-young is hereby sentenced as a Special Livestock. From this moment forward, Lee Ah-young shall serve society as a Special Livestock—an exemplary human livestock.”
The judge raised the gavel and struck it down. Bang! Bang!
Ah-young screamed, pouring every ounce of injustice and terror into her voice. “I—I’m not a murderer! I was kidnapped! I was forced—!”
Bang! The gavel struck a third time.
“I was framed! I was forced into this!!”
A woman wearing only the top of her uniform, her pale legs, beautiful buttocks, and soft pubic hair fully exposed, along with the vivid Brand of Livestock on her left buttock, stood on the high platform and shouted at the judge, forgetting both her shame and her position.
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
“Kueeeeeek!”
— After her abduction, while Ah-young’s mind had not yet returned, a Discipline Chip had been implanted somewhere in her body. The chip contained an electric shock device designed to inflict pain on criminals without endangering their lives. The shock she had once received while collared by the man had been brief yet excruciating. The shock delivered on the courtroom platform, however, lasted far longer—long enough to rob her of consciousness completely.
— Thud!
The woman convulsed and collapsed to the floor.
“Remove her.”
The same woman who had boldly shouted at the judge moments earlier now lay sprawled in an unsightly heap, upper body still tightly bound, legs spread obscenely. Fluid trickled from between her thighs. Her pretty face was slack, mouth hanging open as drool poured out. One guard lifted the unconscious woman. She had looked truly beautiful earlier, but the sight of liquids streaming from both her vagina and face was repulsive. Still, she seemed pitiful. Of course, she was human trash…
“Shall we wait for her to wake up?”
“No. Send her straight to the facility. What you’re holding isn’t a person anymore. Even after receiving the brand, she still had the audacity to claim she was framed. Don’t bother showing consideration—just transport her immediately.”
“Ah, yes! Understood!”
“Thank you for your hard work, officers!”
“Yes!”
The prosecutor was right. The Brand of Livestock was only applied to those whose guilt was certain. Claiming innocence now was nothing but a pathetic display. Once branded, one should at least reflect on their crimes. The guard looked down once more at the unconscious woman’s face.
“Even like this… she’s still ridiculously, insanely beautiful…”
People filed out of the courtroom, leaving only the puddles of liquid on the floor as evidence that Lee Ah-young had ever been there.