Crimson Welts, Stripped Bare
Standing before Su-ryeon, Baek Kang-ho first set the whip down on the floor. In its place, he slowly raised the acrylic rod gripped in his hand, flexing it lightly. The supple rod bent easily before snapping back into place with a sharp, springy recoil; even that faint, whistling vibration sounded terrifying in the quiet room. Baek Kang-ho slowly rolled up his sleeves. Beneath his taut skin, the sharp contours of his veins and the twitching fibers of his lean muscle were gradually revealed over his solid forearms. Just as the very air in the room seemed to tighten to a suffocating degree, his low, chilling voice broke the silence.
"Cheon Su-ryeon."
He looked down at her, deliberately enunciating each syllable of her name.
"Yes... Master..."
"Do you understand... what your actions today imply?"
His voice dragged out the final syllable, scraping against the silence like metal on stone. The rod swayed gently in his grip, stirring a cold draft that seemed to herald the impending punishment. At the sight, Su-ryeon's throat went completely dry. She tried to swallow, but her parched throat refused to work.
"......I..."
Her cracked voice leaked out as a faint whisper. Su-ryeon tried to catch her breath, but the terror clawing deep inside her chest choked her. Parting her lips with agonizing care, she began to recite her transgression in a trembling voice.
"...I... I d-disregarded the punishment Master decreed for Hajin."
At Su-ryeon's response, Baek Kang-ho let out a soft, mocking scoff, as if to say that was hardly the half of it. Flicking the tip of the rod lightly, he added with sharp venom:
"You didn't just disregard it. You dared to defy me. To defy me, Baek Kang-ho!"
Su-ryeon had no choice but to accept his twisted logic. Bound to the punishment rack, she spoke softly, feigning absolute submission in a desperate bid to mitigate even a fraction of the pain to come.
"I-I am sorry, Master. I was foolish to offend you."
Yet, contrary to her hopes, Baek Kang-ho's next words cut through the air with even greater, more merciless frigidity.
"Indeed you did. You offended me thoroughly, and on your very first day, no less. I had intended to let you off easily today, but everything that is about to happen to you is entirely of your own making."
As his horrific warning pierced her ears and carved itself into her mind, Su-ryeon's pupils dilated with sheer terror. Clutching at straws, she forced open her mouth to squeeze out a plea.
"Master! Please, I beg of you, show mercy!"
Baek Kang-ho had no intention of listening to the desperate cries echoing through the Punishment Room. Keeping his eyes fixed on the rod, he continued with a chilling, systematic detachment.
"I will now outline your punishment."
His words weighed heavily on Su-ryeon's chest, crushing her heart. She could only pray desperately that whatever torment he had devised would not be beyond her threshold of endurance.
"First! Fifty lashes to your calves! Next, fifty lashes to your back with the whip! And for the next three days, you will receive every punishment intended for the other sex slaves in your stead! And, of course... there will be no Recovery Herb."
To maximize her terror, Baek Kang-ho spat out the final condition with sadistic relish, drawing out the words like a judge delivering a death sentence.
"......Ah......"
Su-ryeon's eyes widened in horror, her sanity fracturing at his words. The sheer weight of the sentence made her entire body sway, her mind reeling as she struggled to comprehend this brutal reality.
She had barely survived the thirty lashes to her calves earlier that afternoon. The thought of enduring fifty more on those already raw, swollen wounds—and with a far more rigid acrylic rod—choked the breath from her lungs. Worse still, she had to endure an additional fifty lashes of the whip across her back, and repeat this cycle of torture for three days straight without a single leaf of Recovery Herb to mend her flesh. The realization struck every cell of her body with paralyzing shock.
Is... is this truly a punishment a human being can survive...?
A violent shudder ran through Su-ryeon at the unfathomable horror of her fate. Yet, not a single shred of mercy softened Baek Kang-ho's features. Instead, his eyes gleamed with a cold, predatory light, as if he were savoring the prospect of carving agony into her flesh stroke by stroke.
"Since we have a long road ahead of us, shall we begin with the calves? With every strike, you will count the number and cry out, 'Harder, please.' Understood?"
"Y-Yes, Master..."
Baek Kang-ho took his stance and lightly rested the acrylic rod against Su-ryeon's calves. Even that feather-light contact sent a jolt of agony screaming through her existing wounds. Instinctively, without even realizing it, Su-ryeon curled her toes tightly inside her high-heeled sandals. A fine tremor started at her feet and rippled upward through her entire body, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs.
...Oh, God... please...
Even as Su-ryeon silently cried out to the heavens in her desperation, Baek Kang-ho raised the acrylic rod high without a word of warning. His arm, thick with corded muscle and bulging veins, flexed with terrifying power, poised to maximize the impact. The rod sliced through the air, and as it struck her calves, the sharp, deafening crack reverberated through the Punishment Room, driving her body to the absolute brink of agony.
Whoosh—!
Crack—!
"Ah!— Ahh!— O-One— H-Harder... please... Master..."
In that instant, Su-ryeon's body writhed and buckled violently against the restraints under the unbearable torment. A ragged scream tore from her throat, saliva spraying from her lips as a wave of agony more intense than anything she had ever known choked her.
Whoosh—!
Crack—!
"Ugh!— Ah— Ahh!— Two...! H-Harder... please..."
Whoosh—!
Crack—!
"Ah!— Ahh!— Ahh! Three! H-Harder... please..."
Baek Kang-ho's strikes quickly surpassed ten, filling the Punishment Room with her agonizing cries. With every blow, the wet, heavy thud of plastic meeting flesh pulsed through the chamber like a grotesque heartbeat, accompanied by Su-ryeon's desperate, air-shattering screams. Swept up in a relentless tide of pain, her body shuddered and twisted violently, leaving her no room to draw a proper breath.
Yet, Baek Kang-ho showed no signs of stopping. The force behind his swings grew steadily heavier, the rod whipping down upon her calves with increasing speed and brutality.
Whoosh—!
Crack—!
"Ah! Haaah!~ It hurts!~ Fifteen!~ Harder... please..."
Whoosh—!
Crack—!
"Ugh!!~ Ahh!~~!~ Sixteen!~ Harder... please..."
Each individual strike that slashed across her calves sent a searing, electric current of agony coursing through her entire nervous system. The pain originating from her legs had long since hijacked her senses, completely dominating both her body and mind.
Whoosh—!
Crack—!
"It hurts!!!~~!~ Th... Thirty!~ Harder... please..."
Whoosh—!
Crack—!
"It hurts too much!!!~~!~ Th... Thirty-one!~ Harder... please..."
As the count passed thirty, Su-ryeon screamed Please, stop! in her mind, but she bit her lip raw to swallow the plea, enduring the onslaught of agony with grim, desperate resilience.
By the time the count exceeded forty, her calves were in a horrific state. Angry red welts and deep purple bruises crisscrossed and overlapped, leaving gruesome tracks across her skin. The damage transcended mere physical trauma; it felt as though the agony was being branded directly into the depths of her soul.
And then... as the torment reached its absolute zenith, the delicate skin of Su-ryeon's beautiful calves finally split open. Vivid crimson blood burst from the ruptured flesh, trickling down the smooth curves of her legs in a cruel, stark contrast against her pale skin.
Yet, Baek Kang-ho's rod showed no mercy. After what felt like an eternity of suffering, the final, fiftieth strike arrived. Just as he had done earlier that day, Baek Kang-ho poured every ounce of his strength into the final blow, driving the rod ruthlessly into Su-ryeon's blood-slicked calves.
The impact of the rod tearing through her flesh shattered her remaining consciousness, pushing her to the absolute peak of terror and pain.
Whoosh—!
Craaaack—!
"Kyaaa—!!! Ah!!! Ahhh!!!!~~!~ Fifty!!!~ Th-Thank... you... M-Master."
With the lashing of her calves finally complete, Su-ryeon gasped for air, barely able to form words. Having never experienced such excruciating pain in her life, her entire body shuddered uncontrollably, completely beyond her volition. Bound to the rack, her limp form sagged against the restraints like a lifeless doll crushed under the weight of her agony.
Having delivered all fifty strokes to Su-ryeon's calves, Baek Kang-ho could barely contain his excitement at the thrilling feedback of the rod. To his eyes, her blood-soaked, ruined legs were a masterpiece of suffering, a vivid work of art. Every welt left an indelible mark of his absolute dominance, and the thought of the sheer agony vibrating through her body washed over him in waves of intense, intoxicating pleasure.
"Yes! Magnificent! This ecstasy! This exquisite sensation! And look at you! Your beautiful calves, stained in your own blood! This is the ultimate art!"
His voice trembled with heightened arousal, as if his senses had reached a fever pitch. Su-ryeon, conversely, lay crushed beneath the weight of her torment, barely clinging to consciousness as waves of throbbing pain broke over her.
As Su-ryeon gasped for breath with half-closed eyes, Baek Kang-ho approached with a flushed, manic expression and began to undo the cuffs binding her ankles. Though fifty lashes of the whip to her back still remained, the sight of him releasing her ankles sparked a desperate, fragile hope within her—a foolish prayer that perhaps he was showing mercy and letting her go. Her breath hitched, her heart hammering in a chaotic mix of anxiety and anticipation, clinging to the possibility that her ordeal might be over.
But her hope was instantly shattered as a cruel command slipped from Baek Kang-ho's lips the moment the cuffs clicked open.
"Spread your legs."
A cold dread flooded Su-ryeon's chest. His flat, unyielding tone held no warmth, only the dark promise of further, inescapable humiliation. Yet she had no luxury of hesitation; his commands were absolute. Trembling violently, she forced her legs apart. The movement pulled at her shredded calves, dragging a sharp, involuntary whimper from her throat.
"Ah!~ Ahh!~ It hurts!~"
Entangled in a web of agony and forced submission, she sank deeper into the abyss of despair. Once her legs were parted, Baek Kang-ho stepped forward and ruthlessly bound her ankles wide apart to the outer pillars of the rack.
The skirt of her punishment outfit was incredibly short; the moment her thighs were forced open, her most intimate areas were laid completely bare. Since undergarments were strictly forbidden on the punishment rack, the sudden realization of her exposure sent a wave of agonizing humiliation crashing over her. At the sight of her vulnerability, a grotesque, lecherous grin spread across Baek Kang-ho's face, and he slowly licked his lips.