Untouched [minsung]

Chapter 38

I had become a very good liar.

Every other day or so, Jeongin would turn on the projector and display a very defeated and, dare I say, fragile-looking Lee Know. His head always hung down, and he kept his face hidden from the camera.

He'd been forced to adopt Jeongin's boxer-only dress code policy. I felt a bit sad for Lee Know that the first time I was seeing him exposed like this was under these circumstances and at the hand of a sadistic perv. It should've been from the comfort of our home and on his terms...ideally on top of me.

From his ankles to his wrists and up to his neck, he was covered in burns. There was no more space for new ones, so Jeongin burned over the old ones to create new scars.

Lee Know must have endured the Hwangs for a long time to be so thoroughly covered. I hated watching his face contort in pain. I hated watching his body writhe to free itself from the heat. I did my best to ensure it rarely happened.

My lunch slid under the flap by the door, and I got up from the bench to retrieve it. After my first session with Lee Know, Jeongin had returned my meals to their post-fight-with-daddy level of sufficiency. I took the tray back and waited for the projector to begin. It had been two days since the last session, and I knew the next one was coming soon.

Sure enough, the lights in my room went out completely and the projector began. Lee Know was, as usual, sitting in the chair with his head hung low. He still hadn't made eye contact with the camera. If it was because he was ashamed of how he looked, I wish he'd get over it.

Though I was still angry at him for his opinion of me, I wasn't blind. Lee Know was still the most beautiful person I'd ever seen...burnt or not. Maybe he felt shame for getting caught trying to save me though...

"How's it going today, Han?" Jeongin asked. He'd become very relaxed in how he spoke with me as a way to coax more information from me. Little did he know everything I'd fed him was complete bullshit.

"I'm doing well. This weather is amazing," I replied sarcastically. I wondered what it was like outside. It had been so long since I had seen the actual sky.

"Ready to play?" he asked me.

"Sure thing, Jeongin. Quick question, is your zipper supposed to be down?"

He looked at his crotch in a panic, and I laughed. He was so easy to fool. He clenched his jaw in frustration and slapped Lee Know. I shut up.

Lee Know grunted but kept his head down. I hadn't meant to get him hurt.

"So Han," Jeongin began, already jumping into his line of questioning, "you said you were hired by your mother?"