24. A Piece on the Board

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01 September, 7:03 A

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01 September, 7:03 A.M.

Chapped lips. Ragged breathing. And pseudo-conscious state.

Dae Ho props his chin on the wooden chair's back, his legs spread over the sides of the seat, reveling at Vee's battered condition. A lazy smile stretches across his lips at the way the other man whispers a weak, "Water..."

"Huh? I couldn't quite hear you." Dae Ho chuckles, bringing two fingers behind his ear. He stands up and grabs the bottle of water placed near his foot, proceeding to uncap it, and stands in front of the tied-up man. "You must be asking for this?" The fighter shakes the plastic bottle, earning a nod from Vee.

Dae Ho brings the container close to the bruised man's mouth, the mound barely touching his lips when the raven-haired flips the bottle over, liquid pouring all over Vee's thighs. "You can lick the water off of your jeans like a thirsty street dog," he humiliates, pressing the empty bottle to Vee's cheek, the man flinching for a moment and licking his dried lips, Adam's apple bobbing up and down. "Let me ask you again, why did you torture us? What are you after?"

"Li Xiu Ying..."

"Huh?"

"T-that's all I can tell you. Find her and you'll get some answers."

Dae Ho squints, hand carding through Vee's dirty hair and pulling the strands harshly. "Who is she?" he asks but Vee presses his lips together as a reply.

"Even if...you torture me or kill me, I'm not going to say another word."

"Bullet, let's go." A voice says from behind. Dae Ho acknowledges Shadow's presence with a grunt. The man enters the room with him every day, to keep Dae Ho from going feral on Vee and accidentally killing him. Not yet, at least.

Dae Ho clicks his tongue before landing a punch at Vee, tearing a new trail of blood from the side of his lips. He closes the metal door and follows Shadow. They pass through the hallway containing three similar rooms to the one Vee is held captive in.

"You know, that's a creepy smile."

"What smile?" Dae Ho pinches his brows together.

"That." Shadow points at the large grin plastered over the younger's face. "Didn't exactly pin you as a sadist."

Dae Ho shrugs, sucking his lips together. "It is satisfying to at the man who took away so much from me, be in pain. You may judge me because I know revenge doesn't satiate a person and I may feel empty later, being held up in the past isn't going to make me happy but I couldn't care less about that right now. Even glancing at him makes my blood boil, and reminds me how helpless I was. Minji was killed right in front of me, how do you expect me to not torture him for long, break every bone in his body, slit every inch of his flesh, and draw out bloody screams."

"But—"

"Let's not do this right now." Dae Ho picks up his pace and walks ahead. They enter a large space where multiple computers lined up in a circular row sit in the middle, other gadgets the team usually uses are placed in the iron shelf rack at the side of the room. An elevator stands on a few stairs, the only exit from the basement, protected with the members' fingerprints.

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