58 - Chapter 56: Punishment
For the time being, Natalia and Han Su-hyeon spent their days busy preparing for their wedding.
Neither of them really cared all that much about having a wedding. But unlike annual holidays and anniversaries, it was a once-in-a-lifetime event—or twice, at most—so they decided to just go through with it.
Because of that, they had been incredibly busy lately—picking out wedding attire, doing studio photoshoots, booking a venue, making invitations, and sorting out the guest list.
It got to the point where they wanted to throw in the towel halfway through, just register their marriage, and call it a day.
Still, before they knew it, the wedding preparations were entering the final stages.
"Let's see... Shall we go pick out our wedding rings today?"
Natalia murmured, glancing to her side.
"Is there anything specific you want?"
Han Su-hyeon shrugged lightly at her question.
"Well, if I have to wear it all the time like they do in the West, I'd prefer something comfortable."
"Oh, you don't have to do that if you don't want to."
"Then anything is fine. I don't really have much of an eye for these things."
Chatting as they walked, the two of them entered the jewelry section of the department store.
As they strolled past the rows of shops, Natalia stopped in front of a particular display case.
"Oh, that one looks pretty nice."
Natalia quickly stepped closer to the glass. A wide variety of matching couple's rings were on display.
"Are you looking for something in particular, ma'am?"
Seeing her interest, the store clerk quickly approached and spoke to her.
"Ah, well..."
Natalia chatted with the clerk for a bit before picking out the ring she liked best.
"Yeah, this one definitely looks the best."
"You have excellent taste."
Having made her choice, Natalia turned around to ask for Han Su-hyeon's opinion.
"Hey, which one do you think is—"
But Natalia trailed off.
"Huh?"
The spot where she assumed he'd be standing was completely empty.
"What the hell...?"
Unable to hide her confusion, Natalia looked around, bewildered.
"Ugh..."
I opened my eyes to a throbbing headache. It was clearly the aftereffects of whatever strong anesthetic had been on the handkerchief pressed over my mouth.
Fuck, what happened?
One thing was certain: I'd been kidnapped. My memory cut off completely after someone pressed a damp cloth over my mouth from behind.
I wanted to look around, but I was bound too tightly to move.
As I darted my eyes around anxiously, the door opened and someone walked in.
Actually, it was multiple sets of footsteps. They overlapped, echoing with heavy thuds.
From the sound, I realized I was in a fairly large space, surrounded by a crowd.
This really doesn't feel good...
As the thought crossed my mind, the footsteps stopped and the overhead lights flickered on.
"Ugh..."
Blinded by the sudden glare, I reflexively squeezed my eyes shut and tried to curl inward.
But keeping my eyes closed out of discomfort was a luxury I couldn't afford. God knew what they'd do to me if I stayed blind. I forced them open.
Blinking through the harsh glare, I finally took in my surroundings: a spacious auditorium, and a crowd of grim-faced women surrounding me.
"Ahem."
One of the women cleared her throat, stepping forward from the crowd to stand over me.
"Everyone."
She squatted down in front of me. As I lay there, bound and helpless, she began to address the crowd like a politician giving a speech.
"The man lying before you is a D-rank Hunter."
Well, technically true, but I'm still just an intern. My license hasn't even been officially issued yet.
"One day, this man stumbled into a restroom, completely wasted. And simply because he was in a bad mood, he mercilessly beat a baseball coach—a family man with an excellent reputation—leaving him a paraplegic."
What the actual fuck? Why is that old bastard's story coming up now? Don't tell me these are thugs he hired to bury me?
As a cold sweat broke out across my body, the woman kept talking.
"Naturally, he was arrested. Since he was only a D-rank, there was no hope of a reduced sentence. Everyone assumed he'd rot in the penal unit for a few years before dying a miserable death inside some gate."
Hey, that's a bit harsh. That's basically a curse.
"But that's not what happened. Why? Because he was the lover of the S-rank Hunter, Natalia Chae. Because he had an S-rank backing him, he got away with his crimes without a care in the world."
The longer she spoke, the more hostile the atmosphere in the room grew.
"And do you know what's even more disgusting? Not only do they feel absolutely no guilt for their shameless actions, but they're actually trying to retire, get married, and live happily ever after. Isn't that incredibly brazen?"
Spitting out those venomous words, the woman drew a dagger from her coat.
I flinched as the blade caught the light, but she merely used it to slice through my bonds.
"I used to believe in poetic justice—that heaven would eventually punish the wicked. But in reality, the bad guys are the ones who live the best lives."
Once I was completely freed, she stepped back.
"Therefore, if God won't punish them, we must mete out the penalty ourselves."
Honestly, that was a sentiment I could actually get behind.
As she finished her speech and stepped away, the other women began to close in on me.
"Uh..."
Between being tied up for so long and the lingering effects of the anesthetic, my stiff body refused to cooperate.
"Hehe... You slutty piece of shit..."
The first woman to reach me leaned in close, spitting insults. Objectively speaking, she was quite pretty, but I reflexively shoved my hand up to block her lips.
"Mmph... mm..."
I felt her lips pressing and squirming against my palm. She tried to wriggle past my guard to plant one on me, but I held firm.
"Ah... this motherfucker..."
Annoyed that her kiss had been blocked, her face twisted in rage. She slapped me hard across the face.
"Ugh!"
My head whipped to the side. The sheer force of the blow dragged my upper body along with it. A warm sensation spread from my nose, and dark red blood began to drip onto the floor.
"Acting all high and mighty when you only made it big by spreading your legs..."
She muttered as she climbed on top of me. Straddling my waist, she began to beat me in earnest.
"Ah... ah! Ugh... ngh...!"
As a rain of fists and slaps fueled by pure, sticky malice pelted my body, I couldn't help but let out pathetic groans.
"Just because you're sleeping with an S-rank... do people like me not even look like human beings to you? Huh? You dirty whore..."
"Haa... Ah... hic..."
Having beaten me to her heart's content, she finally got off me and stood up to catch her breath.
"Ugh... ah..."
Damn it. It had been a long time since I'd felt pain like this, and it seeped deep into my bones.
My body, grown soft from a peaceful life, trembled uncontrollably, and tears welled up in my eyes.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts... Fuck, it hurts so fucking much...*
Soon, the pain overwhelmed me, far past what adrenaline could suppress. Desperate to escape, I instinctively tried to crawl away on all fours.
"Ack!"
But my attempt was futile. Someone stepped on my back, grinding their foot down.
Hands reached out toward me from all directions like writhing tentacles.
"Dammit...!"
I thrashed and resisted with everything I had, but it was useless. They grabbed my wrists and flipped me over onto my back.
Hands slipped under my shirt, stroking my stomach and tracing my back. They groped my chest, pinching, scratching, and rolling my nipples between their fingers.
"Ah... ah..."
When fingers reached my armpits, I writhed in a desperate reflex.
But my feeble resistance only gave the hands pinning my wrists an excuse to press down even harder.
"Hey, let's get his pants off."
At the suggestion, a flurry of hands rushed toward my lower body. Fingers slipped inside my pants and underwear, groping and squeezing my ass, tracing fingers along my crack, and pressing firmly against my perineum.
"Hngh... ah..."
Another hand wrapped around my semi-erect shaft, a thumb dragging back the foreskin over the sensitive head.
"Haha, look at this pathetic piece of shit leaking pre-cum."
She pulled her hand out of my pants and slowly licked her thumb, glistening with pre-cum.
Even in the chaos, several hands were still working to yank down my pants and underwear.
"Don't... stop..."
I desperately squeezed my legs together and squirmed to block them. Because there were so many hands crowding me, the sheer clutter actually helped slow them down.
"Ha, this motherfucker."
Unfortunately, my resistance only annoyed one of the women trying to strip me.
"Hold still."
With that, she stood up and stomped hard on my stomach, over and over.
"Gah...!"
The brutal impact to my stomach sent a wave of agonizing pain and intense nausea through me. Every muscle in my body seized up, contracting to its limit as I convulsed wildly.
"Ugh, he's pissing himself."
With my lower half now soaked in urine, any remaining will to resist completely drained from my body.