[AGUST]
Former Helia king, Ho Jung knew it wasn't his place to question Agust, even when the man seemed to be doing more harm to himself than good. He knew the kind of shit Agust had had to deal with and frankly, Ho Jung felt like there was a need for a break.
He could see the weary lines on Agust's face and he was worried that Agust would sink so low before he got what he wanted. Then again, what the fuck did Agust want? What the fuck did he need at the moment if it wasn't for Jiminie?
The fact that he had come here to be whipped by Ho Jung was all that Ho Jung needed to know that the king was drowning. It was crazy, but then Agust wasn't even the person to be talked to with ease.
"Don't tell me your conscience is in the way again, Ho Jung. That will just make you a nuisance to me, don't you think?" Agust said casually as he walked over to the middle of the room.
He had already shackled himself and it was just a matter of using his magic to tighten these shackles so he wouldn't unwind himself while he subjected himself to the kind of torture he was certain he deserved.
The world was a cruel place without Agust subjecting himself to all of this, and yet as he stood there, he wanted that pain. He needed that pain to force him back to default settings.
Jung Hyuk was in the palace and Jiminie was hurting in Kiyoto, not to mention the fact that So Hee had been forced to come back home. It was a dilemma for Agust and he hated every bit of it.
Maybe if the sun went down sooner, maybe if he dealt with the chairs faster, all would be well. And even if he managed to square out the shit that messed him and Jiminie up, what were the chances that Chang Zhu wouldn't come to show up this time then?
What were the chances that their lives would still manage to be a mess after all they did?
"Oh, please. I have been looking forward to this day," Ho Jung said even though it was the complete opposite of what he was thinking right now.
In the initial days, Ho Jung had definitely been looking forward to thrashing Agust. He hated the man for doing all that fucked up shit to him and he wanted vengeance.
Of course, he was aware that vengeance wouldn't come easy, but he also knew that there were just lives that they had to deal with along the way. Then again, as time went by, Ho Jung came to realize just how defeated Agust was.
This was the one place that Agust he could come to let out his stress, and feel like the world wasn't as bad a place. This was the side of the realm where he could be a person, despite the way that things looked for him right now.
It was a reminder of the battles he was yet to face and the mad king was not going to hold back for his torture.
"Alright, that is perfect. Let's do this!" Agust said excitedly. He could tell how hesitant the former king was, but this had to be done.
This was a need for Agust.
He had hurt Jiminie and there wasn't a person in the realm who could make him feel any pain that could be near what Jiminie was feeling save for Ho Jung. That was why he was here. Perhaps Agust just had to let himself go, right?
"Agust—"
"Do it, Ho Jung. I don't have time," Agust insisted and Ho Jung sighed. This was not good or healthy, but Agust wasn't exactly the kind of person who looked forward to his daily dietary calendar anyway.
Maybe there would come a day when the king would stop all of this, but until then, he would wait for the lashes to hit his body. And so, in silence, Ho Jung grabbed the huge thick leash that was usually used to tame bats in the palace.
It was the harshest whip in the kingdom and Agust wanted it used on him. Sadly, there was no compromise, so Ho Jung just had to do what was demanded of him, no matter how much he was against it.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, right?
Well, that was a lot of maybes.
As the whips clashed with his bare skin, Agust leaned into the hurt. It kept him sane and made him feel like the world was not going insane around him. The cracks on his skin reminded him of what he needed to do, and what he needed to hold onto.
He knew the Lycans were about to question his reasons for not taking them to war with the last-standing werewolf pack and Agust needed to be ready for that. It was not supposed to be hard, but where his heart was, shit always managed to end up complicated.
Perhaps that was why he wasn't surprised when, hours later, he heard the warning bells ringing on the other side of the place.
"You have a call to answer, Agust," Ho Jung pointed out.
Agust just laughed like it was unbelievable. His skin was currently torn so deep that anyone wouldn't have survived this, his entire body was covered in whip marks, be it front or back.
His face was not left either, as these scars were scratched and wounds reopened. Even then, Agust didn't want to talk about the way he was feeling. His pain was unbearable and it was just a matter of time before he lost his sanity on this side of the palace.
Maybe he just had to think, and fast, right?
"I have to go now. Thank you, Ho Jung," Agust said.
Ho Jung just stared at the man sadly as he unshackled himself. He had found himself a little too weak and it had broken Ho Jung's nonexistent heart. He could see the way that the king was putting so much effort into forgetting.
However, how else was Ho Jung supposed to explain to this stubborn king that some relationships were never meant to be gotten over?
How was he to tell King Ming Xiao Zhu that he had fallen deeply in love with Jiminie and it was also why he had come here to try and clear his head?
King Agust was in so much pain and yet even then, the first person he was thinking of was the pretty wolf who probably hated him as of now.
"You can't go into battle like that. you heard the bells. They are battle calls, and you are too weak that your Lycan will probably take three days to fix you up, Agust. You cannot join the war like that, and you know it," Ho Jung tried to reason.
Agust stared at him like that was the worst of ideas. Then again, what else could the former king say to the man who had bested him one too many times?
"I am the king, Ho Jung. I have to show up for my people, no matter what. Surely you have the slightest idea of what that means, right?" Agust said before he walked out of the torture room, without so much as a piece of fabric on his back.