"Huh?"
Emma Huang placed her hands on her hips, bending closer to the student in front of him and scrutinizing him with disgust. Her lips quivered at the sight.
"What happened to you?" she questioned, but the sarcasm in her tone was apparent.
Standing in front of her, the student named Adrian was now covered in patches from the scratches and bruises on his face, and a bandaged arm hung limply at his side. His cheek was still swollen from all the beating he had taken in the morning.
Even though he looked terrible, he still decided to come as instructed. He would rather show up without anything than run. After all, he knew the consequences and weighed the best of two possibilities.
Adrian's eyes filled with dread after failing to complete his task.
An utter complete failure to retrieve his stolen cash.
Now, he has nothing to offer.
But in the back of his mind, he had one last chance out of desperation.
"Please!"
Adrian dropped to his knees, clinging desperately to Emma's leg and begging relentlessly.
"I-I don't have anything, spare me!"
She scoffed in return, averting her gaze from the sorry mess. The constant pleading irritated her the more it continued.
"Who are you again?" Emma spoke up while looking at her polished nails.
"I-I am Adrian," he replied with a crack in his voice as he pointed at himself.
"Who?"
Her voice growled with her face scrunched up.
"Adri-"
"Shush."
She cut him off by putting her finger on his lips as she shook her head in disapproval.
"You see. I don't know you, and I don't recognize you."
Adrian was bewildered as his jaw dropped agape for some time.
"W-what?"
Before he could speak another word, a low kick aimed squarely in between his legs.
Hard enough to crack the eggs.
Adrian winced in pain as he began to writhe on the ground, clutching his crotch in an attempt to soothe it.
"Aaah!"
Emma walked briskly towards the figure sitting on a bench under the shade.
The shadows cast by the thick trees masked the menacing expression on her face. Arms on her chest and legs crossed as her eyes quietly criticized Adrian from a distance.
"Tanya-jie, He didn't bring me my pancakes. What should we do with him?" Emma reported with that usual sweet voice.
Tanya stared daggers at him, still curled on the ground while writhing and screaming.
"He knows what's gonna happen." She clicked her tongue.
"Of course!" Emma giggled and excitedly hopped around in circles.
"He is now yours!"
Tanya stood up from her seat with her hands clenched in a fist. She began to make her move, taking quick, successive strides towards Adrian without hesitation.
Adrian's eyes were still glued shut as the pain continued to throb. Heels clicked coming closer towards him without a stop.
A hard stamp.
Deliberately stepping on his leg, piercing and grinding her heel against his skin.
A shriek escaped from his lips once more.
She never stopped, grinding it deeper as more screams followed.
"Please! Stop!" he cried out loud.
"Hey, new toy. You failed your promise." Tanya cooed as her chest bent down closer with her arm resting on her leg, pressing him further.
Her cold gaze lingered on his face, reading his pained expression.
Adrian trembled at the sight. His plan to beg and escape failed miserably.
Now, he realized... He could no longer escape.
"You are now under my care," Tanya announced with a smirk on her lips.
"Anything! I will do anything for you," he finally gave in.
As soon as he said that, Tanya finally released his leg as she crouched right in front of him. Her slit skirt flashed the sight of her thick thighs with black thigh-high socks fastened by a garter belt, and a peek of her laced black underwear.
Adrian noticed it with his watery eyes, still recovering.
Out of everything in his line of sight, her plump coochie stood out.
Her hand reached out and grabbed him by the hair, forcefully pulling his face up.
"Look. You are going to follow what we all say like an obedient dog," her stern voice pierced through his ear. "or get punished."
Adrian swallowed a lump.
"Y-yes."
His nose sniffled as he nodded.
"Good. Now, strip yourself and leave only your underwear." Tanya commanded as she pushed him off her grip. Her voice was low but menacing.
Adrian took a few seconds to hesitate, but Tanya's glare made him snap out of it.
His fingers began to fumble around his clothes with his free hand, trembling from fear as he removed his tie and unbuttoned his shirt.
"Hurry up!" Emma whined from behind. Now, sucking a piece of a lollipop in between her lips. "Gosh, he is so slow."
Tanya just watched silently, unbothered, as Adrian slowly undressed right in front of her eyes.
A hint of amusement curved out of her lips.
Meanwhile, by the main courtyard, Raphael walked alongside Harian, still chatting casually about anything that had happened today.
Harian cleared his throat.
"You know. I have been trying to get this note right, but ugh. My voice just keeps cracking."
Frustration painted on his soft features as he massaged his neck.
"You should take a break sometime in that case." Raphael worriedly suggested.
"Yeah, but it's almost comeback season," he sighed deeply. "I need to finish my recording as scheduled."
"Hmm..." Raphael thought as he rubbed his chin. "I heard drinking something warm with ginger or lemon can help clear a sore throat."
"Perhaps. I should try that sometime," he beamed up.
They reached the end of the path, splitting into two directions: one headed down the dorm housing, while the other took a shortcut behind the gym.
Their conversation continued about Harian's upcoming releases, which the latter excitedly shared.
They turned towards the dorm housing . . .
But a sudden piercing screech halted them in their steps.
It lasted for a few seconds before it completely stopped.
Raphael glanced at Harian, looking at each other in mild confusion.
"What on earth was that?" Raphael blurted out first.
"I-I don't know. It seems like it came over there." Harian pointed in the other direction towards the gym.
Raphael's curiosity got hold of him as he slowly moved in careful steps. Meanwhile, Harian hesitated for a second but still followed suit.
"I don't think this is a great idea," Harian whispered right beside him.
"It sounds like someone needs help, though." Raphael insisted.
They reached the corner right before the back of the gym.
A bunch of voices could be heard in muffled noises just behind the building. At least two or three voices spoke. One came from a man with a voice cracking from pain, while the other two are feminine with differing tones.
"What are they doing?" Raphael wondered in a whisper.
He leaned in closer, trying to peek from the corner while Harian just stood beside him, clenching his bag as he strained his ears to listen closely as well.
From Raphael's field of vision, A man on his knees appeared, bending down in front of two female figures wearing distinctly altered uniforms.
He was barely clothed.
Nothing but a bunch of bandages wrapped all over his arms and abdomen, while a pair of boxers secured him down below.
Raphael furrowed his brows.
Something else bothered him as he watched the man intently.
He had seen him somewhere before. Not personally, but on screen.
Wasn't that the same guy from the livestream footage?
His eyes widened in realization as his hand held closer to his parted lips, followed by a soft gasp.
"Bend it down further." Tanya hissed as she pressed her heels on top of the man's lower back, forcibly pushing his face further into the ground.
"Mmmgh." The man's voice was muffled on the ground, unable to speak audibly.
Emma chuckled once more at the sight in a mocking tone.
"How silly! He is kissing some dirt!"
Harian also gasped softly upon seeing it firsthand. Both of them were stunned on the spot.
Conflicting feelings stirred deep inside Raphael's thoughts as he continued to witness the scene unfolding in front of him.
He had never seen anything like this before.
A far more uncomfortable sight in person.
Is this what his friends and anyone else warned him about?
Sensing Raphael's expression, Harian quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the scene as fast as possible.
Unlike him, he knew the Academy's underbelly and lawless actions from delinquents like them. Although he had seen them countless times before, the drastic experience for someone like Raphael may be too much.
"Don't stare and don't say anything." Harian put a finger to his lips as he spoke in a hushed voice.
He continued to walk a few steps further away, enough to be out of auditory range, while dragging Raphael behind, still gripping his arm tightly.
"That's Sylvia's crew. Emma and Tanya." Harian began. " They don't just bully students, but they break them for fun."
Raphael was still shaken from the sight; his eyes remained wide open, stunned. In his thoughts, he wondered.
'Is this what they do? Just for fun?'
Harian could see the fear in his eyes.
"Look, I know it's pretty scary, but it's the reality in here." Harian tried to comfort him, holding his shoulders firmly.
"I've seen this a lot, but they don't stop unless someone higher up tells them so.... " he paused for a bit. "But still no one does, so there's nothing we can do but ignore them."
"They just... do that in the open?" Raphael asked.
Harian just smiled grimly. "Yeah... no one can stop them. Unfortunately."
Just as they thought that the silence in the area created a safe space for them. Another painful scream echoed throughout the place, making them flinch at how guttural it seemed to be.
Raphael's shoulders tensed, but Harian appeared to do his best to stay calm.
"Come on. Let's just go." Harian suggested, pulling further to resume their steps back towards the dorm.
Raphael remained silent, still out of it while listening to the screams fading behind the courtyard.
In the back of the gym building, Tanya had completely freshened up the poor guy's already bruised body. The marks from heels appeared all over his body in tender, swollen reds and blues.
Her fingers held onto a leash attached to a collar around his neck. She tugged him twice, provoking him to crawl on all fours on the ground.
Emma chuckled at the sight before snapping a photo with her phone.
"What do you think?" she proudly presented the picture.
"Incredible." Tanya rolled her eyes with a sarcastic tone in her voice.
"It's been a while since we got another pet." Emma excitedly announced as she bounced around the bench underneath a tree. "Right, Sylvia-jie?"
Behind the thick woody trunk, Sylvia leaned against it with a smoke in her hand, tapping it lightly to remove the embers from her cigarette.
"Hmm. Yeah, but I don't want him," she bluntly admitted in a scornful look as she flicked her eyes over Adrian, who seemed to resemble more like roadkill.
"He isn't interesting enough."
"Bummer." Emma pouted. "Do we just get rid of him?"
"You can still play with him if you like." Sylvia waved her hand dismissively before she puffed another smoke.
"Yes! I can use him to carry my stuff!" gleefully pronounced as she pumped her fist in the air.
She pranced back towards Tanya like an overly exuberant ball of sunshine with something exciting to say.
"Good news! He is our toy for now~"
Tanya smirked as she tugged the leash in her hand. "You heard that. Consider yourself lucky to be playing with us."
Adrian just nodded in obedience, but was still visibly shaking. "I am grateful, ma'am."
"What else do you need to say?" Emma hovered closer to him in remembrance. Her voice dropped low in contempt.
Adrian hesitated for a second, but the two looming eyes forced him to comply.
"Yes, master! Arf Arf!" he barked as instructed.
"Good boy." Emma smiled widely, returning to her usual bubbly personality as she pet his head like a dog.
"Hey, Tanya-jie, shall we get some ice cream?"
"Of course." Tanya agreed.
"How bout him?"
"He needs to tag along as usual."
Tanya lightly tugged him once again as they began to walk out towards the main courtyard.
At this point, the man once known as Adrian was no longer considered human but a man reduced to a pet dog.