32 Talc (2)

"Please, I can't eat this. I don't know what I did wrong, I don't know who you are but plea-"

Her begging was abruptly cut off as the Lever turned and the crane-like mechanism that she was tied to, dropped her into the Talc.

She was pushed deep into the layers of white powder.

While the powder looked light, there was a lot of it. The powder was in a tub that was the length and depth of a large industrial shipping container. It was about 20 ft and we had filled with more than 23,000 kilograms worth of Talc.

The pressure from the overall weight of the powder was likely squeezing her bones and crushing her chest. The talc had a way of blocking the airways as well, so every little snort she made or gasp for breath filled her lungs with the dust-like particles. Her saliva would turn the talc into a paste in her mouth that would only further clog up her lungs, every time she swallowed it fell into her stomach.

It was likely a very uncomfortable experience. I couldn't help but let out a childish snigger.

A year ago I had given Min Ho a portion of my allowance to develop a fun app for me. The mobile app had a variety of functions; it not only allowed me to see live CCTV footage from my playroom but it also acted as a remote control allowing me to use the torture devices in the room even from a distance. It also had a voice changing feature and a few more options.

Money is a wondrous thing, it really does make dreams come true.

As if I were playing a game; I pressed down on the button and kept Cha Hunha submerged for about two minutes. I didn't hold her down for too long. Brain damage starts to occur after 10 minutes of oxygen deprivation, and I didn't want her to be brain dead. I don't enjoy torturing an empty husk.

I also had to take Cha Hunha's health into consideration, she was an older woman, overweight, and had high blood pressure, meaning she was the type that usually didn't last long with torture. She needed to be treated delicately, like the wings of a butterfly.

If you touch butterfly wings directly, the oil from your fingers will start to dissolve the powder-like scales protecting them. One-touch and the butterfly is vulnerable, weak and only a step away from death. If you want to torture a butterfly you need to be gentle with it and leave the wings to last....but let's not get into that.

Butterfly wings aside, the point is Hunha was fragile and needed to be destroyed with a tender and slow touch.

I pulled her up. Her naked body was covered in powder and she comically reminded me of a dipdab lollipop covered in sherbet.

For a moment she was unresponsive but then she began spluttering. White talc burst from her nose and her mouth, she threw up and coughed causing the dusty talc to arise around her in a cloud of white powder. It was dustier than the smacking of two Chalkboard erasers.

"Either you eat or you die," I said through the speaker, "The only response I should hear from you is 'yes', if I hear anything else I will assume you've chosen death."

Hunha coughed, and I teasingly inched her lower again towards the talc and then she began to scream, squawking like some seagull, "YESS!!!! YESSSS!!!! YESSSS!!!"

I giggled and heard some soft chuckles behind me, Min Ho was watching from over my shoulder with a malicious gleam in his eyes.

"Good now eat all the Talc, I will give you...one week. If it is all still there by the time I next check-in with you...then."

I didn't finish my sentence, I didn't need to, the threat was clear.

"Why give her a week" Min Ho interrupted, "just make it a day and bury her in it when she fails. She clearly won't be capable of...." His sentence trailed off and he shut his mouth obediently when he noticed the look I was giving him.

I patted him on the head once he stopped, a mixture of praise and punishment was fundamental for his development.

"As always Min Ho you're too impatient, there isn't any fun if we just kill her. Then what would be the point? Pain, pain is the only way forward. You need to become more addicted to prolonging suffering" I purred gently as I continued to pat Min Ho's head, "Trust me, the greater the suffering before death the bigger the release."

"What kind of release?"

I looked into Min Ho's eyes and I saw a slimmer of doubt, fear, and admonition towards my words. Sometimes Min Ho had these moments of Clarity; every time I thought he had become similar to myself he would break the illusion with that clarity. There was a part of him that was scared of me, of himself of the things we did and discussed, a part of him I couldn't quite destroy no matter how hard I tried.

Especially in moments like this when I let my childish persona slip, he would judge me with his clarity. He wasn't ready yet.

In response to his gaze, small tears filled my eyes and slid down my cheeks, "D-d-did I say something wrong? I just thought that she should suffer because of the things she did to me. She hurt me, she was going to kill me" I cried and hugged Min Ho, "She's evil all the rest of them, a follower of those people that locked you in a cage. That's why she should suffer. I'm protecting you."

With words like that, it was easy to twist Min Ho's loyalty back to me. His mind was fragile and he was wholly dependent on me, just seeing my tears was enough to have him shaking. He hugged me back and said faithfully, "She needs to suffer we need to prolong her suffering, we need to make her death fantastic."

While my head rested on his shoulder I grinned widely and did my best to suppress my laughter. Min Ho had a long way to go, but he wasn't too far from the goal.

I couldn't wait to see the masterpiece that he would become.

At that point, there was a knock on my dressing room door. One of the concert hall staff politely opened the door and smiled gently as she looked at me hugging Min Ho, "He's very close with his butler, how cute" she thought.

"The main performance is underway on the stage and your Grandfather requested you come sit with him at the front row. I've come to fetch you and take you to your seat."

I looked at the staff member and smiled politely, "Okay"

Inwardly I was rolling my eyes. This could only mean that Kang Seung was going to use me as a means of small talk and bargaining again. How annoying.