**The Darkest Hour**

It's almost midnight when Lee Myung-gi decides to go to the bathroom. Not a particular reason, he just thought that it was safer to go when everyone's asleep and they're not trying to kill each other in the sinks. After the Pentathlon, the second game, it all started to feel disturbing, a heavy aura surrounding the place. The bathroom is empty, as he suspected. And that's not changing because Myung-gi will only be there for two minutes maximum. The quicker he gets out of here, the better. After he releases all he has, he zips his pants up, but the sound of a door being opened loudly catches his attention. He looks at the door only to see two men entering the bathroom, and before he can just ignore it and keep doing his business, he notices unusual purple hair, and he curses immediately deep in his mind. Not again. That rapper, the most annoying person Myung-gi has ever known. Not only is he a fucking narcissist, but he's pretty convinced that Myung-gi is the reason for all his problems. The thing is, it started to get creepy now. Thanos would stare at him with such a disturbing expression very often. He doesn't enter the bathroom alone; the other guy who's always sticking around him is right behind him. Myung-gi resists the urge to roll his eyes back when he sees how they approach him through the mirror. "Hey! MG Coin! Are you having fun over there?" says Thanos, raising his hands just like he does when he's about to say something stupid. Nam-gyu is smiling as he follows Thanos, but Myung-gi doesn't even look at him. He walks towards the sink, ignoring how the two stop midway to get close to him. He opens the faucet to wash his hands, but right before he can feel the water on his hands, Thanos stands by his right side. He notices that Nam-gyu stands on his left as if they were trying to corner him. Myung-gi stares at him. "What's the urge to leave so soon, MG Coin? You look very calm despite all the people you fucking scammed, including me." He points to himself with his thumb. "You know, I hope you get to the last game. You'll have enough money to pay me then." Myung-gi stares at him. "I don't owe you a single yen. Besides, if I make it to the last game, that means you'd be dead. Who would I pay?" He says, opening the faucet again as he washes his hands. Thanos' eyes wander from Myung-gi to Nam-gyu. "No, no. I have a better idea." He smiles again. "You're gonna be my slave. That's how you'll pay me." Myung-gi almost laughs at the statement. "In your dreams" he says, willing to leave. But Nam-gyu punches him in the face the moment he turns around, making him lose balance. Another hit comes from behind, it is Thanos this time. It lands on the side of Myung-gi's face, and then Thanos grips his neck, banging his head against the sink. Myung-gi's vision starts to blur, blood dripping down his injured nose now. Thanos throws him to the ground, and the boy's first instinct is to protect himself with his arms. It doesn't help, though, since Nam-gyu starts kicking his body with enthusiasm. Thanos does the same thing, aiming at his stomach. Myung-gi's body starts to ache, to burn in flames. They stop kicking him, but when Myung-gi thought it was over, "Hold him" says Thanos, and Nam-gyu nods as he grips both Myung-gi's hands above his head. His fingers almost cut his wrist's skin, stronger than a handcuff. Myung-gi tries to set his hands free from Nam-gyu, but Thanos catches his attention when he sits on top of him, immobilizing his hips. "What are you doing!?" Thanos grabs his chin and stares deeply into his eyes. "MG Coin, I spent days watching your videos until I started to think damn, this dude is handsome. I even gave myself a handjob thinking of you. So why don't you pay me with your body, then?" Reality hits Myung-gi as he slowly realizes what Thanos is implying. "...What the- Have you gone crazy!? You pervert drug addict! Let me go!" He tries to kick Thanos off him, but the other presses his lips together, pushing half of a pill into Myung-gi's mouth. Myung-gi shakes his head and shuts his eyes, trying to push him away and break from the kiss. If he's drugged, then it's over for him. Thanos looks at him and covers his mouth and nose with one hand, as the other grips his neck. "Swallow it." He says, his eyes going dark. "I said, swallow it." The chokes Myung-gi so that he won't spit out the pill. The boy's eyes blur as tears fill them in fear. He refuses to swallow the drug, but he needs air desperately, and Thanos knows that. He makes sure Myung-gi is on the edge of suffocating when he retrieves his hand from his neck, then he gets closer to whisper. "Swallow it and I'll let you breathe." Myung-gi's eyes shake as he understands there's no way out of this. He nods, a single tear running down his cheek as he swallows the pill. That's when Thanos moves his hand from his mouth, and Myung-gi coughs, gasping for air. The purple-haired ruffles his hair, wiping away Myung-gi's tears. "Good boy, my slave." The statement makes him want to vomit. His stomach is already starting to hurt because the drug is starting to take effect. He feels how his limbs go numb and weak, and his vision blurs for a moment. Myung-gi manages to mumble when he finally manages to regulate his breath. Thanos didn’t stop, he managed to rape and assault Myung-gi. Then after some degrading banter, Thanos and NamGyu left Myung-gi on the bathroom floor. Myung-gi is finally able to breathe, but it takes him a minute to start hyperventilating. He fears someone will enter the bathroom and see him in this state, all fucked up and red eyes from crying. Memories rush to his mind, making him shiver as he sits. The way Thano's hands ran through his body, manhandling him the way he pleased. Choking him, destroying his body in such a violent way. He starts to feel fear even after it all happened. His hands tremble when he tries to cover his mouth to muffle a sob that escapes his throat. Junhee had to go to the bathroom. She needed to pee, but when she was about to go, she saw Myung-gi getting out of his bed, going to the same place, apparently. She didn't want to meet him in there, so she waited for a few minutes before going herself, just to make sure they would not see each other. Everything was alright. Thankfully, the bathroom was empty, so Junhee could experience some peace alone. But still, she didn't want to leave so soon. So she waited for a few minutes before coming out. Junhee walked slowly through the hallways, lost in her mind. That was until she heard voices, no. A scream. She froze in place, noticing it came from the men's bathroom. She stood still, thinking it could be dangerous. Then she heard another scream, this time "Stop!" but Junhee recognized that voice. That was Myyung-gi. She panicked and looked at the guards, who didn't even move a finger. She understood she had no remedy but to wait outside. The guards could kill her if she tried to get into the men's bathroom. She heard more noise, but only hoped that Myung-gi would make it out alive. The more minutes pass, the worse he feels. He can't stop crying, his body hurts, his soul hurts. It takes him a lot of effort to stand up again and walk over to a cubicle to clean himself up with toilet paper. He washes his hands, then, avoiding his reflection as he pulls his sweatshirt's zipper all the way up and walks towards the door. He's limping. He bites his lips as he manages to get to his bed and sits carefully, hissing because of the pain. He doesn't notice Junhee staring at him. He doesn't notice when she walks towards his bed until she speaks. "Lee Myung-gi." He jolts, looking at her with wide eyes. When he realizes it's her, he sighs in relief. He's trembling. She notices. "...What are you doing here?" he asks, his voice lower than a whisper. "You look like shit. What happened?" She's direct. She's always like this. Myung-gi looks away. "Nothing." "Nothing made your nose bleed?" She points at his face. He stirs, hissing at the pain it causes. "They beat me up. That's it." Junhee stares at him. "You're lying. You're scared. What did they do to you?" Myung-gi takes a deep breath. "Nothing, seriously. Can you go? Don't let them see you near me." He says. "Please, your bed's over there." He points, but Junhee focuses on his arm, which she grabs, pulling his sleeve up to find hand-sized bruises. Her eyes open slightly, and Myung-gi retrieves his arm immediately. "Junhee, seriously. Leave." She starts to connect the dots. She comes closer to him, staring into his face in horror. "Why do you have a hand-sized bruise on your face? Myung-gi. What happened?" He curses. Looking away again. In the lack of response, she takes advantage of him not looking to pull his sweatshirt up. It takes him by surprise, flinching and trying to get away. "What are you- stop! Junhee! " More bruises. She looks at him. His look is pleading. "Tell me what happened, Myung-gi. Or I'll pull your pants down and find out myself. Is it what I think it is?" She's sitting in the bed now, getting closer and closer to him so that he knows she's serious. "Junhee, no." he warns. But she doesn't care. She reaches the fabric of his clothes, and that's when he gives up, fear threatening to hit him. His eyes start to water as he tries to stop her. "Okay, okay fine, I'll tell you! Stop!" he pleads, squeezing his eyes shut. She stays still, waiting for a response. When his lip starts to tremble, she places a hand on his cheeks, despite his trembling sigh. "What happened?" Myung-gi pulls his knees to his chest, taking a deep breath before trying to speak with such a lump in his throat. "...He said he wanted me to pay him with my body. He fucking drugged me and...he just- assaulted me." Tears fall down his cheek, and he wipes them instantly. "But I'm fine, you can go, please." Junhee's eyes blur with unshed tears. She looks at him, how he tries to make her leave because he won't hold it in any longer. She looks at Thano's bed. "I'm gonna fucking kill him." A quiet sob escapes Myung-gi's lips, so she turns back to him. He's holding his head as if trying to hide. She slowly pulls him into a hug, and he just breaks. He holds onto her, his hands shaking as he tries to control his sobs. "It's alright. You did a good job holding it in. You can let it out now." He shakes his head, but his tears become aggressive despite his effort to keep silent. He tries to speak, but no word comes out of his mouth. "It's okay...it's gonna be okay." she murmurs, tracing circles along his back to calm him down. "I won't let him touch you again. I promise."