Sadist, beast, ruffian, monster, brute. Kyungsoo never ran out of words to describe the man lurking within the apartment he was quickly approaching. Behind that thin wooden door was his least favourite customer. It had started with name calling. 'Harmless' as his boss had called it. What harm could a few well-placed words do? Kyungsoo put up with it for the simple reason of money being very scarce. The guy tipped big, as if to make up for filling the doe-eyed delivery boy with a feeling of fear as heavy as lead. 

Words slowly lost the capability to hurt, Kyungsoo's reaction to the insults growing fainter each time the man ordered food, that's when things started to get physical. A push or shove every now and then. Strong arms grabbing him by the collar of his work uniform. Even more sinister words wrapped in alcohol laced breath tickling his cheek. Punches.

Each time the tip got bigger and bigger, but there were only so many times Kyungsoo could use the "I tripped and fell" excuse whenever his doctor asked about the suspicious bruises. 

Today, he was running late. He was never late. Tardiness wasn't taken kindly to by this particular customer. Twenty minutes late. Kyungsoo stood staring at the door, paper bag of food clutched in one hand and the other fist clenched, hovering in front of the varnished wood. He knocked twice and waited, heart racing and palms already growing sweaty. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going to happen. 

The man opened the door, tie loose around his neck and face red from whatever foul alcohol he insisted on filling his body with. Kyungsoo lowered his gaze and blinked at the floor, the hand holding the food rising from his side. "Th-that's twentyse--" The first punch took him off guard, managing to almost knock him off his feet. Strong hands grabbed him by the wrist - with no regard for how tight the grip was. He was pulled inside so violently that he lost his footing completely, crashing head first into the man's chest. 

Feeling his heart about to burst and eyes already stinging with the effort it took not to give up and cry, Kyungsoo fought his way out of the customer's grasp. The usual insults were thrown his way, accompanied by frantic strikes aimed at his face and stomach. It hurt. It hurt a lot. His lip throbbed terribly while his eyesight blurred and everything went hazy. Kyungsoo reached for the paper bag in a feeble attempt at distraction - it worked.