Chapter 12
‘No, before that.’
My nerves were focused outside the door as I sat up. I didn’t know how the woman would react if she found out that I was freely roaming around the room.
This time, it wouldn’t end with just digging my wrist. It was a possibility, but because of the thought that this action could pose a direct threat to my life, tension began to build up in my body in an instant.
“Ugh…”
A tense sigh escaped my mouth. Fear crept up on me as I imagined the worst-case scenario. The painful ache that rose up my wrist added to the tension.
I opened my ears wide and focused on the sound coming from outside the door. The silent room was filled with only my heavy breathing and the thumping of my heart.
After a short while, the sound of water pouring from outside the door could be heard.
– Splash
The sound of a strong stream of water pouring down, followed by intermittent splashes.
‘Is she taking a shower?’
Maybe that was right. That woman seemed to be quite sensitive to cleanliness. With that deduction, I withdrew my focused nerves from the outside and continued my thoughts.
‘That means that I have some time to spare.’
Considering the time it would take for her to shower and come back, it seemed like there was enough time to check the back of the bed. After finishing my thoughts, my sight returned to the room and I looked beyond the bed frame while taking deep breaths to calm my mind.
– Hoo.
Now it was time to check the space that might be a clue to escape. My footsteps slowly headed toward the back of the bed. One step. Another step… Upon arriving at destination, my gaze fell downward.
What reflected there was a…
‘Shelf?’
It was a three-tiered shelf. At the top, there was a stand that had been dimly illuminating the inside of the room until now, and right next to it were bandages, antispastics, and various household medicines.
‘Something that should be within easy reach.’
Items that could be taken out and used anytime if needed. It was a configuration I knew so far. Leaning down, I checked the second ledge directly below.
‘Fuck… It’s so dark.’
The only light that existed in the room was the faint light from the nightstand, and that light did not reach the lower floors, which were blocked by shelves. I let out a sigh and lowered my head a little further. Even if I couldn’t see well, I had to check it out.
– Swish
As I lowered my head, the silhouette was faintly revealed. The first thing I saw was the finely folded clothes. Looking closely, I could immediately tell whose clothes it was.
‘My clothes?’
Those were a few underwear and indoor clothes that I often wore at home. It seemed like they were brought with me when I was kidnapped. I stared at the pieces of clothing, or more precisely, the one underwear among them.
‘Fuck, what kind of taste is this?’
There must be 7 underwear in my house, but the ones she picked out were with printed leopard and red.
‘Disgusting bitch…’
I felt a chill running down my spine when I saw her vague taste.
‘No, this is not the time.’
I shook my head to clear my thoughts for a moment and started to scrutinize the rest of the shelf. I had to look at as many things as possible since I didn’t know when the woman would come back. As my eyes moved from the pieces of clothing, I saw a small box the size of a palm in the corner of the shelf.
‘What…?’
It was hard to see because it was stuck in the corner. I moved my head forward, slipping between the second and third tiers of the shelf.
– Click…
My movements were limited because my hands were tied up. As I groaned and buried my head deep, the object gradually became clearer. Large letters and numbers were written on the surface of the box. My eyes became narrowed as I slowly read them.
‘So… 0.01…’
In an instant, My eyes widened as I read all the letters, and curse words filled with embarrassment came out of my mouth.
“What the fuck!”
My head came out hastily. Shortly thereafter, my head bounced in surprise and made a dull noise as it hit the third floor of the shelf.
– Thud!
“Hup!”
Without realizing it, I held my breath. More than the pain of my head hitting something, I was bewildered by the noise I unintentionally made and urgently turned my head toward the door.
‘Did she hear that?’
– Thump. Thump.
My heart was beating loudly. It wasn’t a particularly loud sound, but it wasn’t a sound that couldn’t be heard if someone concentrated. Tension was all over my body. My nerves were focused outside the door, and my ears were pouring all their strength to listen to the situation outside the room.
– Swish.
As I concentrated, I heard the sound of water again. It looked like she was still washing. There seemed to be no signs of anything abnormal.
‘Ah… she didn’t hear that…’
It would have blended in with the sound of the water and would not have been heard… I wanted to think so.
– Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart was beating loudly, hitting my eardrums, and my clenched fists in tension represented my focus.
‘It’s a surprise…’
Seeing that the sound of water was not stopping, it seemed like I wasn’t caught. My heart, which had been surprised, was slowly finding its breath. Soon, heavy breaths erupted from my mouth, indicating my tension was being relieved.
“Huh…”
I thought my heart had stopped. I was in such a hurry that I didn’t think about the shelf. I was slowly finding my rhythm, relieved that I had passed the situation unscathed. I felt a pang of anger and agitation.
‘But damn… that crossed the line.’
I recalled what I had just seen. My eyes were naturally fixed on the second shelf.
‘Co… condoms…’
The 0.01mm ultra-thin type. In other words, it was a contraceptive. I felt an inexplicable surge of anger at the woman.
‘Shady… No, a lewd bitch!’
Everything was already prepared. Only I didn’t know. She had planned to devour me from the moment she kidnapped me. That woman was a disgusting rapist. A teardrop that faced an unimaginable reality was causing trouble again.
‘Ah… Fuck…’
The resentment was intense. A feeling of shame leaked out through the horror that filled my body, encouraging my will to escape.
‘I have to get out… I have to get out quickly!’
Sex? It’s good. I really like it… How many men in the world could hate it? However, the sex I wanted wasn’t one-sided rape that suppressed one’s emotions, but romantic sex between two people who love each other and share their passion.
‘I… I’m a pure love believer!’
I held my trembling hands tightly and held back the tremors. I took a deep breath and calmed my heart. In order to escape, there was something I had to do first.
‘Let’s calm… Calm down…’
After repeating a bit of self-control, my mind settled down somewhat. I opened my eyes again and looked at the shelf.
‘Phew… a place that hasn’t been confirmed yet.’
At the bottom, on the first floor of the shelf.
‘Please come out with something good…!’
I turned my body over and put my head in there, earnestly. It was even darker than the second floor, as it was a ladder almost lying on the ground.
‘Something… good.’
Very faintly, a silhouette was visible. Flat and rectangular, judging only by the silhouette, it was a note, and…
‘Photo Frame…?’
A tie-shaped bridge was rising diagonally from the middle of a square frame. Just by looking at the silhouette, it seemed like an upside-down frame. It seemed necessary to take it out to determine its true identity. Thinking so, I pulled out my head and tried to put my tied hands down, footsteps were heard from far away.
– Tap. Tap. Tap…
Go Eun-ah, that woman was returning.
‘It’s been that long already?’
It was faster. Much faster than I thought.
‘No, maybe I wasn’t properly aware of the passage of time.’
There was nothing that could determine the exact time. Nor was I counting the seconds in my head. In any case, I had to go back to bed now, no matter what had happened. After finishing my thoughts, I hastily got up and threw myself onto the bed.
– Thud
The body, thrown like a shot, was buried in the bed and made a slight rebound. Later on-
– Click.
-The door opened, and she came in. Entering the room, she paused for a moment without saying anything.
“…”
In response, I gritted my teeth, suppressing the uneasiness rising inside me.
‘Calm down. I didn’t touch anything with my own hands. That woman is not sure of anything right now.’
I suppressed my anxiety with logic and reason.
I had to lighten the mood.
Having judged that I faked a bright voice and opened my mouth.
“Oh, are you here? You are a little late.”
“…yes”
– Click.
I heard Eun-ah’s voice answering my words and the sound of the door closing. Eventually, Eun-ah moved her steps and approached the bed, turning her head toward me. Our eyes met, and Eun-ah, who shared a gaze with me, opened her mouth.
“I’m… I’m sorry… I also took a… a shower…”
A face that turns red while talking. I looked at her and realized that she hadn’t noticed my situation until just now, and let out a small sigh of relief inside me.
‘Huh… I think it went well…’
I, who felt more at ease, responded to her words in a more comfortable state than before.
“No. You must have suffered all day because of me…”
“Ummmm… Ah… no…”
When I raised my eyebrows and said that, Eun-ah shook her head in response and moved her body onto the bed. Just like when I was reading her manuscript, Eun-ah, who was fidgeting and digging into the space between the wall and me, showed her satisfaction with a bashful smile after perfecting her comfortable posture.
“Hehe…”
“Ha ha ha…”
I hid my displeasure and just responded to that with a laugh. Perhaps she was satisfied with me, who was smiling at her, as Eun-ah’s arm, which had been fidgeting little by little, slipped up and wrapped around my waist.
My body trembled at the sudden touch. My head was slightly lower, in the direction of Eun-ah’s face. Eun-ah, who had her arms wrapped around my waist, lifted her head when she felt my gaze on her, and when she found I was looking at her, Eun-ah closed her eyes and said with a smiling face.
“Oh… how was your day…?”
It was by far the worst day of my life.
“It was good. It’s nice to meet you like this.”
“Hehe… uh… uh… then how was the manuscript… how was it…?”
My lips parted for a moment, and then the words came out.
“It’s been a while since I read Eun-ah’s writing again, so it was really good. I guess your writing skills haven’t gone anywhere.”
This… was somewhat sincere. Her talent as a writer, which she had, was truly devilish. Perhaps, if this had not happened, and if she had completed her safely, I had found her writing interesting enough to think that I would have read it afterward.
“I’m… I’m glad…”
The shape of her smiling face made my insides twist. A muddy sensation of displeasure and fear radiated from the area around my waist where her arms were wrapped. While I did not show that feeling as much as possible and was smiling. Eun-ah, who had been laying quietly in my arms for a while, suddenly opened her mouth.
“That… but… you know…”
“Yes?”
Eun-ah tapped me on my back with the tip of her finger and answered.
“I’m curious about this…”
“About what?”
I was not curious at all, but I had to ask. I was thinking about that while looking at her.
With her eyes closed, Eun-ah slowly brought out words I didn’t want to come out of her mouth.
“Um… huh… I didn’t tie your waist ah… When I went out…”
“Ah… I see. I didn’t know because I was always in bed…”
What followed was silence. In my mind, the assumption ‘No way’ came to mind. In an instant, the air around me changed completely. The arm wrapped around my waist, the fingertips tapping my back moved bleakly in accordance with the changed atmosphere.
“Why… is the ointment floating on the floor… falling off…? … I’m… sure… I have put it up…”
The moment she said that. A scene played in my head. It was the scene where I hit my head on the shelf in surprise when I found a condom a while ago.
‘Ah, fuck.’
It seemed to have fallen because of that. No matter how I thought about it, that was all. At that moment, I realized the meaning of what she was saying.
‘I’m being suspected…’
– Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart started racing. My body started to get out of my control again at the thought that she had discovered something she shouldn’t have. I creaked and turned my head. I had to check her expression.
“Is this… strange…?”
At the same time, her lowered head lifted and her face was revealed.
“Mr. bee… you know…”
And I saw pupils that glowed as if they were empty.
I was overwhelmed by that alone-
“…what?”
-because it was an eye that contained nothing.