First Escape Attempt Fails
It was around the time my first escape attempt failed, and I realized I couldn't get out of this room alone. 'There has to be... some way.' I was pacing circles around the room, my nerves frayed from lack of sleep, desperately racking my brain—when then.
Knock knock.
A knock came from the bedroom entrance. "!". Thinking someone had finally come, I rushed over and flung the door open... "......?". To my disappointment, no one was standing there. Instead...
'...Food.'
A tray brimming with fresh, mouthwatering dishes sat in front of the door.
'They're really dead set on raising me like livestock.' Forcing me into this room, yet feeding me on the dot. At this rate, they'd start waiting on me hand and foot next.
'You think I'll just eat it quietly?' Channeling the plight of Hansel and Gretel in the witch's clutches, I moved to slam the door in protest... or at least, I meant to.
Gulp.
I couldn't bring myself to ignore the tantalizing food right there, so I quietly dragged the tray inside.
'F-First, I need to eat if I want my brain to work.' I'd forced myself to skip breakfast this morning, which meant it'd been over 24 hours since my last meal. I couldn't plot an escape on an empty stomach.
...Definitely not surrendering to hunger.
'Damn, this is good.'
After chewing every bite thoroughly and polishing off the tray, I felt my energy returning and turned my mind to the problem again.
Realistically, my options for getting out of here were: escape on my own, get help from someone, or have Ma Yeonseo release me. Self-escape had proven impossible through trial and error, so scratch that. Her letting me go would basically mean I'd submitted to her, so that was off the table too.
'Which leaves...'
Getting help from the outside.
'There are definitely other people in this house.' The piping-hot meal was one clue, and someone had carried me to bed while I was out cold—another. This place seemed to have quite a few residents besides me. A house this big couldn't possibly be empty anyway.
Anyway. After finishing my meal, as I scanned the room again for a way to communicate with the outside...
'...Come to think of it...'
A scene from an old novel popped into my head—the protagonist, stranded on a deserted island, desperately trying to escape by stuffing a message into a glass bottle and tossing it into the sea. Grasping at straws.
"Ah."
Just like me, trapped in this room.
'This is it!'
I hurriedly rummaged through the room for a pen, but being a bedroom, there was no stationery in sight.
'How does she not even have a single pen?'
That's when...
"......?"
My eyes caught something on a decorative shelf along one wall: a fancy plaque adorned with a large feather—and a bottle of gold ink to boot.
"!"
I approached the shelf for a closer look. The plaque, propping up a feather as thick as my pinky finger, bore the inscription:
New York Tower 10th Floor Conquest Commemoration
That's right—the one that had made headlines for a while after she conquered it with her prowess.
"...10th floor...."
It hit me anew just how ridiculously powerful she was.
'...So why the hell did someone that strong summon me?'
The more I thought about it, the more unfair it felt. If I had some special ability, I might've understood, but all I could do was thrash around uselessly in this locked room. The whole situation felt utterly unreasonable, leaving me resenting Ma Yeonseo all the more.
'First things first—get out of here.'
Shaking off the frustration, I carefully lifted the plaque from the shelf. Sure enough, the thick feather had a gold nib at the tip, and the ink bottle was sealed with a thread.
These were real, usable items.
'Jackpot!'
I glanced around the empty room—just in case someone was watching—then stealthily pocketed the feather and ink. From a book on the shelf, I tore out a blank page for paper.
Ripping a perfectly good book gave me a twinge of guilt, but...
'No choice.'
Survival first.
'There's always a way out before you die.'
Heh heh. Grinning at my makeshift pen and paper, I pricked the thin foil seal on the ink bottle with the sharp nib.
Sluuurp.
Jet-black ink faintly climbed into the gold nib.
'Perfect!'
I silently cheered and scribbled a message on the paper, begging them to contact Han Yeoryeon's SNS account:
Please. Deliver my message to this Instagram account...
[@han_yeoryeon_official] Help me! I'm Kang Yuchan, trapped by Ma Yeonseo!
— Desperate plea
To cover any language issues, I'd written it in both English and Korean. My English wasn't great, but it got the point across.
'This should do it.'
Satisfied with the finished note, I returned the pen and ink to their spots, neatly folded the letter, and slipped it between the dishes on the tray I'd left out. Leaving it there in case someone came to clear it was a stroke of genius.
'Please... please help me, goddess...!'
I prayed to a goddess I never bothered with otherwise, then set the empty tray outside the door.
A little while later, I cautiously opened the door—and sure enough, the tray was gone.
'Yes...!'
All I could do now was pray some kind-hearted soul would help me out.
By the time the beautiful view through the curtains had given way to pitch-black darkness.
Ma Yeonseo finally returned home late at night.
"Waited obediently?"
The moment she entered the room, she smiled and reached out to pet me—like I was some lapdog. Irritated by the gesture, I smoothly dodged her hand.
"Sulking?"
She wore an expression like I was the cutest thing ever, giggling to herself. I couldn't fathom what was so amusing.
"Sorry. Work dragged on. Must've been boring alone."
"......"
"What'd you do today?"
Her relentless chattiness despite my ignoring her pissed me off, so I shot her a glare and snapped curtly, "...Don't talk to me."
She gave a faint smile and asked again, "Really?"
"......"
"...Fine. No talking, treat you like you're not even here. Happy?"
"......"
What scheme was this now? She added the cryptic remark, set her bag aside, and without warning, started stripping off her clothes.
'Wh-what the—again?!'
This was habitual offender territory. Swish. Swish swish. I hurriedly turned away, trying to ignore the rustle of fabric.
Bzzz. Bzzz.
Then my phone's ringtone blared from the bed.
"Speak."
Ma Yeonseo, mid-change, answered in a voice worlds colder than the one she used with me... and that's when.
'...A phone?'
My eyes snapped wide. The communication device I'd scoured the room for was right here!
"Cancel everything."
She issued the curt order like it was a nuisance, hung up, and thudded toward the bathroom.
This was my chance.
Gulp.
Timing it carefully, the second I heard water running in the bathroom, I darted to snatch the phone.
'Where—it's not here?'
But it was nowhere in sight.
'She took it with her...!'
Looked like Ma Yeonseo had brought it to the bathroom.
'...Still, I've got time.'
I quietly returned to my spot and decided to wait for her to fall asleep. I'd sneak the phone then.
'Ma Yeonseo, you underestimated me.'
Even without unlocking it, emergency calls worked on any phone—that was basic knowledge. Once I got my hands on it during her carelessness, it was over. I'd finally escape this godforsaken house!
'You'll pay dearly for looking down on me...!'
...Or so I thought.
'...When the hell is she going to sleep?'
Unlike last night, tonight's Ma Yeonseo didn't crash right away. She lay in bed fiddling with her phone for ages. What could she possibly be looking at? She even chuckled now and then, thoroughly enjoying herself.
'You bitch. How can you laugh after screwing me over like this?'
As the wait dragged on, anxiety crept in, and I gnawed at my lip. I hadn't slept a wink since the summoning, and my mind was starting to blur. Sitting still on the plush sofa in the dark, cozy room only made sleepiness crash over me harder.
'Can't sleep!'
I clenched my teeth, pinched my thighs, and waged a solitary war against drowsiness. How long had it been?
'...Asleep now?'
Finally, after she'd set her phone down and a good while passed...
"...Hng...."
"...?"
A strange, nasal moan pierced the darkness.
"...Ha... ha...."
Breaths that no one could mistake for sleep—lewd and ragged.
'That crazy bitch.'
Ma Yeonseo had started "comforting" herself again.
'Is she for real...?'
Doing that knowing full well I was here. I should've caught on when she said she'd treat me like I wasn't.
"...Ah... Yuchan-ah... Heut...."
She'd even thrown off the covers and was deliberately moaning my name like she wanted me to hear.
Squish. Squish.
The suggestive sounds drilling into my ears and her sultry voice made my body react on reflex. I'd never hated my own flesh more than tonight.
'D-don't listen. Right, just ignore it...!'
I clamped my hands over my ears, curled into a ball, and waited for her to finish. In my memory, Ma Yeonseo was even quicker on the draw than Han Yeoryeon, so it should end soon.
But...
"...Ha... ha... Yuchan-ah!"
She edged close to climax over and over but showed no signs of stopping. Was she really planning to go all night? I was losing my mind.
'...Gotta endure... but...'
In that hellish setup, I desperately clung to consciousness, waiting for her to stop.
'...Endure... gotta...'
And before long, I blacked out...
"Hoo...."
After a long, enjoyable session, Ma Yeonseo frowned in vague dissatisfaction and sat up. She'd teased Kang Yuchan to rile herself up, but she couldn't quite reach the peak like she did with him. She really needed him for that.
'Asleep?'
She quietly rose from the bed and sneaked over to the sofa where Yuchan sat.
"......"
He was out cold in an awkward position. After staying up all day, scurrying around like that. Recalling the CCTV footage from earlier brought an involuntary smile to her lips.
'Cute.'
She hadn't smiled much since breaking up with Yuchan, but ever since summoning him, her face wouldn't stop grinning. To Ma Yeonseo, Kang Yuchan was that kind of existence—one that lifted her spirits just by being there.
"......"
How long did she quietly observe his deep-sleeping form? For some reason, her lower belly started to itch. The unresolved desire bubbled up fiercely.
'...Just a little...'
Caught in instinct for a moment, Yeonseo reached out toward Yuchan... but
'...No.'
She snapped out of it and pulled her hand back. The instant she gave in and touched him first, everything would fall apart. She had to wait until his stubbornness broke—no exceptions. That was the only way to truly shake his heart.
'...Still. Moving him to bed is fine...'
But she couldn't bear seeing him sleep so uncomfortably, so Yeonseo quietly summoned tentacles and carried him to the bed without waking him.
'It's not like I'm touching him.'
Making flimsy excuses, she carefully nestled into his arms.
"...Ah...."
How long had it been since she'd been this close to him? Her frozen heart felt like it was melting away.
'...Feels good...'
Yeonseo buried her face in Yuchan's chest, closed her eyes softly, and for the first time that day, fell into a deep sleep without any sleeping pills.
It had been so long.