I Got Kidnapped (1)
A white ceiling. My home was a ragged tent, so just where the hell was this?
Lying in bed and staring blankly at the room's ceiling, the memory of my gut skewered by a horn rabbit suddenly flashed through my mind.
"Gasp!"
I hurriedly stroked my stomach, but there was no wound. Maybe that girl I'd glimpsed before passing out had healed me.
"Haa..."
Was I a burden to her again? Guilt weighed on me as I let out a sigh, and that's when someone spoke to me.
"Awake now?"
I turned my head and saw the girl who'd helped me, sitting in a chair beside the bed. I wanted to thank her, but something felt off. Her voice had come from above my head.
"Huh?"
Puzzled, I reached up and touched something soft—like an animal's ear. Strangely, I felt both the touch and the sensation of being touched. It was an alien feeling I'd never experienced in my life, and my shoulders hunched involuntarily.
"Wh-what..."
Did I have animal ears? But why? For what reason?
Trembling, I looked up at the girl, then bolted to the opposite side of the bed. I had a gut feeling she'd done this to me.
"W-wait a sec!"
"S-stay away."
I'd heard rumors like this once. A group that kidnapped people and remade their bodies. Maybe this girl was one of them.
"Calm down and come here?"
Calm down? She was reaching out to grab me even now.
I dodged her hands, darting around the room.
"Don't chase me!"
Evading her, I ended up cornered in the far corner of the room. Pressed against the wall, I looked up at her—and realized something else. The girl, who had been about my height before, now seemed huge. No, it wasn't that she'd grown; I'd shrunk.
Urk.
I'd suspected as much, but this confirmed it. A group that modified people. Why me, of all people? It was so damn unfair.
"Don't be so scared. Can we just talk for a bit?"
"N-no..."
I hated how frail and weak my body felt. Burning with shame, I looked down at the floor—and spotted a long, fluffy tuft attached to my stomach. It looked like a cat's tail, but there was no cat anywhere in the room.
Reflexively, I grabbed it and yanked. My lower back jolted in response. It felt like tugging on part of my own body.
"Huh?"
Why my back? I whipped around in a panic and saw the fluffy thing sprouting right from my tailbone.
"...A tail?"
Ears and a tail? How far had my body changed? Stunned, I froze in place, eyes darting nervously to the girl.
"Try to calm down? I'll explain everything."
She was the one who'd kidnapped and altered me, and now she was offering her hand like that? It was absurd, but what choice did I have but to accept it?
"J-just get to the point, quick."
"Hmm... First, can I ask you something?"
"Wh-what?"
"Do you know your name? Your age?"
She wanted my name and age? Probably basic info on her lab rat. Her intentions were so obvious, I didn't want to give her anything.
"I don't know my age."
"R-really? You don't remember how many years you've lived?"
"No. I don't remember."
After years living on the streets, it wasn't weird at all to not know my name or age.
"What about school or anything like that? Any memories?"
"No. Never been to school."
Did she think I was an idiot? She was probably fishing for info through my school records. But I'd never set foot in any educational place in this world, so I could say it confidently.
"I-is that so! You've never been to school!"
"Ah...?"
She patted her chest in relief. Watching her, I realized what I'd done. I'd just blurted out that I was some nameless, unschooled vagrant. I'd basically proven myself that I was the perfect, no-strings-attached guinea pig.
Tears pricked at my eyes from sheer patheticness.
"Um, my name is—"
Grrrowl—
Before she could finish, my stomach rumbled, demanding food. I was used to hunger, so I ignored it, but she stared at my belly for a long moment.
"...How about we eat something first?"
"No, I'm fine."
What weird crap was she planning to feed me this time? I shook my head anxiously, but she brushed off my refusal like it was nothing.
"Come on, don't be like that. Let's eat together."
She reached out carefully. Was she savoring my helplessness? She grabbed my arm slowly, deliberately.
"I-I'm really not hungry..."
"The food here's super tasty. Just one bite? Please?"
She led me out of the room and into the hallway. She clearly saw me as some toy to play with. Horrifying, but to survive, I had no choice but to play along. If I endured, an escape chance would come eventually.
**
What I'd thought was the girl's house turned out to be a hotel room. A five-star one, the kind I'd never even seen in my past life.
"This way."
She guided me to the hotel restaurant. I tried signaling passing people for help, but realized they were all familiar faces and gave up quick.
"......"
A red-haired woman shot me a sidelong glare. She'd cackled at me months ago when I was fleeing a horn rabbit. The big burly guy next to her always sighed in annoyance whenever he saw me.
Everyone in this hotel was in on it.
"Urgh."
The situation had gone from bad to worse. In utter despair, I clutched the tail dangling from my stomach. Gripping the soft fluff brought a strange sense of comfort.
"Don't just stand there—sit in this chair."
The girl who'd brought me to the restaurant pulled out a chair from under the table. The kind of luxury seat I couldn't afford even after a year of work.
"I-I'm fine. I'll dirty it..."
Just days ago, an adventurer had smacked the back of my head for sitting on a hunting ground bench. My filthy body had "contaminated" public property. If I got smacked for a mere bench, what would happen if I sat on this? I didn't want to find out, so I stayed standing.
"Dirty? It's not dirty at all, so sit."
Tap-tap.
She drummed on the chair. A blatant threat: Sit, or else. How far did she plan to torment me? Swallowing tears, I nodded.
"O-okay, then I'll clean it spotless after."
I said it loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear. A plea: I'll clean up after, so don't hit me.
"Uh, yeah... Just sit for now?"
"Y-yes..."
She'd told me to sit, but I couldn't relax. I barely perched on the edge when a waiter-looking guy approached and set down some food: fancy bread and soup, the kind I hadn't touched in eight years.
"Huh...?"
I hadn't ordered anything. Why was this in front of me? Flustered, I flicked my eyes between the girl and the waiter.
"Figured you might be hungry, so I asked for appetizers first. Order your main yourself."
On the surface, kind words and a smile. But I saw the ugly intent beneath. She'd make me order something insanely expensive I couldn't pay for, then enslave me with the debt. No way I'd let her have her way.
"Um, have you seen my bag?"
"Oh... The brown one? Hold on."
She called over someone who looked like hotel staff, and there was my precious bag in his hands. I'd worried she wouldn't give it back, but the shabby exterior must've fooled her.
"Phew."
Relieved, I pulled out a black pouch and my battered water bottle. With these, I had no need for pricey food.
"What's that?"
"My meal."
Inside the pouch was cornmeal, 2,500 won per kilo. A few spoonfuls mixed with water made a filling meal that lasted the day. My cheap, perfect survival food.
"Cornmeal...?"
"Yeah. That's what I'll have. Order whatever for yourself."
I ignored the bread and soup. No reason for me to pay. I barely suppressed a triumphant smirk. A perfect victory—though I hadn't escaped her yet.
"Eh... The food here's delicious. Won't you just order some?"
"No."
Before she could force me, I quickly mixed extra cornmeal into water—more than usual, to show I wasn't easy prey. I capped the bottle, shook it hard, and got thick yellow corn water. Darker than normal, it made my mouth water just looking at it.
Wow.
A day when I could indulge like this? I couldn't hold back and chugged it down.
Gulp, gulp—
Tastier and nuttier than usual. As I drained the bottle, I glanced at the girl across from me.
"Ah..."
Her face had gone pale. Disappointed her plan failed, no doubt. I sneered inwardly. After all the world's injustices I'd endured, a witch's tricks were child's play to me.