Today, I Kidnapped the Hero. Or Maybe It Was Yesterday (3)
The morning light broke through the window, spilling warm sunlight across the room. The small six-pyeong space filled with a sudden, gentle coziness—a gift from nature itself. Yet on the bed lay someone determined to reject that gift entirely.
“Mmm… Mom, can I sleep just a little longer…? I had a really bad dream…”
Hero Runasia Runa clutched her tear-soaked pillow tight, as if shouting that she wanted nothing to do with any of it. Her eyes stayed hidden behind the damp fabric. She had cried so hard the night before that the pillow was still wet.
A low voice slipped into her covered ears.
“Wake up. Hero.”
“Mmm… Mom, I’m still…”
“Wake up, hero. Time to eat.”
“…?”
The hero sensed something wrong. She hurled the tear-stained pillow toward the ceiling and shot upright. Standing before her was a stranger—the very kidnapper she had met yesterday.
Luna’s hair stood on end like an angry cat. “You’re supposed to knock first…!! Th-this is a girl’s room, you know…!! Were you planning to do something awful to me?! You pervert…!!”
“…No. I was only bringing food. I’ll knock next time. That work for you?”
“R-really…? Okay then…”
Why was the apology so quick? And why was the kidnapper apologizing at all? Had their roles somehow reversed?
Luna blinked rapidly at the bewildering situation, then let her gaze drift. “…What’s that on the plate?”
“Food.”
“…I can see that. I asked because I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s not weird, right? You didn’t spike it or put anything strange in—”
“It’s called kimbap. A dish from my hometown. And like I said, I won’t lay a hand on you. Stay quiet, I leave quietly. You walk out of here unharmed.”
“When exactly are you letting me go?”
“…I don’t have a precise answer for that yet.”
Smack! The hero slapped her own forehead at the utterly useless exchange. The blow was hard enough to jolt her fully awake, leaving a bright red handprint behind.
“Haha, so what you’re saying is I should just sit here eating while I’m locked up, right?! That’s it?!”
“…Just eat.”
“All you do is give orders! You have zero intention of actually talking to me like a—”
Bang!
Her words cut off as the kidnapper, Lee Junwoo, set the plate of kimbap down and shut the door behind him.
“Lowering your voice like that…! Only giving orders…! Then running away…!”
That despicable kidnapper! Once I escape, I’m throwing him straight in prison!
Luna’s anger flared, sharpening her hostility toward him even further. She swore revenge…
“…But maybe I should eat before I get my revenge?”
She had no idea what the round, elongated food was, but her stomach was empty and time kept moving. Luna pulled the plate closer and gave it a sniff.
Sniff sniff—
“…It smells savory. Looks pretty good.”
White rice wrapped with vegetables, rolled tight in fragrant seaweed. But this was a meal prepared by the man who had kidnapped her…
“Still… I’m starving. I’ll need strength if I want to endure this, right?”
Just one bite to see how it tastes. I have to survive, after all.
Luna stabbed a piece of kimbap with her fork, inhaled its aroma, and popped it into her mouth without hesitation.
Chew chew—
“…! What is this?!”
It was her first time tasting the dish… and it was delicious. For a fleeting moment, the room felt like home. The egg brought comfort and warmth. The vegetables carried the gentle care of her parents. In a single bite, Luna understood the food had been made with real effort.
“Don’t kidnapped people usually get treated terribly? I thought they just tossed you some hay… What a strange man.”
He looked perfectly normal, yet he was genuinely odd. The hero Luna continued stabbing small pieces of kimbap with her fork, each savory bite only deepening her confusion. Eating alone, without her family, left her feeling a quiet pang of loneliness.
Morning passed into lunch. To keep a regular schedule, I knocked on the hero’s door exactly five hours after breakfast—at 12:30.
Knock knock.
“Coming in.”
“Yes?! Ah, yes…! Please come in…!”
Creak— I released the lock and stepped inside. The iron chains remained fastened around the hero’s ankles. She had been lying on the bed, killing time.
I set the plate on the desk. “I’ll leave lunch here. The letter?”
“I finished it. It’s on the desk.”
“I’ll read it later when I have time and send it for you.”
“Okaaay~”
I slipped the letter from the desk into my pocket. I planned to examine it carefully afterward. Having nothing else to say to her, I turned to leave.
“W-wait a second…!!” the hero called out.
“…What is it?”
“Um, could you come back in about an hour? To see me again?”
“…Why?”
Unsure of her intentions, I asked. Luna fidgeted for a moment, then spoke with sudden courage.
“I-I just thought… maybe we could talk a little. Just a little bit! That’s all!”
“…”
One hour after lunch, I mentally reviewed my schedule for the day. Nothing urgent except dinner. It should be fine.
“One hour. Understood.”
“Ah, yes…! Thank you…!”
The hero gave me a perfect ninety-degree bow as I left. Showing politeness to her own kidnapper. She was clearly not normal.
“A normal person could never become the hero anyway…”
With the hero’s letter in hand, I closed the door and headed down to the first-floor living room. Unlike the spotless kitchen, the area was littered with trash. Empty bottles from last night’s drinking rolled across the floor. The bad habit of being unable to sleep without alcohol—one of the worse things I’d picked up in this world.
“Tsk. Might as well read the letter.”
Cleaning could wait. I collapsed onto the sofa and pulled the paper out. It was covered in dense writing, the hero’s free yet neat handwriting filling every line. The letter somehow felt loud just by looking at it. I began to read slowly.
Mom! It’s Luna! I made it to the capital! It’s… really nice here! The streets are pretty, the people look amazing, and everything feels so… refined? It’s nothing like Aden Village, but I think I can get used to it! After all, I’m your daughter! Hehe!
And tell Dad to stop drinking so much! He keeps going to the youngest and rubbing his scratchy beard on him!! The youngest hates that! Make him stop! The youngest is still a baby! You have to protect him!
Grandma and Grandpa, tell them to take care of their health too… Anyway! I’m doing well here! The Sylvester Knights said I have talent, so don’t worry! They told me I could become a knight apprentice in one year? Or maybe two! So just trust me and keep raising the kids well! And tell my siblings not to cry because they miss me! Got it?!
— Your Luna
The rest of the letter was smudged with tears, making it impossible to read clearly. Still, it was obvious this wasn’t a distress signal. She was simply telling her family she missed them and worrying about how they were doing.
A pang of guilt hit me. I set the letter down on the desk.
“…The Sylvester Knights… and her family… Hmm. How much money should I send?”
Even a hero feels fear. I couldn’t keep someone in her state locked up forever. Thinking of my own family back on Earth, I began considering ways to shorten the hero’s confinement.
One hour later, the kidnapper Lee Junwoo arrived at the room exactly as the hero had asked.
“You said you had something to talk about?”
Nod. Hero Luna looked at him with resolute eyes. “Yes. I’d appreciate it if you could talk with me for a little while.”
“Talk?”
“Sitting alone in this room… it feels like I’m going to lose my mind. Our house was never quiet, not even once. It’s too lonely here…”
Loneliness. Kidnapped and taken to a strange place, forced to endure twenty-four hours completely alone—it would break most people. No matter how strong the hero was, she was still just a child.
I nodded. “Fine. Simple conversation is doable.”
“Then… should we introduce ourselves first? We don’t even know each other’s names! We might be seeing a lot of each other… Oh, I’m Runasia Runa! I came from Aden Village to the capital!”
“Aden Village…”
“Ah, you know our village?!”
“I do. I visited there once, a long time ago.”
The beings known as demons—the Demon King’s minions. The incident where they invaded the village. When the monsters gathered their forces and attacked, I had gone there as an adventurer to help. The scene had been brutal. Villagers dead or wounded, blood everywhere. I nearly died myself, but I made a decent contribution and received generous treatment. It was that kind of place.
“…It wasn’t a bad village.”
“Right?! Our village specialty is fresh cow’s milk straight from the udder! And our village hero is always protecting us!”
“Hero? There’s a dedicated force guarding the village?”
“Usually it’s the pot-bellied Mr. Crandel from next door… but the hero is always watching over our village! How should I put it… a guardian deity? That’s what he is! Both me and everyone in the village respect him so much!”
“…Guardian deity. I see.”
Guardian deity. At those words, cold sweat trickled down Lee Junwoo’s cheek.
Surely that guardian deity isn’t me…
No way. All I did was accept a request and take down the incoming monsters… The adventurer guild did receive regular thank-you letters, but… Even if that was the case, Lee Junwoo had absolutely no intention of admitting it. He didn’t consider himself a hero in the slightest.
“Now that I think about it, the guardian deity has the same black hair as you, Uncle!”
“…That’s possible. Black hair isn’t exactly rare.”
“Really? I thought it was pretty special…”
“…Anyway. Aren’t you curious about my name?”
Embarrassed by the guardian deity talk, Lee Junwoo changed the subject. Luna gave an awkward laugh. She was the talkative type who relieved stress by chatting.
“Ah, that’s right! I only talked about myself. Hehe… Is it okay if I call you Uncle? I’ve been doing it already… What’s your name, Uncle?”
The kidnapper felt a strange tickle in his chest. He wasn’t comfortable with self-introductions. Hiding his embarrassment as best he could, he answered.
“Lee Junwoo. My name is Lee Junwoo.”
“…Lee Junwoo. That’s a unique name! Uncle Junwoo! I’m Runasia Runa! Nice to meet you… well, not really! But anyway, let’s greet each other properly!”
The ever-positive hero. Runasia Runa extended her hand toward Lee Junwoo. Though her action felt burdensome, he had no choice but to take it. He could sense the anger in her grip, but it didn’t hurt. Luna squeezed his hand tightly, smiled, and said,
“I won’t say ‘please take care of me’… but while I’m here, even if we don’t exactly get along… let’s at least try to coexist?”
“I’ll make an effort.”
Once I escape, I’m reporting you for sure. With that thought burning in her heart, Luna smiled and shook his hand.
A kidnapper and the kidnapped hero shaking hands. It was a twisted sight you wouldn’t find anywhere else.