Chapter 13
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 13
Why did I do it? Why did I ever get involved in online communities? A wave of regret for his entire life washed over Dokyun, and his body trembled. He was utterly devastated.
Why… Why did you do it, past me…?
If he hadn’t joined those communities, if he had just showered her with a little less praise, none of this would have happened.
No, that’s not it.
He hadn’t done anything wrong. The one at fault wasn’t him, but this woman who had kidnapped him while he was living a perfectly normal life. Dokyun’s resentful gaze shifted to Eun-ah, who was asleep beside him.
Fucking bitch.
Of all the rotten luck. Who would have known that the one person he decided to coddle would turn out to be a psychopath like this? All he had done was pour his heart into a novel that was his exact taste, the first he’d found in years.
Of all the things, of all the damn things! It had to be because her writing style was just like my first-ever novel!
That was the reason he had supported The Girl Who Catches Bugs so obsessively. The woman’s prose was a mirror image of the work that had first pulled him into the world of genre fiction as a middle schooler—the novel that had taken his literary virginity.
Shit… So this is what they meant when they said you should never go near your first love.
It was a life lesson that had arrived far too late. Shuddering at the profound sense of despair that settled over him, Dokyun shook his head, trying to scatter the negative thoughts.
No, what’s the point of thinking like this?
He knew it wouldn’t change anything, yet regret, like a thief in the night, had crept in to torment him. Dokyun squeezed his eyes shut and steeled his resolve.
I have to think about the future. I have to think about tomorrow.
A rough plan was already forming in his mind. He had found clues.
The notebook, the picture frame.
That was the starting point. They might not be some kind of spatial-teleportation artifacts that could send him outside, but they could at least bring him one step closer to escape.
And then, my course of action.
This part… he wasn’t so sure about yet. He had figured out her most basic patterns, but her behavior lacked any real consistency, making it hard to draw any conclusions after just one day. The moment he thought he saw an outline, she would do something completely unexpected, as if to mock him. He would have to watch her a little longer.
She seems so clever… yet there’s a sloppiness to her somewhere.
The meticulousness and insight she generally displayed were certainly beyond that of an ordinary person, but he had also seen her carelessness when she’d rushed out of the room in a panic, forgetting to fasten the strap around his waist. As he followed that train of thought, a dry, empty laugh escaped his lips.
Pfft.
No… it’s ridiculous to expect normalcy from a psychopath.
He needed to focus on tomorrow instead.
These fucking handcuffs, for starters. I’d settle for just getting this waist strap off.
The stress of not being able to move his own body freely was beyond imagination. Just enduring this single day had been suffocating, as if his windpipe were being squeezed shut.
She didn’t seem to care much about the fact that the waist strap had come loose and I had moved around freely.
He replayed the nerve-wracking moment in his mind. The moment she had dug into the wound on her scarred wrist with her own hand. What she had cared about then wasn't that his strap was undone, but whether or not he had seen the bottom shelf.
It doesn’t seem impossible…
What should he do?
As his thoughts deepened, his eyes closed on their own. He expanded his mind, searching for a clue, replaying every action she had taken today, one by one.
Trying to coax her with kind words was a failure.
She seemed to enjoy the words themselves, but she would cleverly evade any requests and change the subject.
Wait for a moment when my waist is untied, like before, and exploit an emotional opening.
That wouldn’t work either. The only definite times the woman untied his waist strap were for meals and washing up. If he just sat around with his neck craned, waiting for those moments, he’d wither away and die first. Besides, it was unlikely she’d make the same mistake twice.
The only thing worth aiming for is…
Something that couldn’t be done in here. A shower, for instance. Or…
…the toilet.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Dokyun felt a wave of shame wash over his entire body.
Please… she wouldn’t make me use something like a chamber pot, would she…?
No. She couldn’t. She had to let him use a proper toilet, at the very least. No matter how crazy she was, she had to allow him that much. An image flashed through Dokyun’s mind: him, taking a shit in a chamber pot, right in front of her.
A shiver ran down his spine.
Goosebumps erupted all over his body. The last shred of human dignity he had left violently rejected that scenario.
No fucking scat!
Absolutely not. He would never allow it. He would rather be stabbed to death than allow that to happen.
No… she’s extremely sensitive about cleanliness.
He knew that from the way she’d had a fit when he refused to brush his teeth. He couldn’t imagine a woman like that using a chamber pot.
…He didn’t want to imagine it.
It can’t be… I mean, who would want to watch someone else take a shit?
Dokyun felt a throbbing in the back of his neck and shook the thought away. His mind kept veering off in strange directions. He had to focus.
Getting back on track, even if it was mixed with some wishful thinking, the only openings he could aim for were the toilet and the shower.
The problem is how to use them.
He hated to think about it, but even if he did get to leave this room to shower or use the bathroom, she would be watching him. She wasn’t an idiot; she would know there was a chance he might try something. And of course, once he was done, she would bring him back here and tie him up again.
This is a headache…
Frustration surged within him. The conclusion he kept coming back to was that he had to make her lower her guard. He had to convince her that even if he could move freely, he would stay by her side and wouldn’t harm her.
His head ached. He couldn’t see an answer to this part. Her words and expressions seemed to suggest she felt he liked her, but her actual actions were to watch his every move with suspicion.
The disconnect between her words and her actions. It was one of the reasons Dokyun found her so frightening, and it was what made this situation feel like an impossible puzzle. Feeling a flood of negative thoughts born from his grim assumptions, Dokyun clenched his jaw and forced them away.
No, there has to be a way. As long as she’s human, there are bound to be openings.
Just like what happened a little while ago. When she’d panicked and left with his waist strap undone.
Having somehow bolstered his resolve, Dokyun’s thoughts continued. He endlessly retraced the clues. He wanted to find a way before the night was over, but cruelly, his body and mind, battered by a full day of extreme stress, were finally reaching their limit, their strength slowly draining away.
Ah… I can’t fall asleep…
His body refused to listen. As if sinking into the depths of a deep sea, Dokyun’s consciousness began to descend.
The time it took for him to fall asleep was less than ten seconds.
*
She felt a gentle warmth. The sensation of soft fabric, the faint scent of skin tickling her nose, a subtle, pulsing beat. It was so comforting, so much like a mirage, that she was afraid it would scatter if she moved away. Her body instinctively burrowed toward the source of the warmth.
Thump. Thump.
As she drew closer, the heartbeat became clearer, seeming to fill her body and soul. The comfort was so wonderful that she simply surrendered herself to the rhythm for a long while.
How long had it been?
“Ah…”
A sigh-like moan escaped her parted lips. Her eyes fluttered open, and she realized she had been asleep until just a moment ago. Through her blurry vision, she saw a white shirt.
“…?”
What was this? Was she still half-asleep? Eun-ah pondered what it was for a long time. Then, as her mind gradually began to awaken, she identified it.
“Ah…!”
Her head tilted up. In the reversed scenery, she saw her most precious treasure in the world. The man, his eyes closed, breathing softly. The sight of him, dead to the world, was deeply pleasing. A happy curve formed on Eun-ah’s lips as she gazed at him.
“G-Good morning…”
Even though she was speaking to a sleeping person, the situation was so embarrassing and yet so delightful that her face flushed with heat. Now that a scene she had only ever imagined had become reality, she was simply happy and satisfied, her heart feeling full to the brim.
How could he be so cute even in his sleep? His tightly shut, scrunched-up eyes, his straight nose, and his firmly closed lips all came together to make him look like an animal in hibernation. A small giggle escaped her.
Wiggling her hand free, she gently touched the tip of his nose with her index finger. His face scrunched up, his features pulling toward the center in a comical expression.
“Hehe…”
She watched his face for a while longer, then suddenly remembered something she had to do and sat up. It was something she hadn’t managed to finish.
“I… I have to tidy up…”
When she heard they’d found him, she had rushed over without even finishing her cleaning. She had been in such a hurry, wanting only to see him as quickly as possible, that she had brought him into a room that wasn’t even fully tidied.
“Y-Yesterday…”
She had been so nervous. She had made a mistake and left without tying the strap, and she had been terrified that he might have seen it while she was gone.
“U-Um… This is a… a secret…”
I am the only thing he needs to see. If he just sees me as I am, that’s enough. There was no need for him to know about that. Having finished that thought, Eun-ah fully rose from the bed. There was a lot to do. Before leaving the room, she turned her head for a moment to look at the back of his sleeping head.
“Th-Then… you can sleep a little longer…”
Her hand reached out and gently stroked his round head. It would be good to finish cleaning and even prepare a meal before he woke up.
“Th-This is…”
Like newlyweds. She felt like a fresh, young bride.
“S-So then…”
He is my husband. The thought made her heart pound. Even though she knew they were the only two in this space, Eun-ah glanced around for a moment, then blushed as she leaned in and pressed her lips to his cheek.
Mwah.
The feeling of his skin through her lips was unfamiliar and pleasant. She held the position for a moment before pulling away.
“Heeheehee…”
A giddy laugh escaped her lips. She had practiced laughing elegantly, like an adult, but whenever she felt happy, this kind of laugh would burst out of her, which was a constant worry.
H-He won’t hate it, will he…?
Would he dislike her for not being mature? The worry crossed her mind, but…
“U-Um! My Honeybee is… is kind…!”
He was a warm, warm person. He would like her even like this. Ah, the smile wouldn’t leave her face. She was so happy she felt like her heart might burst.
“Ah! Th-This isn’t the time…”
Right, she was getting sidetracked again. She really had to go now.
Her gaze shifted to the headboard behind the bed. To the spot where the shelf was. She walked over and pulled out the items from the bottom shelf.
“Q-Quickly…”
She had to finish cleaning and prepare a meal.
A simple breakfast of rice and stew would be nice this morning.