Absolutely Not Letting You Go
Dragged along, I grabbed onto everything I could reach. The handrail on the stairs, even the paintings hanging in the hallway—I clung to them until they came crashing down. Crash— The sound of something porcelain shattering echoed, and the yakuza and mafia men glared at me before rushing over.
"Who told you to come over on your own!"
"Huh? Y-yes!"
"Don't come until I call for you separately! You're scaring her because of you guys!"
That was true, but every bit of this resistance and chaos was because of her. Instead of keeping her promise, she was trying to lock me up again. Even right before we entered the room, I grabbed the doorframe and refused to let go.
"Talk to me! Come inside! Please!"
"I don't want to! Liar! You didn't even keep your promise!"
I poured every ounce of strength into our battle of wills, but she was far stronger than I'd expected. In the end, I was dragged into the room and forced to sit facing the silver-haired yakuza woman.
"This is too much! You promised you'd send me home! How could you do this to me!"
I nearly burst into tears again, but crying wouldn't change anything. Besides, on the way here I'd already damaged or broken all sorts of expensive-looking things.
"I'm really sorry... I couldn't help it either! I rushed things too much, and it ended up turning into a lie..."
"Shut up! It's just an excuse anyway! Sob... sob..."
What an absurd answer. If she'd simply said she'd changed her mind, I wouldn't have been this furious.
Looking worried, she slowly approached and pulled me into a hug. The gray-streaked strands of her hair tickled my nose with a pleasant scent. As she drew too close, my face flushed without warning.
"Eek! Th-this—let go! Why are you hugging me without permission! Aaaah!"
"I'm really sorry! I have nothing to say! I know it's an excuse!"
"If you know, then let go! I don't want to hear any more!"
"But... I can't just let you go like this. You're my fate... so you can't run away from here..."
She said such incomprehensible things so casually. Up close, she looked slightly dazed, as if she already regretted her own words.
"Let go...! Why do you keep doing this...!"
"Haa... Really, I... H, it's because I have no way with words..."
She was still holding me. No way with words? Who was it that raised their voice and ordered her men to catch me the moment I ran away? I doubted she had any right to say that.
I kept refusing, refusing to compromise. Then the atmosphere shifted, and she spoke in a firm voice.
"If you keep this up, I won't have a choice either!"
"Wh-what!? What do you mean..."
"I told you over and over—you absolutely cannot leave here. Watch carefully!"
"!?"
At the same time, the silver-haired woman called someone over. Reading her gaze, they brought something. In their hands was the same rope that had bound me earlier.
"W-wait a second...! Are you trying to lock me up again...?"
"I-it's not locking you up... I just... want to tie you down for a little while..."
"Th-that is locking me up! And bondage, too! How could you do that to me!"
If my body was bound, my mind would only grow more anxious. Desperate to stop it, I clung to her legs and begged.
"Don't do this... If you do, you'll only make things harder for yourself... If you stay still... you'll adapt soon..."
Despite her earnest plea, I had no choice but to object strongly. My heart was already heavy; staying like this would only make it worse. Adapting was something I knew would never happen.
Even as I resisted, she kept hugging me while pleading. Her glamorous figure made it impossible to break free no matter how hard I struggled.
"The rope, please... Can't you just let it go?"
I begged desperately, not wanting to be tied up at all. At first she insisted it was absolutely necessary and tried to bind me herself, but before long her hand was gently stroking my hair as she answered in a soft tone.
"Haa... Alright... I'll do that for you. But! If you run away or even try to escape, it won't end with just tying you up! Understand?"
"Sniff... Y-yes..."
I couldn't understand why I had to suffer this humiliation. Still, she seemed to want something from me, and when her subordinates approached, she simply gestured that everything was fine and kept them away.
One of the yakuza suggested taking out insurance, and the woman tilted her head.
"How about cutting his Achilles tendon so he can't move anymore?"
"!?"
My heart lurched at those words, and my body trembled. But at the subordinate's suggestion, she flew into a rage.
"You crazy bastard! Is that supposed to be advice!? I clearly told you! Without my orders, don't come in here! If you have nothing to do, go scout the area or something!!!"
"Yes, Boss!"
She really was the boss of an organization. Her charisma, captivating gaze, and rough speech revealed a cruel side. Watching the scene, my body froze solid like ice.
Once all the subordinates left, the woman immediately shut the door and locked it. Click— The sound only made me more terrified.
She quietly approached and crouched down in front of me, matching my eye level like before.
"Don't be too scared. I have no intention of hurting you at all... Okay?"
"Haa... Noona... Why are you being so stubborn... We could've just become friends... Why throw that blessing away..."
Every time I called her "noona," her face flushed bright red. If we'd simply exchanged numbers and kept in touch through messages after I returned to Korea, things could have been so much better than this.
"The distance is too far..."
"What does that matter! If we just text and call, distance isn't a problem at all!"
"I can't feel your body temperature."
"Wh-what!? Wh-what do you mean by that! Noona!"
Was there something fourth-dimensional mixed in with that dazed look of hers? Then, as she stared at me, she suddenly let out a rough breath for some reason.
"Haa... I'm going crazy... You're too cute... I can't hold back anymore... Ah, no! Get a grip!"
She shook her head abruptly, trying to compose herself. To me, it just looked like she was muttering to herself like some middle-schooler with chuunibyou.
"Noona... Do you even realize how embarrassing the things you're saying are right now?"
"Huh? Only that much? I'm thinking of things way more intense than that..."
"What!?"
"I want to have a wedding with you right now. O-of course! Having the actual ceremony right away would be difficult, but at least an engagement ceremony, or... the marriage registration..."
"Eek! Wh-what! Marriage!? What are you talking about! I only just became an adult! N-noona, you're the same age as me anyway!"
Now that she was openly talking about marriage, I started to panic. She really seemed like the type who would go through with it.
"And I... have to start university in a few months... N-noona... How old are you, exactly?"
She didn't seem like the type to have attended university, being yakuza, but judging by the size of the mansion, she wasn't an ordinary member either. Honestly, I'd been curious about her age.
Without the slightest hesitation, she answered.
"I'm... twenty-four..."
"Uh... Th-then... you're four years older than me? Noona... Even if we're around the same age, a gap that big... Our personalities and preferences probably won't match!"
Thinking this was my chance, I laid out the practical issues. On top of that, I kept repeating that I wanted to go home.
"Sorry, but that's absolutely not happening. I don't know how many times I've said it... but I made myself clear."
"Haa... Why do you keep... saying it's impossible... I really... have an entrance ceremony in a few months... and soon I'll have to depart..."
Entrance ceremony aside, if I missed my flight on the scheduled day, it would be the same as breaking the law. At least someone would report me missing, but in cases like this, getting out safely was nearly impossible.
"Entrance ceremony... S-so? Is that important to you?"
"O-of course it is!? I'm finally twenty and... it's the best time of my life!"
Every time our eyes met, her red pupils trembled slightly. I thought she might finally understand the situation and change her mind, but instead she said something utterly absurd, as if her head were completely empty.
"Entrance ceremony... You can just not go, right?"
"What? Don't go...? I barely got in through special admission! How can you say that...?"
If she was being deliberately cruel, maybe she really had no brain. Or perhaps she'd asked out of pure curiosity, never having attended university herself. But her words and expression didn't match—while telling me not to go, her face was filled with worry and sadness.
"Still, no. You can't go. Absolutely not."
"What! What kind of nonsense is that! Who do you think you are, acting like this!"
Did she have something she wanted to say? Her expression remained troubled.
"Urgh... Th-that! This is Japan! You have to follow Japanese law!"
"That doesn't make any sense! I'm not even Japanese to begin with! I've never heard of any law like that!"
Neither of us was willing to yield. Being treated this way in a foreign country and hearing such words made me lose any desire to ever come back here. Yet she stubbornly continued.
"If you're not Japanese, then just get citizenship! I'll make it happen for you! So... don't go!"
"!?"