Chapter 3
Chapter 3
3. Kidnapping
-4-
It is a man's instinct to like pretty women.
Is there anyone who dislikes a pretty woman with a great body?
Jihwan was also just an ordinary male student who liked pretty women.
Until that incident.
'Kim Minji'
Her personality was the problem, but looking at her face alone, it was a face any man would have no choice but to like.
A well-proportioned body revealed by her tightly tailored school uniform. Curves in all the right places, not an ounce of excess fat.
Looking only at the exterior, she was near perfect.
Exaggerating a bit, it was hard to find a male student in school who didn't like her.
Jihwan was also one of the many men who were captivated by Minji's looks and had a one-sided crush on her.
Of course, he didn't confess to her or try to date her just because he had a crush.
They say society is equal, but is it really?
There was a wall between her and Jihwan, like the difference between a slave and an aristocrat.
Jihwan also knew that difference well, so he only imagined dating Minji, never moving that imagination into reality.
Like liking an idol but not thinking you could date them.
All Jihwan did was secretly steal glances at her at school.
Because it's a man's instinct for his eyes to wander to a pretty woman, a woman he likes, without him even realizing it.
Minji, who knew well that she was pretty, also enjoyed the gazes of such men.
She felt a sense of superiority in the fact that many men liked her and stared at her.
The day in question, which turned ordinary Jihwan's life upside down, was the same.
If there was a difference from usual, it was that Minji had been scolded by her parents and was in a very bad mood because of her period.
He had just secretly watched her as he usually did, but just because Minji was in a bad mood, he was selected as the target for her to vent her anger on.
"Jihwan-ah, do you happen to like me?"
That day, when she kept making eye contact with Minji, who had been waiting for him, she approached Jihwan and asked.
"Uh, uh? N-no, what are you talking about, I don't like you."
Jihwan, having his heart exposed, was flustered and stammered a denial.
"Really? Then why do you stare at me so often?"
"Th-that's just by chance..."
It wasn't the first time he'd been caught staring today, but since she asked so bluntly, he was flustered and couldn't even answer properly, making up excuses like a fool.
"Ah~ is that so? I thought you were staring because you liked me, just like I do. So I was the only one who liked you... Do you really not like me?"
If he had just said, 'Yeah, I don't like you,' there would have been no problem, but Jihwan fell for her prank.
"Really? You liked me too?"
"Yeah, don't you?"
"I, I do too. Actually, it's true that I stared because I liked you."
If he had thought about it for even a second, he would have known there was no way Minji would like him.
Her acting was so good that young and naive Jihwan fell for it too easily.
"What? You really liked me? You? Me? That's hilarious. Huh, jeez~ You should know your place."
When Jihwan revealed his feelings, the soft tone from earlier was gone, and she mocked Jihwan with a tone of contempt.
It would have been fine if it had ended there.
Even though she played with someone's feelings, the only damage was Jihwan's hurt heart.
The real problem happened after that.
Minji edited the audio of Jihwan's confession and uploaded it to a group chat with her close female friends, making him the laughingstock.
'He looks gloomy.'
'He looks dirty.'
'His gaze is lecherous.'
'He doesn't know his place.'
Etc. He became the subject of gossip among the girls and slowly became an outcast.
Well, if it had ended there, Jihwan wouldn't have had to kidnap Minji.
The things that truly dragged Jihwan's life into the abyss happened after this.
Rumors spread that Jihwan had confessed to Minji, and this rumor reached the ears of the school bully, Taesu, who was secretly dating Minji.
Taesu, famous for his nasty personality, was angry that a loser dared to like his girl, so he targeted Jihwan and made him a victim of bullying.
From this point on, the bullying began in earnest.
Starting with extortion.
Errands, threats, assault, sexual harassment, etc.
He really lived because he couldn't die.
The intensity of the bullying grew worse as time went on.
One year after being bullied like that.
Jihwan eventually couldn't take it anymore and decided to commit suicide, going up to the rooftop.
'Why should I die because of bastards like them?'
When he actually tried to jump, the thought came along with fear.
Thinking that the perpetrators would still live happily even if he died, he couldn't jump because it was so unfair.
'If I'm going to die anyway, let's at least get revenge before I die.'
Jihwan vowed revenge and dropped out of school.
-5-
"5 minutes up!"
"A-already? Just a little more time..."
The promised 5 minutes had passed, but Minji still didn't know the reason.
"......The prank you pulled that day. That was the starting point of me becoming an outcast."
He explained it to her, as she still hadn't grasped it.
"That was... just a prank, like you said. I really didn't know you would end up like that because of it. It's true."
Looking at Minji's words and expression, it seemed she only realized today that she was the cause of Jihwan becoming an outcast.
"Just because you didn't know doesn't mean the result changes. Anyway, is it because we talked about the old days? Your tone has returned to informal speech? I'll add 1 hit."
"......"
Perhaps because they talked about their school days, her tone had returned from polite to informal.
"Not answering again? Adding 1 hit."
"Yes, I will an.swer."
She replied, clipping her words, making a petty act of rebellion.
She, who had briefly returned to her school days, returned to reality in just a few words.
"Alright then, 2 hits added to the promised 10. 12 hits, despite me giving you a discount."
He laughed unpleasantly and teased Minji.
"Really, it hurts so much. Can't you let me off just once? I'll really, really reflect."
Remembering the pain from when she was hit earlier, she threw away her pride and begged and begged, rubbing her hands together like a fly.
Looking at the state of her thighs, they were already swollen and red.
If she got hit more like this, it looked like it wouldn't just end with bruises and swelling, but her skin would tear completely.
"That's not possible, instead, I'll show some mercy and hit you somewhere else. Where do you want to get hit?"
He said as if he were being very generous.
He hadn't intended to completely ruin her body yet, so he had originally planned to hit her elsewhere anyway.
"I'll take it on my hands."
After hesitating for a moment at Jihwan's question, she said she would take it on her hands, which were the easiest.
"Hands? Are you kidding me right now?"
"C-can't I?"
She clasped her hands together and begged earnestly, and she was so pretty that he almost fell for it.
'Such a temptress.'
If she were his girlfriend, not the target of his revenge, she was beautiful enough that any man would give her his heart and soul.
"Let's do this. Hands are too easy, so double, 24 hits, calves 12 hits, buttocks 6 hits. You choose."
He deliberately made her choose, making her feel humiliation and shame. He kept passing the choice to Minji.
"Haa~ I'll do the calves."
Feeling she couldn't avoid it, Minji sighed deeply and chose her calves.
Palms were too many, so pass.
Buttocks had fewer hits and seemed less painful, but it was shameful, so pass.
What was left was eventually the calves, so she chose the calves.
"Get up on the chair."
"Yes."
After untying the rope he had bound her to the chair with, he instructed her to get up on the chair to make it easier to hit.
Whether it was because she had been tied up for a long time or because she was afraid, Minji stood up on the chair and trembled.
"This time, count the numbers and apologize with sincerity instead of saying 'Thank you'. If I see sincerity, I might reduce it a bit?"
"Yes. I'm sorry."
Jjak!
As soon as she was hit once by the pain that dug into her flesh, she couldn't keep her feet still and stomped them.
"Aack! One. I'm really sorry for bullying you in school!"
In the midst of that, she didn't forget to keep her head straight, count the hits, and apologize, as she didn't want to get hit.
"Ueup! Two, I'm sorry for apologizing only now."
Hoping he might reduce the number of hits, she even changed her apology script.
Trying to endure the sharp and intense pain felt in her calves, she bit her lip and clenched her hands.
3 hits, 4 hits, 5 hits...
The more hits she took, the greater the pain became.
It would have been better if he hit her quickly, but hitting her once, listening to her script, and hitting her again made it even harder to endure.
"Heueong, se... sob ve...n. I'm really, really sob sorry. It's so hic pa-painful. I won't, sob do it again."
When she was hit 7 times, she finally couldn't endure the sadistic pain and shame and burst into tears.
Minji sobbed and begged like a child being beaten, saying she would never do it again.
'She really is damn pretty.'
Did they say a true beauty is beautiful even when crying? Even her face, covered in tears, was pretty.
'Is this why people bully?'
The mental exhilaration brought by this situation, where a goddess like Minji was begging him while covered in tears, was significant.
As he manipulated a person at will and had them beg him like this, he felt a mental pleasure along with the illusion that he had become someone great.
"Shall I stop?"
"Sob, r-really?"
At the word stop, her face brightened, she swallowed her tears, and asked if it was for real.
"But, why should I stop? When I begged you guys to stop, you didn't even pretend to listen."
"Th-that's..."
At Jihwan's words, she was struck dumb.
He was doing exactly what she had done to him in the past, and she couldn't think of a justification to refute it.
"I showed some mercy. I can't become the same human trash as you guys. That's it for today~"
Perhaps because the skin on her calves was thinner and the flesh softer, it was on the verge of tearing after just 7 hits.
Since he didn't want her body to be ruined yet, he had originally planned to punish her only to a level that could recover in a day or two.
"Really? Th-thank you! Thank you so much."
At the fact that she didn't have to be hit anymore, she forgot her shame and instinctively bowed her head to express her gratitude.
The relief that she didn't have to feel this pain anymore meant this gratitude was not fake, but sincere.
The human heart is truly mysterious.
If you think about it logically, the feelings should be worse after being hit than before.
But seeing how she was full of resentment and anger before being hit, but felt relief and gratitude after he showed some mercy...
"If you don't want to get hit, just behave well from now on. Unlike you guys, I don't hit people forcibly for no reason."
"I'll behave well from now on. Please, just don't hit me."
He had only inflicted a few corporal punishments, but in just one day, the relationship between her and Jihwan was redefined.
"Now, since you know your fault, Minji, you have to reflect, right?"
"Yes, I'll reflect."
Is this the power of corporal punishment?
Now, whenever he said something, the answer came out mechanically.
"One day. I'll give you one day, so write a reflection letter."
"A reflection letter?"
"Yes, a reflection letter. Whether you write one line or one page, that's up to you. However, it must be to my liking to pass, and the reward will be the food you want. If it's not to my liking, you'll obviously have to receive punishment, right?"
"Punishment? By any chance, again..."
"Since you said you hate being hit, this time I won't hit you, let's just go with starving. Fasting until you write a reflection letter that I like. Simple, right?"
"Yes. I think that's better than getting hit."
'Appetite.'
The most basic desire humans feel.
Simple yet the most instinctive desire.
She might think it's fortunate that it's not corporal punishment right now.
Especially if it's Minji, who has never gone hungry for more than a day.
Because she hasn't experienced how terrifying the pain of starvation is.
However, will she think that way even after a day or two passes?
By then, she'll probably want to get hit just to get food.
This time, he planned to use this appetite to tame and subdue her.