TL/N: This is only for readers who enjoyed Dark, Hardcore and Depressing Novels if you are not a fan please leave.
Kidnapping
The moment I opened my eyes, I felt like I would lose consciousness again from the tremendous headache that assaulted me.
The pain was severe enough to make my head ring. From my empty stomach, which contained no food, a maddening nausea surged up.
Just like that, I retched and ended up vomiting pale gastric fluid onto the bed. I had no idea how much time had passed, but one thing was certain—I hadn’t eaten anything proper since then. Because of that, no matter how much I gagged, only sour gastric acid spattered out bit by bit. By the time the nausea finally stopped, all the energy in my body had been depleted to the point where I even felt dizzy from anemia.
The boy barely managed to pull his trembling body upright and blankly stared at the scenery of this unfamiliar room.
I have no idea how much time has passed since I lost consciousness. The one small window that was open is firmly shut, blocking all view. With no light coming in, I can’t even tell whether it’s day or night. The stuffy walls blocking me on all sides seem worse than a prison.
“Is anyone there……”
The moment I opened my mouth, a hoarse voice that didn’t sound like my own echoed strangely, like scraping metal. Only now, as the situation truly sank in, tears began streaming down the boy’s pale face.
“Is anyone there? Please… hic……”
The moment I twisted my body to approach the door while mumbling, another shrill scream burst out due to the stinging pain felt from my contorted muscles.
“Huuk……”
With a face turned pale, the boy finally looked down carefully at the state of his body.
Because I had been tied up constantly since being kidnapped, all the muscles in my body had become extremely sensitive. The thick industrial rope was wrapped tightly around my chest, arms, and ankles, tied in knots so tight that blood couldn’t circulate.
It was a bondage pattern that had only appeared in Japanese porn I’d watched with mischievous friends long ago. The kind of bondage designed to maximize women’s sense of shame, especially binding around their voluptuous breasts to make them bunch up.
I’m not even a woman, so why is my whole body tied up in this form?
Because of my body being bound without an inch of mercy, I couldn’t even breathe, let alone move.
Please.
Please, someone save me.
Someone…!
It was just the day before yesterday that I had confirmed my final university acceptance and went on a trip to the sea with friends, elated with joy. The boy’s mood had reached its peak, thinking that all the hardships of the past were finally being properly rewarded.
In truth, my family circumstances weren’t such that I could go to university. It had already been quite many years since I lost my beloved parents overnight in an unexpected accident a few years ago and had been living with my maternal grandmother. Although the household was barely enough to support just me, Grandmother cherished the boy in place of his parents, and the boy also gritted his teeth and studied hard with the determination not to be a burden to such a grandmother. On weekends when I wasn’t at school, I worked part-time jobs that students could do, trying to help with the household finances. I knew well that Grandmother wouldn’t be happy if she found out I was working part-time, so all of this was kept secret from her.
Fortunately, the boy was naturally positive and bright. He wasn’t the type to feel inferior or be overly conscious of others just because he had no parents and was poor. That’s why even though he lost his parents in an instant, he never took a single day off except for the funeral, and served as class president for all three years of high school. The boy had many friends due to his characteristically bright personality.
When I applied to national and public universities because of tuition issues, it’s true that my confidence dropped considerably, wondering if I could actually get accepted. Isn’t going to university itself a luxury for someone in my situation? However, I didn’t want to give up on studying no matter what. I wanted to study harder than anyone and repay Grandmother who had raised me through such hardship. That’s why I applied mainly to universities with the cheapest tuition, and even received the joyful news that I would be getting a scholarship. All my friends vigorously congratulated me, ruffling my hair wildly.
Can such a dreamlike joyful moment really exist in my life too?
But was that brief happiness I couldn’t believe in merely compensation for this tremendous misfortune I’m facing right now?
What on earth is going to happen to me from now on?
The boy screamed and wailed with all his might. No matter how hard I rolled my eyes and examined the walls, nothing that could serve as a hint was revealed.
What I remember is the men’s voices I vaguely heard in the car while being kidnapped.
There seemed to be two men in total.
And one of them was even someone I knew.
Someone I had felt very favorably toward, at that.
The trip to the East Sea where I went with friends for 1 night and 2 days after barely getting permission from Grandmother.
When that guy Dowon subtly suggested we go buy alcohol, I almost blurted out harsh words, saying what business do kids who haven’t even had their coming-of-age ceremony have drinking alcohol.
I hated delinquency. I wasn’t particularly uptight, but I wanted to refrain as much as possible from actions that might cause trouble for Grandmother. That said, I didn’t view the mischievous curiosity and deviant behavior of peers my age purely negatively either. Everyone had become sensitive from continuous studying throughout high school, so now that the college entrance exam was over, I thought it would be okay to drink a bit of alcohol to enjoy the freedom that had finally come.
Everyone cheered as if they’d been waiting when the boy said he’d go buy alcohol. I vividly remember walking down the dark street playing around with Dowon like that.
And surprisingly, I met that man inside a mart not far from our lodging.
That man who used to come at the same time every day to buy cigarettes whenever I worked the night shift at the convenience store.
“Huh?”
“Oh…”
“Hello!”
At the boy’s delighted greeting, a subtle bewilderment crossed the man’s calm face as if slightly flustered. The boy was aware of this.
No matter how small the world is, how can I run into a regular customer at a travel destination like this? This is really amazing!
The boy just thought this innocently and quietly looked up at his face.
A customer who unfailingly comes around 11:30 PM every night.
He bought the same cigarettes every day. Sometimes he’d ask me to ring up a few cans of beer along with the cigarettes.
What kind of work does he do?
I’d been curious about this man who stood out at a glance because of his unusually tall height from the beginning.
He wasn’t a particularly striking handsome man, but his white skin for a man and slenderly lean body. And the man’s calm, intellectual-looking eyes visible beyond his black horn-rimmed glasses gave the impression that he was someone who writes or does design rather than an ordinary office worker.
Age range probably late twenties to early thirties?
I guess it’s become an occupational hazard from working so long at places like convenience stores and cafes that I deduce people’s age range and occupation by looking at their appearance, I laughed bitterly to myself.
“Hyung, did you come here to have fun too?”
Bewilderment seemed to briefly cross the man’s expression once again, but the moment he faced the boy’s characteristic beaming face, a faint smile also crossed his face.
“Yeah.”
“With who? Don’t tell me… your girlfriend?”
The man looked at the boy with a slight laugh.
“No.”
And he noticed the presence of Dowon, who was standing blankly beside the boy, not understanding what was going on. Only then did the boy introduce Dowon to the man.
“Hyung, this is my friend Park Dowon. I came here to hang out with my friends today. We’re graduating soon and… we won’t see each other often once we go to university, so we felt wistful.”
Strangely, stories flowed out effortlessly in front of him.
I’m outgoing, but I don’t think I’m the type to be this chatty.
I thought it was probably because of the man’s attitude of listening well to the other person’s stories with his characteristically calm gaze.
Someone I’d only exchanged a few conversations with as a convenience store part-timer and customer.
Then one day, I gathered courage and approached him first while he was drinking beer alone at an outdoor parasol table. After that, we gradually developed into a relationship where we occasionally even asked after each other. What kind of cringy situation play is this between guys, but for a boy who grew up lonely with just his grandmother without siblings, warm feelings sometimes arose. Sometimes I even felt like, how nice would it be if a cool, intellectual man like that was really my older brother.
“Hyung! We’re about to go buy alcohol, so could you tell us what’s good?”
“What, alcohol already? You’ll drink plenty once you get to university.”
“Ah… Don’t say that and help us shop a bit! If it’s not an imposition. Or do you want to come to our lodging with your friend and drink together?”
Hey, what are you going to do bringing over dark-colored males when they’re not even girls! The boy cleanly ignored Dowon muttering beside him with a heavily furrowed brow.
