Determined, Suhwan pushed the bed with all his might. But it wasn’t easy. The king-sized bed, wide enough for two people to roll around on, seemed to be made of quality materials, making it heavy and sturdy—it wouldn’t budge an inch.
“Haah, ha.”
Moreover, perhaps because he’d been confined to the room, his physical strength had deteriorated significantly. I should have exercised a bit when I had the chance. Regretting it too late, Suhwan managed to move the bed slightly with much huffing and puffing. The dirty floor beneath was revealed as the bed shifted sideways.
“Good grief, really.”
Shaking his head, he examined under the bed. Massaging his arms that had moved vigorously after a long time, he carefully inspected the dust-covered floor beneath the bed.
The original Jin Suhwan was a heavy drinker. He was such an extreme alcoholic that he lived soaked in alcohol almost every day. And that Jin Suhwan was particularly nasty with his drunken behavior in the bedroom where he slept.
Because of this, his phone never had a peaceful day. Even when drinking alone, he would drop the phone—which should have been placed on the nightstand—onto the floor, causing the screen to crack or break. And sometimes, he had changed phones after being unable to find one that had mistakenly gone under the bed. Recalling the original story, Suhwan felt around under the bed and exclaimed.
“Ah…!”
Something hard touched his hand. Suhwan stretched his arm desperately. Having an alpha’s body with long limbs was helpful in times like these. Finally grasping the hard object, Suhwan pulled his hand out from under the bed.
“I got it…!”
In his hand was an old phone covered in dust. Although he couldn’t use it for calls or texts since he was now using a different phone, it was better than nothing. Suhwan anxiously turned on the power.
“Please, please work.”
It was an unfortunate phone that had rolled under the bed after being carelessly handled by the violent Jin Suhwan. As if to prove this, the screen was pitifully cracked and broken. When he pressed the power button, the company and model name appeared on the screen after a long moment.
“It works!”
At least it turned on. The loading time was a bit slow, but it successfully reached the home screen. The battery still had some charge left, as it seemed the phone had turned off when it was dropped. Suhwan breathed a sigh of relief.
Additionally, since there was Wi-Fi in the house, he could use most apps. Suhwan held the phone and pondered for a moment.
Who should he call?
Not Hwalyeon. If she found out…
Shaking his head, Suhwan recalled someone else. He could almost hear the slightly low but earnest voice next to him.
‘Contact me if anything happens.’
‘You must.’
“……”
The contemplation didn’t last long. Suhwan found a popular social media app on the phone. When he pressed it, fortunately, the login information was still saved on the phone, so it logged in automatically. Scanning through the contact list, Suhwan found a familiar name. After entering the familiar name’s account and repeating the process of going through another account’s contact list a few times, he was finally able to find the account he wanted.
“Haah.”
Sighing, Suhwan moved his fingers again. His hand trembled slightly as he sent a message. After writing and deleting several sentences repeatedly, Suhwan was finally able to write and send just one word.
Help.
Since the account was Jin Suhwan’s, the recipient would know it was from him, but sending just this would likely surprise the other person. However, for some reason, he thought that she might keenly understand his situation.
There was no response even after staring at the screen for a long time. The number disappeared, so it seemed the message was read immediately, but…
His pounding heart settled a little. He wondered what on earth he had done. Of all people, to ask help from… He kept sighing, feeling pathetic.
But there was no suitable person to ask for help. If he contacted people from work, it would certainly reach Hwalyeon’s ears, and other people would clearly not come willingly even if asked for help. Jin Suhwan’s limited social circle was a hindrance until the end. Having a means of communication was useless if there was no one to call for help. Crouched in front of the bed, Suhwan let out another sigh aimlessly.
As he was wasting time like that, Suhwan faintly heard the front door opening. He looked up in surprise, still clutching the worn-out phone.
Had Seunghyun returned already? It was still time for him to be at school.
Flustered, Suhwan got up and quickly hid the phone. Then he looked at the shifted bed with troubled eyes. How would he explain the bed being like this? While he was pondering that, the bedroom door flung open.
“Gasp…!”
“……”
The person who opened the bedroom door stood still in the doorway, looking at Suhwan. It was someone dressed all in black from head to toe. Black clothes, black hat, and even a black mask. Suhwan inhaled sharply at the ominous appearance.
‘A, a thief? A robber?’
Suhwan was so startled that he didn’t even notice the black-clothed person’s build was much smaller than his own. The person, carrying what looked like a heavy bag, stepped forward approaching Suhwan.
“Wh-who.”
“It’s me, senior.”
The stranger lowered the black mask slightly toward Suhwan, who was backing away in fear. A familiar face was revealed.
“You… Heeyoung…?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you dressed like that…?”
Heeyoung, who had put her mask back on, looked at Suhwan’s ankle. A bitter light flashed in her deeply sunken eyes. Looking up, Heeyoung spoke to the frozen Suhwan in a calm tone.
“Let’s get out of here first.”
“Get out, you say?”
“Just a moment.”
Heeyoung put down the black bag she had been carrying on her shoulder. A clanging metallic sound echoed throughout the room. What could be in there to make such a sound? As Suhwan watched with curious eyes, he was shocked when Heeyoung pulled out a metal cutter that was heavy even for two hands to hold.
“Heeyoung, that.”
“It’s okay. I can do it.”
Heeyoung somehow skillfully held the cutter in her hands. And she approached Suhwan, who was speechless with confusion. Placing the cutter at the connection between the shackle and the chain, Heeyoung said briefly.
“I’ve practiced a lot.”
“……”
So why did you practice something like that?
When Suhwan asked with his eyes, Heeyoung again answered briefly.
“It’s the basic knowledge of an ordinary citizen dealing with an obsessive madman.”
“What?”
“I’ll cut it now.”
Crack! The joints broke and the chain fell away from the shackle. Suhwan looked down at his ankle with surprised eyes.
“Can you stand up?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then let’s get out quickly. Before Lee Seunghyun returns.”
“Seunghyun?”
Heeyoung put the cutter back in her bag and stood up. Then she scanned the bedroom with anxious eyes.
“The timing is good. He’s in a lecture series right now. He probably won’t check the CCTV for a while, but just in case…”
“CCTV?”
“…”
Seeing Suhwan’s wide-eyed look, Heeyoung sighed. She slung her bag over her shoulder again and pulled her hat down low. After looking Suhwan up and down, she asked:
“Senior, please wear a hat too. There are security guards outside.”
“Ah.”
“We can’t let them see us leaving.”
He hadn’t thought about the security guards outside. Those guards, stationed there by Hwalyeon’s orders, wouldn’t have dreamed that Suhwan was being held captive. He rarely went outside even before being confined. Of course, if the confinement continued longer, they would realize something was strange, but for now, he didn’t want to alert them.
“Okay.”
Suhwan nodded and quickly went to the dressing room to get a hat. Then he layered a hood and a long coat. Although the chain was cut, the shackle that hadn’t been completely removed still remained on one of Suhwan’s ankles. He hid it with long pants and turned around.
“Let’s go.”
“Um… are we going to your house?”
“For now, yes.”
Though a bit anxious, Suhwan followed Heeyoung without saying anything. Heeyoung moved as carefully as if they were in a spy movie. Suhwan followed her and was able to escape from the mansion.
“…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Ohh, now that she’s here-Seunghyun’s old friend- we’ll be able to get some answers now.
About those weird dreams(maybe), why she was so insistent on Suhwan having her nos(-a.k.a why is she helping), and also how much she knows. Yeah KNOWS. “It’s a basic knowledge…..madman”.
She clearly knows more than she’s letting on rn.