Confinement Constitution Guide

Unexpected (3)

Jeon Ju-hwan’s claims were not taken seriously due to Shin Woo-jun being S-class and it being a very rare case. The Ability Department merely gave a lecture-like answer, telling them to respect and be more careful with each other since they were a hard-won pair, and then turned a blind eye.

It was essentially a roundabout way of expressing their unwillingness to get deeply involved in such matters. For the Ability Department, the existence of an S-class Esper was more important than an A-class Guide. Even so, they couldn’t reveal their true thoughts to the Guide, so they made outdated statements like “It’s common for pairs to clash in the beginning, it’s just a phase of adjusting to each other.”

In the end, mediation fell to me. Because I had the best relationship with Shin Woo-jun in the team and could somewhat communicate with him, I had to comfort, persuade, and make him understand. Whenever Shin Woo-jun tried to fight with An Jong-hyeok or quarreled with his paired Guide, everyone looked to me. Mediating between them had somehow become my sole responsibility.

Although I was gradually getting tired from the busy daily life of working in the field and comforting Shin Woo-jun, I thought I should resolve things well, if only for the peace of the office. …If only I hadn’t been kidnapped on my way home from work. Well, apart from that, the confinement was quite sweet. The problem, if there was one, was that Shin Woo-jun had caused a major incident and been imprisoned while I was away being kidnapped.

As I was lost in thought, recalling the office scene of Field Team 1 where Shin Woo-jun was, I suddenly felt an oppressive gaze from beside me.

‘…Ah, he was here.’

Sa Hae-geon was staring only at me, to the extent that I wondered how I could have forgotten such an intense presence. I turned my head and made eye contact with Sa Hae-geon. His dark eyes were filled with a worried light. Meeting those eyes somehow made me feel at ease.

How should I put it? Sa Hae-geon didn’t seem to expect much from me. What he wanted were mostly modest or amusing things like calling him by name, speaking informally to him, acknowledging that the ownership of my right hand belonged to him, and so on.

Is that why Sa Hae-geon feels comfortable?

“Hyung, are you uncomfortable somewhere?”

Sa Hae-geon’s low question reached my ears. At that moment, I felt uneasy. I couldn’t explain it clearly, but I had a feeling that something was wrong.

“…Oh, no.”

Sa Hae-geon stared at me as I replied a beat late, then nodded.

“That’s a relief. But if you’re hurting or uncomfortable anywhere, tell me.”

“Yeah, I will. Thanks.”

“No need to thank me. It’s just what I should do.”

He shrugged and suddenly stood up. I watched quietly, wondering what he was going to do, when I saw Sa Hae-geon returning with a knitting basket much smaller than his large body, which made me laugh. When I laughed out loud, Sa Hae-geon looked at me with a puzzled face.

“What? Did you see something funny?”

“No. It’s just funny seeing you carry that basket.”

“This?”

“Yeah. It’s like a giant bringing something from a land of dwarfs.”

“I’m not a giant unscrupulous enough to steal from a land of dwarfs, you know.”

Sa Hae-geon made a joke as if playing along with my words. I chuckled and shook my head. This had become a familiar daily scene. Me bursting into genuine laughter or a dry laugh at some action of Sa Hae-geon’s, and Sa Hae-geon always asking for the reason and reacting. It was a natural scene that didn’t even feel out of place. And every time I found myself thinking this way, I was startled.

I wondered if this was right. But sometimes, I couldn’t help but question it. It must be extremely rare for a kidnap victim to get along so peacefully and amicably with their kidnapper. Of course, my kidnapping belief is to maintain a good relationship with the kidnapper, but…

‘Still, this is a bit much.’

After all, not only had I adapted to the strange pajamas and underwear Sa Hae-geon prepared, but I had even given him ownership of my right arm. Moreover, I easily agreed to and followed his claims. This is clearly not a normal situation.

It’s not just me; Sa Hae-geon is funny too. Usually, kidnappers don’t cook and serve three meals a day. They don’t put their hand on your forehead to check for fever, or try to touch you, or even if they do touch you, they don’t warm their cold hands until they’re red. They don’t write their name in ketchup on top of rolled eggs with a heart in between. They only worry about their own safety, not like Sa Hae-geon who worries about my wellbeing too.

The more I ruminated on the days spent with Sa Hae-geon, the stranger I felt. In fact, from our first meeting, it had deviated greatly from a typical kidnapping situation. I was the one who deliberately rationalized and ignored this. I wasn’t too anxious because there were no uncomfortable points and the confinement life was very satisfying.

But with each unfamiliar emotion that occasionally visited, with each sudden realization that crept in, I became a little more anxious. Questions like what am I doing here also filled my mind. I hadn’t had such thoughts or worries until now.

It seems I’ve become too accustomed to Sa Hae-geon. It’s not a good sign. No, perhaps we’ve already passed the stage where this could be called a sign…

“Hyung, want to watch a movie?”

“What kind of movie?”

“It’s a healing movie where the main character is a Guide who travels here and there to rest.”

“Oh? Sounds nice. Let’s watch it.”

I nodded and answered. And only a little later did I realize that I had unconsciously agreed to Sa Hae-geon’s request, and I swallowed a dry laugh.

…Anyway, one thing is certain: I’m showing quite a lot of favoritism towards Sa Hae-geon.

* * *

That night, I grabbed Cream who was wandering around and brought her to the bed. Cream looked at me with displeasure, but that wasn’t important right now.

“Cream, what should daddy do?”

“Meow!”

“Yeah, sorry. But let’s stay like this for a bit longer.”

I buried my nose in Cream’s armpit while sighing, and her plump, warm body trembled.

“Meow!”

“Yeah. Sorry, sorry.”

While apologizing verbally, I couldn’t easily remove my nose from Cream’s body. The pleasant sunny smell and the soft yet savory scent coming from Cream’s soft fur calmed my complicated mind. How long had I been like that? My confused mind seemed to settle down a bit.

Right. It’s because Sa Hae-geon is much prettier, more delicate, a good cook, has a nice body, and is quite cute compared to other kidnappers that I’ve been enchanted. That’s why I was unknowingly swayed. But now that I’ve realized it, I should be able to break free from Sa Hae-geon’s spell.

They say even if you enter a tiger’s den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you. I just need to maintain my sanity. Favoritism should be shown in moderation; this is too much. I should have control over this kidnapping and confinement situation. That’s how it’s always been. I lost my mind for a while, swayed by the whimsical Sa Hae-geon, but that’s in the past.

Aren’t humans supposed to be evolving beings?

I whispered while burying my nose in Cream’s crown.

“Cream, don’t you miss our home, even if it’s small and dirty?”

“Meow, meow!”

“Yeah, yeah. Daddy thinks so too. Let’s go back before we forget the layout of our house. Okay?”

“Meow!”

“Oh, our Cream. You answer so well.”

Cream’s soft paws pushed my face away vigorously, but I didn’t mind. I put my nose to her small, warm paws and inhaled, and Cream flailed about in shock.

“Meow!”

“Yes, daddy loves our Cream too.”

After arbitrarily interpreting Cream’s meow, I let go of the poor cat from my arms. Just then, a clattering sound from beyond the door tickled my ears. It seemed the industrious Sa Hae-geon was up to something again. What on earth was he doing so busily this time?

I pricked up my ears towards the door. Being not an Esper, no matter how much I strained my ears, I couldn’t hear anything more than the clattering sound.

‘What on earth is he doing at this late hour?’

Even though I thought I shouldn’t particularly care about what Sa Hae-geon was doing, all my attention was on him. Is he thinking of making beef bone soup again like last time? He’s not bustling about to make hae-shintang or shinseollo, is he?

As I was lying awkwardly on the bed staring at the door and about to look away, the firmly closed door slowly opened. And behind it appeared Sa Hae-geon, wearing an apron with a king avocado drawn on it.