Confinement Constitution Guide

A Perfect and Wise Life in Confinement (1)

Shackles? Until now, no Esper had ever used shackles. They just took away communication devices and confined me to a cozy house or a large room with a bathroom.

…A serious confinement with shackles?

How thrilling. I stared at the man with a dazed expression. He seemed to feel embarrassed by my persistent gaze, his cheeks reddening just like when we first met.

The man who had seemed strange suddenly appeared quite admirable. As I lay there silently, he asked carefully, perhaps feeling uneasy:

“Are you upset because I didn’t prepare shackles in advance?”

“…”

“That couldn’t be helped. When I looked, they were all made for impure purposes. I didn’t want to put such ugly things on your ankles.”

His voice sounded almost solemn, as if confessing an important fact. What an absurd assumption. And didn’t he kidnap me for impure purposes too? What’s the difference?

The man smiled brightly at me, who was still not responding.

“Should I not call you ‘hyung’ (older brother)? But I want to call you that. Or do you want to call me ‘hyung’? Do whatever you like. I’m fine with either.”

“…”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his words, which seemed beyond eccentric and almost insane. Not only did he call me ‘hyung’ on his own, but he even suggested I call him ‘hyung’ if I didn’t like it. As if I would do that.

I looked at the man who was persistently making eye contact to an uncomfortable degree, and then swallowed a sigh. From the way things were going, it seemed I had gotten involved with the wrong person. Of all the kidnappers, I had to end up with someone who could hardly be considered sane.

The excitement I felt for the vacation I was about to enjoy was short-lived. Suddenly, an ominous feeling crept up my spine.

‘…Surely he’s not planning to keep me here forever? Even if I welcome a vacation, more than a month is a bit much.’

Looking at the man’s eyes, which seemed oddly off-kilter, I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought that I might really never be able to leave this place.

“Hyung, are you cold?”

“Ah, no…”

“If there’s anything uncomfortable, just tell me anytime. Don’t hold back, okay?”

“…Okay.”

“Speak casually too. I’m speaking comfortably to you as well. I told you my name this morning, remember? It’s Sa Hae-geon.”

As I opened my mouth again, Sa Hae-geon seemed to seize the opportunity to start listing his requests one by one.

“And tell me your name too. I already know it, but it’s different when you tell me directly.”

After finishing his words, Sa Hae-geon looked at me with eyes full of expectation. If it were another Esper, I would have snapped at them to mind their own business and focus on the confinement environment, but with Sa Hae-geon, I felt I shouldn’t do that.

Of course, part of the reason was that the confinement environment was already perfect, but more than that, unlike how I had acted quite boldly with other Espers who had kidnapped me before, I had a feeling that it would be better to show a somewhat compliant attitude towards Sa Hae-geon.

‘…Right. Let’s not provoke him unnecessarily. Just go along with it. It’s not that difficult.’

Originally, I had thought that if I were to be kidnapped this time, it would be good to rest for about two to four weeks before returning, so for that plan, I need to act smart from now on.

No matter how strangely Sa Hae-geon behaves in ways I’ve never seen before, I shouldn’t try to understand him, just obey quietly.

“I’m Chae Do-min.”

“Yes, Do-min hyung. Speak comfortably.”

“…Uh, okay.”

“Doesn’t it feel more comfortable for you too, speaking casually?”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

Despite my dry response, Sa Hae-geon smiled broadly as if pleased. What is he so happy about that he keeps smiling? Is he happy about kidnapping me, or is he happy to hear me speak casually? Surely not both?

Anyway, the more we talked, the more questions arose about him. I couldn’t understand his intentions at all – why he kidnapped me if he had no intention of forming a pair with me.

“So why did you kidnap me?”

“Because I like you.”

“…Is that all?”

“Yes. Should there be more reasons? Do you prefer multiple reasons? I can make some up right now if you want.”

“No, that’s not what I mean… So you’re saying you didn’t kidnap me for reasons like wanting to form a pair or wanting to date?”

“Not for forming a pair, but I do want to date.”

Sa Hae-geon shook his head at my question and asked with a shy expression.

“But if I say I kidnapped you because I want to date, will you date me?”

“…No. I don’t want to do that yet.”

“You feel the same way, right? I didn’t intend to date right after meeting either. That feels too much like a game, doesn’t it? That’s good. Then let’s get to know each other slowly, hyung.”

“…”

“I’m so happy that we have a lot in common, especially our values. It’s hard to find someone who matches so well in life, isn’t it? I think we’re really lucky. Don’t you agree?”

It felt like I was falling into a labyrinth with no exit. Who on earth responds to a subtle rejection not with disappointment, but with joy about matching values? Sa Hae-geon seemed like a person without any wrinkles in his personality. And that made him even harder to predict.

“By the way, hyung, you have a cat, right?”

As I was staring blankly at the ceiling, contemplating the human being called Sa Hae-geon, he mentioned an unexpected existence.

Right, our Cream. Until now, I had always informed my parents in advance before being kidnapped to get their help, but this time the situation was different and I hadn’t thought about it. How could I only think of Cream now? How could this happen? Isn’t this a complete failure as a can opener?

Thinking of Cream, I hurriedly tried to get up and leave the bed, but Sa Hae-geon gently grabbed my wrist with his cool hand.

“…What is it?”

“Just sit down for now, hyung.”

“Then give me my phone. I’m not going to report anything, I’ll just send a text asking someone to take care of Cream while you watch. I have a brain, I won’t do anything unnecessary.”

At my bold request, Sa Hae-geon blinked and then burst into laughter. His long eyes curved gently. I felt strange at his refreshing smile that seemed out of place in the situation.

“I can take good care of Cream too. I originally wanted to bring her along, but I found out that cats are sensitive to environmental changes.”

“…So?”

“Since it’s too much to bring her right away, if you just tell me your door passcode, I’ll take care of her every day.”

“You… How can you, a kidnapper, so casually ask for someone else’s house passcode?”

“Is that not okay? I can promise not to steal anything from your house.”

It was truly getting worse. Sa Hae-geon didn’t seem to think there was any problem with what he was saying. It seemed like his thoughts absolutely never flowed in that direction.

“I’ll just take care of Cream and come right back. And it’s not like you’re in your house. You’re in my house, so why would I do anything else in your house?”

After saying that, Sa Hae-geon let go of my wrist without hesitation. It was the opposite of this morning when he looked disappointed as I pulled my hand away during the handshake.

‘…Is he treating me like a caught fish now?’

It’s true that I’ve become a fish in Sa Hae-geon’s home aquarium, but it still felt bad to be treated like a caught fish. After all, until now, kidnappers had treated me like a fish that might escape at any moment and were restless. That’s why Sa Hae-geon’s reaction felt both fresh and perplexing.

Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to break my earlier resolution not to provoke him and question Sa Hae-geon. I just felt a bit strange.

As I silently stared at him without saying anything, Sa Hae-geon, in a way that didn’t match his large frame, fidgeted with his fingers and explained:

“I thought you might get cold if I kept holding on. My hands tend to be quite cold.”

“…”

“And I’m not going to apologize for grabbing your wrist. You grabbed mine too, remember? Though it seems you don’t remember.”

“…Me? You? When?”

“See? You don’t remember.”

When did I ever grab his wrist? I had no memory of ever encountering Sa Hae-geon. And even if I had seen him, I wouldn’t have forgotten a face as unusual as his.

Sa Hae-geon shrugged off my gaze demanding an explanation and naturally changed the subject.

“So what’s the passcode?”

“…12090809”

“Is that your and Cream’s birthdays?”

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“Just seemed like it would be. How many times a day does Cream eat meals and snacks?”

I stared at Sa Hae-geon, who was acting as if he was about to head to my house right away, and then answered.

“You don’t need to go right now, so sit down for a moment.”

“Don’t I need to clean the litter box and change the water?”

“That can be done later, so sit down for a moment and tell me when exactly I grabbed your wrist?”

“What’s the point of talking about it when you don’t even remember? I don’t want to.”

“Still, I need to know so I can apologize or do something…”

“Don’t apologize. I really liked it.”

After saying that, Sa Hae-geon left the room, as if he didn’t want to talk about this topic anymore. Left in the room with the large bed was only me, dumbfounded by the unexpected turn of events.