Confinement Constitution Guide

19. Life in Confinement, Hard Ver. (7)



 

Life in Confinement, Hard Ver. (7)

‘…Right. Anyway, the only person who will see me is Sa Hae-geon. What dignity am I talking about when I’ve been kidnapped.’

Cream will surely see me too, but she’ll probably just glance at me with strange eyes, wondering why that human is acting like that again, and dismiss it as insignificant. Wrapped in the billowing steam, I got out of the booth and dried myself. Then I started putting on the underwear and pajamas I had brought, one by one. After fastening all the buttons on the front of the pajamas and roughly adjusting my appearance, I lifted my head and saw my reflection in the mirror.

It wasn’t as terrible or serious as I had worried, but there was no way to avoid thinking it looked sloppy. Still, well, as long as Sa Hae-geon, who made me wear these clothes, doesn’t ridicule me, I think I can somehow wear them.

With a short deep breath, I opened the bathroom door and met Sa Hae-geon, who was waiting in front of it.

“Hyung.”

“…Yeah.”

“It really suits you so well!”

Sa Hae-geon exclaimed in admiration with eyes as big as a washbowl. Of course it would, since it’s your taste. Shrugging my shoulders, I put the laundry I brought out into the laundry basket.

“But your outdoor clothes don’t all have this kind of design, right?”

“…Outdoor clothes? Why are you suddenly curious about that?”

“Well, your pajama taste is a bit unique, so I thought your outdoor clothes taste might be similar.”

“Hyung, do you want to leave here?”

“What? No? I like it here, why?”

Unsatisfied with my answer, Sa Hae-geon, who was taking out a hair dryer, blinked slowly and glanced at my ankles.

“Hyung, what should I do. I became a little anxious after seeing you wear flying squirrel pajamas.”

“What is it this time?”

“What if you really fly away like a flying squirrel and escape?”

What kind of crazy talk is this again? I thought I had gotten quite used to his bizarre way of speaking, but as if ridiculing me, Sa Hae-geon kept testing my comprehension.

“Tsk. I should have pre-ordered shackles.”

“Ah, right, the shackles.”

“Hyung, I’m ordering shackles right away tomorrow.”

“…Okay, okay. Do whatever you want.”

If I’m already wearing flying squirrel pajamas, what’s wrong with wearing shackles? Moreover, shackles were something I had been prepared for since the first day, so there was no particular impact. As long as they don’t interfere with my movement, I don’t care if it’s shackles, handcuffs, ropes, or strings.

With Sa Hae-geon’s help, which wasn’t really help, I thoroughly dried my hair and got into bed. I could feel Cream’s gaze staring at me with a strange expression as if ridiculing my attire, but I could ignore that much. It wasn’t unexpected either.

Lying in the cozy blanket, I guessed what kind of design shackles Sa Hae-geon would order, and fell asleep with Cream, who took up more than half of my pillow.

The next day at lunch. I was enjoying the time of watching TV sitting side by side with Sa Hae-geon on the sofa. Cream was also lounging on one side of the sofa, indulging in leisure.

[Breaking news. This morning at 11 a.m., an A-grade Guide who was re-kidnapped by an Esper while asking a passerby for help in a residential area…]

[Around 3 a.m. today, B-grade Guide Mr. A was kidnapped by an Esper wearing a mask while leaving a convenience store. In response, the Esper Management Headquarters…]

[…There is news that a whirlwind occurred near the central center of the Department of Abilities again. With the frequency only increasing, citizens are expressing anxiety. Reporter Lim Bae-gon, who is at the scene…]

Today, as always, reports about Guide kidnappings and whirlwind incidents continued. More than Guide kidnappings, I felt absurd at the Department of Abilities’ strike in not swiftly resolving the whirlwind incidents that were obviously the doing of an unaffiliated Esper. The more the public’s backlash grows, the more difficult it will be for them.

Guide kidnappings may not be something that can be rooted out right away, but isn’t it a simple matter for the Department of Abilities to catch an unaffiliated Esper? Even I, who don’t really care what the Department of Abilities does, think this way, so how much more would other people?

As I thought that, fatigue rushed in instantly and I couldn’t focus on the news. When I turned my gaze away from the TV that was talking to itself, I saw Sa Hae-geon pushing a laptop towards me and asking.

“Hyung, what do you think of these shackles?”

“Yeah. Good. But don’t you think the chain length is a bit short?”

“Really? Then what about this?”

At my opinion, Sa Hae-geon scrolled down and clicked on another product. They were high-end shackles with multiple layers of soft lining added to the part that wraps around the ankles.

“That would be good.”

The shackles had a simple design without any useless bells attached.

“Yes. I like you so much too, hyung.”

Sa Hae-geon smiled happily as if answering a different question. It’s something I see every day, but doing this even while choosing shackles was so absurd that I could only sigh.

It had been about a week since I was kidnapped by Sa Hae-geon. Over the past week, I had been docile to Sa Hae-geon in my own way, and as a result.

“The shackles with a 30-meter chain will probably arrive tomorrow. Isn’t that great?”

Forget about freedom, I was getting shackles with a 30-meter chain.

[Urgent breaking news. It is reported that A-grade Guide Mr. A, who was kidnapped 7 days ago, has been kidnapped again just two days after safely returning to his family with the help of a passerby.]

Sa Hae-geon’s gaze, who had been ordering shackles with a face that looked like he had the whole world, turned to the TV. He stared at the CCTV footage shown on the news and opened his mouth.

“There are so many bad guys in the world. So hyung, you should always be careful too.”

…I don’t think you, who kidnapped me, are the one to say that. How brazen of you to say such things.

While thinking that and shaking my head, it happened.

“Hyung, is it bad to prepare one more just in case?”

Sa Hae-geon pushed the laptop towards me again. Imagining myself wearing two different colored shackles on my ankles while dressed in a prisoner’s uniform made my head throb. I gave up thinking any further and waved my hand roughly.

“Do as you like.”

“I already ordered it anyway.”

I wondered why he even asked then, but I didn’t bother to show it.

* * *

After having a hearty dinner and looking through OTT platforms to see if there were any good movies to watch, someone rang the doorbell. When Sa Hae-geon checked the intercom, a man was standing at the entrance of the studio apartment.

— Delivery.

“Yes. Come in.”

A delivery at this hour. The shackles that were supposed to come tomorrow couldn’t have arrived already. I looked at Sa Hae-geon with doubtful eyes, but Sa Hae-geon seemed just as puzzled.

As soon as he confirmed that the delivery man had left the package at the door and got on the elevator to go down, he put on nitrile gloves and went out. Soon, what Sa Hae-geon brought into the house was a large paper box.

“What delivery is it?”

Instead of answering, Sa Hae-geon cut the box tape with a box cutter. After removing the shipping label and checking inside the box, an ominous smile appeared on Sa Hae-geon’s lips.

“What? What is it?”

“The shackles came faster than expected.”

“Why did it arrive so soon?”

“I know, right.”

Sa Hae-geon’s face was too bright as he took the shackles out of the box.

“Hyung, these shackles are said to be not heavy at all. They’re made using byproducts from dungeons, so you can barely feel the weight of the chain.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And the chain length is stated as 30 meters, but due to the characteristics of the byproducts, it can stretch up to 40 meters? The problem is that it’s affected by temperature, so the effect can only be seen when it’s hot, which would be nice in summer.”

“…I see.”

People in this world are really amazing. To think they use byproducts from dungeons to develop such luxury goods, no, junk, instead of daily necessities. No matter how often dungeons open and byproducts overflow, it wouldn’t come out enough to be used in this way.

Shouldn’t the Department of Abilities manage this? Wouldn’t it be a big problem if dangerous items were developed with dungeon byproducts by any chance?

Squatting in front of the box and examining the manual and items for a long time, Sa Hae-geon said with a bright smile.

“Hyung, the lining seems really soft, which is nice. I was going to buy a different one if it was bad, but fortunately, a good product came.”

Sa Hae-geon took out the red shackles from the box and approached me.

“Do you want to try them on?”

He was clearly asking for my opinion, but it didn’t seem like he was really curious about the answer. After all, Sa Hae-geon had already firmly locked the shackles on my ankles and was admiring them by himself.

“Wow, it fits perfectly. And it suits you so well, hyung. Is it uncomfortable?”

At Sa Hae-geon’s request, I rotated and shook my ankles this way and that, then nodded.

“It’s fine.”

“What about the design? How is it?”

“Yeah, it’s good.”

It seemed like it would really look great, as if I were a special prisoner when worn together with the prisoner pajamas. I sighed with resignation and looked down at my ankles. The shackles locked on top of the light brown flying squirrel pajamas looked like a trap confining me.

Come to think of it, wasn’t it all because of these flying squirrel pajamas that Sa Hae-geon thought of the shackles again? …Now that it’s come to this, it would be best to dispose of these pajamas while Sa Hae-geon is distracted.

If I ask Cream while giving her Churu, maybe she’ll do it for me. She seems to dislike these pajamas just as much. It’s a rare situation where the can opener and the cat’s intentions align, so I have no choice but to join forces.

I gave the most affectionate smile I could to Cream, who was observing me while wagging her tail. I felt Cream flinch for a moment, but I didn’t mind.

It’s obvious that the genius cat Chae Cream understood my intention perfectly and was just loosening her muscles in advance but couldn’t control her strength. I, who had spent a long time of 4 years with Cream, could clearly tell.


Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.