I regain consciousness and open my eyes, my eyes frantically move to scan the environment. The floor and walls are made of concrete. I can see a stairway going up. I am in a basement. It's illuminated by a single lightbulb hanging overhead. Shelves are on the wall with some sharp tools, it's intimidating. I try to scream, but the sound is muffled and I can feel a tape covering my mouth and I try to move my body but I am tied to a chair. Despite knowing I am stuck, I panic and move to try to remove the binds but it's futile, my breathing is frantic. And I feel someone placing their hands on my shoulder from behind. I look up and my eyes widen, Hana is looking down at me with a wide smile. This situation is absurd.
"Mhm! Mhm!" I try screaming but my voice is muffled.
She moves her hand and strokes my cheek with her thumb as if she is trying to calm me down. "Bopy." She softly says. A wide smile is etched on her face. "I am taking care of you. I am kind. After you fell I stopped the bleeding in your head, I saved you." Her left hand stops at the edge of the tape. "You will be a good boy for me, right?"
My entire body is frozen. I don't know what's happening. I never imagined this would happen to me. All I feel is fear.
She takes my silence as a yes and opens the tape from my mouth. As soon as this happens I shout, "What is happening?! How did I get here?! How is this possible?! Where are your parents?!"
She puts her left hand over my mouth. "Shh..." And she laughs and says, "You want to know where my parents are? Bopy... like I said they are distant." I am still confused and she continues. "After the stalking incident I have been living alone. After I transferred here, my parents bought this home and left me alone in this house. They went elsewhere and they send money to me to live here and for school and for food and groceries. So I have been alone until I met you, Bopy." She looks at me in the eye and says the last word like I am the only person that exists in her world.
She removes her left hand from my mouth.
I just quietly ask, "How did I get here?" There are tears in my eyes not because of her story but due to this situation and fear.
She tilts her head and says, "Bopy, I thought you would talk normally like we did in the past and talk about my parents. I guess you haven't gotten used to this." She then cups my face with both of her hands. "I am sure we will talk normally soon." My eyes still look for an answer.
She smiles like she is proud and says, "To answer your question. After I hit you with my hammer, I put your body inside the duffel bag and carried you here." She gives a chuckle and says, "The timing was perfect. I was in my school uniform so people would naturally assume that I was going home after music club practice." I am speechless and no words come out of my mouth.
She smiles and says, "Bopy, you are unusually quiet. I think it's because you haven't eaten anything." She then says happily, "So I will cook for you." She then heads towards the stairs and pauses and looks back and says, "By the way, the time is 8 pm." And then she heads upstairs and I am left alone with my thoughts.
"Is this real? Can I even escape?" I try moving, the ropes are tight, my torso and my hands are tied. "I guess I can't do much, but I know Yuki will notice, I am sure of it." Thinking about Yuki, calms me. I look around the basement to see if I can use anything. I hear noises from above. I know it's Hana and a thought crosses my mind. "She isn't being violent towards me, is it better or more scary? Well she is definitely scary but I can't give up hope. I need to find a way out. I at least know that she won't kill me and this thought is somehow both reassuring and terrifying."
I hear her coming down and think "I know what to do."
She appears with a tray and I look at the food. It's rice, miso soup, tamagoyaki and vegetables.
"Bopy, I made the usual. I know you will like it. And I will feed you." She smiles to herself. This situation made me forget I was hungry but still I don't want this. She then places the tray on the table beside the chair.
She then looks at me and says, "Bopy, you need to eat. You don't look well."
I look at the food. Then at her. She is smiling like nothing is wrong. I gulp and say, "Hana." Before I could say anything, her eyes widen and she breaks into a psychotic smile. "Oh, Bopy! You used my first name!" I recount my memories, and this is actually the first time I called her by her name. This is unnerving so I continue quickly before I decide to change my mind. "Hey... I am uncomfortable due to these binds. Can you loosen them?" She then breaks into a psychotic laugh, the sound echoing in my skull and fills me with dread. I can feel my heart beat going faster as this continues. I want this to stop.
She then moves her fingers from side to side and says, "I see what you are doing, Bopy. You are thinking about escape. That's why you are asking me to loosen the binds." She then affectionately says, "But you used my first name, so I will dismiss it this time."
She saw through my plan and I have no option but to just accept it. She moves the table closer to the chair, she then takes the spoon and smiles and says, "Open wide!" and feeds me. I eat because I need energy. Her eyes light up and asks, "How is it, Bopy?"
I reply, "Are we going to be like this forever?" She grins and happily replies, "No, you had said to me that you gotta talk normally and build it up. That's what I am doing. So we won't be like this. I know in the future everything will work out." She is repeating my words back at me and it's unsettling.
"Here's another one." She feeds me more and I eat. She is enjoying this. This continues until the tray is empty. My stomach is full and I have never felt this powerless.
She takes the empty tray and says, "Bopy, I know it's your first day so you won't be talking much and that's fine. I know as this goes on you will get used to me like before." She is using my words and my actions back at me and it feels weird. She then goes upstairs with the tray.
I think to myself, "I really need to think about something to escape." After a while she comes down with a pillow and then comes towards me and places it between my head and the chair. It's soft and comfortable.
"I brought it here for you. I know a lot is going on in your mind so I will leave you alone for now. And also, do you want the lights off?"
"Yes," I quietly reply. She smiles and goes near the stair and presses the switch to turn off the light. The basement becomes dark and I hear her voice. "Goodnight, Bopy." And she heads upstairs. I am alone with my thoughts and eventually I fall asleep.
I feel like someone is waking me up, and I open my eyes, it's Hana and she is in school uniform and has a tray of food.
"Good morning, Bopy. As you can see I am in my uniform. If we both remain absent it will be suspicious for Yuki." She says her name with strain. "I brought breakfast for you, eat up." She feeds me and I let her. In my mind I think: "I will have time to think. I need to make use of it." The tray is now empty and she is happy. She also affectionately wipes my mouth with a napkin. "I will see you after school so just wait for me." She then goes upstairs.
7 am, location: Literature club room
Yuki is in the club room and school hasn't started. Her hands are on her face. "I feel like something is wrong. I had messaged Bopy yesterday and he hasn't replied. That's unusual. I will see if he comes to school or not."
Time passes and she sits with her feelings until classes begin. She heads towards her classroom. She takes her seat but her mind is elsewhere. Time passes, lunch period happens and end. She is now in the literature club room. Holding a book and pretending to read but her eyes are on the door.
The door slides open and it's Hana. Her face is neutral and she says nothing and sits across from her.
"So Bopy is absent today," Yuki says to Hana, probing.
"Maybe he is sick," Hana replies.
"You two were together after I left. Was he sick?" Yuki continues her Interrogation.
"I can't read people's temperature!" Hana gets annoyed.
"He hasn't replied to my texts and I have sent him more than ten messages. What do you make of that?" Yuki is sharp and isn't stopping.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe he doesn't want to talk to you?" Hana retorts back, getting annoyed by Yuki's presence.
Yuki adjusts her glasses and says, "Maybe he was unable to text back."
Hana slams both of her hands down on the table and stands up, "What are you implying?!"
Yuki calmly says, "I know you did something."
Hana breaks into a laugh and mimics Yuki's voice and repeats, "I know you did something." She then returns to her normal voice, "Do you know what you sound like? And also you have no proof."
Yuki smiles and says, "It's true I have no proof but I will follow my heart." She puts her left hand on her heart as she says this.
Hana nods at her, "It will lead to nowhere."
Yuki looks at Hana and says, "I can't help it. I love Bopy so I will do anything to save him. And besides, if Bopy was truly gone, you would also have the same feelings and reaction as me, you would be confused as me. But you aren't."
Hana gets angry and screams: "How can you say that you love him in front of me!? Don't you have a human heart!?"
Yuki is calm and looks at Hana and says: "I will find out what happened to Bopy."
Hana is speechless and sits down in her chair. After a while they both get a book and read it in silence. While they read they both take a glance at each other. This battle continues until Yuki has to leave to help her mother. After she says nothing to Hana as she leaves. And Hana makes her way back to her home.
I hear footsteps and she comes downstairs. Her face lights up when she sees me. She comes towards me and cups my face with her hands. She has a wide grin and she affectionately says: "Oh Bopy, Yuki was bugging me at school and I just have a great idea. We won't have to deal with anyone. I am planning to sell this house and buy a van and move elsewhere. How is this plan?!" She has a maniac smile on her face from thinking about this fantasy. Her laugh echoing in my skull.
"I am on a time limit!" Is the only thought repeating in my head.