ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ꜰɪꜰᴛᴇᴇɴ

୨⎯ Wanna Play House With Me? ⎯୧

I am terrified. I don't know how to protect her. What will happen to us? Can I at least save her from danger?

"H-Haitani..? Is that you?" I murmur as I feel a leg touching mine. We are so close, sitting together. My hands are restrained, tied to the knot behind my back. I assume it's the same for him too.

"Yes, you are correct. This is me. Are you hurt?" He asks me in a gentle tone. Staying quiet, I whisper shortly, "I'm not. Are you?"

"No. Thanks for asking." He responds without a pause.

I can't see where we are going thanks to this blindfold covering my vision. I can't touch anything beside the rope but it takes a lot of twisting before my wrist begins to hurt. We are moving a bit fast inside this vehicle. I don't hear anything from the driver but I feel like there is another person sitting in the passenger seat.

"Haitani." I call with uncertainty in my voice. "Do you know why we're being kidnapped?"

"Not at the moment. I'm in the same position as you, Y/n. I can't think properly. I may not sound like it but I'm extremely nervous." Rindou answers, his breath seems to be out of focus.

I say back, "What if it's about your suspected accomplice thing? I mean, I'm not pushing you to a corner here but it could be a possibility."

"You're making me more nervous than before. I wish you didn't tell me that." Rindou whispers, losing his volume.

I reply with a triggered tone, "What, are you scared that you actually might end up dead before you hit thirty?"

Rindou says in a whispery yet screaming manner, "No! I'm afraid that you might end up dead all because of me! You don't deserve this. I'm sorry."

"Oh..." I utter, pausing my thoughts for a bit. Is he really...? "Well, we aren't too sure that what I said is true so don't apologize yet."

"No. No... I still want to apologize for the things I have done to you in the past."

I just remain silent. This is not the direction I am looking forward to right now. I don't want to hear this from him. He is all words, Y/n. You cannot fall for it.

Suddenly, I feel a tight grip on my arm which made me squeal from shock and also it fucking hurts. Rindou starts calling my name and bluffing to make the two people, who kidnapped us, feel threatened though it is a bad attempt. They, for sure, aren't listening to his blabber.

These kidnappers both start dragging us toward a building as I hear some kind of pebbles on the ground while walking with hesitation. From pebble noises getting kicked to purely dry cement colliding with the friction of our shoes, we are definitely screwed. My heartbeat is rising awfully bad.

Then, we are both thrown on the ground, bodies slamming onto the cold floor, and the creaky double doors close. "Ow!" I blurt out as I impact the floor. The same goes with Rindou. How strong are these people to just literally throw two adult bodies with little effort?

Soon, I realize that the rope restraining my hands is loosened. Quickly, I stretch my arms and release the bind at ease. I then remove the blindfold and see that we are inside a... house? We are in a living room, it's obvious.

"What the hell is going on?" Rindou utters to himself as he stands up from the floor and inspect the room, spinning as he looks at it from all angles.

I, on the other hand, am occupied with finding exits or any hidden gaps or vents I can fit to escape from this place and from him of course!

It is clear to me that we are in some kind of play because who kidnaps two somewhat famous people and brings them to a maintained house with possible CCTVs concealed around the area?

They are looking for something that we can only do and what are we as of the moment? Actors. The sick kidnappers are looking for entertainment. God, I just cannot escape this joke, huh.

I panic. I panic. I panic.

I don't know what to do in these types of situations. I haven't watched enough mystery films to know the drill! All I know is to find an escape route. Something that can get me out of here! In a decision between fight or flight, I choose flight, but he seems to be chill about this incident.

Trying to be the bolder person to impress me, Haitani? Ridiculous! You could win an award for your great acting at this point.

"Y/n! Will you stop running around the room and calm down for a second? Nothing great will happen if you are this frightened!" Rindou says but I do not care what this guy tells me because I want to head to safety no matter what. I cannot die nor be stuck with him, Haitani, because I simply hate him...!

"Or what?" I shout, the sweat burning my forehead. "It's either we die doing something or die doing nothing!"

He hurries over to me and stares into my eyes, saying, "We are not going to die." I pause thinking, What if he's right? And I really am just anxious and overthinking? Ugh, when will they let us leave for god's sake?!

But then, my eyes notice something in the background. "Outside!" I shout once more. Running towards it, I force the sliding glass door open, urgently rushing to head to the fence and jump over, but my feet slip on the water splashed around the swimming pool.

I fall to the pool in no time, soaking my body from head to toe. Fortunately, I do not hit my head on the railing or the edge of the pool. What's unfortunate is that water invades my nostrils.

Rindou lends his hand to me as I get out of the pool. "You gotta be more careful. Ever heard of 'No Running by the Pool'?" I take his hand and push myself out of the water. "Escape. I mean it." I utter with a firm tone.

He asks, "What are you gonna do with wet clothes?"

I point out while twisting my hair dry, "It's a house. There's gotta be a bathroom where I can change."

He then replies, "Yes, but how are you sure there will be clothes for you? This house can go from fully furnished to no spoons, no cups, and no clothes."

I storm out of there, saying, "Let me be, damn it Haitani! I don't need to hear your empathy."

Rindou sighs, bowing his head, but as he lifts it to look at the sky, he realizes something worth spilling to. He runs to find me in a locked bathroom. Knocking with haste, I open the door with a frown on my face. "What?"

He sees me with a half-buttoned shirt, slightly revealing my top underwear to him. "Y/n, there is no point in escaping through that tall fence." Rindou says as he casually takes off his coat and hands it to me.

I just accept this offer with eye contact strong and holding. "What are you trying to say?" I question, furrowing my eyebrows.

He briefly explains, "The sky is fake. The sun is fake. It's all just a huge wallpaper to deceive our eyes! There is no easy escape unless we find an actual door. One that isn't blending in with everything else in the background. Right now, we are in some kind of cube, trapped."

"No... We are inside a set." I point out as realization hits me but Rindou doesn't seem to get it yet. "You know, the ones we have viewed while planning our scenes. Every film uses a set. It's a basic term."

"Well, shit. What do the kidnappers intend to do with us?! Who are these insane fuckers?" He grunts to himself as he faces the floor.

"But, hey. At least we know it doesn't have anything to do with your case." I say before closing the door and go back to fixing my current problem. Why does this house even have a pool anyway? I like pools but in this scenario, it's a no.

Once I go back to the living room where I find him lying flat on the ground, I accompany him by the floor. Rindou begins to speak his mind freely, "It's amazing how this house is built. I can see the sky from here."

"It would have been better if the sky was real." I say in a monotone voice. He then gradually gazes at me with remorse haunting his face again. "I impulsively accepted your manager's request with you in my mind, thinking this is the only way I can get closer to you."

My eyes pierce him with a 'What the fuck?' look. I stare back at the fake sky and say, "You wish you had more chances, huh. Well, you are doomed to hell, Haitani."

"That's why I came back."

"We just happened to meet." I get up and sit up slouching as I strike a glare at him, making him sound like he doesn't know what he is talking about. "Look, if neither of us were there, we never would have met ever and we would be on our separate paths living distantly. We are a failure. We are nothing now."

"I don't think it's coincidental. I think we are destined to meet somewhere in the future, Y/n."

I sigh at his ridiculous remark, "It is coincidental. Don't overthink it. You are embarrassing yourself with these stupid opinions of yours."

As I get up, he continues on, "The important thing to acknowledge here is I stayed, right? I stayed even in this sticky situation. I am here scared because your life is at risk."

I squat, leaning my face closer to his as I say with an irritated tone, "Do you know why I despise you so much, Haitani? It's because your immature words dug a hole in my heart that grew onto me and now I can't throw it in the sea hoping it would just go away. I get it though. You chose fame over me."

I continue as he stays mute, "You have two things I can never have. One is charm, and two is a caring and loving brother. Congrats! You win a lottery while I grovel the dirt. You speak while I act. Water and oil don't belong to one another."

Rindou hesitates to release a word, so it is my cue to leave him behind me. I can't tell if he is surprised or hurt by my words. Either way, it doesn't matter to me.

This is already me punching a past bruise on my cheek. Does it hurt? Yes. But is it bearable? Also, yes. There is no point crying over spilled milk. Maybe I am born to be alone. All of the people who have been with me are going away or I am pushing them far from me.

♥ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴛɪɴᴜᴇᴅ...