Creating Hidden Endings

1. The World In The Game

A swarm of lights flickered over the eye patch that covered his eyes. Because of the wrist tied behind the back, the arm that does not bleed is too numb. There was no sense of depreciation under the knee, which had been kneeling for a long time.

I struggled to improve my hearing as much as I could while sitting in an uncomfortable position. For now, the only thing I could depend on was sound. The problem is that even the situation that was inferred from the sound was equally disappointing.

“—Ack!”

Ever since I was caught in an unknown place, I heard a groan along with the sound of flesh bursting. But there was no groan this time, only a beaten sound. The opponent had clearly pushed out to the point of being unable to make a sound.

‘Mom—’

I was calling for my mother because I wanted to cry. After I became an adult, I wondered when was the last time I called my mother so earnestly.

I want to go down on my knees and beg for help. I would have been caught doing that if it hadn’t been for the hand slowly pressing the back of my head.

However, I knew what the warning meant. An unspoken threat to keep quiet and not even breathe loudly unless I want to die right now.

I was even killing my breath to stay alive as I heard another hard-hitting sound. I was startled and tried to raise my head, but the pressure of the hand on the back of my head grew stronger and I couldn’t move.

“Oh, let him go.”

“Do you mean the hand as well?”

“Yeah.”

It was the first voice I heard except for someone groaning. But there was no time to celebrate, as the crisis worsened. This was because, at the same time as the voices were heard, the periodic beatings sound stopped. If the order was given for the unexplained violence, it had to be my turn this time.

Why do I have to be like this?

Tears seemed about to come out of feeling frustration, but I barely held it in. The person in the back unexpectedly clicked his tongue while I was forcibly swallowing the sob. Even though I felt my arm being released with that sound, I still couldn’t move freely.

After a while, there was a sound of metal falling to the floor, and the blindfold slowly peeled off. I frowned because my eyes hurt from the sudden light.

“Ah—”

The bright light was burning my retina and making me dizzy, so I blinked. As I lowered my head to avoid the light, a luxuriously laid carpet caught my eye through the blurred vision.

Looking at the fancy carpet that can only be seen in movies, I remembered a movie whose title I couldn’t even remember. It was a B-class action movie about a criminal trying to kill a witness because he saw his face.

Wouldn’t they spare me if I didn’t see his face?

I leaned forward in such a weak hope and closed my eyes tightly. However, it seems that the other person hadn’t even seen the movie. Seeing that he couldn’t wait for that moment, he harshly pulled my hair and forced me to lift my head.

The pain of pulling the scalp and the fear of survival made my body tremble. It was as if someone had made a small click sound in the body that was trembling out of control.

Will I die here?

Will I be beaten to death in such a horrible place? As I struggled to open my eyes, I heard a voice from the other side.

“Chorok-ah, please be polite.”

“—Yes.”

Now, what politeness? Is kidnapping someone in the world even polite? If you’re trying to be polite, you shouldn’t have kidnapped me in the first place!