A wave of dizziness and nausea suddenly hit my head and throat.
It felt like riding a spinning carousel at high speed for ten straight rounds, my brain and organs twisted into a thick paste.
I instinctively tried to open my eyes, pupils contracting sharply, but everything remained pitch black, swallowing all light.
"Mmm……"
I tried to speak, but the moment I opened my mouth, a coarse, tightly stretched cloth clamped hard over my lips. It carried a strong industrial fabric smell mixed with sour sweat, pinning my tongue to the bottom of my mouth. All sound was crushed into faint, muffled groans deep in my throat.
What is going on?
My heart felt like it was squeezed by an icy hand and skipped a beat.
I frantically tried to move my limbs, only to find my wrists tightly bound behind my back with thick nylon rope. The knots were cruelly tight; any force made the rough cord bite into my skin, sending sharp pain. My arms had already gone numb from poor circulation.
My body was forced into a side-lying fetal position in the cramped space, ribs compressed. Every breath made my chest hit the hard iron walls around me, causing dull pain.
A low, rhythmic engine vibration reached my ears, accompanied by the rumble of tires rolling over gravel. This was probably the trunk of a car.
Have I been kidnapped?
The absurd thought exploded in my mind like lightning.
Impossible. I’m just an ordinary office worker with a nine-to-five job whose savings never exceed five figures. I’m no rich heir and have no wealth worth risking a crime for.
Revenge? I don’t even dare speak harshly to colleagues. Who could I have offended?
The endless darkness sharpened my senses. I could feel the car speeding, several sharp turns slamming my head against the trunk wall, sending dull pain through my forehead.
I forced myself to close my eyes and calm down, desperately recalling the last moments before losing consciousness. I remembered getting off work, walking into the usual dim alley to buy a microwave meal at the convenience store… and then?
Then came hurried footsteps behind me, followed by a sharp chemical smell at my nose.
While my thoughts tangled in panic and confusion, I suddenly noticed the city noise fading.
After some time, the car slowed, wheels crunching over uneven dirt road, jolting the vehicle violently. Then the body tilted, and the engine vibration finally died.
Dead silence surrounded me.
I held my breath, muscles taut like a drawn bow, pressed against the cold floor.
The click of the handbrake, the slam of the car door, the roar of a heavy metal shutter being pushed open… every sound was amplified, hammering my nerves.
My jaw trembled with tension. Even with the gag in my mouth, I swallowed hard.
Heavy footsteps approached.
Hard-soled boots on concrete, one step, two steps, stopping right behind the trunk.
Click.
The trunk lock released. The lid was yanked open with force. Blinding light flooded in, making my eyes sting. I squinted, tears sliding down my cheeks.
Against the backlight, a tall, oppressive figure looked down at me.
I vaguely saw a cold black skull metal mask covering his face, revealing only two deep, sharp eyes.
The most striking sight was his bare upper body. Well-defined pectorals gleamed bronze under the dim light, eight-pack abs sharply cut, shark lines running down his sides into black work pants. One large hand rested casually on the trunk lid, broad shoulders blocking almost all light behind him.
This outfit… to avoid leaving fiber evidence? But that body is incredible… hard as a statue…
Wait! What am I thinking? I’m a kidnapping victim!
"Hmm?"
The masked man stared at me curled up in the trunk for a long moment, then let out a low, confused hum. His voice was deep and magnetic, echoing in the open space.
"…" I dared not move much, mouth gagged, only staring back with terrified eyes.
He slowly leaned down. A strong mix of male hormones, sour sweat, and metal-leather scent hit me. His gloved hand gripped my chin, turning my face left and right like inspecting merchandise.
Suddenly, as if seeing something unbelievable, he muttered a curse: "Shit!"
The sudden profanity made me jolt. What did he discover? Is he going to silence me?
He irritably clicked his tongue, pulled out a phone from his pocket, walked a few steps away, and dialed.
"Hey! Damn it! I grabbed the wrong guy!" he roared the moment the call connected, voice full of irritation. "This cute little guy with a small frame can’t possibly be that old man who owes money. Did you give me the wrong target info? I just grabbed him in the alley and left, didn’t look closely… What? Yeah! This guy’s only how old… I’m sure it’s not him! What the hell? What do you mean figure it out myself? Hello? Hello!? Hello!!…… Damn!"
The disconnect tone rang clearly.
Wrong person?
Those three words blanked my mind for three full seconds.
Then a huge wave of absurdity, grievance, and anger at being innocently dragged in surged up. Who did I offend?
Just walking down an alley, and I get drugged, kidnapped, stuffed in a trunk?
As he cursed and turned back, appearing above me again, I held back tears and let out a choked, angry whimper.
"Mmm… mmm mmm…… mmm……!"
He looked down at me, eyes behind the mask showing a trace of helplessness. He sighed deeply, then bent down, not bothering to untie the ropes, and simply lifted me with his muscular arms like a sack of rice, throwing me over his shoulder.
My abdomen pressed hard against his shoulder, body hanging upside down behind his back. Only then did I truly feel his terrifying physique—shoulders hard as stone, back muscles rippling with every step, felt against my cheek through thin fabric.
Dizzy from the motion, I couldn’t help muttering again at his clean, broad back: Wow… those back muscles are definitely pro-bodybuilder level…
He carried me not far, pushed open a creaking wooden door, and unceremoniously dumped me onto an old double mattress.
"Mmm……" Though the mattress was soft enough, the sudden drop made my head spin.
I struggled to prop myself up on the mattress, looking around. Cracked windows were haphazardly boarded, the floor piled with construction debris and clutter, smelling of mold and dust. This was clearly an abandoned suburban house.
He stood legs apart in front of me, like an insurmountable mountain.
I forced my head up to look at him, gaze sliding from the cold mask down his full chest, deep ab lines, finally… landing on the crotch of his black work pants.
Earlier panic had distracted me, but now in the moonlight and camping lamp glow, I was shocked to see it bulging extremely. The thick, heavy outline strained the pants into a very noticeable arc, rising and falling with his breath.
My eyes were magnetically drawn, frozen there for several seconds.
"You……" He lowered his head, voice behind the mask interrupting my wayward thoughts.
I quickly looked away, raised my head, and made a muffled "Mmm" while moving my jaw to signal him to remove the disgusting cloth.
The masked man finally reacted, squatting down. His leather-scented glove touched the skin behind my ear, sending a chill. He roughly untied the knot behind my head.
My jaw was suddenly free. The soreness made me flex my cheeks and exhale. I shook my numb neck, looked up at him, voice mixing a victim’s anger and innocent complaint: "Did you grab the wrong person? I was just buying dinner after work. Who did I offend…"
He looked at my disheveled yet puffed-cheek complaining face and actually chuckled with rogue ease: "Hahaha, sorry! Let’s pretend this never happened? You didn’t see my face anyway. I’ll let you go in a bit. We go our separate ways."
"I was kidnapped for no reason!" Hearing his casual tone, fear was instantly replaced by absurdity. My voice hardened. "You drugged me, stuffed me in the trunk, my neck and hands are about to break, and that’s it?"
He fell silent for a moment after my question.
His crouched body slowly straightened. A dangerous, heavy pressure instantly filled the space.
Looking down at me, the playful tone vanished, replaced by a cold, desperado edge: "Hey…… do you not understand your situation? I could bury you in this ruin right now and no one would find you."
The atmosphere dropped to freezing. I shrank back, the courage I’d mustered vanishing.
More seconds of dead silence.
Seeing me curled up, he sighed with some amusement and waved a hand: "Fine, fine…… then tell me, how do I compensate you? Money?"
Because he had squatted close to remove the gag earlier, after standing his crotch was now very near—close enough that the huge bulge in his pants pointed almost directly at my eye level.
That mature male scent mixed with the warmth radiating from the pants kept stimulating my vision and smell. I once again stared blankly at the prominent area, answering absentmindedly:
"Actually there’s nothing to compensate……"
"Money? I can give you some of the deposit that guy prepaid."
"No need..."
"Or take care of some enemy for you? I’m quick."
"Also…… no need."
He offered several absurd compensation ideas, all of which I lazily rejected. My eyes were locked on his crotch, unable to move even a millimeter.
Until he finally followed my gaze downward and noticed my burning stare almost glued to his fly.
"Oh～" He paused, then let out a low, lewd laugh. "Interested in this thing of mine?"
Before the words finished, he reached to undo his pants. With a swish, the work pants slid straight to the ground.