Coffee and Letters Ep. 24 - (A MiChaeng FF Story)

**Chaeng finally stop crying. She realized that doing so will not help her escape from her situation right now. Besides, she could now open her eyes and feel her body again. But when she tried to wipe her blurry eyes with the back of her hand, she almost cried once more. Her arms were tied at the back of her seat. Not so tight though, but not loose enough for her to pull it and do what she wants to do.**

**Now fear somewhat envelops her again. Who does this to her? Where is she? Why is she there? What time is it? How did she end up sitting in that dark room? Countless questions are popping inside her head. And even though she won’t get any answers, her brain just keeps and keeps on asking, which makes it more exasperating.**

**She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, thinking that maybe she’s in a deep sleep and this is just all a nightmare. But when she opened her eyes, she’s still sitting at the same spot with the same lightless room. The thin line of light on the floor that she saw a moment ago, in which she doesn’t know how long time ago it was, was no longer there. But the room isn’t pitch-black. Certainly, the reflection of outside light illuminates in this room. Maybe from the lamp posts or nearby establishments.**

**She’s starting to gain courage, though fear is still unignorable. She turned her head to her left and sees a bed pushed against the wall with a sheet properly tucked in. There are a bedside table and a lamp with a telephone line on top. She was just a meter or two away from it, but since her arms were tied up, she won’t be able to use it to call for help. There’s also an old CRT television at the foot of the bed and she quite doubts if it’s still working. She’s guessing that thing is more than her age and wonders why someone is still using it. Then she turned to her right where she saw a small squared window. Maybe just two feet wide, but she’s not sure about it. All she knows is it’s wider than one foot. Then the last thing she stared at was the door in front of her. She was sitting straight in front of the door. Does this mean her abductor is daring her to dart at it and bang it like a mad man? But she won’t do it. What if this person is just waiting for her to do so, and will put a gun on her head once she opens it? Besides, when she tried to move her feet, they're also tied like her hands. So, there’s no point in daring herself to jump from where she’s sitting up to the door.**

**Then she heard a clicking sound in front of her. Someone’s unlocking it, which made her eyes widened and her heart’s thumping wildly. Another surge of fear exploded within her. She wants to run. She wants to hide. She wants to escape. But how? Her hands and feet were tied up. And then she accepted the fact that she’s helpless. That she can’t do anything about it unless someone will have enough reason to look for her. But who would it be? Mina? Will she even look for her? Will she even notice that she’s missing? That she’s in danger?

**She has no family who’ll search for her. So, if she loses her life at this very moment, no one would even grieve. Maybe a few friends, but no one will celebrate her death anniversary or even pray for her to go to heaven in peace.**

**The clicking between the key and knob finally stopped and was immediately replaced with a squeaking sound of the hinges of the door. Then a tall slender man appeared before her. But she couldn’t recognize him. He’s wearing a baseball cap that covers half of his face. Besides, the room is so dark that even though he’s not wearing anything to cover his face, she still won’t be able to recognize him.**

**The man took another step towards her after he closed the door, which strengthens the tension inside her cage. She starts to sway from right to left hoping she’ll escape from the rope binding her from her seat. But she gained no success.**

“I’m not good at making knots, but I’m a hundred percent sure you won’t be able to untie that. I took scouting during my grade school and my dad taught me more whenever we go fishing and camping when I was young.”

**He ceased walking towards Chaeng. He has no intention of restraining her from escaping. He was even watching her deliberately and waiting for her to loosen the rope in her hands and feet. And then he smiled proudly at how Chaeng’s having difficulty untying it.**

**Chaeng froze at the sound of the man’s voice. It was calm and soothing. And it feels as if he’s just talking to her like they’re sitting for a coffee or having dinner. She stopped fighting the rope and finally stayed still.**

**There’s something familiar with his voice, and she knows she’d heard that before. But she couldn’t explain why she can’t put a name into it. It’s like you want to say something and it’s stuck at the tip of your tongue.**

**Whatever medicine or drugs she took or made her take, it affected her judgment and it washed up some of her memories. She couldn’t even remember the last thing she did before she ended up sitting in this dark room with a man she doesn’t know.**

“You still don’t remember me, don’t you?”

**His face is still hidden behind the visor of his cap, and no matter how much Chaeng peered into it, she could see nothing.**

“Maybe the drugs haven’t flushed out from your system yet.”

**Then Chaeng heard him chuckle as if it’s tickling him.**

“Oh… sorry. I forgot that I put a tape in your mouth.”

**He chuckled again and then walked towards her. He slightly bowed his head to continue hiding his identity. But the light coming from the glass of the window bounce onto his cheeks, which made Chaeng want to scream. I know you! I know you! I know you!**

“Here you go.”

**He said as he stared at the tape he pulled from Chaeng’s lips. Then he lets down his right on his side, still letting the tape stick to his index finger, and straightened up. He turned his eyes towards her again. She was staring at him sternly, and finally… finally he pulled the cap from his head to reveal his face to her.**

**He was smiling as if he’s in front of a camera and waiting for someone to click the shutter to capture his angelic face.**

“Don’t you want to scream and ask for help? I removed the tape in your mouth already. You’re free to scream now, you know.”

**Instead of daring to open her mouth, she stayed frozen with her eyes memorizing every expression Bam is showing her. He was looking straight into her eyes, grinning, and standing still like a statue sculpted in front of her.**

Bam: Okay… maybe, you’re not interested to be rescued. Maybe because no one is there when you come back home. Isn’t it?

Chaeng: Wh—why? Why am I here?

**Bam hunched down to level his eyes into hers, and the smug on his face is still there.**

Bam: Why are you here?

**He paused, and she didn’t say another word. She wants to hear his answer first before she asks her next question. She knows it isn’t the time for them to have a little chitchat, but there’s a part of her that wants to know the truth. Is it because of Mina? Is it because he wants to get rid of her so he could be the only person that Mina will see?**

Bam: What do you think is the answer?

**He straightened up and turned his back onto her. Then he sauntered straight to the chair beside the television stand and carried it with him so he could sit in front of her. He crossed his legs and rested his hands on his left knee, and Chaeng followed his every movement—not missing any single of it.**

Bam: I’m asking you, what do you think is the answer?

**He tilted his head on his right. He’s no longer smiling, instead, his face is now deadly serious.**

**How could this man have thousands of expressions in just a minute. Chaeng thought. Then she finally remembered the moment they were sitting at that old pastry shop. Yes, she can now recall that she walked behind him at that narrow alley, and then sat at the corner watching people pass in front of her. The sequence of the earlier event is now coming into light, but not yet as sharp as it should be. The drugs that he made her take might still be in her system, preventing her to remember everything. But she has faith that all of it will come back sooner, or if not, at least she already knows who the person behind all of this.**

**He sighed heavily before he leaned on his seat and relaxed his shoulders.**

Bam: I don’t know if it’s still the drugs I put on your drinks earlier or you’re just not fond of talking. Must be the latter, isn’t it?

**Chaeng gulped and Bam saw it happened.**

Bam: Are you scared? I know it’s a stupid question… but I want to hear the answer. Are you scared as hell?

**His tone is firm, but Chaeng couldn’t explain why everything else is so calm within him.**

**She gulped again, trying her best to calm her fluttering heart. And even if she doesn’t want to say a single word, there’s something inside her that pushes her to utter a word. Something that’s so eager to answer his every question.**

Chaeng: I… I am.

**She could only see a silhouette of the man in front of her, but she saw his lips twitched on its left. He’s smiling, which sends a shiver in her spine. He’s creeping her out and she could no longer deny it.**

Chaeng: Why… why are you doing this to me?

Bam: Why do you keep on asking why, Chaeyoung? I thought you are smart. Smart enough to get what’s going on. You’re a writer, right? I thought writers are smart. Writers have a wild imagination and could even play with people’s emotions? Then why aren’t you getting why you and I are here? Is it so difficult to perceive?

**How… how could he know who I am? How did he find out that I’m a writer? I don’t remember Mina mentioned my full name to him. And even if she did, if he hadn’t crossed one of my books, he won’t recognize me. He won’t guess who I am. She repeated.**

**He might have seen the surprise in her face ‘cause she heard him chuckled. Why is it so difficult to hide my reaction? Why am I so easy to read? While this guy in front of me is so hard to understand. Even when we’re still sitting at that shabby pastry shop, I found no emotion in his every stare.**

Bam: You’re wondering how I found out, right? I knew you, even before Mina introduced you to me. It wasn’t that difficult to find out something about you, you know. Will it even surprise you if I tell you that I know you lost your parents in a car accident a year ago? On your birthday?

**He got up on his feet and stretched his neck to his right, and then to his left.**

Bam: I love digging people’s stories. Stories that changed their lives. It’s just so fascinating, you know. It’s better than watching predictable movies and tv shows.

**This time, he’s laughing. He’s laughing so hard that he even pressed his left hand on his belly. And the sound of his amusement is bouncing in the entire room. She could even feel the vibration of his voice directly at her heart. Well, it’s like he doesn’t care if someone will hear him outside. Or… she wondered, is there even a possibility that someone will hear them?**

**Then he suddenly stopped and returned to Chaeng. If she’s scared a few moments ago with what this man can do to her, this time she’s more scared than ever. There’s something in his blank stare that makes him more… terrifying.**

***TO BE CONTINUED***

Episode 23       Episode 25