Clap - 25

Jaemin carefully closed the door, blocking his mouth with his hand. His ears perked up, and his eyes rolled in the sightless gap.

There was complete silence. There was no sound at all. It was even more unsettling and frightening. His shoulders tensed up, and his neck stiffened.

How long had it been? One minute? Three minutes? Maybe about ten minutes had passed. A bright light poured through the narrow gap of the small drawer door. Someone had entered the kitchen and turned on the light.

Jaemin bit his lower lip. His breath stopped, and his body shrank even more.

Whether it was Ihyun or Ichan, a presence unknown to Jaemin circled the kitchen. The sound of his slippers was as loud and sharp as the sound of sharpening a knife. When his shadow brushed past the drawer, Jaemin had to fight the urge to collapse in fear.

The footsteps continued to be heard. It seemed like the unknown presence knew that Jaemin was hiding somewhere in this space. It felt like teasing the hidden Jaemin. Maybe it was mocking the hidden Jaemin.

When the shadow passed the door for the fourth time, it hesitated in front of the drawer. Jaemin’s heart stopped as the shadow stopped.

“There’s a pot sticking out.”

It was Ichan’s voice. It wasn’t as low as when he forced a confession, but it was a playful and teasing tone. It was also an exaggerated sentence like an actor stepping on the stage for the first time.

Jaemin crawled deeper into the drawer. The dishes pushed against his back let out a faint clatter, but he couldn’t stop.

Oh, I see. You know I’m here. You knew that and still circled around me.

Stupidly, I just realized it now. It was even more frustrating not knowing that the pot was rolling around.

Ichan sat crouched in front of the drawer. Then, with his usual expressionless face, he opened the door abruptly. The bright light hit Jaemin’s body randomly.

Ichan held a pot the size of a palm, shining the light. So Jaemin couldn’t tell what expression he had.

Ichan slowly reached out his arm. Jaemin tightly closed his eyes. His throat felt dry. He thought he would be grabbed by the hair. Or maybe slapped, choked, twisted by the ankle, and dragged to the bedroom.

But Ichan didn’t touch Jaemin’s body. After tidying up the messy kitchenware, he stored the pot he was holding in a suitable place. It was a very leisurely gesture. The drawer, which had become a mess because of Jaemin, was now neat. Ichan, who had looked through it, finally glanced at Jaemin.

It was a brief eye contact. With eyes that seemed to know and not know, he closed the door with a thud. Jaemin was once again locked in the black darkness.

His legs were trembling. No, his whole body was trembling. Among them, his folded knees and toes gripping the floor like hooks, and his hips supporting the weight of his body were particularly trembling.

Jaemin was still crumpled under the kitchen counter even after quite some time had passed. He wasn’t here because he didn’t want to leave, but because he couldn’t leave.

Jaemin pushed the door again with his palm. But it only trembled slightly and didn’t open. It seemed like something like a spoon was stuck in the latch.

When Ichan first discovered him, or pretended not to discover him. Jaemin thought he had gained the ability to become invisible all of a sudden. If not, Ichan wouldn’t have failed to find him in such a clumsy hide-and-seek.

Now he understood. Ichan pretended not to see him. To keep him locked up in this narrow prison.

Jaemin was being punished now. As a reward for escaping, he was transferred from a comfortable prison to a narrow, solitary cell.

How many hours had passed? Six hours? Seven hours?

His body ached, his throat was dry, and he was hungry. He didn’t realize how hungry he was until he had absorbed the hormones and absorbed the guilt. Now that he had absorbed all the hormones, he felt an unbearable hunger. He had been feeling unwell recently and had only eaten tasteless porridge.

Jaemin hesitantly reached under his buttocks. He grabbed a small, hard object. It was a stopper that Ihyun had put behind him yesterday. It was uncomfortable to sit with the foreign object stuck in place. Since he had absorbed all the hormones, he figured there wouldn’t be any accidents if he removed it.