The first thought coursing through my mind was "I'm going to die". The second thought was "how am I going to convey to Lee that I've been kidnapped?". A million different ideas whizzed in my brain following this. Meanwhile, this creep kept his frikin' hand locked onto me. This whole description happened in about three seconds, although it felt more like an hour. In that time, I formulated a plan.
Now, I don't know if what I was about to do is right. All I could think of is that I read somewhere that abductors like this enjoy watching their victims suffer. He'd get off seeing me squirm in sheer terror. Again, I wasn't sure how true- if it was true at all- this was, and I didn't have a phone to fact-check it. But regardless if it was true or not, it was the best thing I could think of. One way to beat a villain like him was to switch it up and not act afraid; no clue if that's true either. I couldn't conceptualize how much I didn't know, not that I had time for that. With no plan B, I decided to go ahead with my possibly ill-plotted plan. Don't trust whatever I'm about to tell you to work- I am no expert on any of this.
I had to shut my eyes for the briefest of moments and hold my breath as I forced my hand to reach over to grab his. His eyes instantly lit up in confusion and slight alarm; I don't think he was anticipating any of this. I didn't want to touch him for longer than absolutely necessary, but it was necessary. I needed his attention away from my feet.
"O-Ok, let's go," I did my best to speak in Korean, but my voice was all sorts of shaky. My abductor didn't know how to react to this, looking at me with suspicion. It worked, though! While all this was happening, I managed to discreetly as possible remove one of my pink converses. I knew that if Lee found my shoe alone out here like this, he'd know something was definitely wrong. He knew I'd never go anywhere with only one shoe on- it was my secret signal to him. And thankfully, my kidnapper never even noticed; he was too distracted with my hand on his.
That only lasted as long as I needed to get the shoe off. The moment my foot was out, I snatched my hand back so rapidly, that too caught him by surprise. After blinking at me a couple of times, his head fell down a little. "You better not try and run," I think he tried to reassure total control and dominance of the scenario by threatening me again. I should know that he only spoke to me in Korean, though I don't know how he knew I could speak it. Still clinging onto my wrist, he proceeded to walk me down the dark road, staying mostly by the side in the shadows. We left, leaving my little pink shoe there all alone.
We walked for ten minutes or so, and I realized that he was leading me towards the train station. When we were approaching the entrance, he shifted his hand from my wrist to my hand, holding it just as tight. He gripped my palm so hard, I thought he was actually going to break some bones. Not a word was uttered as we reached the gate; he simply and silently pulled out two tickets to open the door for us. I guess he's put some thought into this abduction- a concept which made me sick to my stomach.
After going through the gate, he brought me to a platform bound to the city-centre. While standing there, he still said nothing; we stood side-by-side glued at the hip. Not by my choice, of course. Every minute I waited for the train was akin to an eternity. Five minutes later, the front lights of the train could be seen coming through the tunnel. The train arrived, people got off, and my kidnapped led me on board. We sat down in a semi-packed car and I held my breath. He leaned over to whisper into my ear: "pretend I'm your boyfriend". I nearly vomited in my mouth. Boyfriend?! He wants me to act the part after kidnapping me from my home? But what choice did I have? My heart dropped to my stomach as his arm suddenly snaked around my shoulder; he held me in place in such a cementing way. I'd never felt so gross in all my life! I don't think there are enough showers, baths, just even soap in the world to wash away the nastiness that would be with me forever.
If I thought waiting for the train took forever, riding it never ended. Time in between stops went on and on- or at least it seemed that way for me. I waited for this asshole to do something- anything- but he kept sitting there with his arm firmly around me. It slowly dawned on me that if I didn't do something soon, he'd bring me to who knows where. Yet again my lips parted a sliver and I drew in a deep, deep breath. The best chance I had at escaping him was if I could get him to trust me a little. And the only way I could think to do that was to convince him that I wasn't hating this experience with my whole being. My kidnapped flinched slightly in shock as my hand reached over again. It took every ounce of willpower and courage I had to play the part. I put my hand over top of his knee and felt so totally and completely disgusted with myself. His head shot my way and I used the remaining inner strength to force the world's tiniest grin.
"D-Don't worry. I-I'm not going to run," I didn't sound convincing at all, and he knew it. He eyed me suspiciously, clearly put-off and frazzled by my show of affection- even if it was false. But for the second time, it had the desired effect. His grip loosened on me ever so slightly; his arm relaxed a tad. Bingo! I could work with this; I just had to wait for the first opportunity...
My kidnapper's eyes sharpened onto me, like he was trying to figure me out. I didn't break the stare, trying to prove that I wasn't afraid- despite being scared out of my skin. His mouth visibly opened, but no words came out right away. The announcement for the next stop interrupted the quiet and the train was coming to a halt. His stare locked firm onto mine; his fingers gripped the side of my shoulder. "Why are you being so cooperative all of a sudden?" He hissed. My mouth shot open, yet nothing sounded. I swore his eyes hardened onto me that second.
"Why did you never answer any of my calls?"
All the blood pumping through my veins froze. My limbs went numb for a moment. My eyes were as wide as ever, but I don't remember seeing anything just then. My mind became a black cyclone, sinking deeper and deeper with no end in sight. Him... He's the one... He's the man who's been stocking me for months; the one constantly calling me and leaving those horrible voicemails. I knew his voice sounded familiar... But to actually hear it... The fear cannot be adequately described in any language created by the human race.
The following seconds are a blank in my memory- I literally don't remember them. But somehow I got off the train at the next station; the one we were rolling up into. I fled my stocker, running for what felt dear life. Naturally he was right behind me, and I do mean right behind me. I didn't mean to, but I was so scared and running so fast that I shoved this woman trying to get through the gate. It closed behind me, giving me a few precious seconds to flee.
But sadly, it was not enough. I had no idea where I was; I only knew this was a bad part of town, which I realized seeing the train station sign outside. Oh god, as if it couldn't get any worse. Here I was, without a phone, wallet, or any money, in one of the worst neighbours in Seoul. My feet paused only for a mere second for me to catch my breath- big mistake. "Hey, you!" Oh god, he's here! I had to keep running, in which direction I had no idea. Any direction away from him was a good direction in my opinion. His footsteps could be heard inches behind me. "Get back here! Get back here, you bitch!"
I practically threw myself around the corner of this one building into an alleyway. I wasn't watching where I was going- there was no time for that. I should have been, however. Halfway down the street, my body crashed so hard into this figure. The impact was so forceful that I stumbled backwards a few steps. My winced eyes immediately opened to see this surprised Korean gangster there, looking back at me dumbstruck. "Stop her!" My stocker shouted as he rounded the corner.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire. This big, macho thug didn't hesitate to grab me by the wrist. If I thought my stocker was strong, I had no idea was true physical strength was. He held me with minimal effort, and I wasn't going anywhere. He didn't look at me any longer, though; he was eyeing my stocker with an unimpressed expression.
"Who are you? Why are you chasing her?" This gangster's voice was a thing in of itself; he sounded like a mobster. And it was terrifying. Even my stocker seemed affected by this sudden turn of events, shrinking down a tiny bit. It was clear who was in charge of the scenario now. "S-She's my girlfriend. G-Give her to me," it was weird to sound my stocker nervous. The brute's eyes simply sharpened onto him, almost angrily so. That's when I saw another window of opportunity, though I should have known better judging by how tight he was holding onto me.
"He's not my boyfriend! He kidnapped me!" I cried in pure desperation. My heart sank however, when the man merely gave me a single glance over, like my plea hadn't affected him whatsoever. After giving me a brief glance, his glare returned to my stocker, who looked very afraid by now. "I see. You're trying to abduct this woman. Well too bad for you, I don't like selling girls." Selling girls? What does he mean by that?! Someone's going to sell me?! That was a whole new level of fear, which was on intensified when he spun around still wrenching onto my wrist. "Well, it can't be helped, now that she's here. I'll let the boss decide what to do with her." His boss?! Like a real-life mob boss?!
That snapped my stocker back to it momentarily. A wave of rage washed over his face and he forgot who he was dealing with for a minute. He charged my new abductor with the sole intent to harm. "No, give her back to me! She's mine!" The man holding me reacted like he was dealing with a fly. I looked, and I wished I hadn't, and witnessed him slug my stocker in the face. And it wasn't just any punch; oh no. He was knocked out, in a single blow. You have no idea the horror watching a man flying through the air in this ungodly way. My stocker landed against the concrete several feet away, obviously knocked unconscious. This pool of thick, deep red blood began to pool around the bottom of his head.
While I stood still as a statue in complete shock, the gangster shrugged like it was nothing and kept on going with my wrist in his fist. That was the last time I saw my stocker, laying there on the ground in a ring of his own blood. I honestly don't know if he survived or not; I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. But I like to imagine that he did- I'd hate to think that I saw a man die in front of my very own eyes.
The man walked, dragging me along swiftly behind him. He never once looked back at me, but I knew I was there. I was brought to this dingy, abandoned car factory. Inside were a whole lot of other gangsters- each more scary than the last.
The man took me inside, and I honestly wasn't sure if I'd ever leave again.