Chapter 31

Yuki stirs slowly, her consciousness dragging itself up through a thick fog. For a moment, there’s nothing but darkness and a dull, aching heaviness in her body.

Then the cold hits.

It seeps into her skin, making her fingers twitch against the rough, dusty floor beneath her. A shaky breath leaves her lips, the air tasting stale as it fills her lungs.

Her eyes flutter open.

The room around her is dim, almost pitch black, except for a faint stream of moonlight slipping through a window somewhere to her side.

It looks abandoned.

Bare walls. Cracks running along the surface. Dust everywhere, coating the ground and floating lazily in the cold air. The silence feels heavy, suffocating.

Yuki blinks, her gaze unfocused.

Then it hits her.

She got kidnapped by Mr. Hanekawa’s men.

Her heart suddenly lurches into a frantic rhythm, pounding so hard it makes her chest ache. She pushes her hands against the ground, trying to sit up, but the moment she moves, something inside her snaps tight.

Her breathing falters.

Then it spirals.

Short, quick gasps tear from her lungs, each one more desperate than the last. She can’t get enough air, no matter how hard she tries, it feels like her chest won’t expand properly.

“H-Help..” she whispers, but it’s barely a sound―broken by the way her breath stutters through it. “God.. please.. no..”

Her vision wavers as she forces her head up, her eyes frantically scanning the room.

Then she sees it.

The door.

It’s there, just across the room. Dark, worn wood, barely visible in the dim moonlight, but unmistakable.

For a second, everything in her locks onto it.

Her body tenses like she’s about to move, like she might get up, might run, might do something―

But she doesn’t.

She can’t.

Her legs won’t respond. They feel heavy. Locked. Like they don’t belong to her anymore. Every attempt to move is swallowed by the fear crushing down on her chest, keeping her rooted exactly where she is.

Her eyes stay glued to the door for a few more seconds, wide and desperate.

Then they tear away.

Her head turns sharply toward the windows. They’re large and tall, but not the kind that open.

Her eyes trace the frame, shaky and unfocused, until she notices the smaller panels at the top; tiny sections that might open, just barely.

But they’re too high. And too small.

Her breathing stutters again, breaking into another series of desperate gasps. Even if they opened.. she can’t reach them. She can’t even stand.

Suddenly, the door slams open hard, rattling in its frame.

Yuki squeaks, before she scrambles backward. She presses herself into the corner, trying to make herself as small as possible.

Then they step in.

First comes Mr. Hanekawa. He’s a man in his forties or early fifties, with neatly combed hair streaked faintly with gray at the temples. A pair of thin, rectangular glasses sit on the bridge of his nose, catching the faint moonlight as he glances around the room. He wears a dark, tailored suit with a crisp white shirt underneath, a black tie, and polished shoes.

Behind him, two of his men follow closely, and they fan out slightly, framing him, making sure Yuki has nowhere to run.

The air feels heavy, and Yuki hugs her knees tighter, hoping somehow to disappear into the corner.

Mr. Hanekawa’s expression shifts the moment his eyes settle fully on her. His brows draw together in a frown, and without warning he strides toward her with sudden speed, his polished shoes striking the dusty floor in quick, hard steps.

Yuki barely has time to flinch.

His hand shoots out and grabs a fistful of her hair, yanking her head up with brutal force. A sharp cry catches in her throat as the pain makes her eyes water instantly.

“You snake,” he hisses, his voice low and venomous. “Mei told me you’re the main reason all of this happened to her, and that you’ve been bothering and blackmailing her!”

His grip tightens, and his glasses flash briefly in the moonlight as he leans closer, eyes burning with rage.

“All out of pure jealousy, huh?” he sneers, his voice dripping with contempt. “F*cking pathetic little brat.”

Yuki shakes her head quickly. “I-I didn’t..” she stammers, her voice cracking with desperation. “Mei.. Mei bullied me.. She beat me and c-cut my hair.. but I didn’t do anything to her.. I swear I didn’t..”

For a second, he just stares at her in disbelief, his jaw tightening so sharply it looks like it might crack.

“What?” he asks, and his grip on her hair jerks hard, forcing her head back with a sharp, painful tug. “First that boy spreads filth about her, and now you come here trying to paint my daughter as some kind of bully? You two are working together, aren’t you? Trying to drag her name through the mud while she’s lying in a hospital bed suffering because of you?”

“I-I swear.. we’re not lying.. Mei―”

“Shut up!” he cuts her off harshly.

He leans in closer, his glasses flashing in the moonlight.

“You really are a disgusting little thing,” he spits, looking down at her with pure contempt. “People like you always do this. Claw at the ones above you, and then hide behind tears when it blows up in your face. You are nothing but a desperate little brat with no class, no shame, and no idea who you’re speaking to.”

His lips curl in a sneer. “You disgust me.”

Yuki’s chest rises and falls in rapid, shallow pants, each breath coming in broken, desperate bursts. Her eyes are wide and glossy with tears, flicking nervously between him and the doorway, every nerve screaming.

Mr. Hanekawa stares down at her for a long, suffocating moment, eyes cold, sharp, and piercing, full of disgust and fury.

Then, just as suddenly as he grabbed her, he lets go.

Yuki collapses back against the wall, letting out a sharp, choking gasp as her head snaps forward slightly from the sudden freedom. She sinks lower into the corner, panting hard, her body still quivering, while he steps back a few paces, his gaze never leaving her.

“Well..” Mr. Hanekawa says, his tone almost thoughtful as he looks down at her trembling form.

“My daughter lost her future. Her body. Her freedom.” His voice tightens just slightly. “So it’s only fair, isn’t it.. that the ones responsible learn exactly what that feels like.”

He takes a slow step closer.

“You,” he says quietly, “and that boy of yours. I’ll make you understand what it means to lose the use of your own body. You’ll understand it, you’ll feel it, and so will he.”

Yuki’s face drains of what little color it had left. “N-No..” she breathes weakly, barely audible. “Please..”

“I’ll start with the boy,” he says flatly, as if discussing something trivial. “It’s only right he learns first.”

He adjusts his sleeve calmly, turning away already, his men shifting with him as he heads toward the door.

Yuki watches him go with a sick, rising dread twisting through her stomach as every step they take toward that door feels like a countdown.

Her whole body is still trembling, but now the fear changes shape. It is not just panic anymore―it is urgency. If he gets through that door, Isamu is done for. Begging him will not work. Pleading will not stop him either. She knows that much now, and the certainty hits her like ice water.

Her mind starts racing so hard it almost hurts.

Think. Think. Think.

Her eyes dart wildly, unfocused, then suddenly sharpen―something clicking, something desperate and reckless forcing its way through the panic.

The video.

Her eyes widen.

“WAIT!”

Her voice cracks as it bursts out of her, loud, raw, almost breaking entirely.

Mr. Hanekawa pauses, glancing back at her over his shoulder.

“I RECORDED IT!” she screams, the words tearing out of her throat before she can stop herself. Her whole body shakes as she blurts it out, breath hitching violently. “I-I RECORDED MEI SLEEPING WITH THE PRINCIPAL!”
 
 
TO BE CONTINUED...