Heechul woke up. In his disorientation and having forgotten about his predicament he thought to himself, ‘What a strange dream.’ But the slight headache and the painful stiffness in his neck brought him out of his groggy state fast. ‘This is real.’

He accepted his reality but didn’t conform. For the time being, the best news was the fact that he was still alive.

He shifted on his back. It felt surprisingly good as each individual vertebrae decompressed along the length of his back. He tried to stretch out his cramped legs but there wasn’t enough space for such a luxury.

He lay in that position for a moment, enjoying the sensation of blood flow returning to his left arm. Eventually, with the pains of his bones and muscles quieting, Heechul noticed his bladder screaming for attention.  Now was the time for strategy without panic. He knew nothing good would come of impulsive actions.

He moved his hands over his pocket where he usually kept his cell phone. Just as he had expected, his pockets had been emptied.

He took the time to feel the object in his mouth with his tongue. It wasn’t smooth but it wasn’t abrasive either. He guessed it to be some sort of fabric, a bandana perhaps.

He moved on to the restraints on his wrists. They had rubbed his skin roughly when he struggled against them earlier before he passed out. Now, he could feel that they were thin but strong and unbreakable; his wrists would sooner rip open. Their sharp edges made him think they were most certainly zip ties.

Heechul shifted on his right side and knocked 3 times on the back of the rear bench seat. It wasn’t the frantic bumping sound that he had produced before when he first realized his situation. With the controlled knocking, he was hoping to send the right message: “I’m calm. I won’t freak out and I need your attention.”

The car continued on its way.

‘Maybe they didn’t hear me… Should I knock again?’ Heechul raised his hands to knock again but before he could make contact with the back seat, he felt the car begin to slow down and pull over to the side.

They slowed to a smooth stop. He heard the car door open followed by footsteps moving closer. His heart rate quickened as he realized that he might not be ready to face the person that he was at the mercy of. His thoughts were cut short as the trunk popped open. A flood of light hit his face and he felt the gag being removed from his mouth.

“What?”

Heechul looked up. He couldn’t distinguish the face. The sun shone brightly in his eyes, which were having a hard time adjusting to the sudden change.

He heard his captor drum the lid of the trunk with his fingers as he held it open.

“What?” he asked again.

Heechul tried to shield his eyes from the sun with his bound hands. He could only make out a general outline of the man in front of him.

His captor sighed. He continued with a gentler tone, “I really don’t have time to stop for long. Actually, I shouldn’t have stopped at all.”

“Okay, okay. Restroom. I really need a restroom,” Heechul answered, still squinting from the glare in his face. “Please,” he added.

He heard the tall man grunt. For a moment, Heechul doubted his request would be obliged. Being nice and calm had worked thus far. Heechul considered changing tactics again but before he could think of his next move he felt himself being lifted by his arm and shirt collar out of the trunk. He was set on the ground. Heechul found it hard to stand with his feet tied together but the man held him by the shoulders to help him balance.

For the first time he was able to get a good look at his captor. The sight of him threw his mind off balance momentarily. Heechul had expected to see a rough character; a cartel member or street thug. Instead, he was staring into the face of a young man, his age or younger, with brown hair, brown eyes, and handsome features.

“Okay, let’s do this quickly. One hop this way,” the young man motioned for Heechul to move to the side, facing away from the road.

Heechul did as he was told.

The young man, not taking his hands from Heechul’s shoulders, positioned himself behind him. Then he moved his hands down and grasped Heechul’s zipper.

“Woah! What are you doing?!” Heechul squirmed in the stranger’s arms.

“I’m helping you, duh.”

“Thank you very much but you could just untie me.”

He looked at him suspiciously. “I’m not untying you. So do you need to whiz or what?”

“Yeah-” The young man reached for Heechul’s zipper again but Heechul blocked with his hands. “You know… I think I got this.”

“Suit yourself.” As soon as he stepped back, Heechul lost balance and wobbled where he stood trying to remain upright. The stranger stepped forward again. “You don’t have to ask. I’ll just keep you up… `cause I’m nice like that.” He supported Heechul with his hands on his back.

Although self-conscious, considering that not since he was a baby had another person touched him while he did his business, and even though he struggled with his zipper, Heechul managed to get through it.

“Done?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Back in the trunk you go.” He looked around to make sure they were still completely alone then picked Heechul up bridal style.

“No-no-no, wait. Just let me sit with you. I don’t want to go back in the trunk.” Heechul had been able to get a glance of the car. He noted the empty seats. His captor was travelling alone. Heechul decided it would be a good, if not the only chance to appeal to him.

The young man laughed under his breath. “Oh, you don’t?” He set him gently back in the trunk. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the cloth to put back over Heechul’s mouth.

“No, I don’t.” Heechul looked into the stranger’s eyes, stealing glances at the cloth hanging limply in his hand every now and then. It seemed like he had actually stopped to consider Heechul’s request or at least he held onto that hope.

The young man shook his head. He leaned forward, bringing the cloth just inches from Heechul’s face.

“My name’s Heechul. Did you know that?”

He pulled back and nodded yes.

“What’s your name?”

The young man caressed Heechul’s cheek with the back of his hand and sighed. “Kyuhyun,” he answered, although somewhat reluctantly.

“Kyuhyun. That’s a nice name.”

Kyuhyun lightly traced the ligature marks on Heechul’s wrists. Heechul tried to ignore the touch.

“Kyuhyun, look I’m not mad. I just don’t want to be in here and I want to talk to you. You seem like a nice guy. I won’t try anything. I’ll do what you want.”

“Sorry, I’m not going to let you ride with me but you will get to know me. We’ll see each other in a bit.” He made to close the trunk.

“Hold on. Untie my hands, please. This is painful.” Heechul raised his hands to show his abductor his wrists where the zip ties had dug into his skin.

“I’m not untying you…yet.”

“But you will?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Soon.”

“Where are we going?”

“You don’t need to know that. Just get back in and know that you won’t be like this much longer.”

“Wait-”

Kyuhyun didn’t wait. He put the gag back on Heechul but not before the latter tried to bite his hand.

“Don’t fight like that. It’ll only make me like you more.”

Heechul drew back. Kyuhyun closed the trunk and walked around back to the driver’s seat. Moments later, they were back on the road.

Alone in the trunk, Heechul reviewed what he knew about his captor, which wasn’t much in terms of fact but he had something to go on in terms of behavior. In reality, he knew he had an uphill battle ahead of him.