Every muscle on Heechul’s body felt sore. Every movement felt like a new assault. Whatever sleep he had gotten felt like it had done more harm than good.

He opened his eyes to bleary pitch darkness. It didn’t feel like it was time to wake up. The nerves behind his eyes protested with every blink and attempt to focus. He was so tired. He shut his eyes tightly as if to correct the mistake.

His eyelids stalled despite his effort to open them again. With much effort, he managed to force them open.

‘Still dark.’

He shook his head in an attempt to get rid of his grogginess. Everything around him seemed to be moving.

‘Something’s not right here.’

His senses were slowly coming back to him. There was a sound of cars and a faint smell of tires mixed with upholstery cleaner.

His legs were cramped. His left arm had fallen asleep under the weight of his body from lying on his side. He tried to use his right hand to feel his surroundings but didn’t get very far. His wrists were bound together. His heart began to pound rapidly in his chest. Dread washed over him and he began to feel faint. He for air but only gagged on something in his mouth. He couldn’t spit the object out as it was secured firmly in his mouth.

Every possible scenario ran through Heechul’s mind. He couldn’t stop the onslaught of thoughts that set in the alarm. He squirmed in his restraints and stomped frantically causing him to realize that his legs were also bound together at the ankles.

He managed to form a concrete thought during a split second of clarity. ‘I’m in the trunk of a car.’

The air didn’t seem enough. In his panic, he forgot to breathe through his nose. He gasped for oxygen, trying to get as much as he could through the sides of his mouth despite the obstruction.

Everything slowed down; his thoughts, his movements. Then there was no sound. Then there was nothing. He lost consciousness.