I don’t know how much time had passed.
Suddenly, two knocks sounded from the door.
Rina’s eyes snapped open. It was the front door.
Her takeout had arrived.
Her body moved before her brain did…
Hisaki was sitting on the sofa in the Living Room. Hearing the sound, she was just about to get up when she saw a White Fur Ball charge out of the Corridor, sprinting toward the front door at full speed.
Hisaki froze for a moment, then smiled.
So excited, huh.
Rina reached the entryway, extended her hand to grip the doorknob, and pressed down.
Click.
The handle didn’t budge.
She tried pushing outward…
No use.
The ordinary-looking doorknob might as well have been welded in place. It gave her no room to maneuver at all.
Rina clicked her tongue inwardly.
Can’t open it.
On the surface, she couldn’t show even a trace of “I was just testing the lock.”
Keeping that excited “where’s my takeout” expression on her face, she bounced on her toes in place.
She also sensed something approaching from behind.
There were footsteps.
But they carried warmth—a fragrance she couldn’t name.
A pair of arms reached around from both sides of her body. One hand slid under her armpit, the other hooked beneath her knees.
A familiar angle, familiar pressure, familiar feeling of being lifted off the ground.
She was picked up again.
But this time, Rina didn’t struggle.
One, because she was already used to being carried around by this ridiculously strong woman. Two… she had just been testing the door lock, so the best move now was to behave and not raise any suspicion.
Hisaki held Shiro in her arms and looked down at the soft White Fur Ball in her embrace.
Her freshly bathed body gave off a unique scent—shower gel mixed with Shiro’s own natural smell. Her small frame, separated only by that thin camisole nightgown, radiated a soft touch and warm body heat.
Mm.
Looking closer, her clean profile showed skin so fine and fair that it glowed faintly under the warm yellow light of the entryway.
That feeling came again.
Rising from deep in her gums—the urge to bite down.
Hisaki’s Adam’s apple moved.
Hold it in.
She pulled a card from the pocket of her loungewear.
It was a rigid black card with no pattern and no text, only a thin magnetic stripe that caught the light with a cold gleam.
She inserted the card into a slot on the inside of the door. A soft beep sounded, and the electronic lock system on the door lit up.
Then she pressed the handle…
This time, a gentle push and the door swung open.
Outside sat a small shelving unit stacked with several takeout bags, each printed with the logos of
McDonald’s, KFC, Burger King, and Dicos.
The aroma of fried chicken leaked out of the bags, mingling with the salty scent of French Fries and the sweet fragrance of Egg Tarts, instantly flooding the entire entryway.
Rina’s nose betrayed her with a twitch.
So good.
Hisaki kept holding her as she peeked at the takeout, then looked down and said one thing to the Shiro in her arms.
“Shiro, opening the door requires inserting a card.”
Rina’s gaze immediately locked onto the black card in Hisaki’s hand.
I see.
So this door’s electronic lock was normally in a power-off state. It had to be activated with a card before it could be operated.
This woman had thought of everything.
This was a door access system designed specifically to keep one person contained.
Rina suppressed the shock in her chest and spoke in the most casual tone she could manage.
“Then give me a spare one already. That way, if you come back, I can open the door for you.”
Her facial expression was perfectly managed as she said it—innocence laced with a hint of entitlement, matter-of-factness laced with casualness.
Hisaki smiled.
She freed one hand, brought the takeout inside the entryway, and casually closed the door behind her.
Three seconds after the door shut, the electronic lock automatically powered down. The sound of the bolt clicking into the strike plate echoed clearly in the quiet entryway.
The door was locked.
Only then did she answer Rina’s question.
“If you’re outside, you can just enter the code to open it too.”
She paused, then looked down at the Shiro in her arms, those dark red eyes carrying a hint of amusement.
“And besides, Shiro hasn’t been very well-behaved yet.”
“Once Shiro behaves better, I’ll give you the spare key card.”
Rina was silent for a moment.
Fine.
She’d thought of even this layer.
It had never been possible for her to open the door from the inside from the start.
This door access system was designed to ensure that when the door could open, who could open it, and under what conditions—all of it rested entirely under this woman’s control.
The boundaries of Rina’s free movement in this Apartment were, in fact, precisely fenced in by that invisible electronic barrier.
Hisaki carried Shiro into the Living Room and set the takeout bags on the dining table.
The fried chicken aroma surged out of the paper bags and spread through the air, the savory smell of grease and spices churning her stomach.
But she didn’t put Rina down.
She walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down herself.
She placed Rina on her lap.
Rina found herself sitting on a surface that was neither too soft nor too hard—softer than a sofa, firmer than a bed—carrying another person’s body warmth.
Hisaki’s legs were steady, bearing her weight without the slightest tremor.
This position was too close.
Too intimate.
She was on Hisaki’s knees, her back pressed against Hisaki’s chest, her nape almost feeling Hisaki’s breath brush through her hair.
She wanted to get down. The moment she shifted, Hisaki’s arms tightened—like two gentle steel bands that kept her from moving but never hurt her.
“Kidnapper, put me down.”
Rina’s tone was back to its usual nasty edge, but the volume was a little lower than normal.
Yelling from this distance felt weird—raising her voice would only make her seem bothered.
“I want to sit by myself.”
Hisaki didn’t let go.
She lowered her head, her lips close to Rina’s earlobe, her voice so soft it was like she was whispering a secret only the two of them could hear.
“If you want the spare key card…”
Rina’s ear twitched.
“…then behave nicely in my arms.”
Hisaki’s breath brushed against Rina’s ear.
“Who knows—if I see Shiro being good, I might get happy and just give it to you.”
Rina stopped struggling.
Her brain went into overdrive.
The spare key card.
That black rigid card.
With it, the door lock was no longer an obstacle.
She could wait until Hisaki was gone, insert the card, open the door, and then…
No, wait.
She said “once Shiro behaves better.”
What counted as “behaving well”?
Sitting still in her arms?
Not resisting?
Rina was silent for a moment.
Then she realized a brutal truth.
Other than doing what this woman said, she currently had no better option.
This Kidnapper had blocked off every escape route, leaving only one…
Follow her lead.
Be obedient first. Play nice first. Get that card first. Then find an opening.
Rina’s body gradually relaxed.
She sat quietly on Hisaki’s lap. No squirming. No cursing. No struggling.
Hisaki looked down at the White Fur Ball that had gone still in her arms.
The silver-white crown of her head was right below Hisaki’s chin, the scent of shampoo drifting upward.
Her small body curled up in her embrace, the warmth of her skin felt through the thin nightgown.
Those little legs that had been kicking just moments ago now hung still and obedient. One slipper had fallen beside the table leg, revealing smooth bare feet and round little toes.
A well-behaved, quiet Shiro who let her hold her.
Hisaki felt like her heart was being gently cupped in someone’s palm—warm, soft, and full.
She couldn’t help but reach out and gently pat the top of Shiro’s head.
The silver-white strands were even softer than she had imagined…
The hair was still slightly damp.
Rina felt the touch on her head and her body reflexively stiffened.
Head pats.
She had hated people touching her head since she was little.
Back at the Hospital, every doctor who came on rounds would pat her head twice, like they were comforting a sick little animal.
That kind of “poor thing” touch always made her want to shrink into her blanket.
But this time was different.
Hisaki’s hand on her head was very gentle. No pity, no sympathy—only a pure, almost obsessive “fondness.”
So Rina didn’t dodge.
Not because she didn’t want to, but because…
For the spare key card.
She closed her eyes and, at an angle Hisaki couldn’t see, silently clenched the fist resting on her knee.
Endure it for now.
Once I get the card, I’ll make this woman regret everything.