Secret Romantic || Hanji x Female Reader

Chapter Twenty-Six: Reminiscence

[Author's Note]

Hi, everyone! I had initially planned on uploading this on Christmas day, but was unable to because more than the fact that I've been busy on that day, the overall chapter mood didn't seem to fit the holidays (I'll be sure to make up for it in the following chapters!!). Either way, I still hope you'll enjoy this chapter (and experience several emotions like I did :D). 

Let me know your thoughts about it in the comments! Keep safe always!

_

I slowly opened my eyes and carefully scanned my surroundings, noticing that I was in a dark room that appeared to be a basement. Several cabinets and boxes, a boiler at the far end of the room, and a few gasoline cans stacked against the wall were visible despite the dim lighting. Apart from the sound of steadily dripping water from the ceiling, the room was almost deafeningly quiet.

My whole body ached, and it didn't take long for me to realize that my hands were tied behind my back, but somewhat luckily, my legs weren't. Not that I was able to move freely though, since I was tied to an old, rickety chair. I cautiously tried to stand up, making sure that I was able to lift the chair enough so it wouldn't scrape against the floor and make any noises.

The last thing I wanted was for anyone to hear me try to escape.

Even though my legs hurt, they weren't so bad that I couldn't walk, so I gingerly made my way closer to the cabinets, hoping to find something I could use to free my hands. Naturally, it wasn't as easy as I thought, and despite doing my best to be careful, I still ended up hitting some boxes and even accidentally kicking something that sounded like steel that lay on the ground.

"That's it!" I hopefully exclaimed as I turned to where I last kicked it, lowering myself a bit on the ground to check if I'd be able to use it.

It turned out to be a relatively small metal pipe with a few serrated edges, though I wasn't sure if it was supposed to look like that or if it had been corroded by rust over time. I knew it was dangerous to use it in that state, but given my current situation, I didn't really have much of a choice.

It was hard to reach especially since the chair kept getting in the way, but after a few unsuccessful attempts, I finally managed to grab one of its ends. Breathing heavily after that brief ordeal, I sat back down on the chair and maneuvered the pipe so I was able to wedge it between my bound hands. It looked easy to do in the movies, but in reality, it didn't even seem to work.

I almost dropped it several times too, my palms were getting sweaty, and I was beginning to hear faint footsteps from the other side of the door. If I could somehow break free from the rope just as my captor arrives, I intend to break the door lock, find anything that can be used to defend myself, and hide behind the tall stack of boxes to give them the impression that I was able to escape.

Frustratingly, the pipe I used didn't seem to be doing the trick as I had hoped it would. I was able to loosen the rope enough to have a little wiggle room than I did before, but not enough to break free from it just yet.

As I heard the footsteps outside becoming louder by the second, my heart began to race.

At this rate, it was clear that I wouldn't be able to successfully cut the rope in time, so I considered my other 'options,' which were to pretend I had collapsed on the floor for some reason and then attack (as much as I could) when they approached, or to just stay still and confront them head-on.

But I was a terrible actress to begin with, and I may only get myself killed if I resisted. Besides, who knew if there were more than one of them, I'm barely strong enough to fight one person, let alone more. As infuriating as it was, the safest option for me right now was to stay still and face my captor (or possibly captors), and also learn of what they wanted from me.