"LET GO OF ME!!"
Nobody let go.
"WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?! WHY ARE YOU KIDNAPPING ME?!"
A hand covered my mouth.
"Shut up."
"MMPH!"
"What a loud one."
The car kept moving.
I, meanwhile, was completely convinced I was going to die.
What if they were organ traffickers?
What if they were assassins?
What if they were obsessed fans?
What if they were followers from my account?
No.
Wait.
What if they were followers from my account?
That was somehow worse.
The ride lasted what felt like forty years.
Sitting between two men who smelled like cigarettes and uncomfortable silence.
My brain generated exactly one hundred and forty-seven hypotheses about what was happening.
None of them were good.
When they finally pulled off the blindfold, it took several seconds for my vision to come back.
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
A warehouse.
Boxes.
Tables.
Five men.
Two standing.
One leaning against a wall.
Another smoking.
And one sitting in a chair in front of me.
They definitely looked like yakuza.
Definitely.
I panicked.
"I-I don't have any money!"
Silence.
"I swear!"
Silence.
"Please don't kill me!"
Silence.
"I promise I'll stream more often!"
The smoker slowly lowered his cigarette.
"Stream?"
"What the hell is she talking about?"
The man in the chair rubbed his temples.
"And so it begins…"
I was confused too.
Why did they look more exhausted than I did?
"Listen, kid."
The man pointed at me.
"We already know you don't have money."
"Huh?"
"That's exactly why we lent it to your mother before she abandoned you."
Some of them burst out laughing.
My brain froze.
"What?"
"Your mother."
"…"
"The debt."
"…"
"I'd like to remind you that you don't have to pay it back yourself — so why haven't you shown up to work this month?"
A window appeared in front of my eyes.
[CONTEXT.]
[Aika Shimizu's biological mother incurred a considerable debt with a criminal organization.]
[Upon abandoning the household, repayment responsibility was transferred to her daughter, Aika Shimizu.]
…
…
…
Excuse me?
SHE ABANDONED ME AND LEFT ME WITH DEBT TOO?
WAS THIS SOME KIND OF WORST MOTHER OF THE YEAR COMPETITION?
Because if so, she was winning.
By a landslide.
"Wait…"
I raised my head.
"So you kidnapped me for money?"
"Yes."
"And why are you saying I haven't shown up to work?"
The boss looked at me.
Then at the others.
Then back at me.
"Did you hit your head?"
"Huh?"
"Are you playing dumb?!"
"No!"
"That body of yours is the only way out of the debt you owe me."
The others nodded.
"Lucky for you that you're so easy on the eyes."
"Yeah."
"If you were ugly you'd be screwed."
Laughter filled the warehouse.
And then…
Something clicked in my brain.
The debt.
The lingerie.
The job.
Using my body.
…
…
…
NO!!
I shot to my feet.
"I WILL NEVER SELL MY BODY NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO TO ME!!"
Silence.
All five men stared at me.
I stared at them.
They stared back.
I kept staring.
Finally the boss spoke.
"What?"
"I will never prostitute myself!"
"…"
"You can torture me if you want!"
"…"
"But you will NEVER break my pride!"
"…"
"…"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
I blinked.
"Huh?"
"Prostitute yourself?"
"Yes."
"Who said anything about prostitution?"
"Isn't that what this is?"
"Of course not."
"It's not?"
"No."
"Then what for?"
"For work."
"Work doing what?"
The boss seemed genuinely confused.
"Stripping."
…
…
…
"What?"
"Stripping."
"…"
"At the club."
"…"
"Where you work."
"…"
"Are you okay? I think you just got stupid on me, I'm worried."
My brain stopped working.
Stripping.
Stripping.
Stripping.
I looked at the system.
You told me she used her body to make money!
[Correct.]
I assumed that meant prostitution!
[Incorrect conclusion. Being an exotic dancer is a form of using one's body to make money.]
So she wasn't prostituting herself?
[Correct.]
Am I still a virgin?
[Correct.]
…
…
…
A tear ran down my cheek.
"So then…"
"What?"
"I can still get married…"
"What on earth?"
"I CAN STILL GET MARRIED!!"
The yakuza stared at me.
"Boss."
"What?"
"I think she really did hit her head."
"Same."
The entire warehouse turned into a roast session at my expense.
"Did you hear that?"
"'I CAN STILL GET MARRIED!!'"
"HAHAHAHAHA."
"What a weird girl."
I wanted to disappear.
The boss sighed.
"Listen, kid."
"…"
"I've already told you I don't do those things."
"What things?"
"Prostitution."
"You don't?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm a decent and honorable man."
"What kind of yakuza are you…"
"DO YOU ACTUALLY WANT ME TO PROSTITUTE YOU, YOU LITTLE BRAT?!"
I flinched.
"N-NO NO, I'M SORRY, I APPRECIATE YOUR KINDNESS."
I said while bowing repeatedly at an unhinged speed.
…
He had kidnapped me.
Thrown me in a van.
Dragged me to a warehouse.
And yet he was offended because I mistook him for a pimp.
I understood nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
"Honestly… what's gotten into you…"
The boss crossed his arms.
"You're lucky I'm the one in charge now."
"Huh?"
"If my old man were still running the family, you'd already be in a brothel."
"And we'd have cut off a couple of your fingers as a warning."
"WHAT?!"
"Or worse."
"WORSE?!"
"Once some guys made him really angry. He sent them to Thailand for a full gender reassignment surgery."
The whole group started laughing.
"Then he turned them into idols."
I went completely still.
"What?"
"Full surgery."
"…"
"Three months of training."
"…"
"Choreography."
"…"
"Photo shoots."
"…"
"Photobooks."
The group exploded with laughter.
"The blonde one was hot, I would've dated her."
Another looked at him in disgust.
"My sister still has three of her photobooks."
"Your sister has problems."
"I know."
"I liked the one with the brown hair."
Said another after taking a drag from his cigarette, and everyone burst out laughing again.
"WHAT KIND OF PUNISHMENT IS THAT?!"
"A very effective one."
I stood there in shock.
Finally, after laughing at me for what felt like three hours, the boss returned to the main topic.
"Tomorrow."
"…"
"You go to the club."
"…"
"And you come back to work."
"…"
"Understood?"
I didn't have many options.
"Understood."
"Good."
"…"
"And stop making up weird stories. We have a reputation to maintain."
…
…
Bastard.
Thirty minutes later I was standing in front of my building again.
The same group of men who had kidnapped me walked me to the entrance.
One opened the door.
Another handed me a bag.
"Here."
"What's this?"
"Dinner."
"Dinner?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because it's late."
"…"
"And you should eat."
"…"
"We're not animals."
"YOU KIDNAPPED ME!!"
"And we brought you back."
"THAT DOESN'T FIX IT!!"
"Maybe a little."
"NO!!"
They left.
I stood alone in front of the building.
Looked at the bag.
Then at the empty street.
Then back at the bag.
I had an enormous debt.
The yakuza wanted me back at work.
Tomorrow I had to show up at a nightclub.
And apparently the original Aika had spent months dancing to pay for her mother's mistakes.
…
My life was turning into a mess.
I opened the bag.
It smelled incredible.
…
Well.
At least the chicken looked good.