Episode 39 — The First Step Inside the Cage
“This penthouse is in the South part of the city, right?”
“Then why does the city noise make me feel even lonelier?”
Rae slowly opened her eyes....
There were no birds singing, no footsteps from downstairs, only the soft hum of the air conditioner and faint traffic far below.
She was lying in the center of a super king bed that felt too clean. White sheets, not a single wrinkle. The automatic curtains were still closed tight, letting in just a sliver of morning light.
She let out a quiet sigh. Her breath disappeared into a room that felt too sealed.
“Ghoshh.... This place is so high up,” she thought. “So why does it feel like I’m buried?”
She sat up slowly. The light brown wooden floor beneath the bed looked polished, like something inside a museum. No dust. No footprints.
Just a cold shine that reflected her own shape....
She stood and walked silently toward the large glass window across the room.
With one touch on the wall panel, the curtains slid open by themselves. Morning light burst in. Bright, clear, and merciless.
The city stretched far and wide outside. Glass, concrete, and busy construction that couldn’t be reached from this height.
“Down there, life keeps moving. But up here... it feels like I’m stuck in someone else’s time and rules...”
She pressed her finger to the glass. Cold....
Far in the distance, she could see the blurry outline of the Blackwood Dreamland project, still like an old wound.
Big machines moved slowly, flattening a past already buried.
“I’m sleeping in the most expensive bed... but waking up in a nightmare that never ends Dammit, I hate this feeling!”
She closed her eyes for a moment.
“Then why don’t I just leave? I can’t even think straight...”
Footsteps echoed quietly in the hallway outside. Steady. Predictable. Just like always.
Kenny never rushed. He didn’t knock. He didn’t ask.
He just walked by… long enough to make sure she was awake.
Rae didn’t move. She simply stared at her reflection in the glass.
“Good morning, Rae. You’re still here. Still a guest... or maybe a prisoner. Not sure yet...”
Rae stepped out of her room.
The hallway she walked through was long and still. On the walls hung empty picture frames, like mirrors that refused to reflect anyone.
Only one painting looked different, at the far end of the hall, hanging slightly crooked.
As if someone had quietly touched it.
Rae stopped in front of it.
There was no image, just dark brush strokes across the canvas. It said nothing… but it felt threatening.
From the kitchen, she heard soft sounds: the hiss of steam, a spoon tapping against a cup.
Kenny was there, wearing a light gray sweater and linen pants.
He didn’t look at her when she entered. His hand stayed calm as he poured coffee into a cup.
Rae sat down on a barstool by the counter. No greetings. No questions.
After a few moments, Kenny pushed a cup of warm milk toward her.
“You’re not really into coffee, right...” he said briefly.
Rae took the cup with a shaky hand. Her eyes stared at the milk, then her lips moved slowly.
“Kenny... why am I still here?” she asked softly, almost as if confused with herself, and with a little laugh at the end.
Kenny didn’t answer right away. He took a breath and looked at Rae with a soft but empty face.
“Because my house is under repair. And you... you still don’t know where you want to go.”
The words floated in the air like fog. Not wrong. But not fully true either.
There was no more talking. Only the gentle steam from the coffee machine, the smell of roasted beans, and the quiet tension dancing between two people who had too much silence....
Downstairs, in the main living room of the penthouse, Kenny sat reading a newspaper.
The ceiling rose all the way to the second floor. Tall, open, and full of expensive design. A huge glass window stretched across the wall, showing the busy city outside.
Rae chose to sit at the far end of the long sofa. She leaned back, but she wasn’t relaxed.
That distance between them felt like a wall, and also a silent confession that she wasn’t ready to be close.
Soft classical piano music played from hidden speakers....
The song was slow, in a minor key, like the heartbeat of someone waiting for something to break.
From the corner of the ceiling, a tiny red light glowed behind the corner Lamp.
A CCTV camera....
Rae looked at it for a moment, then looked away.
There was no point in being angry at something that didn’t have a heart.
“You put cameras in every corner of this penthouse too?” she asked with no emotion.
Kenny slowly folded the newspaper and placed it on the table.
“Not every corner. Just the important ones.”
“And I’m one of those important places?”
“More than that…”
Rae let out a soft sigh.
She didn’t know if that was a compliment, a threat, or just a fact.
The bathroom was filled with warm steam.
In the large mirror above the sink, Rae saw herself still wearing Kenny’s hoodie.
She looked at her reflection and tried to smile.
It didn’t work.
“You’re so stupid, Rae…” she whispered.
She splashed cold water on her face. Then she spoke again, this time louder and clearer:
“You’re strong! You’re not a doll. You’re Rae....”
But still, the tears came.
Not loud. Not wild.
They just… came. Like a truth that couldn’t be denied.
Night arrived without warning.
The city lights slowly turned on, pretending to be fake stars in the dark sky.
Rae stood alone on the third-floor balcony of the penthouse. The wind carried a faint scent of the faraway sea.
In the distance, the construction site of “Blackwood Dreamland” had begun to rise.
Steel frames stabbed the sky like bones from a future that hadn’t grown its skin.
Soft footsteps approached behind her.
Kenny appeared, carrying a gray blanket.
He didn’t say much. He just gently draped the blanket over Rae’s shoulders, a slow, quiet movement that felt almost like a ritual.
“Welcome to a new beginning, Rae....” he said softly, almost in a whisper.
Rae turned her head slowly.
Her eyes didn’t show anger. But they didn’t show gratitude either.
She just looked at him, long, silent.
She didn’t reply. But she didn’t push him away.
And that was enough....
Kenny walked inside first.
As he walked, he said softly,
"Tomorrow.... we're going back to my house."
Rae nodded, and followed a few steps behind.
When the balcony door closed, the city kept beating in the distance.
But inside that penthouse, time seemed to hold its breath.
Kenny’s house… he said it was being repaired.
But the things that were broken weren’t the walls.
Not the roof.
What was cracked was the space between two people,
and the way they each tried to define the word 'home'.
In Kenny’s working room, a screen showed CCTV footage from around the penthouse.
One of the views showed Rae standing alone on the balcony.
Kenny sat in front of the screen, watching.
He didn’t smile. He wasn’t angry either.
He just stared.... like someone watching an experiment unfold.
Then his phone buzzed.
One message appeared:
“Don’t go too soft. She’ll realize your love is your way of tying her down.”
Kenny didn’t reply.
He just placed the phone back on the desk.
Then he rewound the video of Rae on the balcony.
Again..... And again.
No sound.
No end.