NAPE - Prologue

Bibi is a hunting dog. For a hunting dog, obedience is essential, and loyalty is absolute.

Her owners changed several times, and after Bibi had hunted enough to satisfy them, she had to return to the trainer. The trainer kept Bibi locked in a large iron cage. He trained her daily to ensure her hunting skills wouldn’t rust until a new owner came.

It was a day like any other when she focused intently on her sense of smell and hearing. From early morning, she heard the sound of a truck engine, and then the scent of a stranger approached. It was a fishy and repulsive smell, like rotten fish.

Bibi tried to peer outside the cage. But all she could see from her confined state was the cracked gray concrete. Soon, she heard footsteps approaching.

“Bibi.”

A hand covered in scars familiarly stroked Bibi’s chin.

“A new owner has come. You must be loyal to them. Just like you’ve always been.”

Bibi looked up at the trainer. He always wore a black baseball cap pulled down low and a mask covering his face, so she could only see his frosty, gray eyes. Those eyes always seemed to see right through Bibi. The trainer knew everything about Bibi, but Bibi knew nothing about the trainer.

But appearances were not important. What would determine her future were the commands that would come from beyond that mask. The trainer’s words were Bibi’s law and creed, the very cells that constituted her being.

“You understand, don’t you? That your only true master is me. You are only safe within my fence.”

Faced with the truth that had been instilled in her countless times, Bibi mechanically nodded. She was hungry. She didn’t have the energy to doubt his words. Only the desire to hunt and fill her belly loomed before her eyes.

“Good girl. My lovely hunting dog.”

The trainer placed a black blindfold over Bibi’s eyes. Her vision was engulfed in darkness. In the darkness, Bibi curled up. She felt the cold iron cage floor lift into the air. Curiosity arose about the new owner she would meet.

What kind of person would it be this time?

Honestly, she had no expectations. Most of the owners she had met so far were desperate and hungry, harboring suppressed anger. Under the roof of such a person, good treatment was impossible.

Bibi only wanted one thing from her owner. It didn’t matter if they hit her or starved her. It was okay if they touched her body as they pleased. She just hoped they wouldn’t leave her alone for long.

Bibi knew exactly what loneliness was. It was like being submerged in a darkness as deep as the abyss, left to rot all alone. It was a solitude where even the echo that returned when you screamed felt welcome, a desolation so profound that you would find yourself wishing even for the trainer.

To miss the trainer… Loneliness was such a terrifying emotion.