LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 76
Chapter 76: The Silence in the Duty Room
In an instant, a stillness fell over the duty room. The situation had unexpectedly taken a wild turn.
Heo Yong-taek swallowed hard and watched keenly.
He cursed. If I heard correctly, he definitely cursed. It seemed that Park Jung-il’s actions had crossed a line that even a correctional officer could no longer tolerate.
But what if Jung-il knew this and deliberately provoked him?
Jung-il, who roamed the cell like he owned the place, could not be oblivious to the fact that such behavior would push a correctional officer to the brink. If that were the case, there must be some deeper plan at work.
Yong-taek watched intently, his eyes wide open, curious to see how Jung-il would respond. One thing was certain; he wouldn’t bend easily. If he were going to do so, he wouldn’t have provoked the officer in the first place.
“Did you just curse at me?”
Jung-il spat out each word slowly, his voice like steel. As I suspected, Jung-il was far from submissive. Or perhaps he had anticipated this outcome and threw provocative words at the officer on purpose.
He said the correctional officers hardly ever intervened. This meant there were a few who actually did. Jung-il might have instantly recognized that the officer standing before him belonged to that category. Thus, his aim was likely to break the officer’s spirit right from the start, paving the way for a more comfortable life in confinement.
“Well, that’s what happened.”
The correctional officer seemed to be no pushover either. He met Jung-il’s glare with a cold, unyielding stare.
“Ah… is that so?”
Jung-il nodded with a smirk. Then, suddenly wiping the smile off his face, he snarled.
“If you say so, you bastard.”
“….”
The flame had already been lit. It didn’t seem likely to extinguish easily unless one of them backed down, and right now, neither showed any signs of doing so.
Yong-taek couldn’t help but worry. If this argument escalated into a fight, it wouldn’t be just any brawl, considering both individuals were Awakened Beings. Though, the thought that Jung-il would risk an intensified sentence by going that far did cross his mind.
“Hey, Park Jung-il!”
The correctional officer shouted.
“What? You bastard!”
Jung-il shouted right back.
“Stand up.”
“I don’t want to.”
“I said, stand up.”
The officer’s chilly voice cut through the air once more.
“I said I don’t want to, you bast… uh, huh?! Hwaaaaaaak!!”
Jung-il suddenly convulsed in shock, as if he had been electrocuted, trembling all over. Then, slowly, he lifted himself from his seat.
Yong-taek thought for a moment if he was merely pulling a prank. It was that unexpected. There were no signs or reasons for such a sudden reaction.
“Go stand over there.”
The officer pointed to a corner, commanding him.
“Yes, sir!”
Jung-il quickly complied, heading to the spot the officer indicated.
“….”
Yong-taek wore an expression as if he’d been hit on the head with a hammer. He blinked in confusion, switching his gaze between the officer and Jung-il.
…What on earth is going on here?
It was utterly incomprehensible.
“Sit.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Stand.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Sit.”
“Yes, sir!”
The officer issued commands as if training a dog. Yet, Jung-il obediently followed, almost like a real dog, as if all sense of human dignity had evaporated.
Yong-taek was baffled as he witnessed this spectacle. It felt like watching a well-rehearsed play. Could the two of them have orchestrated this just to mess with him?
Why provoke him in the first place? Was that the original intent?
No way, that’s insane…
Then what’s really going on here?
Yong-taek shook his head in confusion.
“From now on, you’ll say ‘It’s a visit’ when you sit, and ‘No, it’s not’ when you stand. Got it?”
The officer gave a new order.
“Got it!”
“Good, let’s go. One.”
“It’s a visit!”
“Two.”
“No, it’s not!”
“One.”
“It’s a visit!”
“No, it’s not!”
“One.”
“It’s a visit!”
“Two.”
“No, it’s not!”
Jung-il repeated the commands, expending every ounce of energy as he answered. Yong-taek stood there, dumbfounded, watching the farcical display.
Suddenly, the officer stopped barking commands and stared at Yong-taek.
“Hey, Heo Yong-taek, right?”
In that instant—
“Huoooooo!!”
Yong-taek screamed and plopped down on the floor, his mind spinning. Breathing came hard. His limbs lost control, trembling uncontrollably.
An unknown energy burrowed deep into his heart and brain, mercilessly poking at him. Each jolt sent waves of unbearable fear that threatened to crush him entirely.
‘What’s happening? Scary! What’s happening? Scary! What’s happening? Scary! What’s happening? Scary! What’s happening? Scary! What’s happening? Scary! What’s happening? Scary! What’s happening? Scary! What’s happening? Scary! What’s happening? Scary!’
I couldn’t even register what I was muttering in my mind. All I could think about was how scared I was.
“Heo Yong-taek?”
“Y-yes, yes, sir!”
Instinctively, Yong-taek responded.
I have to follow. I have to obey.
In that overwhelming fear, the only thing moving my brain was the thought of doing just that. It felt like pure animal instinct, trying to find a way out of a deadly situation.
“Sit over there.”
“Yes, sir!”
Yong-taek sat down, not bothering to think about it. Then the officer turned his gaze back to Jung-il.
…Haaah, haaaah, haaaah.
Only then could Yong-taek finally catch his breath a bit. And now he completely understood why Jung-il had acted that way.
That’s not a human.
That’s a monster…
A terrifying creature wearing the guise of a human.
A being I could never resist, nor should I even try.
What “paradise”?
What a load of rubbish…
“One.”
“It’s a visit!”
“Two.”
“No, it’s not!”
Hearing Jung-il’s strained voice echoed through, Yong-taek could see his own nightmare of confinement playing out ahead of him.
◈ ◈ ◈
Sitting in the lounge, someone spoke up.
“How are the new arrivals today?”
Kang Baek asked, sitting next to Lee Si-hyun.
It was rare for two new inmates to enter the same ward in a special detention center where the numeber of incoming inmates was typically low.
“One’s a bit rude, while the other one seems average.”
“Haha, if you say someone’s rude, they must be something else entirely. Lucky they ended up in your ward.”
If they had entered a different ward, they would’ve likely been a nuisance to the correctional officers.
“Right? Apparently, that new guy was openly disrespectful since the newcomers’ hall.”
“Looks like our buddy isn’t the only one who’s come. Still, you should keep your head down and know what’s up.”
Since Si-hyun came to the special detention center, the atmosphere in the ward had gradually been changing, albeit slightly. Of course, many correctional officers still didn’t lay a heavy hand on the inmates.
However, those officers who were unhappy with the inmate order but had previously held back within the atmosphere due to their concerns had started taking action, influenced by Si-hyun.
The inmate order established in Si-hyun’s ward was simply too firm to be ignored. At least for now, amidst this slowly evolving environment, no major issues had arisen thus far. It seemed the higher-ups were simply observing the situation for the time being.
“But why do you look so happy?” Si-hyun asked.
“Me? Do I look that way?”
“You’re hiding it poorly; it’s written all over your face.”
“Haha.”
Kang Baek scratched his head awkwardly while laughing.
“What’s going on?”
“The seniors around here are really nice.”
“Why’s that?”
“They keep introducing me to women they know like crazy.”
“Aha, so that’s why you’re smiling?”
Si-hyun smiled knowingly.
“Yeah, some seniors even showed me photos, and they all looked stunning. It’s a dilemma of happiness.”
“Hey, hey, most of that is photoshopped. The magic of angles, you know? You can’t trust photos; seriously, modern tech has gotten so good you won’t know until you see the real deal.”
“No way… Really? No, no, there’s no way.”
Kang Baek shook his head vigorously, denying it, but his tone seemed to carry a hint of unease.
“You’ll find out once you see for yourself. I’m done talking about this. And honestly, does looks even matter? Isn’t personality most important?”
“Ugh, looks matter too! You say that, but your actions say otherwise! You’re a hypocrite. That legendary girlfriend who visited you in Ganghwa Island was a real beauty, wasn’t she?!”
Kang Baek grumbled.
“Haha.”
Si-hyun chuckled.
On the day Han I-seol visited, a few detention center staff members happened to be eating eels at the same table. Since not everyone knows every guard, it wasn’t a big deal, but someone there came to recognize Si-hyun.
The following week when reporting for duty, the rumors had already spread. In a place like the Daehan Correctional Facility, news travels fast, and in a special detention center, it was no different.
Before long, it spread widely that the head of the Security Department had a stunning girlfriend. The mood was cheerful, partly due to I-seol’s beautiful outfit for the occasion.
Despite stating that she wasn’t his girlfriend, there were still those who didn’t believe it. Every weekend, without fail, he would drive to Ganghwa Island, and everyone assumed it was to meet his girlfriend.
In truth, he was going to take part in a raid, but the law hadn’t passed yet, so he couldn’t say it outright, leading to such misunderstandings.
“Is it that painful to watch your brother do well while you have such an amazing girlfriend yourself? Every weekend you go meet her? What? Looks don’t matter, personality matters? You know, listening to you makes me think looks actually are important.”
Kang Baek ranted on.
“…Yeah, yeah. I admit it; I was wrong. I messed up, so you do what you want. Just make sure you do well.”
Si-hyun waved his hand dismissively.
“Ah, I should get going to work soon. Take care.”
Si-hyun stood up five minutes earlier than usual.
◈ ◈ ◈
Kang Tae-eun.
As soon as Han I-seol’s name was mentioned, thoughts of the escaped death row inmate, Kang Tae-eun, popped into his mind. It had already been eleven months since his escape, and his whereabouts were still a mystery.
However, I-seol insisted that Kang Tae-eun was still within the country. He had committed two murders.
This was serious. No third murder had occurred yet, but if they could not capture Kang Tae-eun, it was only a matter of time.
Where could he be? Since the murders had taken place in Seoul and Uijeongbu, there’s a high chance he was hiding around the metropolitan area. The police were surely making a tremendous effort to search in that vicinity.
But why wasn’t there even the slightest trace of him? No matter how skilled of a murderer, an ordinary human couldn’t just vanish completely.
Could it be that the power of his accomplices was that extraordinary? That was the only conclusion I could come to.
And then…
In that moment, Si-hyun opened his quest log. There lay a quest that had gone unresolved for a month.
[For a guard, it’s extremely humiliating that a prisoner who broke free is a death row inmate. Po-ahim wishes for you to catch that inmate and reclaim a bit of honor for the guards.]
[Quest: Capture the death row inmate, Kang Tae-eun, to alleviate Po-ahim’s dissatisfaction.]
This quest popped up exactly ten months after Kang Tae-eun’s escape.
At first, I was stumped, wondering what in the world this quest meant. How was I supposed to catch a death row inmate that countless others had already failed to capture?
But as time passed, a thought arose that perhaps Po-ahim had some reason for assigning this quest. Up until now, I had faced difficult quests, but somehow found a way to resolve them.
Thus, wasn’t there a possibility that Po-ahim saw some potential in me when handing over this quest? Of course, that was just a very optimistic way of looking at it. Objectively, this quest carried a much higher chance of failure.
Regardless, I just hoped that whatever potential Po-ahim saw would come to fruition.
Si-hyun shook off his thoughts and started the vehicle.