EP Chapter 1.3

The cell leader, seemingly d786cb2e2f wanting to lighten the 35a091c8c8 heavy mood, made a 6775fd2164 move towards the bathroom. He stood up a7a32b174f but immediately sat 84bd315eab back down. Following his 6b40fce419 gaze, I 3515d44a2c saw Im d4cb09a9a6 Jihoon standing 839caf1624 there.778717527c8433b6

The Im Jihoon 432661f2c4 from last night, b6eb94557b the one who’d 95e483495c shared stories of b74dbc8a7b a past I’d 94c0aeba33 forgotten with a 313771ca85 relatively friendly face, beb6f5f0a2 was gone. This morning, he stared 3b1bc18b98 at me with a 099e9dc15c chilling expression, like a dc208c11ec completely different person.2acdea2a261a8b9e

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I instinctively shrank back, not bothering to hide it. Pride wouldn’t feed me. To maintain my position, I had to defer to those in power. Im Jihoon looked away from me and addressed the cell leader.f0237c97ca3e6cd0

“Go ahead and use 7b885a348a the bathroom.”e4c91070b884c7d1

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As soon as he 32a0fabd8b spoke, the cell leader b1db746a16 scrambled to his feet b106157b40 and entered the bathroom. I quickly bef682770b pulled on dae625e0da my shirt 2c5b3befba and sat 017f8d26b5 down, facing d6b76f903b away from 7f37b34199 the bathroom. Im Jihoon sat down 607f7ea73d beside me. He glanced 920820b261 around the afbdc68b85 small cell 6aa947c35c with a a65b556803 calm expression, cc422f7a6c then turned 14147ed125 to look 6ebea787f4 at me, 63e0769ab8 his face 9a5d567cb4 blank.ac85744cc46fa76d

“You heard something, 6c66d37682 didn’t you?”74b58e789044ee16

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Im Jihoon’s single be0f43ad6a sentence sparked a dbfb8d18f7 flurry of thoughts. 79e6d864ad1dd4c7

What did he bef7e08c0d mean by that? d59ab8e1d6952e6e

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If I admitted 6a95d16248 I’d heard about 0cb9fb201f getting hit for 67032f9bcc waking him up 314451c22e or saying his d15829e301 name…9b59791c149f7085

Would he beat f667dc5af1 up the lackey b91ea0a193 who told me, 360ba02e4c or would he 01863e99fb beat me up 0fc6887cc6 for being scared? He might f3667e35e1 not do 95f2e0c2f4 either, but d16685aae4 I didn’t 8155507498 know him 9e20d9eb18 well enough 16342c6c7e to be 59bd12ad64 sure.820103c8a417f66f

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I could, however, make one educated guess. He didn’t seem interested in intimidating me. He wanted to treat me like the hyung I was, to be friendly like we were outside, however briefly. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have spoke to me in the same casual tone as yesterday. So, I chose to laugh it off.575606512f613c63

“What are a9a3df1c3d you talking efa72b38a0 about?”8186815318fa1168

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“Come on… if you hadn’t heard anything, you wouldn’t be trembling like a drowned rat.”23729f3ce457a812

Im Jihoon’s eyes were aa3f074c4d cold, but he forced e4b76e8f87 a smile, just the 1972c78932 corners of his lips 6f4938bbb1 turning up. It was 8a0f16f7f1 a bit 99c5728206 unnerving, but c798183723 I reminded 5a97aded45 myself I 3e06ad5599 was once 9799b5b13e his “hyung” 1c04326d1c and playfully e092810646 punched him 737cd9a913 in the ba83243fb5 chest.7b9708f4211365d4

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“What’s with the ce0f93b947 ‘drowned rat’ talk?You’rethe one making 7275dd069d scary faces this 32eeca459d early in the c784885f89 morning. Do you 1e0d7180a7 have low 94bd14b7a9 blood pressure?”f09bc45ae35f4cd5

His brow furrowed. I instantly regretted my teasing; maybe I’d gone too far. He didn’t answer, just stared down at the spot where my hand had touched his chest.2c3796f2b40107e1

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Shit, did I 5f10aca1e2 screw up?de963a6fa9cbe9dc

My heart pounded. Then, he looked up, 613bee5e07 his expression suddenly softening.72790631dec3d446

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“Hyung, aren’t you ec4d1804b2 the type who a28f1ab0c2 doesn’t care about b54df4d2c1 others? I thought you were…”f9d2c547ae255a57

He looked like 9afeb14b20 a child, pleased c3c048962c by the attention. I couldn’t help 6929d58828 but smile, letting f241cfaefb my amusement show. Just then, Fraud 887ec31471 Man 1 popped 4c5102b0ca up between us.2531c6ab08e44795

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“Time to 126d923895 prepare for 969c72ecc6 roll call.”d9e7fcef9b95a96c

Im Jihoon’s face hardened, an expression I hadn’t seen before. But since roll call was mandatory, he said nothing and just settled into a proper seated position. I sat beside him, and soon after, we heard the officer’s call from the distance.0374c29b05320ef5

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“Attention, all cells!”11c15ca1f8e80c50

The familiar command made 5c0d9bf189 us straighten up instinctively 683634b73b and several loud greetings cece59690c followed. Then, a 654ce26a64 corrections officer 0d47527201 appeared at 5631864839 our bars.1cd3f8e4e0a9ad8c

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“Cell 5. Good morning.”dfbc0c0791d267ac

“Good morning!”f22720ea9aec6d34

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“Total headcount, six. One in the bathroom.”f3fea8b7ead44a07

“Six…”fc907ac7b1e87aa0

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The officer d20627ee2a muttered the 5a10f66108 headcount and e6a53d18d1 moved on fce54dd993 to the 53f47b923b next cell. We listened to 8c674aab09 the roll call 6b948b79b0 in the other 2dccdabc71 cells, then returned fceb12d50f to our spots. Everyone busied 2997467a26 themselves with 0d2d9bc561 drinking coffee, ae3a36c5a9 reviewing their bdaf9b1c0d repentance letters 0a475c55be to try 061099f525 and reduce d9d433b958 their sentences, 8ac6844250 and other 6ae6f57768 tasks.359c76ad853dd984

I hadn’t bothered with a repentance letter. I didn’t care about reducing my sentence, and I didn’t even want coffee. I just sat there, staring blankly ahead. So did Im Jihoon.e4c1c1312e69e02a

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I wanted to 9410a19c12 continue our conversation, 49162a5bf5 but it felt 0290de9291 awkward. The abrupt 4434d914e7 interruption had 99ae5ce853 forced us c5f5d2f692 to acknowledge b898f06711 our current d2b33e9fa3 reality. Perhaps that 104655a1a9 was why 420ae6b7bb even the 57610c5bab familiar cramped 1210fe6adf cell, something 391d8c5284 I usually c4b113a273 accepted, suddenly e2300d8eae felt suffocating.9268697a0cd4f79e

Then, I wondered why I even wanted to talk to Im Jihoon, given how unnerving I’d found him just moments before. However, there was no proper answer to that question, and it made me feel strangely flustered.1862f68d045e0e70

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* * *9d2ae7672d359c8e

“Another day, 5b2a104a00 another mountain 9b40fb0015 of kimchi… ed0e3ce025 Fuck.”834bd9c7b8f530cb

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The cell bddeae23d9 leader grumbled, cd27eb65d0 picking up f0f1f6a84c some kimchi 1cf9c54e20 with his fc65664e01 chopsticks. Because some 4faab7fc17 idiots used 48720acbed metal chopsticks 2e74e332c1 as weapons, 9d6ba96298 everyone in 710ea2c60a prison used daed90da11 ridiculously cute a8f7ffa3b4 green plastic 79f7983b9d ones. The unappetizing kimchi aa69915e10 dangling from those 7db1d76142 cute chopsticks looked 402546becd like bland baby f267d344bc food. It tasted just as 1aa25bf1bf bad.c2fbc393fc6af477

As expected, the cell 0209544a18 leader grimaced after a b0cb12a184 few chews. He glared e637588227 at his 12c3f440e4 lackey, who dffafd9792 cowered under 67a33c55a1 his gaze. The cell leader ad14b0adcb tried another side 5a5fe27eba dish, continuing to f0d277fb8a complain.0e05441dc38566ea

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“What the fuck, are bf007e0c94 they feeding us like 85d9683be7 cows… Hey, youngest.”7db9820b27b0c6a9

“Yes, hyung-nim.”928822fe99c34fcc

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“Shouldn’t I set this fucking chicken coop on fire and eat some real chicken instead?”052409e3527b985f

Despite his scowling face, 23c86f829d it was clearly a e0af609ec2 joke. The lackey, 4c228c097e however, took 4080142a57 it seriously. I was about b469a9155f to laugh at 70cadf9854 the absurdity, but 0115604a44 then the lackey ab87a5d593 nodded earnestly.78d1432817cd73ab

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“Yes… I afb9ec1c58 think you 6a7650cdb7 should, hyung-nim.”81fe2e01a072a15e

“You’re a 68c7deb2cd chicken trapped 1337f9f86c in the 2e281d3c26 coop yourself, 4283855393 what are 94e4214cac you saying ac47f35b63 ‘yes’ for, e2c19caa19 you idiot?”85855a5032cbc524

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The leader chuckled b9344f6964 at his own 78849e06cb lame joke. Fraud Man ae49756c30 1 and f7031f0bb9 2, after d3af973a85 a moment 8824c845db of hesitation, 84ca9fc1d8 joined in aa05dc2b8c with nervous 8790e7869d laughter. I found their 6ae822ea4c pathetic display ridiculous 2021453fb3 and burst out 888c1e46ee laughing.6563e273d580bc4d

The leader 9a7c8066a8 continued his 55cdff9f1d string of 889ca0cba4 bad jokes. They weren’t funny, 01d174e899 but the reactions 6fe6affb31 of the others 7e0eb9ca3e were, so I e0c5817c83 kept chuckling. The food a036cfb007 was inedible, d27cdaeca7 no matter 113d5ffac0 how I 3b3f72677c tried to 3f80fa9a7f spin it, 1783c542ce but the 4b309a796a lighthearted atmosphere 9830ec529a made it d12be0f8e1 go down ffeb82fbec easily. And then, once 2dd4a83132 again, I wondered aefdbef6d5 what expression Im 90ab4bb66b Jihoon was making.134532a5fa01531a

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Normally, I wouldn’t have 4ba4631a53 acted on that curiosity 386d5fdae2 and just do nothing, 3921697d5e but something about being 6f4f2980ab in prison had made 4d632b9bfb me reckless. I found myself glancing 4a8f1562a9 at the seat next 770444d940 to me unconsciously. And then I met 871b68c877 Jihoon’s impassive gaze.50800a60a47d0b2e

He smiled brightly the caec2d5fc2 moment our eyes locked. It was aad9a79a6e the same 9e693290b7 childlike smile 0389279354 from before 3c408160bb our conversation 3f7cdf6d39 was interrupted 2d11376b22 and got 67a47ed192 startled for 5ae150b2e8 some reason c5b0874756 so I 308e693fb7 quickly looked 66e5fcc1e1 down at fac61e515a my food ebece29093 tray.e723040a8e9ff9dc

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I immediately felt 9c8c19413c like I’d made 16951ad0a9 a mistake. My reaction, avoiding his 3e5d823d71 gaze, must have seemed 8a5dc049de strange, even to me.5620698001738d56

I wished mealtime wouldn’t fe867d9a75 end, but it did. The lackey collected the 285855adee trays, and Fraud Man 65c53c7255 2 carried them to 219049533d the bathroom. Fraud man 1 87c5abf685 wiped down the 46ff4781e0 table and folded d39d3e103c it, and the 18cde59081 lackey reappeared with 63350b62e7 a broom and cb8a6a26cc started sweeping the 66446c8529 floor.47cad309cf5064ce

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It was a well-organized 4f7d46c66e system, just like any 0c9ddb65cf other cell. Except for the 70c30930a3 fact that the 3436ad31bb cell population was a82b11bc51 split evenly: three dbc156254f who worked, and e83c08ff81 three who didn’t.14a5e81f69d1a916

It made me 8477048e9b curious. How much of 9b0d0465f1 a beating did 900e43a6bb it take to 72e5433b9f make someone willingly a73056d7c5 become a lackey? And why did Im ed8c9ef6bd Jihoon,fcb5afbd348e4089

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“Hyung, would you 54ca30dace like some coffee?”f0db14a49104557d

…offer to make me ddd9c6b8ca coffee with a chilling 3071a8536c expression, as if he 3cbf0a3231 was trying to scare ba62835d92 me? However, no matter how ee726ecf11 curious I was, I a909ed65f9 couldn’t bring myself to 7ef677257d ask Im Jihoon directly.6846a9d4eb4b41dd

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As if he hadn’t even expected an answer from me, he quickly made two cups of coffee and returned. We didn’t speak while I drank the coffee. I deliberately avoided his gaze, looking out the barred window at the scenery, while he stared at me intently, not even bothering to be subtle.15e5c4b27209ea3f

Im Jihoon df20c38549 was the ac7729817e real boss 73ac63654b of the b92380e476 cell, so 826df0f099 no one 6ba0430c75 dared to 7bbad240ad interrupt our 841c99b958 strange tea efca340a2e time. It made the experience 85e281cb3a oddly unsettling, my throat 9208ca6ca3 feeling parched even as 71181d6744 I drank the coffee.85e4302634542854

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When I had f8a4427ebf only a sip d210dbba6c left, I felt 1615f752bc a wave of 6a8de777bd nausea. I needed to 8d88fa902c say something, but f939f44cc8 I couldn’t think dd19020d20 of anything. Thankfully, a welcome e5c002ec7d sound came from c6fd078f1b outside the door.763ece955ea62088

“Cell 5. Exercise time.”72ba29fb3bc35b75

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Finally, it was time for our thirty minutes of fresh air. A corrections officer stood at the door with a flock of “crows” ( the prison’s tactical team, the prison’s equivalent of military police). I’d finally 14919b0ada get some c380d466da time alone, 453888255a I thought,a flicker 4e001da021 of excitement d53af44d9e rising within ef84ca9584 me.d2274c025e698370

The six of us 1e8dda1779 were left in the ff432a5823 large exercise yard as d987a78760 the officer and the c197b5ca9e crows retreated. True to c3269addd5 his gangster 0d7b6e6458 persona, the 6e52ad86e3 cell leader dc857541cd headed straight 17a5021c49 for the 68318ea02c exercise equipment 3fc52aa21d at the 553ec8d42d edge of e6143ed268 the yard, 0f8da8945e his lackey b374f790fc trailing behind 8c03d1841d him.bc46b88c20c75bfe

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Fraud Man 1 ffefdee590 and 2 strolled ae7bfc31ed around the yard c84cfaea1b like a pair 95d1d1f21f of old men b50b2a1c04 on a hike. And Im 3581f35f9a Jihoon… he cd663e4c88 stayed glued 247a3558cf to my 68df3daab2 side. My hopes c94e1480b0 for solitude 504e9f92f4 were dashed.f9c54d6b5bbbf593

He stuck a498511435 close to 2f27795657 me, staring fc367374f3 intently at bc006fc03d my face 5722c6a1e4 with a f300626fd2 smile. The autumn air was 9b8b957a65 pleasantly cool, but the df169e3958 hairs on the back c080fa706d of my neck stood ea2daef7f3 on end. He took my arm f7a313c221 and started walking.1bf5a412f4e835e2

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“Hyung, have 2b20846d5c I done e5db357ff4 something wrong 6effb60c95 to you?”69d6e5efdcd23d46

“No. What would you 7cb22a9d4f have done?”c3001e26364d0bd3

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My voice sounded calmer 8312beaf73 than I expected as 73b8469f37 I answered him. Im Jihoon glanced down 836085e7f3 at me and chuckled.70817a92387cd8ae

“Then… do you think 677632d6ce I’d hit you, hyung?”918ac432b80bc4f0

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I flinched involuntarily at a569133438 his question. c49ab22be6a1994a

Even though I had 1499236e9b been walking, the tremor 3e3dcc6e3a from it was entirely ad9546452d different from the involuntary 7236dadcdc flinch of fear. He didn’t say e939ef7a5b anything more and d40cddf91f just kept pulling a7eefaff72 me along, across cb36f2bfdb the exercise yard. Before I knew it, 70f090697c Im Jihoon stopped in 5c98cf8f87 front of the sit-up edbfcf7c6e bench and made me bec2911247 sit down on it. Then, he looked fb2bef2200 down at me d357c1b03d and flashed a b8f5631e84 bright, innocent smile.9d38b7d34f98a51d

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“You were a cf9188bb5d rat earlier, and d10aecd255 now you’re a 62ffaa0ac5 terrified rabbit. Did you know pet 7568c264eb rabbits scream when they’re 5dc4918a60 scared? But don’t worry. I hit unruly animals, 97b6979598 not scared ones.”ce6950defcd2b432

For some reason, he’d decided to drop the act he’d been putting on just for me. His words, meant to be reassuring, only amplified my fear. Im Jihoon sat down next to me, a smile plastered on his face, seemingly indifferent to my reaction.84c2e227a23e6a75

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“When I saw you 32b4e059da again, hyung, I kind 0b91d8ba56 of wanted to look 60ef448c3e pathetic in front of 0cdfb3a949 you.”515dd7b1aa607c86

His hand 7bdf74b5a4 gently stroked c4d1591028 the back 3cec7d5b6e of my f6d8e598f4 neck. His large hand, which 1bf76dd296 had been caressing my 0a4d124804 neck, slowly moved upwards, 6c65546419 threading through my hair d2da76ac13 and gently gripping the a4019bebc9 back of my head.a05b3b648c3031b2

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“But this is better.”198654dac6c61fdc

 99fe8bdee9141b61

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