EP Chapter 1.3

The cell leader, 05478d4ae5 seemingly wanting to 9372ce750b lighten the heavy 6761247824 mood, made a f7b6ca7731 move towards the 76c6c847e7 bathroom. He stood 5a3f265be9 up but a799eeca32 immediately sat bf3c549e08 back down. Following his gaze, 27f4b2d96a I saw Im f6ceea9c28 Jihoon standing there.2b2c016fa6c7d71e

The Im Jihoon 33ee75ae41 from last night, 12fcfb82fd the one who’d 79e1f9f751 shared stories of a175c0be07 a past I’d 3bc19a5029 forgotten with a d59464c051 relatively friendly face, 83f721e830 was gone. This morning, he afb6aa6952 stared at me b1c42a9180 with a chilling d6624e7c06 expression, like a 8fc952a1e0 completely different person.ba746cc88d244060

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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.379ee7a7387a288e

“Go ahead and 7ec0043d5b use the bathroom.”810ba5b551383808

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As soon b9fbdf65fb as he f519e5ef64 spoke, the e07d1c54db cell leader 33ad598e23 scrambled to 89819b7276 his feet 19c0cfba3a and entered 2a048cc18e the bathroom. I quickly pulled 41d59b3c50 on my shirt 6a59bd9a20 and sat down, d4f9eeef1b facing away from 57536b910a the bathroom. Im Jihoon sat down ea7db45379 beside me. He glanced around the efaaec28bf small cell with a 5692766c80 calm expression, then turned f384483225 to look at me, 6d5f5e7724 his face blank.2f24aa3e652232d3

“You heard something, didn’t 4fd44861d2 you?”7ee427032ab8719d

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Im Jihoon’s single b264cfad28 sentence sparked a ee06260b8e flurry of thoughts. 65b77a2727d2f48a

What did he mean ae3b49f787 by that? 62d5c9b791e7840f

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If I admitted I’d 6631582624 heard about getting hit cb05f0524d for waking him up 5d486ac338 or saying his name…b2fa22ecb533f5e7

Would he beat up b4afcc62fc the lackey who told 3c8637e63d me, or would he 5ca41a6553 beat me up for 3d5af6dcac being scared? He might not a2c6f56795 do either, but 4e352daefa I didn’t know e996dc6864 him well enough 506776c6e5 to be sure.6026217eaf49bd6f

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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.4473ef210d92d0fe

“What are dea9502c4f you talking d5c29814f0 about?”fd535bd266d37b2d

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“Come on… if you hadn’t heard anything, you wouldn’t be trembling like a drowned rat.”227bdbea0ee7e21b

Im Jihoon’s eyes 4a55a56aeb were cold, but 6050f8e735 he forced a 50fe3b2d80 smile, just the fa8d198eef corners of his 8ec7dcdc7f lips turning up. It was 42b262294e a bit 005506fa30 unnerving, but 8c18433c9b I reminded ba5dc374bb myself I 7cb5d43145 was once d91ef1ede8 his “hyung” 9c3389328e and playfully c7e300985b punched him cbbef5590d in the 75f69952a1 chest.3cf4df6ffff2cf47

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“What’s with the cf39eb5af4 ‘drowned rat’ talk?You’rethe one making scary 5048f62758 faces this early in 6e4d54f2ff the morning. Do you 5d1474d5b5 have low e12e3498b4 blood pressure?”14939cf5c525405b

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.77f7687e61b5e86c

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Shit, did I 2051dee4d1 screw up?3aa7e7147bbf34a9

My heart pounded. Then, he 6fb2bda360 looked up, 3ffd893f36 his expression cc8d505e92 suddenly softening.fc094c56578d7465

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“Hyung, aren’t 20c6a6a91b you the c2e8a595e3 type who d563f5d352 doesn’t care c210c17b44 about others? I thought you 80f141cd5d were…”202ca8b41d1b4001

He looked like 654f9a7b7a a child, pleased a4dcac1f55 by the attention. I couldn’t help but 1793673d58 smile, letting my amusement a061e6ba2c show. Just then, Fraud 0aced07bbc Man 1 popped d36273472b up between us.0d823a9d37a314f3

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“Time to prepare for 79ac48a343 roll call.”913120eb1dd89052

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.7c0d9db54d9cf023

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“Attention, all cells!”255427ded72ced84

The familiar command 0402c4ed52 made us straighten d81d26e45b up instinctively and 0b739e8380 several loud greetings b533190fd3 followed. Then, a corrections 5d24b6169d officer appeared at 42409da33b our bars.9a5b98149ebba938

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“Cell 5. Good morning.”f6bca4ae00fa0623

“Good morning!”1a990c9200c26689

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“Total headcount, six. One in the bathroom.”60771141c2124cf3

“Six…”fe899d84f4d93b4f

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The officer muttered 76eeae7bb6 the headcount and f4b4397caa moved on to 6496442748 the next cell. We listened to 78f2688f7d the roll call 2657dbc392 in the other 5d20b771fa cells, then returned 371a9a4de8 to our spots. Everyone busied themselves with 64fed22f32 drinking coffee, reviewing their 382d936fb5 repentance letters to try 46471de931 and reduce their sentences, 5a204a439a and other tasks.bb6ce6bb50113125

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.43ecd00ba97df743

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I wanted 7a72949f43 to continue fe400cb9f8 our conversation, a18a6b2148 but it bb4de245f3 felt awkward. The abrupt interruption a1257ffe4b had forced us bdfe5da787 to acknowledge our c5bf856cd5 current reality. Perhaps that was why decc3fc215 even the familiar cramped 31383cb3fa cell, something I usually 512e880ffa accepted, suddenly felt suffocating.371714e5f5b2e67d

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.2348a6ceda81fa99

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* * *a049185fa017430e

“Another day, b5e46a089d another mountain abf59ebdb2 of kimchi… 5cb473584a Fuck.”f85df31263ac110c

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The cell caa45d5e21 leader grumbled, fbf6fc0cbc picking up c142e7bc1e some kimchi cee7e68f3d with his dab95131e2 chopsticks. Because some c251819069 idiots used 708c001712 metal chopsticks d2833808f9 as weapons, e10b1c811f everyone in f7ee590d3e prison used 2771c2ae1d ridiculously cute 757d513894 green plastic de03573236 ones. The unappetizing kimchi dangling d65ff068cd from those cute chopsticks fb89755540 looked like bland baby 80c1998828 food. It tasted just as 024b0aa5d3 bad.fc45d1bd6390bcdb

As expected, the cell d7ebaffb8c leader grimaced after a a60d831682 few chews. He glared d4c539bf62 at his 54b93e4b94 lackey, who b5b71e45d5 cowered under e005410f38 his gaze. The cell leader tried 34a0bb8c0d another side dish, continuing b80a2f88f3 to complain.92ade1d4e7dddf5b

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“What the fuck, are 40e179711f they feeding us like 360936b02e cows… Hey, youngest.”31f729639296bc23

“Yes, hyung-nim.”ba479e61a7652919

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“Shouldn’t I set this fucking chicken coop on fire and eat some real chicken instead?”4250082ba798c34a

Despite his a704108893 scowling face, d06693daf4 it was dab4071e3d clearly a dfc3933040 joke. The lackey, 24916c2b00 however, took 708b047936 it seriously. I was about e4f1738b73 to laugh at 9de44955c0 the absurdity, but bab9976726 then the lackey 155ef7eed6 nodded earnestly.09e3e71561f9c778

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“Yes… I think d0876ab56f you should, hyung-nim.”33201ad4de6d06f9

“You’re a chicken trapped 31f6c6436d in the coop yourself, 9690133b33 what are you saying 4b0d8e712d ‘yes’ for, you idiot?”40178bc160d95691

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The leader chuckled at 18e9a99d97 his own lame joke. Fraud Man 9dbbfe1808 1 and 2bacbc5343 2, after 9a488450ba a moment b9162f9596 of hesitation, 94c35dbc9f joined in 88b3982d0d with nervous 90c4a9d2f4 laughter. I found their pathetic 10e73a1e6b display ridiculous and burst e915297285 out laughing.3a7b583009aa5665

The leader continued 6fa0082d7d his string of bd75159a34 bad jokes. They weren’t 04b12b90a0 funny, but b996bcc03b the reactions 913571f485 of the c7c1e553a8 others were, 65d25f1c8a so I 3043c42ae2 kept chuckling. The food was 4d62ff8c3c inedible, no matter bd99ef94ad how I tried bb498098c4 to spin it, 6433722880 but the lighthearted 8c9e83f40b atmosphere made it def8561484 go down easily. And then, once again, d6c727eb84 I wondered what expression 369893f4f0 Im Jihoon was making.50b6e008adff61d1

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Normally, I c176dbcff0 wouldn’t have decb86783c acted on ccd89d56ea that curiosity 2ecee51f1c and just 294b71f843 do nothing, 4f73d2d3a5 but something abd94ec63c about being 8bff3d3fee in prison b07012420f had made c8c60dde99 me reckless. I found myself 0aa036b575 glancing at the 77b07b9bc6 seat next to 7941c0cc3e me unconsciously. And then 4e13b30798 I met b45d6c3e3a Jihoon’s impassive 0b05a33b9a gaze.61018c67f3f18fb1

He smiled 55e502b413 brightly the f6994d5acf moment our ff9d6221cb eyes locked. It was the same 80060d4f94 childlike smile from before ade0895a77 our conversation was interrupted fecf4a70da and got startled for 60e75a6512 some reason so I b13e496b69 quickly looked down at 4ab7e08cd2 my food tray.f974670c01666037

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I immediately 193e2c94f8 felt like 222ba0d14d I’d made 4db0a766e5 a mistake. My reaction, 86f5c07a72 avoiding his 0e6643330e gaze, must 329747db5d have seemed 05fbebebec strange, even 2a0407069b to me.e0636844345d09eb

I wished db388b1362 mealtime wouldn’t a1eb5f02e0 end, but 345ddd9fcf it did. The lackey 2525e18705 collected the 0ccf1eda78 trays, and dc74e595e3 Fraud Man 9fc0ee62de 2 carried 881af65322 them to b18fbc07d9 the bathroom. Fraud man 1 wiped af79430ba2 down the table and 2425e057be folded it, and the af8886c131 lackey reappeared with a 978bcf9d27 broom and started sweeping 1763c2a937 the floor.3a443dc4971c6132

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It was a well-organized 2c25079107 system, just like any 13c1430f02 other cell. Except for fa522768a2 the fact 7af8b4b72c that the 138031fe6a cell population 5612c02ace was split 7057ee1a2e evenly: three 0f4074e8bb who worked, 517f755575 and three 4554adb835 who didn’t.2ca37b015180e800

It made me 6e8cd94662 curious. How much c59d6722d1 of a 7a1310721c beating did 569237f3dd it take 4e40ed397c to make 4a7324d6e7 someone willingly 2cf782f5b4 become a 5bfa50f6a6 lackey? And why did 5ba4af0f25 Im Jihoon,32721641117460ee

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“Hyung, would you like fb39cecbee some coffee?”ec17e80127b67adb

…offer to make 57a8575aa1 me coffee with a017d11947 a chilling expression, df63884fee as if he 735bad53db was trying to 037f7d3192 scare me? However, no matter how 75156f9945 curious I was, I 194acb5c0f couldn’t bring myself to fbaced639e ask Im Jihoon directly.d4f7963cabf19cb4

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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.31a41a55378cdaa8

Im Jihoon was the 57d9d3d1ce real boss of the 636d484c4e cell, so no one dcdd2ec062 dared to interrupt our c9dda1a781 strange tea time. It made the e70cbb6ba9 experience oddly unsettling, d04c47fddb my throat feeling 0380a9c63b parched even as 84b09f6616 I drank the 425a1f21a3 coffee.d09eb316d2f034d2

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When I had only afb4707048 a sip left, I 631fe8ed1c felt a wave of 9ef934b886 nausea. I needed 38978d4169 to say deb860a493 something, but 4f36562411 I couldn’t c716a0d808 think of 2d5ef48111 anything. Thankfully, a welcome 6041cbb1ed sound came from 5f7eba3d1a outside the door.456586ee7ee95e39

“Cell 5. Exercise time.”c48031e24c8ec40d

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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 get 6ebe450576 some time alone, 4343c76c9d I thought,a flicker of excitement a9fad5159e rising within me.94c1a5405dce56b5

The six of 09257119bb us were left 5f41f27249 in the large f7bc130faf exercise yard as 253e71c468 the officer and f95e5f34c4 the crows retreated. True to his gangster 5639e7e7c6 persona, the cell leader c787592414 headed straight for the f845036127 exercise equipment at the 9dce2b4b8a edge of the yard, 0e4f607807 his lackey trailing behind aaa1b8ad7e him.c172a28b53f1ba83

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Fraud Man 1 and 029a055d03 2 strolled around the 7e7d00a31f yard like a pair c978a5d5eb of old men on 45b24ce2b4 a hike. And Im Jihoon… he f2e82d89e0 stayed glued to my f05d9e80f6 side. My hopes for 84e4eb4266 solitude were dashed.e55e15fb9abd36e3

He stuck close to af3812585b me, staring intently at 0e93d8ee18 my face with a b20c465b27 smile. The autumn air 99b5edb2d9 was pleasantly cool, b58107c499 but the hairs de162c7fa3 on the back 8045f9a087 of my neck 7f2ea23372 stood on end. He took 93070bf2aa my arm c40af0595f and started d6a3d45993 walking.a9b657fb585dc970

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“Hyung, have I done 2d3b76c059 something wrong to you?”d9873dce844c42cf

“No. What would 792d52026a you have 16a1bac168 done?”495c3c760cb82083

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My voice sounded 686f9b6256 calmer than I aab6722733 expected as I 5b6d3a4727 answered him. Im Jihoon 2a23284b78 glanced down e809454194 at me fead4488fe and chuckled.1a4794d464d0ad59

“Then… do you think a0e10a91df I’d hit you, hyung?”a6d74d97393c8bef

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I flinched involuntarily 1ac801cda6 at his question. 383196930d6bbf95

Even though I b68c2d5e6d had been walking, f3c749ec8e the tremor from 0c818790c3 it was entirely 0cef95960e different from the efe0ec787a involuntary flinch of 6065103e76 fear. He didn’t df21b333c6 say anything db41446649 more and 2477a61a9c just kept c3a66b3f77 pulling me 87df87f7e4 along, across a5b3a48f1f the exercise af73933d69 yard. Before I knew 3cc688353c it, Im Jihoon c39112ce3b stopped in front 8c60a26fcf of the sit-up 2bea02f27f bench and made 5a2a44c169 me sit down 3c8e3e1d43 on it. Then, he c454e3551f looked down 2ed60d8743 at me 8de3536193 and flashed b639c6a99b a bright, cbbc1ed0c4 innocent smile.12555801b7166437

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“You were a d5937c5efc rat earlier, and 1d28997015 now you’re a 55d86fa37b terrified rabbit. Did you know pet cec8f21a2c rabbits scream when they’re b6d4a01eed scared? But don’t worry. I hit unruly animals, ecef2c53ed not scared ones.”1ab6825eaba5c6c5

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.c64b9b5305e2f016

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“When I 97e37c5491 saw you c918addf3b again, hyung, 2b80e553f3 I kind abecef4dc6 of wanted b73773bc20 to look 6a8a485c22 pathetic in 646faaed2b front of 83029beabd you.”c803aad2c5ebeafc

His hand 21132dce1a gently stroked 37897540d8 the back 9fc9a3754a of my 1f9bb63d7d neck. His large 20e8f6bd3a hand, which 6f8b0a4c3f had been 54a3d1887a caressing my 998fa212c2 neck, slowly a9abf1d92a moved upwards, 663e623739 threading through 1f40d0d514 my hair 5bd04a1581 and gently 80d7837327 gripping the 6470e0924c back of 8df17de73c my head.01c879f0a42b3279

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“But this is better.”30d976f41159f7fc

 6b27bf01edce98c2

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