Chapter 5.2

Chapter 5.2

My desperate plea, which was practically begging, must have rubbed Chief Park the wrong way. His face turned menacing in an instant. His eyes, scanning the ledger, tilted towards me with a menacing glare.

“Tch… What the hell is this? Hey, 7059, don’t you know your place? You damn b*tch… You think you came here to live it up?! You think the guards are your personal errand boys?!”

“…”

“These damned bi.!tches treating prison guards like dogs. These pieces of sh*t…!”

Chief Park’s anger was explosive. His face instantly flushed with rage and he slammed the ledger down as if throwing it. The keyring on his belt clattered loudly against the iron-barred door. When the door creaked open with a grating sound, I instinctively stepped back.

Chief Park was nicknamed “Wild Boar.” It was partly because of his stocky build, but more than anything, it came from the way he charged in blindly when angered, wrecking everything and everyone in his path without a second thought.

Anyone could tell that Chief Park was furious. His face was red from his neck to his eyes as if heat were rising through him.

“Hey, 7059.”

His finger jabbed my shoulder, the force pushing me back slightly.

“Do you think this is some kind of a joke? Just because we talk to the likes of you b*tches, you think you’re human now?”

As the pressure of his jabs grew stronger, my feet shuffled closer to the wall.

“You gather up worthless trash who can’t even function as human beings, try to rehabilitate them. And what do they do? They turn around and treat you like a joke!”

A strong shove made my back hit the wall with a thud. The pain shot through my shoulder blades.

Chief Park’s thick hand tapped my cheek.

“F*ck, what? Just because you only see what you want to see, you think the money leaked somewhere else?”

Chief Park’s eyes gleamed viciously.

“Hey, get it through your thick skull..”

Chief Park’s hammer-like fist pinned my bony shoulder against the wall.

“Ugh…”

Each time Chief Park pressed my shoulder, the pain was so sharp I thought I’d cry. I clenched my teeth.

“Scum like you—”

Thud.

“—that filthy money—”

Thud, thud.

“—I don’t even want to touch it!”

Grabbing my collar, he shoved me aside, and I stumbled to the ground.

“7059, I’ll be watching you.”

His ominous words implied he’d be waiting for me to slip up. He glared at me like I was filthy garbage, then spat on the floor, white foam pooling. His footsteps echoed as he walked away, leaving faint shoe marks on the yellow linoleum. The iron door clanged shut.

“Crazy b*tch always had to pull this crap every single day. I swear, not once has she let a day without stirring sh*t up.” 

Yera spat, annoyed. Wangnyeo, munching on a Moon Pie she’d gotten with her commissary, cackled.

“Look at her, she’s the one who scribbled it all and then threw a fit for her money. I like how brazen she is.”

“Hey, stop gawking. Hurry up and wipe it down!”

A rag flew and hit my head. The musty gray cloth slid across my face and landed on my thigh.

My hand trembled as I wiped up Chief Park’s spit. It wasn’t fear of him. It wasn’t even out of humiliation.

What terrified me most in that moment was the confirmation I had no money for three packs of cigarettes. Three packs of cigarettes… that was what scared me. Just that.

“Eyes-ssi, could you maybe buy me some cigarettes?”

Before heading to the workshop, I grabbed Eyes and asked urgently.

“Unni-ya, I’m broke too. What do you mean three packs? I can’t even afford one. I’m even using my pads sparingly.”

“Then maybe get the item first, and I’ll pay Choksae later—”

“No way. Choksae’s super picky. If you do a deal like that, she won’t take your requests next time even if you beg, Unni-ya.”

Eyes shook her head firmly.

“Don’t you have friends or family to contact? How has no one visited you in two months? Were you on bad terms?”

Even if you asked, there’s no way I could answer that.

“Unni-ya, Choksae says she’ll hold the item for three days. She can’t keep it longer because of new stuff coming in. So, you get it? You’ve got three days to figure it out, okay?”