Chapter 9.2

Chapter 9.2

Through Eyes, I asked again to find out news from outside.

Adding what Doctor Ahn gave and what I protected from Wangnyeo, I had a total of four packs of cigarettes, but for me who broke trust in the last deal, Choksae demanded five packs of cigarettes.

As they say, mountain after mountain, it was so absurd that I could only laugh, but the matter resolved unexpectedly easily.

“…For stopping it late that day.”

Eyes said that awkwardly while holding out one pack of Rose.

I just stared down at the cigarette pack quietly before finally speaking.

“By any chance, was it you, Eyes-ssi, who put the cigarettes in the pillow last time?”

“What cigarettes? That wasn’t me?”

Hmm…. When I didn’t take it and just stared, Eyes placed it in my hand.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Unni-ya knows too, but here you have to ride the line well. No matter how much I hate Wangnyeo, I don’t have the guts to charge like Unni-ya, look, see? I would have broken somewhere right there, bones poking through flesh and died. …Still, anyway, sorry. Ahem, so just take this. Hurry.”

Thinking about it, from the last exercise yard time and the Choksae thing, Eyes had always been kind to me without any clear reason.

“Why are you being so nice to me, Eyes-ssi?”

“…Because Unni-ya isn’t a person from here.”

Eyes said that and then turned sharply and went on her way.

“…”

Isn’t a person from here… That phrase strangely lingered in my heart. I tightly gripped the cigarette pack in my hand.

Around the time the bruises on my face had almost faded and the wound on my lip had fully healed, a reply came from Choksae.

Hide the cigarettes in the laundry storage room at the workshop.

I had already prepared all five packs of cigarettes, so preparations were done. It felt like collecting a hundred beads to summon a dragon. All the hardships I endured so far flashed before my eyes.

However, I didn’t let my guard down. I hadn’t crossed the mountain yet, and this was a place where you never know what trouble might appear.

Since it was far from my workshop, I decided to aim for the infirmary cleaning time before roll call. Anyway, the only one watching was Deputy Ki, so it should be fine.

Honestly, I thought a bit lightly of Deputy Ki. The fact that the person had no emotional ups and downs made him seem a bit easy.

I’ve met so many men to the point of getting sick of them. My romantic history sometimes comes up like gossip, and actually, most of it is true. The point is, I’m not naive when it comes to judging men.

From observing Deputy Ki so far, how to say, he was blunt and was like a wall, but in my judgment, he was just a bit shy.

When I suddenly hugged him in the hallway, the fact that he didn’t punish me seemed to fit that pattern. You know, the type of dense guys who tuck their tails right away if the other side comes on more aggressively.

So, even if something happened, handling one Deputy Ki wouldn’t be a problem. I calmly solidified my plan.

Finally, on the day of reckoning, I hid five packs of cigarettes in my stomach and stepped out of the room. As always, I walked side by side with Deputy Ki down the dimly lit gray hallway. The plan was already all set in my head.

As if heaven was helping, Doctor Ahn was stubbornly holding Deputy Ki back with work as an excuse to exchange a few words with him.

I kept sneaking glances in that direction, pretended to clean diligently and then clutched my stomach.

“Deputy Ki… Uh, my stomach’s acting up all of a sudden. Can I go to the bathroom?”

“…Lead the way.”

“Does your stomach hurt? Should I give you some painkillers?”

At Doctor Ahn’s added words, I waved my hands.

“No, this is the kind that needs the bathroom…. I’m in a hurry, so I’ll be back quickly. Okay?”

I conveyed the intention for the two of you to finish their work discussion. Let me say clearly, this is by no means easy. In principle, no inmate is allowed to roam the prison without supervision.

However, there are exceptions and loopholes everywhere, so model inmates sometimes go on errands to other workshops or guard quarters quite often.

Even though I’m not a model inmate, I was hoping for that level of benefit right now. I was anxious and my throat was dry. Deputy Ki’s gaze turned to me.

“Come back quickly, 7059.”

What saved me like that was, as expected, the angelic Doctor Ahn. After I got thoroughly beaten, she had noticeably become more lenient. I nodded and hurriedly headed out the door.

If you turn along the right hallway from the infirmary, there’s the bathroom, and at the end of that hallway, the door leading to the workshop.

The walk from the inmate quarters to the workshop was usually done with guard escort. Since it was a high-traffic area, no one was stationed there, and as far as I knew, it wasn’t even locked before roll call. I thanked the heavens for this luck, and quickly ran toward the workshop.

The workshop was pitch dark, with only the occasional hum of machineries. I moistened my dry lips and hurried to find the laundry room. Next to the iron door smelling of water and faint bleach was the place I had been looking for.

I opened the door and stepped into a room just about three pyeong. Washed towels, inmate uniforms, and blankets were neatly folded and stacked here and there. Relying on the moonlight coming through the window, I carefully made my way between the tide piles of folded laundry.

I lifted the hem of my shirt and tucked it under my chin, and took out the five packs of cigarettes tightly bound in my stretched underwear. Wrapping them tightly again in the underwear, I pushed them between the towel piles in the basket that Choksae mentioned.

I felt relieved knowing they’d made it a little easier to receive the goods. I hadn’t even gotten the item I wanted yet, but I felt tears welling up. It was because it drained me completely just to get here.

It’s done, this is just the start. Everything’s okay.

As I murmured those words and let out a long sigh of relief… Click. The lights snapped on, and the whole place was suddenly flooded with light.

For a moment, as if wax had been poured over my body, I couldn’t move.

I slowly turned my body.

A tall and lanky man stood at the doorway like a yaksha.

“This isn’t the bathroom, is it?”

“…….”

“What are you doing here?”