ALL NOVEL Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Today was the day for inmate haircuts.
The venue was the space with the cargo elevator located between the two wards. Several inmate beauticians got settled in, while a correctional officer stood guard as inmates took turns getting their hair cut from one ward to another.
“You take care of this, Do-yeon, since I have to deal with something else.”
Si-hyun said.
“…Yes, understood.”
Do-yeon’s response came a bit late.
It was a busy time for haircuts, so both of them couldn’t come out to maintain order. He understood that.
But still, he felt a tinge of regret, thinking that perhaps with Si-hyun… there might have been a chance.
“Haah.”
Do-yeon sighed softly as he exited the duty room.
He disliked haircut days. It was fine to open the doors one by one and let out the inmates who wanted haircuts.
However, maintaining order was too difficult. They just wouldn’t listen.
Inmates were instructed to walk to the left. The right side had cells, which allowed for monitoring through the windows.
Yet, even if they were told to go left, could anyone actually do so? Almost half of them outright ignored the correctional officer and blatantly walked through the right.
Not only that. Inmates weren’t supposed to wander the halls without their uniform tops, yet there were many who came out of their cells completely undressed as they headed to get their hair cut. Especially when Do-yeon was in charge, things became even more chaotic and messy than usual. He’d had quite a few broken experiences with the Duty Chief because of that.
Such experiences made him dread haircut days.
‘Let’s do this properly this time.’
He couldn’t show the disrespectful behavior of the inmates in front of his respected seniors.
Do-yeon opened the doors from Room 20 to Room 18 and called out:
“Inmates getting haircuts, please come out.”
Then, he stood by a wall, watching the inmates come out. He was ready to say something if they misbehaved.
…But whether they’d actually heed him was another question.
“Ah, today is haircut day?”
“Mr. Kang-su, aren’t you coming out?”
“I’m just not feeling it today.”
As they exchanged casual banter, the inmates started coming out one by one.
Do-yeon swallowed hard and said:
“Please keep it down in the hallway.”
He tried to speak as loud as he could, but his naturally soft voice came out as a weak shout to the others. That small voice had led to countless instances of being ignored by inmates over the past two years. He was afraid of getting the same response this time as well.
“Hmm.”
However, this time was different.
The conversing inmate picked up on the atmosphere and cleared his throat to quiet down. Of course, his intention was to not provoke Si-hyun.
Do-yeon was aware of this change in vibe. Still, it was undeniable that the inmates had immediately followed his orders.
Naturally, he felt a sense of satisfaction. At the same time, he gained a bit of confidence.
“Please walk to the left. No wandering.”
The inmates sluggishly moved to the left. Though their pace was slow like slugs, they certainly complied with the order.
‘It works!’
Even without Si-hyun giving direct orders, just by him doing it, the inmates were listening. A spine-tingling thrill of completely controlling order surged through him.
Do-yeon’s lips slightly parted, and he found himself smiling unconsciously.
“Please sit in the chairs in order while waiting. The rest, please stand.”
Unlike usual, his words flowed without hesitation. Since the inmates were following his orders, confidence surged within him.
The haircuts proceeded smoothly up until Room 11. Do-yeon’s energy was overflowing with his steps.
However, he hesitated in front of Room 10. Another inmate he didn’t want to face awaited.
Through the window of solitary confinement Room 1, books were piled high. Inside, a man in his mid-fifties was reading.
That man was Jang Hak-ki. On the surface, he appeared to be a neat-looking middle-aged man suited for politics.
But the correctional officers all knew the truth. That was just a facade.
“…Are you getting a haircut?”
Do-yeon asked in a voice he didn’t want to use.
If it weren’t for Si-hyun, he would have snuck past Room 1. He knew full well that Jang Hak-ki wouldn’t get a haircut anyway.
Yet, Si-hyun hadn’t given instructions to skip Room 1, so he asked.
“Do you think I’d go out to get my hair cut by some inmate scum? If you have a brain, think a little.”
Jang Hak-ki spat disdainfully. Everyone knew that he had a monthly appointment with an outside barber who was allowed to come in. This was only possible because the warden directly instructed the convenience to be provided.
When truly VIP clients like conglomerates or politicians came in, such conveniences were sometimes offered. For example, instead of the regular prison meals cooked by inmates, they’d bring in catered lunches.
In a secluded place like this, where they were cut off from the outside world, it was possible because the officers wouldn’t dare blow the whistle. They wouldn’t be inmates forever. Once their sentences were served, they would return to the upper social class, vastly different from a mere correctional officer. So, they had reasons to exercise caution.
Moreover, it was an order from above. It was only natural to rationalize that providing such benefits to a VIP was just customary. They knew that resisting injustice was a virtue, but very few correctional officers were willing to risk their livelihoods to realize that virtue. That’s why terms like “prison scum” and “dog scum” came about in the prison lexicon.
“Y-Yeah….”
The feeling was undoubtedly dirty, but Do-yeon couldn’t even muster a dirty word to express that disgust, and he stepped back. It was the very essence of the powerless 9th-grade correctional officer reality.
◈ ◈ ◈
“How did it go?”
When Do-yeon returned after finishing the haircuts, Si-hyun asked.
“Yes? It just went well.”
“Were there any troublesome inmates?”
“Jang Hak-ki was… annoying with his remarks, that guy.”
“As expected. What about Room 10?”
“Choi Kwang-ho has been quiet lately.”
“Hmm, that’s how it appears on the surface.”
“Eh?”
“There’s something about that.”
Si-hyun chuckled as he moved the mouse.
He had opened the list of today’s visitor appointments and their times.
– Choi Kwang-ho, lawyer meeting at 10:30.
Checking the clock, it was already 10 o’clock. It was almost time for their call.
The phone rang. Regular visit requests came through TRS, while lawyer appointments came through the phone as a matter of protocol.
“Thank you. This is Correctional Officer Choi Do-yeon from 4th Floor, Unit 1. Yes, yes, Room 20 Kim Kang-su, Room 10 Choi Kwang-ho for lawyer appointments. Thank you.”
Answering the call, Do-yeon wrote down the names on scrap paper. He then informed the intercom that there were lawyer appointments and opened the door. Kwang-ho wouldn’t be coming back to the ward for at least 40 minutes from now.
Si-hyun wore a knowing smile.
◈ ◈ ◈
Si-hyun called in the balding thug sharing a cell with Choi Kwang-ho to the duty room and spoke softly.
“Why do you look so uncomfortable? Be at ease, relax.”
“Y-Yes.”
However, even with Si-hyun’s soft voice, the thug reacted with extreme discomfort and intimidation. That was understandable since he had been properly schooled by Si-hyun’s Iron-Blooded Guard just a few days prior. It would be strange if he didn’t feel fear.
He couldn’t even meet Si-hyun’s gaze and kept his eyes downcast.
“I have a question.”
“W-Whatever you want to ask.”
“How has Choi Kwang-ho been doing lately?”
“Just quietly…”
“That’s all?”
“Not entirely… he told me to do something…”
Under the pressure of Si-hyun’s presence, the thug spilled out what Kwang-ho had urged him to do.
“What was that?”
“Um, he told me to self-harm. And that I should say that the officer was being coercive towards the inmates, which was why I couldn’t hold back and did that… I’m sorry. But I would never do that…!”
The thug firmly denied, his face tense with apprehension.
“Self-harm? Ah, I see where you were coming from.”
Si-hyun’s expression lit up with amusement. Realizing that confronting directly would lead to nothing due to physical strength, he decided to take another approach to toy with him. That too, while using a lackey to shield himself from any repercussions. He might act tough, but he was resorting to petty tricks.
He wouldn’t let it slide that someone who had so much control over the ward sought to inflict self-harm.
“Listen, I won’t say anything, so just keep quiet about whatever happens to Choi Kwang-ho. Don’t ever reveal this to anyone.”
“Of course, Officer! I’d stake my life on it!”
“Good. Now you can go.”
“Y-Yes, I’ll be heading back in.”
The thug left, constantly nodding his head.
While Si-hyun was thinking of when to trap Kwang-ho, an alert window popped up that made him happy.
[Po-ahim finds your actions interesting. He wants to see if you can rehabilitate the problematic inmates through shouting.]
[Quest: Use the intimidating shouts of the fearsome guard to demonstrate the rehabilitation of problematic inmates. 0/2]
“This is totally perfect!”
After checking the details, Si-hyun cheered. It seemed like he was synced with Po-ahim’s thoughts. After all, in order to maintain order, those human beings had to be rehabilitated, and here he was being gifted such a quest.
Since it was a perfect opportunity, he resolved to deal with Choi Kwang-ho today.
◈ ◈ ◈
“Mr. Choi Kwang-ho, follow me to the duty room.”
“…What is it?”
It seemed he was being a little more cautious with his words after the last incident.
“You can either follow me like last time or walk in on your own two feet.”
“Seriously.”
Kwang-ho reluctantly complied, following Si-hyun with a displeased expression.
Once inside the duty room, Si-hyun instructed:
“Sit down.”
“…What is it? Let’s just finish this quickly.”
Kwang-ho didn’t sit but asked instead.
“Self-harm.”
“…!!”
At this short mention, Kwang-ho’s eyes noticeably shook.
“…What are you saying?”
“So you still haven’t gotten your wits about you.”
Si-hyun’s expression turned serious.
“Huh, can you talk back to an inmate?”
Kwang-ho glared back defiantly.
“I’ve treated you with a lot of respect until now, okay? I treat inmates who abide by the rules with the proper regard. But I have no intention of showing that to someone who acts as if this prison is their living room. By the way, looking at your record, you’ve assaulted quite a number of innocent people, huh? You trash.”
“What the hell… who do you think you are? As if those that got beaten are your parents or something?”
“Didn’t you know that correctional officers are responsible for rehabilitating scumbags like you? I’ve been pondering how to reform a lunatic like you, who assaults officers and beats up innocent people, and I came up with a good idea.”
Si-hyun continued, sneering.
“You know the saying, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth? Assault for assault.”
“Are you actually going to hit me, or what? Huh? You little piece of trash!”
“Lower your voice, you little punk-!! And stand straight in front of me-!!”
He unleashed his Shouting Skill, lowering his tone as he shouted.
“You… son of a b….”
Kwang-ho’s body moved against his will as he cursed in surprise.
“Do you think I wouldn’t hit you? You’d want to sue me, right? But you can’t do anything! You won’t be able to tell anyone, and no one will come to your aid in this ward.”
Si-hyun continued coldly.
“Just get hit. Reflect on your past, when you roamed around like a thug beating people up.”