I Became a Prison Officer of the First-Class Prisoners

[ Chapter 9 ]

 

“Lemony is an asshole.”

On a leisurely afternoon, I picked up my phone and leaned my head against the sofa cushion, having turned on some random variety show with the remote control. This was my favorite time of the day— I had finished all my tasks for the day and put off worrying about tomorrow’s troubles, just for this moment to read the novel I had wanted to read.

My only busy finger quickly scrolled through the screen.

The novel I was reading lately was a typical R-19 novel, blending filth and obsession appropriately. The unique setting of a prison made it even more captivating, but above all, I was fascinated by the male lead’s animalistic obsession.

The novel begins with the male lead, Deon, killing the prison officer Lemony. By chance, Deon discovers Lemony’s “First-Class Prisoner Education Journal” from the deceased officer’s body and realizes that he must find three keys held by a first-class prison officer in order to escape from Dreys Prison.

The role of the extra character Lemony ends there.

She provided appropriate motivation and hints to the main lead who faces the incident, and the reason for him leaving on his own.

“But the male lead was infuriated. It’s fortunate that he killed her quickly without exploding the sweet potato.”

I read the novel smoothly, admiring Deon’s quick response. It was when I blinked my eyes.

“It looks like you’re tired.”

A pleasant low pitch that one could imagine hearing from somewhere sounded in my ears.

From my dim and almond-shaped vision, I suddenly caught a glimpse of a man with black hair. Was it a dream? Without any particular thought, I blinked my eyes again, and the darkness gradually receded from my sight, and the focus began to sharpen.

“You didn’t wake up no matter what I did.”

And upon seeing a man, I realized.

Lemony should not have died.

◆

“Did I faint after being hit…”

“If I had hit you, you wouldn’t have just fainted, you would have died.”

I couldn’t hear Deon’s words. I frantically touched my body and lowered my head, noticing a whistle hanging between a few unbuttoned buttons. I grabbed the whistle like a lifeline, but my hands still trembled uncontrollably.

I carefully checked my uniform pockets and ensured my pants weren’t unzipped. Luckily, there was no sign of my uniform being taken off. Even the uncomfortable underwire in my underwear was properly placed.

Deon was right. He didn’t even touch a single hair on my body.

Since when did I get used to this tense state of mind? I was just an ordinary college student a few hours ago. Suddenly, I missed the old-fashioned professor’s face. Suddenly, I missed the old-fashioned face of the professor.

“Ah.”

Suddenly, a stupid exclamation came out.

But in reality, I was just staring blankly at the red-eyed man. He was perched on the corner of the bed, and it looked like the height of the bed was lower than his size, making him look uncomfortable. As I met his inexplicable red eyes, an uncomfortable truth came to mind once again.

This man is Deon. Deon killed Lemony. Deon hates Lemony.

And I’m Lemony.

 As I came to the realization that I couldn’t escape from this place, a suffocating sense of itchiness and frustration started to overwhelm me. Although I was supposedly immune to pain, I couldn’t understand why I was feeling breathless and uncomfortable.

Haa. Haa.

I crumpled the suit jacket around my upper body in pain. My eyes were getting hot from hyperventilation, and suddenly something larger than my face wrapped around my neck.

“Breathe.”

His grip was so tight that it was scary.

Unconsciously, I held my breath, and one of Deon’s eyebrows went up as if he didn’t want that.

“Take a breath in.”

For some reason, I felt a chill from his tightly closed lips. As his handsome yet terrifying face got closer, I felt like I would stop breathing again.

But I couldn’t ignore his command.

I had to inhale. If I didn’t, it felt like I would die.

“Good.”

As I took a deep breath, inflating my lungs as much as possible, like sucking through a straw, the sharp tone of his voice softened slightly.

“Now exhale.”

Whoo. As I let out a faint breath that spread through my trembling lips and touched the tip of his chin, Deon continued to watch me with a firm grip on my neck, monitoring every movement. It was strange how my limbs still shook as if I were trapped. His gaze, tinged with red, seemed to penetrate my soul, but as I followed his command to take deep breaths, my body gradually began to calm down.

One breath at a time, and another.

After observing my condition to the end, Deon released his grip on my neck and stood up from his seat.

“Let’s go out now.”

◆

“It seems like you’re that kind of person from the way you’re dressed, and you look good. Hey, you there! Come over here quickly and have some fun. The prison officer is shacked!”

“Wow, really.”

It felt as if all the demons in the world had gathered in one place.

As I began to walk down the corridor of Building B in earnest, a group of creatures resembling goblins giggled like children and threw rocks at me. I shrunk my shoulders and ducked to avoid the rocks, but I met eyes with a strange demon with its mouth wide open.

“….Offi…cer….”

It was a demon whose spine protruded with each vertebra visible as it bent over, unable to contain its long arms dragging on the ground. There was not a single hair on its head, and its unfocused gray pupils stared at me intently even as it turned its head. Drool flowed from its thick lips. Its expression seemed to suggest that it had just spotted its prey.

“How shameless! Putting shackles on a prisoner like that!”

“It’s a pity to kill such a pretty face. Sometimes on days when a first-class prison officer comes down to the second floor, I can’t control my lower part.”

“Hahaha!”

Shadows of grotesque forms danced on the wall, illuminated by torches. Some had a human torso and a horse’s body, while others walked holding a leash with three-necked animal heads. This place was hell. This was a place where all the refuse that the Northern and Southern Empires couldn’t handle had accumulated, and it felt like a swarm of mosquitoes emerging from a puddle.

Amidst the low-quality jokes and jeers that would cause panic, bat-shaped creatures flew across the ceiling. As I stopped in fear and groaned, the shackles were pulled strongly.

“Walk.”

A clear low voice that cut through the noise stuck in my ear.

Deon’s head protruded among the throng of prisoners. He absentmindedly kicked his tongue and scratched one eyebrow while surrounded by them, but his face betrayed no emotion.

The sound of a nervously scratching laugh sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Tuk, tuk, tuk. Small pebbles could be felt on my back and shoulders. Shadows that were not human.

As I began to perceive everything, my legs supporting me began to wobble. I didn’t even know what hurt exactly since I was numb, but suddenly, vomit rose up in my throat.

Huuck.

While hurriedly covering my mouth with my left hand, my upper body bent over. Luckily, all I had eaten was a piece of dried meat, so I only dry heaved, but there was another problem.

“Wahhahahaha!”

“Yes, that looks nice!”

It was when the jeers of the prisoners, split like red sea around Deon and me, turned into cheers.

‘Well done, well done!”

Huuck. Uuuck. I knew I should stop, but the dry heaving had only just begun. As my breathing became more labored, hot veins started to converge around my eyes again. Suddenly, a goblin became excited by my actions and began to dance with a torch in hand.

“Vomit it out, vomit it out! I wonder how the officer’s vomit tastes like….”

The goblin, who was dancing, suddenly crashed into the wall.

With a cracking sound that shook the ground, a thick smog-like haze rose from the collapsed stone wall. Soon, a green cylinder, which seemed like it was going to burst from Deon’s left hand, which was still unrestrained, became visible.

“What’s so funny?”

He had the gloomiest expression I had ever seen. The inexplicable sense of intimidation felt in the quiet bass was pressing down on the corridor air.

“If this woman hadn’t slammed your head into the toilet, you wouldn’t even have the right to laugh at her.”

Deon has a talent for making people hold their breath, but it seems like this talent works even on non-human beings. In the silence, where not even a breath could be heard, the sound of someone swallowing saliva spread stickily.

A green shape that was so mangled that its form couldn’t be recognized suddenly made a sound and was thrown away like a spider’s web that had been tangled on the wall.

But just a moment ago, it was undoubtedly a living creature. Moreover, it was a living creature with emotions and language.

My hair stood on end and I quickly touched my neck as if to hide it. I remembered the time when that hand, which had turned a goblin into dough, had touched my throat, and a sudden sensation of a firm yet hot body temperature passed through my palm.

Why didn’t he kill me?

He must have been able to kill me, but why didn’t he?

“Are you allergic to prisoners?”

“What?”

The sensation of the firm yet warm temperature of the palm still felt vividly present. As I reminisced about the incident in my private room, something bright suddenly shone upon me out of nowhere.

“You couldn’t even breathe earlier, now you’re even vomiting.”

His tone was as if I was a burden, even though he had gone through so much effort to save me. Was it possible that he was actually worried about me?

But then again, all of this was Deon’s intention. He had no right to worry about me.

“…Why do you ask? Wouldn’t it be beneficial for you if I’m not feeling well?”

The intimidating expression softened as if asking why the obvious needed to be questioned.

“What good does it do me to have to deal with your suffering?”

Let’s go.

With a frown that seemed to even notice bugs, he turned his back and started walking. My legs, which had no choice but to keep up with his wide strides, began to move faster and blocked Deon’s path.

His head, forcibly stopped, lowered.

It was when his eyebrow raised slightly, with a haughty expression that seemed to feel no need to speak.

“…Do you like it?”

I don’t know anymore. The anger that I couldn’t control was boiling inside of me to an absurd degree.

I tightly clenched my fist until it trembled sweetly and turned white. Otherwise, I felt like I would go crazy.

“You could have killed me a long time ago if that was your intention. Why are you doing this? Are you getting excited about making me feel ashamed?”

Looking around, he made a clicking sound with his tongue.

“Well.”

As if wondering what the problem was, he lowered his head and looked at me.

“So, what?”

◆

Thank you for reading!