By Zephyria 
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“I’m telling you again, don’t cause any trouble. Seriously. I barely managed to get model prisoner status, and if I get caught with contraband, fuck, seriously. If I can’t clear my warnings by the end of the month, I’m going back to a six-person cell.”
“I’ve been here from the start, though?”
“You must have been a favorite wherever you were before! Ah, I didn’t mean it like that. Really. I wasn’t even shouting. Aaaah!”
No. 331, who had been struck on the arm, backed away with a miserable expression. Yet, seeing as he continued to plead persistently, it seemed staying in this shabby room was his deepest desire.
“Looking at you, I don’t think it’ll be easy to clear those warnings… You can’t just start hitting people in front of the badge if someone picks a fight. Got it? Hit them two days later. Two days later.”
“What if they hit me first?”
“Then have a go at them when you don’t have the badge. But it’s not good for you to act out just because you can fight a bit. I’ve been out of the game for a while and I got wrecked because I was alone, but if several bigger guys surround you, throw a blanket over you, and beat the hell out of you, you won’t be able to escape or even make a sound, and they won’t know about the badge… Seriously, what did you even do to get in here?”
“Fraud and hit-and-run murder.”
As he rattled off the crimes he had agreed upon with Jin Mu-hae, No. 331’s eyes filled with suspicion.
“Wasn’t it assault or something like that?”
“No. I hit them with a car. Like this, like this—I drove straight toward five people standing there and bam!”
At the sight of the bright, cheerful face explaining it, No. 331’s lips curled downward. “Is he actually a psychopath?” he muttered, but Joo-oh pretended not to hear.
He was too hungry to worry about trivial things. Fortunately, just as he tossed a bag of snacks aside and was about to lie down, a bell rang loud enough to echo throughout the entire prison.
♪♩♬-!
“Meal time!”
“Uh, you have to scan that for the door to open. Here, yes, that Watch.”
Beep. Once the identities of the two were recognized, the firmly closed iron bars opened with a clatter.
He wanted to run off immediately, but he held back, thinking of Jin Mu-hae.
Jin Mu-hae had said so. There was a high probability he wouldn’t even be able to go to the cafeteria. Therefore, Joo-oh had absolutely no intention of doing anything reckless and getting isolated during exercise time.
That was also why he had let No. 331’s advice slide. Though his instincts often took the lead, Joo-oh was no fool.
“Looks delicious.”
“That?”
Despite having come out quite hurriedly, the cafeteria was already teeming with people. Humans in conspicuous prisoner uniforms held plastic trays in their hands.
The food on the serving line consisted of an unidentifiable bean soup and a stir-fry mixing fiber blocks with protein corn.
Normally, he would have grumbled while searching for meat, but he had already been told several times about the correctional facility.
For Joo-oh, who had imagined a far more desolate scene, the menu wasn’t bad. It was much better than the entrails of an old Aberrant or some grass insects.
“Give me more.”
“Next.”
“I want more.”
“Next!”
However, the portion was so small that when he shook his tray, the inmate in the cook’s uniform frowned. When he didn’t move despite the sharp glare, the man scanned Joo-oh from head to toe.
At some point, the face full of irritation relaxed. The man glanced at the prison guard and then lowered his voice to whisper in his ear.
“Hey, you crazy bastard. I haven’t seen your face before; did you come in today?”
“Yeah.”
“…If you come to the kitchen storage before the break ends, I’ll give you three times as much. How about it?”
“Hmm. Sure.”
He thought he’d be asked to do something tedious, but he hit the jackpot. Joo-oh readily accepted the offer and received a tray full of protein corn.
“Fuck. Are you insane?”
As soon as they sat down at a table, No. 331 followed him with a look of horror.
Joo-oh scooped up a mouthful of soup with a blunt spoon, swallowed it, and looked back at him with a satisfied face.
“No. 331, eat.”
“What?”
“He decided to give it all to me.”
Fuck. No. 331 spat out the same curse without tiring. The way Joo-oh plopped the food onto his tray, as if telling him to just eat and shut up, seemed devoid of any real affection.
“I told you not to cause trouble, so why the hell would you say you’ll go there, knowing what that place is?”
“What is it?”
“Back there, inside the kitchen… No, the location isn’t the point!”
“I’m fine.”
Unless some mysterious Aberrant or incident was targeting Jin Mu-hae’s neck, there was absolutely no reason to be anxious or troubled.
As warm food entered his empty stomach, his mood improved.
Joo-oh continued his meal with a beaming smile, admiring the unfamiliar scenery of the prison.
* * *
“No. 28067. Outing.”
An hour after receiving a meal that was questionable in hygiene, if not taste. Free exercise time was granted as written on the schedule.
As if he had been waiting, Jin Mu-hae stretched his body and walked toward the iron bars. Clang. As the door opened, he felt an unnecessary sense of urgency.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have told him to stay quiet.’
It hadn’t been that long since he was separated from Joo-oh, yet various worries filled his mind. This wasn’t just anywhere; it was a prison.
He wondered if a guy with a head full of flowers could properly adapt in a gathering place for all sorts of trash.
Thinking of him enduring inmates who might nudge him or tease him while he mumbled, “Jin Mu-hae told me not to hit,” a vein popped on Mu-hae’s forehead.
‘Left side of the playground.’
Since the guy had an exceptionally good memory, he wouldn’t have forgotten the promise. Mu-hae grit his teeth, imagining Joo-oh’s likely distorted face.
If he met some shitty bastards, where and how should he beat them so it wouldn’t be noticed? Since this was a group of people whose lives were already in the gutter, a couple of punches wouldn’t even serve as a warning.
But unexpectedly, a perfectly fine face was sitting at the edge of the playground.
“Oh. Jeong Han-seok.”
Crunch. Joo-oh stopped eating his snacks and waved excitedly. From head to toe, he was neat, without a single sign of being disheveled or torn—he looked exactly like a lamb on an outing in a pride of lions.
“…What are you eating?”
“Crunchy Chips, Bacon Potato flavor. Do you want some, Jin Mu-hae?”
“Where did you get those?”
“I asked for them, and they gave them to me. The people who give the food.”
Surprisingly, there were no people around him. He had thought low-life scum might pester him.
Had he worried for nothing? Even in a prison with poor facilities, it seemed the rules were being followed well. Relieved, Mu-hae lowered his guard slightly and stood beside him.
“By the way, Jeong Han-seok. I think I’m going to do some farming. They said I start working where the wheat is tomorrow.”
“You won’t be there for long, so just endure it. You’ll be moved to the Tamjeunggwan soon.”
“I want to go quickly. I want to see Jeong Han-seok in the morning and at night.”
Even though he knew it was a pseudonym he had created, he wasn’t entirely pleased with the unfamiliar name coming out of his mouth.
Mu-hae tried to keep a calm face and subtly reached his arm back to touch his hand.
Sure enough, Joo-oh grabbed his hand firmly and began to fiddle with it. His eyes, which had been filled with dissatisfaction for a moment, drooped and took on a smile.
“Nothing happened?”
“Nope. I wish they gave a bit more food. Oh, and 855 told me…”
“Who is 855?”
“No. 22855. He works in the kitchen. He’s been here a long time, so he knows some good spots.”
Joo-oh tried to hand him a snack, but seeing the mouth blocked by the mask, he looked on with regret.
But that was only for a moment; he soon cheered up, leaned in close, and whispered.
“There’s a restroom next to the indoor jogging track, and he says the fourth stall is always empty during exercise time. If you give them something good, someone will block the gap at the bottom and keep watch for 20 minutes.”
“…What?”
“So I told them I’d go.”
Mu-hae’s eyebrow twitched at the unexpected information. Just as he was about to ask what ‘something good’ he could possibly have, Joo-oh quickly checked his surroundings and zipped down his prisoner uniform to pull something from his chest.
A handful of hand-rolled cigarettes popped out. Some of the tips had dark red stains, whether blood or dye.
Before he could press him on where he got such things, Joo-oh pulled the hand he was holding forward.
“He said there are no refunds even if it’s late. So let’s go quickly.”
“Go and do what?”
“Touch my hair. And my face and ears, too.”
What on earth had happened in the few hours they were apart that he had acquired the local currency and even attempted a transaction?
Without time to scold him, Mu-hae followed behind the skipping Joo-oh. Perhaps because of the anti-bite mask he wore flipped upside down, eyes kept drifting toward them wherever they went, so he had no choice but to twist his hand free from the tight grip.
“Ahem. Hem.”
A shaved inmate snatched the cigarettes and jerked his chin toward the inside of the restroom.
The fourth stall, just as he had heard. The bottom of the door, which had been cut by about 30 centimeters for surveillance, was blocked with a dirty blanket.
The bald guy looked back and forth between the two with a suggestive gaze. Soon, the restroom became empty, and the sound of people chatting drifted away.
“Never seen a sight like that. Isn’t that mask guy a new arrival today too?”
“I heard someone went into solitary; must be him. Damn, he adapts fast.”
Damn it. Even though it was a prison he’d be leaving soon, he hadn’t intended to stand out from the first day. Still, it was a good thing they had a space to talk without others watching.
Mu-hae sighed and sat down on the lidless toilet. While the other stalls he had passed were filthy, this place was strangely clean, without a single piece of fallen tissue, which felt even more unpleasant.
As if he had been waiting, Joo-oh quickly climbed onto his lap. A silly, humming laugh echoed near his neck.
As he stroked the fluffy hair, Joo-oh made a purring sound like a happy wild beast and rubbed his face all over him.
“I wanted to smell Jin Mu-hae.”
“You’re making a fuss over how long we were apart.”
He spoke harshly, but in truth, he was relieved that Joo-oh seemed fine. At the same time, seeing that he seemed to be doing just fine even without him made Mu-hae feel childishly petty.
Mu-hae grabbed the reddened tip of his ear and pressed it firmly with his thumb. Hng. Making a satisfied sound, Joo-oh slumped deeply into his arms.
“I wish Jin Mu-hae would eat my cheeks, too.”
“I don’t know. My mouth is in this state.”
“Then how do you eat?”
“Only this part opens then. Unless they intend to starve me to death.”
Joo-oh tapped the mask as if he had discovered a fascinating object. He seemed like someone trying to memorize everything from its appearance to its structure.
“Don’t forget. If you cause trouble, you can’t go to the Tamjeunggwan.”
“….”
“But if someone messes with you, just beat them up moderately where it can’t be seen. Pick areas covered by clothes—arms, legs, stomach.”
The guy, who had flinched for a moment, nodded as if relieved.
Since he was good at doing what he was told, he wouldn’t have to suffer any shitty situations now. Looking down at the Link Watch, which had its exterior changed to a prisoner’s version, Mu-hae let out a hollow laugh at himself.
Was it because he had already enjoyed far too much alone time recently? Strangely, it felt like the few days without him would be boring.
206 – Became an anomaly in a dead game