Chapter 28.2

Chapter 28.2

The medical officer was out for the moment, but there was no telling when she would return. I lowered my voice as much as I could and tried to push him away, but it was useless.

The more I struggled, the more he buried the straight bridge of his nose deep into the back of my neck, rubbing against me.

“Didn’t you say you liked me?”

His fully erect, menacing hard-on pressed against my backside. Even as I strained my ears, worried someone might hear us through the open door, Deputy Ki did not care. He was acting like a madman.

“Are you not letting go? This is not good, this is not—”

“Can’t you like me again somehow? You said you liked me. Huh? You have to like me again.”

Like a child craving maternal comfort, he clung to me and rubbed against me relentlessly, squeezing me tight. At this rate, something really bad was going to happen. I barely managed to turn around and slapped his cheek hard.

“Get a grip. What is wrong with you, seriously? Deputy Ki, are you insane? Do you want to get fired?”

I was the one who hit him, yet he stood there dumbly for a moment, then seemed to realize what had happened and spoke with a guilty look instead.

“…I’m sorry. I’m sorry. For grabbing you like that. But still, I…”

“You have way more to lose than I do. Why are you trying to do something with a worthless inmate like me? You’re the one who said it, Deputy Ki. You could have just treated it like a bit of reckless fun, so why are you being so difficult about it?”

“…….”

“I told you I’m done. I lost interest in you. Do I have to spell it out? Deputy Ki, I don’t like you anymore. I’m completely over you.”

Tears pattered down onto his reddened cheek, still marked with my handprint. In that moment, I was so shocked and flustered I felt like I might pass out. It did not feel real.

Once because Deputy Ki was crying right in front of me, and twice because even like this, his face still looked absurdly handsome, like a scene out of a movie. I could not believe it.

With that body and that face, why was he so obsessed with me? It was suffocating and irritating. I had wanted to see him cling to me, yet now that he actually was, I could not understand it.

He did not even see me as an equal, so what on earth was he so desperate for?

What I found disturbing about myself was that, even so, a part of me stirred at the sight of him crying. I felt the urge to stroke his cheek and hold him.

You’re crazy, Kim Geummi. I ruthlessly shook off the chaotic feelings mixing inside me.

“Please don’t do this. I’ve already sorted out my feelings.”

“….”

“So… Deputy Ki, you should too…”

Just then, there was movement outside. I heard the medical officer and a correctional officer talking as they approached the door. I quickly put the broom back into the locker and stepped out into the hallway.

To show that I was done talking to him.

Deputy Ki was not the only one with something to lose. Another rope had already been lowered kindly right in front of me, and I no longer needed him.

Fortunately, after getting slapped in the infirmary, he seemed to come back to his senses. Deputy Ki no longer hovered around me, nor did he try to start conversations.

Thanks to the pastor putting me on the team decorating the chapel until Christmas, my assignment cleaning the infirmary also came to an end.

After that, even when we happened to cross paths, he no longer looked at me. He had returned to being the indifferent, wall-like Deputy Ki he used to be. It was an immense relief.

Perhaps unexpected events come in clusters, because with one week left until Christmas, something else unforeseen happened.

With the end of the year approaching and Christmas just around the corner, the entire prison felt calm. Dinner was generous every night, with special dishes included, so even Princess was in a decent mood, and although Yera was still rude to me, she was quiet as well.

Around that time, I was pouring all my energy into writing my testimony.

Because of a single moment of foolishness, I inflicted great harm on someone else. Each day behind bars, I reflect on that foolishness. By following God’s word and becoming a sheep that follows the good shepherd, I have disciplined my heart through service and repentance. For the rest of my life as well, I wish to live without shame as the Lord’s lamb. I give thanks to the Lord who forgave my sins and allowed me to see the righteous path…

Should I make it a bit more dramatic… I was wetting the tip of my pencil with my tongue and agonizing over it when Eyes suddenly cut in.

“Unni, you’re actually really good at writing.”

“It’s just a testimony. What’s so good about it.”

“No, look. I’ve never heard words like this before. Your handwriting’s neat, and you even use final consonants properly, unni.”

Is that so… I had always thought I only had a talent for dancing. Being praised made me oddly proud and gave me a surge of confidence, when suddenly there was a knock on the steel door.

I turned around and saw Deputy Ki standing beyond the barred window in the door.

“7059, step out.”

“…….”

What now. There were barely two weeks left until the parole review in the new year. In a week, I also had to present my testimony in front of the warden.

The reason he was calling for me gave me an uneasy sense of déjà vu, and I froze in place. As if urging me on, there was another knock on the steel door.

“7059, step out. You have a visitor.”