Chapter 32.1

Chapter 32.1

Today’s supervisor in the sewing workshop was Chief Park. He also paced with his hands behind his back, meddling here and there in the workshop. I quickly glanced at Chief Park, then lowered my gaze again and continued to stitch the pile of cloth assigned to me.

How much time had passed?

While silently reciting the testimony script that I memorized by now, quite a few piles of completed fabric had stacked up. Just then, when a rookie guard came to report something to Chief Park, he looked around the workshop and stepped out the door. Seeing that, I straightened my back and stretched.

“7059, they say to bring the remaining ironing items to the laundry room.”

The woman who was acting as the work team leader spoke to me. She was also a model prisoner and, like me, was receiving parole review. Perhaps because of that, the woman’s attitude toward me was gentle.

I gathered the completed products stacked on the sewing table into my arms and carried them toward the laundry room.

As I stepped inside, the smell of detergent and a wave stifling heat rushed at me.

The fairly wide laundry room, separated by just one door from the workshop, had a washing area on one side, an ironing area on another, and a space for folding the finished fabrics on yet another.

I made my way toward the section thick with white steam and heavy with the smell of the laundry. On the large wide ironing board, the steam iron suspended from the ceiling was radiating heat.

“I’ll be ironing this.”

If I just placed the pile of fabric on whatever empty spot I could find, the task was done. It wasn’t good because it was hot in the summer, but in winter, since it’s warm, it would be rather bearable. It was a thought that had nothing to do with me. By the time I realized how careless and complacent I had been, it was already too late.

Before I had the chance to cry out, my neck was grabbed and I was flung to the floor. As I hurriedly tried to get up, something flew in and struck the back of my head hard enough to make it numb.

“Ugh!”

“You f*ck!n.g b1tch, did you think I’d just leave you alone and watch?”

The only person in this prison who would hold this much hostility toward me was one. The moment I saw Yera straddling my chest just like that day, goosebumps rose all over my skin. It was clearly different from before.

I felt murderous intent from Yera, whose eyes were bloodshot and burning. The woman on top of me was trying to kill me. Not beating me to the point of death, but really trying to kill me.

“Th-this, let go…!”

“Dog-like b*tch…. You seduced my husband? Wr3t.ch*d wh*r3. How dare you think you could live after stealing my man? Today it’s you die, I die… f*ck!ng b*tch… filthy sl*tty b@st*rds….”

Something about Yera’s condition was off. In her mutterings, the man sounded like Deputy Ki but also not quite. At that moment, the words Eyes had picked up somewhere and told me came to mind.

“About Yera, she says she came in for fraud, but from what I heard there’s talk it was adultery.”

Yera was grinding her teeth as if Deputy Ki—who had never even given me a single glance to—was her man, and as if I had seduced and taken that man away.

For the first time, I was terrified. The sensation when death was right in front of me struck me chillingly.

I tried desperately to reach out and grab Yera, but I couldn’t move an inch under the weight pressing down on my chest.

In a heavily suppressed voice, I spat out the words I was saying for the first time since coming here.

“Help… please save me… save…”

But no one came to help. Why? Because I seduced Deputy Ki?

While everyone was just murmuring, Yera reached out and grabbed the iron. The fully heated iron emitting white steam felt scorching even at this distance.

“You seduced Deputy Ki with this face, right? B*tc.h3s like you who think they can get away with anything just because they’re decent-looking need to get a hole in their head to come to their senses. You have to get ruined to wake up!”

“St-stop… help, please save me… save me…”

The flat hot plate of the iron slowly came closer to my face. It was burning hot.

“Aaack! He-help me, someone please…!”

I’m scared… I’m terrified…. Help me, save me….

Even if I survive, what about my parole? What on earth am I supposed to do?

The iron hissing steam was scorching.

My vision went pitch black as if there was no choice but to take it like this. Bracing for the pain that was about to come, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Keuk. The iron fell toward me. I quickly turned my head as far as I could, and there was a sizzling burning sound right beside my ear.

When I opened my eyes, something hot was poured on me this time. It wasn’t the iron or anything else, but something flowing even on me.

“Ke, keuk… keuk!”

Yera, who let out a strange sound, grabbed her own nape with the hand that had held the iron. At the spot where red blood was gushing out like a fountain, a toothbrush was lodged into it. A pink toothbrush with all its bristles jutting out.

And beside her stood Sole. With a face full of rage that I had never seen before.

The worn down back of the old woman who had been scraping something against the wall came to mind. The very thing that she had diligently sharpened was now embedded in Yera’s neck.

“Keuk!”

Yera coughed out blood and collapsed toward me.