"Roll call!"
"One!"
"Two!"
"Three!"
"Four! Everyone's present!"
"Good. Get up; play time is here! Time to let you b*stards out of your cages."
"Finally! I needed some fresh air," muttered an inmate. He glanced at one of his cellmates discreetly, thinking about how much tension he had brought upon the room these past few days.
The aforementioned cellmate was practically dragging his feet as the group was ushered to the courtyard, where they would spend some 'quality' time with the other inmates.
There was a gloomy aura emanating from him, and anyone with eyes and brains would think twice before picking a fight with him. He'd been in a bad mood lately, and no one in the cell knew why.
The inmate thought back to the day before.
The young man was usually eager to receive his mail, but he did not show his usual excitement as he opened up the familiar pink envelope that he would always get every few days. Once he finished the letter, his mood plunged for some odd reason, as if he had just been delivered bad news.
The other cellmates had sneaked the letter out later that night from the place he would usually keep them, then secretly read it. They'd usually use the contents of the letters as material to make fun of the young man; which would often end up in a 'friendly' spar session once the young man found out about it.
The most recent letter was as flowery as the others; the sender, his darling sister, would describe her day to him, and every few paragraphs she would include words of affection to the young man.
As usual, the three regular diabetes-inducing phrases were scattered throughout the letter—'I love you', 'I miss you', 'Don't cause trouble, come out quickly'.
It was so sickly sweet that the other inmates would blanch at them; but at the same time, they felt envious. At least the boy had someone who was faithfully waiting for his release.
There was clearly nothing wrong with the letter, which left the three inmates perplexed.
While the group walked towards the courtyard, Hyuk could not help but think about what Jin Goo had told him the other day.
He was waiting for Yeo Ri to personally reveal the details to him, but the girl did not show any signs of doing so. It pained him that the girl kept the truth hidden from him.
He used to think that he was the person Yeo Ri trusted the most in the world, and that there was nothing she wouldn't tell him. But then again, even back when their b*stard of a father was still around, she didn't say a word to anyone either. Had he not accidentally found out about what was going on, she would've probably kept the secret to her grave.
He could not help but wish Yeo Ri would rely on him more often. If only he wasn't stuck in this hellhole, he thought. It was the first time he regretted going to jail.
Hyuk snapped out of his thought just as they stepped into the outdoors.
The sky was bright, nary a cloud in sight. It was a good day to stay outside.
The inmates were out and about, enjoying the little bit of fresh air they were allowed to have. Some sat in groups, and some were in pairs. A minority sat by themselves, and there were plenty of them who were walking around, exercising their limbs.
"Woah, woah, woah—"
"Oh, sh*t—"
"Back up! Back up!"
All of a sudden, Hyuk's cellmates started pulling him to the side, exclaiming and panicking, as if they had encountered something dangerous.
"The f*c—" Hyuk glowered at them in annoyance, but then—
"—!"
He caught sight of a person whom he swore to destroy the next time he met him.
There he was, Ji Yeong Gi, sitting smugly among a group of tough-looking inmates. It seemed like he was finally released from solitary confinement. He was smiling with his usual harmless grin while exchanging words with his group.
"Ji! Yeong! Gi!" Hyuk seethed, grinding his teeth.
"Woah, no, calm down, Lee Hyuk!" His cellmates immediately grabbed him, holding him back from storming towards the other young man and beating the sh*t out of him.
The guards and the CCTVs were all actively eyeing them, and it would not bode well for any of them if Hyuk instigated a fight in the courtyard. For one thing, the little bit of free time they could spend outside would be cut short, and they might all get punished for infighting.
"Let go!" Hyuk tried to shake them off, but the strengths of the three people were too much for him to take out on his own. They held onto him tightly to make sure that he wouldn't cause any accidents.
"The guards are everywhere; do you want to get in trouble again?!" Lee Moon Deok hissed. He squeezed the young man's arm tightly to get his attention. "Are you sure you want to do that? What about your sister? Didn't you promise her something?"
Hyuk's muscle tensed at the mention of his sister. He glared angrily at the older inmate before turning away, clicking his tongue. "Get off me, you f*ckin' sh*theads," Hyuk said instead.
After finally confirming that the young man would not go berserk, the three inmates finally loosened their holds.
The four kept to themselves at a corner of the courtyard, careful to maintain a good distance from Ji Yeong Gi and his group.
Thirty minutes later, their free time ended, and everyone was ushered back into their cells.
"Hey."
While they were walking down the corridor towards the cells, Ji Yeong Gi and his group of cellmates caught up to them.
The distance between them were barely several meters away. Ji Yeong Gi immediately arrived close enough to speak to the group.
Since there were guards close by, no one moved suspiciously. Hyuk could neither raise his hands nor start a fight since there was too many people looking at him warily, afraid that he might throw his fists around again.
"I heard your sister got famous?" Ji Yeong Gi smirked as he passed by the group. "Be careful~" he said, his face carrying an expression as if he was saying it out of concern.
Hyuk frowned. It was not in Ji Yeong Gi's nature to warn others of any kind of danger. If anything, he'd be by the side, applauding as all hell broke loose.
"You might never know, right, Lee Hyuk?" He laughed after seeing Hyuk's confused face. "Standing out so much makes her an easy target, don't you think?"
An ominous feeling struck Hyuk's heart.
"You... what have you done, you b*stard?" Hyuk narrowed his eyes at the other man, his veins popping. He clenched his fists tightly, looking as if he was ready to kill a b*tch.
Ji Yeong Gi's smile deepened. His eyes curved with mirth.
"Watch out, Lee Hyuk. It would be a shame if... your sister ends up getting kidnapped or something. Right?"