Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Why Are You Here?
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"Huff... haa... huff... haa..."
I came to my senses after being sucked into that black hole and slowly looked around.
'This... this is...'
It was the prison where I worked.
In this sudden turn of events, I couldn't get my head straight.
Things had changed so abruptly that I even wondered if this was all a dream.
"You okay?"
A familiar voice. It was Seorin.
She must have come through the same hole, but unlike me, she was inside a cell.
She looked utterly exhausted.
Whatever had happened earlier was clearly no dream or hallucination—it was real.
"Ah... yeah, I'm fine, but... I think I need a bit of an explanation here."
"Explanation?"
"Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the help, but how did you get to where I was so fast? And why did the X Mark on my arm light up? There's a lot that needs clearing up."
At my words, Seorin stood in one corner of the room, staring silently at the black X Mark etched on my forearm.
Her lips parted slightly, then closed again.
She started to speak several times but stopped each time.
Her violet eyes trembled, and a faint pink flush crept into her cheeks.
"Hey, Park Seorin!"
Ian spoke up from the next cell in a tone that urged her on.
Her voice was soft but firm.
"Don't you think it's time to tell him? You still planning to hide it? Look at his face—he's completely dumbfounded."
Seorin's shoulders trembled slightly.
She took a slow breath and finally opened her mouth in a small voice.
"......That X Mark.... it's a kind of signal."
I looked up.
"Pardon?"
Seorin couldn't avoid my gaze and met my eyes.
Her face grew redder by the second.
Her ears turned scarlet, making her cool skin look feverish.
"......Right before you have sex, so I can sense it.... I engraved it as a signal."
Her voice grew quieter and quieter.
Her last words were almost a whisper.
I asked,
"...Why would you need something like that?"
Instead of answering, Seorin bit her lip.
Her eyes dropped, and her fingers twisted together, trembling.
No words came out.
She just...
stood there, face beet red, head slightly bowed.
Ian turned her head away in frustration.
Feeling like I wouldn't get anything more out of this, I shut my mouth.
Right after that, I headed straight to the warden's office.
It had already been a week since my kidnapping.
Not knowing how big the fallout was, I hurried to make my report.
'Huh... the door's open...?'
I pushed open the door to the warden's office and stepped in. A chill brushed against my skin.
The air felt incredibly heavy and cold.
At that moment, the Prison Warden looked up in surprise.
"You're... back? How...? We got a report that Yoo Seol kidnapped you."
Her voice mixed shock and suspicion.
Her eyebrows shot up, and the pen in her hand froze.
I shrugged casually as I replied.
"Honestly, I have no idea either. I came back without even realizing it. When I snapped out of it, I was already here."
I deliberately glossed over it to avoid implicating Seorin.
The black X Mark, the fact that Seorin had left the prison in the first place—everything was too tangled up to explain honestly.
The Prison Warden furrowed her brow.
"......That doesn't make any sense. How is that even possible? It's been days since the kidnapping..."
Her expression was complicated.
Suspicion flickered in her eyes as she scanned my face, but she sighed and shook her head.
"Well, you're back safe—that's what matters. Go to the infirmary for a checkup. I've got a ton to handle right now, so if you could just file a report, I'd appreciate it."
She let it slide just like that.
Doubt lingered in her eyes, but she didn't press further.
After clocking out, I sat at my computer and searched for Yoo Seol.
I scoured the internet, social media, news articles... but nothing.
Not a trace of her escape or my kidnapping anywhere.
Another week passed like that.
Right before heading in to work, I got a single text.
'...It's from the Warden?'
[When you get in, come straight to my office—no detours.]
Every time I'd gotten a text from the Warden before, something major had gone down.
From Ian's transfer to Yoo Seol's escape.
I was already dreading the walk to her office.
'Ugh... what could she want to talk about today?'
I felt tense just standing in front of the warden's office.
"Warden, it's Yoo Seo-hyun. May I come in?"
"Come on in!"
Short, but with a strangely upbeat tone.
'This isn't bad news, right...?'
"Come on in! How've you been? I gave you special leave after the kidnapping, but you didn't take it... you holding up okay?"
"Yeah, sticking around the job actually puts my mind at ease, so I'm good."
-Thud
The Warden immediately planted her elbows on the desk and fixed me with a stare.
"What do you think of Yoo Seol?"
"Pardon?"
"Exactly what I said."
"Well... I..."
I had no idea how to respond.
I couldn't tell if I should just say what I thought or if there was some answer she wanted to hear.
"Speak freely. I'm not gonna slap you with 'defending a criminal' or anything, so don't worry."
At her words, I fidgeted for a moment before speaking up.
"I don't think she's a bad person, deep down."
"What do you mean by that?"
She shot back.
"Sure, she's in here for serious crimes and even broke out..."
"And...?"
"But I don't think her fundamental character is rotten."
Of course, I could be wrong.
I'd only known her for a week, and maybe she was just nice because she needed something from me.
But I didn't want to lie.
I just wanted to share what I'd felt, plain and simple.
I glanced cautiously at the Warden, but she just watched me silently.
Deep down, I was scared.
What if she suspected me of being involved with a criminal?
Silence stretched on for about five minutes.
The whole time, the Warden stared at me without a word.
-Thud
The silence broke first with the sound of her slamming the desk.
Contrary to my fears, she looked pleased as she spoke.
"Good, got it!"
"Pardon?"
"Excellent answer. I've got a gift prepared for you—it'll suit you perfectly."
She kept saying cryptic things.
"Head back to work for now. The gift's waiting there for you."
Leaving her baffling words behind, I headed back to my post.
Even in the elevator, replaying what she'd said yielded no clues.
I made my way to where Seorin and Ian were.
"Huh?"
Something was off.
The hallway where Seorin and Ian were kept.
Even from far enough away that I couldn't see them, voices carried over.
Not normal voices—rowdy clamor.
No... sounds of fighting?
Hearing noises that never happened before, I hurried toward them.
I worried something had gone wrong.
"....You bitch..."
"...I said... we're done..."
The closer I got, the clearer the voices became.
"Hey, you bitch, what gives you the nerve to be here?"
"What...? Did you put me here or something?"
'What... what the hell...'
When I arrived, I couldn't help but be stunned.
'This can't be the Warden's "gift," can it?'
I rubbed my eyes, wondering if I was seeing things.
But the scene before me was undeniably real, no matter how I looked.
Ian on the far left.
Seorin in the cell to the right of her.
The problem was the extra person in the cell to the right of Seorin's.
"Yoo Seol?!"
No doubt about it.
Even in prison garb instead of her white clothes, I knew for sure.
It was that Yoo Seol who'd kidnapped me.
"Oh, my husband's here!"
"Who the hell's your husband!"
"Hey, hey, fucking quit it already. Can't get any sleep here."
What was this absurd scene?
Yoo Seol and Seorin were at each other's throats, while Ian lay there looking annoyed.
"Yoo Seol, what happened? Why are you here?"
She was an escapee, so I'd figured she'd end up back in the prison eventually.
But a Model Prisoner?
At this point, it felt like they handed the title to just about anyone.
"Honey, why the long face? Aren't you happy I'm back?"
Yoo Seol reached through the bars toward me.
"I said, who's your damn honey, you thieving stray cat!"
Seorin just kept yelling at her from the side.
Were they that strong?
Their shouting pierced my ears like needles.
My head was throbbing.
"What's wrong with calling my husband 'honey'?"
"The problem's your empty head, flower garden and all..."
"Hey, hey, shut up already. Quit fighting—you're not kindergarteners..."
Total chaos.
"Cut it out!!"
My head felt like it would split from the noise, so I finally yelled.