Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Reality
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"Was it fun?"
As soon as I stepped into C Wing, the first thing I saw was Creep's palm.
She held out her hand, urging me to grab it,
and I had nothing to say, simply placing my hand atop hers.
I felt dizzy. A dreamlike sensation dragged on.
Reuniting with Justice had only tormented me instead, leaving me unable to pull myself together.
I'd believed without a doubt that seeing her would change everything. I was certain she would understand my suffocating situation.
But all we did was clash with our misguided beliefs and feelings for each other,
"Come on, let's head in."
and now it was time to return to my reality.
Creak-
Following Creep's elegant gesture, I quietly stepped into the two-person cell as the door slowly swung open.
Surprisingly, contrary to my expectations, my reunion with Creep was utterly quiet and natural.
"Who was it? Justice? Or that little kid who was tagging along after you?"
She stirred slowly, methodically, like dissolving instant coffee in lukewarm water. My gaze drifted to it involuntarily. But I didn't respond to her. I don't even know why. I just didn't want to answer. Not for some lofty reason like heroes mustn't yield to villains, just... at that moment, opening my mouth felt worse than dying.
"Justice, huh. Yeah, she's the only one who could smash you up like this. Things didn't go well in your chat?"
Reading my mood, Creep kept offering gentle, familiar words of comfort.
"Didn't go well, huh. What'd Justice say? That she doesn't even wanna see you anymore?"
The lukewarm brown coffee, poured into a paper cup, was set on my knee. The iffy temperature should've left some grounds, but the cup Creep handed me was smooth and perfectly serene.
"But isn't that obvious? You gave those bitches a proper smackdown. So why bother talking to her now?"
I knew it. Creep was deliberately scraping at my nerves to coax out a reply. Still, knowing that and in too much pain to resist, I had no choice but to answer.
"...I didn't do it."
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"I didn't do it."
"Aha. Got it. Yeah."
It was bizarre. I brimmed with hostility toward Creep deep down, yet I couldn't muster the nerve to defy her. I should've wanted to flatten her right there, even if it meant a group beating. Instead, I couldn't even refuse the coffee she offered and clutched it in my hand.
"Then drink up. You're framed, and to clear your name, you gotta survive and get out somehow. Can't just starve in a place like this, right?"
She was right. Sadly, Creep had never once been wrong.
"...Hold on. Aha! So that's it? I've been racking my brain over why you're so glum."
She showed childlike sides at times, but she was no idiot.
"You thought Justice would bail you out. But she doesn't even know you're innocent and won't believe you, right?"
Her conclusion—drawn from scraps of info—was precise and razor-sharp.
"Sad. Makes me wanna cry too. Baby, have some coffee first. Quick. Come on... sluuuurp..."
Sweet instant coffee filled my mouth. My head and lips tilted slowly at her hand's guidance, failing to hold onto the defiance I'd shown before, bending exactly as Creep wanted.
"Yeah. You're stressing over what to do now. 'Cause the situation's hopeless. Outside, they've nailed you as the perp, and in here, all the villains you locked up are honing their blades. Sigh, totally screwed. Yeah, yeah. Drink more."
One sip, two sips, until I saw the bottom of the paper cup. After draining it, I stared at Creep, the cloying sweetness lingering on my tongue.
"Tasty, right?"
She remained brutally honest. Too honest, grinning without hiding her glee one bit. She tried acting worried, but excitement overtook her. Her lips dipped, rose, quivered midway in silent cheers of joy.
"So now, what should you do? You look all mixed up, so lemme give you some advice. Sound good?"
As if it'd be good. But no matter how I glared, she barreled on.
"One answer. Accept the reality: you're stuck here long-term. Forever and a day."
Repulsive reality. Undeniable truth.
"Justice gonna spring you? Nah, she's probably still suspicious. Even if she comes around later and offers help? Too late by then, baby. At least a year. Hell, minimum two years rotting here."
In our two-person cell, she recited my future like a litany.
"So how exactly do you survive those long years? Can you keep snarling and snapping at everyone like now? For two years? Every damn day? In this prison with nowhere to open up, getting thrashed nightly before bed, grub stolen clean—can you hack it?"
Truth be told, every word was just taunting mockery to fray my nerves further. Yet I couldn't counter, merely glaring at Creep because...
"...You could tough it out. But is it worth it? Even if you never compromise with the villains here, will anyone give a damn? Does Justice even get how you feel? Hell, will she even remember you exist by then? That justice junkie who creams herself over 'righteous acts'—would she go all-in to save a criminal like you?"
Unpleasantly, my own thoughts mirrored Creep's.
"No clue if you two were actually flirting like the rumors or kept it strictly business. But baby, from where I'm sitting, Justice ain't coming to save you. Doesn't have the chops from the jump. You've handled all the scheming and dirty work so far—think that musclehead good only for brute force and PSAs can clear your name~?"
Her hands settled on my shoulders. Her whispers, pressed right to my ear, stabbed into my brain like daggers.
"Impossible. If you were out there and Justice was stuck in here, maybe it'd play different. But isolated alone like this, you've got nothing."
I shut my eyes. Propping my face's weight with shaky hands and arms, I desperately hunted for an escape from this soul-crushing reality.
"Right?"
"I get it, so please...!"
Even as she kept yapping beside me, anger boiled up, ready to erupt.
"..."
Yet, the words shut your mouth stuck right behind my lips because.
"Huh? 'I get it, so please,' what? What's next?"
I hated admitting it, but I'd grasped reality crystal clear. If I had to spend more time here. If I couldn't even guess my release date. I had to accept life in this place. And dominating that life was none other than Creep.
"..."
"Spit it out. Why'd you stop?"
Creep knew that full well too. We two were stuck together in C Wing for the long haul. Like it or not, escape from each other was impossible. So like a kid rigid with nerves on the first day of school, you grew cautious, tense before the person you'd share years with.
"..."
Still, no deals with the devil. That was my ironclad rule. My justice.
"Shut... your mouth..."
So I spat the idiotic conviction anyway, but the fallout was obvious.
This wasn't society, nor the city where I plied my trade. No outside rules or morals held sway in this sealed, savage prison. Freedom crushed, eyes always on others. Violence and power dictating survival, clear lines between rulers and ruled.
"Girls. Rough this bastard up—just shy of killing him."
One person never beats the pack, and packs get devoured by stronger ones. To survive, everyone latches onto power. Otherwise, you can't last the sentence. At least five years. Maybe a lifetime. The locked-up must adapt to their new existence.
"He heals fast anyway, right? Just think of it as a fresh punching bag. Hmm... let's see. Two hours do it? Need longer? Nah."
In prison, you can't stand out. Read the room, blend in average, always stick with the group.
"For real. It's fine. Do whatever. Won't give a shit. Promise no meddling for two hours."
Then I,
"...But nothing inside, and no accidents. Got it? I'll dig it out myself."
unable to manage even one of those survival basics, what the hell should I do?