Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Oppa, By Any Chance...
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Under Orca's supervision, after I'd expelled every last bit of energy, only then could I finally return to Wing C.
But my footsteps felt heavy. It wasn't like before, when I'd been beaten to the brink of death and left wheezing. It was simply hard to accept the fact that Orca was tormenting me to this extent.
I've fallen this far...
Lost in such thoughts as the guards led me along, I finally arrived at Wing C. Inside, a few inmates were watching TV, while others were washing up and getting ready for bed.
Weaving through them, I barely managed to collapse onto my bed. Even though I hadn't been beaten much and the session had ended relatively mildly, my overstimulated lower body throbbed with pain, protesting fiercely.
That pain finally made me feel my place here. In this prison, I was just one of the inmates under Orca's management. No matter how persistently I proclaimed my innocence, all I got in return was scorn and lust.
Then someone approached me hesitantly.
I had neither the strength nor the will to respond, so I glared at her, trying to shoo her away.
"H-Hiiik!"
Even in her terrified state, she shuffled over timidly and squatted down in front of me.
"U-Um... I-I mean, like..."
Even her stammering annoyed me, so I turned my body completely away to face the wall and lay down. Every time that dull, foolish woman came into view, it irritated me.
It was because she felt so familiar. In this prison, she and I were in similar positions.
"Y-You're hurting, right...? I came to comfort you."
"What?"
I couldn't make sense of what she was saying. It was Creep who'd been dragged off after getting beaten, so why was this woman spouting such nonsense?
"The correctional officer's been tormenting you, so I figured you'd be hurting..."
Her way of thinking wasn't easy to grasp. When she hung around with Creep's gang, she'd eyed my body like a predator waiting for an opening, and now here she was, suddenly offering comfort out of nowhere.
Even as cold sweat poured from her, she forced an awkward smile and said that crap, making my head throb.
"R-Right!? Isn't it? It's okay. I'm on your side."
Her intentions were so blatantly obvious that it was ridiculous. She could see I was suffering, so she was seizing the chance to act like she was doing me some grand favor.
What one-dimensional thinking. Now that Scardi had made it impossible for her to mess with me directly, she was transparently trying to win my favor instead...
"Hey, you there."
"Eh? Ahh! Y-Yes...!"
But even that scheme fizzled out at a few words from off in the distance.
"It's best not to mess with Crow."
Scardi.
She walked toward the two of us. For some reason, her subordinates trailing behind were slower this time. They didn't rush to her side until after she'd reached me.
"A-Ah... Y-Yes...!"
"Go to bed. If you need anything, tell me."
"Y-Yes...!"
It had been a while since I'd seen Scardi looking flustered. She crossed her arms anxiously, her index finger tapping up and down restlessly.
How long had she been watching me and that fool?
"Haa..."
Scardi let out a sigh before turning her gaze to me and speaking.
"Try not to show your pain so much, if you can help it. In this wing, no one stands out more than you. I figure you get what I mean?"
Scardi was right.
I already knew it. The villains would pounce on any sign of weakness. That was why I'd resisted so fiercely from the start.
But ironically, now I felt safe around the villains, while being alone with an old acquaintance like her made my chest tighten so much I could hardly breathe.
"...Well, can't be helped, I guess. That correctional officer seems awfully fixated on you."
Correctional officer.
Just hearing those words made my body tremble again.
If a villain tried to kill me, I could grit my teeth and endure it. But Orca...
"I don't mean to meddle, but you should be careful with her. She's got it out for you bad. She's dangerous. She'll do anything her superiors order and truly believes her actions are justice."
Orca wasn't a villain.
How was I supposed to deal with an Orca who was dragging me into the mire?
It felt like I'd been pushed into a situation I couldn't handle alone anymore. I needed to open my heart a little more.
These days of complying with Orca's unreasonable demands and being exploited were far more soul-crushing than the time I'd spent with Creep. My mind grew hazy.
"That's why I'm saying."
She knelt on one knee to meet my eyes and quietly murmured her words.
"If you need help, just say so honestly. I'll do whatever I can."
Those kind words coming from the worst villain's mouth. The very thing I'd most wanted to hear from my comrades...
"No. I don't need any help."
I tried to deny it,
but deep down, I knew I couldn't survive without Scardi anymore.
"...Orca's a correctional officer. No matter how great you are, you can't defy one, right? Even I can see that much. We're villains. Villains serving time in prison."
So I shouted even louder.
Scardi's favors weighed on me so heavily with their kindness that they tormented me more than Orca's malicious attention.
"So please... just leave me alone. You've done enough already. I have nothing to give you. You think I don't know you? You never give anything without a reason. That's just who you are!"
At my aggressive words, her subordinates' gazes sharpened. Rin especially glared at me with disgust.
But
Scardi showed no emotion and simply sat quietly beside me.
"This time, I just want to build our relationship differently. Do I need another reason besides that?"
What was so different?
What set her apart from that fool who'd approached me earlier and the Scardi now sitting silently by my side?
"And besides, you're giving me more than you think."
Even that fool over there, picking at her nails and watching me and Scardi from afar—she'd done something similar.
Yet for some reason, my heart opened to Scardi. The tension in my body eased.
Scardi carefully laid my head on her shoulder. I didn't lash out with harsh words or flee like before; I just let time pass like that for a while.
And that while became a day,
then two days,
then three.
That's when Lily came for a visit after a long time. In her hand was a receipt for snacks bought by visitors for inmates.
"Oppa, I got a bunch of stuff. The food in there seems pretty awful."
Drinks, snacks, all sorts of treats.
Things to fill my belly in place of the terrible slop.
"Ah, yeah. Thanks. It really is tasteless. Thanks to you, I can skip meals for a few days."
I was grateful. Truly grateful.
But it didn't make me as happy as it should have.
"...Oppa? What's wrong?"
I didn't think it showed, but Lily gave me a puzzled look and stared.
"Was it no good?"
"No, I'm really happy. Thanks. I'm just tired."
I quickly shook my head to reassure her. Just the fact that she'd come to see me was enough to make me happy.
"..."
Maybe that attitude caught her off guard. She'd brought snacks for the first time in weeks, and I hadn't shown much excitement.
To explain, I was grateful, but my honest mind just wasn't focused on snacks anymore. If anything, I was impressed and thankful that Lily had gone out of her way for them.
"Oppa, look me in the eyes for a sec?"
"Huh?"
Still, Lily wore a strange expression and gave me an inscrutable look. Even after being by her side from childhood to now, she sometimes felt strangely unfamiliar.
"...It's nothing. I just wondered if you were getting annoyed with me."
"What are you talking about? Lily, you're the only one who believes in me. How could I ever get annoyed with you?"
A twinge of fear hit me. What if Lily had gotten hurt because of me? What if she stopped trusting me like Justice had...?
"It's a misunderstanding. Really. Got it? I'm just so happy I can talk to you like this..."
So I tried to show my honest feelings to reassure her,
but she blinked for a moment,
then asked a question.
"Oppa, by any chance... is there someone inside who's clinging to you way too much?"
I couldn't deny it.
To survive in Wing C, I needed Scardi.
The security she provided me,
the better quality food and supplies,
and a safe haven to rest, even if just for a moment...
"Is there?"
Lily pressed like she was interrogating me.
She used to hold back tears at the sight of my bruises and scars, but this time, she was reacting completely differently.