Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Love's Whip
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Green packet of potato chips.
Thrown with the bag already torn open, some had spilled across the floor,
but I paid it no mind and frantically shoved the contents into my mouth.
Did food this stimulating even exist?
The salty, savory burst exploding across my entire mouth sent dizzying thrills through me. The greatest achievement of modern society wasn't smartphones or towering skyscrapers—it was this humble little snack.
"That crazy bitch is at it again..."
"She's scarfing it down like her life depends on it."
As I swept up even the crumbs from the floor and chewed them down, Creep's gang exchanged uneasy glances, debating their next move.
I could see their dilemma plain as day. Creep must have ordered them not to feed me anything, but Scardi had thrown a wrench in that.
"Unnie, unnie?"
All they could do was rush straight to Creep and report the situation.
Scardi herself had become an unpredictable variable for them.
"Guhk, khek—"
I had a variable of my own. Of all things, she'd tossed me potato chips, and in my haste to devour them, I'd scraped up my whole mouth.
Still, it was worth it. I was grateful just to have something to eat.
Who knew when I'd get another chance? So I didn't leave a single piece behind—I ate every last bit.
In this hellhole where every disgusting, infuriating thing imaginable happened, actually eating real food for the first time filled me with surging joy.
But that joy cut deep.
I hated this body and mind of mine for rejoicing over a single bag of chips.
And I felt utterly powerless relying on Scardi's help over and over.
"...Creep's really taken a shine to you."
Scardi approached my bed and struck up a conversation. It was the first time we'd talked in the common area.
"Acid and Black Owl were close to Creep too. She sent them after you."
She dropped the bombshell without a hint of hesitation. I glanced around nervously, worried her gang might overhear, but Scardi couldn't care less about the room's mood and kept right on talking.
"She probably promised them some reward. Of course, they'll get shipped off to another wing before they collect."
Off in the distance, Creep poked her head out the door. She stared at us both with a parched, inscrutable expression.
"...While you and Creep were holed up together yesterday, Rin and I met with the guards and gave our statements. We were witnesses too—right there in the showers when it all went down."
Scardi and I turned to look at Creep. The three of us were pretty far apart, but for some reason, each other's faces were crystal clear.
"Two of them are getting moved soon. No need to thank me. It benefits me if Creep's crew weakens. Under normal circumstances, I'd have shipped Creep herself out. But she's not the type they can just relocate like that. Wings A and B, and even the Special Supervision Wing—they won't take her."
"...Why not?"
"She killed people over there. One in A, two in B. Then when they sent her to Special Supervision, she killed a guard."
For ordinary folks, murder isn't even an option. Sure, you might fantasize about hurting someone, but acting on it? Not easy.
That's why most killings are either impulsive crimes of passion or calculated acts born from grudges so deep they shatter sanity—even for normal people.
But for Creep, murder was just one tool in the toolbox.
If things went south, just kill the problem.
"Try not to die. Even I have limits to how much I can help."
Scardi retreated back to her own world.
"...Or maybe not. For you, dying might be the better deal."
The spot where she'd stood lingered with her signature blend of luxurious perfume and faint cigarette smoke.
Around my bed, nothing but worthless trifles gathered—like that lingering scent. That was the only world allowed to me. I couldn't set foot anywhere else.
With nothing to grasp onto,
all I could do was cling to the last flicker of hope in my heart—my comrades—and yearn for freedom.
"Baby."
I needed to face facts and accept them.
Inside this prison, I was the lowest of the low, a pariah,
stuck on this tiny bed, only safe if I allowed someone to approach.
Refuse, and worse violence awaited. And I had no idea where that violence would end.
"You keep stressing me out."
Everything hinged on Creep and Scardi. At least inside C Wing, I had to tightrope between them just to stay alive.
"What's your problem? Don't you like me?"
Thud.
A cold, half-eaten tray slammed down right in front of my bed. The mess inside mirrored the turmoil in Creep's eyes as she strode right up to me.
"Do you?"
Right after Scardi and I talked, Creep hurled the tray and called out to me.
All eyes turned our way, and a few of her gang started soothing her to calm things down.
"Hey, unnie. Wanna just go to war with those bitches while we're at it?"
"Yeah! If unnie says go, we go. Why the hell should we tiptoe around them anyway?"
"Let's just crush that Crow punk for good. She's climbing too high now that unnie's spoiling her."
But Creep's eyes were fixed only on me,
and mine only on her.
Those quivering black pupils.
Emotions too tangled to unpack swirled inside.
"Shut your mouths, all of you. I'm talking to my baby."
"Huh? Oh... yeah..."
And behind those eyes, something pitch-black lurked, swelling larger with every passing second. I could see it clear as day.
"What's your deal? I hate seeing you talk to that bitch. Don't do it again."
"W-Who I talk to is my freedom. It has nothing to do with you."
That's why I doubled down on my stance. No matter how terrified I was, I had to swallow it and stand tall on the outside.
I'm a hero. Heroes don't bow to villains.
"..."
But Creep's face after I finished speaking...
I could never unsee it.
It wasn't human.
More beast than person.
Slap!
For the first time, she backhanded me—hard enough to snap my head around, so real I wondered if I'd ever felt a slap like that before.
When you take a hit like that, your brain blanks at first. Then, two or three seconds later, the pain radiates out from the cheek.
"Now I get why dramas are full of slap scenes."
Her voice trembled. As much as my twitching cheek muscles.
"I'm slapping you because I love you that much, Crow. You won't understand my feelings, so I have no choice but to use my hand."
In my whole life, I'd never heard such a contradictory line.
"I don't want to do this either. But I have to."
Slap!
Again.
Once more on my already swelling left cheek.
Two slaps ignited fury to match the searing pain. My body, abused for days, had little strength left and hadn't fully recovered, but I steeled myself to fight back properly.
"Don't clench your fist. If you defy me now, it'll be twice as hard."
"Kgh... Who the hell do you...!"
No—even a little resistance felt better than going mad from injustice. I had to fight.
I couldn't kneel to empty threats.
Slap!!
But,
Creep was stronger than I'd thought.
Or,
maybe I was weaker than I'd realized.
My drug-weakened body, battered from the one-sided beatings.
"Twice as hard, like I said. You defied me. I don't want to hit you more. Beating you like this isn't even fun."
Creep grabbed my hair as I lay sprawled on the floor, yanked my head up, and slammed her palm down with her full weight.
Each one brutal enough to black out my vision. I felt my brain rattle.
"Hands down. Two more to go."
Slap!!
Left cheek.
My inner cheek was already torn, blood flooding my mouth, but Creep didn't care—she targeted only the left side.
Each impact sent my body crashing toward the floor, but my gripped hair kept me from falling.
"Even if your cheek bursts open, even if your face gets fucked up, I can still love you. Can those 'comrades' of yours? What about that bitch over there?"
Slap!!
My eyes, my ears,
they could no longer function.
Half my vision drowned in darkness.
Temporary blindness from the impacts, followed by ruptured eardrums.
"That's enough. From now on, sleep in my room. Girls, move my baby's bed to my top bunk. Plenty of space now that Acid and Black Owl are leaving, right?"
"Y-Yeah... of course."
"Thanks."
But her words rang crystal clear in my one good ear, filling me with dread.
"I'll handle everything from now on. No need to talk to that Scardi boss lady anymore, right?"
With my one good eye,
I couldn't see Creep's or Scardi's faces.
My mangled left side hung too heavy,
and I lacked the strength to turn my head.