67 – Cigarettes (3)

As I was talking to Kim Sun-ah like that, I saw Shin So-hyun entering the dormitory.

Our eyes met for a moment, but she quickly turned her head and passed by Ha-yoon.

Is she still bothered by what happened in the shower room during the day?

Not that it was any of my business. As Ha-yoon was thinking that, Jin Si-won, who was following behind Shin So-hyun, subtly glanced around before approaching and quietly saying,

“Can you spare some time later?”

“Why would I… Mmph.”

“I understand. It’s an important matter, right?”

“Yeah, please.”

Then, as if she hadn’t said anything, she quickly disappeared.

Ha-yoon removed the hand that had covered her mouth and asked with a dissatisfied voice.

“Why did you cover my mouth?”

“Because it’s obvious you would refuse Si-won’s request.”

“Of course. There’s no reason for me to grant her request, is there?”

Of course, that wasn’t wrong. Whether Jin Si-won was in trouble or not, it had nothing to do with her. Besides, she wasn’t as close to her as she was with Kim Sun-ah, so there was no reason to grant her request.

Knowing Ha-yoon’s thoughts all too well, Kim Sun-ah stroked her hair and said,

“It may be so for you, but… I had a promise with Si-won.”

“A promise? What promise?”

“It’s related to you too. We promised that if the bullying from Hong-ryun got too severe, Si-won would help.”

Now that Kim Sun-ah was holding the leash, Hong-ryun couldn’t bully her, but it was a promise made when she was still being bullied quite a bit.

At those words, Ha-yoon frowned and muttered.

“She was going to help? That bitch too…”

Then, remembering when Jin Si-won had stepped in when she was carrying Hong-ryun’s gang on her back, she shut her mouth. Kim Sun-ah smiled faintly as she looked at Ha-yoon, who had her mouth firmly shut.

“It seems she did help after all.”

“If you can call that help, that is.”

Ha-yoon grumbled, recalling how she had been helplessly harassed, even though it didn’t hurt.

“Anyway, since I asked Si-won to help you, I have a reason to help Si-won too. And so do you.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll help, okay?”

“Thank you, Ha-yoon.”

Seeing Kim Sun-ah smiling contentedly, Ha-yoon clicked her tongue and thought.

I should have just not received her help back then.

Of course, if she went back to that time, she would have definitely cried out for help.

Originally, painful memories tend to fade quickly over time.

“Ha-yoon, wake up.”

“Ugh…”

Ha-yoon tossed and turned at Kim Sun-ah’s voice whispering in her ear.

Forcing open her eyes, which were reluctant to open, she saw the dark dormitory. Judging by the scenery outside the window, which was still dark, it must have been the middle of the night.

Rubbing her eyes, she sat up, and Kim Sun-ah, who had already gotten up, said apologetically.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to wake you up now, but…”

“Sorry. I didn’t have time other than now.”

“Yawn… Damn bitch…”

At Jin Si-won’s voice that followed, Ha-yoon yawned and cursed.

She asked for some time later, and now she’s making a fuss from the crack of dawn.

“Let’s go out first. The others might wake up if we talk here.”

At Jin Si-won’s words, the two nodded and followed her.

They left the dormitory and arrived at the back of the building where Jin Si-won and Shin So-hyun had been caught having a secret rendezvous before.

“So, what’s this important story?”

Ha-yoon, who had fully woken up while walking, stood with her legs crossed and arms folded. She looked quite rebellious, but to the two, it just seemed like she was being cranky from being woken up.

“I’m really sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night like this. But I can’t help it. I can’t meet you separately when So-hyun is awake…”

“That’s something you have to figure out on your own. Why not sneak out saying you’re going to the bathroom or something?”

“Because I always go to the bathroom with So-hyun.”

Why would they go to the bathroom together? Looking at Jin Si-won with a puzzled expression, she shrugged and said,

“You’ll find out later. Anyway, that’s not the important thing, something really big happened.”

“How big can it be…”

“So-hyun said she’s going to escape from here tomorrow.”

“That’s quite a big deal.”

Ha-yoon muttered as if she was really surprised. To think she’s still planning to escape even after being threatened like that in the shower room, I don’t know whether to call it brave or stupid.

As she was thinking that, Kim Sun-ah said with a puzzled expression.

“But why did she suddenly make that decision? Wasn’t she just planning it until now?”

“Well… it seems she found a way to get out of here without being caught.”

“Sniff.”

Did the threat backfire? Ha-yoon sniffed unnecessarily, and Jin Si-won continued to speak.

“So she’s asking me to go with her, and I said okay for now, but… honestly, I don’t really want to leave.”

“What, weren’t you going to help Shin So-hyun escape?”

“Of course I want to help, but this is too hasty. Suddenly escaping without anything prepared? The chances of failure are higher than the chances of success, you know.”

“More than that, why is she trying to escape so suddenly?”

“Well… it’s probably because of the community service we did yesterday.”

At Kim Sun-ah’s words, Jin Si-won sighed.

“Community service… is it because of that person who’s the representative of the human rights organization?”

“Yeah. That person was the one who made So-hyun throw herself into the human rights movement. It seems like she’s feeling a great sense of betrayal ever since then. She’s been grinding her teeth all day, and she’s so different from usual that I can’t even stop her.”

“So what’s the point? Are you asking me to stop her from leaving?”

At Ha-yoon’s words, Jin Si-won nodded and said.

“Yeah. Do you have any good ideas?”

“There’s a very sure and good way.”

“Really? What is it?”

“Tell the teachers. That Shin So-hyun is planning to escape.”

“…What?”

“Ha-yoon, wait a minute.”

Jin Si-won asked back with a dumbfounded expression, and Kim Sun-ah tried to stop her, but Ha-yoon blocked her hand and said.

“If you really want to stop Shin So-hyun, that’s the only way. Or you can try to persuade her yourself.”

“No way. So-hyun isn’t listening to a word I say right now. Even if I whisper ‘I love you,’ she’s lukewarm…”

“I don’t want to know about that kind of stuff, okay?”

Ha-yoon snapped back and continued to speak.

“Let me tell you, the severity of the punishment for getting caught before escaping and getting caught after escaping is worlds apart. The former can at least remain as a trainee, but the latter will be treated as less than human the moment they’re caught.”

“Treated as less than human? What does that mean?”

“It means exactly what it says. They’ll be treated as objects, not humans.”

Their limbs will be cut off, and after some processing, they’ll become living sex toys. They won’t even be able to dream of moving on their own like they do now. As she said that, Jin Si-won’s face turned pale, and she muttered.

“That can’t be…”

“What about getting caught before escaping?”

“In that case, they’ll probably be assigned to community service for a few months.”

However, unlike the community service that was done yesterday, it would be done for the general public, not VIPs. Or they could be sent to the military or prison.

“Certainly… that’s milder compared to the latter.”

“It’s milder compared to the latter, but the former is also very painful. The latter will only be done to by a small number of people, but the former will have to deal with dozens, hundreds of people a day, even if we’re being generous.”

“Dozens, hundreds of people?”

Kim Sun-ah exclaimed with a horrified expression. Even dealing with one teacher is overwhelming enough, but dozens of people? No matter how strong a body a patient has, they would definitely die from exhaustion if they had to do that for months.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“…To be honest, I’m not really drawn to either of them.”

“I figured.”

Either way, she wouldn’t be able to see Shin So-hyun for a very long time. Even if the milder option was the former, it was obvious that she wouldn’t be able to see her until right before she was discharged, so she couldn’t easily choose.

Seeing Jin Si-won deep in thought, Ha-yoon casually blurted out.

“Or there’s another way.”

“Another way…?”

“Break her legs.”

“Wh-what?”

“Of course, just breaking them won’t be enough. The body of a patient heals quickly, so if you break them with the intention of cutting them off…”

“W-wait. Wait, what are you talking about?”

At Jin Si-won’s words, Ha-yoon chuckled and said.

“Why, didn’t you want to stop Shin So-hyun from escaping…?”

“I do want to stop her, but that’s…!”

“She’s not listening to you anyway, right? Then just make it so she can’t walk at all and physically can’t escape. Then she won’t have to receive the penalties I mentioned earlier. Instead, the problem in this case is you.”

“Me? What do you mean I’m the problem?”

“Fights between trainees are punished the moment they’re caught, no matter how much damage is done. But what you have to do is completely destroy one of her legs. You won’t be able to hide it, so it’s certain you’ll be punished…”

Let’s see. Ha-yoon muttered, racking her brain.

“The guy who cut off another trainee’s finger was given a community service order in a prison for death row inmates until the day before his discharge, so one leg would be… I have no idea.”

“That’s the same as not being able to be with So-hyun…!”

“But Shin So-hyun won’t be punished in that case. Because you’ll be the one receiving it.”

Ha-yoon smiled slyly and said.

“You love Shin So-hyun, right? Then you can sacrifice that much, can’t you?”

“But, that’s…”

Conflict arose on Jin Si-won’s face.

It was difficult to make a decision right away anyway. Whether to report the person you love to lessen their pain, or to take the pain on behalf of the person you love. Neither was an option she could easily choose.

‘But I don’t think she’ll be able to choose in the end.’

If she had already made up her mind, she would have chosen immediately when I presented these options. But Jin Si-won was still agonizing over it long after the story was over.

Ha-yoon chuckled and grabbed Kim Sun-ah’s hand, leading her away.

“Huh, wait, Ha-yoon…?”

“It seems like the story is over, so we’re going to sleep. Come in on your own.”

Then, without even waiting for an answer, she left.

Looking back slightly, she could still see Jin Si-won agonizing.

In the end, her own body is the most important thing. No matter how much they whisper “I love you” to each other here, when it comes to an important situation, they’ll be too busy taking care of themselves to sacrifice anything.

‘Jin Si-won, what will you choose?’

Ha-yoon thought that she wished the day after tomorrow would come quickly.

Author’s Note

Life is C between B and D.