Ch.101Señorita! (2)

#101

Dexter was on duty at the intake and release facility instead of Marsha, the correctional officer who normally handled admissions and discharges during the day.

Although the intake and release facility had surveillance cameras, they didn’t record audio, so Dexter maintained his posture in front of the cameras while talking to Jesse.

“I should have been waiting for you at home, but somehow it’s turned out the other way around.”

“…No. To be honest, I… thought you wouldn’t be thinking about me anymore, Dexter.”

Jesse said cautiously as she received paperwork from Dexter and filled it out.

“Yeah, I was curious about that. Why did you think that? What happened to Jesse Blueberg who used to smash everything and speak her mind?”

“I just… I’m a criminal, you know.”

Jesse said, seeming embarrassed.

“I caused an accident that killed someone… Even though the victim’s family said it was okay, an accident is still an accident.”

Dexter scratched the back of his neck at Jesse’s words.

‘If I told the government what I did in space, I’d die being electrocuted at Guantanamo Bay.’

During his time in space, Dexter had been involved in numerous serious incidents—crimes that would have earned him an Interpol warrant had he committed them on Earth.

To someone like Dexter who had committed such acts, Jesse’s transgressions hardly seemed like transgressions at all.

“Come on, are you going to keep putting yourself down? The person who once came at me ready to tear my clothes off and forcibly removed my pants…”

“Are you crazy? Keep it down!”

Jesse brought her index finger to her lips as she spoke.

“Anyway, have some confidence. I’ll find you a nice job too.”

“Really?”

“Would I lie? If that doesn’t work out, I’ll set up an auto repair shop for you.”

Dexter proudly promised to provide for his woman. There still wasn’t a place to get cars repaired in Honeygood Springs, where Dexter’s house was located.

‘A repair shop run by Jesse.’

While minor repairs were usually done by residents themselves, which might mean slow business, Jesse’s appearance could make the shop quite popular.

‘With Jesse’s looks, the people of Honeygood Springs would go crazy.’

“I feel bad about just receiving help.”

“Everyone around me says that.”

Dexter chuckled before continuing.

“You can pay me back later, what’s the problem? We have all the time in the world.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s true…”

Jesse replied with an uncertain voice.

Dexter didn’t like something about the current situation.

‘This isn’t what I wanted from Jesse.’

Jesse normally had a fiery personality, but seeing her repeatedly show vulnerability bothered him. Still, thinking it would only last for the first few days, he handed her the box containing her personal belongings that had been stored since she entered prison.

The box contained the clothes she had been wearing before entering prison and her wallet.

“But do you think these clothes will fit you?”

Jesse, who had been wearing an expression mixed with guilt and embarrassment, immediately brightened up at Dexter’s question.

“I was actually worried about that. Will they really fit?”

There was almost a twofold difference between Jesse’s weight before entering prison and her current weight.

Jesse took out a black short-sleeved T-shirt from the box, and when Dexter turned around, she quickly took off her prison top and tried to put on the T-shirt.

“D-Dexter.”

“What?”

“I-I don’t think it’s going in?”

The sight Dexter saw was like that of a clueless aunt trying to squeeze into her young niece’s clothes. Getting her arms in was fine, but the shirt got stuck at her chest and wouldn’t go down any further.

“Well. While this is quite enjoyable for my eyes, you can’t wear that.”

As Dexter grinned at the sight that would be hard to see even if he paid for it, Jesse shot back with a mischievous smile.

“See you in a bit.”

“…That sounds somewhat ominous.”

Dexter shuddered slightly at Jesse’s words.

The prison keeps inmates’ clothes and belongings until their release. However, when the stored clothes no longer fit due to extreme changes in body shape, are unwearable, or unsuitable for the current weather, they provide civilian clothes.

Dexter handed Jesse a T-shirt in her current size, sweatpants, and laceless shoes, saying:

“These are new clothes, but they’ll probably tear after wearing them once or twice.”

The quality wasn’t very good, as they were free clothes for inmates. Still, Jesse didn’t mind.

“Anything is better than these clothes.”

Jesse pointed to the khaki prison pants she was wearing.

“Hmm, I’ll need to buy some clothes and other things after work.”

“Huh? You’re going to buy me clothes?”

Jesse was curious about this unexpected statement that came so naturally.

“There’s a lot to buy. Clothes are a given, plus underwear, cosmetics, feminine products. Shampoo, toothbrush, things like that.”

“…Talking about this stuff with you feels kind of awkward.”

Jesse replied sheepishly, not expecting Dexter to mention feminine products.

“Well, you’ll have to get used to it.”

While Dexter spoke as if telling Jesse not to worry, he also found the situation a bit strange. There weren’t many couples as unusual as Jesse and Dexter.

They had been intimate before officially dating, and they had never gone on a proper date.

Their relationship had been purely physical.

Moreover, Jesse had never had a proper relationship before entering prison. Forget dating—the last time she had held hands with a man was in kindergarten.

Jesse’s face flushed around her neck as she realized they were skipping all the steps and starting with living together, making her thoughts complicated.

“Oh, you should change quickly.”

At those words, Dexter turned around again, and Jesse hurriedly changed her clothes while asking:

“Is Honeygood Springs a nice place?”

“It’s okay. Just one of many small towns in the wasteland. I didn’t come here because I wanted to.”

Jesse reacted with surprise at this new information.

“Huh? Dexter, aren’t you originally from here?”

“What are you talking about? Of course I came from somewhere else.”

Dexter chuckled and was about to tell her more when a question crossed his mind.

‘Wait, can I tell Jesse about this?’

His secret that no one except OSA knew about. He wasn’t sure whether he should tell her about space or not.

‘I don’t really want to hide it.’

Dexter didn’t want to lie for the rest of his life to a woman who might spend her life with him.

As Dexter stood with his arms crossed, contemplating what to do, Jesse approached him, leaned in close to his face, and seeing his serious expression, asked:

“…What are you thinking about so deeply?”

“Huh? Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Deciding to think about it later, Dexter showed her several documents from his folder and said:

“Sign here to confirm there’s nothing wrong with the clothes and such. This is a voucher. I’ll call a taxi for you soon, and you can use this instead of money when you arrive home. Also…”

Seeing Dexter taking care of her like a child, Jesse wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or annoyed.

“…I appreciate it, but I’m not that much of a child.”

But Dexter had a counter ready.

“Don’t you remember crying your eyes out just a few hours ago, thinking you’d be abandoned?”

“No, that was…!”

Jesse tried to defend herself, but Dexter just looked at her with a playful smile.

What Dexter said was true, and she had indeed cried like a child.

“…Fine.”

Jesse answered with a sulky face.

Following Dexter’s instructions, Jesse received the taxi voucher and completed the release paperwork. After signing the documents, she stared at them quietly and said:

“Is it over?”

Her three years had ended with this single piece of paper.

It felt refreshing.

And then a sense of uncertainty washed over her again.

How should she live from now on?

“Jesse Blueberg, you’ve been through a lot.”

When Jesse looked up, Dexter was smiling at her.

Come to think of it, her life had changed 180 degrees since meeting Dexter. Through meeting him, she had forgotten the anger etched into her body and instead learned about love and gained friendship.

Though it was a short period, she had been able to make friends with other inmates and live more comfortably in prison.

For Jesse, Dexter was nothing short of a blessing.

“Thank you so much, Dexter.”

Jesse carefully conveyed her feelings with sincerity.

“…Why are you being so embarrassingly sweet?”

Seeing Jesse smiling brightly as if truly happy, Dexter blushed and turned his head away.

Dexter also found this soft atmosphere ticklish and kept turning his head away, while Jesse continued to look at him, seemingly waiting for a response.

Unable to withstand her gaze, Dexter patted her shoulder and said:

“…Yeah, see you later.”

‘See you later…’

See you later.

While Dexter meant it literally—that they would see each other after his work hours—Jesse interpreted it differently.

To her, it meant she would see Dexter even after his work hours.

‘Ah, parole is so great!’

Though Jesse wanted to jump for joy, she restrained herself and expressed her emotions by giving Dexter a light hug.

After leaving the intake and release facility, Dexter removed a loose thread from Jesse’s clothes and said:

“Don’t get into trouble.”

“…Am I a child?”

“Yes. In my eyes, you’re no different from a kid at a well. So don’t move an inch until I get home. You can eat whatever’s in the fridge.”

“Wow, you really sound like a parent nagging.”

Jesse chuckled and stroked Dexter’s cheek.

“Alright. I’ll be good, Daddy?”

“Ugh.”

Dexter shuddered at Jesse’s sudden aegyo.

He watched as Jesse got into the taxi that had just arrived.

“See you later!”

Jesse waved her hand out the window, and as her figure disappeared into the distance, Dexter let out a deep sigh.

“So Jesse’s finally gone.”

With Jesse returning to society, Emily was the only one left who needed to receive parole.

‘The authority to grant parole to inmates as I please.’

If someone had told 15-year-old Dexter that 30-year-old Dexter would have such authority, he probably wouldn’t have believed it.

As he marveled at his position, Dexter thought about the women in his life.

Emily, Judy, Himena.

They were all good women who loved him unconditionally.

“…But how am I supposed to define these relationships?”

Dexter scratched his head at his situation, for which there seemed to be no answer.

* * *

Jesse arrived at Dexter’s house in Honeygood Springs.

This was essentially her first time in another man’s house.

“He keeps things more organized than I expected?”

It was different from the typical messy men’s rooms often portrayed in dramas and movies.

Having lived alone for long periods and without a fixed residence, Dexter had developed a habit of minimizing his possessions and traveling light.

Not knowing this, Jesse simply thought he was naturally tidy and began exploring different parts of the house. Despite being a house for Dexter alone, it had two rooms, each with its own bathroom.

She figured one must be a guest room.

‘That room only has a bed and a table, so this must be Dexter’s room?’

In what was clearly Dexter’s bedroom, there was a neatly folded blanket on the bed, a peculiar-looking computer and prison-related books on the desk. Besides that, there was only a large wardrobe attached to the wall and a drawer-type cabinet for socks and underwear.

On top of the drawer cabinet was just a single frame, with nothing else.

‘A family photo?’

Jesse approached the cabinet and picked up the album.

A man who had the exact same face shape as Dexter and a woman with the same brown hair color as Dexter. In front of them was an elementary school boy who looked visibly frail, wearing an awkward smile.

“Is this Dexter?”

Jesse felt like she was looking at a photo of herself when she was young.

It was worlds apart from the current Dexter, whose muscles were so impressive he could wear a red cape with an S on a blue bodysuit.

“That’s interesting…”

Just as Jesse put the frame back on the cabinet and was about to leave the room:

-Ding dong.

“…Mr. Dexter, are you there?”

It was a woman’s voice Jesse had never heard before.

“Ah. It’s still time for work, right?”

Along with words that sounded like someone remembering something, Jesse heard the door opening.

“I’m coming in~.”

A Latin woman in a black suit with a slender jaw and cute features entered the house with a smile.

Jesse, who had just come out of Dexter’s room, grabbed the nearest object with wide, surprised eyes, ready to swing it at the woman.

“W-Who are you?”

“…And who might you be?”

The woman was Himena.

And that’s how Himena and Jesse met for the first time.