Ch.34Correction) Pursuit!

#034

Jesse, looking so haggard that she was slightly staggering, was coming up from the basement carrying a laundry basket.

The inmates were busy whispering among themselves at the sight of her exposed state, which looked to anyone like she had been severely mistreated.

“Hey, what the hell happened in solitary to make her look like that?”

“I thought Officer Diaz was a nice guy since he got along well with her.”

An inmate who had somewhat taken a liking to Dexter grumbled with disappointment.

Another inmate, notably large and bulky, nudged the grumbling one and said:

“COs are all the same. No matter how good-looking, they’re still COs, right? Pig bastards.”

“But he’s still the best-looking among the COs.”

When the grumbling inmate mumbled in a small voice, the bulky inmate wagged his index finger from side to side and said:

“No, no! Do women like us look like we can live off men’s faces? It’s all about money, money!”

Dexter cleared his throat, thanks to the explicit conversation that was unusually audible despite the distance.

Following behind Jesse, Dexter covered his mouth with his hand and spoke in a low voice.

“Don’t say you were treated too harshly—make up something reasonable. I’ll take care of the laundry basket, so hide it well in the staff area.”

At Dexter’s words, which showed he was looking after Jesse in his own way despite his expressionless face, Jesse nodded slightly and slipped away toward the staff area.

After sending Jesse away with mental encouragement, Dexter casually scanned his surroundings.

Concerned about the group of inmates huddled together, Dexter pointed at them and said:

“Inmates over there, what’s the reason for gathering?”

It’s best to disperse inmates when they gather without specific reasons.

Since it could become quite a headache if they plotted something together, Dexter was pointing this out.

Seeing Dexter’s serious expression instead of his usual smiling one, the inmates scattered nervously, afraid they might end up like Jesse.

“N-nothing special.”

“Too scared to even talk now.”

“What’s that CO on his period or something?”

The inmates showing passive resistance dispersed in different directions after seeing Dexter’s unchanged serious expression.

Watching the inmates head in various directions, Dexter made his way toward Jesse’s newly assigned cell.

Having been attached to Jesse every day since the infirmary visit, Dexter was curious about how Jesse had decorated her room now.

‘Before the infirmary, it was really chaotic.’

Dexter recalled the wall covered with car drawings that had been so disorganized that even he and Dan had been taken aback.

Climbing the metal stairs to the second floor of the cell block, Dexter swung open the half-open door to Jesse’s cell.

“…?”

As he opened the door wide, an unfamiliar inmate in an orange prison uniform sat on the bed, looking at Dexter.

Fiery red wavy hair with green eyes.

If Jesse had a decadent and fiery beauty, the inmate before him had a cold and haughty appearance.

Overall, though, the inmate had a look that seemed to provoke Dexter, as if inviting him to come closer.

‘I’d freeze if I got too close.’

Jesse also had green eyes, but hers were a bright, peridot-like green.

The inmate before Dexter had eyes closer to an ashy green, which made him unconsciously stare intently.

‘I suppose that’s why they look cold—it might be because of those eyes.’

“Is there something you need, Officer?”

The inmate seemed to accept Dexter’s sudden entrance and staring with indifference rather than surprise.

“No, is this Blueberg’s cell?”

The inmate nodded.

“If Blueberg is that brown-haired person with the huge chest, then yes.”

Dexter pondered how to react to the inmate’s emotionless statement, which would have embarrassed Jesse had she heard it.

As the person responsible for Jesse’s enlarged chest, Dexter decided to change the subject rather than respond to the inmate’s comment.

“Has Blueberg been angry with you or anything like that?”

“No. She doesn’t bother me either.”

‘Doesn’t bother you?’

It was a sharp answer.

That statement implied that someone else was bothering her.

When Dexter looked at the inmate’s lips, he noticed a scab as if someone had hit her.

However, it couldn’t have been Jesse; it seemed like another inmate had struck her.

‘Seems like something happened.’

But instead of asking directly, he decided to ask Jesse, her roommate, about it.

Nodding in response to the inmate’s words instead of answering, Dexter slowly looked around the opposite side of the space where the inmate was sitting.

There were a few drawings, but they were cars drawn with a much more stable style than before.

These were drawings Dexter had never seen before, ones Jesse must have drawn when Dexter was away or on his day off.

Unlike the previous chaotic car drawings that seemed to transfer stress directly onto paper, these had the distinct aura of a professional.

‘That’s promising.’

Seeing Jesse’s neatly arranged belongings as well, Dexter was quite satisfied with Jesse’s transformation and greeted the inmate.

“Well then, rest well.”

“…Yes.”

The inmate hesitated in her response, but Dexter didn’t notice as he left and went back down the stairs.

Seeing Jesse approaching the cell block area, Dexter was about to wave in greeting but, mindful of other inmates’ eyes, placed his hands on his hips and watched Jesse instead.

“Phew.”

Still seemingly affected, Jesse approached the water fountain with an unstable posture, sighed deeply, and began drinking water.

“…”

Watching this, Dexter felt somewhat sorry.

He felt strongly that he was using Jesse as he pleased.

‘Well, being so rough with a woman for only her second time was a bit much.’

He thought that from now on, he should be as gentle as possible, and even if they weren’t having sex, he should at least treat her seriously and not joke around when they were alone together.

Suppressing the urge to hug and comfort Jesse right away, Dexter approached her.

“If you’re done resting, let’s start cleaning again.”

“…Okay.”

Seeming a bit tired, Jesse didn’t put on her usual act of resistance and obediently headed toward the cleaning supply closet.

As they walked together toward the closet, Dexter carefully spoke to Jesse, his back to the other inmates.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I felt a little dizzy from suddenly exerting myself, but I’m okay.”

“Want me to give you something sweet?”

“What am I, a child? I know my body best, so don’t worry.”

Jesse snorted as she spoke.

“Here.”

Dexter took something out of his front uniform pocket.

“Milky Way? What are you, a grandpa giving treats to his grandkid? Why do you have a chocolate bar in your front pocket?”

“It’s delicious.”

What Dexter handed over was a mini chocolate bar about two finger joints long.

A sweet snack when tired and exhausted was like a nutritional supplement.

Jesse didn’t refuse and took the chocolate bar from Dexter’s hand, unwrapped it, and put it straight into her mouth.

“Ah, it’s so sweet.”

Jesse said as she felt the chocolate starting to melt on her tongue.

“Of course, I’ll eat it gratefully since you’re giving it to me. But sometimes you’re really strange. Like someone from outer space.”

“What outer space?”

Dexter laughed it off, but his heart couldn’t do the same.

Feeling that there were more people unintentionally hitting the mark around him, Dexter momentarily felt stifled and fidgeted with the collar of his uniform.

Taking a broom and dustpan from the cleaning supply closet, Jesse slowly walked to a place where other inmates couldn’t see them and said:

“Since meeting you, I’ve been less angry, more focused, and more peaceful, I guess? That’s how it feels.”

In response to Jesse’s reasonable suspicion, Dexter began to inject a well-intentioned lie:

“Maybe it’s because you’ve been living surrounded by people and now you’re alone?”

“Is that it? Maybe so.”

“When you live in a complicated and chaotic way every day, that can happen. People who practice yoga or Buddhism sit quietly with their eyes closed in quiet places to meditate, right?”

As Dexter continued to gently inject the well-intentioned lie that ‘it’s just your imagination,’ Jesse also let go of her suspicions and began nodding.

“Right, that must be it?”

“Of course. And maybe my existence has been healing for you?”

When Dexter said this with sparkling eyes, Jesse bared her teeth in disgust and said:

“If you weren’t a correctional officer… I might have hit you a long time ago.”

Jesse raised her fist at the teasing Dexter beside her.

“Sure, if you trained for 10 years, you might be able to land a hit on me.”

Confirming that no one was around, Dexter patted Jesse’s head and said:

“Oh, by the way, Jesse, you have a new roommate.”

“Huh? Oh, right. Emily, was it? I talked to her briefly during breakfast, and by my standards, she was okay. Except for being a bit direct with her words sometimes.”

For Jesse, who rarely evaluated others, to point this out meant the roommate must be very direct indeed.

Thinking about it, Dexter recalled how she had referred to Jesse as “that person with the big chest” when he had asked about her.

“She called you ‘that person with the big chest.'”

“Oh… really? The title is a bit much, but I’m flattered. She didn’t add any more descriptors like ‘the nasty sister with big boobs,’ did she?”

“No, she just said ‘that brown-haired person with the huge chest.'”

Jesse nodded, recalling Emily.

“From what I heard, she came in for specifically stealing vintage cars. Her nickname was Old… what was it?”

“…Old Fox?”

“Ah, right. That’s it. She got that nickname because she wore a fox mask while stealing.”

Dexter had heard the nickname once or twice before.

Emily didn’t seem like the type to steal things, but she was apparently a more famous thief than he thought.

“But her lip was busted. I don’t think you hit her, so who did?”

“Well, I didn’t hear the details, but probably another inmate. She has a… unique personality.”

For Jesse, who rarely evaluated other inmates, to be so definitive meant there must be something to it.

“Like someone who doesn’t understand people’s feelings? That kind of vibe.”

“But you said she was okay?”

Confused by the contradictory evaluation, Dexter furrowed his brow as he asked, and Jesse nodded.

“Well, it’s better than speaking in circles. And she’s the type who will speak her mind even if it means getting hit. I much prefer people like that.”

Dexter nodded in agreement with Jesse’s straightforward assessment but added a sentence:

“But people like that don’t survive long.”

“Well, that can’t be helped.”

Jesse shrugged and added:

“You need to have the strength to back it up, right?”

“And you have that strength?”

When Dexter asked with a smile, Jesse dropped the broom she was holding and firmly grabbed Dexter’s tie with one hand.

Then she pulled the tie sharply toward herself.

As Dexter’s body tilted toward Jesse, she lightly kissed him on the lips.

“You’ll help me when it’s dangerous, won’t you?”

Dexter, suddenly attacked with a kiss, straightened his crumpled tie and said:

“Jesse, you really…”

“Really what?”

“I really like that about you.”

“Hehe.”

Jesse picked up the dropped broom and dustpan and began striding forward.

“A woman needs confidence, after all.”

Dexter nodded in agreement with his own statement as he followed behind Jesse.