Part 11
Felix and Jae-bum were shoved back into their shared cell after processing. Jae-bum had resisted minimally, ensuring the guards only charged him with minor insubordination but his face and ribs had taken the worst of the blows. He collapsed heavily onto his cot, breathing shallowly
Felix was at his side in an instant, dropping to his knees. His hands fluttered uselessly over Jae-bum's injuries before he gently touched the swollen skin near his hyung's eye "You need the pharmacy" Felix urged, his voice tight "Let them clean this"
Jae-bum waved a dismissive hand, the motion weak "It's nothing so don't worry"
"No!" Felix countered, desperation sharpening his tone "You were fighting him because of me! You need to get that cleaned properly please"
Jae-bum waved a dismissive hand, the motion weak. "Yah! I'm fi—" A sharp pain cut him off, his breath catching
"You're not fine" Felix countered, desperation sharpening his tone "You fought him because of me" He pleaded until the words became a mantra, a relentless litany of guilt that hovered between them. "Please, Hyung.... I'll go to the pharmacy. I'll get something"
With a pained grunt, Jae-bum pushed himself up, his calloused hand closing around Felix's wrist to still his frantic energy "Fine Lix," he breathed, exhaustion overriding his stubbornness. "Just... calm down"
Felix rushed to the prison pharmacy, a small, sterile and usually quiet room near the infirmary. He hesitated at the entrance, his eyes scanning the room.
His stomach dropped with immediate, sickening dread
Hyunjin was there....
He was seated on a stool, leaning back with casual arrogance, his uniform shirt already replaced. A young, nervous-looking pharmacist was carefully dabbing an antiseptic on a superficial yet noticeable scrape near Hyunjin's cheekbone
Felix forced himself forward to the counter, his hands gripping the metal edge
"I need something to clean a wound" Felix stated, trying to keep his voice steady and low "Antiseptic and gauze. For my friend"
The pharmacist glanced up, his face lined with fatigue then immediately back to Hyunjin's injury "No, I can't give you anything. The injured party needs to report here to receive treatment"
"But it's just a scrape" Felix insisted, desperation making his voice brittle "He's back in the cell; he can't walk all the way here. Just give me the disinfectant. Please I need to clean his wound"
The pharmacist shook his head firmly. "Rules are rules. Tell your friend to come in"
"I'm not leaving without it" Felix said, planting his feet and meeting the pharmacist's gaze with a fierce, unyielding intensity that mirrored his desperation
The pharmacist sighed, recognizing the immovable stubbornness in the smaller inmate's eyes. He quickly grabbed a small plastic bottle of antiseptic and a packet of sterile wipes "Fine Take this but if this turns into an issue you'll be the one in trouble"
As Felix snatched the supplies, his movement drew Hyunjin's attention. Hyunjin slowly raised his head, interrupting the pharmacist's cleaning. He looked directly at Felix, his eyes narrowing into twin slits of cold, calculated malice
Hyunjin's gaze was pure, undisguised hatred a silent promise that this small, forced act of care for Jae-bum would not be forgotten and would be punished. Felix met the look for only a second, feeling the cold fear prickle his skin, before spinning around and fleeing the pharmacy
Felix slipped back into the cell with the supplies, the small plastic bottle of antiseptic cold in his hand. Jae-bum grunted and shifted slightly on his cot
"No trouble, right?" Jae-bum asked, relief mixing with suspicion as he saw the items in Felix's grip
"No, not at all" Felix replied, forcing a small, tight smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He moved carefully onto the edge of Jae-bum's cot
He poured the clear, stinging liquid onto a wipe and began gently dabbing the cuts on Jae-bum's cheek and forehead.
"Does it hurt?" Felix asked, his voice low with concern
"I'm genuinely fine" Jae-bum insisted, though his breath hitched slightly under the harsh sting of the antiseptic
Felix paused, his hands still, and looked into Jae-bum's eyes. They stared at each other for a long moment, the unspoken question hanging heavy in the humid cell air. Felix cleared his throat
"Is there ... something else going on between you and Hyunjin?" Felix asked
"Of course not! This was... what kind of question is that?" Jae-bum replied immediately, his tone too quick too loud, betraying a flicker of panic
"I know there's something else you don't want to tell me but please tell me" Felix urged gently, finishing the cuts on his face. He reached down and began to clean the raw scrapes on Jae-bum's knuckles and hands
Jae-bum remained silent for a beat, his gaze dropping to their interlocked hands. When he finally spoke, his voice was a low, strained rumble
"There was another inmate here before, about three years ago. His name was Sang-woo. He was young only twenty-one. We became very close friends..." Jae-bum began, his eyes glazing over with distance "Everything was good until a few months later. That's when Hyunjin was transferred here. The moment he arrived, he turned this place into a different kind of hell for the inmates. He did whatever he wanted"
Felix listened intently, his heart beating a heavy rhythm against his ribs
"I found out he was the son of one of Korea's wealthiest businessmen and was sent here for murder though people whisper he didn't do it. I don't know why he's truly here but he hurt everyone and Sang-woo was one of his targets"
"Anyway, he would beat Sang-woo constantly and the boy was harassed by Hyunjin and his men wherever he went in the prison... Then one day I went to Section A. That time everything went dark in front of my eyes. Hyunjin's men were sexually assaulting Sang-woo and Hyunjin was just watching them, smiling as if he were enjoying a comedy film"
Felix's eyes widened horrifically in shock, his face draining of color. The antiseptic wipe slipped from his numb fingers
"That moment everything ended for him" Jae-bum whispered, his voice cracking. "Two days later, Sang-woo killed himself in the chapel area here, using a piece of scrap metal he must have managed to steal during a work detail"
A chilling silence fell between them, heavy with the weight of that terrible history. Jae-bum reached out, grasping Felix's hands tightly
"I don't want you to end up like Sang-woo !You are still so young, Lix" Jae-bum said, his grip almost painful "So please be strong whatever it takes, I will protect you with every ounce of strength I have"
A single tear slipped from Felix's eye, tracing a hot path down his cheek. He was terrified, yet simultaneously consumed by the burning injustice of the story
"I couldn't protect him but I will protect you no matter the cost" Jae-bum promised, his voice thick with emotion. He then pulled Felix close, wrapping him tightly in a fierce embrace.
Later, the inmates were allowed into the common area for their allotted phone time. Felix stood waiting his turn, feeling an immense, suffocating weight settle over him. What if something like this happened to him again? Like those first dark days here, like the assault in the restroom ? He clenched his uniform tightly in his fists and swallowed a thick knot of saliva, trying to regain control
After a few tense minutes, his turn came. He walked toward the booth, unhooked the receiver from its cradle, and quickly dialed the number
The line clicked, and a voice answered. "Hello?"
"Hello, Uncle" Felix said, forcing a fragile layer of calm he didn't feel into his voice
"Oh! Felix! How are you, my boy?" Lee Jun-ho's voice was warm, a stark, unsettling contrast to the cold surrounding him
"I'm... I'm fine" Felix lied, the words dry as ash on his tongue. He could almost feel the phantom bruises blooming on his skin
"Do you need anything?" his uncle asked, ever the distant pragmatist
"Huh no but ... what about going to my family's grave? Are they letting me go?" Felix asked, his voice laced with desperate, mournful hope. The request was a plea for a few moments of peace, a chance to grieve his lost loved ones and feel close to the past
"Oh... I completely forgot to follow up, with all the work. You know your father's business and the company, it's all weighing heavily on my shoulders now" Jun-ho replied, his tone dismissive, treating a gravesite visit as a trivial errand
Felix fell silent for a moment, the hope within him flickering violently and dying out. He then forced a brittle, unconvincing laugh "It's fine, You're just very busy of course you forgot"
"Don't worry, I'll make some calls about it today" his uncle promised, the words sounding hollow and rehearsed, a meaningless platitude
"And... about the case?" Felix ventured, his voice sinking to barely a whisper
"Unfortunately there's no new evidence yet. And you... you're still the primary suspect" Jun-ho stated bluntly, without softening the finality of the news
Felix's eyes stung fiercely, immediately welling with hot tears of frustration and despair. How much longer would he have to endure this suffocating existence?
"But I'm trying my absolute best, son" Jun-ho added, the promise doing little to soothe the fresh wound of defeat
"Okay ... Uncle, Thank you ! And ... Goodbye" Felix said mechanically, slamming the receiver down before his composure could completely shatter
Felix returned to the cell block, his heart heavy. Jae-bum wasn't there. Felix felt a jolt of confusion and shock. He checked the nearby common area and then went out to the yard, but Jae-bum was nowhere in sight.
"Where is he?" Felix muttered to himself, a cold prickle of acute unease running down his spine
Then, a soft, mocking voice whispered close to his ear "Oh? Looking for your Hyung? He's not here!"
Felix whirled around, his eyes blazing with instant hatred. Hyunjin stood there, a cold, mocking smirk pulling at his lips
"Where is he?" Felix demanded, his voice low and taut with immediate threat
Hyunjin's lips curled into a wider, chilling smile "He must be punished for what he did, don't you think?"
"WHERE IS HE?!" Felix shouted, the sound raw as his fear and anger boiled over simultaneously. He seized the collar of Hyunjin's uniform, pulling the taller man close
Hyunjin's lackeys immediately stepped closer, their faces grim but Hyunjin raised a dismissive hand, stopping them with a single, calculated look
"It seems you'll be alone for a few days, little brat" Hyunjin sneered, his voice dripping with concentrated menace "So you'd better be very, very careful"
With a surge of disgust and impotent fury, Felix shoved Hyunjin away from him. He didn't look back, turning on his heel and storming back toward his cell, the crushing weight of his isolation and the looming threat feeling heavier than ever before