PMEVBO 82

Lacha, the apothecary of the underground prison “Hell,” slumped over her office desk. The wooden surface had been cold earlier, but it was now lukewarm from the warmth of her forehead.

“I’m crazy. I’m just crazy…”

She should’ve stuck to her original plan.

Lacha didn’t plan to confess to Eve today. She originally picked tomorrow, the day before the Night Festival week started. She figured it was the perfect timing; if Eve said yes, they’d enjoy the festival together, and if she got rejected, she’d have the whole week to get over it.

But it seemed Lacha wasn’t the only one with that idea. She knew Eve was popular, but lately, confessions had been coming from all directions. It made Lacha feel uncharacteristically anxious.

Lacha still remembered the first time she saw Eve in Cell 1004. She’d been shocked that someone could look like that. Eventually, Eve became the guard in charge of Prisoner 1004’s medication, and they started seeing each other every day.

Over those few days, Lacha learned a few things. Eve didn’t talk much, and his expressions changed even less. But he was attentive. He always led the way to Cell 1004, and whenever Lacha struggled to insert a needle in the dark, Eve would silently step closer to provide light with his lamp.

‘He even helped without getting annoyed when Prisoner 1004’s hands shook.’

That was probably why Lacha’s expectations grew. She’d started to think that maybe she had a chance when she confessed.

Soon, it was time for Prisoner 1004’s medication. Lacha headed toward the 9th-floor guard office with a heavy heart. There, Palet told her that Eve was temporarily away because the head instructor called for him.

Normally, Lacha would’ve chosen to wait for Eve. [Read on]She wanted to spend every possible second with him. But right now, it hadn’t even been a few hours since her rejection. This time, she desperately wanted to go alone.

‘Can’t I just go by myself?’

Prisoner 1004 was a person of interest in Hell. He was the one responsible for the Hayut Massacre and had recently tried to escape. The only reason Lacha insisted on moving with Eve was because of 1004. She didn’t know what would happen if she were alone with such a vicious criminal.

But…

‘He’s actually better than I thought.’

Lacha thought about the other prisoners she’d seen. Some made a fuss over nothing, some stank because they hadn’t washed in ages, some made crude jokes, and others used violence for no reason. Compared to them, Prisoner 1004 was decent.

‘…For someone who committed such a horrible crime, he’s not that difficult to handle.’

The only problem was his self-harm, but in Hell, that wasn’t even considered a real issue. It wasn’t like his life was in danger.

‘The bite marks all over his hands were a bit startling.’

However, 1004 seemed aware of his habit. His hands smelled strongly of soap that day, as if he’d washed them multiple times. Once her thoughts reached that point, Lacha wasn’t afraid to head to Cell 1004 alone anymore.

Lacha opened the iron door of Cell 1004. The prisoner was nowhere to be seen.

‘Is it another escape attempt?’

Fortunately, that thought didn’t last long. She heard a sound from the bathroom area. Lacha relaxed and stepped into the cell. She left the iron door wide open just in case.

She suddenly remembered yesterday’s events. Prisoner 1004 had lost consciousness in the bathroom. The Pope had personally visited Hell because of it and even had a doctor examine 1004. The doctor’s report reached Lacha as well. The doctor couldn’t find anything unusual, so the report simply stated that the prisoner’s health was fine.

‘That’s good.’

Lacha planned to stop the medication and monitor the progress during the festival week. She wanted 1004 to get healthy as soon as possible so the medication sessions with Eve wouldn’t be necessary. At this moment, Lacha wanted nothing more than that. If not for 1004’s treatment, she wouldn’t have to face Eve every day.

Thinking about Eve’s rejection made her miserable all over again. Perhaps she was too focused on replaying her embarrassing moment, because she reacted too strongly to the sound of the bathroom door opening.

Lacha stepped back instinctively, slipped on a water stain, and lost her footing. Her vision tilted as she fell backward, but then a cold hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her.

When Lacha came to her senses, she was sprawled on the floor on top of someone. Her view was filled with a prison uniform that had been clumsily buttoned in a hurry. She caught a subtle scent of soap.

A gentle voice spoke.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I only meant to catch you…”

Prisoner 1004 let go of Lacha’s wrist.

The man’s hair was soaking wet, and he looked up at Lacha with a worried expression from his position on the floor. Lacha realized this was the first time they’d made eye contact. 1004�[stolen content]��s gaze looked much softer than she’d imagined.

Suddenly, 1004 looked toward the iron door. Lacha followed his gaze and froze.

Eve was standing at the open door.

He scanned 1004 with an expressionless face. 1004 flinched slightly. Then, Eve’s eyes moved to Lacha before shifting to the water stain on the floor.

While Lacha was frozen in embarrassment, 1004 spoke again.

“…Are you alright? Can you get up?”

“Ah, yes…!”

Lacha scrambled up and backed away. Only then did Eve walk into the cell as if he’d been waiting for that moment.

Eve reached out a hand to 1004, who had just sat up. 1004 looked at Eve’s face for a moment, then took his hand and stood up.

Lacha wanted to leave immediately, but she couldn’t. She had to keep her hard-won position as an apothecary. She tried to act calm, sat in her usual spot, and began assembling her equipment.

1004 silently approached and sat in front of her. Lacha glanced at him. 1004 was watching Eve, who was currently wiping up the water on the floor.

‘…I didn’t notice before, but he’s pretty.’

The face revealed between the wet strands of hair was very delicate and refined. Feeling Lacha’s gaze, 1004 met her eyes. Even though being stared at could be annoying, the man asked worriedly instead.

“Did you get hurt when you fell?”

Lacha stared at his face blankly for a moment before shaking her head.

“…No, I’m not hurt.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

“…”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know there was water there. I should’ve wiped it better.”

That was it. They’d fallen together, and Lacha was fine because the man had thrown his own body down to help. Yet the man had only been worried about Lacha’s condition. It felt ridiculous to Lacha. She couldn’t understand how a person like this could’ve killed so many people.

‘…Forget it. Stop.’

She shouldn’t have personal feelings for a prisoner. She already felt like she was violating her professional ethics by judging 1004’s face.

Then, Lacha felt a strange sense of dissonance.

‘Now that I think about it, wasn’t Prisoner 1004 always there whenever I felt Eve’s kindness…?’

Since Eve became a guard here, he’d volunteered for three things: the 9th-floor guard duty, 1004’s medication duty, and the Night Festival week shift. As a result, Eve and 1004 were spending more and more time together.

‘And during the festival week, they’ll be the only ones on the 9th floor…?’

Lacha felt a wave of self-loathing at that thought.

‘My delusions are going too far. That’s impossible.’

The heartbreak must’ve been too much for her. She couldn’t believe she’d even thought of something so rude. She was already rejected; she needed to stop being so pathetic.

Lacha let out a small sigh and held out her hand.

“…Give me your hand for the needle.”

1004 complied. Lacha inserted the needle into the back of his hand quickly and accurately. As she left the cell after the treatment, she made a decision. She was going to have an amazing festival week no matter what.