➳3➳ (1/1)

Restless, I toss and turn all night. The clock ticks and ticks like a moving turtle, so slow and steady. I could hear a pin drop on the other side of the cell room, the silence is deadly. This atmosphere is not what I am used to. My normal awakening alarm is Youngnam yelling at me, possibly laying his firm hands on me. "Get up! Your asses better be in the cafeteria room in 5 minutes!" The guard yelled after the alarm went off. I wasn't shocked since I hadn't slept even a wink last night. Soohwa was sleeping like a beauty. I squint my eyes tightly, before swaying my legs off the bed and carefully climbing down the ladder. One step at a time, until I reach the shockingly cold floor.  "Good morning!" I say, greeting Soohwa. "Shhh, we can talk later! We need to get to the cafeteria before all the food is gone!" Soohwa shuts me up and pushes me out of the way. "Ohh, guard! Please unlock our cell." Soohwa flirts with the guard. "Of course I will babe." I almost throw up from the shocking words that escaped the officers mouth. He walked over towards our cell and reached into his back pocket to pull out a ring of keys. He turns the key until a sharp click echoes in the room.  "Eat well!" The guard says before disappearing into the darkness. "What was that all about?" I ask, with an absurd expression. "I flirt with him so I can get out before everyone else does. He loves it but, we can't get caught because I will be put into another cell and he would get fired. Another inmate did that and she was moved to a cell with no guards. So, keep quiet about it." Soohwa says, while leading me to the cafeteria.  The countless doors that we go through and the numerous, poorly lit hallways are endless.  Finally, we come near two swinging, white doors. Soohwa opens the door and leads me in.  "Okay, so grab a tray and those ladies will put food on it, kind of like high school." Soohwa explains pointing out where the trays are. "I think I understand, thanks." I walk side by side with my cell mate and I follow her steps perfectly. "This table to the left is where I sit."  The moment we take our seat, a herd of criminals rush in to get their first meal of the day. "Aye, Soohwa! Save me that seat!"  I turn my head to see one of Soohwa's friends. In the awkward silence, we wait for a handful of her friends. "And who is this young lady?" The woman walks up holding her tray filled with assorted foods. "Gayun, you really don't remember Eunjoo?" The moment Soohwa introduced me again the name sounded familiar, it was the crazy lady in the cell across from us. "Well, how was I supposed to recognize her in a gloomy cell?" Gayun replies. I stand and bow after the two finished bickering.  "I told you not to do that!" Soohwa scolds me. "Sorry, I was trying to-" "Shut up and eat." Soohwa turns me around and signals for me to sit next to her. "So, Eunjoo, you don't seem like a criminal. You look like a cute city girl." Gayun says while batting her eyes. "Oh." I pick up my fork and stuff the cold and elasticy eggs into my mouth to fill the awkwardness. "5 minutes until you return back to your cells!" The officer's voice echoed through the cafeteria.  I turned around to see the ladies stuffing their face with the leftover food on their plates. I'm actually disgusted but, I can't help but laugh at the sight.  "Lets head to the cell now. Damn, I'm stuffed!" Soohwa says, placing both her hands on her non-existent gut. "Is this what you normally eat?" I ask, hoping today was just a slip up and they ran out of food. "Nope-" A sigh of relief overcame my mind. "Today was a feast!" A smile rose from Soohwa's face and my face sunk. "Oh, yippie!" My cheer was weak. Holding my breath, we enter the small hallway that reeks of dirty laundry. "Why are we walking here?" I ask with a high pitched voice from plugging my nose. "It's faster, c'mon just a few more steps." Gayun directed us. 2 large, heavy doors swing open and uncover the gloomy, cold and gray cells. My face sinks again reminding myself this is now home. I will be seeing this place a lot more often now. "Eunjoo, lets talk." Soohwa says. She pats the middle of her bed where I should sit. This reminded me of my teenager days when my friends and I would gossip and tell secrets while cuddling onto our pillows. "Seriously, tell me why you are here? You didn't kill anyone, you don't even look like the type to tell someone their shoes are ugly." I sigh and consider telling my cell mate. One day I will be spilling my beans so, why not today? "Okay, but it's a long story." I lean in hoping she wouldn't want to hear. "I'm listening."  I sigh and turn away to think of where I should start. "Well my boyfriend, Youngnam. He is, well, one of a kind. See I love him no matter what he does to me but, one day I did something terrible. I regret it. I hate myself for it, I cheated on him. Youngnam was already severely abusive and once he found out, it made everything so much more worse. He wasn't thinking and went out and killed someone. He framed me. It's okay though, I deserve it. The thing is, I blame him for this but, I can't live a day without thinking about him. I love him, but I hate that I love him." "Are you serious? You let a man put his hands on you? And you still love him? What a pity. Is it that hard for you to find love that you need him? I can't-" "What about your son's father? He won't even let you see your baby and you still love him. I know my situation is worse and I really shouldn't still be in love with Youngnam but, it's hard to let go. My own father was abusive to me also so, that vigorous 'love' is all that I know." "Oh. Well, I'm sorry that you have to live this way. I don't know when you will be getting out but, when you do, promise me, you will get some help." "I'll think about it.  -A FEW HOURS LATER- The lunch alarm went off and the entire cell block started to chant. "Soohwa, I'm not hungry, I'll just step outside." I didn't want that repulsive food to entire my system again. "Sure, I'm going to eat though. I'm starving! I'll be out in about 5 minutes." Soohwa and Gayun led the way to the doors that opened up to the yard. "Whats your name?" A man with a clipboard was standing at the door. "Park Eunjoo." I say while waving goodbye to Soohwa and Gayun. "Okay, don't do anything stupid." He warned me. I stepped outside after receiving a sticker saying I am allowed to be outdoors. My eyes squinted from the bright daylight that my eyes were virgin to. I found a spot I could sit down and think thoroughly about this whole situation. I need to stop thinking about Youngnam so much but, I can't. A few moments later, little by little, inmates begin to arrive. "Aye! It's our girl, Eunjoo!"  "Are you guys ghetto or something?" I fool around. "Got a problem with that?" Soohwa says while raising her arm as if she was about to hit me. I guess these are my friends now. Not my usual group of friends but, hey, it'll do. I don't feel like playing sports or being around anyone at the moment so I sit back and watch the prisoners run around like a bunch of preschoolers. I listen to the giggling and the grunting from the group of athletic ladies playing their sports, which is not my cup of tea. "Times up!" The officer yelled and the ladies moaned and hurried inside. I didn't wait for Soohwa or Gayun to lead the way, I just followed everyone around me. By the time I reached our cell, Soohwa was waiting for me. "Why did you take so long?"  "I got stuck in the herd." Soohwa bursted in laughter and quickly went back to tidying her bed. "Soohwa, I think I'm going to hit the hay." I let a yawn escape my mouth. "Do you want me to wake you for dinner?" "Nah, like you said, I'm more chunky than the other girls, I think I'll skip todays meals." Actually, I'm starving but I can't eat this food without having the urge to hurl. "Alrightly then. Goodnight!" I climbed my bed and rested my head onto the flat, non-fluffy pillow supplied by the prison.   Sorry! I didn't know how to end this chapter. Sorry if the update was late. I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to comment and leave feedback! Thank you for reading! Loveee xx                    -krisbaek90