NOVEL NEXT Chapter 102
Chapter 102: The New Unit Chief
“This time, it’s about the new Section Chief.”
One of the Assistant Duty Officers on the 6th Floor Unit 1 said.
The difference with the 6th Floor Ward was that one Duty Chief worked alongside two Assistant Duty Officers. Just like in the Punishment Ward.
Since the inmates here were special individuals with unique abilities, an extra staff member was added to prepare for any unexpected situations.
“Seems a bit different from the rumors, huh? They said the Inmate Order would be singing, but it’s pretty quiet.”
“Right?”
The Duty Chief nodded, as if in agreement.
He continued, “But maybe it’s just because they’ve only been here a few days? They probably haven’t figured out the inmates yet.”
“That might be it. Anyway, they’re not the type to just sit still…”
The Assistant Duty Officer trailed off with a displeased look.
Honestly, he wasn’t thrilled about hearing that Lee Si-hyun was coming as the Ward Chief on the 6th Floor.
Everyone knew that Si-hyun emphasized the Inmate Order.
It was clear he’d adopt the same attitude here as well.
However, typically, someone at the Section Chief level wouldn’t run around enforcing inmate order themselves; they would delegate it to their subordinates.
The Section Chiefs they had dealt with in the past all operated that way. They instructed subordinates on how to manage the Ward.
Consequently, it meant that they would end up stepping in to restore order, putting themselves in the frontline.
And the 6th Floor housed particularly difficult inmates, making this an even greater headache if they were to enforce strict order.
The news of Si-hyun coming as the Ward Chief had cast a shadow over their heads.
Fortunately, there were no directives as of yet, but if the rumors were true, it was only a matter of time before such orders would come down.
“Indeed….”
The Duty Chief seemed to share similar sentiments and muttered with a sigh.
“Huh? Doesn’t seem like the almighty Ward Chief can avoid this one. Here comes the Ward Chief.”
The Assistant Duty Officer spotted Si-hyun entering through the Ward door via CCTV.
Si-hyun scanned the condition of the inmates in their cells and walked straight to the Duty Room.
The Assistant Duty Officer and the Duty Chief stood up.
Si-hyun naturally sat at the Duty Chief’s desk and pulled out a pen.
The Duty Chief placed the necessary paperwork, including the duty logs requiring the Ward Chief’s signature, on the desk.
As Si-hyun signed, he began speaking.
“Where’s the Assistant Duty Officer?”
“Currently on exercise duty.”
The Duty Chief replied.
“In which cell?”
“Cell 7.”
Since the Special Ward was strictly a high-security facility consisting only of single cells, the inmates did not exercise together. Each cell was let out one at a time under the supervision of a Correctional Officer.
“Hmm, are there any inmates not participating in exercise?”
“Usually not. Occasionally, some will claim they’re not feeling well and refuse to exercise.”
“Stuck in a solitary cell, it’s only natural they’d get itchy for a stretch. They should at least come out for a bit.”
“Yes… that’s true.”
After finishing his signatures, Si-hyun put the pen away.
The Duty Chief expected him to stand up right then.
But instead, he remained seated and began to speak.
“I’ve gotten a general idea of the inmates now.”
“…Ah, right.”
That was the last thing he wanted to hear.
With their understanding of the inmates presumably finished, it felt like Si-hyun would begin enforcing the Inmate Order in earnest now.
The Duty Chief swallowed nervously.
“But a lot can’t be understood just from reading the files. So I think I’ll start interviewing one inmate a day from today.”
“Yes?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected declaration, the Duty Chief unconsciously echoed the question.
The Assistant Duty Officer shared a look of confusion, unsure of what to make of Si-hyun’s statement.
“…I’m sorry, what did you just say?”
“I said I would conduct inmate interviews. One per day.”
Si-hyun spoke clearly and slowly.
“You’re serious about interviews?”
The Duty Chief looked shocked.
A Ward Chief voluntarily wanting to conduct inmate interviews was a first.
Usually, when inmates requested to meet the Chief, the Duty Chief would instruct to quell such requests and cut them off appropriately.
It was just a way of saying not to create unnecessary trouble.
So until something serious occurred, the Duty Chief would find a way to turn down the inmates’ requests with various justifications.
That had been the norm until now.
However.
This new Ward Chief seemed to be coming in completely the opposite way.
Such unpredictability was bewildering.
“Yes, interviews. Leave the unwilling ones alone and just send those interested to me in order.”
Si-hyun reiterated.
He preferred to handle tasks comfortably in the Ward Office, but for anyone refusing, he would just visit their cells directly.
“Ah… yes, I understand what you’re saying. But as you know, the inmates on the 6th Floor are high-risk individuals, so there’s a concern about unexpected situations…”
“It’s fine. That won’t happen under any circumstances.”
Si-hyun spoke assertively, with no hint of concern.
Then he looked straight at the Duty Chief and continued.
“If anything happens, I’ll take full responsibility, so there’s no need to worry. I assure you, I will handle everything.”
With the Ward Chief asserting that, it was hard for the Duty Chief to voice any objections.
“…Understood. As you said, I’ll make sure they come to the Ward Office… Oh, what time should we schedule this?”
“Let’s do it every day at 2 PM.”
◈ ◈ ◈
Just as Si-hyun stepped out of the Ward, the Assistant Duty Officer couldn’t help but ask.
“What’s his game?”
“Who knows….”
The Duty Chief gazed into the air, deep in thought.
“Is he trying to pull a fast one on us?”
The Assistant Duty Officer’s suspicion arose as their new Ward Chief was doing things that other Ward Chiefs typically wouldn’t.
“No, that’s too far-fetched. He didn’t seem like that.”
The Duty Chief shook his head.
Correctional Officers were skilled at reading expressions.
It was essential to quickly recognize when an inmate was trying to hide something up their sleeve and intervene ahead of time to prevent issues.
With years of experience, the Duty Chief couldn’t read any ill intent in Si-hyun’s expression.
In fact, it felt more like,
“He seems like he’s ready to spring into action.”
“Ready for what?”
“What do you think? He’s probably gearing up to enforce the Inmate Order.”
“You think he intends to warn them to act properly during their time? Is that really going to be effective….”
The Assistant Duty Officer had dealt with 6th Floor inmates before, and knew they weren’t the type to change their behavior based on warnings.
“I don’t know. He seems confident that it’ll work… Regardless, let’s just remember to send one inmate at a time when it’s time. The rest is up to the Section Chief to handle.”
“But seriously, if something does happen, will he really take responsibility?”
“Well, what can we do? Should we record him? Get a written statement? There’s not much we can do. We’ll just have to trust him.”
◈ ◈ ◈
Knock, knock.
The sound of someone knocking on the Ward Office door was heard.
Checking the clock, it was exactly 2 PM.
With a satisfied expression, Si-hyun said, “Come in.”
The door opened to reveal the Assistant Duty Officer leading in a pale-looking man who appeared to be in his forties.
He was an inmate housed in Cell 1 of Unit 1.
A man labeled as quite notorious, according to previous warnings.
“I brought him as you requested, Chief.”
“Thanks for your hard work. You can step out now.”
“What should we do about the supervision after the interview? I’d like to know if you’ll contact the Duty Room.”
“Don’t worry about it. After the interview, I’ll take care of escorting him back to the Ward myself.”
“Ah, okay. Understood.”
With a bit of tension eased after hearing that escorting wasn’t necessary, the Assistant Duty Officer nodded and stepped out of the Ward Office, leaving just Si-hyun and the pale man inside.
“Have a seat.”
Si-hyun gestured to a chair.
“Hmph.”
The pale man scoffed, sitting down with an expression that conveyed a mix of confusion and disdain.
His arms were shackled, his legs were chained, and his upper body was tightly bound with ropes.
The use of leg irons had long been discontinued in correctional facilities due to human rights concerns.
However, that was an exception for the 6th Floor.
Due to the inhuman nature of the abilities they possessed, it was essential to use restraint tools as much as possible.
“Mind pouring me a cup of coffee? I figured a place like the Ward Office would have that much.”
The pale man spoke nonchalantly as if he owned the place.
“We only have instant coffee, is that alright?”
“Just brew whatever. I don’t care.”
“Sure.”
For an inmate to ask a Ward Chief for coffee was quite a bold act, but Si-hyun remained unfazed and filled a cup with water from the cooler before mixing in the coffee.
The pale man’s face briefly showed surprise before quickly returning to neutrality.
“Here you go.”
Si-hyun placed the cup in front of the pale man.
The man squinted his left eye.
“How the heck am I supposed to drink this in this condition? Right?”
He gestured with his chin to signify his bound hands and ropes, clearly demanding for help.
“If you’ve gone this far, you might as well feed me.”
The pale man boldly threw out provocative comments.
This was a behavior he often displayed.
After all, he knew perfectly well that no matter how much he provoked, the Correctional Officers wouldn’t do much in reaction.
The worst they could do was send him to the Punishment Ward, but even then, it would simply be a temporary setback.
As someone already sentenced, he had no fear of lengthening his sentence, and he was aware that punishing him was no easy matter.
Regardless, given that procedures were cumbersome and time-consuming, everyone was naturally averse to dealing with it.
The pale man seemed to be eager to see how the new Ward Chief would react to this provocation.
But then—
‘Huh?’
His expression shifted as he noticed something strange.
Si-hyun was smiling.
‘Is he… laughing?’
It was an inexplicable reaction.
No matter how patient someone was, it was normal to feel anger in response to such provocation.
Yet here was Si-hyun laughing instead.
What was meant to be a tease to entertain himself suddenly began to make the pale man feel a bit off-kilter.
Si-hyun, with a cheerful smirk, began speaking.
“Oh dear, it’s not quite the role of a Correctional Officer to feed inmates, now is it? How about this instead?”
Si-hyun stood up.
Then he approached the pale man’s back.
His hands swiftly moved, and before long, he had untied the bindings.
Startled, the pale man’s face froze in confusion.
Si-hyun continued moving his hands.
This time, he pulled out the key for the shackles and freed the pale man’s wrists.
Clunk.
The loosened shackles dropped onto the desk.
“How about it? Can you drink by yourself now?”
Si-hyun returned to his original seat, beaming with satisfaction.
The pale man’s expression stiffened.
He had sought to provoke but now found himself feeling mocked instead.
It had been a long time since he felt such a dirty sensation since being incarcerated.
“Hehe….”
Suddenly, the pale man began to laugh.
But it was not a laugh of joy; the tension in the air was palpable.
“Ha ha ha…”
Si-hyun joined in the laughter.
“Hee hee hee hee.”
“Ha ha ha ha ha.”
“Hee hee hee.”
“Ha ha ha.”
“What the hell are you laughing at, you punk!”
Suddenly, the pale man shouted furiously, filled with hostility.