NOVEL NEXT Chapter 103
Chapter 103: The Calm Before the Storm
“That creepy smiling face is going to crumble any second now.”
It was only natural. The inmate had just launched a severe verbal attack against the correctional officer, openly displaying a frightening aura.
He might be intimidated by the murderous intent of a B-rank Hunter.
The pale man gazed at Lee Si-hyun with an expectant expression.
But—
Lee Si-hyun was still smiling.
The pale man’s face twisted into an indescribable mix of emotions.
‘…Is this guy really a complete lunatic?’
He felt too incredulous to act, even though anger was bubbling up inside.
After some moments, Lee Si-hyun broke the silence.
“Well, it’s different for someone notorious like you. Cursing at the Ward Chief, huh?”
“…Yeah, I cursed. So what? What’s it to you?”
The pale man, caught off guard, responded a beat late, scrunching his face in irritation.
He hoped to see a reaction he had been anticipating this time around.
Yet, Lee Si-hyun remained unperturbed, his expression calm.
He didn’t seem angry nor intimidated.
“Baek Dong-il.”
“What? Why?”
When Si-hyun called his name, the pale man, Baek Dong-il, glared back with wide eyes.
“I heard your release is just around the corner.”
“Yeah, what’s it to you?”
“How’s life in here treating you?”
“What? Are you seriously asking me that? It’s awful! Eating garbage three times a day, no women, and stuck in here all the time! What do you think? Is it treating me well?”
Baek Dong-il boomed, his temper flaring.
As a B-rank Hunter, he had enjoyed all the pleasures of life outside—drinking, women, gambling, and drugs to his heart’s content.
And now he was rotting away in this place because of a single murder.
Even though he was living a relatively undisturbed life in solitary confinement, the drastic turnaround of his circumstances was unbearable.
“I see. So, it sounds like you’re really building up some frustration in here. But you know, that’s something you have to deal with yourself. It’s just punishment for your crimes. If you don’t like it, you should have thought twice before committing a crime.”
Si-hyun spoke with an unnatural bright smile.
“What the hell?”
Baek Dong-il could feel his sanity slipping away at the taunts that were brushing against his emotions.
He was boiling with anger.
He swung his free hand forward, intending to grab Si-hyun by the throat, vowing to relish in the sight of the guard gasping for breath, eyes pleading for mercy.
The thrill of that moment was everything he anticipated.
However—
“Huh?”
Baek Dong-il’s outstretched hand came to an abrupt halt.
Before he knew it, Si-hyun had firmly grasped his wrist.
Baek Dong-il’s expression turned blank as if he had just been hit with a hammer to the back of the head.
Something completely impossible was happening.
He felt as if he were lost in a strange dream.
As Baek Dong-il finally regained his senses and tried to yank his wrist free, it was as if he were pinned under a heavy stone—he couldn’t budge an inch.
“What the hell… This can’t be… What is this?!”
He strained against the grip, but to no avail.
His face reddened as he exerted himself, yet he remained immovable.
“Gah! Who the hell are you?!”
“I’m the Ward Chief.”
“YOU BASTARD!”
Baek Dong-il yelled, clenching his left fist and swinging it at Si-hyun with all his strength.
But once again, it was caught with ease as if he were a magnetized object.
“UAAAAH!”
He raged, eyes filled with fury, yet his hands remained firmly restrained—he was just wasting excess energy in a useless struggle.
“Huff, huff… What are you?! You punk!”
“I’m the Ward Chief, I told you.”
“YOU DOG….”
“By the way, Baek Dong-il.”
Si-hyun interjected, cutting off Baek Dong-il’s tirade.
“Or should I call you Mr. Baek?”
In an instant, Baek Dong-il’s eyes widened.
He looked as though he had heard something he shouldn’t have.
“Or maybe the Crazy Dog of Asut Mountain?”
“Y-You know that…?!”
Baek Dong-il stammered in disbelief.
What Si-hyun had mentioned was something no one else should know.
He had never revealed it to anyone.
It was a secret only he was aware of—the name and notoriety of the original owner of his power.
Yet this new Ward Chief was inexplicably saying it out loud.
“Correctional officers need to know their inmates inside out. Otherwise, how can they rehabilitate them or whatever else they need to do?”
Si-hyun continued, flashing a smile that felt deceptively cheerful.
“But you’re lucky, Mr. Baek. I suppose you had a good lawyer. A sudden murder driven by intoxication during a state of mental weakness… Well, the verdict has been passed, so it’s not my place to argue. But since your release is coming up soon, shouldn’t you act more lawfully during your time here?”
“You…!”
“Do you agree or disagree?”
Although Si-hyun’s face wore a smile, it held an underlying chill.
The atmosphere quickly darkened.
Baek Dong-il clenched his teeth, trying to calm his swirling thoughts.
He had no idea how this guy knew information he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t continue to be the target like this.
After all, he was the inmate and Si-hyun was the guard.
That position wouldn’t change.
Baek Dong-il raised his voice.
“Are you threatening a customer when you’re just a guard?”
Customer.
Some correctional officers jokingly referred to inmates as ‘customers.’
It was a self-deprecating joke—calling themselves caretakers of those who had committed crimes, as if they were social workers going out of their way to provide care.
The inmates recognized this atmosphere too.
There were even some who truly saw themselves as customers, living with the ridiculous notion that being a king is an unspoken privilege.
Baek Dong-il was that type.
“Customer? Oh, a customer!”
Si-hyun responded, nodding with a peculiar look.
“Then let go of my hand or I’ll file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.”
Baek Dong-il threatened, knowing that no matter the outcome, it would just make things harder for the guard.
However, there was no way to prevent a complaint from being made.
There had been guards who faced disciplinary actions for obstructing inmate complaints to the Human Rights Commission, so he knew all too well how that worked.
“You know, you’re the living example of ‘they do it but don’t want it done to them.’ You were the one who started by verbally abusing and attempting to use violence against me, weren’t you?”
“Do you have proof? Do you have evidence? You know there’s no CCTV here, so don’t try to pull that on me.”
Baek Dong-il stood his ground.
He had made it a habit to check for the presence of CCTV whenever he entered the facility.
“Well, there certainly aren’t any CCTV cameras in here.”
Si-hyun replied nonchalantly.
“Of course there wouldn’t be. Let go of my hand now.”
“But, it’s good that there aren’t cameras, actually.”
“What?”
Baek Dong-il squinted, confused by the unexpected remark.
“I’m going to become a guard now.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Isn’t a guard a guard? Who else would here be?
Baek Dong-il’s face showed bewilderment.
Ignoring the incredulous reaction, Si-hyun continued.
“As a correctional officer, you need to respect the inmate’s rights. But… Isn’t it okay to beat them a bit and give them some harsh training?”
“….”
Baek Dong-il went rigid in disbelief at the sudden shift in attitude.
The formerly respectful way he responded had vanished.
“Isn’t that right? You just called me a guard, so let’s see how it goes.”
“W-What are you saying?”
Baek Dong-il stuttered, caught off guard.
Si-hyun chuckled lightly and released his grip on Baek Dong-il’s wrist.
“Alright, I’ve done what you wanted and let go. Happy?”
“Uh….”
Baek Dong-il regarded Si-hyun suspiciously, overwhelmed by the series of incomprehensible actions.
“Want to see?”
“See what?”
“My status window.”
Si-hyun made a sudden bizarre suggestion.
“What kind of weird nonsense is this….”
“Here, take a look.”
Awakened beings could generally choose to disclose their status windows to others.
The reason no one did was simply that they didn’t want anyone to know their private information.
There’s no way a person would want to expose all their cards for everyone to see.
A person who revealed everything about themselves was the last kind of fool.
It was Si-hyun’s first time sharing his status window publicly.
“Look closely.”
Si-hyun revealed his status window to the outside.
In that moment—
“Guh?!”
The sound of a chair collapsing echoed through the room.
Baek Dong-il, too, was sent sprawling to the ground.
His astonished eyes widened to their limits.
It was as if he had seen a ghost; he stared at the status window Si-hyun had presented.
<Stats> Strength 4213 (+3830) (SS) Agility 4246 (+3860) (SS) Wisdom 4070 (+3700) (SS) Stamina 4257 (+3870) (SS) Mental Power 5830 (+5300) (SS+) Magic Power 1111 (+1010) (S)
“W-What is this…?!”
Baek Dong-il’s words came out in stutters.
The figures were incomprehensible.
He had never even dared to dream of having such stats.
He couldn’t fathom that such numbers could exist in reality.
He felt like a frog that had met a tiger outside its well, frozen stiff in fear.
It was as if he had emerged from the narrow well of a B-rank Hunter to suddenly face an infinitely vast ocean.
“Who am I, you ask? This is who I am.”
Si-hyun stood up and took a step closer to Baek Dong-il.
“Ugh….”
Baek Dong-il recoiled, groaning.
Simply looking at the status window was enough to overwhelm him with an immense pressure.
In the world of Hunters, ability was practically synonymous with status.
Having not just S, but SS grades cluttered in Si-hyun’s status window made Baek Dong-il feel like a mere ant in comparison.
“Choose.”
“Wha—What?!”
Without realizing it, he responded in a more respectful tone.
“Do you want a beating or some harsh training?”
“Uh, I—I’d rather take some harsh training.”
“Get up.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
Like a recruit before a drill sergeant, Baek Dong-il stood up, his face displaying intense trepidation.
Si-hyun nodded in approval at his stance, as if pleased.
“Good. Do you know about the ‘Carpet Bombing’?”
“Y-Yeah, I—I know.”
“Get down.”
“Yes, sir.”
Baek Dong-il silently pressed his head to the ground.
His hands were at ease, with just his head and feet supporting his weight.
If someone who knew him were to witness this, they would doubt their eyes at the absurdity of the scene.
A man who barely listened to anyone and did as he pleased was bowing his head obediently at the command of a correctional officer.
“I said earlier, if your release is coming up soon, you should behave more appropriately.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Behave properly.”
“Yes, sir.”
“You’re an inmate.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And to an inmate, a correctional officer is?”
“…A-A god.”
Baek Dong-il quickly thought and responded.
It was an answer that felt completely out of character compared to his usual behavior.
“Really?”
“Y-Yeah, of course.”
“Then if you know that, listen closely to the correctional officer.”
“Of course, that’s how it should be.”
“Good, get up.”
“Thank you.”
Baek Dong-il hurriedly expressed his gratitude as he stood up swiftly.
Even with the cuffs on, his movements were remarkably quick.
He acted as if he would suffer a grave consequence if he delayed, just a bit.
“Keep your head together now.”
Si-hyun warned.
“Yes, understood.”
“Hold your head together now.”
“Y-Yes, yes?”
Si-hyun unleashed the aura of the Iron-Blooded Guard.
“Urrgh… Ahhhh!”
Baek Dong-il’s scream reverberated through the Ward Office.
◈ ◈ ◈
“What’s wrong with him?”
“What do you mean?”
The Assistant Duty Officer glanced at the Duty Chief as if asking what had happened.
“Why is that guy in cell 1 acting weird?”
“Is… something wrong?”
The Assistant seemed completely baffled.
“Is he sick? He was trembling and had this dazed look in his eyes.”
“Really? He seemed fine until we headed to the Ward Office just now.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
“What about on the way here?”
“On the way, the Section Chief called him in directly… I don’t really know.”
“Good grief, really?”
The Duty Chief scratched his head, looking puzzled.
“Anyway, keep a close watch on Cell 1. If he says he’s sick, contact the infirmary right away.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
The Assistant Officer still wore a confused expression, as if he couldn’t grasp the situation at all.