NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68
Chapter 68: The Special Detention Center
“Wow, seeing it in person is even more unbelievable.”
It was my third time living at the Jincheon Legal Training Institute. Once as a newbie, once for training, and now again.
The facilities were quite nice. Si-hyun’s two-person room had two beds, two desks, and two wardrobes. The hot water was plentiful, and each room was equipped with air conditioning and Wi-Fi.
Si-hyun was lounging with his legs stretched out, leaning at the end of the bed while scrolling through his phone. This leisurely time was coming to an end soon; he had to officially start work in two weeks.
Still, he had managed to rest both mentally and physically during this time. After being busy working in the correctional facility and running raid missions on weekends, having this calm felt incredibly refreshing.
Beep.
He heard the sound of a card key opening the door.
Soon, a man in his late twenties entered. He looked so ordinary, like someone you’d see anywhere.
He was Na Kang-baek, Si-hyun’s roommate.
“I ordered chicken.”
As soon as Kang-baek came in, Si-hyun said.
“Huh?”
Kang-baek had a baffled expression, as if wondering what that meant.
Si-hyun put his phone down and smiled at Kang-baek.
“At this time, it’s traditional to strengthen camaraderie over some chicken and beer.”
“Is there really that much camaraderie to strengthen?”
Kang-baek replied incredulously.
The two successful candidates for this special recruitment were Si-hyun and Kang-baek. Out of four applicants, three passed the written test, and one was eliminated in the interview, leaving only them.
Naturally, they had stuck together throughout the training period. After over three months of that, their conversation topics were starting to run dry.
“Good things are always good. Plus, we’ve never drunk together.”
When one thought of a training institute, they typically thought of drinking parties, but neither Si-hyun nor Kang-baek had a habit of drinking, so they had never done so during the training.
“Alright… Are you buying, then?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll treat. It’s about time. Let’s go pick it up.”
“We’re going out to pick it up?”
“They don’t deliver inside. We have to go get it ourselves.”
◈ ◈ ◈
They spread out a mix of seasoned and half-fried chicken on the floor and each popped open a 500 milliliter can of beer. Kang-baek’s face quickly turned bright red, perhaps due to his low alcohol tolerance.
“Aren’t you worried?”
Kang-baek, at 28, was only three years older than Si-hyun, but he always called Si-hyun ‘hyung’ (older brother). It seemed to be his usual conversational habit.
“What kind of worry?”
“Worry about work. You’re currently a correctional officer, and you don’t look worried at all.”
“How could I not worry? I’m human too! It’s true that I feel more at ease than someone who’s starting fresh, though.”
Si-hyun took a sip of beer and responded.
“Anyway, I’m jealous. As my start date approaches, the nervousness is creeping up on me.”
“Just relax. It’s just a job like any other.”
“…Sigh, I have to.”
Kang-baek gulped down the beer bitterly. Seeing that, Si-hyun asked, “What’s got you so worried?”
“The inmates are all Awakened Beings, right? If they’re on the same level or lower than me, that’s one thing, but will those above my level listen? That’s my biggest concern.”
Kang-baek was a Hunter with a D-class license.
However, due to a tendency to feel nauseated and pale at the sight of blood, he’d given up on participating in raids. Hence, he applied for this correctional officer position, which would be his first job aside from a part-time gig, making him anxious as his start date approached.
Si-hyun understood Kang-baek’s feelings, recalling when he was nervous before his first day at the correctional facility.
“Honestly, in my experience, most inmates listen well. Only about 5% are problematic.”
“5 out of 100… Hmm, that’s reassuring.”
“Exactly. So just relax. And about the problematic ones…”
“Yes?”
“There’s no definite answer. You just have to experience it firsthand. You learn how to handle them by dealing with the stress and realizing, ‘Ah, this is how I should approach them.'”
“Sigh, I guess that’s the only way. Thanks for the advice, hyung.”
Kang-baek said, looking a bit more at ease after hearing Si-hyun’s words.
“Since we’ll be working in the same place, if there’s anything you don’t want to share with your seniors, feel free to tell me. It’s good for comrades to help each other.”
“Thank you, hyung.”
Kang-baek nodded gratefully.
◈ ◈ ◈
In a remote area of Ganghwa Island, at the foot of Songshan, stood the ‘Special Detention Center.’ It was originally a regular area with houses and shops, but the government had bought up all the surrounding land as part of its policy and resettled the residents.
Then, they built a large facility there. It was larger and of a different nature compared to typical correctional facilities.
Built with high-security standards in mind from the start, the outer walls were remarkably high. After sufficient testing to determine the wall height, it was set at an insurmountable height for ordinary Hunters. This building went against the current trend of lower outer walls.
“Wow, seeing it up close is insane.”
Kang-baek exclaimed as he looked at the outer walls that looked like they belonged to a medieval castle.
“Right?”
Si-hyun also couldn’t help but admire it.
They were on their way to the Special Detention Center for their first day of work. Si-hyun had splurged and bought a mid-size car with the money he had saved. He needed mobility for weekend raids; otherwise, commuting with public transport back and forth from Ganghwa Island would be a headache.
He parked in the lot outside the External Gate. He knew he would need to register the vehicle as a staff vehicle if he wanted to park it inside.
“Huh.”
Si-hyun had an incredulous expression as he looked at the External Gate.
The security was far stricter than he had imagined. The guards present were on a whole other level compared to what he had seen at other facilities. Typically, there would be two correctional officers on duty, but there were two on the left, two on the right—four guards in total.
However, considering it was a high-security facility, that level of security was understandable.
Korea’s correctional facilities had four security levels: open, medium, general, and high security. With the establishment of the Special Detention Center, the highest security level was newly created. The Special Detention Center was the only facility in the country designated as such.
What truly astonished Si-hyun, however, was something else entirely.
“Rifles?”
The correctional officers were armed with what appeared to be K2 rifles.
How is this even possible? Armed guards at the External Gate, where they’re supposed to encounter civilians the most?
Seeing that shattered his preconceived notions, making it feel like he was at a military base’s gate.
Kang-baek’s expression stiffened as he also saw the sight. His determination from earlier seemed to have faded away, replaced by anxiety.
Si-hyun tapped Kang-baek’s back, signaling him to relax. As they approached the External Gate, Si-hyun saluted and greeted them.
“Good day.”
“What business have you here?”
One of the guards mirrored his salute and asked.
“I’m a new recruit starting today.”
“Oh, really? Let me check the roster. Can you give me your names?”
Si-hyun and Kang-baek provided their names.
The guard checked the list and nodded.
“You’ll go directly to the Administration Department first.”
“Thank you.”
Si-hyun bowed politely and passed through the External Gate, with Kang-baek following suit.
“Phew, I thought they might point a gun at us, but thankfully, they didn’t.”
“Are we in a state of war or something? The last thing we need is to be greeted with a gun. Anyway, those correctional officers don’t seem to be Awakened Beings.”
“Yeah, I sensed that too.”
You could generally gauge whether someone was an ordinary person or an Awakened Being based on their movements.
“After all, it doesn’t make sense to fill every position with Awakened Beings just because it’s a Special Ward.”
To be frank, the Ministry of Justice didn’t have the capacity to employ that many Awakened Beings. So they seemed to fill positions that didn’t directly interact with inmates, like at the External Gate, with ordinary correctional officers. Also, their ranks weren’t at grade 7. The officer they just spoke to had a rank of grade 8. This indicated they weren’t Awakened Beings recruited as special hires of grade 7.
The Administration Department was located inside the entrance.
Before they knew it, they had reached the Administration Department. The atmosphere felt no different from that of any other facility. It seemed like they had entered an ordinary correctional facility.
‘Was the guard at the entrance just for show?’
Si-hyun thought to himself. You could discern a lot from observing one aspect of a place. If the guards at the entrance were so intense, there’s no way the staff in different departments would have such a relaxed atmosphere. Thus, it seemed to him that the stringent security was merely for show.
“You know you’ll be working in the Security Department first, right?”
The head of the Administration Department said.
Of course, they knew. Novices are always assigned to security.
“Yes.”
Si-hyun and Kang-baek answered in unison.
“Make sure to keep your guard up while working.”
“Oh, really?”
“Basically, inmates don’t always follow orders. That can be more stressful and challenging than you might think.”
The head of the Administration Department smiled wryly. Based on his expression, it didn’t seem like he was exaggerating.
“Is that so?”
Si-hyun asked with a hint of skepticism. Even if they were Awakened Beings, they were still inmates. Generally, one would expect at least a certain decorum to be present, even if they wouldn’t follow every order. Hearing the head of the Administration speak, though, made it seem like that wouldn’t be the case.
Kang-baek’s expression hardened even more.
“Haha, you’ll understand what I mean once you go through it. I was in the Security Department for a few years before and I’m just now adjusting to it.”
“That’s interesting. Thank you for the advice.”
“Anytime. Good luck with your work.”
◈ ◈ ◈
As they passed through the main entrance and entered the Internal Security Department.
A notification popped up.
[As your rank increases, Po-ahim is very pleased. He bestows his technique upon you and gifts you a superior guard baton.]
[You have received Po-ahim’s second guard baton.]
[Active Skill ‘Guard Baton Technique’ has appeared.]
“Nice.”
Si-hyun exclaimed internally.
He had been wondering why a notification hadn’t appeared. It made sense that one would appear since he’d been promoted to grade 7. Perhaps it only surfaced upon officially starting work and reporting for duty, just like when he was promoted to grade 8.
‘His second guard baton?’
It seemed that the normal guard baton was likely just a common item touched and infused with memories by Po-ahim.
Typical Po-ahim, slowly giving a little bit at a time—that was what he was best at. It left Si-hyun curious enough to want to ask him the reason later on.
‘And a Guard Baton Technique, huh.’
The name gave him an inkling of what it might be.
There was a similar Baton Technique that existed. He had briefly learned it during training. It was a technique using a correctional baton, hence it was called the Baton Technique.
Since Po-ahim was a guard, it seemed to have turned into the Guard Baton Technique. He was eager to find out what kind of power this skill possessed, but Si-hyun restrained his curiosity. Now wasn’t the time to leisurely check his skill menu.
The Security Department was finally in sight.
Curiosity, anticipation, apprehension, excitement.
A whirlwind of complex emotions hit him at once. His first day of work in a new place was finally about to begin.