Despite the life sentence, Jin-won held unwavering faith in the appeal. It wasn’t wishful thinking. A plan, invisible yet potent, was in motion. The goal: pin the blame on a more expendable scapegoat, the son of a chaebol. Jin-won needed only to endure this purgatory until the second trial, where fabricated evidence would work its magic. This unwavering “innocence” throughout the ordeal – it all had a purpose.
Even if it’s just a temporary stay… the standards here are quite low.
Disdain flickered behind Jin-won’s glasses as he surveyed his grim surroundings. His arrival had sent ripples through the prison, but inmates lacked the courage to approach him. A solitary cell whispered of wealth and power. Antagonizing him meant courting a twisted fate. Branded a cryptic psychopath, Jin-won inspired fearful whispers behind his back.
Then, a memory flickered – a woman, Seo Yi-soo, her laughter echoing in his mind. He never witnessed her tears. Now, an insatiable desire to see them stain her cheeks consumed him.
“Excuse me,” a voice rasped.
Jin-won tilted his head back, a mask of nonchalance replacing his grimace. His gaze fell upon a gaunt man. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his pupils darted nervously, and his lips were parched. This gaunt figure, the antithesis of Jin-won’s meticulous hygiene, embodied all the prison’s despair.
The man bowed deeply, voice trembling. “Mr. Kang Jin-won?”
“Yes?” Jin-won replied.
“Colosseum,” the man muttered, his voice barely audible. “The one who built it and made people die.”
A sardonic chuckle escaped Jin-won’s lips, disbelief laced with amusement.
Jin-won adjusted his glasses, a question mark etched on his brow. “Did I make them die?” Genuine confusion colored his voice.
The man slowly lifted his head, his gaze intense. Jin-won, oblivious, sighed.
“They weren’t forced,” he continued. “It was an offer. A chance to win big, if they could make the game a success. The choice was theirs.”
Silence stretched, thick and heavy. The man’s face darkened further.
“Isn’t it human nature?” Jin-won pressed, his voice laced with a chilling indifference. “Greed drives them. Their deaths were a consequence of their own choices. Why should I be blamed?”
The man’s face contorted further at Jin-won’s sophistry. Shadows seemed to cling to him, amplifying his despair.
He licked his parched lips, the tremor in his fingertips a stark contrast to Jin-won’s practiced composure. “Do you…” his voice cracked, “remember their faces? Their lives before? Why they craved money, and what…”
Jin-won held up a hand, cutting him off. “Enough.” His smirk returned, laced with a hint of annoyance. This man, so troublesome, so brutally honest, kept pushing.
A voice, raw and sincere, pierced the tense air.
“Do you… remember how many ants you’ve stepped on until now?” The man’s voice was barely a whisper.
Jin-won frowned. “What?”
“Of course you wouldn’t,” the man rasped, his eyes glinting with unspoken accusation. “You’re too lowly to care.”
The word echoed in the air. “Lowly?” he muttered, the word catching on his tongue like a broken record.
A low, chilling chuckle bubbled up from the man’s chest, morphing into a full-blown, maniacal laugh. Jin-won watched from the bench, a flicker of unease crossing his face. The man’s laughter was a harsh, discordant sound, punctuated by broken murmurs.
“Lowly, lowly…” he repeated, the word seemingly taking on a new meaning for him. A dark realization seemed to dawn as he shook his head, confusion twisting his features.
“Ha…ha…ha…” The laughter abruptly died, replaced by a heavy silence. An icy coldness radiated from the man, a stark contrast to his earlier outburst.
Jin-won met the man’s hollow stare with a chilling indifference. The man’s lips barely moved as he whispered, “…Die.”
“What?” Jin-won’s voice held a hint of surprise, quickly morphing into alarm.
“Die!” The man’s voice ripped through the air, laced with a desperate fury.
A flash of metal. A glint of manic determination in the man’s eyes. Before anyone could react, a knife materialized in his hand.
Jin-won’s eyes widened in horror. A choked cry escaped his lips as the man lunged forward.
The blows were swift and brutal. The sickening thud of metal against flesh echoed in the sterile air. Blood splattered, painting a grotesque scene.
“Stay… alive…” Jin-won’s voice, thick with blood and pain, became a desperate gurgle.
The guards, alerted by the commotion, sprinted towards the scene, their faces contorted in shock. But they were too late.
Even as they wrestled the man to the ground, he continued his relentless assault, a single word escaping his lips in a broken rhythm. “Die. Die. Die.”
The blood-soaked knife clattered to the ground with a finality that mirrored the silence that descended. Jin-won’s screams had ceased.