Chapter 195 – Maturity Release
Shelter Lower Region Security Force Headquarters.
There is a small but cozy counseling room there.
Knock.
A polite knock sounded on the consultation room door.
“Please come in.”
Seyoung said from inside.
The door opens carefully, and a woman comes in.
Her name is Sujeong.
He is a former prisoner who moved to the shelter and works at a textile mill in the central factory area, making clothes.
What I’m wearing now is factory-made casual clothing made from linen. It was made by her herself, and the quality is quite excellent even by the standards of pre-war society.
Today she was called here because it was a special day.
“Go in.”
“Yep!”
When the security guard who was leading spoke in a low tone, the crystal moved as if it had bounced. It looks like military discipline is in full swing.
The security officer’s face was innocent. When she was in society, she must have been quite popular with men.
But beneath her pretty face was a muscular body that did not suit her at all. A body that has reached the peak of naturalness that cannot be hidden even by clothes.
It is the result of eating healthy food and training every day, but a body like this is not particularly great for a police officer.
Shelter is a city where it is acceptable to beat up people who do not listen. Any resident becomes obedient the moment they lay eyes on the biceps and baton of a security guard.
“Then I will wait outside.”
The security guard bowed inside the counseling room and closed the door.
“Hey, hello.”
Sujeong was very nervous.
In her consulting room, three women were waiting for her.
The sight of her sitting neatly behind her long desk gives off an atmosphere similar to that of an interviewer, or rather, a parole examination.
My heart is pounding, and my hands are sweaty. She seems to be worse than when she was arrested in the past.
The reason she came here today is that her release date has arrived.
She was originally a model prisoner and was about to be transferred to another prison for parole, but when the infection war broke out, she was swept away and sent to the island with other prisoners.
“Please sit down.”
Rose said.
She, like Seyoung, is wearing a uniform.
“Eat in peace.”
Chrollo, who was sitting on the right, smiled at the hesitant Sujeong.
Chrollo is wearing women’s clothes made of linen. Same as what Sujeong is wearing right now. She made it at a textile mill from material sent from a hydroponic cultivation facility.
Now that we have lived in the shelter for quite some time, there is no resident who does not know those three.
You rarely encounter the Manager or Artemis, but you often have the opportunity to encounter Chrollo, Rose, and Seyoung.
Kkook.
‘It’s okay.’
When she held the fabric she had woven in her hands, she felt calm.
There was a large window on the wall of the counseling room, and beyond it, police officers could be seen walking on the parade ground.
“Do you know that your sentence expires today?”
Seyoung asked.
“Yes! Yes! “I know.”
“It must have been a long wait. Congratulations.”
Chrollo said with a disinterested expression. She seemed genuinely happy that the resident’s sentence was over.
“Oh, no! “I couldn’t wait.”
Sujeong desperately waved both hands.
“I’m not much of a person yet! Need to learn more! I learned more about weaving techniques, and these days, I pray hard for repentance at church…”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute.”
Seyoung stopped Sujeong from rambling.
“Haven’t you been doing well as a model prisoner, Mr. Sujeong?”
“Yes! Listen to me carefully!”
Sujeong held both of her hands and nodded her head repeatedly. The appearance was reminiscent of a loyal dog, but his posture was so low that it was embarrassing for the listeners.
“These are just formal questions. “It’s not about finding fault or deciding to leave.”
“You’re not really kicking them out, are you?”
“I don’t have the authority to do that.”
Letting in and out of shelter residents is the sole authority of the manager.
Only after Seyoung explained it to her did Sujeong relax.
“Then let’s continue. Do you fully understand the meaning of completing your sentence, reflect on your past mistakes, and are you ready to return to society?”
“Yes! Oh, no, no! So, I’ve reflected on it, but I don’t think I’m ready to return to society. No, no, I guess this is the only society I will be in.”
“…”
Seyoung thought she would have to drastically change the question.
No matter how formal it was, following conventional prison protocols seemed to create too many misunderstandings and fears.
* * *
This is Seyoung’s office at the police headquarters.
“They say they will continue to live here like that. “It’s natural, of course.”
Seyoung served tea to me as I sat on the sofa.
“Thank you. “I’ll drink well.”
“You’re welcome. “Everything here is yours.”
“Hmm? “I’ve heard this a lot.”
“I guess it got to Rose. “She says it as if she’s eating.”
She sat across from me with her wry smile.
“In the first place, this is not a prison, and I said I had no intention of inheriting the punishment given by the country and punishing it.”
“Even if it was just a symbolic protocol or more of a celebration, it wasn’t accepted that way.”
The PDA contained conversation logs with a resident whose sentence had just ended.
The resident’s lines were riddled with numerous commas and periods, making them difficult to read. You can see how embarrassed I was.
Because the principle is to record resident interview records without any errors, the editing program that reorganizes them for easier reading does not work.
“It wasn’t a bad idea to hold a symbolic release ceremony for a prisoner who had completed his sentence. But this is the only way to make you scared.”
“Now that I have paid for my sins, I can truly have a fresh start. Instilling that kind of mindset is definitely meaningful. We will make your life here more exemplary. It is important to remove the mindset of ‘I am a criminal anyway’ during rehabilitation. But I had no idea there would be this much of a reaction.”
Some long-term prisoners become so accustomed to prison life that they sometimes fall into panic ahead of their release.
It is said that they commit violence against fellow inmates because they will not be released, or even if they go out into society, they immediately cause accidents and return home.
This feeling will be extremely strong for everyone currently living in the shelter.
From their perspective, release would be the worst punishment.
“Everyone was happy when they first learned about the outside world through Kids’ broadcast. In any case, it is a world where the mere presence of living people is a source of strength. There is also a glimmer of hope that perhaps we will be reunited with family members who were thought to be dead. But little by little, they turned into fear.”
In addition to the woman whose sentence ended today, anxiety is said to be spreading among residents whose release date is fast approaching.
“Until now, we have been somewhat lenient because kicking them out of the shelter would mean death, but in the future, if they have to, they might just kick us out to the southern region… What are you worried about?”
“Yes. It’s accurate.”
Slurp.
Seyoung said she didn’t have much experience with tea, so she didn’t like the taste. She added too much tea leaves, so it tasted bitter, like herbal medicine.
She took a sip of her own, and it was cute how her complexion changed, and she looked at me.
“Did you say correction?”
“Yes. “I am the first person to be released from prison on maturity.”
“Even if I’m released from prison, I don’t have anywhere to go. In the first place, there was no particular discrimination between them and the prison guards.”
To be honest, I don’t think there is much meaning to the release ceremony and all, but the symbolism of Seyoung’s ‘break up with me as a criminal’ was okay.
As a human being, your identity or sense of belonging can be redefined with just a single declaration.
If you lead an even more exemplary life with the mindset that you have now washed away your sins, there is no reason for me to view you negatively.
As a former prison warden, Seyoung continued to care about the rehabilitation of the residents, no matter how small it may be in this situation.
“Excuse me. It’s a bit hot.”
When Seyoung took off her outerwear, her white shirt was revealed.
Her shirt was not baggy at all, proving that she had a healthy and strong body. My upper body also feels wider.
“Are you working out hard?”
“Here, you can’t control it with a pen or rank insignia. “I need to become stronger too.”
It is different from the first impression of her as soft and gentle during the island rescue mission.
“It seems like just yesterday that Nina took her shoes away, and I was greeted with her bare feet.”
“Ahaha…”
Seyoung scratched her cheek with her index finger as if she was embarrassed.
“We are friends now. In her private life, she is her older sister and younger brother. They also watch my sparring a lot. Although he has a bit of a violent side, he is someone you can’t hate once you get to know him.”
She clenched her fist and screamed.
She is so physically fit that she often becomes a laughing stock throughout her aptitude test, but her posture is restrained.
“I guess that’s not surprising.”
In the early days of entering the shelter, I remembered the sight of her being slapped on the cheek by a senior prison guard and glaring at her with venomous eyes.
During the aptitude test, an option was given to drive a car into an infected organism that appeared in the shelter.
Seyoung may seem weak at first glance, but she is a strong woman.
“Is there something on my face?”
Seyoung looks in a mirror with a puzzled look as I stare blankly at her.
“No, I thought I picked a perfect person. Can I get you another drink? It’s delicious.”
“Yes…”
She accepts her glass with her red face.
This time she brews the tea very carefully and carefully.
In her office, filled with the strong scent of tea, we talked without noticing the passage of time.
She is an introvert, Seyoung, but is it different for her partner who opens up her heart? She also felt this when dealing with her Rose, but Seyoung was surprisingly talkative.
