Deadlock || ᴠᴍɪɴ

Chapter 8

The next day, the group of them were eating dinner together when they were approached by an elderly black man.

“Hey, Micky,” said the man. “You haven’t seen my boy anywhere, have you?”

It was Hawes, Matthew’s cellmate. He was an older face who had been here for twenty years, but was scheduled to be released soon. Perhaps that was why he was chattier than usual; he often came by to speak with Jimin and his group.

“Can’t say I’ve seen him,” Micky said. “I had some stuff to take care of, and haven’t seen him since lunch. I’m sure he’ll show up soon for dinner.”

“I see,” said Hawes. “Boy said he’d massage my back for me before dinner, but I ain’t seen him at all. Them young’uns, always breaking promises,” he muttered as he hobbled away with his tray.

“Heh,” Micky snickered. “Even after everything he says, old man still likes Matthew.”

Nathan smiled and nodded in agreement. “It looks like Matthew’s honesty and cheerfulness have been paying off with his fellow inmates. He’s well-liked.”

“Yeah. Unfortunately, he’s also got an endless stream of guys trying to sneak around behind my back to prey on his ass. Looks like having a cute face isn’t all fun and games. How’re you holding up, Jimin?”

Jimin, who was busy prodding his salad with his fork, was taken aback by the sudden redirection.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m asking if you’ve got more thirsty guys after your ass now that you’ve shaved your face.”

“How the hell should I know?” Jimin retorted coldly.

V smirked from the seat beside him. “One shave and he’s back to being treated like a newcomer. I think Lennix has a right to sulk.”

Jimin admittedly felt a great sense of relief at V’s lighthearted joke. That meant he wasn’t angry anymore.

“I’m not sulking,” he shot back. But V was right, no matter how much he hated to admit it. When Jimin shaved off his stubble, he had also taken the opportunity to shorten his overgrown bangs. Apparently it had made a drastic change in his appearance; when walking with V, he had acquaintances stop and ask V if Jimin was a new inmate.

“I hear BB’s been going around telling people that his instincts were right and he ‘knows a pretty bitch when he sees one’,” V said.

“That bastard,” Jimin scowled.

“But unfortunately for BB, I don’t think he has the time to chase Jimin around right now,” Nathan said. Micky nodded enthusiastically in understanding.

“Yup. The Black Soldiers are going through some infighting right now. They’re split into pro-Choker and pro-BB groups. BB wants to stamp out the Locos Hermanos at all costs, and he’s doing everything he can to draw in pro-Chokers to his side. Personally, though, I’m sure BB wants to wrap this up quickly so he can get back to picking up Jimin.”

Jimin glared daggers at Micky as the man grinned slyly.

“I mean, it’s true though,” Micky added hastily. “You’ve changed a lot. A good shave and a haircut has you looking like some classy prince. You sure you’re not a distant descendant of the Korean Royal Family or something?”

“We have an Imperial Family, not a Royal Family,” Jimin corrected.

“What’s the difference?” Micky complained, but Jimin ignored him since he couldn’t be bothered to explain.

“It’s taking awful long for Matthew to show up,” Nathan said. “He’s always the first to come down at mealtimes.”

Micky’s face clouded over in concern. “Yeah. I can’t imagine that guy and his bottomless appetite skipping dinner.”