Deadlock || ᴠᴍɪɴ

Chapter 10

Micky was the first to greet Jimin when he returned to Block A.

"Jimin! Welcome back, man!"

Jimin had headed straight for the showers after getting out. Freshened up, he had returned to his cell to have Micky come bursting in. Micky seemed overwhelmed with emotion as he threw his arms around Jimin, and Jimin hugged him back equally tightly.

"I'm so sorry, man," Micky burst out. "All because I messed up. I felt so guilty I could barely eat. Look at how much weight I've lost!"

Jimin extricated himself from Micky's embrace and looked the man up and down.

"You don't look like you've lost weight at all," he remarked. "Smooth talker, aren't you?"

"You're obviously just blind!" Micky said, laughing happily as he ruffled Jimin's hair.

A curious phenomenon happened while Jimin chatted with Micky. One inmate after another appeared at the cell to greet Jimin. Some of them he had never met nor talked to before.

"What's going on?" Jimin wondered.

"You got sent into solitary to stick up for a friend," Micky said. "Everyone's just coming by to show their appreciation. They probably also want to catch a glimpse of the guy who beat up Fletcher. You were the talk of the town for a while, you know. That kick – that was just magnificent. Some guys are saying they think you might be a ninja."

Jimin couldn't help but give a wry smile. The rumour of him being a ninja was one thing, but the fight with Fletcher wasn't even something he had planned. It was a little uncomfortable to have people spinning it like a heroic tale.

"I only came in partway through. You're the one who avenged Matthew, Micky."

"But you were the only one who got sent to solitary. I'll repay the debt someday. I promise," said Micky his face set and sincere. He'd always had a strong sense of duty. Since it was almost time for dinner, Micky invited Jimin to head to the cafeteria together.

Inmates continued to greet Jimin there as well. Some silently gave Jimin a firm clap on the shoulder while others welcomed him back with a smile.

"Kinda makes you feel like a hero, huh," Micky teased. Jimin had never felt so sheepishly embarrassed before.

Nathan and V appeared just as they were sitting down.

"Jimin, you were back!" Nathan's face lit up as he approached. Jimin stood up to meet him. Nathan put his tray down before hugging Jimin tightly.

"I'm so relieved to see you looking well. We were all worried and impatient about when you'd get back. Isn't that right, V?" Nathan turned to the man behind him in expectation.

"For sure," V answered brusquely, turning toward Jimin. When their eyes locked, Jimin felt his heart swell with happiness. For a fleeting moment, he though V would hug him like Nathan. But contrary to his expectation, V looked cool and unaffected as he offered his right hand. Jimin couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment at V's usual aloof attitude.

After their handshake, Jimin sat back down. While they ate, Nathan asked about how Jimin how had fared in solitary.

"I thought I was going to lose my mind, being crammed into a shoebox like that," Jimin said. "My old cell felt like heaven. But the guy next to me turned out to be really cool, and we chatted the whole time through the wall when the guard wasn't looking. That kept me pretty distracted."

"That's wonderful to hear," Nathan nodded sincerely. "Solitary confinement is the worst form of abuse in prison. It's a despicable custom left over from the old days. Mental pathologists have acknowledged that being confined alone without human contact results in pathological syndromes. So the fact that you were able to converse with someone, at the least, probably made a huge difference in your mental state."