“Have you tried calling her again?”

“Yes, Yuri I did. She is not answering.”

“God, it’s already past midnight. Where could she be?”

“Calm down, sis. We can’t do anything if we don’t calm down.”

“I know this girl, Tae. This kind of emotional wound, it’ll destroy her.”

The house phone rang.

“I’ll get it. Yuri, you continue trying to call her.”

Yuri nodded and took out her cell phone. She was so worried about this mistress. Yuri too had felt this kind of pain before, a long time ago, and it was overwhelming. Even after so many years, the scar was still there, right in her heart. It never faded.

“YURI!”

“Jesus, sis. What? You scared me!”

“She is in the hospital. She has been in an accident.”

***

“Im Yoona.”

“Im Yoona---Im… Ah there we go. Take the elevator on your right, to the third floor. Then make a right. Room 305,” the receptionist said.

“Thank you.”

…

 “Room 305, room 305, there!”

Yuri barged into the room, worried sick, with Taeyeon following behind. Yoona was lying in a bed; her eyes stared blankly into the ceiling.

“God, Yoona, are you alright? Are you hurt? Wait…w-what’s this? Why are you handcuffed?”

“It’s not her health you need worry about,” an officer said as he walked into the ward with a doctor, “Worry about the young boy she just ran over. Drunk driving eh, miss?”

Yoona didn’t reply and remained expressionless.

“Are you her guardians?”

“Yes sir, I’m Taeyeon and this is my sister, Yuri. Look, there must be some mistake…?”

“She is Im Yoona, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Then there is no mistake. I have a mother and father outside, worried sick for their child in ICU, thanks to this little damsel here.”

“So far, there is no major injury to this girl,” the doctor started, “I may have to check for a concussion though. Other than that, her health is the least of our concerns.”

***

Two weeks later and the trials had commenced. Apparently drunk driving coupled with a dead young boy aftermath made the judge her worst enemy. It was bad enough that she was sentenced to two years in juvenile prison, now she was being sued of everything she had and inherited. She was held in the lockup for the entirety of the duration up till the trial; now whatever hopes of seeing broad daylight freely can be forgotten for the next couple of years.

***

“Ma’am, how are you?”

Yoona remained silent and didn’t bother making eye contact.

Yuri cleared , “Well, uh…they only let one of us in, Taeyeon is waiting outside, right there,” Yuri pointed.

“They are letting you keep the house but whatever inside, furniture, antiques, jewelries will all be sold and whatever value obtained will be passed to the victim’s family. It’ll be stripped bare.”

Yuri paused and stared into the mistress’s eyes.

“Ma’am, please say something. We have more urgent things to talk about now. For crying out loud, you are going to prison tomorrow!”

“I can handle myself.”

Yuri sighed and cupped .

“Alright, ma’am, since you don’t want to say anything to me, I have another thing to tell you. I wanted to break the news at a better time but time is not in our favour. My sister and I…we-we are leaving, ma’am, tomorrow. We have nowhere to stay here anymore. We are going back to Korea, back to Taeyeon’s place.”

Yuri awaited a reply or at least a response but only silence greeted her.

“Time’s up ladies. Sorry. You have to go,” the guard told them.

She took a deep breath.

“Goodbye, ma’am,” Yuri stared at Yoona in the eye for one last time before she touched the latter’s hand gently and walked off with the guard.

***

It was dusk. Yoona stared out of the rear view mirror into the morning sky as the police car drove into the penitentiary. She was already dressed into the orange jumpsuit, hands tied behind her back as she stepped out into the unfamiliar grounds for the first time. On the contrary to prisons in movies, with loud riot sounds and screams, this was dead silent. Their footsteps echoed as they entered the infamous building. Jensen Juvenile Penitentiary. Home of broken dreams.

It was gigantic, split into many sections. Yoona was assigned into Section C, which was also tremendously huge on its own. It had three floors; the cells on the left were odd numbered whilst the ones on the right were even. Each floor must have had at least fifty cells averagely, and one cell houses two inmates. This was like a collection of the rotten.

Cell C75 on the second floor. That will be Yoona’s home for a couple of years. The cell was ridiculously small, like the size of her bathroom back at the mansion, and it consists only of a bunk bed, a sink and a toilet. As the bars locked behind her, she stared at the top bunk. Taken. Typical. She rested her stuff at the lower bed and lied down.

There were so many things running through her heart and mind that they went blank. She didn’t know what to think anymore. She was a murderer, be it intent or accidental, it doesn’t matter. She killed a boy. But her feelings were numb. Was she crazy? She didn’t know.

“Hello there,” a girl leaned over the upper bed.

“Leave me alone.”

“Ah, feisty little one, aren’t you. Admirable, but sadly mistaken. You won’t last long in here if you are a lone wolf.”

“I’m not here to make friends.”

“Mmmm, not your choice though. This place? It’s a jungle. There are food webs around us. Prey or be preyed upon. You’re gonna need my help.”

Yoona scoffed and covered her face with her pillow.

“Wow. Stubborn and delusional. Possibly too stupid for your own good. Fantastic. You should be so unlucky to be here. You do know the stuff they say about this place, do you?”

“Damn it, can you please shut up? I want some peace right now.”

“Suit yourself princess.”

The girl disappeared from view.

***

Yoona stared into space. She lied on her bed the whole morning, not that there was much of an alternative to do in that box of a cell. Her cellmate was leaning against the bars with her arms jutting out.

“HEY! GUARDS! IT’S ALREADY ELEVEN THIRTY! IT’S LUNCHTIME! LET US OUT!” she screamed.

“THANK YOU, TIFFANY! US GUARDS CAN NEVER KEEP UP WITH TIME!” a voice mocked in return.

“Bastards,” Tiffany cursed and turned around, “Oh! The prodigal cellmate is awake!”

“Tiffany huh. I’m Yoona.”

“Ah, warming up to me now, are you not?”

“Make no mistake. We are not friends.”

“Pity. You could use one,” Tiffany stared at her, “You know, you are awfully calm considering whatever you have done to land in here. You don’t look like a born-psychopath either. Don’t worry. It’s the shock. It’ll wear off soon enough. Tears will follow after.”

“You don’t know a thing about me.”

Tiffany sat next to Yoona on her bed, which made the latter a little uncomfortable.

“Little girl, I have been here for three years, and I still have two more. I learn stuff alright? And you,” she pointed, “Classic shock syndrome.”

Yoona scoffed. “What the heck did you do to make five years?”

“Well, I stabbed my classmate five times in the face with a blade, nasty stuff, blood and all, before slashing the throat of the teacher who tried to stop me,” she replied with a grin, “Probably would have got life sentence if I wasn’t fifteen back then.”

Yoona stared at her. What the hell.

“You are quite the looker huh. Alright, since this is your first day, it is my obligation to show you around. It’s lunch. Cafeteria ahoy!!!”

“Not now. I rather have my lunch in peace.”

“Still a lone wolf? Not good. Not good.”

Tiffany walked out as soon as the bell rang and the bars opened.

‘No way was I gonna eat with that sick girl,’ Yoona thought. She’s crazy.

***

The queue for food was as bad as back during her boarding school. Everyone had to line up according to their code, and since cellmates have back-to-back pin codes, Yoona was stuck behind Tiffany. Yoona gazed around. The bars welded all around the structure were a constant reminder that her freedom had been revoked. Even the people serving the food looked as if they were ready to bludgeon somebody’s face off. As expected, rights to choose the menu had been forfeited too. Take and go, no questions asked, if you want to keep your face.

Yoona took her tray and sat at a table away from the rest, alone. She didn’t want company. She looked down on her plate, her food looked so miserable that she wouldn’t call it consumables, much less food. She lost whatever appetite she had.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Tiffany whispered in her ear, “Bad idea.”

Yoona ignored her.

“Girl, eating alone, you are like a lamb away from its herd. The lions will come. And when they do, the other sheep will just sit and watch…”

Tiffany gave a tap on her shoulder and walked off to join the other group.