𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐙)

2

Track 1. Bea Miller: Playground

Society Delinquent. "Delinquent Society - Road Rage (Official Lyric Video)". Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 20th Jan. 2020. Web. 1st April. 2020.

(If you haven't, watch Arcane. It's on Netflix, please watch it, you will not regret it, it's one of those shows that have every. aspect. right. All the way down to its amazing soundtrack.)

***

"Open wide."

I wince in pain as the doctor spreads open the cheeks and shoves his gloved finger into my orifice.

"Alright all clear."

Within seconds I yank my boxers and pants up.

He moves on to the next guy and does the same procedure. Much to my horror, a lube drenched bag of cigarettes is pulled out of his hole.

"How the hell do some of y'all put that in there?" His face was disgusted but was rather calm.

"...Lube..."

This procedure endured for the next 30 minutes.

Then we received our uniforms which consisted of a pair of white underwear and a white buttoned cotton shirt with pants. There was a yellow name tag on left breast pocket's center. It read "KIM HONGJOONG" in black letters. But why were majority of the criminal's name tags white? My name tag was yellow.

I had zero time to ask because we were prohibited to talk. The juveniles rode a bus to Incheon Airport in handcuffed wrists and ankles while being escorted by police into a private airplane. During the flight a male flight attendant hands us orange juice. When he reaches the end of the hall he says,

"Enjoy it while you can."

And the rest of the flight was conducted in brooding silence. The plane starts descending and I start feeling fright. My palms become sweaty and lips start to tremble. Looking around, most passengers have similar reactions while a handful remain composed.

During the bus ride, all I could do was stare into Jeju's green fields and the serene ocean.

The bus screeches to a halt. We fall into two lines and trudged through a gigantic gray facade decorated with steel barbed wire. Criminals turned right and walked between tattered pale walls and stopped at an office. Then each individual was given a box and was escorted to their cells.

I waited and waited and waited until my name called last. They gave me the box while a guard guided me to my cell. The box held an extra set of the uniform, underwear, a roll of toilet paper, plastic chopsticks and spoon, a cup, detergent, and a towel.

Glass windows showcased a huge field in the middle with concert gray blocks. Behind the gray buildings were gigantic steel walls with barbed wire plastered on the top. Dozens of guards were on surveillance while numerous uniformed boys hung around.

The guard started speaking,
"You only get one set of these," he pointed at the box he was holding, "Your name tag is yellow because of your crime. White symbolizes ordinary crimes which is also the most common crime, yellow is violent crimes and you were charged of attempt of murder which is a violent crime. Orange is any type of murder. Finally red is for crimes related to drugs either manufacturing or selling."

They made a turn to the left, where he saw rows and rows of steel doors with a small glass oval window at the top center. It was impossible to see his prisoners. I continued to walk to a pounding heart.

He spoke once again,
"You can see the crimes are labeled from least to most dangerous."

My reaction garnered a sigh. Back then I didn't understand how drugs were more dangerous than murder.