Red and Gin found themselves assigned to the corner bunk.

Just to reach it, they had to squeeze through a narrow aisle between rows of bunk beds. From the sheer number of beds packed into the room, it was obvious there were far more people than the space was meant to hold.

"How can people even breathe in here?" Gin whispered, fanning himself as he looked around. "This is worse than prison, isn’t it? There isn’t even a proper ventilation system."

Red didn’t answer. Instead, he silently observed everyone around them. A few people were asleep on their bunks. Some talked quietly among themselves, while others passed the time with a game of cards.

"Red—"

"Shut the fuck up!"

Suddenly, a man sleeping on the bunk beside them shouted. He pulled the small towel off his face and turned toward them, glaring at Red and Gin.

"Hey, can’t you see someone’s trying to sleep here? Damn it. You keep buzzing like a couple of fucking bees." He clicked his tongue and groaned as he sat up. "Fuck. Now I can’t sleep."

He ruffled his hair in irritation before swinging his legs off the bunk.

Gin lowered his head slightly while Red’s frown deepened.

Red had already been pissed off after the guard on the bus shoved Gin to the ground. Now, this man seemed eager to add himself to the list.

"Red." Gin leaned toward him. "Calm down. He’s... he’s not one of them."

Gin shifted his gaze back to the man and let out a quiet sigh.

The man was rude, but Gin supposed he had every right to be irritated. Gin already knew he wouldn’t survive a single night in this place because of the living conditions alone. So, he could understand why someone who had been trapped here for so long would lose his temper after having his sleep disturbed.

Good thing they had no intention of staying that long.

When the irritated man looked up again, his eyes swept over Red and Gin before moving to the other unfamiliar faces crammed into the bunks.

"Fuck," he muttered before raising his voice. "Old Fool! What the hell are these fuckers doing here?!"

Gin frowned while Red narrowed his eyes. Around them, the other recruits instinctively stiffened.

Was this how the bullying started?

In a place like this, it wouldn’t be surprising if the prisoners had already formed their own hierarchy. And judging by the man’s build and confidence, he certainly looked like someone near the top.

"Fucki—" The man climbed to his feet and shoved his way through the aisle. "Hey, Fool! What the—"

"Stop it, Charm," one of the men playing cards called lazily. "As if it’s the old man’s fault these guys ended up here."

Charm ignored him.

He walked over to Old Fool and Caspi, who were tending to several injured prisoners. The moment he saw the patients, his face twisted in disgust.

"They came in today too?" Charm scoffed.

Neither Old Fool nor Caspi acknowledged him.

Charm hissed through his teeth and planted his hands on his hips before glaring toward the massive steel doors.

"Those motherfuckers told us we wouldn’t need more people if we doubled our workload," he growled. "Now they’re still stuffing more people into this fucking shithole... and they’re even sending injured ones?"

His fists clenched. "I’m going to fucking kill at least one of them today!"

He stormed toward the exit.

As if they had expected this, several men lounging on their bunks immediately jumped up and tackled him before he could reach the door.

"Charm, get a fucking hold of yourself!"

"Why the hell would you believe they’d keep their word? Are you dumb for real?!"

"Calm down! Do you want all of us to be set on fire?"

Watching the chaos unfold, the recruits—including Red and Gin—could only stare.

A moment ago, they had assumed Charm was about to make their lives miserable.

Instead...

"What does that mean?" Gin blurted out.

A man reading a book a few bunks away answered without even looking up.

"Charm made a deal with the big boss," he said flatly. "They promised that if all of us doubled our production, they wouldn’t bring in more people. That idiot believed them, so he pushed everyone here to work themselves to the bone."

Only then did he lift his eyes toward the new recruits.

"Obviously, they never intended to keep that promise." He shrugged. "And now you’re here."

He returned to his book. "Welcome to hell."

Gin blinked. He didn’t need to hear anything else to understand. His gaze shifted to the men pinning Charm to the floor while the latter continued crawling forward, spewing every profanity he knew.

"I’m going to fucking kill them!"

"Just one! Let me kill just one of them!"

A small smile tugged at Gin’s lips.

The sight of everyone desperately trying to restrain Charm somehow added a sliver of warmth to this grim, suffocating place.

But only a sliver.

It wasn’t nearly enough to make anyone forget the hell they were living in.

Even as victims... they’re still fighting back in whatever way they can.

Gin let out a shallow sigh.

I don’t know whether to smile... or feel sorry for them.

He lowered his head.

This place was revolting.

He had barely seen anything, yet he already felt suffocated—by the cramped space, the stench, the heat, and the oppressive humidity that clung to every breath.

He was just about to climb down from the bunk to get a breath of fresh air when Red suddenly stood.

"Huh?" Gin looked up. "Red?"

Without a word, Red walked toward the struggling group.

Charm, still crawling despite the men on top of him, stopped the moment Red stepped into his path.

"Hm?" Charm looked up, meeting a pair of icy crimson eyes.

The men restraining him also paused, confused.

Across the warehouse, everyone—including Old Fool and Caspi—gradually stopped what they were doing and turned toward the recruit with deep red hair.

Red looked down at Charm for a long moment. Then he asked, his voice calm and unwavering.

"Do you really want to kill them?"