For every step he took, he could hear pained groans and whimpers. Despite casually strolling past every cell, the prisoners could feel an intense bloodlust surrounding him and shut their eyes in trepidation. They lowered their heads to the bloodied concrete floor as a sign of greeting. The male scoffed and continued walking ahead with his head held high, ignoring the prisoners. Reaching the end of the corridor, he made a sharp turn before climbing a flight of spiral stairs which led him to a cell isolated from the rest. A young adult, not looking any older than twenty years old laid on the floor, too exhausted to move. However, sensing the other presence of his enemy, he growled.

"Byun Baekhyun. I see you finally came to visit me." The prisoner taunted as his hooded eyes flew to the guards that accompanied him. "Were you perhaps too scared to come alone?" 

Not in the mood for jokes, the black haired male squatted down, eyes piercing into the prisoner's soul. "Where is your base?" 

The young injured male glared at Baekhyun before laughing maniacally. "You're straightforward." 

"Don't make me wipe out your gang and family after finding them." Baekhyun threatened, eyes slowing turning into a dark shade of red. 

Feeling a sudden excruciating pain spreading through his body, the prisoner bit his dry and cracked lips to try to suppress it. "Even if you torture me to death, I will never reveal my base whereabouts, and neither will you find my family!" 

"Fine by me," Baekhyun reached out and gripped his face tightly, nails sinking painfully into the prisoner's skin. "Listen carefully; I will find them and make them pay for your crimes. I heard you have two gorgeous sisters right?" 

Coughing out blood, he wiped the blood off his lips with the back of his hand. "Don't you think about laying your dirty hands on them!" 

Baekhyun roughly threw the prisoner's head back and stood up, dusting his hands in the process. "Kim Sun Jin, don't forget my words. I will find them and make them pay your crimes back ten times harder. So just watch in agony."  

The guard next to Baekhyun glanced at his watch before clearing his throat. "Sir, it's time for you to head back to headquarters. The others are awaiting your orders." 

"Gag him and tie him up. If he refused to cooperate, toss him into the lion pit." Baekhyun ordered. 

The guard nodded and followed behind as Baekhyun made his way down the stairs. 

"You'll pay for your crimes!" 

Smirking to himself, Baekhyun chuckled quietly. "We'll see about that." 

After exiting the foul smelling and cramped prison, Baekhyun took in a deep breath of fresh air. "Have you found the girl?" 

"Yes." 

"Good. You shall atone for your brother's mistake then." Baekhyun whispered. 

Pushing her brown hair back, Seon sat in her seat, attempting to stay awake. 

"Kim Seon! Don't you dare to doze off during my lecture." The short and stubby female teacher with her hair tied in a high pony scowled.

Seon cracked an eye open lazily, unwilling to sit up straight. Even though her classmates had their attention on her, Seon continued to lay her head on the table. 

"Miss Kim! Do I have to-" The incessant ringing of the bell cut off Mrs Park's words.

Standing up from her seat, Seon swings her back over her shoulder before leaving the class, unfazed by Mrs Park's high pitched yelling and screeching directed at her. Just as Seon stepped out of the stuffy classroom, a weight almost knocked the air out of her lungs. "Yah! Are you trying to kill me?" 

Giggling like a child, Soomin shook her head. "It's my new way of greeting you! How do you like it?" 

"Not a fan of your new greeting style. Can't you just greet me for once normally?" Seon grumbled. 

"Come on, if I wouldn't greet you if you were normal." Soomin joked. 

Seon faked a hurt expression while dramatically clutching her chest. "That's not very nice of you." 

As the two girls were joking around with one another, two pairs of eyes followed their every move. 

"Which one is the one that Baekhyun is after?" 

The orange hair male narrowed his eyes and shrugged his broad shoulders. "Just pick one." 

The elder one slapped the orange haired male's biceps. "You're just asking for more trouble Sehun." 

"I didn't join EXO to find girls for hyung to woo." 

Reaching the end of the street, Soomin bade goodbye to Seon. "I guess I'll see you at the venue later?" 

Seon knew Soomin too well. Usually, when the both of them reached a point where they go their ways, Soomin would bid goodbye cheerily with a smile on her face but today was different. Maybe it was because the next time they meet, it would be at the venue, on stage as rivals and no longer as friends. Sensing Soomin's reluctance, Seon smiled softly. 

"I hope that even if we are going up against each other, we can still be friends." 

Soomin held back her eyes and nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! Our friendship is not something can be easily destroyed." 

"Then all the best for tomorrow then. Believe in yourself and stay confident!" Seon did a 'fighting' hand sign. 

"You too!" 

By the time Seon reached home, her family were having tea. 

"I'm home." 

No one replied her. Seon had no idea why she continues to greet her family even though they practically treat her like she's invisible. She remembered how her brother would always be the one to greet first. He was the only one that acknowledges her in the entire family. Now that he is with his gang, the house felt emptier than usual. Seon shuffled past her parents and sister at the table, heading up the stairs. 

"Go and pack your things for the selection. We will be leaving in two hours time." Mr Kim sipped on his coffee. 

"I have already packed!" Yuki, Seon's sister answered. 

her hair lovingly, Mrs Kim cooed. "So efficient! I am sure that any gang that chooses you are the lucky ones." 

As much as Seon tries to ignore the scene ongoing behind her, she can't help but feel a tinge of jealousy and envy. For the eighteen years, her parents never once looked at her with love or pride in their eyes. Heck, they did not even communicate with her unless they have to. Seon grew up without any 'I love you.', 'How's school?'  or 'That's our girl!'. Her brother, Sun Jin was not the best brother, but he was better than her parents and Yuki. 

"You heard your sister so hurry up and get your things packed. I don't want to waste my time waiting." Mr Kim rushed Seon.  

Seon rolled her eyes. "I've packed too. I just need to grab some things, and we can leave." 

Not waiting for Mr Kim to complete his sentence, Seon trudged up the stairs. Upon reaching her room, Seon took a quick shower and changed into a crop top with ripped jeans. She was not the girly type of girl that adore dresses or skirts and hated absolutely anything that had to do with pink and laces. Seon opened her closet, gingerly taking out the two dresses that she was going to wear tomorrow and the day after. After two full rounds of checking, Seon pulled open a hidden cabinet and removed a small bag. She had already prepared a bag with all her important documents and cash inside. There was a fifty percent chance that Seon would be selected as a companion or fail. If it were the first scenario, she would not have to return to a home she dreads. If she failed, she would be able to escape more quickly and start her life anew somewhere far from prying eyes. 

Seon carefully made her way down the stairs, not wanting her carelessness to cause the luggage to tumble down the stairs. Hearing soft footsteps padding across the wooden floor, Mr Kim looked away from the television. 

"Your clothes seem inappropriate for the event." 

Seon cleared . "So miniskirts are appropriate?" 

Mr Kim glanced over at Yuki, noticing her short skirt. "What I am saying is-" 

"That you're biased to your first daughter." 

"Seon!" 

Before Mr Kim could rage at Seon, Mrs Kim stepped in. "Let's go before we are late."

Once everyone took their place at the table, Baekhyun got the ball rolling. "That brat decided to seal his mouth shut about the whereabouts of Hydro."  

"Hydro is one of the most useless gangs in the society. Practically everyone who is in the society long enough knows that they have a bunch of debtors chasing after them." 

"So what's the plan now?"

Sehun who was playing with his coin spoke up. "Hyung is planning to take what's important to Hydro and that brat." 

If Sehun did not have everyone's attention before, he surely did have them now. 

"What are we going to do with her? Sell her away to get the money we loaned them back? I doubt she's worth more than two million won." 

"No," Baekhyun paused for a moment, playing with his earring. "We take her in as a companion." 

A male with plump lips and owl-like eyes broke into laughter. "That's smart. Since Hydro cares about her well-being, they will  have no choice but to show up." 

"He has two sisters, which one are we suppose to take?" 

Baekhyun's lips curled into a sinister smile. "Kim Seon." 

The entire car ride to the stadium was hushed. Tension lingered in the air making Seon slightly uncomfortable. No one initiated to start a conversation, not even the talkative Yuki. Usually, the car would be noisy, but today it was different. Perhaps both Mr and Mrs Kim knew that their daughters would be unable to return home to visit often and are worried that their daughters will be unfairly treated in the gang. The government states that once a gang chooses a girl, she would have to live with them. Ultimately, they decide whether the girl is allowed to return. The majority of the gangs banned the girls from visiting. There were also stories that girls have were abused and treated like a slave by the gangs. In some cases, girls die due to them deprived of food and water. 

"Will Hydro be there this year?" Mr Kim finally broke the tension lingering in the air. 

Yuki shrugged. "I heard that they might not be able to attend." 

Once Mr Kim parked the car, Seon and Yuki got out of the car and retrieved their luggage. At the same time, the security walked over. 

"Good evening, I will be bringing your daughters to their respective holding rooms." She explained. 

"So are we allowed to follow them?" 

The security shook her head. "Parents are strictly not allowed to go beyond the car park." 

"Can we say goodbye to them at least?" Mrs Kim pleaded. 

"No," The in-charge rejected. "Bring the girls to their room immediately." 

"Yes, sir." The security ushered the two girls away from their parents. 

Yuki looked like she wanted to open to say something to her parents. Seon, on the other hand, did not turn her head back once. Her parents never really cared about her anyway. 
Mrs Kim tried to move past the security, but Mr Kim held her back. 

"Let's go." 

"But my daughters-" 

"They will be alright." The in-charge assure. 

Sighing deeply, Mrs Kim glanced once more at the two diminishing figures.

Upon entering the building, the two girls saw four distinct group of girls in the grand lobby. The security that brought Seon and Yuki had split them up. Seon was sorted into the first group while Yuki was in the third group. The security got the girls to settle down and marked their attendance. Once everyone was present, the overall in-charge of the selection briefed the candidates. 

"Good evening to all of you here. I am the co founder of The Selection, but you may address me as Miss Shin. To make it this far is not an easy journey but persevere on and you will find your dreams coming true. Moving on, I will be briefing you all on the schedule tonight. There will be three rounds of rehearsal before dinner. After dinner, you girls are free to wash up and sleep. But do not worry, each of you is allocated a room. Understood?" 

"Yes." All the candidates answered back. 

"Good," Miss Shin clapped her hands twice, signalling for the security to step forward. "Now follow them as they will lead you to your rooms. Please report to the stadium at seven sharp. Anyone late will be punished." 

As Seon's group starts to move towards the lift area, she felt eyes glaring at her. She knew this feeling too well. It signalled the start of the competition. 

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Author's note:  

Hello there! I actually wanted to continue writing but due to time constraint and the amount of homework I have, I had to end the chapter so quickly. I'll try to write more in the next chapter. Please remember to subscribe and upvote if you liked the story so far! A comment would be nice too. :)