All around the gym, the audience went wild as Minghao jumped up and down like a victorious small child. His smile was bright and his eyes lit up like he was on a candy-high. Despite him beating me only moments ago, I can’t be mad at him. The point of this battle was to test our abilities of adaptability. I have to admit, I did better than I thought I would. Truth is, Minghao is just better at adapting than I am.

“That was fun,” Minghao’s hand extended out, reaching for a handshake. “Don’t be too mad at me.”

“I’m not upset at the slightest; you beat me fair and square.” I took his hand and we shook on good terms. The audience roared having witnessed such an amazing battle.

Minghao and I made our way back into the waiting room where we were greeted by an antsy Aubrey. Funny how she was well prepared today and only in a matter of seconds she falls apart. In the corner of the room, Mingyu was looking down at his phone in a concerned manner. Before I could walk over to him, Minghao said his goodbyes and wished me well.

“Up next we have… oh gosh, where did I put the list? Mingyu versus… uh.. How do you pronounce this? You! In the red shirt: is this you?” Aubrey panicked and randomly threw the poor guy into battle. Mingyu made his way to the door and stood next to the guy in the red shirt.

“Good luck—” I wished Mingyu as the door closed behind him and he made his way onto the battle field.

I took a seat in the corner over by where Mingyu was sitting earlier. The ring on my finger didn’t seem to have any affect during the battle between me and Minghao, but that could be because battles in Professor Suarez’s world are only a second long in this world. Perhaps it was why I lost? No, Minghao won fair and square. Maybe I can have Yoolhee analyze the rings contents later, if she is fine with it.

On the chair next to me, a phone vibrated and the screen lit up. Because of the curiosity concealed deep within me, I had no choice but to pick it up and see what goodies the device had in store for me. I knew I was short on time so I quickly picked up the phone and slid the home screen open.

“Don’t bring any guys home. I’m serious, Mingyu. This is your final chance.”

“What do you think you’re doing?” Mingyu snatched his phone back. “Why are you going through my phone?”

I looked up at him to see a new expression on his face. Normally, he’d never get upset. Even that time I didn’t want to show my love and affection for him in public, sure he was mad, but not this mad.

“It was left open and I was going to surprise you with a selfie.” I lied, hoping he’d believe it. He looked down at his phone and back at me, slowly changing his expression to a calmer state.

“I’m sorry. I’m just a little stressed is all. Here, take a cute one.” Mingyu handed me his phone and waited. Did I just lie like a professional just now? I took his phone and clicked on the camera app. His camera was already set on the front camera and I saw myself looking down with a second chin. Eww.. Suddenly, Mingyu’s finger shot down and pressed the capture button, capturing the hideous portrait. “That’s adorable, thanks.” He took his phone back.

“So… how was your battle?” I tried steering the conversation further away from his phone. “Did you win?”

“Yeah.”

Awkward silence occurred between us for a while. The final battles were occurring while we blankly stared away from each other.

“How was your battle?” Mingyu broke the silence.

“I lost against Minghao. It was a LONG battle.” I was thankful we started talking again.

“What? How did you let that thug beat you?” Mingyu turned towards my direction.

I told him about how the conditions of our battle were changed. He told me he had a similar change, except it wasn’t for adaptability; it was for item usage, or something like that. I continued on bragging about how quickly I learned how to use Minghao’s ability and how Minghao did attacks I didn’t think were possible. Overall, Mingyu was happy with how it turned out, despite me not being able to be on the same unit as him.

“By any chance, did you watch the battle at all?” I asked, hoping he was the one inside of my plant heaven.

“No, I was here the entire time. Why?”

“Oh, no reason.”

“WHOO! I WON! IN YOUR FACE, KID-I-DON’T-EVEN-KNOW!” Angel partied all around the room.

“How about we go somewhere.. quieter?” Mingyu took my hand and pulled me out of the room. For a while, we just walked around without speaking. That’s when we bumped into Yoolhee.

“What are you guys doing outside of the gym? You’re supposed to be fighting or watching or whatever losers do.” She crossed her arms like an adult.

“Well what are you doing outside of the gym?” Mingyu shot back.

“Fair point. I guess I’ll be going now.” She started walking away.

“WAIT!” I called out to her, stopping her from going any further. “Can you analyze this ring the principal gave me?” I removed the ring off my finger and passed it over to Yoolhee.

“Looks like a pretty ring to me. Why do I have to analyze this?” She continued searching all over it.

“Must I repeat myself? The principal gave it to me for participating in the contest. I don’t see anybody else wearing a fancy ring.” I said and she agreed.

“Give me like an hour.” She left with the ring.

I know she said it would only take her an hour, and it did, but it felt more like three days. Time really slows down when you are in a hurry. It also slows down when you don’t have anything to talk about with the person you’re waiting with. I’d like to talk to Mingyu but what can I possibly say to him? Oh, hey, Mingyu. What’s up with your father not wanting you to bring home any more dudes? How many were there before me? I CAN’T DO THAT! That’s rude and I’d like to stay on good terms with him. Hopefully, it’ll never show up.

“It’s enchanted.” Yoolhee threw the ring at me and I caught it before it could smack me in the face. “Nothing bad though. Think of it like a ring of restriction.”

“It prevents me from using my power? Seems bad to me.” I turned the ring and stared at the stone embedded in it.

“More like: stop you from losing control.” Yoolhee placed her back up against the wall and stuck her hand out.

“You want me to pay you?”

“Just because we’re on the same team doesn’t mean I work for free.” She waited for payment.

Mingyu, like the gentleman he is, stood up and took out his wallet. I would have stopped him but let’s be real: I’m broke. Besides, didn’t I overhear something about Mingyu being extremely rich? Or was that just a dream? Sometimes I get reality mixed up.

Just as he took out some money, the lights began to flicker throughout the corridor. Not long after, there was a slight vibrating feeling underneath my feet. Cracks began forming along the walls, dropping pieces of plaster onto the marble flooring. Light bulbs exploded as the cracks split in between them. By this time, the ground was shaking like crazy. If I were a scientist, I’d place this as a 10 on the Richter scale. The lights shut off completely and it was silent for a second. Then, the emergency lights kicked on and a loud siren went off.

“BraC3 URs3lf 4 wa7. Ev3rYb0dy tHa7 is caPAb13 of MoV1ng, pl3ase Pr3pare 4 ba77le.” The principal spoke through the loud speaker. “Sp3cia7 Un1t, to the 0f2Ic3.”

“Well, that was a crazy—” The sensation of falling stopped Mingyu from finishing his sentence. The entire Institute sunk into the earth below it. Natural lighting from the ceilings was covered with fresh soil. In some places, the glass shattered, allowing dirt to slowly spill into the school.

The impact didn’t hurt much. At worst, it felt like falling out of bed. Anybody that was on the stairs at the time might have had it worse.

“Did the speaker say ‘everybody that is capable of moving’? or did I hear incorrectly?” Yoolhee got off of her but and rubbed her head.

“It’s probably people who stayed in the gym to watch the fights.” Mingyu sat on the floor, not wanting to get up. “They probably had rocks fall onto them.”

“That’s just about everybody but us.” Yoolhee stomped her foot onto the ground. “Well, you heard her. We all have different places to go. I’ll see you guys around. Promise me you’ll stay alive.”

“Promise.” Mingyu and I spoke in unison.

With that being said, Yoolhee went to find the intelligence unit, Mingyu went to the office for the Special Unit, and I had a choice to make. On the day the principal assigned us units, she assigned me the freedom to choose. I could join up with Yoolhee in intelligence, but then I wouldn’t feel like I’m helping. I wish I could join up with Mingyu in the special unit, but I didn’t win my battle and I doubt I could join that one. That leaves Medical and Martial. Medical would mean I help heal the injured, which could be a good thing due to the fact that plants can be used to heal the sick, or in this case injured. Martial would mean I fight off whatever my father has to offer and I have the chance to punch him in the face. I think I know what I’m going to do.

Questions:

Who do you think is injured?

What do you think the special unit does?

What unit will Wonwoo choose?