Eunbi found out that she was a Renegade when she was 16. 

Before the school-mobile arrived to take her to school that day, Eunbi was watching the news—apparently, some Renegades had led a successful revolution in a neighboring country. It scared Eunbi how human the Renegades looked; it was hard to believe that they were inhumane, barbaric animals. As she entered the mobile, she was surprised to see that no one was there, since her house was the last stop before school. At school, she was informed by a classmate that the tomatoes in yesterday's lunch was spoiled, causing everyone to get food poisoning. The people who were at school that day either did not eat the tomatoes or got sick halfway into the day. Eunbi recalled eating the tomatoes, but even at the end of her day, her insides felt as healthy as ever.

Due to the Renegade revolution that occurred earlier that week, the Vhenian elite committee announced that they would implement a stronger extermination plan against Renegades. Details will be announced throughout the following week, they said. Eunbi did not give the issue a second thought—she believed that the committee would eventually find away to annihilate those horrible, horrible Renegades. 

When Eunbi came home from school, her mother Zilla was exercising with the TV playing in the background. As Eunbi stepped into the house, Zilla offered no more than a curt nod; her mother's indifference was nothing new to Eunbi.  

"This is an ad aired by the Elite Committee...... Please attend to...... As for the concern of...... the Elite Committee assures Vhenia that...... to exterminate the Renegade population, we must...... it is crucial for citizens to understand......"

It was a long, boring ad. Usually, Eunbi would have headed straight to her room, but today, she felt a peculiar, compulsive urge to stay through the entire thing. 

"Finally, let me remind you of the already known attributes of Renegades. They are naturally very intelligent, in most cases even more so than the most intelligent humans. They are also extremely strong, agile, and quick. They seem to possess preeminent athletic ability compared to humans. The new information is as follows: the global union has recently informed us that Renegades are immune to most, if not all, diseases. This information in crucial to identifying Renegades in the future. If you think someone may be a Renegade, please inform your local police bots......"

Although Zilla was not looking at the television, Eunbi could tell that she was attending to the ad quite carefully. Shortly after the ad ended, Zilla ended her workout and stepped right in front of Eunbi, leaving an uncomfortably small distance between the two. Eunbi's intuition told her to flee from the situation, but Zilla's piercing eyes had the effect of gluing Eunbi's feet to the ground. The strange atmosphere made Eunbi feel quite uneasy.

"So, how was your day, Eunbi?"

"I... It was fine."

"How do you feel?"

"F... Fine, I guess."

"I heard that there were spoiled ingredients in your lunch yesterday."

"Yes, the tomatoes... They were spoiled. I didn't have them." Eunbi quickly added the last part, causing Zilla's eyebrows to quirk up.

"I thought you liked them."

"No," Eunbi muttered. It was a lie, and she knew Zilla could see right through her.

"...... I knew your mother. Your mother, as in your actual mother—your gene donor. Joohyun. That was her name. We went to the same school in the lower district back when I was a kid. I remember she only came to school on Day 3's, since she was from the Dregs. That didn't stop her from getting first rank, though. She was very smart, very athletic; just like you—"

"How do you know she's my gene donor?" Eunbi interrupted. "I thought the whole process was confidential."

"Of course, I'm not entirely sure—but that girl looked exactly like you. I still vividly remember that face—every single detail. She had different eyes though; yours must be from your other gene donor. My point is," Zilla paused, smiled slightly, and continued. "that girl was definitely a Renegade. There were rumors, especially since she was a Dregs kid, but no one acted on them. I guess Renegades in lower working districts aren't considered a threat to the Committee. Anyways, she was too smart, too athletic. Never messed up. Ever."

"Just because someone's smart and athletic doesn't mean she's a Renegade." Eunbi spoke confidently, but she could feel her breath hitching. 

"