Chapter 2: Strike The Match

Soojung’s group wakes up early in the morning due to an insistent knock on their dorm’s room. Ilhoon is the one who let the person in, a staff of the Ceremony, who tells them that their leader will be late so they are to go to their scheduled tests on their own. The staff tells them to go to the fourth floor of the Dome and to enter their assigned room.

“There will be a bulletin there.” The staff says. “Just look for your name and you will see which room is yours.”

“It’s too early,” The boy in the next top bunk grumbles. Soojung remembers Ilhoon telling him his name. Jongin.

“Everything here is scheduled.” The staff tells him before leaving.

Jongin murmurs more complaints before climbing down the bed and padding towards the bathroom. They take turns in the shower and when they are all done, they all start to move out of the room. Ilhoon leads the way with Jinri because they are the only ones who paid enough attention to remember the directions. Soojung turns to Jongin, who looks like he’s sleep walking. The boy looks slightly familiar and Soojung racks her brain to figure out where she has seen the boy before.

“Ah, you’re that boy I bumped into yesterday.” Soojung utters. “The rude one.”

Jongin looks at her and then scoffs. “Nice to meet you too.”

“My name is Soojung,”

“Right,” Jongin says. “I’m Jongin.”

And then Jongin walks faster, leaving Soojung walking by herself at the tail of their group. When they arrive at the fourth floor, they all separate to search for their assigned rooms. Soojung finds her name on the bulletin and sees that the room assigned to her is at the end of the hallway. She walks towards it before knocking on the door. A girl dressed in a white uniform opens it for her. She makes Soojung enter the room and instructs her to change her clothes. The girl gives her a sleeveless white shirt and a dark sweat pants, and then she points to a smaller room, telling Soojung to change her clothes there.

Once done, she is taken to see the administrator of the test, who turns out to be a doctor. The doctor is a tall woman with long blonde hair who introduces herself as Jinah. She looks almost as old as Sooyeon. Soojung watches as the doctor attach different colourful wires on her body, all which are connected to the small computer beside her. The computer starts beeping and Soojung sees the pulsing lines on the screen that are in sync with her heartbeat.

“I need you to use the treadmill so we can begin your physical examination.” The doctor says coolly.

She motions towards the treadmill on the other side of the room. Soojung moves to stand over the belt and waits patiently as the doctor start the machine. The treadmill suddenly whirrs into life, the belt starting to move. It starts slow, but moments later it becomes slightly faster, making Soojung go into a slow run. The doctor begins writing down notes as she looks on her computer while her assistant monitors the controls of the treadmill. Soojung runs on the belt for a long time, and she is starting to feel the strain of it in her muscles. Her legs are beginning to feel heavy and her back is already drenched in sweat.

The movement of the belt slows down until it finally stops. Soojung braces herself on the handles of the treadmill, catching her breath. She changes back into her original clothes, leaving the ones given to her on a folded pile on top of one of the chairs. The doctor’s assistant smiles at her gently before giving her a glass of water and Soojung accepts it gratefully, drinking the cool liquid in huge gulps. 

The doctor hums to herself and Soojung turns to her, watching quietly as the doctor mulls over the result of the small exercise on the computer.

“You’re a very healthy young woman,” The doctor’s voice is sweet but her gaze is sharp. The bluish light from the computer that is reflected in her eyes is giving her a strange look. “This exam is for us to check your cardiovascular endurance. This is just initial stuff.” She explains before giving Soojung a small paper. “Written there is the time and room number for your written test later, and then after you finish that you are free.”

Soojung tucks the paper inside her back pocket. “You’re not going to tell me the result?” She asks. The doctor dismisses her assistant, who wordlessly exits the room, before turning to Soojung.

“No.” The doctor says. Her tone of voice reminds Soojung of the old women from the charity house, patronizing and mocking. “You’ll find out the result of all your tests after the ceremony.”

“Then how are we supposed to know if we’re doing well in the tests?” Soojung questions.

She places her empty glass on the doctor’s table, all the while sneaking a glance on the computer. Unfortunately, the doctor sees this and quickly turns the monitor off. Soojung bites her lip as the doctor raise an eyebrow at her.

“You don’t need to do well on the test, my dear.” The doctor says airily. “You just have to finish all of it and let us figure out where to place you. We have been doing this for years so we know what we’re doing.”

“But we won’t even get a say on where we want to be placed?” Soojung says, trying to keep her voice polite. “How do we know if you people will make the right choice?”

The doctor stares at her levelly, smile no longer on her face. She grabs Soojung’s right arm before quickly attaching a metal bracelet on her wrists. There is a series of numbers engraved on it and it lights briefly as the doctor locks the bracelet on Soojung’s wrist. The temporary identification bracelet looks very similar to the real one.

Soojung winces as the doctor’s hold on her arm suddenly tightens. She looks up at the older woman with wide eyes and what she sees frightens her a bit. The doctor’s kohl rimmed eyes are piercing and chilling.

“Do not question the System.”

The doctor then sends her out of the room and Soojung quickly walks towards the elevator, while walking she pulls out the paper the doctor gave her and looks at the words written on it. Her next exam is in three hours, a long wait. She reaches the elevator and Soojung sees a map posted right beside the doors. There is a library located on the second floor and Soojung decides to spend her free time there.

She enters the elevator and pushes the button for the second floor before pressing her back against the wall. Soojung rubs her hand against the slightly reddened skin on her wrist. The doctor’s grip on her had been tight. She will make sure to tell their group’s leader about that once they meet.

The library houses a couple of shelves of books about different topics. Soojung walks through them and looks for any title that might interest her. She starts humming a random tune, something to ease the uncomfortable silence in the library. She reaches one corner of the library and finds a boy seating down on the floor and holding a small book near his face. Soojung wonders how he can read the letters written on it with the book that close to his eyes.

Soojung clears and it startles the boy. He looks up at Soojung in surprise. The boy has pale skin, long limbs, and a hair so blonde it’s almost white, but if you look closely you will see that the undercut is actually black. He stands up and Soojung notices how tall he is.

“Were you looking for this book?” The boy asks politely. His voice is much deeper than what Soojung expects. He lifts the book up and lets its cover face towards Soojung.

Soojung glances at the book and catches its title. A Practical Guide to Medicinal Herbs, it reads. Soojung is quite familiar to medicinal herbs thanks to her mother’s hobby and Soojung finds them quite interesting but she’s not in the mood to read about them right now.

“No,” Soojung murmurs and shakes her head. “I was just browsing through the collection of books here. We don’t really have that much books in Sinukwan so it’s quite fascinating to see so many of it.”

“Well,” The boy’s voice suddenly becomes disdainful. “Back in Kaptan we have more books than food. Unfortunately we still haven’t found out ways on how to eat them.”

Soojung raises an eyebrow. “Sinukwan always provides enough food for everyone.  We make sure of it.”

The boy shakes his head and there’s a small bitter smile on his face. “They don’t reach everyone.” He mutters.

“What do you mean?” Soojung asks slowly. “What do you mean they don’t reach everyone?”

“Let’s not talk about that here,” The boy says in a low voice. He glances around the room and eyes the librarian sitting behind the counter. “I’m sure we’ll have more time to talk about that later on but right now,” He carefully places the book back to the shelf. “I have an exam so I must go.”

“But-” Soojung starts but the boy cuts him off.

“Don’t worry we’ll see each other again soon.” The boy states. He looks so convincing but Soojung cannot figure out why.

He starts walking away, leaving Soojung in between the book shelves. She quickly follows him and clutches the back of his shirt with her hand, stopping him.

“Who are you?” Soojung breathes out.

The boy turns to look at him, a gentle expression on his face.

“I’m Sehun.”

Soojung meets Sehun again on the next day. She finds him hunched over another book and Sooojung quietly sits in front of him, waiting for the boy to notice her presence. When Sehun finally looks up from his book, a startled ‘oh’ comes out of his mouth. Soojung grins at him before asking what book he is reading this time.

Like the first time they met, the boy is reading another book about medicinal plants. Soojung tells him about her mother’s hobby of planting them. Sehun stares at her with eyes full of wonder before bombarding her with questions regarding the plants. Questions which Soojung is glad to answer.

“What about this?” Sehun asks while pointing to another sketch in the book.

They are sitting side by side in between two shelves in the library, the book about medicinal herbs perched on top of Sehun’s lap. Soojung looks at the page where Sehun is pointing and sees a small sketch of a type of herb with broad leaves and bell shaped flowers.

“Does your mother have these?” Sehun asks again.

Soojung shakes her head. “No, I don’t think she does.” She looks closer at the book to make sure. “I haven’t seen anything like that in her garden before.”

“Oh,” Sehun exhales. “This one is good though. It says here that it can heal burns.”

“There are ready made ointments for that.” Soojung says.

“Yes but not everyone has enough money to buy them.” Sehun counters.

Soojung thinks about the many poor children back in Sinukwan. She sighs and realizes that Sehun is right. Soojung looks at the boy beside her, wondering what makes him so interested in this subject.

“Did you want to b transitioned to Cirena?” Soojung asks.

Sehun turns to look at her, confusion evident on his face. “What?”

“You’re very interested in medicine,” Soojung reasons. “Do you want to become a doctor?”

“No,” Sehun snorts. “I have other reasons.”

“Tell me.” Soojung sits up straight, focusing on the boy.

“Uhh, I don’t know...” Sehun says while scratching the back of his head.

Soojung slaps Sehun’s knee, making the boy flinch. “Tell me.”

“Alright! Alright! Jeez,” Sehun wails. He massages his knee before taking deep breath and looking straight at Soojung. “Both my parents died from some kind of disease when I was younger. I just thought that maybe if I know enough about medicinal herbs and can find out a way to get them and plant them in Kaptan then maybe I may be able to prevent that from happening to another kid.”

“But Kaptan’s soil isn’t compatible in planting-” Soojung starts before Sehun cuts her off.

“We’ll cross the bridge when we get there.” Sehun says smugly.

“What?” Soojung deadpans, not understanding what Sehun meant with his words.

“It was something I read from a very old book.” Sehun chuckles. “I thought it sounded cool.”

“You’re so dumb.” Soojung tells Sehun but there is no real bite in her words.

They start laughing and Soojung thinks it’s amazing how despite not knowing Sehun for longer than two days, she still feels a sense of comfort by being near him. It’s like the boy filled up the space that Sooyeon left when she went away.

“I wish I had a sister like you.” Sehun says.

Soojung laughs and Sehun turns to her with a bright smile. “I think you just read my thoughts.”

“Really?” Sehun asks.

“Yeah,” Soojung answers. Then she remembers the conversation the two of them had when they first met. The boy told her that the foods from Sinukwan aren’t reaching everyone. She needs to ask what Sehun meant when he said that.

“Sehun, I need to ask you something.”

The boy smiles again, but this time the action looks like it meant something else. Soojung knows that he undertands where their conversation is going.

“I thought you forgot.” Sehun grumbles.

“You said you’d explain it to me.” Soojung says quietly. “What did you mean when you said that the food provided by my region isn’t reaching everyone?”

Sehun turns his head, looking away from Soojung. “It’s not yet time.”

“But you said-”

Sehun stands up abruptly, not caring about the book that had fallen from his lap to the ground. He swipes a hand through his hair and heaves a deep sigh.

“It’s not yet time.” He repeats before walking away and leaving Soojung behind.

Soojung smothers a yawn as she looks at the man standing in front of her. He introduced himself as the administrator that will serve as their group leader. The man has a very fair skin and soft features. He has wide innocent eyes and Soojung can’t help but think that the man is too young to be an administrator. Soojung wants no more than to fall asleep and forget about what happened with Sehun earlier but this man says that he came with something important so she has no choice but to stay up, at least until the man leaves.

“I’m sorry for coming in so late.” The man says. “I was supposed to come in yesterday but something happened and I got caught up.”

Jinri is sitting on top of her bed with Soojung on her left side. Her head is resting on top of Soojung's shoulder. The two of them were just about to go to sleep when the man knocked at their dorm room. Soojung looks over the other beds in the room, all of which are empty. She realizes that both of the boys in their group haven’t come back yet.

“I promise I’ll be quick.” The man pulls one chair in front of where Soojung and Jinri are sitting.  He sits on the chair and places both of his hands on top of his lap. “My name is Junmyeon.”

“Hello Junmyeon.” Jinri says softly.

Junmyeon smiles at her before continuing. “I’m here to explain some stuff. I am sure you’re already familiar with how the Ceremony works.”

Jinri and Soojung nods at this. They’ve already been through three days of multiple tests for the Ceremony. It was fairly easy to keep up since once one of the tests finishes the administrator for it will give them a piece of paper saying the time and date of their next test. One thing Soojung is still not accustomed with is the metal bracelet around her wrist. She looks at it and frowns.

“Ah right,” Jumyeon says, catching Soojung frowning at her bracelet. He points at it. “Those things are here so we can keep track of where all of you are going and what you are doing.”

Soojung scowls. “I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

Jinri giggles while Junmyeon smiles nervously at Soojung. “It’s so that we’ll know if everyone is following the schedule. So that we can help you all easily in case you have problems.”

“They’re just doing their job Soojung.” Jinri mumbles.

“Also, I need to remind you that the participants of the Ceremony have a curfew, which is at exactly 10 p.m” Junmyeon says seriously. “Sadly, it looks like the other half of this group didn’t know that.”

“Maybe they got lost.” Jinri reasons out.

“Maybe. I should go look for them.” Junmyeon sighs before standing up. “Good night girls. It was nice finally meeting you.”

Junmyeon leaves the dorm and right after that Jinri flops down on her bed, cocooning herself inside her blankets.

“Close the light Soojung.” She grumbles, the sound muffled by the blanket.

Soojung hums, standing up and flicking the switch of the light. Darkness envelops the room and Soojung needs to wait for her eyes to adjust before walking towards her bunk bed. She reaches the ladder and climbs it slowly, carefully so she will not fall. When she reaches the top, she quickly moves under her blanket and rests her back on the soft mattress, sighing contentedly at the feeling of comfort.

She lets the sounds of the crickets outside the window lull her to sleep. Soojung’s eyes closes and slowly she drifts off to dreamland.

Not long after, the door to their dorm room opens and two boys enters. One of them quickly goes to his bed while the other does it more slowly. The first boy falls asleep a few seconds after he drops to his bed. The second one climbs over his and sits down on top of the mattress. He looks over to the other bed opposite him and stares at the girl sleeping on it. He stays like this for a few minutes before deciding to lie down on his side, still facing the sleeping form of the girl. His eyelids feel heavy so he closes them.

Jongin only sleeps when he hears Soojung’s soft snores.

23-04-2243 22:38

This is Jongin, a participant of the Ceremony of Transition. I am a native from the region of Apolaki. Most of us are trained to be fighters even though not all of us will come back to our region.

Anyway, target is sighted.

Mission begins at full moon.

-Jongin

Sup?