It’s still the same as the last time.

Cold, eerie and detached.

People lounging about in the lobby with different kinds of expressions—some happy and ecstatic, some crying into their palms, shoulders shaking as loud sobs break from their throats. There are some who look as if they are on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and some who don’t even seem to care. There are those with hopeful looks on their faces, some that has disappointment blatantly displayed.

Hyukjae wonders how he would end up like when he’s done with whatever he needs to do in this building.

He tunes out Sora’s curt exchange with the receptionist, refusing to see those fake smiles that adorn their tinted lips. He allows himself to be led to the elevator, his attempt to ignore his sister’s words failing as they are enveloped by the silence of the enclosed space.

“When is his birthday?”

Hyukjae glances at her, noting her solemn expression. “Fifteenth of October.”

Sora bites her lower lip. “In less than four months, huh.”

They are quiet for a moment.

Hyukjae sincerely has nothing to say. Right now, he wants nothing but to get out of this place, as the growing dread in his stomach churns nauseatingly. He wouldn’t be surprised if he would suddenly feel an urge to throw up. He’s been wanting to do so ever since he saw this building from the cab after all.

“It would be really nice if he really is your soulmate,” Sora muses with a soft sigh.

Finding her statement to be completely contradictory to the other things she has said to him today, Hyukjae narrows his eyes at her. “Even if he isn’t, that wouldn’t make me obey those stupid new laws.”

“Really?” she asks, turning to look at him with skepticism in her eyes. “Are you sure? Would you really be okay with that? Someone else’s name on his skin?”

“Shut up,” Hyukjae growls. The mere thought of it makes his blood boil. It is true that he believed it wouldn’t matter. That he would love Donghae, regardless if he’s his soulmate or not. But when Sora said those words, he just couldn’t help but feel an irrational feeling of anger and possessiveness surging through him. He shakes his head, willing the thoughts away. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t want anyone else.”

“If only it was that easy,” Sora says, a bitter smile gracing her plump lips. She looks like she’s about to say more, but a chiming sound echoes through the small compartment and the metal doors slide open before them.

Hyukjae feels his palms sweat.

“Come on now, Hyukjae,” she says as she leads the way out, and Hyukjae feels as if his knees are about to give up on him. Sora holds him by the sleeve and drags him out gently. “Let’s get this done and over with.”

♦

Much to his horror, and completely unlike his first visit here, there isn’t any queue for the room where he’s supposed to see his results. It’s as if the gods are taunting and mocking him, maybe as an early punishment for his supposed breaking of the new laws.

Sora gives a friendly greeting to the professor waiting inside, as if they are familiar with each other, and if Hyukjae weren’t in his current state, surprise probably would have been painted on his features. But right now, he doesn’t feel anything but raw fear. It makes his throat dry, makes him break into cold sweat despite the air conditioning. He feels almost lightheaded, and he is certain he’s gone as pale as the plain white walls of this building.

The professor takes one look at him and smiles, something that is probably meant to be friendly and nice, but Hyukjae could only see it as something that instills even more fear into him.

“So this is your younger brother?” he says with his deep, raspy voice. “He looks just like you, Sora-yah.”

“I know, we get that a lot,” Sora replies with a small laugh, and Hyukjae wants to punch something because here he is, probably sweating himself to dehydration and teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown, but they are laughing and exchanging ing pleasantries with each other.

Sora turns to look at him, her eyes softening as she sees his face. She steps close to him, placing a comforting hand on Hyukjae’s shoulder before explaining, “Professor Kwon is the same person who gave me the results of my inking. I personally requested for him earlier at the lobby because I believed he would be able to give you some insight.”

Hyukjae wants to scream.

He doesn’t want any ing insight, he just wants to leave.

“Take a seat,” Professor Kwon says, before turning to the bright, wide screen attached to the wall of the small office, his fingers hovering above it as he swipes in some commands. “I have retrieved Hyukjae’s data and uploaded the scan onto the database. Now I’m initializing the search. It may take a while—we’re talking about hundreds and thousands of branches of The Center after all.”

Hyukjae watches the screen with wide, terrified eyes, as he sees the numerous file names appearing and disappearing in the speed of light, along with the long bar that indicates the progress of the search. Three percent, it says. He does not understand what exactly is going on, but he knows there isn’t any turning back now.

“Allow me to explain some things to you, Hyukjae,” Professor Kwon says as he leans against the high chair beside the wide screen. Hyukjae wants to shake his head, to shout at him and tell him to shut up because he doesn’t need any ing explanation, but he finds himself unable to speak.

“You already know the basics about The Center,” the professor starts, an enthusiastic smile on his face. “I’m sure you’ve learned all about it at school. The founding date, and how it expanded from one country to another. But there are quite a lot of things that schools don’t really inform the students about.”

Hyukjae wants him to stop.

“You see, the entire inking process is quite fascinating. So much, that even now, after so many years, it still does not fail to make me feel so blessed and amazed all at the same time,” Professor Kwon says in a wistful tone. “I am sure you know about Old Earth’s history. Back in those days, people fought very often about religion and science. One side could not agree with the other and while in some situations, such disagreements led to tragic circumstances, overall, the worst effect was the lack of unity among humanity.”

Hyukjae wishes it wouldn’t be so rude if he punched this professor because he honestly does not need this right now.

Twenty-seven percent. Why is it so quick?

“Basically, inking is science and religion combined,” the professor continues, unaware of the inner turmoil currently boiling within Hyukjae. “Now what I am going to tell you next isn’t some big secret, but we usually prefer to tell this to our newly inked citizens, rather than have them learn it at school. Because we believe that it would be wonderful for everyone to know how special inking is just when they are close to meeting their soulmates.”

Forty-two percent.

There must be a way for Hyukjae to get out of here. Can’t he just throw up and faint? He feels nauseated after all. That annoying professor’s white lab coat needs a little color.

“The thing about inking is that it is similar to fingerprints and snowflakes,” the professor says, the enthusiasm and glee in his voice making Hyukjae clench his fists much tighter. “Every fingerprint is unique to its owner. And every snowflake has its own original pattern that cannot be seen on another. Inks are exactly like that. Except that instead of being one in a million, there is another ink out there with the exact same pattern as yours. And that is your soulmate’s.”

In another situation, he would have been interested in what he’s talking about.

But it’s at seventy-three percent and Hyukjae is so, so close to screaming. He needs to be out of here. He needs to get out. His fists are shaking and he doesn’t realize he’s biting his lip so hard it’s drawing blood. The nausea is becoming unbearable and the cold sweat layering his skin is making him shudder uncomfortably.

“That is the purpose of the scan you’ve gone through when you first came here,” Professor Kwon says proudly. “It isn’t just to confirm that the inks are not fake and plagiarized or worse, manmade tattoos, but it’s also to scan the unique pattern of your ink. On the outside, they may seem all the same—black, cursive letters of the alphabet. But when you look at it through a microscope, one would see how different they all are. And the only person who shares the same pattern with you is your soulmate! Isn’t that just absolutely wonderful? Knowing that there is someone out there created for you, whose purpose is to love you and to be with you, and on top of it all, they have the blessing of gods, the proof that they are meant for you. They are inked with your name and you share a unique pattern that is ex