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->CHAPTER03<-

“The Gala Revelation”

>OT9<

The truth they seek will be answered.

 

“Ready?”

 

The nine of them were dressed in black satin cocktail dresses intricate with ominous crystal Swarovski beads. The girls were in the beauty department. The place was filled with white bright lights, cosmetics were neatly aligned like those in department stores, mirrors were everywhere, jewelries in different stones and ores were displayed beautifully, and cute bubble high seats were attached on the floor.

“Hm… Let me help you with that.” Yuri offered to Yoona who had a hard time locking a sharp tear drop diamond necklace. “Look, it suits you perfectly...” Yuri whispered to her as she rested her chin onto Yoona’s shoulder and stared into their reflection.

Yoona tilted her head against Yuri. “You know, I don’t know what I’d do without you…”

“Awee…. Jinjja??” Yuri’s heart melted. She wrapped her arms around Yoona’s waist. “You are one special girl to me, and I love you for that…mmmwah!” Yuri smacked her cheek.

She suddenly remembered the first time they kissed at the bathroom the other day. But it didn’t bother her a bit, and little did she know, Yoona was also thinking the same.

The others saw them hugged and all but they did not mind them.

Tiffany who got jealous wanted to receive a hug too, but no one was willing to give her so instead she back hugged Jessica. “SICA MY LOVE SO SWEEEETTTT!!!!” She expressed.

“Aya… Fany-ah!” Jessica said. She almost tripped over her killer heels. “I know you love meee!” Tiffany teased.

Jessica rolled her eyes. “Oh yes, I do… Of course I do my pumpkin.” She said to Tiffany sarcastically. “Now to make yourself useful, zip my dress…”

Taeyeon sighed and shook her head. Children… she thought.

 “Awe… Are you jealous honey??” Sunny asked Taeyeon as she bats her lashes. Taeyeon wrinkled her nose and playfully slap Sunny’s cheek.

 “Not to ruin everything, but do you think we’re free after this??” Sooyoung asked as she slid a lip gloss tube over her delicate pouty lips.

Everyone fell silent. “I have a feeling there’s something trashy going on…” Hyoyeon said as she finished curling her hair. “And they are not good in hiding it because it stinks around…”

“Why are we dressed in matching outfits?” Jessica blurted. “Look, all of us are wearing cocktail dresses in black satin…It’s like we’re going to do a dance number.”

“At least we could spot each other easily…” Seohyun commented. Well, maknae always find the good points in bad situations.

“Hey uhm… listen we found a folder earlier entitled Escapee 2003.” Taeyeon started. She told them what she saw in Je Eun’s office. “There were 5 of them who escaped in that year but I don’t know what happened. They were an inch away to freedom, unfortunately they were unlucky. As punishment, three of them were killed. Guess who was left??”

"Who?"

"Song Hye Kyo and Han Je Eun..."

Everyone looked at each other. Questions started to swarm into their minds. "What if... it happens to us??" Yoona asked. "Wait, so you mean they were once training students like us??"

Taeyeon nodded. “Here.” She took out the piece of paper that looked old and ripped. There were scribbles, notes, and drawing sketches. It was originally attached in the folder escapee 2003.

“OMO… Pabo! If they found out this piece of paper is missing, goodness knows what could happen!” Seohyun said. “I can plot directions for us. We don’t need this.”

“Actually we do… Because we might plot out what they had plot out, and that plan might not work for us anymore because authorities discovered how they escaped…” Jessica explained.

Everyone became speechless. Well… yeah… the ice princess has a point there… “I love our family…” Taeyeon said dreamily.

“WE LOVE YOU TOO OMMA!!” The children said and hugged their Taeyeon omma.

 

“Let’s prepare ladies, we have a gala to attend…and a mentor to visit.”

 

“It’s show time…”

The night was set. The ladies went off to the gala. The event was held in the ballroom hall in one of the buildings in camp. The building was where they usually practice dancing and examinations in mission operations. The place was decorated beautifully that it looked like a luxurious lobby of a five star hotel. The huge chandelier hanged above the ceiling was lit up that night, and it was charming and enchanting indeed.

“Whew… here we go… watch your back babies. We don’t know what could happen tonight. Let’s protect each other and remember the buddy system” Taeyeon alerted.

“Omma…Appa…” Seohyun said as she clings over to Taeyeon and Sunny. “I’ve finished the escape route…”

“Ahh yes. Later we’ll do the operation, but for now we still have an unfinished business to attend, and of course our baby Seo will be with us.” Sunny smiled.

The man who was dressed in tuxedo opened a huge door for them. As they enter the hall, everyone’s eyes turned to them.

“Okay… awkward….” Sooyoung said in a sing song manner.

“Why is everyone staring??” Tiffany asked awkwardly as they walked down a grand stair case. “What is this? Grammy awards night??”

“Grammy awards?? In your dreams!” Jessica snorted as she clings over to Tiffany’s arm. “It’s because we are wearing matching dresses…” she said. She observed that everyone was wearing different dress designs. Some were long, some were short, but compare to the nine of them, they looked different, and somehow they stand out among the crowd.

The girls settled over their assigned table, the servers suddenly circled them and offered them food and drinks. But they refused everything.

“How about tea cakes?” asked the girl.

“No, thank you.” Sooyoung smiled as she shook her head.

“How about wine? Tarts? Cocktail shrimps?”

The girls smiled and refused politely.

As the servers left, the girls started observing people around. They spotted Luna and Victoria who was chatting in the other table, while Nicole and Suzy were laughing, and over a corner Sunhwa and Hyuna stood still beside a woman in her thirties (maybe thirty eight) and she was talking with some people.

There were a lot of people who they aren’t familiar with. There were men and women, some were old and some were in mid- thirties to forties with different cultures and races.

“What is this??” Taeyeon mumbled under her breath. Their eyes were searching and observing their surroundings.

Suddenly Hye Kyo appeared out of the blue, she was also dressed in black satin as if she was one of girls. She looked gorgeous and was like an angel, but is she? Hye Kyo intentionally searched for the girl’s table and once spotted, she walked over to them.

“Ladies, why aren’t you enjoying?” Hye Kyo asked, she was holding a wine glass that was half filled with champagne.

“We’re not really hungry tonight…” Taeyeon answered.

“Not hungry? Hmm…May I?” Hye Kyo asked. The girls nodded. Hye Kyo sat down with them. “So, what are you girls up to tonight?”

“Up to?” Sunny said. “What do you mean?” The girls had an escape plan already, but why is she suspicious.

“Hm… You girls should be roaming around, you know. Do you see those people? The ones who are unfamiliar tonight? They’re bosses. They’re here to pick out potentially talented and good looking girls who could work for them. Your salaries a month could go higher than 500,000 dollars.” Hye Kyo explained as she sips a small amount of champagne. “I believe your friend Sunhwa and Hyuna found someone who’s about to hire them.” She giggled lovingly.

“What kind of job is this?” Jessica asked coldly.

Hye Kyo didn’t answer. She just smiled and winked at Jessica. “You know, to be honest, I find the nine of you cute and talented. Ever since you came to camp, I’ve been eyeing the nine of you. It’s amazing to see how you’ve grown and how tight your bond is, and all of you managed to survive this far…”

“It’s what you call surviving for someone you love…” Yuri said in her most serious tone as she secretly squeezed Yoona’s hand. “If you know what that means.” She glared. Yoona eyed her, she was giving a warning to hold her tongue but Yuri in respond smiled lovingly to her.

Hye Kyo smiled bitterly. Well, never judge someone who you don’t know right? If fighting and surviving for someone you love is the issue, Hye Kyo is the best person to talk to. 

“What do you want from us?” Tiffany asked distantly.

“I have nothing against you, but I just want you to know, I’m a friend. You can trust me.” Hye Kyo said. “I can be your mentor, and with my help you can do things you can’t imagine…I’m the one who picked your dresses by the way.”

“Wow…” Hyoyeon said ironically. “No wonder we match your outfit tonight.”

“Yes, thank you.” Hye Kyo lovingly said. “Many bids have been placed on you the moment you entered the hall, but I’ll make sure we’ll win.” Hye Kyo said. She stood up. “And by the way, the plan you’re planning won’t work, because they’ve closed the route I used six years ago and there’s no way out.” She winked and walked away leaving the piece of tissue napkin she was holding.

Taeyeon was the one who was beside Hye Kyo. The moment she left, the perfume scent of the napkin swirled around Taeyeon’s nose. “Rose scent…”

The girls pursed their lips. “How did she know about it??” Sooyoung asked.

Taeyeon stood up and walked hurriedly over Hye Kyo. She managed to catch up. “How… How did you know??” Taeyeon confronted. “The rose scent was you? So the office is yours? Not Je Eun’s?”

Hye Kyo took an almond tart from the server who was circling. “Good thinking Nancy Drew. My dear, you were not very careful of you actions. You took the piece of paper from that file, and your actions were simply sly and smart, but you need more practice. You have to work cleanly.” She winked. “But your mission operation impressed me that is why I’ve decided to bid on you. You girls are risk takers. I like that.”

“You’re selling us?? Wait, I found my bio-data. Why is my friend’s bio data attached in my folder?” It was the folder she first saw while rummaging the drawers. That was what kept her busy and quiet.

“What is this gala night about then if we’re not going to sell you out?” Hye Kyo giggled. “Exciting isn’t it? Don’t worry, there’s one last challenge before all of you are set free, and like I said. We’ve been eyeing you girls from the very start that’s why we gathered your files.”

“Why did you pick us? Did you know it was so unfair, growing up without the family where we belonged? You stole our life...” Taeyeon emotionally said. “What happened the night you escaped?”

Hye Kyo frowned. She stopped and grabbed Taeyeon out to the veranda.

“Omma…” The girls speak in unison as they saw Hye Kyo drag Taeyeon out.

“OMO…” Sunny said. “Do you think she’ll be fine??” The girls felt scared. “Should I follow??”

Taeyeon signalled them a thumb’s up, meaning she’d be fine. But her children just watched her in fear. In fear if their omma would still come back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the veranda…

 

Hye Kyo suddenly became solemn as she browses the dark sky with only the stars to see. “You weren’t the only ones whose life was stolen…Ours too…The moment I first stepped in this camp, I felt the same way as you did. I found my friends and they somehow became my family just like you kids.”

But then…

“It was a night that we thought nothing else but freedom.

We were just like the nine of you.

Seeking the life outside these high walls…

We were inches away from breathing the air of Seoul.

Or we thought… But we were wrong.

The reason why I told you not to escape is because we are in a segregated island, there’s no way out but up.

We were ready to swim but we were hopeless.

Our commander that time, he was alert that five girls were out of bed, and by the time we were spotted, we were threatened.

I was scared to death.

I defended my girls and Je Eun as well.

She was the eldest among the five of us.

The commander asked who made the plan, and I told the truth that it was me, I was ready to die but seconds later, three of my girls were shot dead, and worst Je Eun and I were separated.

I didn’t know what happened to her that night until the next morning…”

 

Taeyeon stood quiet. “What happened?“

“She was ually harassed…” Hye Kyo became emotional, and Taeyeon was simply stunned that she has a heart. She couldn’t imagine their teacher “slash” commander who’d command the guard men in camp to kill was this soft hearted. “It’s okay. Life is unfair right?” Hye Kyo said bitterly. “That is why I told you to trust me…I know how it feels to see someone you love die in front of you…Je Eun and I can become your allies.”

“But why? I mean how did you end up as a commander? And why did you allow killing the rest of us?

“It wasn’t us… there’s someone who’s higher than us…” She revealed. “Je Eun and I were picked out to be the next commander because we were the first ever who had escaped these walls. But if I were to pick a job, I’d never pick this for a thousand years, but like you, I was also threatened. If you think your lives are at stake here, ours are also. We are just following orders…if not, we’re dead too.”

“What?!” Taeyeon was confused now. The hope she felt vanished just like that. “All these years, we thought you were the one who’s running this hell place…”

“No. That’s why Je Eun and I run away. We don’t watch the gruesome scene.”

Taeyeon suddenly remembered whenever Je Eun commands the guards it was always dismissal time. “But why does this person command you to kill?”

“Mafia Syndicates…I don’t know why, retarded maybe? Psychopath…Bipolar or something? But he kills those who are weak. He picks who will survive and who won’t. To be honest, your group members are sometimes his target, but like Yuri said, it’s surviving for the people you love.” Hye Kyo smirked. “It’s what makes someone strong…”

“How do we survive??”

“You finish your last challenge. Don’t die. After that, you have varieties of jobs that await you, and some of those who survived in the early batch, some of them have families and are quietly living among the society of Korea. Some migrated, some still work with syndicates, and some are agents or spies. Someday you could work as a commander!” Hye Kyo joked aside.

“A commander?!” Taeyeon said shockingly. “No way. No way!”

“Don’t worry, I bet you won’t. Don’t make the same mistakes we did. We still have another ten years of contract.” Hye Kyo said. “After this day, there will be another batch of children ages 9-10 that will be brought here again…”

“WHAT?! Those poor children! HEY! This head of ours is simply retarded! We should stop it… Seriously! Can’t you do anything??”

“I can’t… I just follow orders…I don’t know, I haven’t met him directly, but he has eyes, so that is why I told you, I want to help you.” She said. “I’ll do my best to help the nine of you survive…But for now, don’t escape. There’s no way out but up.”

“How about my friends?” Taeyeon asked. She was referring to Nicole, Sunhwa and the others.

“They have their own people to protect… You have to choose if you want them or your girls.”

Taeyeon felt sorry. But her girls come first, and Hye Kyo is right, they have their own people to protect. “If that’s so… I accept your alliance…I hope we can truly trust you.”

Hye Kyo nodded sincerely. “Yes you can. Your talents won’t be put to waste.”

Taeyeon felt the urge to win and survive the last challenge. After hearing that there will be another set of children to be brought to this hell camp, she wanted them to win and finally set things right and help these children before it’s too late. She started to tear up. For the first time ever, the leader felt weak. She usually was the strong one who guides her friends, but this time she was the weakest link.

“On your last challenge, Je Eun and I will volunteer to coach the nine of you. When the dessert is served you must eat it. Trust me. You’ll just be unconscious but nothing will happen to you.”

“WHAT?! What will happen??”

“Trust me, like I said.”

“Okay… and then what is next?”

“That, you will find out.”

As the night got deeper, the girls became hungrier. They didn’t eat a thing from the night’s food except water. When the apple cream cake came, the girls were truly tempted to eat it. Sooyoung who was drawn to it played with it instead, until she found something.

“OH??” Sooyoung said. She dug the cake using her fingers. “Girls… look…” 

There was a small gorgeous looking envelope that was in the cake. The girls dug their cake and they all found the same. They opened the little letter and together they read out…

“The game starts now…”

“What game??” Yoona asked.

“Let’s enjoy desserts ladies…” Taeyeon suddenly popped out of nowhere.

“Huh??” They asked. “OMMA!! What happened?!?! Tell us!!”

“But we are not supposed to eat anything…” Hyoyeon said.

“Trust me, there’s nothing to be scared of. After desserts we’ll head back to our dorms and then we’re free to go tomorrow. Just like that, Hye Kyo told me.” Taeyeon was turning their whole plan around. It was time to retreat.

Jessica became suspicious. “Huh?? I do not believe this. Just like that??”

“No, seriously.” Taeyeon said. “It’s true. Tomorrow, the winner of the bidding will be the one to have a job. Those who lost will be set free once and for all. It’s like uhm…The winner takes 500,000 dollars a month. Here, I’ll do the tasting first to prove it.” Taeyeon took a fork and scooped a small amount of cream from the cake. Taeyeon surely lied big time.

“I do not believe this whole thing…” Jessica protested. Everyone was having second thoughts.

Taeyeon gave them a serious look.

“AH! Ahraso ahraso, omma.” Sooyoung said. “How about trying it together?”

The girls nodded. Together they scooped themselves a spoonful of cream and ate it. Taeyeon didn’t eat hers just yet. Just like any leader, she wanted to be the last so she could guard her members.

“Mmm… it’s sweet and…” Yuri said, but suddenly she dropped her spoon and held onto her head. “Wha-“

Tiffany’s reaction was the same. “Why do I feel so…”

Spoons and forks clanged and dropped from every table there is inside the hall.

“Omma…I don’t feel so good…my head is spinning…” Hyoyeon said, she stood up and suddenly fell. Taeyeon immediately held her.

“Oh my child.” Taeyeon expressed. She gracefully laid Hyoyeon beside Yuri, Yoona, and Tiffany.

“I’m sorry my babies, but I promise everything will be okay…” She tucked their hair behind their ears as she whispered those words to her friends who passed out.

Jessica fell from her chair and Taeyeon immediately caught her. She laid Jessica beside Seohyun who held out her hand to Taeyeon. “Omm…mmaa…”

“Ahraso…Ahraso… Omma is here.” Taeyeon held onto Seohyun. “You will be fine, I promise…”

And lastly Sunny who peacefully lay beside Seohyun. “I’m sorry guys…” 

Every girl in camp lay insensibly on the ground, even their friends Luna, Victoria, Nicole, Sunhwa, Suzy and Hyuna. Everyone was lifeless, as if they were sleeping seamlessly, and Taeyeon was the only one who was standing. She stared at her friends and kissed them all in their foreheads, and finally it was her turn. Her hand shivered in fear as she took her fork from the table and ate a mouthful of cream cake. Tears rolled down from her eyes as she swallowed hard.

 The sweet taste tingled her bud. *I guess it wasn’t that bad…*

But then her world started to spin and she fell onto the ground.

“And the last thing I saw was Hye Kyo’s silhouette, and everything became pitch black.”

 

->Chapter04: HOOTERS<-

“Survival War”

How do you plan to survive??

What will you do if the person you care dies in front of your eyes?

Can you survive without the people you love beside you?