Technological innovations have sharply advanced over the past millenium. And human intelligence has followed along adeptly.

From the discovery of precious renewable resources to the creation of new atomic structures, civilization has indeed leapt past its expectations.

This is the Year 3033.

The year of flying cars and trains and underwater cities/portals.

The night sky peeked outside the glass window of the terminal, and Kyungsoo rolled up his long sleeved shirt to look at his watch. It was 1:24AM, only a few minutes before he and his eleven other companions were to board the next “flight.”

In this world, flights did not necessarily relate to airplanes. There was also the existence of flying silver trains that s through the sky under the support of thermodynamic jet streams.

However, this world is not like our world. It is an extraordinary world that, from time to time, will defy the law of physics and act with a mind of its own. It is welcomed by many mysterious secrets and sources of unknown magic.

“Oh , I think I left my laptop in the room upstairs..” Kyungsoo barked, his eyes growing to the size of oranges as he looked at the ground where his rolling suit-case was located. 

Kai glanced over his shoulder at his best friend upon hearing his sudden outburst and shook his head while chuckling to himself. “You really never change, Do Kyungsoo. Here, let’s go look for it together.”

Kyungsoo grinned. “Thanks dude.”

The two friends rushed up the flight of stairs, and once Kyungsoo reached the floor above the previous floor, he looked around anxiously for his laptop bag. He bit his lip, fearing that he might have lost his Mac 3000X.

"Oh, there it is." Kyungsoo pointed to a small hallway where adjacent elevators were aligned. Kai gave his friend an incredulous look and then rolled his eyes. "I swear. You never keep track of your stuff." Kai walked over and picked up Kyungsoo's laptop and handed it back to his clumsy friend. "Oh whatever." Kyungsoo shrugged. "You kno-"

"Passengers, please proceed to board Flight X831. I repeat. Flight X831 to HongKong. Thankyou, and we hope you enjoy the evening."

The intercom's noise gradually died.

"We better hurry." Kai eyed his friend, and the two quickly nodded their heads in unison, heading back down the staircase. From the setting of the tall staircase, Kyungsoo saw his other companions wave their hands at him and Kai to hurry up. 

"You guys are going to miss the flight!" Kris's loud, clear voice resonated in the atmosphere. 

Kyungsoo eventually catched up to his friends after grabbing his rolling suitcase, and Kai swiftly tagged along his side, while carrying along his own belongings. The mood was hectic, and the twelve young men were anxious to get back home after one month's worth of vacation.

The group headed through a long, narrow, white tunnel. The only sound heard was the rumbling of wheels against the ground. Everyone seemed quiet. Soon, the boys exited through Portal 16 and arrived at the specific train station where they would be boarding their flight.

The Train consisted of multiple bodies of stations, and a total of 20 portals led to the stations that would lead passengers to their respective boarding "rooms." Once exiting the tunnel into a particular portal, the passengers would then be on the official Train but not in their assigned rooms. The train stations were unique in that silver, glass walls allowed passengers to view the beauty of the sky once flight took place. In addition, the rooms were enormous, and platinum covered the walls, seats, and individual tables. Passengers were also allowed to walk out their rooms during flight, entering a train station, and go to another room.   

"Ah, this is so nice." Kyungsoo sighed in relief as he viewed the relaxing platinum room. He and his other friends shuffled their luggages in an overhead bin and hurried over to the comfortable seats. 

"I never get tired of what the Train offers." Lay chuckled as he sat down in Seat 23, as assigned by his ticket. "I couldn't agree anymore." Baekhyun laughed and slumped back in Seat 21 while Chanyeol shuffled near his friend and opened his laptop to start an action movie. 

"Would you like any refreshments, any snacks, sir?" One of the flight agents bowed at the passengers and smiled.

"Oh I'd like some of you." Chen wriggled his bushy eyebrows, lightly snickering to himself. The agent blushed pink, and Suho gave Chen a dirty look and thumped the boy on the back of his head. "Behave yourself." 

"Yah...hyung." Chen pouted and sulked silently to himself. 

"I apologize on his behalf. A cup of hot green tea would be nice." Suho gently smiled, and the agent bowed her head, delighted to assist her thirsty passengers. 

Kris was busy finishing a report for university while Tao had already dozed off to the calm and quiet atmosphere in the room. The air had a very comfortable scent, and Luhan yawned to himself as he scrolled down his Samsung Galaxy phone while Sehun sat nearby, clinging tightly onto a bear pillow and curiously watching his hyung maneuver the touch-phone. Xiumin quietly toggled the buttons on his phone and listened to the latest music.

Kyungsoo was reading a Food magazine, but his gaze gradually shifted to the starry night that peeked through a glass window from the room. He placed his small fist under his chin and fell into a daydream. 

Life had certainly grown advanced, and humans had been very satisfied by the new technology. But now that everything seemed to have been invented, life was as banal as it had been in the beginning. 

This world was not an ordinary one. There were secrets that it was hiding.

Kyungsoo wondered if one day, he would get the chance to discover these secrets and embark on a meaningful adventure. 

Something that would bring meaning to his advanced, yet mundane life. Anything, honestly.

"Passengers, Flight X831 will leave Sydney, Australia very shortly. Our next stop will be HongKong, China. Please buckle your seat-belts and take heed of the safety instructions if any accidents are to happen on our flight. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the Train Express and its various offers." 

Kyungsoo heard the faint sound of the Train's engine power the air-craft, and soon enough the setting outside the window was no longer encompassed by a group of tall, round edifices.  

---

"Flight X201 to Seoul has been delayed one day. This is absolutely ridiculous." Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms in frustration. Kai patted his friends back for comfort and softly smiled. "We can adjust."

The other ten guys rested on the seats in waiting rooms.

"I'm guessing we'll have to pay for one night's worth of hotel here?" Sehun perked up, and Kris frowned. He really didn't like wasting time, even when the Train had given them money as compensation for the delay.

"Well, we don't have a choice." Chanyeol placed his hands on his knees and huffed. "We'll just have to settle one day."

The other guys murmured to themselves in agitation, but a consensus was eventually reached. 

"Alright, so we'll stay a night at a local hotel. For now, everyone, let's grab some lunch." Kris waved his hand, and the others agreed.

Kyungsoo eyed his golden watch.

The time read 12:45PM.

---

"Good evening and welcome to the Regal Airport Hotel, my guests." 

Kris smiled at the old aged Asian woman at the front desk and handed her the money that the airport had given the group. "All 12 of us will need service."

"Thank-you." The woman lightly bowed her head and called up some of the workers in the hotel to assist the guys with their luggages. 

Kyungsoo looked around the hotel and noticed that although it was a fairly big hotel, there seemed to be no one present. It had a strange aura to it, yet this aura did not alienate Kyungsoo. He felt drawn to it. A scent was lingering.

Kyungsoo blushed upon hearing the sound of his stomach growl, and he awkwardly turned away from the Asian lady who was now staring at him in amusement. "You are hungry, I presume, guest." The woman smiled. "Well you all are in for a treat. The first day of booking, everyone will receive a free dinner." 

"Oh really?" Kris's eyes shined for he was especially hungry. "I'll be sure to tell the others." "Thank you." He nodded courteously, and the Asian lady chuckled to herself.

Meanwhile, Kyungsoo had already situated himself on a couch and reached in his luggage for several protein bars. "These should fill my stomach up for a while." He mumbled to himself and took a huge bite from the chocolate granola bar. He chewed silently to himself and waited patiently as everyone packed their belongings upstairs in adjacent rooms.

"Ah, I'm filling full now." He smiled contently to himself. One of the workers offered to help carry his luggage, and Kyungsoo thanked him for the offer.  

---

"Hey everyone, we should all head down to dinner." Kai tapped on the other guys' doors while Kyungsoo tagged along his side, feeling overly sick from the overconsumption of his stash of protein bars. He didn't feel hungry and wanted to sleep but didn't want to feel left out either.

The remaining ten guys rubbed their eyes. Kyungsoo presumed that most of them had been taking a nap.

"Yeah, I'm starving, yo." Chanyeol rubbed his stomach and brushed the hair out of his face.

"Same." Chen piped up. "Everyone, let's go get some chow."

Kyungsoo reluctantly followed half of his friends down the elevator. The twelve had to take two elevators for risk of excessive weight putting stress on an individual elevator. 

When the doors opened, Kyungsoo and his friends were greeted by a table of foods aligned before them. If it weren't for those granola bars, Kyungsoo would have been drooling, but his appetite was already diminished. He gazed upon the variety of dishes with disdain. But everyone else's appetites were active, and the remaining eleven guys sat down and ravenously dug in.

The Asian lady watched the boys hungrily eat their food, and Kyungsoo noticed a smirk on her face. Before he could dodge her presence, the woman realized that she was being watched by one of the boys who was not eating. She frowned and strolled over to Kyungsoo's side, her hands clutched together.

"You must be extremely hungry. Eat." She gestured to the array of delectable meats, but Kyungsoo felt weak inside. "No..no thanks.."

"Oh, come come eat, don't be shy." The woman snapped her fingers, and her workers took ahold of Kyungsoo and forced him to sit down by the table. Kyungsoo was shocked by their actions, and he fumed a little inside. "Can you not understand that I cannot eat right now?" "I have no appetite." He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at the Asian woman. His other friends were still digging in hungrily.

Suddenly, an extraordinary, frightful thing happened.

Right before Kyungsoo's eyes, he saw each and every one of his friends collapse on the dinner table. Their bodies turned to hard, grey stone. Kyungsoo's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and he snapped his head back to the Asian woman. 

But she had disappeared before his eyes.

"What..what is going on?" He shifted his head around multiple times and closed his eyes, only to reopen them and see that what he had perceived was indeed real. 

His friends had decayed into hard stone.

"I WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GO-."

Before he could continue, he was interrupted by a painful scent that dizzied his senses, knocking him out unconscious.