The First Encounter

“I TOLD YOU TO BURN THOSE FILES!” The employer roared from his black marble desk where he sat behind cross-legged. He calmly tilted his head to the side and gazed into Professor Jung who responded by looking down to avoid any eye contact. The employer closed his eyes then slowly bent his head backwards in a meditative-like manner, the muscles in his jaw tensing as he tried to maintain his composure. “Who took them?”

“I-I don’t know sir, b-but if they're revealed to anyone our cover can be exposed.”

A long and dreadful silence consumed the air. 

“The girl you bumped into on your way back to your office, professor. I think I saw a folder in her bag, but I wasn’t sure then.” The woman pitched in, unable to hide the panic in her almost inaudible voice.

The employer stood up then did up the first button to his orange blazer, the vivid colour of his outfit contrasting with the black furnishing in the oval-shaped room. He heaved a sigh, expressing his impatience at having to repeat himself, “So, who took them?"

“K-Kim Ji Won...we think, S-Sir.” The professor ratted out, fearful of the consequences if he'd failed to answer immediately.

The employer leaned down towards the receiver on his desk and pressed a key. “Send him in.”

Almost instantaneously, the double door to the room slid open and Soo Hyuk entered. The black tiles that floored the spacious interior reflected his footsteps as he walked towards the centre.

“Soo Hyuk will take care of her. Her details please, professor?"

“Kim Ji Won, second year post-graduate veterinary student of Seoul National University.”

Not needing to communicate verbally to convey his intentions, the employer turned to Soo Hyuk who nodded once in response.

“P-please, she’s a student of mine. Police may be able to trace back her disappearance to me if she dies.” Professor Jung selfishly beseeched.

The employer scoffed before his expression turned cold and humourless. “No, kill her. I'll take care of the police.” He said indifferently with a simple wave of his hand and at that, Soo Hyuk exited the room.   

“Sir...we think Soo Hyuk’s mental state is unstable, the drugs we’ve been using to suppress his emotions are beginning to lose effect. Although it’s difficult to predict when, he may become a threat to us.” Professor Jung explained when Soo Hyuk had disappeared.

The employer tsked, “Professor, I will always be one step ahead of everyone else. I already have someone tailing him. If Soo Hyuk does anything out of the ordinary, he certainly won’t be left unharmed.”

“But who, sir.”

The employer's lips pulled into a sinister smirk, “Kim Woo Bin. Remember him, professor?”.

***

Ji Won attempted to rid her mind off any thoughts of the folder, which was within an arm’s reach away on her bed. But incapable of restraining her curiosity, she grabbed the folder and opened it on her desk.

‘Experiment #1: Electric Shock

Subjects will be presented with weapons and confined in a locked cell where they will face other armed subjects. They will be instructed to utilise these weapons as a means to attack and defend. If subjects fail to comply or remain motionless, they will be electrocuted through a computerised control operated by the observers. Once subjects are able to automatically use these weapons when they are accessible, and have received no electric shocks for the duration of the experiment, they are successful.

Experiment #2: Hynopedia/Sleep-Learning

Subjects will undergo mental training by being exposed to a voice during their sleep. The voice will repeat the same passage in a cyclic chant to condition the subjects as emotionless humans. Once the message is engraved into the minds of the subjects, the passage shall be changed. The voice will repeat the following passages:

1. Family. Family is defined as the fundamental social unit consisting of two parents and their children living together. You don’t have a family, and nor will you have one in the future. No mother, no father, no siblings or grandparents. You are alone, and forever will be.

2. Love. Love is defined as an ardent and profound feeling of affection for someone else, but love is an illusion in which you will witness many people around you mistaken as real. Love is definitely not real; it-’ 

Ji Won felt a sharp iciness from an unfamiliar hand abruptly cover , blocking any sound that escaped. She clasped the sturdy arm wrapped around her neck, digging her short nails against the sleeves of the person’s blazer. Exerting all her strength, she struggled to free herself from the unyielding hold on her, but her attempt had no effect. Instead, she glanced upwards, catching a glimpse of the lower half of the person’s face before he forcefully shoved her head back down, almost thumping it against the desk. Ji Won stubbornly looked up again. Unable to speak, she stared at him with beseeching eyes, tears starting to quickly well up, but the gaze that returned hers was one of no mercy.