(A/N- sorry it took so long for me to post this but I was busy with Christmas and what not. Hope you like it ^o^)

We were going on a road trip! I was so excited, I hadn’t left the TS building in forever. In the middle of class they’d announced we were going on a road trip the next day, and everyone was really excited about it. After class I went to find Yongguk, and even he was excited. Yongguk had to keep telling me to calm down and go to sleep that night, and eventually I managed to drift off.

At least six different people had told me to stand still, but I was so excited to be going outside, and it was really cold, which didn’t help. I sat next to Jongup on the bus, and Yongguk and Himchan sat behind us. Yongguk didn’t like to leave me on my own, and always kept a close eye on me. Everyone kept getting up out of their seats and the officials had to keep telling us to sit down. One of them threatened to taser someone, and everyone calmed down then. It was weird, we drove past lots of fields, but none of them had any animals. I asked Yongguk where all of them were, but he ignored my question, which was even weirder. Eventually we drove into a city. Himchan said that this was the capital of Mato, Matopolis. I wondered if dad was working here somewhere. He’d left our village a few years ago to work in the city. All of us were glued to the windows, looking around in wonder. I’d never left our small village, so I wanted to take in as many of the sights as possible. The bus stopped, and we were all told to get out. All of us got off, the sound of snow crunching beneath our feet. We were told to walk in two’s, and I walked with Yongguk, clutching on to his hand. It was freezing, my breath looked like little clouds. Yongguk pulled me closer to him, trying to keep me warm. Some of the other kids behind us snickered. I loved Yongguk, but sometimes the other kids made fun of me because he kind of treats me like a baby. I turned around and stuck my tongue out at them, but moved away from him slightly.

We’d been walking for about half an hour. Even Yongguk’s teeth were chattering at this point, and my hands, face, and feet had gone numb. I rubbed my nose to try and get some feeling back into it. Then we were told to stop. All of us sighed in relief. I looked around, and at first everything seemed normal. Then I noticed all the broken windows, and smashed cars, and felt like throwing up. There were dead bodies everywhere. Men, women, children, all dead. Some of them looked like they were sleeping, others had missing limbs and blood stained clothes. I saw a boy who looked around my age. It looked like he’d been shot in the head. I closed my eyes, and Yongguk squeezed my hand. He looked composed, but he swallowed audibly. I started shaking again, but this time it wasn’t from the cold.

One of the officials cleared his throat. “These are the remains of a rebellion that took place in the city around a month ago.” I still had my eyes closed. “They wanted food, and resources, so they rebelled. Now do you see why project B.A.P is so important? We can stop these rebellions, save lives, and give them the resources they need, but we’ll need your full co-operation. Some of you have been asking too many questions,” I opened my eyes, and saw that he was glaring at Youngjae. “And some of you have just been too talkative,” he glared at Harry this time. “From now on, anyone who steps out of line will be punished severely.” One of the guards started waving his taser around for added effect, and the guard standing beside him punched him in the arm. We were told to walk again, and they showed us more of the rebellion’s aftermath. I saw a dead woman holding her dead child. Some kids threw up, and others started crying, including me. Yongguk hugged me, and told me it was going to be okay. For the first time in my whole life, I didn’t believe him.

They finally brought us back to the bus. No one said anything on the way back. Even Jongup looked shaken up, and usually nothing fazed him. We were brought to the canteen for food as soon as we got back, but no one really ate much. Even Daehyun just pushed his food around his plate, making it into little mountains and then squashing them. Jongup and Youngjae stared into space with emotionless expressions on their faces. Himchan looked really pale, and Yongguk was doing his best to make me eat something. “Junhong, you have to eat or you’ll feel even worse.” I ate a few mouthfuls, and that seemed to satisfy him. Everyone started shuffling back to their dorms, and we followed.

I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling. I couldn’t sleep. I sat up and looked around, and realised that Himchan was still awake. I went and sat on his bed. He turned over and put his arm around me. I liked Himchan. He was kind, but he didn’t baby me the same way Yongguk did, and he always looked out for me when Yongguk wasn’t around. “I can’t sleep,” I said, wriggling around to make myself comfortable. Himchan laughed. “Me neither. I guess we’re all messed up in the head after today.” I nodded, not really knowing how to respond. He had a habit of sleeping shirtless, and I was distracted by a scar on his chest. “What happened?” I asked. “Want me to tell you a story?” he asked. I nodded again. “Well, before I came here I used to live in an apartment near Matopolis. I lived with my older brother and sister, and my parents. Our house wasn’t very big, so I had to share a room with my sister.” I wasn’t really sure where this story was going, but I listened regardless. “So one day, I decided to play a prank on my sister. I hid in her wardrobe dressed as a woman, and I was supposed to jump out and scare her. So, I jumped out of the wardrobe because I heard a noise, only it was my dad, not my sister. He thought I was a burglar and drop kicked me, and I impaled myself on a toy lying on the floor.” I giggled. I thought there was some kind of epic story behind it, like he fought a wild animal or something. I guess not. He ruffled my hair affectionately. “You’re a good kid. Don’t let the officials scare you, okay?” I nodded. He closed his eyes, and went to sleep. He still had his arm around me, so I snuggled up to him and went to sleep too.

(Yongguk's POV)

Sick bastards. Seeing all those dead people was traumatising for me, what must it have been like for kids like Junhong? There was a really depressing atmosphere from then on. Before, everyone would talk to each other in class, and mess around, but now everyone was really serious, and seemed to drift apart from their friends. I couldn’t wait to get out of here. I’d make them pay somehow. They’d e hundred happy, talented kids into emotionless machines. I told Himchan and the others to try and act like everyone else. I knew that if we continued to look happy, if not slightly traumatised, and hung around like best friends all the time we’d never be picked to be part of the mission. They didn’t want people who were bff’s, they wanted people who would listen to instructions and get the mission done. We acted cold in public, but in our dorm we laughed with each other, told jokes, and were basically like a family. Tuesday night was poker night, Thursday night was pyjama party night, and we’d all sleep together on the floor.

Outside our dorm, I tried up to the principal, Taesong. I didn’t like him. He always came to our classes to watch us and he always had this stupid grin on his face, like he was trying to say, “Yeah, that’s right, work my little squishies.” He did start to grow fond of me though, and sometimes he invited me to his office to talk about stuff, and even gave me stuff to eat and drink. I didn’t particularly enjoy these visits, but I endured it for the guys, especially Junhong. I was going to do whatever I could to get Junhong out of here, and give him a proper life. Taesong tried to get me to tell him stuff, like who was bad in class, and who slacked off on their work, but I was always so vague the information was of no use whatsoever. I was called to his office one day, and came and sat in front of his desk as usual.

“Yongguk, I have important things to discuss.” He slid a cup of steaming liquid in my direction. I started sipping it reluctantly, wondering if he’d poisoned it or something. “I want you to lead Project B.A.P.” This came out of nowhere, and I started choking on my drink. He didn’t stop to see if I was okay though, and kept talking. “You have great leadership skills, and I’m sure leading a team to Earth would be no problem for you.” I finally managed to stop choking. “What if I said no?” He smirked. “Well, let’s just say that a certain someone will find out some information.” I clenched my jaw. I knew exactly what he was talking about. You see, I’d done my best to protect Junhong, and there were certain things I hadn’t told him, even before we came here. When our dad died, I told him he’d gone to work in the city. When our uncle had to go to the army, and we got a letter saying he’d been killed in a battle, I burnt it so he wouldn’t find out. When the animals died, I didn’t have the heart to tell him, because he loves animals so much, so seeing as there weren’t many animals living around us anyway, I just didn’t tell him. Our mum was always busy working, so she didn’t realise he didn’t know. I hated deceiving him, but I wanted him to have a normal childhood, not one filled with sadness and disappointment. “I’ll do it,” I said, clenching my fists. “But you have to let me pick my team.” Taesong paused, then nodded. We shook hands, and he motioned for me to leave. I knew I’d done the right thing. I couldn’t let Junhong know I’d lied to him.