HOYA

I watched as Kairi was let down from the steep path while Woohyun waited below, smiling in relief when she made it safely. My mouth ran dry and I cleared my throat, a strange feeling of bitterness taking over. The training must have tired me.

“What exactly did you see?”

I turned around, joining on the serious discussion. Leeteuk and the seniors were sitting on chairs, surrounding the bonfire as Yoona sat next to L, her arms strongly wrapped around herself. She took in a breath and waited for everyone to settle down. As soon as the last batch of people entered, she stood up.

“Yoona…” L murmured, trying to pull her down. Ignoring his call, Yoona let her arms hang by her sides.

“I can’t be weak right now,” she hissed. “Not when I have this news to bring to you.”

Everyone waited with bated breath. My eyebrows furrowed and I locked my fingers together.

“Remember when we all shifted from Paragon and for a moment, felt like we were the only ones who had the strength to go against Paragon?” Yoona started. “The only ones who felt like we had the willpower to rebel against them.”

“Well, that was all an illusion. Apparently there is a larger and stronger group functioning at a pace faster than ours. They’re going all out, ruthlessly killing important officials. Last night Lee Yong Shin was found dead at the Kangnam underpass.”

A gasp went out and everyone’s head turned to the direction of the sound. I blinked at Kairi, who had slapped her hand against .

“Did you know him?” L asked, narrowing his eyes.

“H-he-he…” Kairi took a deep breath and completed her sentence. “He’s Joon’s father.”

My eyes widened in shock. Yoona shook her head and sighed. “He has a high post, I believe?”

Kairi’s eyes were lost for a second, returning to focus as she realized the different pairs of gazes on her. “Well, yes. I mean, he was not someone like the vice-president or a minister…. But he was a district official and that too---”

“That too,” Amber nodded in agreement, “is a powerful position. Yoona, you sound like you know this group. Who are they?”

“We know them too,” I said. Woohyun shot me a look of warning but I brushed it away. No more time for secrets, I thought and stood up.

“The Others, we had given them this nickname. Not because they were outcasts, but because we were the ones well-known across Paragon. The rebel group that had been underground for long and then suddenly, during a potential ceasefire contract lost it’s important members. We’re smaller in number but we’re in control and we’re highly professional too.

“The Others are rogue warriors. We have licensed weapons in our hands and we’re too, on the wanted list. Just like them. The only difference however is that we’re not going for the kill. Our aim is Avalon. Their aim is assassination.”

“Let’s join forces!” someone shouted. It was probably one of the younger kids. I sighed and shook my head.

“We can’t. We don’t want to. The bigger picture is Avalon.”

“What if Avalon doesn’t exist?”

“It does.” For the first time since our arrival to Paradise, Kairi spoke out loud. She made sure everyone could see her and managed to capture everyone’s attention with her words.

“Recently, during training sessions, I’ve learnt a lot. The truth is, I always had information. It just wasn’t conscious, or maybe they came in the form of eavesdropped conversations that seemed meaningless to me at the time. But the more I think, the more I remember and the more I’m convinced that there certainly is a glitch in Paragon, a glitch that can turn around it’s social inequalities.”

Kairi then looked at Donghae. Taken aback by Kairi’s confident stance, Donghae blinked then nodded. He rubbed his palms together and stood up while Kairi and I sat back. I raised my eyebrows at her, almost as if to say ‘where did that come from?’ Kairi shrugged and expectantly looked up at her teacher.

“Let me pick this up from where Yoona finished.”

“Back when I was a teacher at Yonsei, I had heard of everyone coming together to join In Guk’s plan. The scheme was too perfect, but later we found out that it was too perfect to be true. The candlelight vigil that was supposed to be a peaceful protest became a bloodbath arena and before anyone could say Jack Robinson, the traces of this civil genocide were erased from history.

“But there was someone who survived,” Donghae said, tilting his head uneasily. He paused for a while, creating more tension in the atmosphere. Everyone leaned in forward, waiting for him to continue.

“There was a scrawny little kid,” Donghae murmured, almost as if he was taunting our ability to grasp the incoming information. “A scrawny little kid who headed the Department of Music. He was a genius, a genius whose capabilities had made him a misfit of some sort. Of course, like all music fanatics, the BAP issue and rise of other outspoken musicians being incarcerated was the turning point in his life. His anger was visible and everyone turned to him to head the peace march. The night before the vigil, he had heard of the warning Woohyun and In Guk had sent out. He too had adrenaline in his veins but his mind was in place. He convinced a few kids to stay back with him, kids who wanted to let out their anger that one night. When the youngest of the group persisted and joined the march, he followed him, only to bear witness to horror.

“There’ll be different accounts retelling what happened but since it happened right next to our campus, I ask for your trust to believe me. Believe me, when I say, that it was fast and cruel. At that moment, nothing could make me fear Paragon any less. The sight could have shrunken me into a shell but thanks to a few people present here today, I was able to get myself on track and continue working underground.”

“But that kid…” Donghae shook his head. His eyes were glazed over and for a while, he closed them. Leeteuk placed his hand on his shoulder and Donghae opened his eyes.

“That kid changed. He had seen too much blood that night and he was going to return Paragon what they had given him. He too knew of Avalon, but suddenly, all that mattered was him and his army painting the utopic city red. His ideologies were far more radical than all of us put together. In Guk was more philosophical and rational in his approach and even today, we listen to him in our hearts. But this kid… he wasn’t going to listen to anyone but the ghosts of that night. This was how The Others were created. And it seems that they’re not going to back out anymore.”

When Donghae finished his conversation, my eyes flitted to the first person who crossed my mind. Kairi was sitting on her chair, looking like she had been impaled. There was no colour on her face and a lone tear trailed down her face. Guilt, empathy, frustration, anger, confusion… They all bowed down the tear, making it fall on the lush sand.

“Who was this kid?” Hyosung asked.

Donghae and Yoona exchanged glances. Leeteuk looked away like a disappointed father listening to his son’s truant tales.

It was L who spoke.

“Jiyong,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “Kwon Jiyong.”