YOONA

It had been two nights since I took on the identity of Eve Iwasaki, a high-class or as Paragon would name it, 'pleasure agent'. I had only heard about this new title about sixteen hours ago, when Eun Seo had warned me of a particular young man by the name of Shin.

"If I were you," she had said, while I watched her scrub the bar table and flip the stools upright, "I would stick with your current guest. Daehyun is arrogant, I know. They all are. But he also seems to be a bit protective of you. That's a rarity and I would hold something like that close to my chest."

"So what's the deal with this Shin?" I asked, tipping the glass of Scotch so that it danced down inside my mouth. "What can a young kid do?"

Eun Seo tutted. "You're a rookie. You need to learn to hold your tongue."

I rolled my eyes and through my contact lenses, embraced the surroundings. Okiya was the most famous nightclub and had always been a little too sophisticated for the impertinent demands of the city punks. It had always been occupied with those who had deep pockets, sometimes as bottomless as the tunnel to Wonderland. Okiya, meaning geisha-house, was one of the first places where a pleasure agent was officiated as a profession. The owner of Okiya, a Korean-Japanese mobster from long ago, had convinced the General that the rich of Paragon needed a little world outside their office desks to help cool themselves off. The term 'pleasure agents' came to be and included not only escorts, but strippers, es (Ambrosia was the classiest brothel in the world; a huge glass building with red and black interiors, standing in between the Itaewon-Jeju metroline) and after a certain extent, musicians and dancers.

Actors refused to be categorized as pleasure agents, but it was deemed appropriate that they not be named so. They were more like the jokers of the court, wearing a different mask now and then. Acting was not so proficient now. The utopic world that people used to seek was now found in reality itself, as the General would assert. Why flock to movie theaters for something we could find everyday? Directors and producers did not have much space for creativity either. Apart from the regular propaganda parade, romantic movies were not really popular. Paragon didn't want its people to read between the lines of love, which could distort the 'one Partner only' rule. 

In short, everything was safe inside this massive autocratic bubble. 

I glanced at Eun Seo and tilted my head to one side. "I thought you were going to tell me about Shin."

Eun Seo simply sighed and dropped the wet rag in the trash can. She wiped her hands on the apron and poured herself a Scotch. I hooted a little and she gave me a small smile. 

"There you go girl," I cheered. "Now tell me, why should I stay away from him?"

"His father was the man who started this place," Eun Seo said, peeking into the glass then looking up at the ceiling. "You know what surprises everyone the most? Shin himself hates pleasure agents."

"Little bastard," I muttered. "Being a hypocrite, isn't he?"

Eun Seo furrowed her eyebrows at my words but didn't say anything. "No, his hatred seems sincere. He has a cute girlfriend and they come by often with their friends. But once in a while, when he recognizes any 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend' as a pleasure agent, he loses it. That person might as feel the wrath of Hades."

"He that bad?" I said, making sure I sounded a little scared. If I was being honest with myself, I probably was feeling a little less fearless. 

Eun Seo nodded but upon seeing my expression, rested her hand on mine. "You'll be fine. I've heard Yang Daehyun comes from the richest block in town and that his family has ties to a powerful opium circle."

"That makes me feel better," I muttered. Eun Seo laughed and my head almost snapped when I looked up. She sounded and looked so much like Seohyun, my heart ached a bit. There wasn't much time left. Nothing had gone wrong yet, but something had to. That was the only way we would realize that we were on the right path.

                                                                             SUNGJONG

The kids were surprisingly quiet.

Too quiet. 

Luna and I were not supposed to know each other. We maintained a safe distance between us but not so much that it would notify the others. Paragon kids were smarter than they looked and even the delinquents had a decent enough IQ if they had managed to be on the run for a minimum of six months before being detained at the foster home. 

The foster home was not a run-down old building. Paragon still had some good left, I realized, when we were told that the owner of the mansion had generously decided to make it a foster home plus orphanage. His own son had been troublesome and after a rebellious teenage life, had run away from his family. He had been missing for ten years, but no one goes missing for so long unless they were no more. 

"While he was involved in the investigation about his son," the supervisor told me, the two of us sitting in the kitchen, "he realized through census records how many kids had been abandoned by their families because they weren't 'productive' enough." 

At that moment, the lady's face changed and I saw an expression of weariness that I had only seen in one other person - Nicole. Was this lady possibly against Paragon's system?

The kettle blew a whistle and I poured the water inside the tea-strainer, the leaves giving the liquid a light brown colour that would soon resemble a lovely golden shade. The lady had recollected herself by then and gave me a small smile. But I wasn't done yet.

"So he never found his son?"

The lady shook her head. "No. Ten years. Who goes missing for ten years? Everyone around him tried to convince him to give up, trying to make him accept the harsh truth -- his son was in all probability, dead."

I nodded. "How old was he when he ran away?"

The lady furrowed her eyebrows. "Thirteen? No, fifteen." She then smiled, her eyes glistening wit nostalgia. "To be honest, I personally knew him very well."

"Oh really?" I said, glancing at the tea and pouring it into two voluptuous mugs. "How is that?"

"For a while only, I was his governess. He was severely dyslexic, you see? Add to that his inherited pride and ego, he couldn't stand to attend school and bring to notice his disability. So his father hired me. But eventually, we found another talent of his."

The lady then glanced at me carefully and I shot her 'the smile'. Like always, it worked. 

"Follow me, Sungjong." She daintily held her mug between her hands and led me out of the kitchen porch, exposing us to the pink hue of the setting sun. She paused for a moment and looked towards it, smiling. 

"Sometimes you don't really see it," she murmured. I looked at the departing sun and glanced back at her, only to find her back walking away. I took a sip of the tea and hurried to catch up. 

The lady led me past the backyard and from the mansion, I could hear the kids playing. The adolescents were either studying or listening to music. One room in particular had a loud pop song bursting through the windows. I saw a flash of brown hair streaked red and recognized Luna. I almost called out to her but upon seeing her with a guy and a girl, pulled back. She had her own snooping around to do, of course. 

Standing infront of us was a cozy looking cottage, white with brown thatched roofs. The lady gave me a smile and opened it, whispering, "Come in." I set the mug on the windowsill and followed her. 

Inside was a small loft. There was a small sink and stove to the left and a large space full of cushions and mattresses. A staircase led up to the level above and when I saw the lady climb it, I followed suit. The stairs didn't creak and looked newly polished. Though most of the furniture was covered with blankets, something about the atmosphere told me that this cabin wasn't so abandoned. Maybe a few kids came by to fool around. Maybe the supervisor herself had some memories stored here. 

The lady bent down on her knees and removed a thick beige coloured photo album with purple strings adorning it's front and back. Like a diary, she unwound the string that bound it and opened it slowly. The crackling of butter paper hit me like a tsunami, taking me back to my younger days when paper books were all the norm. 

"Haven't seen these around much, right?" she said. I nodded and she grinned so widely, I could see the remnants of previous smiles creasing beside her eyes. I noticed that she was beautiful and a loose thought wondered if the owner of the house had any relations with her. 

"These are.... who painted these?" 

One after the other, each page inside the photo album was a portfolio of an art form I had never seen before. I lightly traced the surface and rubbed my fingers together to inspect the material used. 

"Charcoal," the lady said, sounding proud, "and acrylic. He used to do a little water painting too. He was amazingly talented. Most kids with learning disorders do tend to be masters of creative arts."

"Someone must have thought to hand in some compensation," I said and the lady chuckled. "What was his name?"

The lady remained quiet, her eyes glazed over. I realized that she was still lost and decided that enough investigation had been done for the day. 

                                                                                TAEMIN

"Such a nice lady," the nurse sighed. I nodded and glanced at the kids. I waved at them, but they dispelled me and looked away. 

"Give them some time," she said, sounding apologetic. "They haven't really gotten used to you and your... behaviour."

"Really?" I said, smiling widely. "What's wrong with my behaviour?"

The nurse rubbed the back of her neck and threw the empty paper cup in the trashcan. I was still sipping on my cappucino and waited for an answer. Her badge shone under the light. Naeun, it said. 

"You skipped through the guidelines," she whispered. "Right?"

I blinked at her and simply nodded. "How did you know?"

She closed her eyes and pursed her lips, as if a voice inside her was saying, 'I told you so'. She opened her eyes and leaned in closer. I did, but it seemed to be too close for she flushed and backed away. I controlled my smirk and looked at her expectantly. 

"The guidelines specifically said," she whispered, "that the nurse and doctor are not to attempt to form any bond that crosses the barriers of a formal patient-doctor relationship. Basically you're not supposed to be emotionally connected with them."

"I don't think you're aware," I said, "but warmth and affections are the best medicines for helping these kids. A magical healing is near to impossible, but it takes a kid one step ahead of his disease."

Naeun flinched at every word I said, as if someone was stabbing her for listening to each and every syllable. When I was done, she her lips and sighed. "Not everyone is like you Taemin."

I smiled. "I know that."

I looked at the kids, one kid in particular catching my eye. I walked up to her and crouched down to her eye-level. "What's your name?" I asked. 

She looked up at me and point blank ignored me. I chuckled and held my heart, "That hurts! Tell me your name please, Princess!"

It worked. The girl gave me a ghost of a smile and rested her palm on my chest. "Ji Han Byul."

"Han Byul? That's a pretty name!"

The girl fervently nodded. "It's my mom's best friend's name. Han Byul."

"Wow... But I'm sure you're prettier than her." I whispered the last part and the girl giggled. I turned around and found a shocked Naeun staring at us. 

"That's the first time she's smiled," I heard her say. My own smile faltered and I watched as Han Byul's laugh infected the room, the other kids swarming around her. The boys were still being a little distant but I could see I had made some progress. 

Step by step, I was breaking down the walls. But was it going to be enough for all of us? Was it going to be enough for the fortress called Paragon?