" Well, what's the plan ? " I asked as soon as we returned to the shack. 

Amber took out a chart, " This is a house situated just next to the Wall on the other side, " she pointed at the little red dot she made on the white sheet. " There's an old man living there. We can take his house for the time being. Lay already checked it a few times while we were on patrol, nightfall's the best time to make a move. "

" Woah, so we're going to attack an old man ? " I asked cautiously.

" No, we'll use the Memory serum that came in the mail along with the weapons. That'll buy us some time before he snaps to his senses, so you can get everything ready for the Selection. We'll send him back home once you leave. "

" Is that stuff safe anyway ? " I said again. " We don't even know who's been sending these. "

" Whoever they are, they're here to help us, and they're not the Government. " Yi Fan snorted again. " Relax, we did a test on some dogs. They recovered three days after, it depends on the amount of serum we give. " 

" Fine, but I thought you couldn't live alone ? Isn't that what the Law stated ? " the reason why there was law for living alone was banned was because they wanted to take precautions if the city was to be attacked by the Infected, there would be company to defend each other. And hearing about this man living alone, it was strange.

" He had a granddaughter, Irene. But she died after a flash attack by the Infected many years ago. I think even that man doesn't trust the Government anymore, so he kept secrets to himself. " Tao said.

" And that is also, " Luna cut in. " why we wanted you to do the job. You have the same surname as them, Bae. And he still kept all the documents on her, we can do some editing on her profile while he's on the Memory serum. And I will personally give you some manners classes before you enter the Selection. "

" Why ?! " I exclaimed. 

" Because only Majors can enter the competition. " she answered. " And they'll expect a Major to have etiquette, and basic manners. Oh ! And some individual talents-"

" You can explain all that to Joohyun later, when we get ready to take over the house tonight. " Yi Fan said, and he turned to me. " And to blend in better, you'll be having the man's granddaughter's name, Bae Irene. "

" So how much time have I got before all this ? "

" Two days. "

I spent the last two days just trying out activities for personal talents and remembering all the facts about the royal family. I knew I would never ace dance or painting, so Luna sort of left me to figure out my talent on my own. Anything besides hunting and anything violent. I hated the fact that all women were taught to be dainty ladies, like they were helpless damsels in distress. 

It was hard to fake it off. 

It was the last day before the big operation, and Jinnie and I were sitting together in the living room, she was watching another live broadcast of the castle. Her eyes sparkling in amazement at the view of the castle from within. I pictured myself within the castle walls, in the same dramatic dresses that Jinnie adored. Dancing, living a life as a princess and not the thug life I was facing now. 

True, I was still a girl. And I'd be lying if I never had that sort of childhood, imagining myself as something of a fantasy. Maybe that was why fantasies were so precious, you could only see them but they were too far away to really touch.

" Unni ? Unni ! " Jinnie tugged at my arm again.

" W-what ? " I jumped. 

" You're acting weird today. Look, your soup's getting cold. "

I pursed my lips, and looked at Jinnie. God, I'd miss that smile. My hands ruffled her hair, " Jinnie, unni's going somewhere for a while. And I won't be back so soon."

She looked at me with her puppy eyes, " Where are you going ? "

" I have a job to do, and it'll be worth it. " I kept saying. " Then we won't need to worry about anything ever again. " 

She stayed quiet for a while, and said, " Are you going somewhere the Infected are, unni ? " 

" No ! Unni's not going anywhere like that. "

" Then where are you going ? "

There wasn't any other choice but to tell the truth. " I'm going over the Wall, into the city. "

At first, she was at a lost of words. Then she grinned, " For what ? "

" I-I'm trying out for the Selection. " I whispered. " Swear not to tell anyone, Jinnie. "

" Pinky swear. " she said, and she squealed. " I always knew you'd be a princess, unni. I knew it ! "

" I still need to get through the tests, so I don't have much chance of winning yet. "

" You will win, unni ! I know you will, you're prettier than all of the princesses I've seen ! And the prince is soooo good looking, you'll be a perfect match ! " 

I was grateful Jinnie didn't know all about the Laws and restrictions we had, so she was believing that I truly wanted to compete in the Selection, since she didn't know Minors were completely off limits from the city, that meant its activities as well. But I saw the hope and glee she wore, that made me doubt my decisions about really taking over the throne if I did win.

I certainly wasn't sure about killing the prince, even if I knew he might be a uptight royal jackass.

Well, I never exactly saw his face. But if Jinnie swooned over his looks, that made it even more clear that he'd be a jerk by his looks to deceive people.

" Let's not jump to conclusions yet, Jinnie. " I assured. " Just cheer for me here when you watch the Selection on TV, do that. Okay ? "

She nodded eagerly, " I will. "

" And remember to feed Ginger when I'm gone, and don't go wandering off into the Forest. " I reminded her. " And if you're hungry, just use the emergency gold I hid under my bed and buy food in the market. And and carry a gun with you if anything happens, oh if anything happens-"

" I know, go straight to Yi Fan. " she rolled her eyes. " I get it, don't worry about me. I know what to do, unni. "

That actually calmed me down a lot with her saying that. I smiled and tickled her for the last time before I took off later that day.

I was going to miss her.

Yi Fan and Luna came over exactly a few hours after that, Luna was there to look after Jinnie while I was away. I took the rucksack filled it with extra weapons and some maps and a water tumbler and ambrosia for flash injuries. 

Luna got to Jinnie's side, I kissed my sister on the cheek and forehead and hugged her tight. I was at the verge of tears, but I held them back. As Yi Fan and I walked away, Luna and Jinnie waved at us, I waved back.

I soon got over it, and we jogged further and further away from the Crood. I knew that the Minors had found a way to get into the city, that was how all the smuggling took place. We found out there were these things called underground subways, where people would ride things called escelators that worked automatically underground. And that was how people in the past could go from city to city. 

They closed down most of them, but they didn't have time to shut down the last one when the first attacks occured. They must've forgotten about it, because there was a remaining one all the way in Gwangmyeong. It was a slight risk, because it was closer to where the Infected were, though still safe for travelling. 

We both got our guns ready, in case we did run into any Infected. Yi Fan had connections, so the smugglers agreed to give us a ride on the only working train to the city underground. As we waited by the platfrom, " How long will it take them to come ? " I asked him.

" About right now, relax Joohyun. " he said. " Or should I start calling you Irene by now ? "

I shrugged, " Let me get used to it earlier, I wouldn't forget about it then. " 

" Hey, you got this. " he said. " I'll come with you tomorrow for the first casting, its to prove that you are one of the citizens. "

" And did you guys prepare that ? " 

He patted his bag, " All in here, and I checked. The man kept all his granddaughter's clothes in her room, they look about your size. So that settles it. "

" It sounds like we're disrespecting the dead. " I admitted. " Wait till her ghost haunts us for raiding her closet. "

He smirked, " You better add that to your personal talents list, ' very cold humor '. "

They dropped us off, and we were just a few steps away from entering the city of Seoul. To be honest, I was a little nervous. Yi Fan and the others had been in there a few times already, only I never even stepped foot into Seoul. 

I heard stories about the eternal glory of Seoul before the war happened, before there were the Infected. My mom used to take out old photos, passed down from generations. I used to see this old cultural building that looked historical, bright colours of flashing boards, running cars, everything just looked beautiful. I wasn't sure how the Seoul I came to know in my mind was like now.

" What's it like, in there ? " I blurted.

He looked fazed, " You'll see for yourself in about a minute. "

As each step we took, we were coming closer to the city I've heard rumors about. My hands were getting cold, the anticipation was agonizing. We were almost there-

It was something more than I expected, out of my mind even. It still had the same landscapes, and the sky seemed to have the same colour, same buildings and structure. I could point out a few places I was sure to have seen in photographs. But I felt something missing from within the restoration of it all.

Its original beauty, its freedom.

" Welcome to Seoul. " he said.

We didn't stay to look at the rest of the city, and we were sprinting to the house. It was an average house, that was seperated from the others. Yi Fan explained it was a courtyard house, the usual houses Majors lived in. Thinking about just normal citizens living in places as luxurious as this made me wonder how much better the royalty had it. While Minors seemed so miserable...

He looked around before grabbing the keys from his bag and unlocking the backdoor. I knew they had the man back at the Crood, not remembering any of this he had. Yi Fan the lights, and revealed everything from within. 

He pulled down the curtains and blinded everything from the outside. Taking out the documents from his bag, he hid our rucksacks inside the ceiling tiles. We worked together to deactivate the security cameras before getting some food from the fridge. My eyes widened at the sight of the stock of food there was in the fridge. It would last Jinnie and me for three whole months. There was even somethings I never encountered before. 

Yi Fan passed it to me, " It's called coke, it tastes good. " I was still cautious, he grinned for once. " Don't worry, it won't poison you. "

I opened the cap and took a sip, a satisfying sweetness poured down my throat and warmed me all over. I didn't notice I was smiling, I was self conscious when I saw him smirking.

" S-So, what now ? " I ask hastily.

" We wait, the real test comes tomorrow. "