Chapter 3

Areum woke up to the annoying blaring of her alarm. Irked, she slammed the ‘off’ button of the contraption and abruptly sat up, rubbed the sleep off her face, and yawned as she stretched her body upwards. Blinking her eyes slowly, she looked out the window before hopping out her bed and going for the bathroom.

“Hey mom? Can I go out to the daycare?” Areum asked as they were having breakfast.

“Aren’t your results from yesterday’s exam coming today though?”

The girl nodded, “Yeah, but they never said when and besides it’s just a piece of paper. I’m sure if it came now I could look at it later.”

The mom looked at her husband, “What do you think?”

Her husband hummed, “Well it is her last day of not having ‘work’,” the man paused as he flipped to the next page of the newspaper, “I don’t see why not.”

Areum’s mother rolled her eyes then softly mumbled, “Could’ve just said a simple yes or no.”

Their daughter laughed softly then continued to eat her breakfast.

Before she got ready, she emailed Kira about her plans and was pleased to hear that she would join her. Areum looked at the open closet before her, she had just noticed that the clothes she had had no variety at all. During the summer, she wore a pair of shorts that ended mid-thigh and a tee shirt. During the winter, it was a knitted sweater with a scarf and gloves along with thermal pants and a pair of boots. In Autumn, a blouse and a scarf was what she wore which matched the pants and combat boots she had been given. And in the Spring, she wore a floral dress—also ending mid-thigh—and a pair of black high tops.

For as long as she could remember, they were the same clothes she’d worn ever since she was 13 years old. She never got new clothes for the Capitol never sent any new clothes. This was the same for every household. Every female had the same outfit, the color and patterns were the only thing different. Every male on the other hand also had the same outfit with a slight variety from each person.

Shaking the random thoughts out of her head, she dressed herself into a pair of black shorts and a blue tee shirt.

Once she got down the stairs, she kissed her parents cheeks and ruffled her brother’s hair then headed out the door. As Areum walked down the sidewalk, she glanced around at her surroundings.

The blank walls that separated each district were still up, the sun continued to radiate it’s immense heat, and the guards never failed to remind her that they still existed as a guard was posted at every street. Speaking of guards, one approached her in their white jumpsuit and helmet with a black face shield. “Where are you headed miss?” He asked.

“The daycare, sir.” Areum responded respectfully.

The guard was silent for a little while, questioning if she was saying the truth. “You know you’re going the wrong way, correct?”

Areum nodded, “Yes sir, I was just heading to my friend’s place first for we are going to the daycare together.”

“All right then, continue on miss. Have a nice day.” The guard then backed away and stood at his designated post.

With a small nod, Areum continued to walk down the street until she reached Kira’s house. Placing her hand on the circular white scanner with a hand on it, she felt the contraption heat up slightly before she pulled away and heard the machine say, “Welcome Areum”. With that, the door opened to reveal Kira wearing a pair of khaki shorts, a white shirt, and a pair of brown sandals. “Areummie! You’re here!” Kira cheered as she stepped out the house.

“Let’s go? You seem ready.” Areum stated.

Kira nodded before hugging Areum tightly, “I’m so excited to see little babies!” she suddenly pouted as she pulled away. “Too bad it’s our last day seeing babies, that is, until we’re assigned one.” She chuckled a bit then turned to walk along with Areum.

“That’s why I chose today to visit the daycare. It’s been a while since I’ve taken care of babies so might as well take care of them on our last day.”

Kira gasped, “You’re so smart, Areummie!! I was planning on just moping all day since we’d have to start work tomorrow. Meaning no more free time with you.” Again, Kira pouted.

With a roll of her eyes, Areum linked her left arm with Kira’s right one. “Just because we’ll be working doesn’t mean we can’t meet anymore.”

“But you know the rules Areummie, after work we are to go straight home. Or if we become house wives we have to stay home unless accompanied by our spouse.”

“Then force your husband to take you to me or I’ll force my husband to take me to you. Either way, I’ll make sure we meet in the future.” Areum said with conviction as she looked at her best friend.

Hesitantly, Kira looked back at Areum and gave her a smile. “You promise? It’s against the law to lie, if you promise then you promise.”

Again, Areum rolled her eyes at her best friend and gave her a smile, “I promise, now stop worrying.” With that, Areum looked forward and continued walking, oblivious to the sad smile that her best friend had given her.

 

 

The cries of babies filled the room as Areum and Kira entered the daycare. Almost instantly after dressing into the proper sanitary gowns, both females carried a crying child to soothe them. Areum smiled at the baby as the one she had picked up was a vampire as well and had almost instantly calmed down once she carried him. She went over to the special crib that had a scale and placed him inside. Waiting for the results, she cooed at the baby vamp to keep him calm. When the scale beeped, she frowned when she saw he was underweight. Carrying him again she was about to place him back in his original crib when a supervisor came to her.

“What was his weight?” He asked.

She bit her lip before responding, “He’s 18.9 lbs, a pound and one-tenth underweight.” The man then sighed and took the child from her.

“Carry on with the other children.” He ordered as he placed the baby in an incubator, isolated from the rest of the children. Quietly, he sighed and mumbled, “You’re still not ready to be assigned to a couple yet. Sorry, bud.”

“What’s going to happen to him?” Areum asked as she carried another child and placed her in the special crib.

“He’ll be taken to the Capitol. From there, they’ll deal with him.”

Areum slowly nodded, wondering what he meant by the child being dealt with. The sudden beep from the scale broke her train of thought. Quickly, she took note of the infant’s weight then proceeded to place her back in the crib before recording her weight.

Throughout the day, the two girls continued to weigh the babies and record their readings. After their shift ended, Areum couldn’t stop wondering about the baby vampire that was isolated from the rest of the babies. What did the Capitol plan on doing to the child? What would happen to the baby? Would he get assigned to a family? Will he be okay?

“Areummie!” Her thoughts were interrupted when the sudden shriek of her name was heard from Kira.

“Yes?” Areum asked as she turned to her friend.

Kira huffed and crossed her arms, “You’ve been spacing out a lot lately. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just tired. Anyways, what were you saying?”

Kira looked at Areum intently before shrugging it off. “I was asking if you got your results delivered yet.”

“Oh, I don’t know. It didn’t arrive when I left the house.”

The girl nodded, “Me too, you should let me know what your results are when you get home. It should be there now since its past 3 in the evening.”

Areum nodded, “All right, you do the same.” When Kira nodded, Areum had just noticed that they were only a few paces away from her house. She had been so preoccupied with the thoughts of the baby that she hadn’t realized that they were already near her house.

“Bye Areummie! Don’t forget that I love you!” Kira said as she waved at Areum who was already at her front door.

Areum smiled and waved at her friend, “I love you too! Take care going home!” she replied. When she saw Kira turn, Areum scanned her hand on the scanner then pulled off when she heard the automated voice welcome her.

As Areum walked into the house, she noticed it was quiet. Looking at the clock, it was only 3:30, too early for her mother to prepare dinner. There was suddenly a clinking noise in the direction of the living room. They’re probably having tea. She thought, so she headed to the living room. “I’m home mother, fa-“ her words faltered when she noticed that they weren’t the only ones in the living room.

Seated on the love seat across, was her parents and across from them, seated on the large couch, was a man dressed formally in a plain white polo shirt and a grey blazer. Politely, Areum bowed when she realized that the adults had stood up to acknowledge her presence. “H-hello, sorry for intruding. I didn’t know we had a guest.”

The man smiled, he was rather attractive for he had brown hair that was styled up to reveal his forehead. His skin held no impurities and his complexion was as milky as human skin could possibly be. Taking a small whiff of him, Areum identified him as a vampire and guessed he was older that herself, but much younger than her father and mother. “Hello Miss Areum, please take a seat.” He kindly gestured to the love seat in between both him and her parents and she obediently did as she was told.

“Uhm, permission to ask a question?”

“You’re already asking miss,” he chuckled lightly, causing Areum to blush “but permission granted. What’s your question?”

“Uhm,” Areum hesitated and looked at her parents as if asking if it was okay to ask. When she saw them nod, she continued with her attention back to the man. “Why am I present in this conversation? Is it not just for my parents?”

The man once again showed his beautiful pearls as his eyes slightly curved. “Well you see Miss Areum, I was sent here from the Capitol to come and pick you up.”

Areum’s eyes widened. “W-why would that be, sir? I haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Indeed you haven’t miss.” He replied with a soft chuckle. “In fact, I’m here because of something you’ve done right.” Confused, Areum allowed the man to continue. “You see, your results from the Occupational Exam yesterday were wonderfully high and because of that you are wanted at the Capitol immediately for your significant intelligence.”

As if Areum’s eyes weren’t wide enough, now they were bulging. “B-but, to be honest sir, I didn’t even try. I was only randomly selecting answers!”

“That makes it even more significant!” He exclaimed with surprise. “You may claim that you answered randomly, but did you know that you can’t fool your brain? Your brain sends codes that you’re doing things half-heartedly, but really your pure intelligence comes out at that point and what you think is half-hearted is actually all you. Raw intelligence that hasn’t been manipulated.”

Areum was surprised, “B-but going to the Capitol means travelling a far distance. Does that mean I’ll be separated from my family?”

“Sadly yes, but you will be given visitation days.”

“What will I be doing in the Capitol anyways?” She asked, trying to find a way to reject going to the Capitol.

The adult smiled, “You’re aware that at the Capitol resides the Oracle of our country.” Areum nodded, “Well, the Occupational Exam deemed you, Miss Areum, as the next Oracle of our country.”

“What!?” She exclaimed with shock, standing up abruptly.

“Areum, your tone honey.” Her mother reminded her with a smile.

“M-Me? The next Oracle?” She pointed to herself as if to assure them that the man had meant her. When he nodded, she looked over at her parents. “M-Mother, Father I can’t be the next Oracle! You both have knowledge of that.”

Her father sighed, “Sweetheart sit down and calm down.” With a huff, she hesitantly obeyed. “Your mother and I both know you were meant for great things. And becoming an Oracle just proves that. We’re immensely proud of you and we hope you would accept it because you would fulfill your parents’ happiness.”

“I agree,” her mother added. “You’re destined for greatness, so don’t think twice about it and say yes to this kind man. You will be the change that our country needs. We will always be here for you anyways. So don’t think that by accepting this duty, you’ll never have us. We’re always there, in your heart.” Her mother smiled before reaching out to her daughter to hold her hand. “We’ll see each other again soon. We believe in you.”

Overwhelmed, Areum just stared at her parents then turned her attention to the man sitting across from her.

“So what do you say, Miss Areum?” He asked.

Slowly, she looked at her parents and saw them giving her an encouraging smile. Areum then turned to the man and nodded, “All right, I’ll be the next Oracle.”

The man stood with a smile, “Great! I’ll let you pack what you need then we’ll head over to the Capitol.” Areum nodded then stood up as well before suddenly realizing she didn’t know the man’s name. “Oh yes! How could I forget?” He said, as if reading her mind.

 

 

“My name’s Junmyeon, but you could call me Suho.” 

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A/N: Yay you met Junmyeonie~~ Please continue to support me and show me some love by commenting and subbing! <3 love you!

P.S. do let me know if I should make the chapters longer or shorter :)