A blanket of cool air brushed gently over his body as his brain slowly whirred back into consciousness. The welt throbbing at the back of his neck grew steadily in pain as the minutes waned. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. A frown crossed his brows as he examined the room he currently sat in, “Where-?” The room was small, yet big enough to fit three, narrow, metal rung beds with stiff, white mattresses inside it. He swung his bare feet off the bed and on to the cold white tiling of the polished floor. The pale white walls were bare and void of any picture or color, and the grey metal of the presumably locked door loomed before him. There was a single window just above his bed, yet it was barely big enough to see out of.

“You’re awake?” a familiar voice broke the veil of silence and confusion.

He turned his head towards the bed furthest from the door, “Tae?”

Tae sighed, sprawled out across his own mattress, “Are you okay?”

He nodded, “Where are we?” yet just as the questioned rolled off his lips, he already knew the answer.

The door suddenly swung open as a relaxed figure with messy turquoise hair strolled inside. The door snapped shut behind him and he collapsed on the only other vacant bed, “I see you’ve woken up,” he yawned.

Jungkook stared at him curiously, “You’re our roommate?”

“No. I’m here in this exact room on my own free will,” the boy drawled sarcastically.

“What’s your name?” Tae sat up suddenly.

“Min Yoongi,” the boy replied nonchalantly.

“I’m Kim Taehyung,” Tae smiled widely, “But you can call me Tae.”

The corners of his mouth curved into a small smile, “You?” he turned to Jungkook suddenly.

“What?” Jungkook blinked, crashing back into reality.

“Jeon Jungkook,” Tae answered quickly, “He’s not supposed be here though…”

Yoongi raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

Tae shrunk a little in voice and size as he continued in his explanation, “He’s not nineteen yet, but he got into a fight with the government officials when they were taking me-”

A laugh escaped Yoongi’s mouth, “Oh man, I would have killed to see that,” he smirked at Jungkook, “I’m liking you even more, kid.”

“How old are you?” Tae’s head tilted in curiosity.

“Twenty three,” Yoongi yawned, “On to my fourth miserable year here.”

Tae’s mouth dropped in disbelief, “You’ve been here for four-?”

“Yes, don’t make me repeat myself,” Yoongi sunk into the not-so-cushioned bed and closed his brown eyes, “I’m going to sleep, so don’t disturb me until we have to leave.”

Tae’s mouth clamped shut as he turned to look at Kookie, “What do we do now?”

Jungkook shrugged, “I don’t know.”

***

A sharp ringing bit the air as his eyes flew open. Daylight seeped through the tiny window above him, and the cool air wafting through the vent on the ceiling sent the hair on his arms on end. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He cringed against the force of the invisible bell, and his thoughts were shattered and uneven against the loud noise.

“Aish,” Tae hid under his thin, wool blanket to cover his ears.

The turquoise haired boy, Yoongi groaned and sat up, “Here we go again…” he grumbled, cursing under his breath.

“What’s happening?” Jungkook stared at him expectantly as the ringing of the alarm drowned his voice out.

Yoongi bent over the side of his bed to tug on a pair of worn sneakers, “Just put your shoes on. They’ll come and get us soon.”

His brows creased into a fine line, “‘They?’”

“Our damn guards,” Yoongi straightened up, leaning back against the palms of his hands for support.

Tae peeked out from under his blanket, “Your shoes are under your bed,” his voice was muffled and sluggish from exhaustion, “I took them off when we first got here and you were still unconscious.”

He gave a curt nod before searching beneath the cold, stiff bed of white. Sure enough, a pair of worn hiking boots sat neatly in the shadow of his bed. He stared at the label on the heels of his shoes, unable to decipher what word the faded lettering formed anymore. Though the brand of shoes had long been out of business, there he was wearing an old, unused pair from over a hundred years ago.

A sharp rapping on the door suddenly raptured air beneath the ringing. Jungkook shot to his feet as the anxiety he had suppressed for the past twenty four hours broke the string of thoughts he currently held on to. He stared at Yoongi worriedly as the turquoise haired boy rose to his feet steadily. “Where are we going?” he asked quietly.

“Wherever they take us,” Yoongi strolled over to the door, pausing to look back at Tae hiding beneath the covers, “Get him out of bed. They don’t make exceptions for newcomers.”

Jungkook nodded, tearing the blanket off his friend’s bed, “Get up!”

Tae curled into a little ball, “No.”

“We don’t have time,” Jungkook rolled his eyes, “The door is going to open any moment.”

Sniffing sadly, Tae sat up and scratched his head tiredly, “I know.”

Sighing, Jungkook bent down and slipped a pair of white sneakers over his friends feet, “We’ll make it through this,” he tightened the laces before twisting them into a neat little bow on each foot, “Got it?”

Tae nodded and rose to his feet just as the door flew open. Three massive men dressed in all white entered the threshold and glowered down upon the three boys.

“Follow us,” the burliest of the three guards ordered.

Resting his hands behind his head, Yoongi strolled out of the room, yawning. Tae looked back at Jem as worry shifted uneasily behind his eyes. Nodding, Jungkook exited the room after Yoongi.

Organized chaos. If there was ever a word or phrase to describe the lines of people bustling around the white hallways, that was it. He slipped into the space just behind Yoongi and his own guard clung to his side as the spongy moss on the southern side of the tree clung to its shade. Jungkook craned his neck around the heads of the individuals before him in hopes of stealing a glance at where they were all to be taken. No such luck. Sighing, he tilted his head to the side as the line slowly moved forward.

“What’s taking them so long?” a girl behind him grumbled.

“I bet they forgot to unlock the locker rooms again,” a boy next to her exhaled in tired frustration.

“Hey, Yoongi,” Jungkook whispered harshly, “Is that where we’re going? The locker rooms?”

The turquoise haired boy gave a stiff nod, “It’ll be a while though. They’ve recently changed the officials in charge of our living quarters, so we’re normally late to the locker rooms by fifteen minutes,” he exhaled sadly, “Fifteen precious minutes of sleep… wasted…”

Jungkook bit his lip nervously, “Tae? Are you behind me?” he called in a hushed voice.

“Yeah,” Tae replied almost immediately.

“Are you nervous?”

There was a pause before Tae answered again, “Yeah.”

“Me too.”

They stood in silence, straining their ears to catch tiny snippets of broken conversations across the line. Some spoke of novels and various articles, while others discussed the weather conditions for the few outdoor activities the camp offered. Whether the topic was the ideal beauty type of a person, or the desired clothing, or the valued skills of an individual, all thoughts sounded the same and bled together in a mess of gibberish.

“I don’t feel well!” the girl in front of Yoongi suddenly dropped to her knees, hugging her stomach.

The girl in front of her fell down beside her, worry written across her face, “What’s wrong? Do you need water? Do you need to go to the bathroom? Are you okay?” she rubbed her friend’s back.

The girl clutching her stomach shook her head, blonde curls bouncing with her, “I think I’m going to…” she covered suddenly and keeled over.

Her friend brushed a lock of brown hair out of her face and stared up at the two guards beside them anxiously, “Bathroom! Where’s the bathroom?”

“Um…” her own guard opened his mouth in confusion.

“She needs the bathroom!” the girl repeated, slinging her friend’s arm around her neck and rising to her feet, “Can you take me there?”

“Uh-yeah…” the guard nodded stiffly, “Follow me.”

She nodded, then turned to the girl with blonde hair, “Don’t worry! It’s going to be okay!” with an attempt to shuffle forward, her friend slipped down to the ground, “Oh my gosh- I’m so sorry!” she dropped to her knees again to help the girl back up.

“Come on,” a third girl with long, straight black hair took the girl’s other arm and helped her up, “We don’t have much time. They’ll be mad if we’re late for the morning ceremony.”

The brunette nodded hastily and proceeded to shuffle down the hall after her guard. Jungkook stared at her curiously. Unlike her two friends, she wasn’t of Korean heritage. American possibly? He’d never seen eyes the color of a rainy sky; just brown. She looked quite… odd. As it turned out, the crowd thought so as well, for most eyes followed her and the other two girls down the hallway.

“Oh… I hope she’s okay…” Tae frowned, nudging his friend’s shoulders lightly, “She didn’t look very well.”

“Well, duh,” Yoongi sighed, “She was about the throw up.”

Jungkook raised an eyebrow, “You act like that’s normal.”

He shrugged, looking back at the two of them through the corners of his dark brown eyes, “Around here? Yeah,” he paused before adding, “I’ve never seen her have that problem though. Usually girls act like that after meal times…”

Jungkook looked back at Tae with a small frown, but neither boy uttered a single word amongst the hushed whispers of the crowd.

“Great, the line’s moving,” Yoongi exclaimed in mock enthusiasm.

Jungkook turned back to face the front as squeaking of shoes skidding against the white tiling of the floor followed the movement of the line. The lights flickering against the pale ceiling shimmered faintly as dust particles danced in between the rays of light. The potent odor of soap and perfume wafted through the corridor just as a pair of doors appeared near the end of the hallway. Girls entered through the left; boy entered through the right. His shoulders relaxed immensely as the guards that kept a tight watch on their individuals exited down the hallway once more rather than following everyone into the locker room. Inhaling sharply, he pushed the polished, metal door ajar and slipped inside the room after Yoongi.

“Kookie,” Tae groaned, frowning, “I’m hungry.”

Jungkook smiled a little, “Me too.”

“When do you think breakfast is?” he sighed, “I hope it’s something good… like eggs and bacon. Not porridge, though!” he scrunched his nose up in disgust, “Never porridge.”

Jungkook coughed back a laugh, “You’re the same as ever.”

Tae gave a crooked smile, “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be-”

“You two!” a large man that seemed to have more muscle than any other feature glared at them while somehow balancing his massive body on a stool, “Over here! Now!”

Glancing at each other in silence, Jungkook and Tae joined the group of boys crowding around the man.

“My name is Mr. Taikaswami!” the man shouted, veins rippling against the skin on his neck, “For those of you that are new here, grab a lock and find an empty locker. For those that aren’t new, no messing around, dammit! Now!” he slapped a horse whip against his beefy hand, “Get your asses in the shower and meet back here in three minutes!”

The crowd of boys dispersed to the various, silver lockers lined against the far right corner towards the back of the room. Jem stooped down into the plastic green bucket containing a small assortment of padlocks and drew out two heavy, metal ones. Handing a lock to his gangly friend, he flipped the lock over to reveal a faded locker combination scrawled in black ink across its back. “24-6-0…” he muttered, spinning the dial. A second passed before it sprung open with a tiny click.

“You two!” Mr. Taikaswami roared at them as they flinched in surprise, “Move it! The time isn’t getting any slower!”

Bowing hastily, Jungkook and Tae shuffled over to the lockers and quickly picked one each to stuff their clothes inside. Their bare feet slid against the slick, tiled floor saturated with the water and soap suds leaking from the showers. Icy sheets poured down their backs as they crowded amongst the other boys beneath the shower heads, dulling their thoughts and worries. A blanket of white foam concealed the drains as the showers suddenly shut off and the crowd of boy hurried back to their lockers. A stack of thin, white towels that itched more than they dried sat upon the benches that gave you splinters if you tried to rest on them. Grabbing a towel, Jungkook dried his hair with such haste that he barely heard the blast of Mr. Taikaswami’s whistle.

“Alright get back here, bastards!” the beefy man ordered through bloodshot eyes.

Rolling his eyes, Jungkook wrapped the towel about his waist and followed in pursuit of Tae to the back of the crowd.

“Your uniforms are in the closet over there, and breakfast is in five minutes. Don’t even think about being late!” with one last glare, Taikaswami stepped off the stool and stormed out of the locker room.

Yoongi, who happened to stand just in front of them, yawned, “Same as usual.”

“He’s like that everyday?” Tae’s mouth dropped in horror, “I thought he was just having a bad day!”

He smirked, shaking his head as he strolled towards the closet containing their uniforms, “Get used to it.”

Frowning, Tae turned towards Jem, “I don’t like this place.”

The corners of Jungkook’s mouth curled upwards sadly, “I don’t either.”

“Here,” Yoongi returned from the closet and tossed the pair a bundle of clothes, “Those should fit.”

Nodding, Jungkook shuffled back to his locker to neatly fold his towel and place it on the bench. The material of the pants and blazer were similar to the expensive suits his father had him wear, only much… cheaper. The white button-up shirt was stifling against the sheer pressure of the foreign place he had been cast into. Twisting his black tie into a knot, he bent down to slip his hiking boots back on.

“You know,” Tae tilted his head to the side thoughtfully, “That is the fanciest I’ve ever seen you.”

“Well, you look awful,” a tiny smile played across Jungkook’s lips.

Furrowing his brow, Tae glanced down at himself, “I look hot!” he retorted.

“And you both look like girls,” Yoongi loosened his tie and rested his hands behind his head, “Now get moving. We’re going to be late.”

Tae shot Jungkook a look of disgust before exiting the locker room in pursuit of the turquoise haired boy. “Coming,” he sighed, slipping through the heavy grey metal door.

Jungkook stared at his warped reflection in the grimy mirror by his locker. His black hair tangled itself into a wet mop covering his forehead and almost his eyes. He the ear piercings on each ear, while a bitter smile twisted into existence across his mouth. His father had given him quite a lecture when he first got them- not that he actually cared. He and Tae decided upon the piercings months in advance, so there was no way any lecture could flip his thoughts on receiving them. Jungkook swallowed hard, gritting his teeth. His chest was tight and the knots at the pit of his stomach squirmed uncomfortably. Pulling at the tie wrapped around his neck loose and popping the collar of his shirt, he pushed the door open.

“You’re late,” a familiar, cold and collected voice rung against his eardrums.

Brushing past his guard, Jungkook shrugged, “I know.”

***

    A lump of grey goop sat in his bowl with tiny, wrinkled brown objects that looked somewhat like raisins floating at the top of the substance. He stirred the porridge hesitantly only to decide that whatever the cooks had put in his breakfast was certainly inedible. Sighing, he set his spoon on the white cafeteria table once more. There was no way he would ever consume such an awful meal, and looking over at his friend, it seemed as if Tae wouldn’t either.

    “Why porridge,” Tae grumbled, scooping up a spoonful of the substance and watching it drip back into the bowl.

    Jungkook smiled weakly, “Maybe lunch will be better.”

    “It’s not,” Yoongi mumbled, head resting on the table, “It never is.”

    Tae sniffed in disgust, “I’ll forever starve here.”

    “Yeah, you will,” Yoongi muttered through shut eyes.

    Jungkook stared about the vast cafeteria echoing from the hushed comments exchanged between friends and neighbors. Faces were distorted by the cringes of swallowing the porridge as people continued to attempt on consuming the breakfast. The lights flickering against the ceiling cast ghostly shadows upon the two guards’ faces that stood before the exit. The cafeteria had the sense of a warehouse rather than a place of eating, but that was hardly of any importance now.

    Tae shoved his bowl away, “I’m not eating this.”

    “Of course not,” Yoongi opened an eye, “You’ll get sick.”

    Jungkook tilted his head slightly, “Then what do you eat?”

    A smirk curled the corners of his mouth as he shut his eye once more, “You’ll see.”

    The sharp rumbling of Tae’s stomach caught the gangly boy by surprise, “Aish…”

    “You’ll have to wait until sundown,” Yoongi yawned, “Just put up with it for now.”

    Frowning slightly, the two friends exchanged looks of curiosity as the boy with turquoise hair continued to rest upon the table. Yet the sudden, shrill ringing of the bell masked in rust sent people to their feet and towards the trash can to deposit the much unwanted leftovers. A women in a curt lab coat marched through the one pair of doors in the eating hall as a crowd of neatly aligned guards followed closely behind her. Yoongi sighed, yawning widely and stretching his arms as he rose to his feet. Jungkook and Tae followed his actions in such haste that the banging of knees and slipping of feet echoed throughout the entire cafeteria.

The woman came to a halt at the center of the room and held up a hand for silence. “Good morning,” she announced through pursed lips, “Your schedules for today are here in this file,” she gestured at the heavy bin resting against the back wall, “If anyone is l-”

The door swung open suddenly to reveal the three girls from earlier in the morning. Their eyes widened slightly as the bowed quickly, muttering an apology quietly.

The woman rose an eyebrow, “As I was saying, if anyone is late you will be severely punished,” she stood back allowing the crowd to proceed towards the file of schedules, “That is all.”

Jungkook stared curiously over at the three girls as the woman marched over to them. Their faces had paled several shades, and from what he could see standing ten meters behind them, their voices shook from a thousand apologies.

“Follow me,” the woman’s lips curled in distaste.

The three glanced at each other in alarm and hurried after the woman in white. The girl with blonde hair stumbled slightly, clutching the girl with brown hair’s arm with such urgency that both girls stopped in surprise. Slinging the blonde girl’s arm around her neck, the brunette hurried out of the cafeteria after the woman. The third girl stared back at the crowd of people before tossing a lock of black hair over her shoulder as she disappeared through the door.

“Hey, Yoongi?” Tae whispered, “What’s going to happen to them?”

Yoongi stared at the door as the slightest flicker of worry flashed behind his dark eyes, “Anything.”