Im Yoona didn’t want to be different. She enjoyed her childhood times of playing with friends on the jungle gym, sharing snacks at lunch, and getting to rest with her family after school. The girl’s life was nothing but average and she didn’t think much of it since it was all so fun.

That is until night came.

Once the girl was alone in her room, the space being a sub-renovated attic in her family’s suburban home, she was no longer average. Time and time again she carried on through the night as if what happened was normal, thinking everyone experienced the same thing. This all changed on a cold December night when her mother came up to check if the room was staying warm.

The woman told her husband about what Yoona was doing and they tried to look past it, thinking it was just kid’s play. Still concerned for her child’s well being, even though it was unjustly looked down upon in their community, her mother took her to a psychiatrist.

The doctor had no idea what he was getting into, thinking the bright-faced adorable little girl was just another child coming in for maybe some sort of family trauma.

But that was not the case.

After a session with the little girl, too many signs showed that she was being truthful in her statements. It would be unethical practice to misdiagnose her as a liar or just dismiss her as a child telling tall tales. The doctor decided to whisper to the mother that he had never witnessed something like this before. He slipped her a business card for not a mental hospital, but an undisclosed company with a front as a law firm. The doctor told the mother if she were to call and say a certain phrase, then follow up with the correct answers, they would come by her house to check in with the child. He assured her they were a solid option in finding some solace in her daughter’s case.

The mother took this with a grain of salt and after discussion with her husband, they concluded that they didn’t want Yoona to grow up and possibly suffer from what was happening to her. After much deliberation and consideration as the snow melted into the spring grass, Im Yoona was interviewed. From the comfort of her living room couch, the child sat in front of a group, two men and three women. One man with a camera, the other holding a sound boom attached to a backpack of equipment, and the women doing their best not to scare the girl.

The ladies asked several questions in warm but firm tones, making sure to let Yoona know this was a serious but not scary situation. The girl carried on as if she was a celebrity getting an interview as her parents sat next to her, but just out of frame from the recording. After answering several questions, the girl let out a breath and asked if they just wanted to see her do it for real. Between the three women, Seohyun and Stephanie were unsure, but the main woman asking the most critical questions, Taeyeon, was thrilled.

Upon lugging the camera and equipment up the stairs and catching on film Yoona partaking in what she had been describing in their interview, it was clear the company needed her.

“Yoona, you have a gift.”

And those were the words that changed that little girl’s life forever.

Yoona, with the permission of her parents, was taken into part-time custody of the company. The scientists found the little girl’s capabilities fascinating. However, they weren’t as logically equipped in asking the girl questions to get information as the three women were. Every day after school Yoona was taken to the lab and interviewed about her day and anything that had happened. Any interactions she had, anything that might have stuck out to her. Then, she was asked to complete a series of tests for a short bit, then actual “experiments” took place. Once the sunset in the sky and work hours were over, one of the three original ladies (most often Taeyeon, as per Yoona’s request since she was the most understanding of the girl and Yoona loved talking with her) would take her home.

This system took place for around a year, but things changed. Yoona became more understanding of her gift. Even at still such a young age, the girl was starting to figure out different ways to use her gift that weren't too nice to the people around her. Classmates became scared of her and time in school started becoming time in the lab, everyone there trying to better understand the situation. Eventually, her gift was becoming so much that she wasn’t unable to be a normal child and her parent’s allowed the lab to have full custody of her.

It meant no more public school, no more friends, no more playground, no more sharing snacks. Even though Yoona hadn’t been doing any of those things for quite some time, she’d rather nearly torment her classmates with traces of her gift. Doing just enough so that they couldn’t figure out how she was doing any of it, but knowing that it was true and not a fun time. The girl had been taken to the lab and given her room. Schedules were shifted so now the facility was somewhat open twenty-four hours, but the only ones working at night were those keeping an eye on Yoona. She loved this new attention and began to morph from the honest child she once was into a manipulative person of interest that did things and said things for shock value.

It affected the data the scientists tried to collect, so the boundaries placed on Yoona became stricter. After a few months, the girl was no longer allowed to leave her room, seeing as she couldn’t be trusted. Knowing that people had to watch her every move as part of their research gave her satisfaction to go on.

Years passed and Yoona began to simmer down. She enjoyed the times when her private tutor came, having learned to not derail from the lesson and ask personal questions or for information about the outside world, Yoona began to love learning. At age thirteen she completed all high school subjects and moved on to taking university courses online.

Still, she lacked much real human communication. Not being allowed to roam around outside she understood, but only chatting with scientists and janitors for years on end gets to a person. Even with visits from her parents on major holidays, which she appreciated, she still yearned for real friendship. She had online, but even her access to that was restricted to things purely academic. The counselors, Seohyun, Stephanie, and Taeyeon, knew that Yoona liked to still go around and misuse her gift even if the connection was purely digital.

Once Yoona turned eighteen, she grew restless in the facility. Her favorite three counselors still treated her like the normal little girl as when they first met her, but all the people coming in and out still treating her like a test subject was way past irritating. The young woman had halfway completed a master’s degree but was still very socially inept. She started to believe that she would be forever stuck in the lab and considered plotting an escape.

But one session later with Taeyeon convinced the girl otherwise. Here was a woman Yoona respected, who had dedicated so many years of her working life to helping the girl. Yoona spilled all of her feelings and cleared her head. This interaction began to happen more and more, Yoona questioning her existence outside of being a lab rat then requesting to speak one of her counselors. It was a pattern that happened weekly for a handful of years that everyone grew accustomed to. Yoona was showing more promise a capable member of society despite having been plucked out of a normal lifestyle and subjected to the unusual practice.

Even though things seemed to have been at a peak of functioning well, Yoona still yearned for being able to live her own life. She was now at the age the people started to get into serious relationships and think about marriage, and here she was, never had to have a real friend outside of those paid to interact with her.

“Taeyeon,” Yoona started towards the end of their bi-weekly sessions.

The mid-aged woman looked up through her bangs as she scribbled on a clipboard, noting the seriousness in the girl’s tone.

“Please.”

And Taeyeon knew what she meant. With a sigh, the older shook her head.

“Really? After all these years? I’ve done everything right,” Yoona said, starting to fill with determination. She was a very book smart, but her social skills .

“You know why,” Taeyeon added, no longer bothering to look up. Yoona sat still but emotion began to fill her to the core, almost making her want to cry. The woman stood up and tucked the chair back under the desk as she went to leave the room.

“When, when then?” Yoona asked and Taeyeon continued out the door, not looking back. Truth be told, the lady had so wanted for Yoona to do the things she wanted, having looked like the girl as a younger sister, even a daughter in some circumstances. But she knew better than to entertain an idea of hope.

Yoona stood and ran to the door as it closed in her face, the guard locking it from the outside. The thin metals bars across the small opening prevented Yoona from reaching out and attempting any harm like how she thought about doing oh so often. Instead, she stomped her foot and began to yell.

“Kim Taeyeon! Kim Taeyeon if you leave me in here for another day I’ll kill myself! I’ll kill myself and come back to haunt you! I’ll haunt you,” she screamed and took time to point a finger through the bars at the man standing beside her door “I’ll haunt your fat , I’ll haunt all you ers in here! I’ll die and all of these years of your ty research will be useless! You all would be failures without me! I’ll kill myself, I really will!” Yoona yelled into the hall, her voice echoed off the walls, reverberating in small streams into nearby rooms that other kinds of work were being conducted in.

“Yoona, I swear if you don’t simmer down you’ll never