Taekwoon didn't know why he had to be pushed into the machine. He didn't know and didn't like it. He was seventeen, for god sake. How could a machine decide of his life after his coming of age? How? It was absurd. He wished to resist. He wished he could rebel but the machine would give him a positive and send him to the doom island.

 

The doom island, the imaginary barbaric island where psychopaths kill whoever they meet and eat their flesh because there is no food, no water, and no way to survive the others. 

 

 

He flinched as he got tied down suddenly, wires connecting to his brain, and needles sinking in his arms. He didn't know how to react to the pain so he tensed. In his tense gaze on his mother, her gasp of horror as it biped gave him the answer he feared to know. He was a positive. His pleas left his lips before they could even get him, and soon his tears followed. 

 

 

“I don't want to go! Mom! No!” He was pushed by four armed men to a room where several kids who got the test before him were crying. He noticed that one of them was younger than the rest and he sat by his side. The kid by his side flinched. Taekwoon had his own tears to control and he managed to, as adults came to handcuff them.

“Can't I say bye to my mommy?” The kid by Taekwoon side whined in a petite voice, as if he feared speaking. “I miss her.” 

“They are already gone.” The adult harshly said as he yanked his hand. “They left you so man up, psycho!” Taekwoon glared at the man slowly leaning his hand to the kid's as he held his hand. They shared a look.

“You will be OK.” the kid leaned closer to Taekwoon much to the last surprise but Taekwoon said nothing as he held the kid's hand following the others. They didn't try to part them and Taekwoon imagined how often they had seen such scene. It was scary a little bit. 

They got in a huge bus, and somehow it got filled to the last. The kid looked around as the guards made sure to tie the handcuffs one by one to the chair they were sitting in. The guards left them. “Isn't it odd?” 

“What is it?” Taekwoon asked him as he managed to hold his fingers. 

“It is like they chose us. The bus is full to the last seat.” few whispers and mumbles were heard around but a slam and a yell from the guards shut them up. Taekwoon looked up then to the kid by his side. 

“Let us wait until we are on the Island and we will talk.” Taekwoon smiled to the kid who nodded.  The ride was long and tiring. Some kids even peed on themselves since they couldn't leave and got ignored by the guards. Taekwoon managed to keep it in, ignoring the fact the kid by his side couldn't and managed to not make the kid feel bad as they spoke the entire time.

He knew by then that the kid was named Lee Hongbin and that his step father wanted him to pass the machine's test. “He hates my guts.” Hongbin had said. Taekwoon just chuckled at that. 

“Nobody can hate someone as cute as you.” They got shipped in a container like canned fish, forced to stand because there is no space to rest in. Taekwoon made sure Hongbin was in front of him, in his reach. As darkness fell, sobs reached everybody's ears. Some were crying and some, Taekwoon included, couldn't shed a tear. 

“We are thrown... the machine chose no one... we were thrown.” someone cried and Taekwoon knew it was plausible. It was absurd to think that some machine could know if the person is a potential psychopathic killer. Hongbin didn't cry too and even snores reached Taekwoon as he leaned to rest his nose on Hongbin freshly washed hairs. 

The container suddenly made a free fall and they found themselves submerged with water until it reached Hongbin's neck. The kid was so shocked, all he could do was to look at Taekwoon expressionless face. “We are in the island.” Taekwoon mumbled he looked up when the door got open and few kids were holding weapons showed up. 

“Hurry up! We got no time!” the kids followed and some even did hide while Taekwoon went to the kid by the gate, someone who seemed in Hongbin's age. Hongbin and the kid looked at each other.

“Under seventeen, aren't you?” Hongbin nodded at the kid's question. “Follow me.” Taekwoon was about to follow too. “No. Just the kid.” 

“He is coming with me.” Hodgkin held on Taekwoon for dear life. “Please.” The kid sighed and walked away, getting Taekwoon and Hongbin in his toes. They soon reached an abandoned house. 

“The island was before a city, but now it is where they send kids for purge.” The kid looked at Taekwoon and Hongbin. “There is no such thing as machine capable for detecting psychopaths. It was a lie. The planet is overpopulated so they send kids and adults for purging.” 

“What?” Taekwoon fell on his knees. “We are sent here to be killed?” Hongbin sobbed suddenly and Taekwoon couldn't hold it and sobbed as he pulled Hongbin close. “It's OK. We will survive, I promise.” 

“Even if you survive...” The kid said as he picked a book and threw it to them. “You will lose it.” Taekwoon opened the book to find names of people committing suicide after few years of being sent here. “Either you die or you kill.” 

“I want to go home.” Hongbin sobbed in Taekwoon's chest and it was his only plea. Taekwoon didn't know what to do. He didn't. 

Soon enough he got offered clothes, but gave them to Hongbin who had dirtied his. “What is your name?” Taekwoon asked the kid who ignored him at first.

“I used to be called Wonshik I guess? But now everybody call me Ravi.” WonShik said and Taekwoon soon noticed how sad the kid looked. “I'll get you some food. Rest, OK?” 

Taekwoon nodded as he helped Hongbin to dress. Won Shik was already gone when Hongbin had been fully dressed. “Do you think we will... die too?” 

“We won't. We'll be together and we will keep each other sane.”

“Promise?” Taekwoon nodded as Hongbin offered his pinky and he linked his. Hongbin's smile was everything he needed to stay sane, he realized. He was never alone. 

“I promise.”

~

Ten years passed and their friendship never failed. They had been each other's last straw of sanity and god knows how many times they nearly lost it.
“Hongbin!” Won shik rushed to the house where Taekwoon was taking a nap“Did you see Binni”

“No.” Taekwoon sat up and rushed before Won shik could move, they got their guns and knives ready as they looked for Hongbin. They basically made it to the half of the camp when they noticed a corpse, and Hongbin hitting it with a broken expression. “HONGBIN!” 

They rushed to push him away. “What the hell happened?” Hongbin was expressionless as he looked at Taekwoon then Won shik. “Why did you kill that man?” 

“He killed Ken.” Hodgkin cried. “I came too late and I kept hitting him and hitting him until I don't know... I lost it.” Taekwoon fell on his knees, pulling Hodgkin to a hug. “I lost it.” 

“It's OK. You did good.” Hodgkin looked at him with a frown. “God knows what he would have done to oh so many of us if you didn't stop him once for all.” Taekwoon smiled. “You did well.” 

“Oh my god!” Won Shik's voice soon reached them. “A container!” Taekwoon stood to rush by worship's side when they noticed men reaching for the container first. Won Shik was about to fire when Taekwoon pulled him to the shadows. “! Let me go!” 

“We are three against them all! It was doomed to fail!” soon screams of kids was heard and Taekwoon struggled to keep Won Shik by his side. “You tried. Won Shik, you tried.” 

“Please, Hyung! Please let me save them.” Taekwoon pulled him harder and Hongbin helped him to. That night, Wonshik cried himself to sleep. Hongbin and Taekwoon slept in their side of the beach, looking at the stars with heavy hearts.

“I am going insane.” Taekwoon said suddenly. “I can't handle all of this.” Hongbin and Taekwoon looked at each other. “Seeing you losing it... both of you... make me lose it too.” 

“I know. It's OK.” Hongbin said with a smile. “Things will be better soon.” 

“How?” Sanghyuk's voice was soon heard and the kid soon fell by their side. Sanghyuk was nearly twenty and he basically lost it. “I can't hold on anymore.” Hyuk sobbed. 

“What is this time?” Taekwoon sat up as he observed Hyuk's bruises. “Who did hit you?” 

“Ken, this morning.” Sanghyuk sniffed and Taekwoon and Hodgkin stiffened at the news. “He called me a and started slapping me.” 

“Why? What made him do so?” 

Sanghyuk cried. “I slept with Hakyeon. We were... losing it and we did it with each other.” The kid buried his head in his knees. “I didn't think much of it.” 

“Ken is dead now.” the cold tone used scared the men who looked at Hakyeon, who had a knife in hand. “There is no reason for you to go around and tell the world we had .” 

“I didn't tell the world! I told my friends!” Sanghyuk objected, with a red face. Taekwoon soon stood to pull Hakyeon away.
 

"Don't hurt him more than this." Taekwoon warned and Hakyeon nearly frowned when he sensed a hand on his shoulder. They looked at Sanghyuk who had clear blue bruises in his left cheek. "Go both home and sleep. We will need to be strong for the upcoming day." 

Hakyeon pulled Sanghyuk along, and Hongbin stood by Taekwoon's side. "Don't you think it's odd that they sent kids after few months of inactivity?" 
 

"You think everything is odd." Taekwoon deadpanned and Hongbin laughed. 
 

"True! Come! let us sleep now." Hongbin pulled Taekwoon to Wonshik's side, where they crawled as they seeked warmth from eachother's bodies. It was their source of strength for so long.

Until came the dreadful day.

Sanghyuk and Hakyeon argued again and Hongbin tried to stop them from fighting as Hakyeon became mad, yelling at Sanghyuk about things the kid had nothing to do with in first place before pulling a huge knife. "No! Hakyeon!" A stab under the man's chest ended it all.
 

Taekwoon was late as he held Hongbin's fallen body. "Hongbin! BINNIE! No! You can't die on me! No!" Taekwoon shook Hongbin when the man coughed blood and smiled to him.
 

"I'm going home, Hyung." The gurgles got the best of him but Taekwoon managed to hear Hongbin well. He cried the blood of his veins as Won Shik held him close, crying as much. 
 

They insisted on burying Hongbin next their house, so he will be close. "I want to go home too." Won Shik said as he cried by Taekwoon's side. "This world is so cold. Cold." 
 

"I know. It will get better soon." Taekwoon said with a forced smile, his own tears falling. "It will get better soon." 

 

It never did.