“Accountability, transparency, where’s our electricity?”

            The voices of the people chanted these words tirelessly across town—steady in their tones, a collective sound that echoed through every crack they pass by. Torches are being set ablaze despite them being obsolete for generations to symbolize the movement, banners demanding answers have been setup in a fashion that irked those who chose to be blind, the heavy march of shoes resonating against the asphalt ground—what started in spurts from the outskirts has now made their way through the richest city of Gleidor, and the unavoidable turmoil that Jang Soo Geun has evaded  for the longest time eventually equalized and showed up on his side of the fence anyway. And people are mad—they are very, very mad.

            His leg was restlessly bouncing as he sat in the velvet lined chair, hand covering his mouth lightly as he brushed his fingers rashly through his hair. “It’s nothing but a foolish cry for people who think they know better.” Soo Geun cleared his throat, shoving the words down his system, repeating them inside his mind just enough times for him to believe what he said.

            There was a light chuckle from Haneul who stared through his office’s window overlooking the protest. “If it was,” he began to say, “how come you haven’t moved an inch ever since you took shelter in that chair?” He took a long drag at his cigarette, remaining calm despite the ruckus from below through the window that stretched wall to wall in his office.

            “I’ve been thinking.” The senator raised his head just as the president turned to give him a pitying look as he shook his head slowly. Soo Geun could not decide what to make of this gesture, but he was certain that the other man was not pleased with what he was seeing.

            Haneul took a final drag before he placed his cigarette by the ashtray on top of his table, letting the smoke swirl in his mouth, tasting the bitterness of the poison that seemed to calm him all these years. His footsteps were muffled by the carpeted floor, but it was enough for Soo Geun to feel the gravity of their increasing distance.

            The president final blew the smoke as he sat on the centerpiece so they were looking at each other on eye level. His gesture momentarily removed the finesse of being the highest ranking official of Gleidor, but his words betrayed the comfortable nature of his actions.

            “Jang Soo Geun,” he began to say with a faint mocking smile on his lips, “You have aged in Framont, but you are still that fifteen year old boy from Seneca. You will always be that boy, only this time, you have more blood on your hands than that boy could ever imagine.” Soo Geun clenced his jaws and looked at Haneul with abhorrence and insecurity.

            “Your ways have remained so…” he sarcastically looked for the next words, snapping his fingers excitedly as he carried on, “So premature.” He met Soo Geun’s eyes with an obnoxious expression across his face which slowly turned into a serious and apathetic look. Soo Geun felt a chill down his spine as he watched this unfold.

            “Jang Soo Geun,” Haneul said again, this time, his voice was low and cold. The sarcastic, joking man was gone. “I don’t need you to think. I need you to do something. You have to do something.” There was an uncomfortable tension between the proximity of Haneul and Soo Geun and as the seconds go by, the heavier the tension got.

Until Haneul spoke again, “move.”

            “We can’t move past this, miss.” The driver said as he shot a glance on the rear-view mirror to look at Won Young. The protest has trapped them in traffic which prevented them to go straight ahead.

            Won Young sighed as she looked around; Minjoo tilted her head to see the sea of people and figured that it would be a lost cause to wait it out. These protesters are here to stay the night.

            “Won Young,” she called on the girl silently which caused her to look towards Minjoo’s direction. “We can take a left there. There’s a road that will take us to Yujin’s house instead. I’ll just stay there for tonight.” Minjoo offered an apologetic smile and a slight bow of her head to hide her embarrassment.

            Won Young returned the same embarrassed bow due to different reasons. As the vehicle continued to change its direction towards a more decongested road, the taller girl could not help but look back on her side of the window to where the protesters were. Her eyebrows drew together as she watched the people sitting by the curb pass rations of food to one another. They did not look like they were from Framont. Being sheltered most of her life, Won Young felt an unsettling feeling form at the pit of her stomach—as if she was being into a storm she had no choice but to take part in.

            She gradually found herself thinking about something else, something from a few weeks ago, something she felt like she should not have known. The dimpled girl she saw in the file was the same dimpled girl in Minjoo’s phone, a fact that has made the younger girl restless for several nights. Why was her profile marked as ongoing? What do the files with X marks mean? What was her father’s connection to the said files?

            Her hands balled into a fist, her vision tunneling, and her heart rate picking up pace. Won Young felt frozen in the enclosed space thinking about the cost and the gravity of her promise to Minjoo.

            The car came into a gentle halt by Yujin’s house and Won Young took in a deep breath before facing Minjoo and flashing a smile, trying to drown the after thoughts that had clouded her mind throughout the ride.

            “Are you okay?” The question caught Won Young off guard and she looked at Minjoo with wide eyes, mouth agape and ready to let out a sigh.

            Won Young opened the door ad alighted from the car, to which Minjoo followed shortly. They walked a few steps away and stood by the gate. There was silence as the two girls faced each other, both thinking of things they couldn’t say just yet.

            “Thank you for today,” Won Young prompted. The easiest thing to say was a word of thanks, and so that’s what she resorted to do.

            “You’ve improved a lot,” Minjoo answered modestly. “You were a good student like you promised.” It was a statement that made the both of them chuckle. However, the gle