Yet another lousy morning on a lousy school day. Everyone wanted to stay in from school and/or work, just to escape their stress. However, the alarm clock had other plans, obnoxiously screaming at everyone in the house to get their lazy butts out of bed. Well, except for one person, Jiyoon just couldn’t hear it at all. This prompted her older sister, Dahyun, to burst into the bedroom and yank her pillow away before hitting the poor girl with it. After a quick scold and demand to hurry up, Jiyoon was downstairs at the dinner table in no time, fully awake. Her mother watched the news on her phone after cooking breakfast. They sat across from her, downing their bowls full of vegetables and eggs.

“Hm…these live broadcasts have been quite chaotic lately.”

“‘Chaotic’ how?” Dahyun asked while drinking her milk. 

“Something about a disease called IAAN or whatever. They just released an article about it.”

“Oh.” The younger girl stopped momentarily, allowing a grain of rice to fall from her lip. “Shouldn’t we stay home then?” 

“Nope. School is still school, so I expect you both attend accordingly.” Their mother was as strict as ever. They wanted to roll their eyes but would rather not receive an hour lecture about respect. “And especially you, Jiyoon. You’re going to graduate very soon and I expect you to receive the highest rank.”

“Yes, mom.” She replied before getting up to wash her own dishes.

Afterwards, they walked out together and made their way towards the convenience store to buy some snacks. Thankfully, it was large enough to sell all of their favorite ones. Jiyoon grabbed a whole pack of green tea flavored KitKats and a bottle of milk while Dahyun had a handful of chocolate. Once close to Jiyoon’s school, they decided to rest for a bit and relax while sharing their snacks with each other. Sort of. Mostly just Dahyun taking most of her KitKats like nothing. Jiyoon, on the other hand, was too tired to even notice and just let the older girl do whatever she pleased but held onto her little milk carton. Thankfully, they could sit there long enough until around 11am since Jiyoon’s first class started then.

“Do you think mom’s been a little too strict with us and our education lately?”

“What’s the difference? She’s always been cranky.”

“Even in times of a pandemic or something? What’s it called…oh, IAAN.”

“Mom's response to that is: ‘a pandemic shouldn’t slow you down in being successful unless you’re a wuss.’”

“Haha true.”

“I heard it’s pretty bad though.”

“Then schools should be shut down, right?” 

“Who knows. Either way, I’m going to Nayeon’s house.”

Jiyoon side eyed her. “Mom would kill you….”

“If she finds out. And if you tell her anything, I’m stealing your crate of snacks.”

“Wait, wh—how did you find that??”

“Your small closet isn’t the best place to hide stuff, you know.” Dahyun playfully rolled her eyes while Jiyoon remained astonished. She then frowned. “Hm…it’s a little over hundred degrees out here…summer is really going to kick my .”

“A hundred degrees?? It’s cool out here though.”

“Because you’re weird. The temperature was just measured right here.” And sure enough, Jiyoon raised both of her eyebrows, surprised to see the exact on Dahyun’s phone.

“Oh…that’s weird. I’ve felt a hundred degrees before though. Today feels nothing like that. Maybe because the wind picked up?”

“Anyways, you should go now before you’re late. It’s already 10:30.” 

“Ugh, alright.” 

“See you later, Jiyoonie.”

They separated as she walked the whole way to school, crossing through neighborhoods before reaching a familiar block. Along the street, she browsed through social media, catching up with the latest news while munching on some candy. The broadcasts being overwhelming were quite an understatement, needless to say. Jiyoon couldn’t even catch up to what everyone was so freaked out about. Yes, it was about the disease, but there was so much at once she could barely read important articles. But one fact Jiyoon found out really scared her: ‘over 90% of kids…are now deceased….’ Frowning, she squinted at the headline, trying to make sense out of it, also wondering if her family was seeing this, too. Jiyoon was so distracted that she didn’t see someone walking towards her before bumping into their shoulder.

“Oof! Sorry! Are you alright?” They simply nodded while timidly distancing away without saying anything else. Jiyoon did so as well, occasionally looking back. When far enough, she began muttering to herself. “I’ve seen her before. Who was it, uh…Sooin? Sooeun? Ah, whatever.”

Jiyoon merely shrugged before resuming the video she’d been watching. The really odd thing was that there were no articles about schools shutting down. She assumed that they did in fact do that, but quietly for whatever reason. Sighing, Jiyoon checked some group chats, realizing none of her friends have been active for over a week now. It felt quite lonely just going on social media; no one liked her tweets like usual, even commenting jokes and/or retweeting. Her timeline was practically empty, but there wasn't much she could do. Soon enough, Jiyoon reached the school in no time and towards class. However, once at the gate, a sign stopped her from going further.

‘Lockdown’?? Couldn’t they have emailed me this in the morning?

That wasn’t all it said. The sign included instructions for every student who sees this sign should proceed to the school’s library at once, which Jiyoon did afterwards. While walking there, she checked her phone to make sure she wasn’t missing any news updates and what not. As Jiyoon got closer, it was noticeably very empty around campus. She felt odd seeing that since people were always crowding here with their friends and doing whatever. Shrugging, Jiyoon neared the library and within a few more steps, she noticed the lights were off…even though they’re always supposed to be on. Jiyoon began having second thoughts, unsure whether or not it was safe to go inside, despite the sign’s instructions. 

Speaking of which, she actually wasn’t sure if the school put that up themselves. Being the one to follow rules though, Jiyoon timidly opened the library’s door. Despite everything being completely dark, she peeked inside anyways. When it looked safe to Jiyoon, the entrance was then wide open and she stepped in, not expecting what was going to happen next. Out of nowhere, Jiyoon was instantly shoved to the ground, pinned down by two soldiers who apprehended her with handcuffs.

“Hey!! The hell’s going on?! Release me!” 

“Shut it, kid. Don’t bother resisting and sit with everyone else.”

“Huh?? What are you—ugh!”

Jiyoon was dragged then thrown on the ground, adding to the dozens of peers who were also handcuffed, some even had rags over their mouths. One of them being her friends, Chowon, who hadn’t been on social media for weeks. Not because she didn’t want to but because she couldn’t. When Jiyoon saw Chowon’s eyes full of fear, she grew more nervous and scooted closer to her. She gave Chowon a worried look, as if asking the younger girl was alright. Jiyoon received a small nod, then turned back to glare at the soldiers who’d handcuffed her. Whatever this whole bull was, it made her more angry than scared. Chowon frowned when she felt slight heat radiating from Jiyoon, but didn’t get a chance to think longer than a second when another soldier began announcing something.

“Everyone in this room must comply with anything we say. Resistance will be futile. Anyone who tries anything dumb like attempting to escape, you’ll be shot on the spot.”

He didn’t say anything else before signaling the others to round up everyone. All of the kids were shoved into SWAT trucks and luckily, Jiyoon was able to sit next to Chowon for the whole ride. At least some comfort for this absolutely bizarre day. She heard some argument outside between the soldiers before the vehicle finally moved. Even though it’d only been about five minutes, it felt like hours. After a while of silence and simply sitting, Jiyoon began hearing a voice out of nowhere, looking around to see who was talking to her. But it seemed no one paid Jiyoon any attention. Maybe she was hallucinating at this point. Until they spoke again, trying to get her attention. Telepathy? And weirdly enough, it sounded like…

Hey, Jiyoonie!

Uh…Chowon?! How are you doing this??

I don’t know, honestly your guess is as good as mine. From what I’ve learned, I'm able to control minds. And hey, look at my eyes, aren't they cool?

Woah! Why are they orange like that? 

They said it’s because of IAAN. Some disease that gave us powers. Survivors are being taken away.

Wait, wait, wait, powers?? 

Yeah. So that means you have some, too.

Uh—ok. Where the heck are they taking us? Couldn’t they have done less violently?

They set that sign up for a trap. And who knows. But somewhere far away, I suppose. 

This is insane. All of this happened out of nowhere. 

I know…I couldn’t go online for weeks because my parents cut off the internet access for some reason. But I’ve been trying to get a hold of the others. What about you?

Me, too. Nothing. We have to get out of here.

Yeah. I don’t know though, I’m scared. They said not to try anything. 

So? They wouldn’t actually kill us…right? 

Chowon shrugged. I’d rather not found out. 

Well there’s gotta be something we can do.

She didn’t respond back after that, but every now and then, Jiyoon would hear Chowon’s voice in her head, asking stuff about life, how her day was, etc. It felt nice, even though they weren’t physically talking. Jiyoon’s first experience with telepathy was quite surreal and honestly, very cool. They drove for miles as Chowon eventually grew sleepy, resorting to the older girl’s shoulder as a pillow. Jiyoon had a lot in her mind, wondering if family and friends were safe at all. Thankfully, she still had her backpack on so hopefully once they get to whatever this place was, she’d be able to keep it along. While the kids sat quietly in the truck, country music played on the driver’s radio, seeming to be one of his favorites. One of the kids in the back looked to be in complete despair hearing the song. Nothing would’ve made that person happier than to throw the radio out the window. Jiyoon might’ve found this funny, had it not been for the situation right now. 

Soon enough, they finally arrived at their destination when the truck’s door opened abruptly. Her eyes were momentarily blinded by all the light that came flooding in. Upon being dragged out, the soldiers finally unlocked the handcuffs and removed the rags, only to force everyone to form single file lines. They were led into a gigantic building that housed almost an entire city population. When Jiyoon looked inside, she couldn’t even hide her horrified shock. Numerous other kids inside were dressed in colored prison suits, mostly green, blue and yellow. Or gold, they called it. Why on earth were they segregated in colors? And why just those colors…? And well, Jiyoon was about to find out. 

She was then led into the hallways, towards a certain room. However, it was oddly crowded with many other soldiers. They kept asking where Section One’s doctor was and the two guards who’d apparently been keeping watch didn’t know at all nor remembered where he went. And it seemed like no one was going to find out any soon with all the back talking. Afterwards, Jiyoon was instead led into another room for examination. When inside, a female doctor formally greeted her before telling her to sit on the chair for a quick neuroscan.

“Um, so what is this for again?”

“This is to see what your powers are.”

“Oh…and what happens after you find out?” 

“Well if you’re gold and below, you’re completely safe.”

“Then what about the last two—”

“Please sit still, I’m about to start this up.” The doctor informed Jiyoon while still looking at the computer monitor before her. She didn’t say anything else and sighed, leaning back on the chair. After an anxious wait, she grew more nervous when the doctor looked visibly shocked.

Shin Jiyoon: Red

“J-just wait here, ok? Everything will be fine….” The tone was very hesitant, which made Jiyoon fight the insane urge to not dash out of the room right now. But before she could even do anything, about three soldiers entered, grabbing her arms. 

“Wh—hey, where are you taking me??”

“Don’t speak.” Without another word, she was led into a darker, more isolated hallway. Next thing Jiyoon knew was being shoved into a changing room. “Put that on and come out when you’re done.” He immediately shut the door behind him.

She glanced at the wall, which hung a black suit and protective gear. There was a vest, some knee and elbow caps, as well as boots. Raising an eyebrow, wondering what the big deal was. When one of them banged on the door for Jiyoon to hurry up, she hastily wore it on without further questioning. In no time, it was another round of being dragged around the place just to locate one place. What was strange to her, however, was that the soldiers were trying their best not to be seen by anyone, which failed when a green was walking to her room as they passed. The girl lowered her head while the soldiers continued on. 

Jiyoon peered over and looked at her back, silently pleading for help and unconsciously said it telepathically. The girl instantly turned around, looking frightened before retreating into her room. Jiyoon felt bad for scaring her, but at the same time was confused. She didn’t have time to ponder on with her thoughts as the soldiers led her into some isolated chamber. Jiyoon had a feeling this was some place where experimentation took place. Unexpectedly, she was then placed into a cell and strapped down onto some chair.

“Hey! Why am I placed here and not with everyone else??” 

“Because you’re a red, idiot. And in case you haven’t been told, your power is arguably the most dangerous one on the chart.”

“W-what…no, no that can’t be.”

The soldiers didn’t stick around to hear it before leaving without another word. The sentence echoed in her ear, which stuck around for minutes. While Jiyoon was stuck in her thoughts, someone suddenly spoke to her. “Hi.” 

“…hey?” 

“I guess, we’re stuck here together.” 

“What is this place?”

“The testing room.”

“Oh, I figured.” 

“That mirror you see is where they sit and watch us burn down this hole.” 

“Wait, are there more people?”

“To your right.” And as the person had told Jiyoon, three others were locked up just like them. 

“S-so they’re reds, too?” 

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

“I see….”

“My name’s Chaerin. What about you?” 

“Jiyoon.” 

“Nice to meet you.”

They both continued talking after that, going idly on about stuff. After a while, having her wrists and ankles restricted was unbearable, making Jiyoon feel like some prisoner and unwanted in society just because of her powers. It’s not like she even knew how to use it, so there wasn’t a possibility that anyone could be hurt by her. At least Jiyoon hoped so. Thankfully, Chaerin was able to keep her company for the months that would follow. For experiment number one, the military had wanted to see how much fire power Jiyoon could use. Needless, to say she could barely use it as that was her first time ever trying anything like that. 

Therefore, Jiyoon barely pulled off a huff of small flames, unimpressive but no one could really blame her. For weeks on end, Chaerin would be forced to help Jiyoon utilize her power for the military’s benefits, and soon, she was able to exhale an enormous trail of fire in their fifth experiment. Being the army’s puppet wasn’t exactly ideal and Jiyoon almost considered turning against them. But she decided to hold off for a while, fear of causing any disruption that could very easily escalate. Jiyoon simply continued to follow along, still holding the hope that one day…she’ll help everyone and herself escape this hell.