“Alright, while we wait for the barrier to grow, let’s go over a few things.”, Haseul started off as she nodded towards Soobin. She sensed the sudden change in the atmosphere, and she thought that changing the subject – at least temporarily – would do them good. “Eight of you escaped the slimes, but seven of you got your tattoos, seven different powers. Fire, water, ice, wind, earth, telekinesis and sound. And these powers are affecting the way you all are feeling inside, right?”

The others nodded in agreement.

“I don’t know if this is important at all, but why do you guys think you all were stuck to the slimes’ bodies but I wasn’t?” Kai tilted his head with confusion, fighting the urge to sit down and take a heavy breath, the trauma of the other day returning to him slowly.

Seungmin shared a thought that the others immediately deemed quite reasonable, “Maybe it’s because you managed to get out while you were still in the water. You mentioned that it’s easier to move within the slime when the slime itself is above water, and that it’s much more difficult to move around while in the water. On the other hand, I suppose it’s easier to actually truly get away while in the river. Maybe the water prevented you from sticking to the body.”

“That makes sense… Confusing, but it makes sense… Does that mean we need to get into the river to rescue Changbin-hyung?”, Jisung piped in as he played with the hem of his shirt. He looked at Felix with a certain expression. “We’ll find him, Lix, don’t worry.”

“Not necessarily. We just need to get Changbin out somehow, it doesn’t matter how but we just have to.” Jungeun tried to reassure the others. “For now, let’s just sit and wait. Maybe we can figure out how to use our powers, and we’ll utilise this time to have some snacks and take a nap. Ugh, how do you even sleep amid this?!?”

While Jungeun continued to express her frustration, the others forced themselves to sit and try to relax. They leaned against the wall of the clinic, rummaging through some of their bags and picking out a few packaged foods, handing out some to the other civilians. Nibbling on their only source of nutrition and energy, they let their eyes linger on the world outside the barrier – so close yet so distant – and wondered if they would ever get their normal lives back.

“Soobinnie, is it Daehwi?”, Yeonjun asked out of the blue as he settled himself beside the other. He rested his head against the wall, chewing on a cookie.

“Huh?” Soobin was started by the question, clueless and confused. He tried not to flinch or react at the other sitting so close to him.

“The person you fell for even though you shouldn’t have. Is it Daehwi, your roommate?”

Soobin could swear he in a huge amount of air, merely avoiding choking. “What? N-No!”

“Oh my God, is it Yeji? And you regret it because I like her?”

“Damn it, hyung, no! It’s not her!”

“Oh my God, wait, is it one of us? Me? , is it Kai? Or worse, Beomgyu? Taehyun? Sheesh, Soobin, they’re literally dating each other. That would be scandalous! Or is it Minhyuk-sunbaenim?!? Your lookalike?!?” Yeonjun exaggerated a shocked expression while he continued chewing away the sweet delight.

“Hyung, it’s not them! Minhyuk-hyung’s like an older brother, my goodness! You need to relax…” Soobin didn’t truly lie, but he knew that the other was far too dense and thick-headed to figure it out.

“Well…”, Yeonjun trailed off with suspicion. “I’m definitely going to pry it out of you! You’re my best friend, for ’s sake! Tell me, is it someone I know?”

“Hmm, sure. You probably haven’t seen them face-to-face, but in pictures, sure. Can we stop talking about this now? Certain upsetting sights, remember? I don’t want to think about it.”

“Fair enough. Well, whoever this special someone is, they’re lucky to be loved by someone so incredible like you. And because I am your wonderful best friend and partner in crime, if they do something bad to you, allow me to chop their fingers off and snatch their wig, alright?”

Soobin nodded slowly, his lips curving up into a pitiful smile. He wished he could scream out Yeonjun’s name to the world, but the words would never come out. He pushed down his troublesome feelings to the deepest depths of his heart. “Sure.”

Before either of them could say anything, they whipped their heads in all directions at a familiar sound. They gestured the other civilians to stay put; they creeped closer to the edge of the wall, peeking their heads out. With a chorus of sighs and grunts, they saw the machine rotate on its wheels, beginning its repetitive journey towards the right. Further behind the metallic contraption were the seven slimes, so slow that they almost seemed frozen.

“Something’s not right. This is too easy- Wait! Hear me out first! It’s easy in the sense that, as the machine destroys more and more of the land, we have more space to escape towards, thanks to the barrier expanding. Whatever bull this is, it’s letting us stay alive, but why?” Minho paced back and forth, his brows furrowed with concentration.

“Does it matter? None of this makes any sense anyway. We just need to survive or die. We don’t really have a choice.”, Yeosang argued as he proceeded to take the last sip of water from the plastic bottle in his hand. He stared at the container for a moment, wondering if drinking the river’s water would genuinely heal them, or perhaps the curing miracle sourced from the slimes themselves. He shook his head and sat himself back onto the rough ground.

It was a few hours later, the sun much lower in the sky now, starting to set, the sky taking on a beautiful shade of pale blue and purple, the sun hiding within colours of orange. It was an ideal day for a picnic.

How tragic.

“It’s been a while now… Three hours to be exact. The barrier hasn’t grown at all since. Hmm, let’s see what we have so far…” Taehyun jumped up to his feet, flashing a quick but uncertain smile towards Beomgyu and Kai, both of them sticking to his side. He squinted his eyes and began scanning his surroundings.

“Few more buildings, half of a hotel, a few restaurants and cafes, roads and vehicles and lights that won’t even work, ugh… I see a park in the distance, and the long roads that are soon to be empty as the people rush away like a bunch of mice.”

“Hey, it’s not their fault…” Kai looked up at the other with rigid eyes despite the fatigue draining him out.

“Yeah, but if they could stop putting their lives in danger by standing so close to the barrier, if they could just move away and stop trying to report and capture everything for the media, then maybe the ones stuck in here would stop feeling like a group of rats to be experimented on!”

“Taehyun, calm the down. What do you expect from them anyway?”

At that question, Taehyun quietened down, realising that he would’ve reacted similarly if the situation was flipped. “S-Sorry. Uh, I think I see our campus from here. The barrier might enclose the entire university in a while, and Yeonjun-hyung