Jimin shrank back and, contrary to the invitation he had received from the apparent surgeon, he remained in place. The man noticed his discomfort and, in one swift movement, removed his mask and gave him a discreet smile.

— Perhaps the hospital setting frightened you a little. We've banned other members of the army from entering tonight and only the team that will be performing your surgery and Jungkook's are present in the building — The smile stayed on the man's face as he walked towards the glass door — I apologize, Mr. Jimin.

— Don't call me sir. I'm not your superior and I'm not an old man. It sounds strange — he commented, following the man in short, slow steps.

— As soon as the surgeon opened the door, Jimin saw a room with brown walls and floor, a relief after so much white, different sizes of surgical clothes arranged in a closet without doors, and a fitting room on the left. As soon as he entered the room, he felt a sudden difference in temperature and in an instant wrapped his arms around himself as a shield against the sudden chill. To the right, a gurney covered in a white sheet was waiting for him, and next to it was another frosted glass door. 

— I would ask you to choose the most suitable surgical blanket for your size and eyesight, please. Leave any objects or accessories you are carrying in the fitting room and then lie down on the gurney. I'll be waiting for you — Being familiar with pre-operative procedures, Jimin followed the surgeon's exact instructions and, after a few minutes, he was lying on the gurney.

His body was experiencing a silent war: a part of him, which he had developed during his studies to become a doctor, was calming him down in the face of surgery. He knew the processes, the technology, and the tools that the Cocoon had at its disposal for situations like this and trusted that an organization like PeaceArmy, with resources that no other district had, would not make mistakes that could put his life at risk, especially in the face of such an ambitious and desired project. On the other hand, he felt insecure and afraid, less because of the surgery and more because of the circumstances surrounding him. 

Choosing to go ahead with it meant giving up things he had always cherished, leaving her comfort zone, and having his destiny changed forever. He would leave his anonymity, the shadows, and the corners of places to stand out wherever he was. Jimin would make commitments to humanity that he had never dreamed of having – he still didn't know if he wanted to – and he would carry too many expectations on his shoulders. Would it be worth it? The question echoed in every corner of his body, sometimes motivating him to continue with the surgery, sometimes begging him to run away and give up. 

However, he knew he was no longer in a position to refuse. Besides, there was a part of him that wanted to go through with it, all for the sake of his mother and the achievements they would have by taking part in the project. Already lying on the gurney, the surgeon opened the door and led him down a dark corridor that sprayed everywhere with droplets of a substance he didn't know.

— A disinfection chamber— explained the surgeon. Jimin couldn't remember having seen anything like it before. In the Pollux district, where he came from, the hospitals weren't dilapidated, but they didn't have advanced technologies such as a disinfection chamber.

Moments later, the other corner of the corridor opened up and Jimin caught a glimpse of the huge operating room that awaited him. In the center, the space where the gurney would be positioned was surrounded by cardiac monitoring devices, holders for bags of saline and other liquids he didn't recognize, several monitors displaying the message "no signal" and the team of surgeons and nurses, 11 men and women correctly dressed for the procedure that was about to begin. 

As soon as he entered the room, Jimin was overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol, rubber, ether, sterile material, and strong silver lights that made him put one of his hands to his face and keep his eyes closed until he got used to the brightness. He could now see the whole space and noticed the more than 20 people watching him from a mezzanine surrounded by transparent glass that separated them from the room. Hanging from the ceiling, a huge white contraption with countless robotic arms opened up like a rose and, at the end of each limb, you could see various types of saws, flashlights, scalpels, scissors, and other surgical utensils. Next to the walls, soldiers sat facing computers connected to countless red, blue, and orange cables.

The people in the room turned their attention to him as soon as they noticed him and Jimin caught different emotions in each of their gazes. On the medical staff, he saw tones of anxiety, curiosity, and excitement. In the officers above – because they were there, he assumed they were people from the PeaceArmy Summit – there was a mixture of animosity, hope, and even ferocity as if they had waited too long for this moment. Jimin retreated onto the stretcher and, when he heard Lanna's robotic voice, his body hair stood on end. 

— Hello, Jimin — it took the boy a few moments to find her on the mezzanine, behind the glass that separated them, and to see the loudspeaker through which her voice came out — Thank you for your services and for being willing to fight for the future of humanity. How are you feeling? — Lanna asked and, for a few seconds, Jimin thought that question wasn't meant to be asked. It was almost as if she was really worried about what was happening to him. 

— I'm still deciding— he replied quietly and was surprised when Lanna nodded, even though she was so far away. There were probably microphones scattered around the room and, as he searched for them, Jimin noticed how the place exuded a modernity he had never imagined. The devices appeared to be as technological as possible, the structure of the room was brand new and well maintained, and the air-conditioning that kept the temperature low confirmed how different this space was from the rest of the Cocoon – because it consumed a lot of energy, the device had been banned from the districts. Jimin wondered how many resources had been needed to build the place that seemed to have come out of the history books, similar to the technological and structural capacity of the pre-Awakening period.  

— We're going to start the surgery soo