He looked at the pen in his hands for a short while. If he signed the papers, there was no turning back. The black pen reflected the light from a small lamp on the Lieutenant General’s table. The Lieutenant himself stood unmoving, and his gaze was burning. Burning with impatience.

 The young man leaned over the table and slowly wrote his name down on the paper. The language of the contract was complicated, and he didn’t fully understand it, but he supposed it was just what they’d already explained. It’d sounded sane enough, and it would cover the costs. It would serve as an apology.

  He stood back up, looked at the Lieutenant. The older man’s eyes were dark, and he couldn’t understand what they told him. ,,You have to forget yourself,” the man said. His voice was calm. ,,Forget the name you just signed. Forget where you come from and forget where you wanted to go, where you never went and only think of where you’re going from now on.”

  The other replied with a nod. The lieutenant took the paper and folded it neatly before throwing it into the fire in the fireplace behind him. They both watched as the identity burnt up into nothing.

- ∞ -

   The walls of the old building were all gray and covered in dust. Everything reeked of old age and decay. He supposed it wasn’t far from what he’d imagined; at least that was always what military buildings looked like in the movies. Guess filmmakers at least got that one right.

 ,,Go down the hall, turn right, then left, then straight ahead you’ll see a door." It was the first thing, the uniformed guy had said since they left the Lieutenant's office hours before. He nodded slowly as a reply, before the soldier added: ,,Your name and belongings will be in there.” The soldier bid him farewell with a small nod and stepped behind him. He let out a gasp of surprise, as a row of metal bars suddenly separated them and baffled, he stood still as the soldier went back the way they came. He then ran a hand through his red hair, as he hesitantly continued down the old corridor. The gray walls he passed were all marked with huge numbers that didn’t make any apparent sense. He mentally noted them anyways. The corridors widened into a round room with five doors. It was lit by a vague white light focused in the middle of the room, and as he stepped in, the entryway behind him was also immediately blocked by metal bars. He didn't remember ever feeling so uneasy as he did in that moment.

Nothing more happened. The room was quiet, and dust was visible in the air. He looked around; every door had metal signs on them. He stepped up to read the one on the door closest to him:

#1

DEUS//T.O.P.

He tried pulling the handle, but the door was locked. So was the next two, but he almost fell over pulling the handle of the third, which opened. He regained balance and looked at the sign on the door:

#4

GOTA//DRAGON

The red-haired frowned. If the door was the only one unlocked, that ought to mean it was his room. The soldier had told him his name would be in the room... But it didn't really sound name-like to him.

   He turned his eyes from the sign and stepped into the small room. There was barely anything inside; a low bed (and not very comfortable-looking at that), a table and a small chair. It had him think of a prison cell. He caught himself wondering how much of a career that interior designer must have had after doing this.

He looked into the brighter room behind him, before stepping further inside what probably would become his new home. Hesitantly, he sat down on the bed. Assumption confirmed: he already feared for an aching back.  Something caught his eyes on the wall by the pillow. 9AP-7331. Some kind of code?

  ,,Who’re you?”

He jumped, standing up quickly. In the door stood another guy whose bright white hair stood out in the dimly lit surroundings. He wore a pair of dark pants and was bare-chested, apart from what looked almost like confining leather-straps across his torso.

 He blinked a few times before he remembered to answer: ,,I’m…” breaking himself off, he glanced towards the sign on the door. ,,I’m… GD. G-Dragon.”

 The other followed the red-haired's eyes to the sign and then nodded, apparantly satisfied with the answer. He was pale, and drops of sweat glimpsed all over the visible skin of his tensed body. G-Dragon thought he was trembling.

As the didn’t seem to want to continue the conversation, G-Dragon asked: ,,Who are you?”

,,Daesung,” said the other quickly. He then paused, before adding: ,,The others will be back soon, too.”

,,...Good. I guess?” G-Dragon said awkwardly, smiling faintly. Daesung frowned at him: ,,You say that now.”

 G-Dragon’s smile fainted. Daesung looked at him in silence for a moment before sighing. ,,You should get ready, they’ll launch you soon,” he said, and suddenly his tone of voice sounded serious. G-Dragon looked confused: ,,Launch me?”

,,Yeah,” the white-haired nodded. ,,Happy birthday,” he added as he stepped out of sight.