30^th October. 0120 hours

The long corridors were a bit difficult to pass through as it is clear for anyone to see them. They could only rely on the columns and gaps between two walls to hide so they had to be fast. They passed more corridors, hopped from one room to another, hid when they heard footsteps and moving when it was gone before they finally arrived.

They knocked four times on the door in the designated rhythm and a few seconds later, the locks clicked and the door was open. They looked sideways before entering. Inside, the lights flickered on and they saw a blond boy sitting on the floor with his legs close to his chest and a focused gaze directed towards them.

“You’re late,” he said.

“Yeah, the guards lingered on longer than usual because they don’t want Chanyeol to burn the room again,” Luna replied.

“Well, I can’t possibly control myself while I’m sleeping now can I?”

“Yes, but you can at least-“

“Enough! We have to start now. The 3 am patrol will start soon.”

The three of them sat on the floor in a circle. 

“Alright, I need status report,” the boy started.

“We found four inmates that seemed capable of helping us with the plan. Their names are Sehun, Sulli, Soojung and Jongin. Sulli and Soojung came here two days ago but Jongin and Sehun has been here for quite awhile,” Luna started.

“Soojung is a high three, almost a four. The same goes with Jongin, though I think his abilities have weakened. Sehun is a medium three,” Chanyeol continued with the rest of their details.

“I see,” the boy said after Chanyeol and Luna has spoken. “What about Sulli?”

“Her results haven’t come out yet and she showed no signs of her abilities. But I sense something big about her…”

“I heard that she destroyed a whole town by herself. That must be huge, right?”

“Rumours are still rumours. I don’t think we should take her along,” the boy stated quite firmly. “As for Sehun, a medium three will not do us good so he stays.”

Luna and Chanyeol nodded reluctantly as his decision is ultimate and final.

“So we’ll carry the next step tomorrow at 0100 hours sharp. Do not fail.”

“Yes, Sir!” Luna and Chanyeol exclaimed in unison.

“Meeting adjourned. Oh, and guys, please call me Luhan.”

~*~

Sehun tried his best to avoid Luna and Chanyeol. His efforts include going to breakfast, lunch and dinner later than usual. Sulli said nothing and followed her roommate’s actions. She too felt something suspicious about Luna and Chanyeol. It was quite surprising that Chanyeol and Luna wouldn’t pester them at all but they didn’t question it.  They probably lost interest in them and started to pursue Soojung and Jongin instead.

Sehun and Sulli were together all day. They were practically glued to the hip, never leaving each other’s side except when going to the bathroom. They talked a lot, mostly Sehun while Sulli listened and commented on a few parts. When he asked her of her past, she would brush it off and told him it wasn’t so interesting and that she’d rather not talk about it. Sehun would apologize and they would continue talking.

“What’s your most favourite thing in the whole wide world?” Sehun asked as they were preparing for bedtime.

Sulli stopped and thought about it for awhile but nothing came to her mind. “I don’t know. I guess I never really thought of it before.  What about you?”

“I’d have to say a child’s laughter,” Sehun smiled when he saw Sulli was confused. “A child’s laughter is one of the most innocent things in the whole wide world and it would put a smile on anyone’s face when they heard it, especially the parents. It means that they’re happy and they give people a bit of their happiness too.”

“Wow, I never really thought of it that way before,” she yawned.

Sehun was about to respond when a guard barged in and told them rather harshly that it was time to sleep. They crawled into their beds obediently and shut their eyes even though they weren’t tired at all.

“Sulli…” Sehun whispered when the guard was gone but all he heard was a soft hum.

“Hmm?”

“Never mind. Good night.”

He heard her yawn. “Good night.”

When all he heard were soft snores and low hums, he began to wonder if telling Sulli that her laughs and smiles were second on his list of favourite things was a good idea.

1^st November. 0100 hours

Jongin had never had a good night’s sleep ever since he came to the facility.

So when the door creaked open rather slowly, he was alert.

He didn’t know why a guard would be coming in at this time of night but he stayed still in his place, not wanting to create a commotion.  But when he heard hushed footsteps instead of the loud, thundering ones that all guards seemed to have, he began to think twice. He saw, from the corner of his eyes, two figures – an immensely tall guy with a short girl – approaching the two of them. The girl went to Soojung but before he could see what happened next, his whole field of view was blocked by the very tall guy.

The guy shook him rather harshly though Jongin had a feeling it was unintentional.

“Wake up Jongin,” he heard a deep, gruff voice speaking to him. He hesitated, wondering if it was a good idea to he reply.

“If you want to leave this place, you better wake up now.”

Jongin’s eyes snapped open and he sat upright within a moment at the offer of leaving this hell of a place.

“Now come with us. We’ll explain everything later.”

He followed them with a groggy Soojung tailing behind.  It seemed that she was still oblivious to what was happening at the moment. Jongin, on the other hand, was wide awake and as alert as possible. He didn’t know where they were going but he sensed it to be risky and dangerous if he were as sleepy as Soojung right now.

His guess was proven right when Soojung kept swerving left and right as they walked on, sometimes knocking over things that could give them away. When she kept dozing off during their trip, the tall guy told him to carry her. Jongin agreed begrudgingly because even though she shouldn’t be treated as such as it would only add to her cockiness, he wanted to go home more than anything else.

He wrapped one of her arms around his shoulders and placed his arm around her waist and dragged her all the way. It wasn’t pleasant for Jongin but it helped make things faster and that’s good enough. She leaned her head against his shoulder and a quick whiff of her shampoo entered his senses. It smelled good, not that he'd admit it.

Jongin noticed, after awhile, that the tall guy and the girl beside him looked strangely familiar, like he’s seen them somewhere before. He realized later that these two were the ones he saw around Sehun and his roommate a lot. He wondered if this was a trick set by Sehun but decided against it since this is far too dangerous to be a prank as their lives were at stake. There’s no telling what would happen if they were caught right now. Besides, the one that’s supposed to have a vendetta was supposed to be him.

Soojung was heavier than she looked and it didn’t help that she’s barely awake to support her own weight. So when they finally entered a room he had never seen before twenty minutes later, Jongin was more than relieved to have her off of him. He let her fall on the ground as she remained oblivious and away from reality. He looked up from where Soojung was lying and only then noticed the unfamiliar surroundings he just entered. Maybe the tall guy weren’t kidding after all.

It was clear that the room was pretty much abandoned with some of its parts remained unfinished, as if it wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place. There was nothing decorating it except a few chairs and broken tables. His eyes stopped at the centre of the room where a blonde guy was standing erect with a smile that seems a little too eerie to his liking.

The blonde guy approached them and the two that stood beside him, immediately straightened and saluted the guy. He wondered if he should do the same thing when he came to his direction. He gave Jongin a smile and offered his hand to him. The gesture was quite foreign for him as he hasn’t engaged in such social interaction for quite awhile but he took it anyway.

“Welcome Jongin! I’d like to say the same thing to Soojung as well but I doubt she’s conscious right now. Anyways, it doesn’t matter. Come everyone, let’s gather at the centre of the room! Chanyeol, Luna, help Jongin carry Soojung will you?”

Chanyeol and Luna helped Soojung off the floor. She was just regaining her consciousness and began to ask absurd questions like how did she get here and where this place is. Jongin scoffed and decided Chanyeol and Luna would be more than enough to help the princess get up.

~*~

Sehun did not plan on getting up at one in the morning for some meagre business like relieving himself but obviously his bladder had a different plan for him. There was one bathroom located between every two rooms and the guards never bothered to secure the area where toilets are concerned so he went with relative ease.

He also did not plan on tailing four patients through corridors and rooms with Sulli, risking both of their life just to sate his curiosity.  But he did anyway.

Somehow they managed to follow them without being seen or heard by the four in front of them,  that is until they reached a room Sehun had never seen in all his years in the facility.  They hid behind a pillar while watching the four of them enter the room. When they did, Sehun moved closer and creaked the door open slightly, only to see an eye staring back at him.