It was a quarter after six when they set off an overhead alarm to wake us. I was a heavy sleeper and probably would have continued to sleep if it wasn’t for Jimin. I was sleeping peacefully when I felt two hands press against my chest, effectively causing me to jerk awake.

            “What’s going on?” I asked, my voice strained as I tried to suppress a yawn. I looked around the room, my sleepy eyes still trying to adjust to their dim surroundings. I couldn’t make out much, but enough to know that Jimin and I were the only ones in the room.

            “Come on, Kook. The others already left. You have to get up. If you miss breakfast, you’ll starve until lunch and I doubt you want that, given everything that happens between now and then.”

            He backed off to allow me to slide out of the bed. I groaned and rubbed my lower back as I slid on my shoes. I tugged on the issued T-shirt and ruffled and finger-combed my hair until it was decent. Scratching my stomach, I followed Jimin out of the room. I furrowed my eyebrows as he spoke.

            “What do you mean ‘given everything that happens between now and then?’” I stopped in the middle of the hallway. I was completely confused. What could they possibly do to us that was that bad? I mean, it’s not like we were criminals, so they couldn’t do anything bad, right?

            Jimin sighed and stopped walking. He turned around in to face me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Look, I know this place may not seem that bad because we get three meals a day and other things some of us might not get at home—like our own beds.” He looked around before leaning in closer to me, making his voice more hushed. “But make no mistake about it. This place is dangerous. And the sooner you learn that, the better off you will be.” He straightened up. “Now come on. We’re going to be late.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

            Going into the cafeteria for breakfast reminded me of when I was in primary school. We all lined up on the far right side of the wide room. One by one, we shuffled up to the bar, trays in hand. There were five men standing on the other side, clothed in white aprons and hair nets. They ranged in ages. There were a couple that looked to be around Jimin’s age, two a few years older, and one that seemed to be in his mid-twenties. He must’ve been the overseer, there to make sure no one tried anything funny. He stood out amongst the others; not because of his age, but because half of his face was burned. The scarred tissue had hardened up and left that part of his face looking like a fleshy rock. His eyes were a deep brown, almost black, and empty, his stare leaving you cold if you caught it for too long. I could see why he was in charge; I definitely wouldn’t want to do anything to get in trouble with him around.

            When it was my turn at the bar, I handed my tray over to the first male. He filled one of the sections with a clump of crusty, slightly burnt rice. He then passed it down to the next person. The chain continued down until the last man. He took a dried up piece of bread and put it on the tray along with a carton of milk. He held the tray out to me with a gruff, “here.” He stared at me hard until I took it and then turned, almost with disgust, to take the next tray for the person in behind me.

            I took the tray and looked around. My chest tightened a bit with anxiety. Everyone seemed to the grouped up into their own little cliques and I knew from movies that trying to invade those cliques never went well. I spotted Jimin sitting with Jin and Namjoon, but I didn’t see Suga anywhere. Regardless, I hurried over to sit with them.

            “Is the food always like this?” I asked, picking up a piece of kimchi with my chopsticks. I leaned in to take a bite but the smell pushed me back. My stomach twisted into a knot.

            Jin just shrugged in response to my question. Namjoon, when he had finished swallowing the glop of rice in his mouth, said, “You get used to it. Think of it this way: it’s better than nothing and honestly, it could be a lot worse. Besides, if you eat it quickly, you barely notice the taste... or the smell.”

            I nodded, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. I mixed the kimchi up with the rice. I managed to pick up a healthy portion of it and, without taking in another breath, I pushed the food into my mouth, chewed it as quickly as possible and swallowed. I gagged a little but managed to keep it down. “God, that was awful.” My comment just earned another shrug from my tablemates. I looked around the room and finally saw Suga. He was sitting by himself at the table closest to the exit. “Why is he over there sitting by himself?”

            “I told you, Kook, he’s a mystery. He doesn’t talk to us, or anyone for that matter. He doesn’t seem to want to be associated with anyone, so we just leave him alone,” Jimin answered, reaching over and taking my wheat-rock for himself.

            “No one truly wants to be alone,” I said softly. “I’m going to go talk to him.” I got up, getting out from the table.

            “Whatever. You’re fighting a losing battle, but I guess you have to learn for yourself.” Jimin shrugged before helping himself to the food left on my tray.

            I shook my head and walked over to where Suga was. With every step, my chest seemed to tighten. My hands were starting to shake a bit so I shoved them in my pockets. I slowly took in a breath before sitting down next to Suga. “Uh… hey, I’m Jungkook…” My voice trailed off into awkwardness, which grew as my introduction garnered no response. “I’m your…bunkmate. I mean, I-I sleep in the bed under you.” Still, I got no response. “Look, I just—”

            The elder male let out a sigh. His nails scratched against the table as his hands clenched and unclenched into fists. He turned to look at me, a slight snarl leaving his lips. “Shut up,” he said through slightly-gritted teeth. “Now you look. I know who you are, Jungkook.” He sneered my name, as if the two syllabic word was poison. “I just don’t care.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

            At seven thirty, the guards of Riverview split us up into three different groups: A, B, and C. I was in group A along with Namjoon and Jin. Suga ended up in B with Jimin. I didn’t know anyone who ended up in C group but they all seemed to be very happy with the outcome.

            “Listen up, wards¹,” One guard bellowed. He had cupped his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice so everyone could hear him. All I could notice was the nightstick strapped against his hip, black and gleaming under the florescent light. “Group A will be checked today. Group B tomorrow, and C the following day. While A is being studied, the rest of you will go to your bunks and will not come out until told to do so. Understood?”

            Everyone nodded and mumbled a gruff reply of agreement. The first guard, with the help of another, led me and the rest of A out of the cafeteria while the others went back to their rooms. The guards led us into a wing of Riverside that I had never been in. The further we got into the wing, the more everything changed from looking like a prison to looking like a research lab. They stopped us just outside a large iron door.

            “First five, let’s go.” The guard commanded. He put his hand on the first person in line and pushed them forward. “One,” he repeated the action for the next person, “Two.” He continued until he got to me. “Five.” He pushed me forward and shut the door behind us.

            Two figures were already in the room, one male and one female. They were dressed in long lab coats that just skirted their mid-calves and held large silver clipboards. They instructed us to sit and then began attaching electrodes to our foreheads, chests, and arms.

            “Now,” one of the female started. “Let’s begin.”

 ¹: used as in 'wards of the state'