i. Myungsoo

Kim Myungsoo. Sixteen years old. Erudite. In a world divided by factions, it was one of two words that he had been taught never to forget. The name of his home. He lived an ordinary life with his parents, along with his younger brother Moonsoo. From the time he was younger, he had always been told that living without a faction was living divorced from society. Without a faction, he was useless.

He loved his faction, he really did, but pursuing knowledge (mostly from books and computers) almost every day of his waking life got boring when done monotonously. He remembered Sungyeol adding, “Not everything we learn had to be by the book, by the manual, we should at least be free to explore other options.”

Lee Sungyeol had been his best friend ever since they had been paired in partner study when they were eight. Sungyeol had taken one look at the science book they were supposed to be studying and huffed, “Why call it an experiment when it had been done a thousand times already?” They then snuck out to examine the plants at the park, sitting on one of the benches as they scrawled observations onto their notepads.

Needless to say, they had both gotten in trouble for veering away from the proposed lesson but had gotten good enough marks because their reports had been thorough enough to detail everything. They were pretty much inseparable after that.

Sungyeol fascinated Myungsoo, knowing several things that weren’t even in the books, impressing and worrying their teachers and his parents by venturing out too often into the unknown. He couldn’t exactly be punished for it, since he claimed to do it in the name of knowledge and to Erudite, that was more than enough to turn a blind eye.

So this was how Kim Myungsoo lived, with his family and best friend, all for the pursuit of knowledge. After all, it was the only logical solution to everything.

So pray tell, how did it all get so messed up on Choosing Day?



Myungsoo rubbed his eyes before checking the clock on his bedside table. It was half past six. He had the strangest nightmare .. Sungyeol had been standing outside his bedroom window, dressed all in black with a gun of all things. That had been his last coherent thought before his best friend fired the gun.

He shuddered, pulling his blankets even tighter around him. What made even less sense was the fact that Sungyeol had been in black, Dauntless clothing. Sungyeol was in Erudite, and his test had concluded that as well (he had told Myungsoo in hushed whispers during the walk home). His best friend, even though he put honesty above anything else, he wouldn’t lie about his results. Not like Myungsoo.

He fully expected to lean towards Erudite, it was where he was born and raised after all. There was a certain security about being in familiar territory with the people he loved. He didn’t want that to change. So the fact that his results came out as inconclusive .. it terrified him, even more so when the tester had told him not to share his results with anyone.

“Yah.” A voice from the door made Myungsoo snap out of his thoughts, his shoulders sagging in relief at the sight of Sungyeol. “You must be pretty nervous if you’re up before I even wake you.” The older of the two frowned as he took in the expression on Myungsoo’s face, edging nearer. “You okay?”

Myungsoo tried to swallow the lump in his throat, trying to formulate the words “I.. my test went weird.”, but he couldn’t. How was he supposed to go about this?

“I’m just.. rattled, that’s all.” Myungsoo reached out, his fingers curling around Sungyeol’s sleeve. “Choosing day, you know?” He studied Sungyeol’s face, his half-eyebrows furrowed as he took in Myungsoo’s explanation. He had always been clingy to his best friend, ever since they were younger. They had even worked out a plan after Choosing Day; Myungsoo wanted to take pictures and he would develop the chemicals used himself, while Sungyeol would create new substances, he was slightly crazy like that. Them against the world.

Sungyeol sat next to him on the bed, looping an arm around Myungsoo’s shoulders. “Idiot. We’ll still be friends no matter what happens so quit worrying.” Myungsoo bit back any retort that made its way to his throat, his frustration mounting at the fact that he has to keep silent. How do you know?

“Come on,” Sungyeol pulled him to his feet and steered him towards the bathroom, shutting the door. “Get moving so we can still get my Americano.”

Everything will be fine, Myungsoo told himself as he splashed some water on his face. They had to be.

Classes were cancelled for the day, with everyone in their year (along with their parents) at the Hub. The inner circle was filled with chairs for the initiate’s families to sit in. The last circle contained the five metal bowls for each faction; gray stone for Abnegation, water for Erudite, glass for Candor, lit coals for Dauntless and earth for Amity. Abnegation was hosting this year, so the Hub was filled with grey-clad figures helping others to their seats or sweeping the place clean.

Myungsoo stood with his parents, hugging his mother tightly before he went to take his place with Sungyeol. They would be going by alphabetical order, which meant that Myungsoo would choose first. His heart hammered inside his chest as he faced the expectant faces of each faction; he was going to stick to their plan, he and Sungyeol would stay in Erudite.

“Kim Myungsoo.”

He stepped up to the platform, his hand shaking slightly as he held the knife. Cutting his hand open definitely hurt like a , but seeing his blood drip onto the tranquil blue of the water ... it eased his anxiety just a bit.

Polite clapping could be heard from the Erudite side of the room, his mother positively beaming at the thought of keeping her eldest song a bit longer. He stumbled a bit as he headed to the line of Erudite initiates, smiling nervously at Sungyeol from where he stood. The other’s face was composed, blank even. Myungsoo wasn’t used to seeing it on his friend’s normally expressive face.

“Lee Sungyeol.”

Sungyeol strode to the plaform, his normal gangliness nowhere to be seen. It fit him somehow, the grace he exuded at that moment, like he finally had a sense of purpose. His face was impassive as he cut his hand, staring at the bowls for a long time. Myungsoo snorted a bit, typical Sungyeol to be so dramatic, he had always wanted to be an actor, even if it wasn’t recommended for someone from their faction.

It happened much too quickly, Sungyeol’s hand had already gone to the direction of the water bowl, about to let his blood drip, when he suddenly snatched his hand back, the sizzling of the coals being the only sound Myungsoo could register at the moment. He stood shock-still from his place, open-mouthed as Sungyeol avoided his gaze and headed for the line of Dauntless initiates.

He made a mistake of glancing towards the Erudite side of the room, the elders shaking their heads as they converse in whispers about the Lee boy, how really, his parents should have seen it coming.

When Myungsoo closed his eyes, he remembered how Sungyeol was impulsive enough to do anything, ... reckless.. how he always got into more trouble than necessary, the scars Sungyeol got when he was out running with Myungsoo or whenever they went out to explore.

He caught Sungyeol trying to catch his eye, and he willed himself not to cry, throw a tantrum, anything. Sungyeol had never been a particularly apologetic person but this.. seeing the expression on his face.. this was a lot worse.