Clean. Seoul was once again clean, alive and back to its former self. The streets were crowded with people, just like how she remembered it. She can feel herself running down the streets, eager to find her friends and meet up at the spot. 

Pushing through the crowd, she didn't allow one moment to be wasted. She knew that they were there. They had to be there. Approaching a tall tree just at the edge of a children's park, there they were. Minho, Jihae and Chang-min. Happy, healthy, well, alive. That was the most important part to her- the fact that they were alive. As if the war never started; as if it never began and it never will. She felt so happy and carefree. She can go back to her old self again; laughing, joking and talking to her friends, waving 'hi' to anyone she recognizes as they zipped by. This was the life she remembered like yesterday; a life that she never wanted to be parted from.

However, everything slowly started to fade into black. Her friends' faces were vanishing and her surroundings started to disappear like a glitching video game. The blackness behind her ate up everything that contained her. She wanted to run away before she lost sight of what was left in front of her but her legs didn't seem to budge. She soon felt like a lost puppy; like her consciousness is trying to tell her to wake up. But she didn't want to wake up. She wanted back what she has lost; but that wasn't a choice that she could make.

Lifting her head up from her knees, Alex slowly blinked her eyes open. She looked around the room but all she saw was the familiar buzzing noise from the nearby vending machine that she had moved into the manager's office. It was the only thing providing her with light at the moment. She wish she never woke up. She wished that all this was just a nightmare. But no. If that was the case, it would've all been too easy.

Heaving a small sigh, Alex tilted her head back so that it was leaning against the wall she was sitting against as she smirked at the memory. The memory that she wished with all her heart that would come back and become reality once again. But that was never going to happen. As long as soldiers of North Korea roamed around in any part of Korea, it was all too hopeless. She stretched out her legs and arms, twisting her head a couple of times before she decided to get up from the stiff position. 

Looking to her right, she put on her black hoodie and grabbed her black messenger bag, ready to head out. Alex was too sick and tired of being captivated within one space. But what choice did she have? This was one of the few safe places that she can inhabit in; not to mention that it provided electricity and fridges for her to preserve her food. Patting her from the dusty floor, she pulled her hood over her head, double-checked that her weapons remained close and secure to her before turning the knob into the grocery store.

The overhead lights flickered above her, the fridges and freezers fully functioning but the lights all died out. The only thing that provided light were the lightbulbs she managed to loot from convience stores and within the store's storage room. Daytime light was provided by the natural sunlight that peered through the broken glass as the sun rose slowly from the horizon.

Pushing open the heavy metalled rimmed door, Alex shoved her hands in her pockets and took in a deep breath of fresh air. She could hear the birds chirpping happily in the distance, despite the ruined streets and horrific scenes. But she has seen these corpses too many times to be bothered by them anymore.

She made a sharp turn to her right and ran down the streets, wondering if she could be lucky enough to even catch a rat for the day. But food was never much of an option due to the scarcity of it. She has tried lasting over many days without any food down the hatch. Eating fellow citizens was never much of a choice either. It's not like she minded or cared anymore but due to the bombing, the corpses might be infected with radiation and she wasn't about to take that chance. Even when she hunted, she had to be very careful before she downed anything because those animals eat pretty much everything. 

Like usual, her days were nothing but travelling. She moved around a lot. Finding new places to hide if anything happens, memorizing each path and road around her area, making sure she doesn't get herself lost, stuff like that. It was pretty much her everyday routine. On somedays, she would be lucky to catch herself a quail or a migrating goose for food. She would also travel to different warehouses and shops to see if she was able to find herself anything new to wear whenever her originals wear out. But that was mostly it and this  was how she spent the last three years of her life. 

But that day was a little odd for her. She continuously felt as if someone was following her, almost in a stalking fashion. But no matter where she went or how high she climbed, there were no footsteps nor was there anybody there when she made a quick turn around to check. But that feeling never left her. The feeling crept on her and made her feel uncomfortable as if there was a giant tarantula constantly crawling around. Thinking that it was her imagination, she attempted to shake the feeling off and focused her mind somewhere else. It didn't take very long for her attention to be completely directed away from the weird feeling.

Luckily for her that day, she was able to find a new, un-raided convience store in a new area that she had just made to. It had a lot a food that managed to stay preserved. Beef jerky, candy, bottled water, and anything she managed to find undamaged. She stuffed them all in her messenger bag, determined to go back tomorrow to continue stocking up as ration. She knew the food were mostly expired but it didn't matter. Keeping herself alive and surviving the mess was what's most important at the moment. 

Alex looked outside the broken window and saw that the sky has already started to set. She had been venturing out for a really long time today, again. She was lucky that there weren't much soldiers on patrol but she needed to get back soon before the darkness covers her paths, causing her to get lost in an area that she's never been in. Travelling back down the alleyway that she came through to get to her destination, she started on her way back.

It was then, she heard the murmuring of soldiers off in the distance. She held her breath, put on her mouthmask that she took out of her bag and made a run for it to the other end of the alley. Not far off at the other end, she popped out into the open streets to unexpectedly encounter another pair of soldiers. The soldiers didn't think twice to pull out their pistols from their belts with two hands, ready to shoot at her.

"." Alex cursed at herself, hating herself for being so careless. 

"Hands up!" one of the soldiers called. The soldiers at the other end of the alley had their attention caught by the familar call and pulled out their own guns. Obidiently, Alex raised her hands slowly and carefully, putting them behind her head.

"Down on the ground!" another called. Alex spread her legs shoulder-width apart and crouched down, also very slowly and carefully. When one of the soldiers let go one of their hands from their gun, it was a signal to her that they have temporarily let their guard down which meant it was time to let it rip. 

Alex moved her right hand to the pole that stuck out of a circular tubed bag and unsheathed her weapon in a split second. Clicking the button closest to her thumb immediately after, the top of the pole's compartment opened and revealed her blade which she used to hook and tear off the head of the soldier closest to her. Their head came clean off as blood gushed out from the headless body, crashing onto the ground.

She smirked at her next victims, resting the pole of her scythe on her right shoulder. Although the mask cloaked , her eyes smiled at them with threat and anger burning within them. One of them pointed the gun at her and attempted to shoot which she dodged easily since she already predicted that that would happen. Without thinking further, she sliced her enemy diagonally, causing their body to separate. Without hesitating for another moment, she caught the one on her left off guard and sliced right through the torso.

Alex turned around, ready to take down the last one but they dropped their gun onto the pavement and ran for their life, cowering out from the battle. But there was no way Alex was going to let him get away to report back to the government about her existance; so she chased after him, using the pole to her advantage to hop over them and taking the last kill of the day. 

Clicking that button again, the blade of her scythe folded and sheathed itself back inside it's little compartment. Alex tucked the pole back into its rightful place but once she had done so, she was greeted with slow and mysterious clapping. 

"Well done." a man laughed, revealing himself into the light of a street lamp. She looked over to face the man in shades, giving him an immediate cold glare. 

"You were following me all day; haven't you?" Alex figured, realizing that he was the reason behind the feeling of being stalked. "I wouldn't ask how you managed to follow me all day with making even the slightest of sounds but what I will ask is why. Why are you following me?" 

"To be a witness." he answered simply with a smile. Alex furrowed her eyebrows, feeling uncomfortable from his choice of words. Seeing her expression, all he let out was a chuckle. "I'm surprised of how strong you've grown. But I never expected anything less from you to begin with. If I have, you would've never became a candidate out of all the others that are alive out there." 

At that moment, Alex stepped backwards, feeling the need to run. She had never felt this way before. She felt that the longer she was with this man, the more dangerous it was. His choice of words and the way he delivered it so coolly sent chills crawling up and down her skin.  

"What are you afraid of?" he asked, stepping closer towards her. She looked at him with uncertainty in her eyes, feeling unsafe, but she couldn't pinpoint the reason why. 

"Who are you?" were the only words that slipped out of . She never meant to say it outloud but her thoughts had crept their way into her voice, doing the talking for her.

"You can call me Boss. I would continue on further into details but this is no place for words. There is a possibility that more soldiers are lurking around." he whispered. His voice was soft and calm, making Alex feel less worried but his presence was what scared her most. She didn't feel like she should trust him but he was right. The sun has almost completely disappeared behind the horizon and staying in one place any longer was not an option. She needed to find a place to shelter before she finds her way back tomorrow morning. 

Not long after, soldiers were visible from around the corner and so they both hid inside the alleyway. Hearing the amount of footsteps, their were many marching about. It will only be a matter of time that they'll see their fellow collegues murdered.

"Fine." she decided with a stern and quiet voice, "but once we're safe from danger, you need to stay at least 3 meters away from me at all times and you need to answer every question I ask you. In return, I'll hear what you have to say. If you even dare to do anything else otherwise, I will kill you immediately." she threatened with a cold glare.

"Done." he agreed with a nod of a head. "Now come. I know a place that we can stay for the night." 

.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

"So let me get this straight," Alex heaved, sitting down on a nearby foldable stool inside the old car garage. "Those soldiers are actually mind controlled by chips created by the government and now the rest of the world is at stake for being under the same control?" Boss returned with a nodded reply, taking a seat of his own.

"How old do you think I am? Ten? This isn't a stupid si-fi movie. People can't be mind controlled." Alex scoffed. 

"It's precisely not a si-fi movie which is what makes this reality even more frightening." Boss replied.

"You're kidding me right? Do you think I'll believe such a stupid make-believe story that you've made up? Yeah, no." she shook her head in disbelief. "If you really believe something as stupid and as imaginary as that, then I'm sorry, you've officially gone crazy." 

"I thought you might say something like that." he smirked. Getting up, he grabbed the bag near the metal garage door and went back to his seat. He took out a fresh bloody head out of the bag, the same head that Alex had torn off just moments ago.

"You're showing me this, why?" she crossed her arms, looking unamused. All he did in reply was turning the back of the head towards her and lifted up the hair, revealing a small, light scar at the back of the neck where the head was connected. Alex got up from out of her seat to take a closer look only for Boss to place the face on his lap. Taking out his dagger, his jabbed it into the scar, opened a hole wide enough for his two fingers and picked out a little sim card-like chip which had a little pole-like antenna connected to it. The chip was drooling with blood but without anymore words, Alex started to believe him.

"If what you're saying is true, how do I know that you don't have one of your own?" Alex questioned suspiciously. Boss heaved a sigh, turned around and lifted the hair from the back of his neck. She peered over to get a good look at it but no matter how she examined, there's no scar. 

"To enter the chip, you must first pass through a large amount of tissue called skin. But since you need to cut through the skin to enter the chip, the tissues will try to heal itself afterwards but it will never heal properly, leaving a scar. Thus, if you have the scar, you've been controlled. If not, then you aren't." he explained as if it was self-explanatory. Alex was tempted to drop her jaw from his sudden words, making her feel offended that he explained it to her as if she didn't know how a scar is created, but she held it shut. She was too shocked from all the sudden information of the so-called reality that she now lived in but it's something that cannot be avoided.

"Now it's your turn to answer my question." Boss started again, losing Alex's train of thought. "Will you help me and join my team?" Alex looked at him for a long time, pondering about her answer. Heaving a sigh, she realized that she never had a choice to begin with. If she was going to die, she might as well die trying with a reason and purpose. At least she final has a goal to live after besides surviving. "Fine. But only on these conditions." 

"Go on." he nodded.

"One: I have the freedom to leave whenever I want to. And you have absolutely no control over me and where I go." she started.

"Of course." 

"Two: You better keep your distance or else I'll rip your head off." 

"No problem. Thanks for the honesty." 

"Three," Alex gritted her teeth, feeling a ping of regret to agreeing with working alongside a stranger that she has only known for a couple of hours before continuing on with her list. "If I ever ask you a question, you better answer me with full honesty."

"Reasonable enough. Anymore?" he questioned. Alex thought about it for a little bit before shaking her head no. 

"Well then, Choi Sang." he heaved, standing up from his seat. He was tall- very tall. She almost felt as if he was towering over her. On top of that, he intimidated her when he told her her name without the need of introducing herself. "Oh yes, as I recall, you prefer to be called by your English name, Alexanya. Your mother has picked a very pretty name for you." he smiled. Alex stepped backwards, feeling uncomfortable that he knew all that information. "Welcome to the team." He lifted his hand for a friendly handshake but Alex just stood there with a menacing glare, rejecting the handshake.

"This will take sometime wouldn't it." he smirked, tucking his hands into his pockets. Alex didn't say anything but looked away and avoid his eyes. She didn't know how to feel about this man. Her first impression of him was threatning but when he spoke, it was calm and gentle. Now, he's telling her about her own information which made her feel angry and at the same time that a stranger already knows her background.

Alex cuddled herself in defense and gave him a threatening glare. "Don't touch me." she hissed.

Message

Here's the first chapter to start this applyfic off with Boss and Jet's first meeting together. This is to give you more of an idea of who Jet is and who Boss is. We will be introducing Unknown in the next chapter and his first meeting with Boss. The rest of the chosen applicants will be revealed the same way. 

I hope you all will like this fic!