Im just really nice and so small always you can just kill me if you want it wouldnt tae too much effort and theres no repurcussions and its understandable. !human beings unworthy of life everywhere
hwitaek couldn’t count the number of times he had seen a group perform. he was very lucky to be someone who could manage to make it to concerts and showcases from time to time. it wasn’t something he did often. he saved up for stuff like that, but the fact LUXE was performing and he could see them live without having to pay a cent?
he crowded in with everyone else, joining in on the excitement about seeing LUXE. they were doing so well from what he had seen of them and he had been excited for their comeback. there were flaws, but what rookie group didn’t have flaws. they’d grow and get better wither time. he had to support his future sunbaes (royal was his place to be, he knew that much).
as the music started and lights started to play, he clapped his hands, offering up some fanchants that he could make out and he enjoyed the music. he wasn’t up close, but he wasn’t too far away either. he had some decent room around him.
his eyes wandered away for a bit, just looking around to see if he found anyone he met up with earlier or if any of his friends were around. he had come to the festival alone that day, just wanted to see who he would meet. he knew a bunch of his friends who were going, but he wouldn’t intervene in their time. they all had other friends.
as he looked around, his eyes landed on someone some distance away. it was nayeon. she was cheering on LUXE and smiling brightly. he smiled too.
the lights that were going on seemed to hit her just right and he found himself staring far longer than he meant to.
he had known nayeon for a while now, but he guessed he never really focused on her because his attentions were elsewhere. even earlier that day, he was tempted to ask jihyo to the festival, but he chickened out at the last minute and never sent the text.
he was tempted to go over to nayeon, but something stopped him. maybe it was the song ending and the cheering becoming deafening. maybe it was something else entirely. he wasn’t going to psychoanalyze himself.
but he watched her for a few more moments, a soft smile on his lips. he turned his attention back to LUXE, clapping his hands with less energy than before. it was probably better if he didn’t think about it too much.
he felt sore. his entire body ached. every movement, no matter how small, seemed to send sharp shoots of pain through every crevice of his body. the first thing he noticed was the bandages. he couldn’t remember getting hurt. he couldn’t remember much in that moment. he pushed himself up, feeling dizzy. his hand reached out, clinging to the wall. he had no idea where he was. it looked like a storage container.
the need to know more. as if someone heard him, the doors opened. he expected to be greeted with sunlight, but it was just another fluorescent light into another storage container.
he continued to walk, watching as the lights change to neon colors. it led him to a room. it was so strange. he stared at the screen on the wall and questions started to appear. he felt himself answering them. adventurous. fox. jumper cables. speedy. air. adrenaline.
he follows the green light when it appears, surprised at the swimming pool. how did they get a pool into storage containers. his fingers pressed against the walls, knocking on it for a minute. his body still hurt. he ached, but he had to keep going. he was just relieved he learned how to swim as a child.
when he made it, his hands pressed against his legs, catching his breath. he stared at the seven doors. he knew what he was always accused of. he always wanted more. the door with greed on it was the only answer.
he walked through the door and kept walking and walking, watching as the lights changed colors. when it seemed to stop, he didn’t see any other doors, no more challenges. he heard something, like a door close behind him and panic filled his body as gas seemed to fill the room. he yelled for a minute before he felt himself slowly falling asleep.
he knew he was on a bed when he woke up. there was an iv in his arm. how long had he been out? he pulled himself free of the iv, covering the small wound as he picked himself up. his head felt heavy again. he didn’t think he was in too much pain at least. he had to figure out what was going.
standing up again, he headed for the only door and started walking. he seemed to always be walking. when he found a room with a wardrobe, he sighed. he didn’t want to remove his clothes, but he did.
as he walked, he noticed a mirror. the person who stared back wasn’t him. his eyes were a strange golden color, at least for a moment before it went back to brown. his hair was black and short, styled in a way he’d never put the effort into. didn’t he mention that earlier? he seemed more muscular too. he was always fit, but it seemed like he had more muscles. was that possible? he caught a glimpse of a tattoo on his back. a circle, it seemed. he never had a tattoo before.
he started moving again, hoping at some point he would find some answer. he found his new cloths. nothing too eccentric. he’d rather have his jumpsuit back. moving again, he was walking and once again, he was forced to keep walking.
when he came to a door, he realized how threatening the inscription was. what challenges? what was going on?
pushing open the door, he walked in. the computer shocked him. he walked around it for a few times. after inspecting it, he sat down and started answering more questions. after he finished, there was a cylinder beside him. he eyed it for a moment, inspecting it before deciding he needed to get out of there.
the next room was a target room. there were mannequins and targets. the cylinder seemed to know and it changed into jumper cables. it was something familiar to him. he felt the electricity going through it. a small grin appeared on his lips as he whipped the jumper cables like a whip. he remembered saying he’d think having a whip would be good.
he felt exhilarated. he continued forward and when he saw the starting line, he smiled. he felt excited.
however, that high was only short lived after he saw a saw blade passed him. he started to realize quickly this wasn’t a simple obstacle course. he loved living too much. no more close calls, but he felt so strong, so much faster.
after a very exhausting trial, he made it to the end. he was smiling before being blinded. he was out like a light after that.
he felt like he was having deja vu. who kept knocking him out? he was up and at it again, never one to shy away from a challenge. he felt off though. like some things were starting to disappear. he tried thinking of his family, but nothing was coming to him. what was his father’s name? what did his mother do for work? and he felt like he could see better too. what was really going on?
he moved again, making it to the ‘trial by fire’. he was amused and a little terrified at the same time. he took a deep breath and ran for it. he fell to the ground when he reached the end, but it was another pool. he took a few deep breaths before jumping in and swimming. he was exhausted and barely made it out of the pool. he groaned at the hills in front of him. he took a few deep breaths again before he was at it again. he was exhausted, but his adrenaline was bursting.
the next trial nearly took his breath away. he wasn’t scared of heights, but he felt like he could loose his life if he wasn’t careful. he somehow made it to the end and made it to the loop of faith. he took a deep breath before falling down into the net. he took some time in the net to catch is breath before he got himself out and started walking.
making it to the next room, he took a seat and sighed. he looked at the instructions and decides to place his left wrist in the book. his hand slaps down on the box when he felt the pain, but he endured it. his nails clinging to the box. when he pulled it out, seeing the sun on his wrist, he groaned. another tattoo?
once it was over, he moved again. when put up against the robot, he feared his life for a bit as he fought, using his weapon again. he managed to make it out with a few scratches, but he succeeded. he smiled before he was blinded again.
when he woke up, he wasn’t alone and he was chained to a wall. it seems like he was sitting there forever until there was a noise. he was released and they all walked. after grabbing his cylinder, he continued forward. he went straight ahead, while others took different paths.
the obstacle that came next was something he didn’t think about. they entered as three, but by the end, he was the only one left. he wasn’t proud of what he did. it requested teamwork, but he had to make some choices. when everyone gathered, he realized many were missing. he was the only one missing both the people he entered with.
he didn’t think too much of it as they made it to another room with computers. he answered questions again. socializing. they waited for some time before the next challenge began. when it was over, he felt far worse about what he had to do. he betrayed many people to survive and in the end, at least he did.
when he woke up again and realized the challenge in front of him, the guit was nearly too much, but his own need to survive had him running for the gun. he muttered a soft apology before he pulled the trigger.
the sound goes off and he stands there for a brief moment before he continued on. the door with ‘freedom’ called out to him, so he entered it. he sat down, placing his right foot in and holding tightly to the chair as he felt the pain. another tattoo. a compass with freedom.
he moved again and he wasn’t alone. there were only a handful of them now. they were just as guilty as he was. his hands felt heavy with the blood he spilled. the excitement he had when he first woke up was long gone now.
he was getting tired of being knocked out by bright lights after that. the final training… what more could be done.
death felt like it was coming for him, like he escaped it too many times, but through all seven areas, he made it through. he watched people die around him. he wondered who they were. did he know them? it didn’t matter anymore.
when it seemed like it was finally over, he fell to his knees, holding his hands in front of him, his weapon now covered in blood in front of him. the memories of his parents and his sister and his friends came pouring in. his father’s shop. his mother’s smile. his sister’s dreams. he remembered the first car he stole. he remembered the money he made on his last deal. he remembered the thrill of cruising down an empty street until he reached the finish line.
he remembered them taking him. he remembered the masked men grabbing him as he left his home in the middle of the night. the morning to come, he was going to enter his own jail cell. his actions had finally caught up to him. he was going to be locked away, but they took him. they took him to this. he watched people die. he caused people to die. he killed someone because of them.
next thing he knew, he was in a bed. he jumped up. he was pushed down and he only struggled for a few moments. there were people he remembered from the trials. the doctors and nurses were new. they wore masks. when a man came up and grabbed his right wrist, he tried to pull away, but his hand was placed in the box. he tried to pull himself free, but before he knew it it was gone. he stared at the new tattoo.
2301-10-GRD-ENFP-09-96
he didn’t know what it meant. when everyone was done, they were told to move, so he followed. he remembered eating and then they were led one by one. he placed his hand on a tablet, the door opened. he was startled by the sunlight. his eyes burned and he struggled to see. he heard what sounded like a helicopter.
