the second he steps off of the motorboat, he knows where he’s going: not anywhere near cabin black because loyalty be damned at this hour, but to the one two doors down.
green. synonymous with tranquility, calm in the language of color psychology, the deepest hold of the earth with its emerald-blazed hills, sweeping flora and fauna, and whatever else tree-fucker poetics involve that he can’t care to indulge in. but it’s refuge he’s seeking, and refuge he’ll have one way or another. if not here, then elsewhere.
to his utmost relief, it appears there’s no need to go looking for it anywhere else.
ducking under the doorway, yejun's steps are pronounced, falling heavy through the cabin. on better, brighter days, he'd put up the stealth act as those possessed by mischief do, but nothing is harmless about the way his shitty mood trails behind him, a presence so loud that it’d turned heads on his way down here.
she’s turned away when he enters the room, face half hidden by loose beach waves. but there’s no need to do a double-take. real recognizes real, and there’s nothing that rings painfully true like their brand of misery. another summer, another lesson in romantics grown sour.
he tosses his bag to a corner and drops to the ground, back slouched against the foot of hyejin’s bed. “can this trip be fucking done already?”
INTRODUCING CHOI HYEJIN, OUR NEWEST STUDENT WITH THE POWER OF FORCE FIELD GENERATION
WELCOME TO GUMI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL FOR THE POWERED.
WHO ARE THEY?
PERSONALITY
(+) despite how easy aggression comes to hyejin, she’s rather patient when unprovoked, willing to listen to others and rationally assess the situation before acting. she can also be observant, attentive and details oriented, heedful of the little things that could have a big impact. she’s also extremely determined once she puts her mind towards a goal, unwilling to give up until she reaches it.
(–) due to her unpleasant experiences in her teen years, she can be apathetic and callous, unwilling to grow attached to others. even if she is loyal to or trusting of someone, it is never wholeheartedly. this makes her almost calculating in her affections. there’s a lock around her heart, a wall yet to crumble. although deep down she’s tired of being so alone, to be vulnerable and wholly trusting is a step she’s yet to take.
BACKGROUND
sixteen: a gentle breeze across the garden. azaleas swaying, bees buzzing. her sundress gripped in hands. in the sunlight, in the warmth. a warning sign comes in the form of sirens. summer tranquility is shattered as officers swarm the house, uninvited like insects; a stain amongst opulence. they sprawl across the property like starved scavengers (what they’re looking for might as well be carrion), searching like relentless bloodhounds. her mother’s fingers dig into her shoulders, tight lipped, praying for a different kind of salvation.
her father’s distress is palpable, leaking through the cracks in his facade. they sneer at him, treating him with disdain, what ever did a prominent lawmaker do to deserve this? it happens too fast, as if they knew where the evidence is beforehand (caution: disputed territory). he’s led out in handcuffs, telling his wife ‘i didn’t do it’. hyejin doesn’t know what those files and boxes the officers carry contains, but knows this will change everything. she begs the officers to stop and before she knows it, she’s throwing shields at them in desperation, knocking down the man next to her father. ‘appa what’s going on? why are—’ she clings to him desperately, managing to grasp a handful of his jacket before the guards pull her away. she screams for him but he’s gone. a figure in a fading car, another casualty in the war for power. another headline in the paper’s tomorrow.
this is how a story ends and a disaster piece begins.
—
the world without a veil is an ugly thing; twisted to the core and no amount of persuasion could make her think otherwise. she’s learnt loyalty & attachment is a fickle thing as she watched friends disappear one by one, no one willing to stand by a family disgraced. all self-serving, not one willing to remain with someone now lesser than their standing. the higher you are the harder you fall, and hyejin is all bruises & broken bones, clinging onto a half life with trembling hands.
‘i didn’t accept those bribes. you must believe me.’ her father pleads in prisoner garb.
‘just save it.’ she snaps at him, blocking her ears from an absent reality. the next time she sees him he has bruises on his face and he looks ten years older like he just walked out of hell. he glances at his wife and doesn’t say a word, as if his silence could save them all.
—
hyejin vowed to never feel as helpless as she did that summer day. her power was a wildfire, difficult to control, driven too much by rage and too little by intent ( though later she found intent & rage can be one in the same ). she stumbled her way through the rest of high school, a torment filled with contempt and wariness from her peers. they called her a monster even back then, gossiping how she must be in cahoots with the mafia & other unsavoury characters like her father had been. why is the system so cruel? why must she fight against a sin that forced her father to his knees? a princess devoured - she swallowed the lies they fed her whole and became the very thing they despised ( very well, i’ll show you a monster ).
she has a pretty face but an even prettier mouth - spewing venom when provoked, saccharine smiles at the ready to those seeking chinks in her armour. she became thick skinned, one part isolation and two parts bitterness, aggression laced in every breath. after all, how many times did she spend defending herself from their verbal and physical abuse? until exhaustion kicked in and not even her shields could save herself? her mother couldn’t do anything, nor could the teachers. this isn’t what growing up is supposed to be. this isn’t. this isn’t. this is a slow descent, a manifesto for distortion.
nothing stays the same forever: gumi shifted everything in her life. it gave her a purpose and a path of her own choosing. she mellowed out substantially after learning to control her powers better and putting her passion for the arts to use. she lived for how she could create something beautiful with her own two hands, how she could make something of her own. & she found what she was looking for in jaegar: lonely doesn’t feel like a condition anymore, just a six lettered word that will surely feel foreign one day. but she’s still rough around the edges, sharp to the touch when provoked; old habits are hard to quit when she’s all too willing to resort to violence in the games.
WHAT CAN THEY DO?
DEFINITION
users of force-field generation are able to neuropathically create and manipulate energy force-fields. they manifest in a visible form and are blue in hyejin’s case, malleable when she concentrates. small force-fields can be created easily but require more focus for the user to shape them into the forms they wishes. the force-fields are sturdy barriers, able to absorb and withstand most if not all elemental, physical and concussive attacks. hence, hyejin can create protective bubbles to shield herself and others. however, the shields are not impenetrable against all forces. additionally, as she is able to manipulate its form, she can use them in a variety of applications, such as generating platforms to scale different heights, using them in combat by hurling them at opponents, and creating binds. she is also able to use them to enhance her physical combat, for instance forming barriers around her fists to enhance her strikes. a more lethal variation, however, is asphyxiation: creating domes around her opponents, reducing the amount of oxygen they have.
WEAKNESSES
the strength of her force-fields reflect her physical state; she cannot generate them in an extremely fatigued state. the bigger the force-field and the more complex the design, the more it drains her physical strength, especially if the opposing force places great stress on her.
her force-fields are not always impenetrable and effective against all attacks: powers like teleportation and telepathy are difficult to block and requires intense concentration.
the longest she can continuously uphold a simple force-field is for half an hour. of course, the more demanding the force-field, the shorter she can maintain it.
she cannot maintain more than five force-fields concurrently as it requires great concentration.
the largest force-field she can create to date spans at 30m in length.
DID YOU KNOW?
her family owned 3 dogs when she was young, and she named one sirius black after the fictional character.
