"𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦."- 𝐎𝐡 𝐈𝐥-𝐧𝐚𝐦

As soon as the clock struck midnight, Joo Yeon slipped out of her apartment. The city was quiet, eerily so, as if she were walking through a ghost town. The faint buzz of a distant streetlight and the occasional rustle of leaves in the chilly breeze were the only sounds accompanying her footsteps.

She adjusted her black oversized hoodie, pulling the hood lower over her face, her heart pounding with a mix of dread and determination.

The location she had to go wasn't far from her apartment, but every step felt heavier than the last, as though the weight of the decision she'd made was pressing down on her. The faint glow of streetlights painted her path in long, uneven shadows, making her glance over her shoulder more than once. Something feels off.

When she finally arrived, the place was deserted. No signs of life, no welcoming figure. Just silence. She stood there for a moment, her breath visible in the cold night air.

She waited, her eyes darting around, scanning the dimly lit surroundings. A few minutes passed, and still, no one appeared. She looked this way and that, uncertainty creeping in. For a moment, she debated calling the number again, but the instructions had been clear: come to this location and wait.

Joo Yeon shifted uneasily on her feet, clutching her phone in one hand as she scanned the shadows once more. The stillness of the night felt oppressive, pressing down on her chest.

At that moment she saw a light coming towards. Joo Yeon squinted, her breath hitching, as she tried to make out what it was. The faint glow grew brighter, cutting through the darkness, until she could see the unmistakable outline of a vehicle.

Her pulse quickened as the car rolled closer, its headlights casting stark beams that swept across her and the desolate surroundings. She instinctively took a step back, her grip tightening on her phone as the vehicle stopped in front of her.

The driver's side window rolled down and her stomach twisted as she was met with a person in a pink suit, their face obscured by a strange mask marked with a triangle. What the heck?

The person in the driver's seat spoke up, their voice muffled but firm. "Ms. Lim Joo Yeon?"

"Uh yes," Joo Yeon replied her voice wavering as she tried to understand what she was seeing.

"Password?" the person asked again.

"Red light, green light. That's the password," Joo Yeon said. Her heart was beating loudly inside her chest.

The masked figure nodded once, curtly. With a soft click, the car door unlocked.

She hesitated, her instincts screaming at her to turn back, but something stronger—curiosity or desperation—propelled her forward. Joo Yeon climbed into the van. As soon as she settled into her seat, the door closed behind her with a heavy thud.

The dim interior was unsettling. She glanced around and froze. Several people were already inside, slumped over in their seats, unconscious.

Weird.

Just as she opened her mouth to ask a question she heard a hissing sound and the within seconds the van was filled with a white gas. Joo Yeon shifted her gaze trying to find out the source of the gas but it was too late. She felt her vision blurring and within moments her limbs felt heavy, and her head dropped forward.

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Joo Yeon groaned as she stirred, her body aching as though she had been asleep for years. Her eyelids fluttered, heavy and resistant, before finally opening to reveal dim, flickering fluorescent lights above her.

Her head throbbed as she tried to sit up, but her movements were sluggish, her arms trembling under the effort. The soft surface beneath her told her she wasn't in the van anymore.

"Where..." she muttered, her voice hoarse and dry. Joo Yeon blinked, still disoriented. The girl on the opposite bunk bed appeared calm, almost too calm, as if she had been here for much longer. Her smile was friendly.

"Hi," the girl repeated, her voice soft, almost sing-song, as though they were in a casual setting instead of wherever this was.

Joo Yeon's heart raced as she tried to process her surroundings. She was in a large room. Bunk beds lined the walls. Her mind reeled, trying to pull together fragments of what had happened.

The van. The gas.

Her hand instinctively went to her throat, but there was nothing—no sign of injury, no bruise. She exhaled slowly, trying to steady her breathing, but something caught her eyes. She wasn't wearing her black hoodie anymore, instead she was dressed in a green tracksuit with the number 457 stitched in the front.

She turned to look at the girl again and she was busy playing with her hair. The girl too was dressed in green tracksuit and the number 240 was stitched in front. When she noticed that Joo Yeon was looking at her she looked back at her and smiled again.

"I'm Ji-yeong," she said. "And you?"

"Joo Yeon," she replied trying to smile but Joo Yeon knew it didn't quite reach her eyes.

Before Ji-Yeong could reply they heard a loud voice.

"You little shit," a man said.

Joo Yeon look around and saw everyone going to the center. She then turned to Ji-yeong who was already up from her bed and was heading towards the scene. As soon as she reached there she saw a built man with tattoos standing in front of a girl.

"It really is a small world, huh!" he said kicking her on the stomach.

"Look at those eyes. You still have that temper, huh," he said kneeling down in front of her and pulling her hair down to face him in the eyes.

"Than again... nobody broke your spirit, you could always take a hit," the man 101 said he pushed her down again. He got up and looked at her again before speaking again.

"I took care of you, I fed you, I taught you when you had nowhere else. This is what I get?" he asked spitting at her. Joo Yeon looked around wondering why no one was stopping them. Everyone was busy watching the drama unfold.

"You took more from me than whatever I might possibly owe," she said as she looked in his eye.

Joo Yeon stared at the girl. Her face was a mess. A bloodied nose and a split lip. Her eyes darted towards the number stitched on her front. It was number 067. Joo Yeon observed the girl. A rebel of course. A badass.

"If all of that's true, how come you ran then?" he asked.

"Well, I didn't. I went independent," she said managing to stand up now, right in front of her.

"Hmm. Independent?" he said and with that he swung his fist at her but luckily she ducks away, but unfortunately he grabs her by the collar and push her to the ground and starts kicking on her stomach. After beating the shit out of her, he finally leaves 067, but as soon as he leaves another man 456 comes and grabs her by the collar and pulls her up and starts screaming at her.

"You're the damn pickpocket! You loser," he says and Joo Yeon rolled her eyes. Such as loser.

"My money, give it back. Where is it?" he further says shaking 067 harshly. What the hell is wrong with this old man? Is he insane? By the way, of course that girl looks like a pickpocket.

"You took it. I need it. Ahh....," he said when someone pulled him away. Another man. Finally end this drama here.

"Let me go. No I need the money," he said trying to break-free from the man who was struggling to hold him. He was a tall man with spectacles and he looked sort of hot. The number on his suit was 218.

"Calm down Gi hun," he says as he tries to hold the struggling man.

"Wait.. Sang-woo. Let me go. I need my money back," he said still struggling. Joo Yeon couldn't believe what she was seeing. This was getting way out of hand and she knew someone else should step up. She sighed in annoyance when someone tapped her shoulder.

"What a scenery. Don't you think?" Ji-Yeong asked with amusement etched on her face.

"It is," Joo Yeon answered as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"Such pathetic losers," Joo Yeon heard Ji-Yeong mumbling under her breath and with that the alarm buzzes and people with pink suits step into the room. 

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𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 & 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭!