somebody ; minsung

XXIX ; all is fair

I'm on my cot, leaning back against the wall, hiding my face behind a textbook. The others are milling around the dorm. Nobody is talking. We've all been reluctant to stir the pot since Junghwa and Seoyeon agreed to join the revolt and Lý agreed not to expose it.

"Subject 17."

I look over my book. Jai is standing outside the room, holding a stack of files and a cup of coffee. I get up and go to him. He leads me away from the dorm and into the elevator, pressing the button for the 137th floor.

"What's going on?" I ask.

"I need" — he pauses like he has acid reflux — "your help. We have to find the passcode for Jisung's ankle monitor."

"Oh. Are you sure you don't want to ask Haruko for help or...?"

"God no. Don't get me wrong, Haruko is brilliant, but she's one of the most incompetent people I've ever met. And I'm big enough to ask for help from someone I don't particularly like."

I blink. "Saying it outright, okay."

"Anyway." He takes a chug of his coffee from the lidless cup. "Here's what we're gonna do: every day at lunch Dr. Song eats a scone in the break room. I'll distract him and you'll take his ID card in camouflage mode. His office is two storeys up, level 139, the door is marked — go in and find the passcode, it should be somewhere in his computer. Don't mess around, get back as fast as you can."

"Wait, I feel like I'm missing a lot of information—"

"Camouflage — now."

The elevator doors are sliding open. Oh God, I'm going to fuck this up. My armour folds over my head and hides me away. I follow Jai out into a room full of couches, walls painted like a rolling meadow, and then into a small, sad-looking kitchen. Dr. Song is sitting at the table, eating a scone like Jai said he would.

"Dr. Bandi," he nods.

"Sir," Jai says. "I'm sorry, I know you're on your break, but I have a few things to run by you."

He heaves a sigh. "Fine, let's hear it."

"Thank you, sir. First, regarding the androids' mainframes, there's a problem with the data input, it seems—"

Jai fumbles the files in his arms and his coffee slips out of his hand, splashing across Dr. Song's chest. He shouts and flings his scone halfway across the room. I have to stop myself from laughing.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" Jai grabs some paper towels and dabs away at Dr. Song's shirt. "So so sorry, sir, I'll pay for the dry-cleaning — God, I'm such an airhead today!"

Jai pulls the lanyard from around Dr. Song's neck and dangles it behind his shoulder. I scramble around the table — grab it, fuse it to my armour — and book it out of the kitchen.

I run back up the hall toward the elevator. The door opens and a couple lab coats get off — I pivot to the side, waiting for them to pass before I slip through the closing doors. It carries me two storeys up and delivers me to an empty floor of name-plated doors.

Dr. Song's office is the last on the left. I swipe the ID card, the reader flashes green and I push the door open. The room is grey and overcrowded — I step over a pile of crumpled papers and empty binders and sit in the chair behind the desk.

His computer appears as I sweep my hands apart. I have no idea where to start. I open File Explorer and enter Jisung's name. The only results are scientists with the same surname. I'm not surprised that he's been wiped from the system entirely.

Damnit. What now? How else would they keep track of him? He's a prisoner on Sub-level 26, room 14. I type 14 into the search bar — Level 14, Adrantine Animal Trial 14, 2114 Plan.

Finally I see Sub-level 26, room 14. I open the file. 'Patient,' 'cause of stay,' 'condition' — all the fields are left empty, except for 'restraints or extra security measures: voltaic ankle monitor, passcode 229065.'

Thank God. I repeat the code, memorizing it, as I shut down the system and step out from behind the desk. I open the door slowly, peek out and run back down the hallway. The elevator is in use but the stairwell is clear — so is the sitting room outside the kitchen.

But when I turn the corner, Dr. Song and Jai aren't there. I spin in a circle, run back the way I came, look up at the numbers over the elevator doors. The car is on level 139, the floor I just came back from — Dr. Song's office.

I run back into the stairwell. Two storeys up, when I look through the window, I see Dr. Song storming down the hallway and Jai tailing him. I duck out the door, following slowly to muffle the sound of my footsteps.

"Wait, sir," Jai says, jogging to keep up, "I need to make it up to you — do you have Venmo or something?"

"I already said it's fine, just leave me alone, Bandi."

I sidle up and stick the lanyard into Jai's hand. He flinches, laughs loudly and speeds up to match Dr. Song's pace.

"No worries, I'll go now — don't forget your ID though."

Dr. Song grabs it from his hand. "Okay okay — now go away."

"Yes sir, sorry sir, see you later sir."

Jai pivots down the hallway and I catch up. The elevator doors open and close. My armour recedes and I slump back against the wall.

"Remind me never to go along with one of your plans again," I say.

"You got the passcode, didn't you?"

"Yeah, and developed an ulcer in the process."

"Definitely took you long enough."

I sigh. "You know, I'm not sure why you hate me."

"You really have to ask?"

"Look, back then, you didn't even know who I was — and it's not like I stole Jisung from you."

"But he never told me that, did he? He just dumped me and had a shiny new boyfriend five goddamn seconds later. I mean, maybe not five seconds, but still. And not to mention you broke into my house."

"I did what?"

"Jisung's keeping a lot from you. Or rather, from me." He sucks a long-suffering breath. "You should ask him about it. Tonight, zero-hundred hours."

"Wait... really?"

"Yeah." He takes off his lanyard and gives it to me. "Take this, get it back to me tomorrow. You two should talk in private for a bit. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you."

I think I'm blushing. "As long as we're saying things outright... are you still in love with him?"

He thinks about it for a moment. "Sometimes I wonder if I ever was. Dating him was like dating my best friend, not like dating... the one, or whatever. It was... really, really shitty when things between us deteriorated. I just wanted my friend back."

I look at him, surprised by his sincerity. He clears his throat.

"What about you?" he says. "You love him?"

"I don't really know him."

"Well. Hurry up. Break his heart and I'll kick your ass."

I motion to myself. "You really wanna chance it?"

"I'll just erase your memory for a third time."

"Now that's taking it too far."

He almost smiles. Almost. "Love and war and all that."