1996 | Y.Jw

| 40 |

I'm pretty sure I had emptied my stomach in the school toilet after Lin had left. I surely felt like I had been there for long.

"I'm still sorry," I reminded Jungwon as we walked back towards our classroom for the second lesson. We had ditched the first one for me to just get back to my senses properly once again.

"And you still don't have to worry," he insisted with a small chuckle, "I don't mind. I really don't."

"I just feel bad for-" I started once again and he immediately shook his head to cut me off.

"You don't have to and shouldn't feel bad for me," he corrected, "I'd rather sit and hold your hair back than not know you were feeling sick and first find out afterwards."

When I opened my mouth to say something more, I was immediately stopped the moment I looked up at him. He was just sending me a knowing smile, and immediately I knew he would have some retort to whatever I had to say.

"Sometimes I hate you," I murmured with a small sulking expression spreading across my face.

"Well... at least you're in love with me then," he casually shrugged and pushed open the door to the classroom.

I walked in before him and rushed down to my seat with Jungwon right behind me. As I slumped down into my seat Jungwon just sat down with a satisfied smile on his face. Even despite his bloodshot eyes and ruffled hair.

"Are you... wearing two different socks?" I muttered in amusement as I had noticed his socks peeking out from under his pant leg. One white and one blue.

"Can you blame me?" he muttered before looking down and immediately letting out a deep sigh, "I seriously need to get myself together," he muttered in disbelief before rubbing his face in his hands.

"Now, do you believe me when I say you need sleep?" I questioned in amusement and he simply nodded, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands across his stomach.

"Not at all," he shook his head with a mocking smirk on his face.

The moment I had rolled my eyes the door to the classroom opened and mrs. Adams wandered in, hurriedly followed by two other people. Both of whom Jungwon and I knew way too well.

The moment miss Hopkins and mr. Johnson walked into class after mrs. Adams, Jungwon had immediately straightened up in his seat and hesitantly looked at me with a frown.

"Table," I murmured and we both looked down into our tabletops as I extended my left arm over towards Jungwon, for him to turn off my bracelet.

"Alright class. You've all seen miss Hopkins and mr. Johnson once today. They're just here to inspect the class and check that none of you happen to be one of those escaped prisoners," mrs. Adams lightheartedly chuckled in a fake manner - the only way a teacher could.

"Turned off," Jungwon whispered and I nodded quietly, "can you get us out of this?"

"Momentarily," I shrugged at him with a small smile, "if you help."

"You two at the back, look up please!" mr. Johnson called out and I glanced at Jungwon.

"Hallucinate a bit," I murmured to him, "fire."

With a silent nod both Jungwon and I calmly looked up at the two we feared. Immediately miss Hopkins raised both her eyebrows as mr. Johnson only arched a single one.

"Now... you two are coming with us," mr. Johnson stated and everyone turned to Jungwon and I.

"Why?" Jungwon calmly questioned, "aren't we just like any other teenager? Do we look like a danger to society?"

"I advice you to shut up before we execute you just like we did with your horrid communist parents," mr. Johnson hissed, clearly hitting on one of Jungwon's nerves. By how his head tilted down slightly and his gaze at mr. Johnson got much more serious and sinister.

"Not if you die first," Jungwon calmly pointed out, earning a funny look from mr. Johnson.

"Silly boy... your skills is nowhere near as dangerous as hers, and even then she's limited to sit there like a defenseless vegetable like the rest of the kids in this class," mr. Johnson sneered as he walked down to our table and slammed his hands into the desk in front of Jungwon - he didn't even flinch, "if you don't come with me now, I'll have to take you by force and you'll be forced into isolation. Remember how much you hated that for the time before you boys and girls were put together? That week was unbearable to you, wasn't it? I recall you screaming for us to let you out and when we did you had scratch marks all over your arms and face. I won't hesitate to keep you in isolation until the day you die if you don't willingly come with us."

"And her?" Jungwon questioned and nodded his head to me, making me immediately look towards miss Hopkins.

"Taken to Maine for a new round of trials," miss Hopkins calmly stated making Jungwon glance at me, "regardless of whether or not she is coorporative."

"And if I am coorporative, how long in isolation?" Jungwon questioned and squinted up at mr. Johnson, while I glanced around the classroom. I don't think it was a surprise to anyone that everyone looked towards Jungwon and I as if we had two heads or had comitted treason.

"A week if you're lucky," mr. Johnson shortly replied.

"Where is Emi?" I questioned miss Hopkins, and she immediately glanced up at me in surprise, "what did you do with her?"

"Emiko Hakamoto is in safe hands back at the lab. She won't be going to Maine before you and Lin accompany her," miss Hopkins quietly replied and I slowly nodded, "we have not done anything but run routine tests on her."

When I looked back at Jungwon I frowned slightly, wondering if he already had forgotten about the thing I asked him to do. But something told him he just wanted to get information out of mr. Johnson while he was in an environment where he had control.

"We'll follow if we can agree to only do testing once a week, and the rest of the week we live like normal teenagers," Jungwon stated and mr. Johnson snorted before shaking his head immediately, "then we're simply not following."

Slowly, out of the corner of my eye I could see a small yellow spark, making me slowly turn my head towards the spark that slowly grew into a fire from the trashcan in the classroom.

When I looked at Jungwon, he just glanced at me with a proud smile. Almost immediately I had looked towards the red handle hanging on the side of the wall, protected by a clear plastic case. Once it pulled down slightly a loud ringing echoed out in the classroom, and the sprinklers in the ceiling turned on.

Along with the screams and frightened students rushing out on the hallway. I watched as mr. Johnson and miss Hopkins washed away in the wave of students. 

"Holy shit..." Jungwon muttered as he grabbed my hand and we hurriedly got up from where we sat.

He pulled me towards the hallway, looking at the flow of students rushing by, getting drenched in the water from the sprinklers in the ceiling. Almost immediately he had managed to grab onto Jake and halt him in his steps.

"We need to get to your house, for a meeting, now," Jungwon sternly informed and Jake slowly nodded, "Riki included."

"I'll tell Heeseung," Jake nodded before abruptly stopping Sunghoon as well, before he rushed by, "get them to my house. Meet you there in ten."

"What?" Sunghoon frowned in confusion as Jake ran along with the crowd, zig zagging through it, "what happened?"

"They found us," Jungwon breathed out, "miss Hopkins and mr. Johnson. They know we're here. We need to get Lin and Sunoo, Riki too. Jake's house, for a meeting."

"Are you alright?" Sunghoon immediately questioned and turned to me, immediately getting a nod.

"Frightened," I shortly excused and he nodded.

"We go out through the window, there's less likelyhood they'll see us then," Sunghoon excused and pointed back into the classroom, pushing us in and slamming the door behind us.

Jungwon was quick to get over to the windows and throw them open to let in the freezing December air. Sunghoon rushed out first before helping me out and rushed me over to his car while Jungwon hurriedly followed after us.