Secret Triangle | An ONF Fanfiction

The End.

A weird but oddly pleasing feeling of tingling pervaded our whole bodies. It was paired with a comforting warmth that, despite being artificial, felt very natural. We felt like we were floating in the void for a few seconds. We couldn't see anything. Something was telling us not to open our eyes and simply go with the flow. And so we did, we flowed as one, traveling through space and time, to finally reach the place we desperately wanted to live in.

We had done it. We were free.

After what felt like an eternity, our feet finally touched the ground. We didn't feel any fresh breeze like the one described in the books, but the atmosphere still felt refreshing, light and clean. We opened our eyes and we saw white. We were expecting this. Our friends told us that for a solid minute, we will be blinded after entering New World. It was a place in a different plane of existence, therefore our eyes needed to adjust. It was just a matter of time.

We couldn't see, but we could feel. We felt each other's hands, still linked. We also felt a presence standing before us. It was our friends. They came to greet us, to congratulate us for escaping, for opening a new chapter in our lives.

As our eyes adjusted to the new place we found ourselves in, the first thing we noticed was walls. White walls adorned with long led lights and hanging plants. The place was very barebones and minimalistic, but so clean it shined. It was far from what we imagined. There were no untamed fields waiting for us, no wilderness. But the books we read might have been out of date. Civility progressed on New World too, although we definitely weren't expecting such a drastic difference. It all looked so futuristic, very different from what we always thought it would look like. But we weren't worried. We were safe, and that was all that mattered.

Our friends, Hyojin, Changyun and Minkyun were standing in front of us, smiles plastered on their faces.
"Welcome home guys." Changyun said, before we all got into a big group hug. We were on cloud nine, finally reunited with our dear friends, finally free to be together.
We stayed in the hug for a long time. It was so warm and comforting.

But then we felt a shock pass through our bodies. Everything went dark as we collapsed to the ground.

When we woke up, we were each sitting on a separate chair. We looked around. What was that place? Blue neon light illuminated the cold, shiny walls of the room. Complex machinery was placed in every corner of it, and we couldn't figure out what it could be possibly used for even if we tried. When our senses fully awakened, we realized we were strapped to the chairs we were sitting on. We couldn't move our arms or legs.

And at that moment we realized, we had been tricked.

But why? Why didn't our friends tell us anything? Why did they still insist on us going there? What would happen to us?
Our hearts started racing in unison as four people walked into the room. We immediately recognized three of them. They were our friends. Or at least, they had been. We didn't recognize the fourth person. He had a lab coat and blonde medium-length hair. He got closer to us and bent down to carefully look into our eyes, one by one. We noticed his eyes were a particular shade of grey, but we weren't sure if he was wearing contacts.

"Who are you? What are you going to do to us? And you, Hyojin, Minkyun, Changyun, what are you planning? What is this place? Why are we tied up? We thought we could trust you!" We started crying in unison.
Hyojin grinned. "Don't worry my friends, you're safe in our hands. This man is doctor Rano, and he'll help you to achieve true freedom. I'll be quick and honest: the New World we always read about was a lie. But that doesn't mean it is a bad place, quite the opposite. It is indeed a place where we can truly be free, just not in the way you might have imagined. We do not need to search for happiness if we can change our brain's programming to feel free at all times. When you'll wake up after the operation, you will be obedient, but happy. Controlled, but free. Restricted, but unconfined. Because you will need nothing more in life. You will learn to be happy at all times, no matter what happens to you. It's incredible that all this takes is a small chip installed in your brain. Don't worry, it will be painless. And when you awake, you will feel reborn."

We froze in shock. We were doomed. It was over. The New World we heard of in books was too good to be true. Because it wasn't. It has never been. It was all a big lie to attract people and convert them into empty shells of their former selves. Who was behind all this? What was their goal? We would have probably learned soon, but we would have been unable to fight back. We would be defenseless, forced to do whatever terrible things our new higher-ups wanted us to do.
We didn't want to live like that, but it was too late. This place was way worse than Dry Ice.
We let our tears flow like rivers as we stared at our old friends, who were lied to, manipulated and genetically modified to become soulless puppets, and then did the same to us. We would have joined them soon.

"Everything is ready. You might feel a slight discomfort, but it won't hurt, I promise. Soon, you'll be part of our big Family. Isn't that amazing?" Doctor Rano kept fiddling with complex machinery as he grabbed three long and thick cables and interested them into a special hole on our chairs, right at the back of our necks. "Oh also, a last warning. This chip will suppress any feelings you have towards each other. Trust me, they're useless here, they aren't needed to be happy, they're just a hindrance. You'll need no distractions of any kind if you want to be part of our Family. You'll be better off without them."

The invisible string that connected our souls was suddenly tightened to a degree that made it hard for us to breathe. Our feelings would be completely erased? We started crying even more. A pain installed itself deep in our hearts and started ripping them apart piece by piece. It was more painful than any physical pain we could have ever endured.

"Ok guys, I'll count to three, and at three I'll push the button to start the machine. As I said, there might be some discomfort, but shouldn't be too bad. Get ready, true freedom is coming!"

"Welcome to the Family." Our old friends monotonously said in unison, like robots.

One millisecond after Rano pushed the button, the thread that linked our souls together dissolved completely. There was no "us" anymore. There was only me, him and him.

And then everything went dark.