The Veil Of Destiny ~• Stray Kids •~

Prologue

Walking through the corridors of college has always been a headache. The stares of my so-called peers never fail to bore into me, and it's annoying as hell. I usually wait until everyone is gone before stepping out of class. Today is no different. It's been 10 minutes since the classes ended, and with the hope that most of the irritating humans have left, I step out into the hallway. I sigh in relief as I see the corridor nearly empty, just a few stragglers left. Quickly, I grab my backpack and Hyunjin's, heading towards the locker room.

"Heyyy, hyung! How'd your day go?" Hyunjin's voice rings out as soon as I walk in. I haven't seen him all day; it's Thursday, and we don't share any classes on Thursdays.

"Arghh! It was annoying... Are you done? Hurry up. Let's go soon. I'm freaking hungry."

"Dayumm, annoyed much, huh? I wonder who pissed off our lovely Minho today." He smirks and leans closer to whisper in my ear, "Was it your best friend Sana, or... your other best friend Ria?" He deliberately drags out the word 'best,' clearly enjoying himself.

I roll my eyes but can't help the irritation that flares up. Grabbing his left hand, I twist it behind his back, using my right hand to lock his head in a tight grip. "Hwang Hyunjin! You better shut your mouth and move your ass quickly so we can leave," I whisper roughly into his ear, a smirk tugging at my lips. It's always amusing to mess with him like this.

"Alright, alright... Let me go. I'll keep my mouth shut," he says, tapping on my hand in surrender. "Scary bastard. Always bullying your best friend. I wonder why I'm still stuck with you. Oh, my poor soul! It's so hard for my sensitive soul to handle such a jerk. God! Save me from this bastard." I release him, chuckling at his dramatic complaints as he stuffs his soccer bag into his locker.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go." He yells out enthusiastically, grabbing his backpack from my hand as we head out of the locker room. We walk side by side with Hyunjin chatting away about his day in vivid detail. His enthusiasm is contagious, but as we approach the notice board near the gate, something catches my eye. I stop in my tracks, drawn to an attractive-looking poster.

"And that girl went to the professor and said, 'I cAn haNdLe thAt, sir⁓'. You should've heard her. Oh my god, I wanted to throw a dustbin on her head so badly—HEYY! Bastard! Was I talking to myself like a fool?" Hyunjin's voice snaps me out of my thoughts as he walks over and smacks the back of my head.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"Show some respect for your hyung, will ya?" I respond, pointing to the poster while rubbing my head. Hyunjin's eyes light up as he studies the poster.

"WOW! That's a pretty poster!" he exclaims. He's always been a sucker for creative things. Seeing the sparkle in his eyes, I ask, "Shall we give it a try?"

"It's a research and analytics internship. It says for the first round, participants need to submit a field research report on one of the topics listed below. If the report is approved by the juries, they'll be selected for the internship. The selected participants will spend a week in the town of Ragnarok, where they'll conduct field research and submit a detailed report. All other details will be shared after the first round results. Scan the QR code below for more information," I read aloud.

"It sounds fun! Staying a week together? I'm totally up for it," Hyunjin says, practically bouncing with excitement. I smile at him and nod. "Okay then, let's go home and discuss it further," I suggest while scanning the QR code and bookmarking the page for later.

"My home it is, then! Let's go!" Hyunjin grins. It barely takes 10 minutes to reach his place.

 "Mom! We're back!" he calls out as we step inside.