Parental Qualification Certificate

Chapter 2 - The Last Day

In 3018, the main means of transportation of the people on Earth were flying saucers.

This was a new type of vehicle that uses a cold nuclear fusion reactor to drive a gravitational field engine and fly silently. It could fly in the atmosphere and even soar in space.

At 8:20 am on a Friday morning, Seoul City held an early rush hour. Countless flying saucers, under the control of the automatic driving system and the global transportation network, quietly shuttle between high-rise buildings. They formed a layer of layered "disc flow."

Among this spectacular stream, a very humble silver-gray comet flying saucer was flying towards the Seoul City Social Affairs Bureau.

Within this flying saucer among the traffic jam was a young woman with short hair, and the entirety of her eyes gleamed a gray-black hue.

This was not due to a disease or a mutation, but for the smart contact glasses. It facilitates her to read electronic documents, reduce the amount of light entering the glasses, and automatically become a pair of gray-black contact lenses.

Warped around her right index finger was a tungsten gold ring that reflected the dim, cold light inside the flying vehicle.

The woman, Lalisa Manobal, was 25 years old and the victim of Chittip Manobal's murder and abuse of a woman who once caused a sensation throughout the Earth Alliance.

She was imprisoned at the age of six and was rescued at the age of nine. After living in a psychiatric hospital for two years, she was discharged at the age of eleven and was adopted by a childless doctor, Kim Hae-sook.

Three years ago, Dr. Kim Hae-sook passed away, leaving her entire heritage to her. The silver-gray flying saucer was one of them.

The flying saucer steadily flew into the underground disc parking of the Social Affairs Bureau. It automatically stopped at the reserved disc position.

The smart contact lenses faded from gray-black and returned to a transparent color, exposing Lisa's black and white eyes.

Near the workplace, plenty of flying saucers have been parked in the disc parking. A cute girl emerged from the orange flying saucer next to Lisa.

"Good morning, Lili!" Kim Jisoo greeted her warmly.

"Good morning, Jisoo eonnie!" Lisa returned a smile.

The charming girl was Kim Jisoo, and her nickname was Sooya. She was both Lisa's assistant and friend.

"Today is your last day at the test center. How are you feeling?" Jisoo asked Lisa with a caring smile.

"Except for some reluctance to leave you, there is no other feeling."

"Since you can't bear it, why did you apply for a transfer to be a social worker? I thought ... we have been working very well together." Jisoo suddenly said bitterly.

Lisa sighed, "I told you. I'm a little confused about this job now. I don't know if I'm doing right or wrong, so I want to change my position ..."

The "Parental Qualification Certificate" system was officially implemented five years ago. The examination had three levels: the first level was a basic knowledge written test; the second level was a mock test and an interview; the third level was a stress-resistance test.

For the past three years, Lisa has been a stress tester. She was responsible for judging whether candidates were capable of being qualified parents when facing heavy life pressures and major life setbacks.

The reason for implementing the resistance test was because the Anti-Domestic Violence Foundation submitted the results of their follow-up investigation to the Earth Alliance Parliament of more than two decades. The results yield that more than 70% of children suffer from serious domestic violence and child abuse. It happens when a strong family member feels the pressure of life and suffers from a severe setback.

The foundation convinced most of the public and lawmakers to agree on one thing: to be a good parent, you must have a big heart that can laugh at the storms of life; no matter what setbacks and blows you experience, qualified parents will not take the weak children as the targets of anger and resentment.

Lisa was very supportive of this level setting. Otherwise, she would not have been a stress tester. However, three years later, she gradually became confused with her choice and got bored with her job duties, which always tries to push the worst side of human nature.

"I ... just want to try something different." Lisa looked at Jisoo with guilt.

Jisoo linked her arm with hers and sighed slightly. "Actually, I can understand your choice. It's just ... If you're gone, I'm going to get used to the new tester, and I'm a little shy..."

The two chatted along the way and took the elevator from the underground disc parking to the third floor of the Parental Certificate Examination Center of the Seoul Municipal Social Affairs Bureau.

The two turned left from the elevator to the third-floor lobby.

On the east side of the hall was a written test room and a mock test room. On the west side was the compression resistance test center.

In order to protect the privacy of the tests, the test center was semi-closed. Only the test-takers and a limited number of their relatives can enter. There stood a security guard at the entrance of the test center located on the northwest corner of the third-floor lobby.

The test center has twelve test rooms. They were backed against the north, west, south walls of the building. The partition wall between the test center and the third-floor lobby were arranged in a ring in a counterclockwise direction, forming a "G" shape.

The blank area in the middle was a small lounge with a few simple tables and chairs for the testees, their relatives, and friends.

The No. 7 test room, where Lisa and Jisoo worked, was backed by the western wall.