13 CLANS (SEVENTEEN) - eng

𝟏𝟗. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐳𝐞

They entered the simulation area. There were 3-meter-high black walls, so they couldn't see inside, but they assumed the first maze was already up. More stands were empty, as always, waiting for the 13 young men to sit on them.

As they climbed the stands and found a comfortable spot, each in their own closest group, they saw from above that those walls did indeed serve as the boundary ground for the maze that was not yet elaborated by the simulator for obvious reasons, so for the moment it was an empty square.

There were two main points that marked the start and end. Instead of the maze reaching the center as a goal, it went from end to end. The start was where the omega would be placed to navigate until reaching the second point where the alpha would be.

Wonsik briefly explained to them again how the dynamic would work and this time he didn't call them by birth order, but randomly.

"Lee Jihoon and Kwon Soonyoung, you're the first ones."

The firstborn lynx felt bewildered to be the first, but he didn't plan to hesitate in any test that was put to him, less in one where he had the opportunity to demonstrate his skills.

He began to go down the steps and Soonyoung did too, walking behind him.

Wonsik had already told them that they would have to do that test in their human forms, since their animal forms had a greater sense of smell naturally and that would make the test easier for them, therefore they would have to rely on their human senses to navigate the maze.

Both boys arrived with Wonsik. The square where the labyrinth would be was not very large, but clearly it did have walls and complex corridors with no exit, that was enough to be an obstacle that would make things difficult for them.

"Very well," Wonsik said when he indicated to Jihoon to go to the other end of the square formed by the black walls. One of them moved to the side, revealing the first point marked in red on the floor. The omega already had the blindfold ready in his hands.

For his part, Soonyoung went to the other end when Wonsik told him to and the same thing happened, entering the territory of the square.

Both boys could see each other in that distance of 50 meters that separated them. Jihoon could not perceive Soonyoung's scent very well from where he was, but he knew he could if the alpha released him.

Jihoon could not pretend that he did not know it, or much less that it was unpleasant to him. He did not have the privilege of saying such things. He did not have a clear conscience or a heart of stone as he wanted.

Inside himself, he was not as fierce as he showed on the outside.

Soonyoung was always... An exception. And he always fought against it.

"In vain, Jihoon, always in vain," he thought bitterly, when the walls rose from the ground, being created by the simulator. The maze that he had to navigate had formed.

He looked up and there on a screen was the timer. He knew that his test would begin the moment he put on the blindfold to cover his eyes from the sense of sight. That would sharpen his sense of smell and give it priority, but it was also a disadvantage because he would have to move slower.

"Wonsik wants to test the trust we have between us as a couple and above all, the confidence in ourselves to be able to find the alphas with their scents and pheromones, which should make us react only to us as their omegas" Joshua thought, watching as Jihoon prepared himself, putting on the blindfold and adjusting it behind his head.

The black color contrasted with his pale skin and was lost in his blond hair. Jihoon's gesture was as stoic as ever, but the firstborn deer noticed a sadness that could not be buried in the seriousness of his expression. And perhaps he understood it or at least, he was empathetic, because he felt the same way sometimes. The turn of events was still a surprise and uncertainty was their greatest enemy.