COLOR

Chapter 6: The Girl Who Knows Too Much

[Jisoo's Dream]

"I already warned you about this." Lee Soohyuk growls as he follows his long time friend and colleague behind, scowling.

The people inside the facility are in a state of panic as they don't know what causing the WHEEL to be unstable. Lee Jongsuk, the head researcher of the WHEEL is running as fast as he can, ignoring Soohyuk's sermon.

"Stop it, Soohyuk." Jongsuk grits his teeth. "Not now."

"No!" Soohyuk grabs Jongsuk's arm, turning him around. "This is all a mistake. We should've just left that thing sleep under the earth."

Jongsuk can no longer contain his anger and frustration. He grabs Soohyuk by the helm of his lab coat, shaking him.

"It's too late for regrets now." Jongsuk glares at him. "And we shouldn't be talking about that right now. We have lives on the line here."

Soohyuk looks down, feeling ashamed of himself.

"We're the only ones who can save them."

Soohyuk takes a deep breath, collecting himself. He nods before following Jongsuk towards the main laboratory. Jongsuk rolls the sleeves of his lab coat upon entering the restricted area. He is then greeted by Yoo Inna, one of his trusted colleagues.

"How is it?" Jongsuk asks.

The ancient relic is being kept in another room, where its radiation can be contained.

"The WHEEL is misbehaving." Inna answers, frowning. "The radiation is reaching its maximum level. If this continues, there will be no turning back. Stabilizing it will be impossible."

"We need to start evacuating the staff and workers." Soohyuk is about to leave but pauses upon noticing his friend not moving from his place. "What are you doing, Jongsuk-ah?"

"I'll stay a little bit longer." Jongsuk turns to Soohyuk. "You and Inna should also leave as soon as you evacuated everyone. I'll try and buy you sometime."

Inna widens her eyes. "No, sunbae. If there's anyone here who needs to survive, it's you. You're no good to the country as a dead man."

"She's right, Jongsuk-ah." Soohyuk also tries to convince his bestfriend. "I'll stay here, instead."

Jongsuk shakes his head. "No. I know the WHEEL better than anyone else. Don't worry, i'll manage."

"But the radiation." Inna argues. "What are you going to do if you get infected? We still don't know how it will affect a human being."

The building shakes. The three of them including some other researchers wobble. Each of them tries to hold on to something to support themselves.

"Go!" Jongsuk tells them. "There's no time."

Jongsuk runs, leaving the two before they can say anything more to stop him.

"Jongsuk!"

•••••

[Jisoo]

I wake up from my dream, gasping. I clutch my covers close to me, feeling the sweats forming on my forehead.

I take a deep breath, calming myself. Ever since i came to this city, i started having this weird dreams. Heck, i don't even know those people or why they come barging in every night inside my head. Are they even real people? They have to be since i heard them mention something about the WHEEL. Are they trying to send me a message regarding the ancient relic?

Maybe my brother can help. He came to this city a long time ago to study the WHEEL although i'm not quite sure what his job really is. If there's anyone here who has an idea if those people i saw in my dream really exist, it's got to be my brother. But the real question is, why me? Of all people, why did they choose me?