𝔭𝔞𝔰𝔱𝔦𝔪𝔢| ᴍᴀʀᴋ ʟᴇᴇ {hiatus}

𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐚

[ habla > to speak]

I awoke to darkness instead of sunshine through a window. I attempt to sit up, but my body won't let me. My eyes trailed down, and enabled me to see my limbs tied to a table. But the weird thing is that I should be able to move a little.

I'm paralyzed.

Footsteps sound their way towards me. "Hey Jiwoo! How's it going?"

I just close my eyes, hoping he'll leave me alone.

"Oh, so you're not even going to question why you're tied to a table?"

I retaliate, "Do I really need to, Simon?"

He nods in agreement.

There was an unknown tension in the air. I didn't mind it, but there was something unsettling about it.

Yuta abruptly appears from the shadows, and smiles down at me. I return his friendliness with a grin.

I became impatient, "Okay, why am I tied up?"

Yuta and Simon, both, pull out two syringes. The syringes were smaller than the ones doctors use. They were miniature, almost toy-like.

Uneasiness rests over me, "Uhm... what are you going to do with those?"

Simon steps closer, "Jiwoo, you may not know this, but you're a gem."

"A what?... Elaborate."

"You're like a cool easter egg a gamer finds in a video game. But at the same time, you're also a cheat code."

Unimpressed, I deadpan, "That still doesn't explain why you have needles in your hands."

Yuta utters, "Like I said, you have many threats towards you, but we can prevent that."

Yuta holds up a syringe, "Both Simon and I have a syringe filled with a numbing agent to prevent pain." He raises the other needle, "In the other is a high tech camera with special features— almost like a spy cam. And Simon's other needle contains a tracking chip."

I absorb the information and come to the only conclusion: they're going to stick needles in me.

Simon grabs my arm, "Take a deep breath."

I do as he says and wait for the pain. As the needle went in, there was a slight sting. And then it was over.

Yuta proceeds, "Now, try not to flinch or tense up."

For some reason, I was expecting him to stick my arm, but he got closer to my face. He held the needle directly above my eye. I tried my hardest not to panic.

Strangely enough, he never stuck the needle in my eye. He pushed down on the plunger and let the liquid fall into my eye.

Soon after, both my arm and eye were numb. The agents must have been illegally strong, because my parts were numb in a matter of seconds.

Simon pulls out his other needle and injects the chip. I feel nothing.

Yuta inched close to my face, once again. He mutters, "I'm sorry if you feel anything."

With that, he eased the needle into my eye. Even though my eye was numb, I still could feel the sharp edge. I felt it pierce my cornea, but never reaching my pupil.

He placed the needle just outside of my pupil, into my iris. I felt the oozing of a liquid into my eye. And then the soft, inaudible thud of the camera.

Yuta gently tugged the needle shaft and bevel from my eye. He placed down the needle and pulled out a cotton eyepatch.

Yuta applied some kind of ointment onto the eyepatch, and then onto my eye with the elastic around my ears.

Simon and Yuta hovered over me with caution. Simon waved, "See you later, sweetheart."

I glance towards Yuta and he mouths, "I'll be waiting for you."

I hear Simon snap his fingers, and then everything fades to black.

•

I gasped as my eyes captured a familiar sight: my room. My hand found it's way to my eye where the eyepatch remains.

"I guess it wasn't a dream." I sighed.

There was no Yuta in sight, so I presumed he was already on his way to school.

I continued to get ready for school. I decided I'd wear shorts today since it's starting to warm up lately.

I walk downstairs and gawk at Yuta sitting in my living room. He looks away from the television and smiled at me, "Good morning! How's that eye of yours?"

"It's good, and what are you still doing in my house?" I query.

"Well, I wanted to show you how everything works." He smirks.

I perched myself next to him on the couch. Yuta handed me a device with a black screen, "Turn it on."

I find a button and push it. The screen remains black, but then a green digital layout appears. In the layout, there were two green dots. I tapped one.

The screen changed to a camera point of view. It was like that of a reality show.

I was on the screen.

I turned towards Yuta, and he chuckled. I looked back down at the device, then back at Yuta.

I point to my eyepatch, "Did you... Do you—?"

He tapped his arm, "And the chip."

My jaw dropped.

"One thing you also don't know is that the chips connect us. They connect our emotions, what we see, and what we physically feel. That way we can tell when one of us is in danger."

"Then what is this crackhead version of an iPad for?"

He shrugs, "It adds moxy...?"

•

Yuta walked me to school, and I enjoyed every step of the way. There was never a dull moment. Our conversation jumped from topic to topic without any notice. We even had a debate about hands. Does that not tell you anything? I feel like Yuta and I are already close.

Before we knew it, we arrived at the school. Surprisingly, no one was murmuring about us walking together.

We paced to each other's lockers and talked up a storm at each. We could've talked for hours if we didn't have class.

Yuta dropped me off at the dance room, "See you later, Ji."

"See ya!" I wave.

I smile to myself as I walk in. I place my belongings down, and go change in the dressing room.

I walk up to my usual spot in class, still smiling. I glance at Mark, who looks a bit uneasy. "What's wrong, Mark?"

He came out of his thoughts, and said, "Oh, it's nothing."

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ahaha. i updated bc of the +energy🤧