BYUN BAEKHYUN: BEYOND DETECTIVE ▷ EXO GAMEBOOK

1s

1s

THROUGH THE WORMHOLE WITH DARLA BYUN

 

EXO’S DORM, EVERDREAM INDUSTRIES, EXO PLANET

Thirteen-year-old Byun Baekhyun waited in front of the Loiter (Long-distance Image Transmitter) set to behold something historical. The farthest record an EXO Planet spaceship can go will be broadcasted live. Not an ordinary group will attempt this adventurous mission. It was Girls’ Generation, the all-girls anti-matter mining team. Baekhyun was curious about the properties of anti-matter since he’d heard it for the first time in elementary Physics class. It sounded like something straight out of science fiction.

The spokesperson for the group was a dashing teenage girl several years older than him. Her eyes were the first thing Baekhyun noticed before the countdown clock beside her. Her eyes were somewhat calculating, but still brilliant. They seemed lively, full of tricks and surprises. She was professional in front of the cameras, good with words and juggling all technical terms wisely. Her interviewers were all awed. No wonder that she’s the successful leader of a team of aeronautical engineers and anti-matter experts. Her name is Kim Taeyeon.

“Anyone can join EverDream Industries, as long as they have a dream in mind.” She said before the launch. “You just have to catch that dream.”

And so, the spaceship SS Dreamcatcher I was launched into space. The ship was white, with graceful pink-purple feather motives painted across the surface. Even seen from afar, it was striking. The ship was unique, defying the conventional design of its predecessors. A woman’s touch, maybe? From each side of the spaceship, a pair of powerful magnetic dreamcatcher-like structure were built inside to retrieve any anti-matter floating in space.

Baekhyun’s eyes followed the trail of the spaceship before it zoomed past the atmosphere. In a matter of time, the Dreamcatcher I will reach its destination, planet Gliese 1288 e.

“Baekhyun ah, what is being shown?” a middle-aged woman walked up beside him. She was young-looking with her energetic expressions and personality. Her eyes were small like obsidian beads and her smile was pleasant. Her hair was styled in a bob-cut, a haircut famous decades ago. When she spoke, her words were tinged with the accent of an ancient EXO Planetary language that’s no longer spoken.

“Ah, it’s the launch of SS Dreamcatcher I, grandma.” Baekhyun replied.

“Another EverDream project, is it?” she put on her glasses to watch the live broadcast. “They had never stopped making wonders! The Evermores are the finest of lads. They are first scientists and now wishmasters and magicians! Oooh, I wonder what are they up to next? They can make anything they have in mind!”

“Is it true that EverDream Industries had launched a lot of spaceships before you were born?”

“It is more than true! I’ve seen it myself!” The grandmother’s face was rekindled with memories. “In front of the gate of EverDream’s large factory, models of rockets, space shuttles and spaceships of all projects were lined up so children can admire them! Not just children, even adults like me were awed—and that’s only the icing of the cake. You haven’t seen the inside of the factory!”

“You’ve been inside?”

“Yes! Oh, haven’t I told you about my teenage life there?” The grandmother paused to think. “I was an EverDream trainee back then! I thought if I were to debut, I’ll assume the stage name ‘Darla’.”

“Really?” Baekhyun started to pay attention.

“I loved Science as a child, and as soon as I heard about EverDream’s ThinkTank audition being held in my town, I showed up. The auditions were hard, with mind-boggling tests and simulations, but trainee life is even harder! Imagine: monthly assessments and homeworks! And only God knows about our advanced classes!  Our training make us more advanced than college graduates at that time. We are different. We are EverDream trainees and by that we are distinguished. I was a proud girl, I remember.” Darla drew a long breath. “But I didn’t get to debut.”