Barcode Tattoo

Tutor

   You wake up to a radiant yellow sunrise
outside your window rising up over buildings.

On your digital wall calendar, it says, 'August 14, 2045'. One more day until I get my barcode tattoo! You think excitedly, your thoughts racing.

   Today's also the day I'll learn how to hoverboard! You get out of your bed, go to your lavish white marble-gold bathroom, swallow a blue teeth-cleaning pill, ride down the elevator, and go outside to meet the frosty city breeze.

You see a recognizable hovercar coming up to you rather fast.

   Shiny brown combat boots touch the ground first. A navy-colored head pops out the door.

   Jimin, your hoverboard trainer, steps out onto the concrete sidewalk.

"Ready to hoverboard?" Jimin says brightly, hands shifting the bag on his arm. "Yeah, sure. Where are the hoverboards though?" You ask curiously, looking at Jimin's bag and the still running car.

   "I'm glad you asked, Y/N. I have them right here in my bag!" He rummages through the contents in his bag. Jimin pulls out nothing, embarrassed. "Hm, where are my hoverboards?"

He searches through his gray bag, only to be empty-handed once again.

   "I'm very sorry about this, Y/N. My younger brother must've taken them. Would you mind picking out a hoverboard with me? The drive might be awhile since the nearest stores are out of the city." He suggests, with a glint of warmness in his brown eyes.

   "Alright, let's do it!" You say excitedly, ready to go somewhere.

   As you were in the car on your way to a hoverboard store, you look out the window, and are surprised by what you see.

   You see a bunch of buildings that you've never seen before, they look like prisons to you. Something catches your attention. Why does one of the buildings say 'Grant' on it? "Hey Jimin, what are those buildings for?" You ask, still looking out your window.

Jimin answers with, "Oh, those buildings... Don't worry about those just yet. You'll be there soon enough."

   Soon enough? What does he mean by 'soon enough'? Am I going to do something bad soon?

When you arrive at the store, a dirty beggar outside the door says, "It's a dangerous world out there. With all the barcodes and laws. It's a very dangerous world indeed..." You are taken by surprise by what the beggar said.

   Jimin notices and gently asks, "Are you alright, Y/N? Did the beggar scare you?" "No, I'm fine, the beggar didn't bother me." You lie, internally cursing yourself. "Okay then," Jimin says uncertainly, glancing down at you.

"So which hoverboard do you want?" You look at the boards and decide you want a light green foldable hoverboard. You and Jimin walk out of the store to meet the beggar once again. This fucker.

   "You better watch it little girl, you don't want the Grants going after you!" Declares the beggar, shaking his jar of coins at you. "All right, that's enough! Ignore him." Jimin whisper-yells and opens the hovercar door.

   Once you are at a hoverboard park, it starts to rain. "Are you fucking kidding me? Now I can't hoverboard!" You exclaim, your hands outreached, catching the raindrops.

   Jimin pulls out his umbrella and rain spray. "Not to worry, Y/N! I got this umbrella on sale, can you fucking believe that? It works like a charm!" He says brightly, handing you his items.

   You put on the spray as it starts to rain harder. The spray repels the raindrops as you follow Jimin's directions on how to step on the board. "There you go, Y/N! You're getting good at this!" Okay, maybe I am getting the hang of this!

When your instructor is done teaching you on how to step onto the board, it starts to rain even more that it's blinding.

   Jimin takes note and helps you off your board and into the car. One of his hands on your lower back, the other on the umbrella.

   You decide to make the best of time while Jimin is still here, and ask, "So what's with the whole 'Grant' thing?"

Jimin looks back from his passenger seat and says, "You don't need to worry about it, you should learn about it this year in university."

   Why does Jimin keep on changing the subject when I mention anything about our society? Is he against that?

Your thoughts keep on swarming in your mind, that you don't even notice that Jimin has told you multiple times to have a good day and to exit.

Shaking your head, you resurface from your troubling thoughts, and get out of the car. You reach the gold encrusted hotel doors. You run inside the lobby to shut out the rain, and take the elevator.

   You turn on your television to a weather channel. A news reporter exclaims, "It's monsoon season, with a record-breaking amount of rain! Seoul hasn't gotten this much in years!" You flip to another program.

   A weather analyst says, "And we're looking for at least fifteen more centimeters for Seoul. Back to your news report with Chung-Ha..."

   You instantly turn off the wall television. As you turn away from your television, you get ready to go to bed. "Good night!" You say to the room, as the lights turn off in your command.

   You sleep to the sounds of rain and dream of Jimin.

   It's now August 15, 2045, and it's your day to go back to university. You get ready for the day, minus the much procrastination, and put your hoverboard in your pocket. You go down the elevator to be greeted by traffic.

Fuck me, this traffic's going to kill. You get out your hoverboard and ride the sidewalk for a few kilometers until you're at your university's grounds. You put away your board, and walk to your first class.

   Everyone in your lecture is buzzing with excitement, they must know something you don't.

One student says, "Today's going to be great! I can't wait to get mine! I wonder if I could customize it to be a dragon?"

   Can't wait to get mine? What does this boy mean? So, you ask out of pure curiosity. "Is there something going on that I don't know about?"

   The boy responds with, "Oh, hello, I'm Dae! But, wait a second, you don't know what's going to happen today?" "Um, no." "Well, then wait for Prof. Kim to come in, she'll tell you." Just as Dae says that, the professor walks in the lecture.

"Quiet down students! I know you're all anxious about what's going to happen today."

   She is about to answer the question you have been waiting for.