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ggoojjoo · 5 months

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new world ; s.mg

— synopsis:: A perfect world is what they wanted, and it's what they failed to create. “Our world is perfect, our world is safe. Our world is a world without errors, though, a small error leads to a crack, and a crack leads to pain. Pain is an unnecessary emotion and a negative element in life. We want to protect you all. We work for you, we dedicate ourselves to you. All of this is for you. Do not question.”

— contains:: use of weaponry, murder, violence, mentions of claustrophobia, mentions of a panick attack, profanities

— wc:: 4,1k

— note:: FINALLY?!?!?! life has been kicking me in the ass lately so sorry for the delay :,) also, i'm not quite happy about this end product and it's a lot shorter than i had anticipated but yeh. i hope yer like it <3

— disclaimer! this series if heavily insipred by ateez' storyline and some sentences or scenes might be inspired/based on their diary versions, mvs, teasers, or even other franchises, such as movies, etc.!

— 00 -> 01 -> 02 -> masterlist

“There is a disease in the heart of man. The disease is human emotion.” Day in and day out, children and unsuspecting citizens were dragged into the government laboratories and academies, corrupting them with their twisted idea of a perfect world. The distorted face of a man on the big screen repeated the same words over and over again– draining the free will of the people.

“Our world is perfect, our world is safe. Our world is a world without errors, though, a small error leads to a crack, and a crack leads to pain. Pain is an unnecessary emotion and a negative element in life. We want to protect you all. You, living your life in your position, are the world itself. Do not doubt, do not question; this is all for you. We’re right because you’re right. Keep that in mind. We work for you, we dedicate ourselves to you. All of this is for you. Do not question.”

A world without cracks. That’s what they wanted but failed to create.

“Bullshit,” you scoffed, ripping the flimsy paper off the wall, your gloved hand running over the paper that had your picture on it with bold letters saying, ‘WANTED DEAD!’ You let the piece of paper fall down next to your feet onto the wet ground. With quick steps, you walked out of the dark alleyway, your eyes roaming the dark, empty streets to check if there is anyone who may be a threat to you. Your hand never left the gun that was strapped to your hip, the cold metal giving you a sense of comfort. With quiet steps you made your way through the shadows until you met the border of the outer districts.

The outer districts were almost completely abandoned, neglected by the government, causing the people to move into the center of Wonderland, Utopia. Where the government had a better eye on them, better control. Here, there were only rogue citizens, rummaging through trash for food and water, fighting with stray dogs and cats for one bite of that soggy burger on the ground. It was disgusting.

“Hey, you!” Someone’s voice cut through the silence, making you turn around to meet a man clad in navy uniform and glistening badges scattered over his chest, military. The soldier caught up to you, breath fogging up in front of his face. “Name and ID,” he demanded, “what are you doing out after curfew?”

“I went on a walk, sir.” You mustered, voice monotone and face muscles relaxed. Handing him a fake ID, you told him the name matching the ID. Looking over the government card, he gestured for you to take off your mask. All you did was slightly shake your head from side to side. Your eyes fell onto the silver badge on his chest that read Sector 7, his rank was low.

The soldier sighed as he handed the ID back to you. “I need you to take off that mask, ma’am.” He said more firmly, you still didn’t budge. “Ma’am,” he warned. With a roll of your eyes you took off the cloth, meeting the soldier’s eyes. A frown curled your lips as you saw his expression turn sour. He pulled out the gun that was strapped to his hip and pointed it at you, the smooth silver of the weapon glowing under the fluorescent lamps. “On your knees, now!” You did as told, putting your hands behind your head. The soldier put his gun back into its holster and turned around, reporting to the military that he had found you but when he turned back around, you were gone. His heart leaped into his throat, scared of what the new Supreme General would do to him if he found out about the young soldier’s mistake. “I would advise you to come out, the military is on their way.” His voice had a tremble in it, anxiety crawling into his gut. Suddenly, cold metal came into touch with the soldier’s nape, causing him to flinch and grab his own gun, or where it should’ve been.

“Walk,” you demanded, pressing the gun harder into his skin. You noticed that the soldier didn’t have any weapons on himself, except the gun you had in your hands. With trembling knees, he walked forward, stepping on broken glass that was scattered on the pavement, probably from the broken windows. The alley you led him into was dark, only his silhouette visible. You reached the end of the alley, a tall brick wall standing in front of you. With a hit on the back of the soldier’s head, you made him fall face first onto the ground. He immediately scurried to sit up, raising his hands in front of his face to shield it from you. A sigh left your lips as you raised the gun again, pointing it directly at his forehead.

You noticed the tremble of his lip and the glossy eyes, his life visibly flashing in front of his eyes. It was truly a shame, putting these young people into this position. The government mistreats them, never batting an eye if they die. Without a word, you pulled the trigger, shooting the poor boy into his forehead, making it as quick and painless as possible. As his body fell limp, you smashed the gun against the brick wall with as much strength as you could muster, the weapon falling into multiple pieces, spotting the silver chip on the ground and stepping on it.

With cautious steps, you walked out of the alley, eyes roaming the streets to see if someone was there. Little did you know, somebody had their eyes set onto you, hiding somewhere in the shadows. When you didn’t see anything, you took off, sprinting into the forest that led to your house.

The cold air was burning your lungs as you kept running. Your skin felt like thousands of needles were being dug into it.

You slowed down once you saw your house in the distance, surrounded by the tall trees in the middle of a clearing. The moon was shining in its full glory. You let your gaze wander around your surroundings before walking up to the door. The keys jingled as you stepped inside. Just as you locked the door behind you, you heard the high-pitched voice of a special someone.

“(Y/N)!” A smile crawled onto your face as you met the big eyes of the four year old girl, her lips pulled into a wide grin as she ran to you, her tiny arms wrapping around your hips. “You’re home,” she exclaimed with a giggle.

“Jihan,” you said, kneeling to be the same level as the small girl. She immediately let her arms wrap around your neck, clinging to you. With one arm beneath her bum, you stood up and laid a kiss onto her temple, her soft hair tickling your nose. “Did you miss me?” You asked, walking down the stairs leading into the living room, where your grandfather was sitting, reading old documents from his time in the military.

As you reached one of the big couches, you dropped Jihan on it, letting a hand run through your hair to smooth it out. You took off your thick vest and the heavy belt that had all kinds of weapons and guns strapped to it. “Anything special?” Your grandfather’s gruff voice broke through the silence.

A sigh left your lips as you plopped down on the couch next to Jihan. “No,” you paused, closing your eyes, “nothing.” You felt Jihan snuggle into your side, sighing as she hugged your waist with her tiny arms. Your hand was caressing her back when your fingers brushed over a bulky scar on the back of her nape. It felt as if time stopped as you sat on the couch with Jihan snuggled into your side.

You let your head fall onto the backrest on the couch and closed your eyes. The only sounds that could be heard in the small living room was the turning of pages from the files your grandfather was reading. “(Y/N),” your grandfather cut through your thoughts, making you turn your head from where you sat. “Have you ever thought about how life would be if the world changed,” he paused. “Like… a new world, a better world. Not perfect, but better.”

You sighed heavily, closing your eyes back again. “It’s kind of unimaginable,” you stated truthfully. “Your image of a new world would only happen if the Man In White died,” you muttered in a bored tone, throwing your arm over your face. “Which is impossible,” you added, letting yourself sink into the cushions of the worn-down couch, Jihan sleeping by your side.

“But if you think about it,” your grandfather spoke up, a tinge of hope in his voice. “It is possible.”

“No,” you countered sharply, looking at your grandfather with a heated gaze. He just looked at you with furrowed brows as he said nothing. “It’s impossible,” you started. “As soon as something happens to that son of a bitch they will have an heir up there, they won’t let him die without some type of back-up, Pa.” You noticed you had gotten louder as your eyes fell on Jihan, her stirring pulling you out of the haze of your frustrations. You let your hand run over her shoulder softly to soothe her back to sleep while you looked at your grandfather.

He stood up and threw a stack of papers onto the coffee table in front of you. It had Confidential written on it in bold letters. “Read that,” he pointed at it. You did, you read every single word of the file in your hand, the picture of a familiar blonde biting into your eyes. “If he is still alive, he will give us answers. He knows it all,” your grandfather said. “Choi Ilsung’s son knows things that you and me don’t know.”

“You are talking like I never had any experience in the military,” you mumbled, letting the file fall onto the coffee table. “You keep dismissing the stuff I saw and had to endure behind those damned doors,” your words were sharp as you glared at your grandfather. You had the urge to scratch the bulky scar that was right between your shoulder blades, your skin burning like it was fresh.

“Because you aren’t him.”

“Because I am me!” You yelled suddenly, standing up. “Stop comparing me to someone you don’t know like I do!” In your haze of anger, you turned around to look at Jihan on the couch. To your relief, she was still sleeping soundly. With one last look to your grandfather, you moved to pick her up and tuck her into her own bed.

When you were done tucking Jihan in, you walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch. Your grandfather didn’t say anything else, all he did was sigh and walk with his crane into the kitchen, which was connected to the living room. “You want some tea?” He asked as he put water into the kettle.

"Yes, please." You whispered, looking at a random point in the living room.

You were laying in your bed, drenched in your own sweat as tears profusely ran down your temples. The dizziness causing your head to hurt like it was being split in half made you almost completely unable to move. You tried to regain control of your body by changing your rapid breathing pattern into a calmer one, which didn’t work at first but once you were there, you stood up on shaky legs. Your right knee felt like it could buckle under your weight anytime, so you held onto the wall as leverage until you arrived at the bathroom. Immediately, you were met with your disheveled reflection, hair sticking in every possible direction, sweat glistening on your hot skin, and the dark, heavy eye bags that were embedded under your eyes.

You could feel the harsh pounding on the left side of your head, the constant abuse you had to endure taking a toll on you. You lean forward and spit a heavy glob of spit and bile into the sink as a wave of nausea hit you. Your right arm was tingling like a thousand needles were prickling your skin at once, the limb shaking under the weight of your upper body. As frustration took over, you let your head lean against the mirror on the cabinet above the sink, and when your rapid thoughts didn’t seem to calm, accompanied by the throbbing headache and constant ringing in your ears, you pulled your head back and let it fall against the mirror. Over and over, with every hit against the mirror it got harder, your face pulled into a snarl as a low groan rumbled through your chest.

“This won’t make it better, you know,” your grandfather’s voice cut through the harsh pounding of your head against the mirror. You stopped your movements as soon as his deep voice met your ears. “You’ll wake Jihan, and I don't want her to see you like this,” he trailed off, meeting your eyes in the mirror. “Get it together,” were his last words when he left, probably going to his own bedroom, the quiet thuds of his cane echoing through the small space.

His words echoed in your mind as you washed your face with cold water and brushed your teeth to get rid of the sour taste of bile on your tongue. “(Y/N)?” The soft call of your name made you spit the toothpaste in your mouth into the sink and quickly rinse your mouth out. As soon as you turned around, a wave of dizziness washed over you but you tried to conceal it as much as you could. Jihan was standing there, her eyes puffy and red from sleep, little beads of tears running down her soft cheeks and her little hand was holding her plush bunny by its ear as she rubbed her eyes with her free hand. The sight caused your heart to clench.

“Yes, baby?” You asked softly, stretching your arms out for her to hug you. “Why aren’t you sleeping?” You let your hand caress the top of her head, the silky strands of hair comforting you in a way as you comforted her.

“I can’t sleep,” she whispered into the junktion of your neck and shoulder. “I… I had a bad dream,” a soft sob forced itself out of her throat. You cooed softly as you rocked her from side to side. “Can I sleep with you?” Her question made your heart skip a few beats. You were contemplating if it was a good idea after the small episode you had, but you agreed nonetheless. Collecting the courage, you stood up, though your right knee was still a bit shaky, you were able to walk to your bedroom and put Jihan on your bed. It didn’t take long for you to join, pulling her tightly against your chest with her plush bunny squeezed between your bodies.

You didn’t get a wink of sleep that night, fearing that you’d wake Jihan. When you noticed that the time for her to wake up came, you softly nudged her cheek to pull her out of the confines of dreamland. “Good morning, pretty,” you cooed softly, pushing the wild hairs out of her face. She groaned in protest and buried her face into your warm neck. “But it’s time for breakfast,” you said with a pout. She didn’t say anything for a few seconds so you figured she fell back asleep. Giving up, you stood up and let her sleep on your bed as you went to the bathroom to take a much needed shower.

“Good morning,” you greeted your grandfather as he sat on the dinner table with his half-eaten sandwich and files scattered across. His glasses sat low on the bridge of his nose and his free hand either played with the end of his beard or took the sandwich to bite into it. While he was sitting silently, you pulled out bread from the cabinet and made your own sandwich and one for Jihan for when she wakes up.

You sat down across from your grandfather. Just as you were about to take a bite from your sandwich he spoke up, “I don’t want to see you like that ever again.” Your eyes found his, your sandwich between your fingers. You nodded softly, your eyes avoiding him as you bit into the sandwich, your appetite practically gone. “Jihan knows a lot,” he started again, flicking the side of a paper. “And she notices a lot,” he paused, looking at you. “I don’t want her to see you like that. She doesn’t remember anything that happened before you took her in, but once she remembers, we have to tell her everything. And now is not the time.” You nodded again, keeping your eyes trained on your plate. The thought of Jihan remembering everything that was done to her in those rehab centers made you shiver, her cries ringing in your ears.

With a soft shake of your head you continued to eat, barely able to swallow the dry bread. “I’ll be gone for today, and probably won’t come back until later tonight. So, don’t wait up for me,” you explained, looking at your grandfather. “We are running out of necessities,” you explained.

Your grandfather just nodded and resumed his readings. “Don’t get caught.” Was all he said as silence took over.

After having eaten breakfast, you started to get ready, a mask pulled over your nose and mouth to conceal your identity, heavy leather attire with multiple weapons strapped to your body, and a long, gray cloak pulled over your shoulders, the hood cast a shadow over the upper part of your face. Without a noise you left the house, climbing up the stairs to your front door. Once you exited, you lock everything again, making sure that nothing would happen.

Though, as soon as your back was turned to the house, you felt a weird sensation of being watched, as if someone was standing right behind you. Turning around, you looked everywhere. There was no chance, right? After making sure that you saw nobody, you made your way down the dirt path that led to the outer districts. It didn’t take five minutes for you to hear a sound from behind you, like something heavy falling from a high altitude. One of your hands found the small knives strapped to your thigh and let it glide across the air, only to get impaled on one of the thick trees. Nothing. You ran a hand over your face, a frustrated sigh muffled by the cloth that covered your mouth. You quickly walked over and yanked the knife out of the tree bark and stuck it back into its place.

Your speed picked up as you practically jogged through the thick lines of trees, letting a sigh of relief fall from your lips as soon as you reached a clearing and not too long after you finally reached the outer districts of Wonderland. People of all kinds were walking around in thick, gray cloaks, some disappearing into alleyways, most likely to exchange goods, or some disappeared into the abandoned houses and apartments.

You take multiple shortcuts through alleyways to find your destination, the entrance into the underground. It didn’t take you too long, afterall, you knew these streets like the back of your hand. But once you reach the underground, it’s unknown lands. Your steps gradually slowed down as you walked through the crowded space, the humidity casting a thin, glistening glow on your forehead. Music, laughter, and profanities echoed through the air as you kept walking with your gaze kept low, undetectable. A shadow was cast over the top half of your face as you roamed through the tight marketplace. Your eyes fell on colorful vegetables propped up on a tiny stand with a man shouting to catch the customers’ attention.

“G’day, ma'am! How can I help you?” The man’s loud voice cut through your concentration as your head jerked up to look at his face. He looked old, skin pale, probably untouched by the sun. “My fruits and vegetables are very fresh today, from the fields of the outer districts,” he exclaimed, a large smile stretched on his lips.

You lift a hand to point at a bundle filled with various vegetables. “How much for this?” The man gave you a reasonable price for the bundle, which had you buy two at once. You were careful as you pulled the money out of your pocket to hand it to the marketer. As soon as you got your hands on the fresh goods, you stuffed them into your backpack and continued your walk through the crowded space. You spent barely over an hour finding the things you had to buy and take back home.

Your bag was heavy on your back as you hurried back to the entrance. As you were focused on walking through the bodies of people, you suddenly fell forward as something violently bumped into your back. With a grunt, you looked up over your shoulder to see the back of a tall man, his arms lifted as he talked to someone in front of him. You quickly scrambled to your feet to walk away, which seemed to be hard now with the way people started crowding around you and the other two men. You looked over your shoulder and noticed that a heated argument had erupted between the two. Another harsh shove had you bump into someone again, a low groan rumbling through your chest as you started to get agitated. The crowd was closing in around you, the air was tight in your lungs.

You managed to steady yourself between the people, frantically looking through the large crowd to find an exit. The fight between the men started escalating further and put you into a frenzy of your thoughts. Right as you started to feel numbness slowly creep up your fingertips, a hand reached out of the crowd towards you. “Let’s go,” a man called, looking at you and then at the men behind you. Without thinking twice, you took the stranger’s hand and let yourself get pulled out of the thick crowd. As soon as you were out of there, you felt like you could breathe again, pushing your hood away to feel a bit more free.

“Figured you wanted to get out of there,” the stranger said, a breathy chuckle followed by his words. Your gaze found him, red hair biting into your vision, gaze lingering there for a second too long. “Did anything happen to you?” His question pulled you out of your thoughts.

“No,” you breathed, looking back at the commotion. “No, nothing happened,” you added, checking your backpack to see if everything was in place. A sigh of relief fell from your lips when you saw everything was in place, your heart calming and the feeling in your fingers returning. “Thanks,” you muttered as you looked at the stranger again.

He smiled, offering his hand to you. “I’m Jongho,” he introduced himself. You nodded courtly, shaking his hand. You didn’t say anything, though, wary of the people you meet and talk to. “So no name?” He asked with a smirk. After a second, he laughed and waved a dismissive hand. “It’s fine, understandable to not trust anyone in the underground,” he assured, pulling away. “It seems you aren’t very familiar with being down here, no?” Your eyes narrowed softly, slowly shaking your head, no. Jongho just nodded with a hum. “Yeah, well, this is how it is every day, especially at the marketplace,” he laughed. “That tall guy that hit you to the ground is actually a good friend of mine, Yunho. He likes to pick fights with the biggies in here, so I learned to mind my business when he does something.”

You didn’t say anything as you just looked at him, occasionally looking over your shoulder when Jongho mentioned Yunho. “It looks like you are in a hurry,” he muttered, pulling your attention one more time.

“Yeah, I have to get going now,” you mumbled, walking around Jongho. “Thank you again.” With that, you made your way back to where you came from, out of the underground.

The walk back was even more stressful for you. Not knowing what was awaiting you at home, your steps were quick and your breath heavy. With every step, your right knee trembled under your weight. And there it was, the feeling of being watched. It’s as if eyes were following you through the thick branches of the forest you were walking through. As if there were eyes in the sky.

— 00 -> 01 -> 02 -> masterlist

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