simon says | 02

twenty.seven

twenty-seven | nine is fine

"You're not going to camp, right?" Jisung asked Yizhuo. She was sitting on his bed, watching him pack. Even after the week that he was supposed to keep an eye on her, Jisung felt the need to make sure she was okay, so he'd often visit her in her room, sit with her in the cafeteria when she decided to go eat a midnight snack or bring her to his room to just talk about random things.

She seemed to have a lot more questions about his power than before, which the boy didn't mind.

"I'm still not fully recovered, but I'll go to the next camp," Yizhuo replied, "You're not going to miss me too much, right?"

"Who will I stare at in my free time?" Jisung joked.

"If you need any help or anything, just send me a message, I'll help you out however I can," Yizhuo told him.

"You think we can't function without you?" Jisung asked, "Hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but the world kept on spinning while you were in a coma."

"I was just saying," Yizhuo raised her hands in the air.

Jisung was done packing just in time to leave for the bus that was going to take them to camp, so Yizhuo followed him because she had nothing to do.

She wouldn't see any of the elites for five days, so she wanted to see them off. Her training was also going to be more intense starting next week, so she wouldn't have much time to hang out with them after they came back, either.

"You two became really close over the past two weeks," Natty noticed once the two arrived at the bus.

"And you've become especially noisy, any particular reason?" Jisung restored, annoyed by her constant questions about their friendship.

"Damn, sorry for asking," Natty rolled her eyes, making Jisung do the same.

"Have fun, and take care of yourselves," Yizhuo told them.

"So you're actually not going?" Matthew asked, sadness evident in his voice.

"No, I thought about it and the best option was to stay," Yizhuo replied.

"We'll miss you, Yi." Yeojin was the first one to hug her. Their friendship had bloomed recently, and Yizhuo couldn't be happier because of it.

"I'll miss you, too," Yizhuo said while hugging her.

"Guys," Gaeul called out, making everyone turn their heads in her direction, "Group hug."

Yeojin and Yizhuo were soon choking due to the pressure that was suddenly on them, but Yeojin was quick to react and make a bubble of air around the two, pushing everyone else away.

"Group hug does not equal group smashing," Yeojin stated while looking Yizhuo all over just to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"Jin, I'm fine." Yizhuo chuckled.

They had to board the bus, and Yizhuo soon returned to her room. She knew she'd be bored, but she had no choice but to stay, knowing she'd just be an extra burden for the elites if she went.

Chenle, one of her friends she had met during an extracurricular camp, went home for his break, so she couldn't hang out with him either.

What a drag.  Yizhuo thought as she turned to her side. She had been lying in bed for the last two hours, not knowing what to do with her free time.  If I go to the training grounds, someone might see me and I'm not supposed to go without supervision.

"Let's go to the training grounds, the worst they can do is yell at me for training," Yizhuo told herself. She knew her friends had already arrived at the camp, but she wasn't going to message them now since they probably had some activity planned.

Dusk soon replaced the blue colors of the sky, and the elites were ready for a game of Capture the Flag. It became a tradition to play the game on the first and last day of every camp, and the students loved the idea so much that the elites would sometimes play more than one round.

"You and Yizhuo seem very close," Gaeul fell into pace with Jisung, who was her teammate for the first round.

"If you're going to ask me why we're close or if anything is going on, slow down your pace because I don't want to hear it," Jisung replied.

"No, I know you both hate those questions," Gaeul replied while shaking her head, "I just wanted to say that I'm glad you two are getting along this well. When we first met each other, I thought you two were going to rip each other's head off whenever you looked at each other."

That made Jisung laugh. He knew how much the two improved their relationship, and he couldn't deny the fact that he was proud of the development.

"What's your position today?" Jisung asked, wanting to change the subject.

"Outside protector," Gaeul replied, "I'll be really deep in the forest, so please come find me if you don't see me after the game."

"Okay," Jisung replied before the two went their separate ways.

Gaeul went deep into the woods, just like she had told Jisung, and kept her guard up. It had already been twenty minutes, and she still hadn't met anyone from camp.

Out of nowhere, a tall figure, dressed in all black with the hood covering the entirety of their face, appeared in front of her.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Gaeul's voice was demanding, but she was trembling inside. Her powers were already activated, making the rock and fallen branches float in the air around her.

"I am not here to harm you or anyone else," the figure spoke, "I am simply here to propose something."

"What do you want?" Gaeul asked.

"Kim Gaeul, you have been taking care of nature for a long time now, and I have never seen anyone do it as well as you have," the figure started but was cut off by Gaeul.

"How do you know my name?" Gaeul asked.

"I know everyone's name," the figure said, "I know about Park Jisung, the boy with two extraordinary powers, I know about Seok Matthew, about Im Yeojin. I know this might be hard for you to believe, as you grew up without fairytales," the figure inches closer to Gaeul, making her take a few steps back, "I am Simon Says."

"Why should I believe you?" Gaeul was skeptical.

"You don't have to, but I know that you elites don't think the system is working as it should," the man stated, "If I'm being honest, I regret giving your planet powers, it was not in my intention to create a society where you'd be ranked base on them. That is why I want to make things right, and I think you want the same thing, so let's work together."

"I need some time to think," Gaeul said, "You can feel my presence when I come here, right?"

"Yes," the figure replied.

"When I come here next time, I will have an answer," Gaeul told him, "Before then, do not come up to anyone else."

She was going to keep this a secret. Gaeul had to find some things about the man who introduced himself as Simon Says to make the right decision.

If he really was Simon Says, and if he was willing to help them in their mission, the whole war was going to be over much sooner than she had originally thought.

_

and with this chapter, the true story begins