district 17 | svt

2

Seohyeon went from lesson to lesson, feeling no different from this morning. Everything was the same; she had gotten over her anxiousness not long after her first lecture, and the day carried on as usual.

She hadn't seen Junhui all day, since their schedules weren't exactly the same because of Junhui's extra training.

In the beginning of the year when they were assigned future careers, Junhui, along with many other students, were selected to become the next generation of the communities Defense and Protect Organization. This organization, abbreviated as the DPO, was in charge of keeping the citizens safe. Becoming a part of the DPO required lots of extra training and experience.

During the break before their last meal, Seohyeon was walking around the area like she normally did during their free time. All of a sudden, she stopped in her tracks....

and things around her started to change.

She was surrounded by the normal things such as the buildings, the people, the simple decor around the District.

But something felt different.

Whenever she looked at someone, their facial expressions were dull. The smiles on people's faces seemed empty and forced.

Things looked so...

plain.

Her surroundings started to feel as if they caved in on her, like walls that were never ending. Her breath began to hitch and her body began to shake. Suddenly something sparked in her mind.

Junhui.

"I need to talk to him," she muttered to herself, "where is he?"

Her thoughts went blank, but her body moved as if it had a mind of its own. She started walking to who knows where, trying to search for Junhui. Her hands were gripping tightly onto her arms as her eyes darted from side to side looking for Junhui.

Junhui, where are you? She thought.

She began to feel uneasy again, but it seemed as if it was more than uneasy...

anxious?

uncomfortable?

No.

fear.

The word suddenly popped into her head. Where did it come from?

She walked a little faster until she felt herself bump into someone.

"Please accept my apology," she said automatically before walking away again.

It was disrespectful to touch anyone unless training in combat or giving them medical attention. Usually, a simple apology was good enough to appease any punishment for accidentally breaking that small rule. However, the person she bumped into grabbed her wrist before she could walk away any further. She stopped in her tracks and looked up to see who it was, sighing with relief once she made eye contact with the familiar boy.

"J-Junhui," she breathed out, "I'm sorry, I-"

"Are you okay?" He asked in a calm yet slightly worried voice.

"Okay?" She repeated, "am I okay?"

She looked around again, and the feeling of fear began to well up inside her once more.