The man’s reverberating voice was unexpected despite his petite figure. “YOU, my hatchlings, are in the place of historical innovation and scientific revolution! YOU are in the Laboratory Annex of Baekryong… sponsored by Baekryong Industries and the government. Otherwise known as the LAB!”
He glanced around as if examining all that he could of every child there, “Some of you may be confused as to why you are here. Understandable. I myself am a man of many curiosities and if it were not for that, I wouldn’t even be here. For example…”
He opened his lab coat wide to which multiple doves flew out, “…how on earth did these doves get inside my coat?”
His trick lightened the atmosphere as many younger kids exclaimed innocent laughter, but Seohwa, Seoyong and the older kids didn’t.
“BUT! I became the great man that I am today ONLY because I was given a chance to take action upon my curiosity.” He paused for additional suspense. He clacked his metal leg when some children were being noisy as the nearby supervisors glared at them.
“With that said, I’m now giving you the chance to be part of something great…” The stomp of his metal leg punctuating every word like a drumbeat. “If not, be someone great!”
He stopped, glancing towards an odd pair of dark green haired twins as he warned while facing them, “Of course, this chance is not for the faint-hearted. It will be painful, excruciating even. Ah, some of you might not know the word, but let's just say very, very ouchy.” He chuckled mockingly.
The kids next to them laughed but Seohwa gripped her brother’s hands firmly as she felt the disdainful stare of the man on stage.
She whispered, “I don’t like him.” Seoyong shushed her softly, “Don’t talk, just listen and we’ll survive.”
The man paused as he seemingly forgot something before placing a hand on his chest, “Oh! But, where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself! I am Dr Oh Taejoon. You can call me Dr Oh or Dr Wow because I am a ‘wow’.”
Many of his assistants rolled their eyes at his eccentric joke, but he paid it no mind as he continued, “I will be your main supervisor and your lead scientist in this extraordinary adventure!”
Dr Oh then snapped his fingers as a hologram presentation appeared. “So then, this is what we’re offering: you shall be fed 3 times a day, given comfortable beds, many toys and rewards awaits for those who do well and listen to their supervisor.”
He smirked at the kid’s simple excitement, “It’s that easy, right? Now, please follow the adults to your areas. Goodbye, my little hatchlings!” He threw something on the ground as pink smoke came out and when it cleared, he had disappeared. Many kids clapped their hands at the magic trick before the crowd of children were dispersed by the supervisors in white masks, each with a different number on it.
Seohwa observed how the kids who were nervous soon relaxed after the presentation as she walked side by side with Seoyong. They were led by their supervisor to a small dining area. Their supervisor was a woman with a white mask and a metallic arm. She had the children seated at the dining tables as she clapped her hands, “Greetings, I am the supervisor for Generation 8. You may only refer to me as Dr 8. It is the same for any other supervisor you might meet from other generations, but that is a low chance of occurring.”
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Seoyong was looking around the dining hall, memorising every crook and cranny before her voice called out to him, “Focus 8-32.” Seohwa nudged him to get his attention. Seoyong glanced back down to Dr 8 and said, “Sorry.”
“Apology accepted.” Dr 8 then explained, “Every morning, the 35 of you in generation 8 shall wake up at 6am, freshen up, get dressed and eat breakfast from 6:30-7:00. By 7:00, breakfast will be closed. For the first day, all of you will then head to the clinic to get your measurements and get some tests done. Nothing harmless. Do not worry.”
A hand was raised as Dr 8 nodded, “Yes, 8-21.” It was a girl with brown hair who asked with a bit of a rebellious tone, “I have a name, I am Jisoo. Why do you call us by numbers?” Dr 8 replied, “You are no longer ‘Jisoo’, 8-21. As of all of you and all the generations. You are numbers now. Names complicate data. Anything else, 8-21?”
8-21 pouted before shaking her head. Then Seoyong raised his hand asking, “What are we doing here? I know Dr Oh said something about a scientific revolution but he didn’t explain what.”
Dr 8 smiled, “Clever question, 8-32. The LAB’s goal is to evolve human beings, hence, my metal arm. But Dr Oh found a formula, one that no magic trick can replicate. He had found the key to creating superhumans.”
Seoyong flinched as Seohwa felt him grip her hands tighter. The other children were whispering as 8-21 asked her, “You mean we’ll become like superheroes?”
Dr 8 nodded with pride, “Yes, you will become humanity’s heroes, but to get there, you will have to work hard. After the first day, you will be doing basic training then be injected by Dr Oh’s formula before going to bed.”
She took note of the subtle nervousness among the subjects as she plainly reminded, “As promised, we shall make sure your living conditions will be the best.”
The children murmured excitedly before Dr 8 clapped her hands and looked at her watch, “But before then, it is time for dinner.”
She gestured towards the cafeteria, “Please form a line and get your food. It is currently 19:00, you shall be expected to be in bed by 20:00. We start at 7:00 sharp tomorrow.” Dr 8 signalled at the Black Mask guards as they blocked the entrances of the dining hall.
Seoyong picked up two trays, one for him and one for Seohwa as they followed the line. Once they got their dinner, they walked to the far corner of the dining hall. Seohwa looked around, making sure Dr 8 was far away before asking Seoyong in a whisper, “Do you think they’re telling the truth? About us getting superpowers?”
Seoyong didn’t reply until they were both seated, “Probably. At least some of us, I think.” He grabbed his spoon and took a bite of his dinner to feed his starving body.
“You mean, we…” She paused, not daring to think of what he meant, “Surely, they must have tested it beforehand, right?”
Seoyong looked up, seeing her brows were furrowed as he poked in between them to relax, “For now, just eat. Whether or not they tested it doesn’t matter. What matters is we’re together and as long as we’re together, we’re strong and we can survive this.” Seohwa frowned at his sudden poke to her brows as she smacked his know-it-all finger away.
She then glanced down at her tray wondering what it was with its smooth porridge texture before hesitantly taking a bite. She thought it would taste like porridge but then froze as it tasted like fried chicken? Seohwa contorted her face in confusion at the odd flavour as she continued to eat.
“What? It’s good.” Seoyong smirked teasingly. She frowned as she rolled her eyes, “What type of psycho likes fried chicken porridge?”
“Oh come on, little Hwa. It’s not like we’ve ever had fried chicken before. Be happy we got to taste it even if, well, in porridge form.” Seoyong chuckled but noticed Seohwa looking down. Seohwa sighed, “It would’ve been nice if our parents were…” She couldn’t continue her words but Seoyong knew what she was referring to.
Seoyong held her hand gently, “Hey, at least we got each other. We’re lucky we even survived that.” Seohwa retorted, “But, we wouldn’t be here if someone just adopted the both of us together. Only one of us, they sai—“
“Seohwa.”
“…” Seohwa bit her lips as Seoyong softly spoke, “It doesn’t matter anymore. Right now, we need to focus on what we can do… I have a plan, but I need your help.”
“…Ok, what is it?”
“Not here.” He whispered glancing at the various guards and cameras in the dining hall. “Not when they’re watching. I’ll tell you when the lights are out.”
