Chi-Long walked to the serving line.
Ha Joon and Eun Byol followed.
Three paces behind.
Silent.
The cafeteria stretched wide and empty around them. Rows of tables. Steel benches. All bolted to the floor.
The lights overhead flickered. Some worked. Some didn't. The ones that did gave off weak yellow light that made everything look sickly.
The air smelled sharp. Soap. Bleach. Something chemical underneath.
Chi-Long stopped at the counter.
A woman stood behind it. Middle-aged. Expressionless. White apron. She didn't greet them. Didn't smile. Just ladled food onto three trays without asking.
Rice. Boiled vegetables. A piece of fish.
Colorless. Bland.
Chi-Long took hers and moved to a table near the wall.
Ha Joon and Eun Byol collected their trays.
The metal was cold against Ha Joon's palms.
He followed Chi-Long.
Eun Byol followed him.
---
They sat.
Chi-Long across from them. Ha Joon to the left. Eun Byol to the right.
The bench was cold through the tracksuit.
Ha Joon looked down at his tray.
The fish had no skin. The rice was perfectly white. The vegetables were soft. Overcooked. Lifeless.
He picked up the spoon.
Metal. Lightweight.
He took a bite of rice.
It had no flavor.
He swallowed.
Eun Byol hadn't moved yet.
She stared at her tray. Her hands rested in her lap. Hidden under the table.
Her breathing was shallow.
Chi-Long ate with calm efficiency. She didn't rush. Didn't linger. Each movement was measured. Fork to mouth. Chew. Swallow. Repeat.
She didn't look at them.
But Ha Joon could feel her awareness.
Like a weight pressing down.
---
Ha Joon ate another spoonful.
The rice stuck to his throat.
He forced it down.
Eun Byol picked up her spoon.
Her hand shook.
Just a little.
She scooped a small portion of rice and brought it to her mouth. Chewed slowly. Swallowed.
Set the spoon down.
Waited.
Then repeated.
Ha Joon watched her peripherally.
Her jaw moved mechanically. Her face was blank. No expression. No reaction.
She wasn't tasting anything.
Just going through the motions.
---
The silence pressed in.
Thick.
Heavy.
Ha Joon's eyes flicked to the lights overhead.
One flickered. On. Off. On. Off.
The rhythm was irregular. Unpredictable.
It made shadows dance across the tables.
His stomach tightened.
He looked back at his tray.
The fish stared up at him. Pale. Dead.
He cut a piece with his fork.
Put it in his mouth.
It tasted like nothing.
Like eating wet paper.
---
Eun Byol's breathing quickened.
Ha Joon glanced at her.
Her eyes were fixed on her tray. Wide. Unblinking.
Her knuckles were white around the spoon.
She lifted another bite.
Her hand trembled harder this time.
The rice fell off the spoon before it reached her mouth.
Landed back on the tray.
She froze.
---
Chi-Long didn't look up.
But her fork paused.
Just for a second.
Then continued.
---
Eun Byol tried again.
This time she held the spoon tighter.
Too tight.
Her whole arm shook.
She got the rice to her mouth.
Chewed.
Swallowed.
Her throat moved with effort.
Like it hurt.
---
Ha Joon's chest felt tight.
He looked down at his own hands.
They were steady.
Calm.
Empty.
He ate another bite.
Then another.
The rhythm was automatic now.
Lift. Chew. Swallow.
Lift. Chew. Swallow.
He didn't think about it.
Didn't taste it.
Just did it.
---
The fluorescent light above them buzzed.
Loud. Persistent.
Then flickered twice.
Went dark.
The cafeteria dimmed.
Only half the lights worked now.
Shadows stretched longer.
Deeper.
Ha Joon's skin prickled.
He kept eating.
---
Eun Byol's spoon clattered against her tray.
She grabbed it quickly.
Too quickly.
It fell again.
She reached for it.
Her hand hovered.
Trembling.
She pulled it back.
Folded her hands in her lap.
Stared down at the tray.
---
Chi-Long set her fork down.
The sound was sharp in the quiet.
She folded her hands on the table.
Looked at them.
Her eyes were dark. Wet. Reflective.
"Ha Joon."
His name landed heavy.
He looked up.
Met her gaze.
His throat tightened.
"Yes."
His voice came out flat.
Empty.
Chi-Long tilted her head slightly.
"Do you have a question?"
He hesitated.
His mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
"What are we going to do?"
The words came quiet.
Uncertain.
"What are we going to train?"
---
Silence.
Chi-Long didn't answer.
She just looked at him.
Her expression didn't change.
Didn't harden.
Didn't soften.
Just... waited.
The silence stretched.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Ha Joon's pulse quickened.
His palms felt damp.
He wanted to ask again.
To clarify.
To fill the silence.
But something stopped him.
Some instinct.
Some lesson already learned.
He closed his mouth.
Looked back down at his tray.
---
Chi-Long's eyes stayed on him.
He could feel them.
Like weight.
Like pressure.
Like being held underwater.
His breathing slowed.
Deliberately.
Carefully.
He picked up his spoon.
Took another bite.
---
Chi-Long turned her gaze to Eun Byol.
The girl sat rigid.
Hands folded.
Eyes down.
Her chest rose and fell too quickly.
Shallow breaths.
Panicked breaths.
But she didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Chi-Long watched her for a long moment.
Then picked up her fork.
Continued eating.
---
Ha Joon finished his rice.
Then the vegetables.
Then the fish.
Each bite tasted the same.
Bland. Colorless. Wet.
But he ate.
Because that's what you did.
You obeyed.
You complied.
You survived.
---
Eun Byol's tray was still half full.
She hadn't touched it in minutes.
Just sat there.
Staring.
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
Her jaw clenched.
Her fingers dug into her palms under the table.
---
One of the overhead lights flickered.
Then went out completely.
The cafeteria darkened further.
Ha Joon's eyes adjusted slowly.
He could still see.
But everything looked gray now.
Lifeless.
Like a photograph left too long in the sun.
---
Chi-Long finished her tray.
Set her fork down.
Folded her hands.
Looked at them both.
"Stand."
Ha Joon stood immediately.
His body moved before the thought finished.
Eun Byol stood slower.
Her legs shook.
She gripped the edge of the table.
Steadied herself.
Then let go.
Chi-Long walked toward the doors.
Ha Joon followed.
Eun Byol followed.
---
The hallway swallowed them.
Gray concrete.
Fluorescent lights.
Silence.
Ha Joon's feet moved in rhythm.
Step. Step. Step.
He didn't look back at the cafeteria.
Didn't look at Eun Byol.
Just followed.
Because that's what he did now.
That's what he was.
The lights overhead buzzed.
One flickered.
Then another.
Then all of them at once.
The hallway plunged into darkness.
For three seconds.
Four.
Then the lights came back.
Dimmer than before.
Ha Joon kept walking.
He didn't stop.
Didn't hesitate.
Just walked.
Into the gray.
Into the silence.
Into whatever waited next.