Eunji was young college student who majored in Music - particularly she loved to play the piano. She was a smart student - Acing all her exams, including that of the mandatory ones. However, she had been stuck in a dilemma that plagued many college students. That is, Money. She was absolutely broke, not a single dime to her name. And she was desperate. So, when she stumbled upon a flyer with a huge cash sum written on it, she immediately grabbed it from the lamp post it was pasted on. A lump sum of $3000 written on it for just participating in a 3 week drug trial. It was easy money - at least that was what she thought.

“I’ll be fine. It’s just a trial. Most likely I will get the placebo effect anyway, but even if I don't, there shouldn't be any lasting effects.” Eunji said, waving off her friend - Bomi - who had been worrying about Eunji’s decision. Eunji set her can of beer down, looking directly at her worried friend. “Don’t worry, it’s not like I’m gonna get any superpowers or anything.” She joked, her light chuckle fading when Bomi merely glared at her. “I’m doing it with you.” Bomi said, her voice firm - Eunji knew she was worried.

 

“Bom, you have enough money. You don’t have to. I’ll be fine.” Eunji assured, she knew the risks. She didn’t mind putting herself in that position, afterall, she needed it - badly, but she wouldn’t put Bomi, someone who had somewhat of a financial stability in that position all because her best friend was in desperate need of money. “I can give you money y’know?” Bomi offered. Eunji knew she didn’t want her to go so she felt guilty with the offer. “No. You’re barely finding stability with income, I’m not taking anything.” Eunji said firmly. “I'll be fine.” She stated once more, Bomi hesitantly nodded her head, finally backing down.

 

“Please be careful, if you feel weird, just leave.” Bomi requested, an overwhelming sense of worry coursing through her veins, something about this didn’t sit right with her. It looked and sounded like a normal drug test, but the amount of money left her skeptical. Just what kind of drug was it?

 

 Eunji smiled, nodding her head. “I’ll be extra careful, don’t worry.” Eunji stated, moving her hands to her pocket to fish out her phone. 5241651891351420. The long string of numbers was supposed to be a phone number - perhaps it was from another country, it didn’t look like a number from Korea. She didn’t think much of it, moving to punch in the numbers to her dial pad displayed on her phone.

 

After a beat of silence after the ring, a voice spoke up. Feminine and soft. “Hello, how may I help you?” Eunji fumbled for her words, she was bad at phone calls, speaking to strangers especially made her anxious. “H-hi. I would like to participate in the…drug trial.” Eunji finally sputtered out, glaring at Bomi who was holding back her laughter. 

 

There was another pause.

 

“Ah, yes. Okay, I’ll need your name please.” The voice on the other line spoke up again. Eunji spared Bomi a glance - her decision was wavering with the worried looks her best friend gave her. “...Jung Eunji.” She mumbled into the phone, giving a sorry look to Bomi who just smiled at her. After a beat the sounds of typing? No, it was more of a clicking. Like those small clicks you hear when you click your pen. She was using paper to write these details. It was a little strange that they didn’t use a desktop to store information like this , but Eunji didn’t really care.

 

“Alright, Eunji. We will have someone pick you up tomorrow for the drug test. This is our final slot, so please don’t wake up late.” Wait. Pick her up? “Uhm…there’s no need to pick me up, I can go there myself.” She said, voice suspicious and speculative. “Unless you are going to drive all the way to our local facility 50km away from your house, I think you have no choice.” The operator snarked, their voice no longer light, more of a snappy, annoyed tone. Eunji didn’t even get to think about how they found her address, the tone on the other end turned to a loud string of beeping noise. They hung up. 

 

“Well, that's that then.” Eunji grumbled, starting to feel a little uneasy about the decision she just made. Just then a ding comes through from her phone, picking it up, she sees a text.

 

From: Changsub: Remember what you owe.

 

The eerie message reminded Eunji of why she was going through with this. Eunji wasn’t one to delve into the realm of illegal business, but times were tough. She needed some money to relieve some of the stress from her student loan debt and to cover her rental of her apartment before she went homeless. She had resorted to getting a loan from a “buddy” of hers in college. A loan shark if you will. The sum of $2000 which she had only paid back a measly $150 of. 

 

The week before this flyer fiasco, Eunji was hunted down by said guy - who was threatening her to give back the money by the following week, Friday. But Eunji had done some bargaining, allowing another month to get the cash. She wouldn’t have made it with a minimum wage job, so when she first laid eyes on the flyer, she knew she had no choice.

 

 

 

Bomi had helped Eunji pack some essentials into a bag for her trip, noting on the flyer that everything will be paid and provided for. The broken recorder that was Bomi - constantly telling her to be careful and go home if it felt wrong - while they packed. “I’ll be fine.” She reiterated once more to her slightly panicky best friend. “Something about this doesn’t sit right with me.” Bomi mumbled, but Eunji just sent her a measly smile. “It’s okay. But if I do die, please toss my phone into the Han River after they discover it.” Eunji jokes, earning a slap and a glare from her friend.

 

They were finally done, both the girls resting on the comfort of the floor. The silence was loud. Eunji knew Bomi was still worried, so she scooted herself closer to the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll message you everyday about it, okay?” Eunji suggests. Bomi lit up and nodded her head. This would ease her. 

 

The day drew to a close, the once bright sun slowly drifting down, leaving a pretty crimson red to illuminate the seas for a few moments before it fully set to allow for its partner - the moon, to do it’s duty in providing a pretty scene to look at and allowing the black background of a sky to be painted in the shining gleams of the stars millions of galaxies away. Bomi had left Eunji’s apartment a little while ago, leaving the raven haired girl to drown in her thoughts.

 

The little worries that seep into her mind about her decision. How much of a mess her life was. How she kept messing her life up further and further. But, there was one thing that brought a sense of calmness to her. The moon. The beautiful serene rounded moon, which laid in the vast universe among the stars that twinkle in the sky. She always found the moon peaceful. Afterall, there was nothing except rocks and craters on it. No noise. No movement. Just the still planet that orbited around the sun. It was so, peaceful. The opposite of Eunji’s state of mind. It’s what made her like the moon, how opposite of her it was.

 

Sadly, her time to admire the beautiful painting that was the night sky ended. Leaving her tired and aching for a good night's rest. Flopping onto her bed, she thought briefly about what tomorrow could entail, although most scenarios seem boring in her head. She would go there, get the drug tested on her and be observed for any signs of the drug taking effect and she would go to the hotel provided. Boring.

 

Oh but truly, the trip was anything but boring.

 

 

 

The next day, she was awoken by her alarm going off. Groaning as she got up, Eunji laid still in her bed for a few moments, only getting up when she glanced at her clock only to realise she had 10 minutes left before she had to go. Sighing, she got up, quickly going to the bathroom and taking a short shower before dressing in a hoodie and some jeans.

 

She was in the middle of putting on her socks when her doorbell rang. “Coming!” She yelled, stuffing her feet into her shoes and hurrying to the door. Opening the door, a person - dressed in a seemingly casual outfit - does a once over on her. “Jung Eunji?” They ask, Eunji nods her head, slinging her bag over her shoulder. The person glances at her bag, eyes narrowing slightly but gives a curt nod. “This way,” The person says, walking slightly in front of Eunji as they go down the stairs, leading Eunji to the carpark of her crappy apartment.

 

Opening the door, Eunji places herself in the car seat. The person takes a seat in the driver's place. The ride was silent, Eunji fiddling with her phone but getting bored very quickly. “How long is this ride?”, Eunji asks. No response. Rude. She rolls her eyes at the lack of a response, glancing at her phone.

 

She was suddenly reminded of Bomi. Scrolling through her contacts, she quickly finds Bomi’s and clicks on it.

 

You:

Bom, I’m on the ride there. It’s been an hour, I’m so bored.

 

Bom:

Not my problem

 

You:

Whatever, entertain me or something

[Message Unsent]

 

The message doesn’t go through. Eunji furrows her eyebrows, she tries to resend the message but it doesn’t work. She looks at her signal. There was no signal. Starting to panic, she glances out the window. A suburban area, no houses, no gas stations, just a long stretch of road. Oh god. She starts to panic, glancing around wildly as she realises they were steering off the road and into a secluded area. There were a lot of bumps, but she could only think of where they were going. 

 

Just then, she notices the person driving, glancing to look at her. She tries playing it cool, looking down at her phone in a seemingly mundane manner. This seems to satiate the driver’s intent as they continue to focus on the road. Eunji ensures that the driver isn't looking, quickly setting her phone to silent mode and snapping a picture of their surroundings. In case I get lost escaping from a wayward  facility. She pockets her phone, deciding to use the time to try and memorise the layout of her surroundings. Her brain was on high alert, this was probably just the innate fear from Bomi’s worrying yesterday. This is fine, I’m overthinking this.

 

The driver pulls up to a small building. White walls and a gate out in the exterior. “Sorry.” A voice from the front grunts. The last thing she remembers was the sound of a button clicking before a kind of fog surrounded her. And then black. 

“Are you okay?,” A voice, it sounded far away. Squinting, Eunji tries to make out the blurry shapes in front of her eyes. Her head was pounding. She sits herself up against a wall, closing her eyes, head held in her hands as she tries to ground herself. Opening her eyes, she focuses on the person in front of her. “Who are you?” she manages to utter out. Words slurred and muffled, but thankfully the other person can hear. “My name is Hayoung.” The girl in front of her mumbles - Eunji is thankful she’s soft or else her head probably would explode. She manages to sit straight, eyes finally allowing for her to see. The girl moved closer to her, Eunji finally came to her senses, eyes looking downwards to her unfamiliar clothing. She was wearing a hoodie before, why was she in a white shirt? 

 

“Yeah, so this wasn’t what we signed up for.” Hayoung tried to humour her, but Eunji could only sit there, stunned. Her eyes frantically looking around for her bag, hands searching her body for her phone which was once in her pocket. Hayoung looks at her with a look of pity. “They took our stuff.” Hayoung informs her weakly, flinching when Eunji stares at her with the gaze of a kicked puppy. “You’re joking,” Eunji mutters in disbelief. Shaking her head, Hayoung takes a seat beside Eunji. “I wasn’t completely taken out by that gas, but I was unable to move the entire time, luckily though…I saw most of what’s here.” Hayoung says, whispering the last part. Eunji stills, what were they going to do to her?

 

“Something about a serum, experiments and powers. It’s really hazy.” Hayoung mumbled, cautious of Eunji’s reaction. “Oh god.” Eunji utters breathlessly, they were going to experiment on her. She was going to die here, Bomi was right. “Hey, hey, calm down. Let’s talk about other things,” Hayoung said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. “What’s your name?” Hayoung asked. “Eunji.” She whispered out a reply, calming herself down.

 

“How old are you, Eunji?” Hayoung asked, smiling at her. Eunji gave a pathetic smile back, she tried. “18,” Eunji replies, slightly loosening herself up to the other girl. Hayoung chuckles, “You’re older than me?” She mused, Eunji’s eyes widened, this tall girl was younger than her? “I’m 16.” Hayoung muttered, Eunji’s eyes widened further. “You’re practically a baby! You shouldn’t be here…” Eunji said, voice softening at the end. “Well, I have to solve my parents' problems somehow.” Hayoung tries to keep her tone lighthearted, but Eunji knows the sound of desperation and helplessness - she’s been there, still is there. “Well, my situation is ty too.” She responds, a dry chuckle escaping .

 

“Guess we’re both in for deep , huh?” Hayoung throws a small smile at the older, Eunji chuckling as she returns the smile. Just then, the sound of beeping was heard as a person opened their door, stepping in, syringe in hand. Eunji recognised them, they’re her driver. “Sorry girls, this won’t hurt.” The person says, stalking closer to the 2 cowering girls. Eunji saw the fear flash across Hayoung’s face. Wrapping a protective arm around the other girl, Eunji takes a deep breath, stepping in front. “Just do whatever to me first.” Eunji says firmly, the person’s features seem to soften. 

 

“Okay.” was all they muttered, before they stabbed the syringe into Eunji’s arm. The familiar woozy feeling overcame Eunji, but there was also a slight rise in temperature and a tingling sensation, all of that was too much for her to process. Swaying ever so slightly, hand firmly grasping onto air as she tried to steady herself. Finally slamming her body into the wall to maintain some kind of balance. Her vision started to cloud, the last thing she saw was Hayoung’s blurry expression rushing up to her as she fell.

Throbbing. Excruciating pain. That was what Eunji felt as she opened her eyes, where was she? Busan? No, no, this can’t be right. Where’s Hayoung? Where was she? The streets were so oddly familiar, but it was all a blur in her head. Glancing around, she notices a familiar jokbal shop. This was…this was where she met Bomi!

 

But why was she here? Her eyes lock onto a familiar girl walking in, she unconsciously walks in, trailing behind the figure. Standing beside her, she was seemingly invisible to the girl. That’s when she finally recognised her as she got closer, it was Bomi. Her hair was short, unlike now where it was long and black. “Eunji, how are you?” Bomi asked the younger Eunji as she approached her. Eunji could barely recognise herself, her younger self was so bright - her smile was wider. Eyes twinkling more with a bright passion. But all Eunji could focus on was her best friend’s voice. God, I miss you. 

 

Her thoughts were led astray when she saw a red haired girl looking at her, before running away. Eunji glanced back at her best friend, eyes furrowing in determination as she sprinted to catch up to that mysterious girl. Chasing and chasing, has she gotten faster? Why was running so easy now? Perhaps this was some fabrication of reality. But she continued her chase, soon catching up to the girl. Grabbing onto her sleeve she managed to pull the girl to a stop. “Who…who are you?” She muttered out, kind of mesmerised by the girl’s eyes. Looking around, the girl whispered out, “Chorong.” 

 

Eunji nodded her head, loosening her grip. “Are you real, or are you a part of this stupid dream.” Eunji asked, eyes narrowing. Chorong scoffs, “Why would it be a dream? This isn’t even a dream! It’s astral projection, I’m real. Literally in the cell or whatever next to you and that other girl.” Chorong mutters, clearly unimpressed with Eunji’s lack of knowledge. “How would you even know that? Why do you know?” Eunji asked suspiciously. Chorong rolled her eyes once more, but Eunji swore she saw a hint of hesitance. “Because I saw you 2 being dragged out while I was brought back to my room. And this is astral projection because we are literally in the ing same “dream” “ Chorong huffed out, crossing her arms. Eunji stared at her, unsure of whether to believe her or not. 

 

“Listen, I know you don’t trust me. But this is the only way for us to talk without getting noticed by the guards. I don’t like you, but I want to escape too.” Chorong utters, a pleading look on her face. Eunji thinks it over, she definitely did not want to stay here forever. Squinting her eyes, she stretched out her hands, “Okay, fine.” Eunji said. “I’m Eunji.” She introduced, Chorong smirked. “I know.” Without giving Eunji an opportunity to question her, the girl vanished, a small sparkle of lights announcing her departure. 

 

Confused