It might be a rather niche analogy, but when you read something written in a tiny font for a long time, all of a sudden normal sized fonts turn out to be much larger than they are. Yeonwoo was sure there was some terminology for this type of phenomenon, but he was pretty much an uneducated man save for kindergarten, so he had no idea what it was called.
But he wondered if he was experiencing that phenomenon right now. In front of him, at least according to him, stood the most magnificent city he had ever seen. Well, if he was being really frank, the only city he had actually seen was Haek but that had ceased to exist long time back and the sight in front of him was ten times more magnificent.
Yeonwoo felt like he had been transported back in time and by back in time he didn't mean back 15 years, he meant back to historical times. The streets were loud and bustling with stores and vendors. Each building had a historical castle structure. The scene in front of him looked like it had come straight out of a historical drama.
The buildings were tall, built with dark stones and the roofs were fitted with triangle shaped green tiles. The streets were loud and energetic, with vendors happily chatting away with each other or trying to lure in customers. However, something that stood in stark contrast to this vibe of the city was the way the citizens were dressed. While Yeonwoo didn't see any graphic tees or crop tops, he noticed that most of them were wearing western clothes. To be more precise, they wore modest western clothes. The vendors wore simple clothes; the men wore a shirt and pants while the women wore a blouse accompanied with a long skirt. Almost as if to show a difference in class, the customers usually wore more distinguished clothes. The men were wearing dress shirt, well-tailored pants and neatly polished shoes while on the other hand, the women wore elegant dresses and heels. They walked down the streets, giggling quietly while whispering to their companions.
Yeonwoo subconsciously looked at the clothes both he and Reno had on. They wore scraps they had found from God-knows-where. Yeonwoo even winced when he realized the t-shirt he was wearing said, "Live. Laugh. Love.", Reno seemed to be luckier in that aspect as his shirt just had a cartoonish duck on it. Even the jeans they wore were out of place in here. Of course, they knew they had their own circumstances, but they couldn't help but feel conscious when compared to the sheer grandeur of this city. It was a bitter thing to admit but this city looked so much better than Haek.
And for some weird reason, Yeonwoo had always thought that the Imperial City was an exclusive city with a small area for the rich elites who the rebellion had decided to spare. But contrary to his beliefs, as far as his eyes could see it was just a limitless expanse of land. While in front of him stood a bustling market, in the far distance he could see an incredibly domineering castle. And he could also see some residential areas around the market. He couldn't even the see the other walls of this gated city.
Another thing that stood out was that while there were carriages they weren't being pulled by horses, rather they were being pulled by a type of machine he had never been before. Just as Yeonwoo began to think that this city had abandoned cars, he saw a black car drive past them. Well, he called it a car because it had four wheels but similar to the truck that brought them here, the design was completely different from anything he had seen before.
If Yeonwoo was being honest, all these new things were beginning to overwhelm him a little bit. He looked at Reno who also had a similar look on his face. It was just so weird for them. Just outside these city gates existed a world that was completely deserted, it looked like a world that had been abandoned by humankind. But just inside these gates, existed such a city. A city with so much glam and glamour. As someone who came from outside, Yeonwoo knew that he should be feeling some sort of anger that such a place had been literally gate-kept from them, but he was also not the type of person to hold on to such emotions. Anger, revenge, frustration…these were all emotions he tried not to engage much in. He had learned early on that dwelling into these emotions are just going to leave him unsatisfied at the end of the day.
Minjoon, who was standing next to them, took a walkie-talkie out of his pocket. Turning some knobs on it and adjusting it to the right frequency, he managed to connect to the military headquarters.
"Officer Minjoon reporting. I have brought him three able-bodied men from outside the city. One of them was slightly injured and Senior Officer Ming has taken him for treatment. The remaining two are with me. Requesting a MX-112 to be sent to the north gate."
"Request for a MX-112…processing…" said a static voice from the other end. "Request approved. ETA 8:12 AM"
"Got it."
Yeonwoo blinked. What the fuck…it was 8:12 already? He felt a weird shiver go up his spine, not of fear but because hearing the exact time after 15 years was a feeling that made him uncomfortable for some reason. Heck, he didn't know even know what the time was right now.
He turned and looked at Minjoon. Might as well shoot a shot and asked. "Hey, do you know what the time is?"
Minjoon returned an icy glare at Yeonwoo, looking as if he wanted to murder him. A look that seemed to perpetually rest on his face. But luckily for Yeonwoo, the man simply said, "8:09 AM"
8:09 AM…Yeonwoo crouched on the ground, feeling dizzy. Minjoon glanced at him, a confused look on his face. He just told the man the time, why was he acting so dramatic?
But for Minjoon it might be dramatic, for Yeonwoo it was a crazy big deal. For the past 15 years, while jumping from one place to another, he never had an idea of what the exact time was and had gotten used to categorizing his day into just morning, afternoon and night. That was the life he had been living so far. A primal life and since he had been thrust into this lifestyle at the young age of 7, he had adapted to it a long time back. Heck, he would've lost track of the dates as well if he wasn't for him maintaining a mental track of the days diligently for the past 15 years. A lot of the drifters didn't even have an idea as to how old they were. Even Reno and Hyuk had no idea but since Yeonwoo knew how old they were when the rebellion took place, it wasn't hard for him to deduce how old they were. And much to his surprise, the two men who had joined his group was the same age as him and they ended up forming some sort of brotherly bond.
Reno placed a hand on Yeonwoo's shoulder, concern written all over his face. He then a shot a glare at Minjoon as if he was the reason why Yeonwoo was feeling unwell.
"Are you okay?" asked Reno.
Yeonwoo nodded, indicating yes and got up, dusting his pants. He was overwhelmed no doubt but considering this entire ordeal he had been through, now wasn't the time to pass out. The minute his concentration fell off, he felt like he'd drop asleep then and there.
"I'm good. I think I'm just a bit tired and overwhelmed. There is just…so much happening." Said Yeonwoo, referring to hustle bustle of the city. The sheer contrast between the outside and inside was enough to make anyone feel dizzy. "How are you holding up?"
Reno, on the other hand, seemed to perfectly fine. In fact, he seemed to be even more active than before. His eyes were darting in every possible direction, trying to see everything that this city had to offer. He didn't want to waste a single moment of what was happening in front of him.
"Ah, look like you're more than fine." Said Yeonwoo, grinning slightly.
Reno grinned back, a sheepish smile on his face, "I can't believe we're actually here. Before finding the Panchen felt like a pipe dream but now, I am beginning to think there is an actual possibility of that happening."
Yeonwoo clearly didn't share the same optimism as Reno when it came to the rumours of the Panchen, but he wasn't the type to burst his friend's bubble, especially right now.
Minjoon stiffened a bit at the mention of Panchen, but it went unnoticed by the two drifters who were immersed in their own conversation.
Panchen, huh? Minjoon thought to himself. Didn't think they'd know about them…
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At exactly 8:12 am, the so-called MX…whatever had arrived. Yeonwoo watched as another one of the weirdly designed cars pulled up in front of them, stopping just a centimetre before them.
The door on the driver's side automatically opened, revealing another military officer. He got out of the car and immediately saluted Minjoon.
"Junior Officer Ming reporting! As requested, an MX-112 has arrived to assist Officer Minjoon escort the outsiders to the Base 2X."
Minjoon raised an eyebrow. "Who's escorting who?"
Ming's eyes immediately widened in fear, and he gulped. "My Apologies. I will be escorting Officer Minjoon back to the base while the outsiders shall be transported."
Minjoon merely rolled his eyes in response as he approached the passenger seat of the car.
"Can't even follow military language properly. What kind of stupid ducks do they hire?" mumbled Minjoon to himself as he elegantly took a seat in the car.
Yeonwoo couldn't help but stifle a giggle at the word 'stupid ducks. Sure, Yeonwoo wasn't particularly well-versed in swear words and profanities but from what the older adults in the group had taught him, stupid ducks were sure as hell not an impressive way to insult someone.
The junior officer looked dejected for a second but immediately went back to keeping his poker face.
In an almost robotic voice he said, "From now on we will heading to our military base 2X. You are requested to maintain discipline befitting of the Imperial City on our way there. Any lack of civil behaviour will be punished. Any questions?"
"Stupid duck sir, what do I call you?" said Reno, an innocent twinkle in his eyes. Yeonwoo who had managed to stifle his laugh the first time around, let out a chuckle the second time.
The officer went red in the face. Clearly, this was a violation of whatever civil behaviour bullshit he was talking about but before he could continue, Minjoon interrupted.
"How incompetent! We should have been on our way 2 minutes ago. What are you wasting time for?"
Humiliated for the second time in a row, the officer merely guided Yeonwoo and Reno to the back of the car.
"I don't get paid enough to deal with this…" he grumbled. "I'll pray to whatever god out there just don't put me in the same team as him."
As if he didn't just shit-talk his superior behind his back, the officer politely closed the back door and walked towards the driver's seat. Following every single procedure present in the fat army manual, the officer finally started the engine of the car.
"Destination, Base 2X. ETA, 8 : 30 AM. Shutters on. View to the outside has been obstructed as per protocol for bringing outsiders into the city. Any other instruction, sir?"
"View obstruction not needed. They'll chew my head off instead. Otherwise, all clear." Replied Minjoon, his tone flat.
Officer Ming let out an internal sigh. He just wanted this nightmare to end so that he could go back home and have a hot bowl of soup. Officer Minjoon always made him uncomfortable beyond reason. He had a pretty face but the coldness in his eyes and the sadistic nature he possessed created such a big gap that everyone was thrown off by him. Minjoon was no exception to that gap. It found it extremely creepy.
God knows, what was going through that man's mind?
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Since they were in a car and it was a closed space, Reno and Yeonwoo didn't exchange any words. They could sense that the driver was just as uncomfortable with Minjoon as they were. Yeonwoo mentally found relief in the fact that not everyone in this area was a psycho like him.
Lucky for them, the windows of this car was not tinted as Yeonwoo could take in the view of this incredibly unfamiliar place. He watched, his chin propped on his hand against the car window as the landscapes passed by him quickly. He could notice the shift in scenery as the bustling city faded out, replacing it with dense trees and foliage. Yeonwoo stared in awe as he watched tall trees go pass them. Outside the Imperial Gates, in Reiner 21 there was nothing but dust around. Whatever few plants that grew around were small and resembled grass if anything. The trees that went past them were tall and dense, some of them had flowers on them adding color to the green scenery. If Yeonwoo was being honest, this view seemed more beautiful than the city itself. How he wished he could just open the window and get a whiff of the fresh air here.
But that wish remained a wish as he saw the trees fade out replaced with buildings once again. However, these building were different from the city buildings which had an old vintage and historical vibe to it. These buildings looked modern and mechanical. They had glassy exteriors and were much taller than the buildings in the central city. There was only conclusion to be made.
They had reached the army base.
And just as Yeonwoo had guessed, the car had come to prompt halt in front of the glass building. The door automatically opened, first for Minjoon and after he stepped out, the door opened for Yeonwoo and Reno respectively.
"Holy shit, this building looks huge. Looks like the old Haek buildings." Whispered Reno. Yeonwoo merely nodded in response.
Reno was right. It indeed looked exactly like the buildings in their memories. Bright, fancy and lavish, a glimpse of what their city was once.
Minjoon turned and looked at them. He could almost tell what they were thinking based on their expressions. He looked away, a bitter look on his face. Old Haek, huh? What's the point in the reminiscing about a place that was long dead.
All they had in front of them was Banyeok and until he died, he had no choice but to live for Banyeok.
"This is Base 2X. Now we're going to run a few tests on you. We're not really asking for permission here. Just letting you know." Said Minjoon.
Yeonwoo and Reno exchanged glances, horrified.
Run tests on them?!
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