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Yeonji's eyes opened slowly, her vision blurry at first. She blinked, staring up at the metal slats of what seemed to be the top bunk of a bunk bed. She pushed off the blanket draped over her and sat up on the stiff mattress. A Korean lullaby played in the background, drowning out the low hum of murmurs.
Her eyes drifted down to her clothes. But it wasn't the unfamiliar clothing that held her attention. It was the number printed on the jacket's upper left side: 368. Yeonji patted her pockets but froze when she realized they were empty. Her belongings were gone.
"Where the hell am I?" she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper, as she scanned the room.
Beside her, a woman a few years older sat in silence, wearing the same green uniform but with a different number. Yeonji turned her head and surveyed the massive space around her. Stacks of beds filled the back of the room wall to wall. From the sheer size, she guessed they were in a warehouse.
As others started climbing out of their beds, exploring the area, and murmuring among themselves, Yeonji hesitated before deciding to follow. Her eyes eventually landed on a screen at the front, mounted on the wall. It displayed the number 456. That's the amount of people.
A sudden shout cut through the murmurs. "You bitch!"
Yeonji's head snapped toward the commotion. A crowd had gathered near the center of the room around two figures. She instinctively shoved her way through to see what was happening.
A man with a snake tattoo curling up the side of his neck loomed over a woman on the ground, blood dripping from her split lip. He smirked, laughing mockingly.
"Didn't think I'd run into you here," the man sneered, his tone laced with venom. "Look at those eyes. Your temper hasn't changed. Then again, you're not the type to wuss out just from a couple blows." He chuckled darkly. "I fed you, put a roof over your head, even taught you my skills, and you stab me in the back?"
"You already took more than what I owe you," the woman shot back, her voice calm despite the blood trickling down her lip.
The man scoffed. "If you're so confident, why did you run away?"
"I didn't run away. I just went independent," she replied coldly.
Yeonji's gaze lingered on the woman, then shifted to the tattooed man. He swung his fist again, but the woman dodged, stepping back. He lunged, grabbing her neck and shoving her to the ground with a kick to the back of her knee. As she struggled, he yanked her hair, forcing her head back.
"Independent? You think you're Yu Gwan-sun or something? Go out and wave the national flag then." He bitterly said before adding, "Oh, right. You're from the North, so wave the North Korean flag."
