pulling on cosmic strings ꩜ pi hanwool, study group

1. can't? or won't escape

Minju sighed and grabbed her jacket from the couch in the center of Hanwool's office, draping it over her arm. "Whatever, I'm tired. I'm going home."

Without waiting for a response, Minju left and closed the door behind her, walking down the hallway and into the elevator. She clicked for the ground floor. As the automatic doors closed, she walked to the back of the lift, leaning back and resting the back of her head against the cold metal.

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Minju was always the top student of her grade. Upon graduating from Yusung Technical High School as valedictorian, she continued her studies in chemical engineering at Seoul National University.

She always found it unusual as to why her father heavily supported her pursuit in such a field. While she loved and enjoyed what she studied, she questioned her father's intentions, as he never really paid much attention to her, unless it was for his own personal benefit.

If only she realized it earlier, maybe she could've ran away from it all. It was not long before the end of her last year at SNU, when she was looking for job opportunities abroad. They didn't offer much for someone with just a bachelor's degree, but it was a start. Her father shut down all offers she received.

"But why?" Minju cried. "I don't understand."

"I told you there's no point in applying for these low-life jobs, Minju," her father spoke. "You're not going abroad. Once you graduate, you'll work for YB."

"YB?"

Minju recalls when she was introduced to YB. Everyone in Incheon knew of its existence. Under the guise of a business establishment, YB had connections to the yakuza, and even politics, with the aim to slowly take control over South Korea.

As the daughter of one of the three executives at the time, Minju got herself involved and even helped out with YB's operations, alongside her childhood best friends, Pi Hanwool and Ma Minhwan. Training together since they were young children, they diligently followed their fathers' orders in completing each and every brutal task.

She grew up with wealth, power, and status, feared by everyone and everything. She didn't quite mind it. To her, she didn't need anyone else, because they would never really get her.

She only needed the unspoken, mutual understanding between her, and two other people she considered her closest friends. They were like family.

Destroying, fighting, torturing people, it was all Minju knew. At least, it was what she was forced to do. She never questioned, just followed orders.

By the end of it, she was sick of playing the ever so loyal, passive daughter. Minju wanted to leave and never return. Never to be associated to her father's so-called domination empire ever again.

She didn't know the full story, but she knew enough. The way they operated things, the way they would kill and torture without a second thought the moment something went wrong.

Minju was, in fact, a coward.

She wanted to run away from all of it, because she was scared. That slowly, she would turn into one of them.

What would that look like? Would she still be the same Minju she once was, or would she be unrecognizable? Not by her face or appearance, but by her nature.

Sacrificing innocent lives to take control over the country. Was that really what she wanted?

Hoping to start off on a new foot, Minju planned to move and work abroad, leaving everything she knew behind.

It was only then that she finally uncovered YB's secret. The source of their power, having everyone crumbled under the mention of YB. The reason why every single influential individual fell victim to their puppeteering.

Cookie.

Everyone in defiance who knew about YB's secret weapon all died in tragic ways, and Minju wasn't going to be one of them. Her father made her develop the drug, making it ten times more addicting, soul-crushing, and mind-numbing than before, leaving behind desperate, anguished people who yearned for it. So broken, they would do anything just for a sniff.

With her assistance, the new development of Cookie had been successful in luring in powerful figures and bringing YB into the realm of politics.

Everyday she questions herself. Whether she should've just suffered the consequences of refusing to develop the drug. How many people could've been saved from turning into mindless zombies. Whether she could've saved so many young, innocent lives from falling victim into becoming a part of the YB family.

Minju wondered if she could call herself a victim too, or perhaps since she was now a perpetrator, it was off the table.

Unlike the others, Minju had a chance. A choice.

A few months after her initiation as part of the YB inner circle, Minju had devised a plan to escape. A new life abroad under a new identity, just a plane ticket away.

But alas, something else stopped her in her tracks.

Or should I say, someone?

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Minju blinked her eyes open as the elevator dinged, indicating that it had reached the ground floor. She repositioned her weight onto her two feet, and pushed herself out.

She exited the YB building and settled in the driver's seat of her sleek black car. She gripped the top of the steering wheel and rested her forehead against it, turning her head slightly to face the dashboard.

It was 11:54 PM, and the raid would start at 12:00 AM.

It didn't take long before she turned the engine on, and without another second of hesitation, she drove off.

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Author's Note

What do you guys think about this first chapter? I'd love to hear your thoughts!