district 17 | svt

12

"Awww why?" Seokmin whined, clutching onto Hansol's shoulder and shaking it back and forth.

"It was too loud," Hansol sighed, smirking from underneath his blanket, "And I was trying to sleep."

"Are you still tired?" Seokmin asked in disbelief.

Hansol only nodded before turning back towards Seokmin once more, getting a good look at the singing criminal.

Only a year had passed, but Seokmin seemed to mature a lot more. His face was more chiseled and defined; his arms were a lot more muscular. Since he grew a little over the past year, his white attire seemed to be a bit small on him now. Meanwhile, Hansol thought that he himself looked no different. His brown hair had grown a little longer than when he first came in. His pants became a little short, above his ankle. However, he still felt small and fragile, weak and helpless. Hansol envied Seokmin for being so outgoing and upbeat despite being in confinement.

"It's already morning, and Seungcheol's coming with First Meal," Seokmin said, playfully rocking Hansol's body back and forth. "Hurry up and get ready! You might not get anything while you're asleep."

"Just wake me up when he's here," Hansol grumbled, pushing off Seokmin's hands.

"Hansollll!!!" Seokmin whined.

"Seokmin stop—" Hansol's grumbling was interrupted by the sound of the entrance being opened, causing the two boys to turn towards the glass wall.

They were expecting Seungcheol to walk in, but instead, an unfamiliar man entered into their cell. He was tall, with straight black hair, droopy cat-like eyes, and lips that curled into a friendly smile. He held a thick stack of papers in his hands, clutching onto them as he walked closer to where the two boys were.

"Hansol and Seokmin?" he asked.

The two prisoners looked at one another perplexed before nodding at the same time, causing the instructor's smile to grow wider.

"Nice to meet you two," he bowed. "My name is Jisoo. I'm an instructor in District 17."

Seokmin and Hansol bowed in return, exchanging confused looks with each other in the process. Jisoo looked down at the papers and began to flip through, stealing a few glances at the glass wall as he skimmed through the stack.

"So you won't really need to bring anything from here," he began to explain, "All of your necessities have been prepared in your guys dorm rooms. You'll also still be roommates, which seems pretty convenient. You two seem to get along well so—"

"I'm sorry," Seokmin interrupted, causing the instructor to look up from the stack of papers. "What exactly are you saying right now? I don't think we understand..."

"Oh!" Jisoo chuckled. "I forgot the most important part."

He placed the papers back in order, flipping back to the very first page of the huge stack. He looked up at them, the big grin on his face confusing the prisoners even more.

"You guys are being released from prison," Jisoo stated confidently. "You get to live in the district again!"

Seokmin's eyes widened, while Hansol only stared at the instructor with disbelief.

"So you're saying," Seokmin began, "We're... leaving this place?"

"Yes," Jisoo responded.

Seokmin's expression slowly grew more and more excited. He began to jump up and down, shaking Hansol's body uncontrollably. However the younger boy wasn't too ecstatic about the news. He was actually quite apprehensive towards being released. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to do well if he went back out there, surrounded by thousands of people, constantly communicating with them. The mere thought of actually having to talk to a bunch of strangers made him anxious.

"But there's a twist," Jisoo spoke up, interrupting Hansol's thoughts.

The instructor glanced over at the glass window, staring only at his reflection. However, by the looks of it, Jisoo wasn't exactly looking at his reflection, but instead, he seemed like he was trying to look beyond the mirror-wall.

"This stuff I'm about to tell you is too-secret," he said, turning back towards the two boys.

His expression grew serious as he began to uselessly flip through the paper stack again.

"You see, I'm not releasing you just so you can go back into society like normal," Jisoo stated.

"You're not?" Seokmin asked.

"No," Jisoo responded, "I'm recruiting you."

"Recruiting?"

The instructor nodded, a sly grin growing on his face.

"I've been making up a team of all sorts of people from the District," he explained, "We're all working together to prepare for an escape."

Seokmin and Hansol looked at each other, both shocked.

"I want you two to be apart of it," Jisoo offered, "It'll be a tough mission, but just imagine the endless possibilities outside this District. Anything can happen in the outside world."

Jisoo turned towards Seokmin, eyes growing desperate.

"Seokmin, I know the reason why you were brought here. Just think about what you could do beyond the walls of this District. There are no limits in music out there. Music is celebrated and cherished out there; it's embraced by so many people."

Seokmin didn't say anything back. He was contemplating Jisoo's words with an unreadable expression. Jisoo looked over at Hansol, making eye contact with the younger.

"And Hansol," he said in a gentle but helpless-sounding voice, "The reason why you were imprisoned was just downright cruel. You deserve a chance. You deserve to get the help you want. And that's something the world beyond can give you."

He walked over to them, holding out a hand.

"What do you guys say? Are you in?"

There was nothing but silence at first. Seokmin and Hansol were still thinking about whether or not they would join in on the plan. They new it would be challenging, but was it worth the sacrifice? In this cell, they were locked up and hidden away from the people within their community. However, they were comfortable and at ease. They were familiar with their surroundings and the people that lived and worked on this underground floor. Was escaping this place worth sacrificing all they knew?

Seokmin was the first to reach out and grip onto Jisoo's hand, immediately being pulled up to his feet by the instructor. A hesitant smile grew on his face, but he made up his mind in those few seconds of silence that he would be a part of the escape. There was no turning back now.

"We do have a lot of freedom in here, you know," He said, "I can sing in here as much as I want without getting beaten up by some weird middle aged dude. However, I think I'd like that freedom outside of a prison."

The instructor chuckled, making Seokmin's smile more reassured and relaxed. The two looked over at Hansol, who was still sitting on the bed, not really sure about what decision he was about to make. Maybe he shouldn't go back. Maybe he should stay here, where he knew everyone and was familiar with everything around him. That's what the District wanted anyway. Sure, he had been receiving help from Seungcheol already, but that wasn't enough. The world still wasn't safe out there, not for him at least.

"Someone you know is going on our team," Jisoo spoke up, interrupting Hansol's nervous thoughts once again, "Someone very familiar."

Jisoo reached out his hand for Hansol to take, giving the boy a gentle, reassuring smile.

"Wouldn't it be nice to see them again?"

Hansol gulped doen any fear he had inside him and slowly reached out his hand. Hesitantly, he gripped onto Jisoo's hand, allowing the instructor to pull him up to his feet. He gave the older a subtle nod.

"I'll join," he managed to speak up, earning a wide grin from the other two in the cell.

"Great," Jisoo chuckled, "now let's get out of here. We have a escape mission that awaits us."

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A/N: yes, hansol's rap is from trauma😌 i just edited some of the lines a little bit to fit the story. anyways stream left and right for clear skin <3