FORTRESS 'kailisa'

o26

It was as if I stopped breathing.

"What?" My voice barely came out, barely in a whisper even.

Chaeyoung looked away again. "They erased everybody's memories, every one in Pure Seoul has their memories regenerated into 'Artifical Memories'." She explains and I reached out for the chair.

"The memories you have, they never happened until you were sixteen." It felt revolting.

"Why sixteen?" I asked, suddenly confused.

"Because it took five years — that's how long it took for them to build what Pure Seoul is today." I turn to Irene, who was looking out to the distance. "Five years for them to build all those fake memories and give them out to everyone."

"That's how long it took for them to become complete monsters." She snarls.

I wish this was a nightmare I could wake up from, but I knew it wasn't. I started to think of all the people in Pure Seoul, Jennie, Jisoo, and many others. All of them were tricked. Like me.

All of their memories from childhood, mostly fake.

"This was all because of the current leaders..." I realise. They built all of this themselves, they made us into what we are today, full of nothing but arrogance and selfishness.

I saw Chaeyoung nod. "Because of them, people from the outside had to starve and go through many deaths." She says, hands by now trembling in anger. "Losing their families and having nothing at hand, that's what they went through."

"But how come you have your memories, Chaeyoung?"

Her hands loosen by her sides, she lets out a sigh and decided to sit down as well.

"I faked my own sleep." She reveals. "After seeing you get knocked out like that, I ran and found the cubicles — people who were already out were placed by them and I sat myself there, I had to survive off the liquids that were being transferred to me for five years." I saw the way she shivered when remembering.

"The things I heard while inside that cubicle... Makes me hates Yang Hyungsuk, Park Jinyoung and Lee Chaerin so much." She whispers. I looked away.

"We were always seen as rats in their eyes." Irene says. "But Lisa, we will take them down — at least those who deserve to go down." I hesitantly nod, somehow, now feeling scared.

I turn back to Chaeyoung.

"... You'll only be killing the heads in the government, right?" I was quick to ask and she was quick to nod.

"They are our targets." She concludes and I turned forward once again. I felt horrible — extremely horrible.

I felt sick, my head was hurting so bad I wish this was all just a nightmare. And then I remembered, memories.

"Is there any way for me to get my memory back?" I ask. Not taking my eyes off the table.

"Yes." I look up to Irene. She stares down at me. "But it isn't as easy."

"Then how is it possible?"

"They keep it in the edifice where we have meetings." Chaeyoung explains. "It is deep in the laboratory." My brow furrows in confusion.

"Laboratory?" I never knew of such a thing.

She smiles grimly before facing me. "Only the brains and heads in the government table know about it." Her smile then falters. "That is... the last place anybody would want to be in."