immune : stray kids

2

"your daily pill." yuna's arm automatically moves to receive the pill from the servers at the cafeteria. keep your face blank, pretend you don't know anything, avoid questions, don't feel anything.

she takes in a breath before moving to her assigned seat, avoiding eye contact with the rest of her peers. she feels someone sit beside her and looks to see that it's mei. mei's mouth twitches at the corner, almost like a half smile before she immediately makes her face blank, breaking eye contact with yuna as she sits.

yuna doesn't dwell on it and turns to look at the pill in front of her. 

---

it's the 3rd weekend of the month, which means it's callista. callista was a day where the whole population gathered at the capitol- a gathering. it was made by the government, of course. the government would make big announcements during callista. but yuna could see right through them- it was just an excuse to try and look for more of the immune.

she arrives with her father at the capitol. yuna was far away, but she could already see the massive stage where the most important government officials stood in their uniforms, waiting as everyone arrived. 

yuna immediately spots mei through the crowd of people, leaving her father's side to go say hi.

"mei" the girl turns around and nods at her, face blank like the rest of her family beside her. yuna motions the girl over.

"i'll be right back, mother." mei excuses herself as she moves to where yuna was standing waiting for her, being mindful enough to leave some space between them.

"hi." mei breathes once she reaches yuna. yuna is tempted to smile at her, but remembers that they are in front of the government and that mei wasn't immune and forces herself to stay still.

ever since she turned 18, she's been recognizing her emotions more often, and has learned how to control them for her own survival.

the 2 girls follow the rest of the crowd as everyone moves into the huge callista dome, where the actual event was held. it could hold their whole population, so it was huge. it was made out of glass, and seemed to reach the sky. 

the 2 girls stand together in silence towards the back of the crowd as more people pile in, all dressed in the same uniform with blank expressions. yuna lets her eyes wander through the masses of people and a boy her age catches her eye. they make eye contact for a split second, but the boy is ushered away by his family. 

yuna sighs as she looks up at the huge holographic screens floating in the air, the government officials shown on it so that people from far away could see them. she feels sick to her stomach as she sees the old women and men stand up there, their government tablets in hand. she's reminded that these are the people that killed her mother and looks away, finding the ground much more interesting instead.

"welcome." a booming voice makes yuna jump in surprise. it was one of the government officials. she looks up at the big screen and almost scowls when she realizes that callista is now starting.

"it's nice to see all of our citizens gathered here today." the man says, and yuna resists the urge to roll her eyes.

"let's start with our first announcement. last week, one of our beloved citizens has gone missing." yuna's head perks up at that, and she can see mei look around in her peripheral vision. weird.

"his name is hwang hyunjin. he's a 18 year old boy that attends blythe academia. if anyone knows anything about his absence, you are obliged to inform government officials." the man says, his gaze piercing through the crowd. yuna gulps.