The Selection | liskook

The Selection: Chapter I

"I'd rather die than being in the same room as him."

"Him, who?" Yuqi, my make up artist entered the room, holding the brushes that she left on the car. "The Prince?" she asked while pulling her chair closer in front of me.

I just nodded, uninterested.

Yuqi just couldn't hide her smile while setting down several pallettes on the table. "I think you would make a perfect pair with him, Unnie. Are you going to join the Selection?"

"Only if Kim Jisoo does."

"Which, knowing her, would never happen," Yuqi commented. "How could you not be interested? I mean it's every girl's dream to be married to a prince. Plus you're like a princess for us already." 

"I highly doubt that," I scoffed.

She lowered down the brush she was holding for a second. "You might be even slightly more known than Prince Jungkook in Eastasia."

"Not possible," I smiled, closing my eyes and letting her to continue her work. After five seconds of silence, I took a peek at Yuqi's expression. "Maybe a bit possible?"

She laughed.

The three of us continued to chat, filling up the dressing room with the talk about our plan for lunch, the dog Yuqi saw this morning, Jisoo's wrong coffee order, my brother Ten, the jewelry that I'm going to wear for today's shoot, the set and the dresses, my upcoming movie premiere. In short, just everything we could share. That includes secrets.

"I am being assigned to a new job," Yuqi revealed. "To work for a royal family member."

"That's so great, Qi. You've been dreaming about that since forever ago," Jisoo congratulated her, but there was no hint of happiness in Yuqi's eyes.

"Are you worried we won't let you? Don't be, we wouldn't hold you back. Right, Libby?"

I made no remarks, just waiting for Yuqi to speak her thoughts. Something that mimics desperation was painted across her face.

"I want to run away," she confessed, averting her gaze from me to stare at her lap instead. "Because I'm scared of how they might treat me."

Silence.

"I'm a Six and I don't have Korean blood. Most people aren't kind to people like us," she casted her eyes up, exchanging looks with Jisoo and I. "You're so kind to me and you've been so supportive. I doubt myself a lot, I always think that I lack the skill to work for a Two. But you just don't care about my caste. You've never had."

Fuck the caste system. There, I said it.

The so-called great Kingdom of Eastasia separated the people by caste, dictating what we deserve and what we do not; deciding whether we are worthy or not. It's obviously one of the biggest flaws of our society, yet no one, no one but the rebels seem to have a problem with that. People from the so-called "lower castes" might be, but they were too scared to admit it even to themselves, while the privileged ones, those who came from the "higher castes" were too scared to get their power over other people taken away from them. That's why they're always on the front line when it comes to supporting and protecting the monarchy.

The ridiculous caste system should be broken. Now, I might sound like I'm siding with the rebels, but I don't. Yes, I hated, loathed even, many things about Eastasia, but never did I agree with the approach used by the rebels. They burnt houses, vandalized public and personal properties; they even attacked the palace for a few times. Who knew whether or not they had killed people? There should be another way.

"When I said you're already a princess to us, I mean it. Maybe not for all the Twos, Threes, Fours, and Fives, but for us the forgotten and broken ones--people who belong to the Six, Seven, and Eight. You treat people like people, you give us respect, and you offer help. You saved us."