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As of now, I go by "Tessa".
For a while, I disguised myself and worked as a mechanic for a tech-fighting group lead by Eva Villardi, a high-profile figure from Neo-Arcadia. Best known for being the only child of Dr. Villardi—the board certified surgeon who invented BodyMod™— and for being female. Most people know her for the latter. With tech-fights being a male-dominated sport, it was rare to see women make it big.
She gave me the name "Tessa" against my own volition, along with a fabricated backstory that boosted our Tech-fighting group, Genesis, to the top ranks.
I couldn't wrap my head around it at first, but Arcadians really seemed to love a good 'rescued defector' story. Perhaps it was Han-ja's secluded nature that drew people in so much. After all, we were the only nation who rejected the transparency act and refused to have any dealings with other countries, except for Gaarfell.
Outsiders often misconstrue Han-ja's condition, painting it as a nation on the brink of collapse. You hear it all the time in Arcadian headlines: "Poorest country in the world. Famine. People dying in the streets. Outdated tech." They aren't entirely wrong, but it's not a post-apocalyptic wasteland either.
Food is abundant and almost everyone get's fed. The only exceptions are those labeled as subhuman, that includes felons— rule-breakers, attempted defectors or anyone who has ever questioned the regime. To be deemed subhuman means being stripped of your rights and humanity, a fate arguably worse than starving on the streets.
"Han-ja sucks." I mutter, glancing nervously over my shoulder. Even in a different country, you worry someone might overhear you.
Han-jan tech is also very advanced--another thing outsiders aren't aware of. Advancement had always been the core of Han-ja's value system. It is a country that prides itself on being the best. During the war with Virastan, Han-ja took parts of the neighboring country and discovered plenty of valuable metallic resources— many of which are integral to the advancement of Han-jan technology.
Teppen is the only country that is able to compete with Han-ja's tech. I theorize this was the reason why a war never broke out between the two.
Anyway, nobody else knew who I really was, except for Eva, of course. She held my true identity over my head and coerced me to join her group.
I met Eva the night I was detained in Teppen for a few days. After destroying my phone, I removed the tracking chip implanted in my wrist and passed out due to blood loss near the Shimbou area.
Border security found me, and since my identity couldn't be confirmed, I had to be detained.
Eva was visiting Teppen at the time for a promotional event. One of her team mates forgot to bring their Border Pass, so they had to run by security to confirm their identities. I was sat on my side of the table with my toolbox, fixing up my broken tech. Eva approached me, obviously intrigued, as she, in her words, "have never seen tech like that before". And just like that, the rest was history.
She helped me bypass border security by replacing my tracker with an ID chip that she carried, for some reason, in her wallet. With a searing laser, I closed the wound, sealing not just flesh but also my past. Before they scanned my chip, they asked Eva to confirm my identity. Without hesitation she said: Tessa. And to my surprise, the name matched the one on the chip.
In that exact moment, Yoon Jong-Ri died and Tessa Kite was born.
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TW: Abusive Relationships, Age-gaps
Eva has decent following and a lot of influence for someone her age. She is beautiful, charismatic and head-strong. Everything, I am not. Her style is on the edgier side: bleached hair, tattoos, body mods and lots of leather. Despite her attractive face, her personality is what draws people in the most.
Eva is also very observant. She's able to read body language and mirror people's personalities. She knew just what to say to get under your skin.
One night, when the rest of our team got drunk, she looked me dead in the eye and said.
"You're just... so predictable."
Her words haunt me till this day.
My relationship with Eva was complicated, to say the least.
Originally, I planned to leave the group after I paid my debt. However, it didn't take long for me to start enjoying it all. The thrill of the sport kept me alive and gave me a reason to start being creative. Eva was a great mentor and she taught me what I needed to know. We spent most of our time together, and the more we did, the more I was convinced that we werein love.
When I first joined the group, Eva made me dye my hair. The reason? She was the only one allowed to be blonde, it was "her thing" and I wasn't allowed to have the same hair colour. I obliged, thinking this would be a good way to hide my identity. She told me to dye my hair orange, which quickly turned into a copper shade the more I kept dyeing it.
She always knew what to say to get what she wanted. Always knew how to compliment me, and how to make me feel special, like she's been doing this for a long time. She knew what buttons push to leave me yearning for more of her attention. I wanted to be the only one she sees, so badly. I was willing to do anything for it.
One day she would shower me with praise; the next she would be cold, distant and unresponsive. Rush and sudden withdrawal. Like an addict. Perhaps it was growing up in a strict household that made me feel like this was okay, evenpleasant.
Withdrawn affection is still affection, I was willing to take it over nothing.
Her motives were finally made clear when I saw her flirting with another woman. I confronted her about it, and it was met with denial and a kiss. This time it didn't work. It was made clear to me that I was only being used for her personal gain. And even though it hurt, I knew what had to be done.
Long story short, I ran away. I was listless and abandoned for a while. Using my savings, I went back Teppen in a nearly futile attempt to rebuild myself and my broken identity.
Now we're caught up to the present.
I've been traveling all over Teppen by foot, doing repairs for the few clients that I had gained. Nights and days are motels in and motels out. I plan to set up shop somewhere in the Capital city to make stable income, but as of now, I prefer to blend in the crowd.
It's a great feeling to go about my day unnoticed, especially for someone who has spent most of their childhood scrutinized under public eye. I figured that Teppen would be the ideal country to start over in, seeing as it was the Tech-fighting Capital, and the only country I can enter without Eva's help.
