❝ 𝗗𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗘... 𓏴 ♢
ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁 . . . 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗡 𝗛𝗘𝗟𝗣 those who fall for you ❜ ⸝⸝
⊹ . ◌ ༚ ˳ 🕳️⠀﹒⠀ ꙳ .
⌗ ; 𝗜-𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗 ▬ ★ ??
MIDORI MADE SURE TO STEP ON NAITO'S FOOT AS THEY CONTINUED TO TRAVERSE THE ROCKY PATH.
'Oh my, stop, Midori,' Naito said, gently pushing Midori to the side.
'Yah!' Midori uttered, almost losing her balance. 'You stop.'
'You stop!'
'I'm older than you and you listen to your elders,' Midori stated, using her full body to gently nudge him to the opposite side.
'There's only a two minutes difference―'
'Would've been more if you hadn't taken hold of my ankle! Little twat,' Midori muttered, narrowing her eyes at him.
'I was supposed to be born first, but you pushed me away,' Naito retorted.
'You deserved it for taking my spot,' Midori said.
'Remember who was created first,' Naito stated as a matter of fact before playfully hitting Midori's shoulder.
'Ey, you don't know that,' Midori answered.
Naito only chuckled in response, shaking his head at her.
Together, they continued to make it past the thick branches and ferns until they came to a little clearing.
'It's a square,' Midori commented.
'Glad to see you're not blind,' Naito responded.
Midori clicked her tongue. 'I'll scoop your eyes out with a spoon.'
'Is it supposed to be a square? I thought it was an island,' Naito thought out loud, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
'And where the hell are you supposed to get an island from?'
'Make one. Like they made that island in Kansai,' Naito shrugged.
'But that's an airport. . .'
'Still an island.'
Granted, Midori and Naito had never visited Kansai for they were from Hokkaido ━ the northernmost island of Japan's five main islands while Kansai was to the south. Well, their mother was from Hokkaido while their father was from Busan. Midori and Naito were both born and raised in Britain, their relatives still lived in Korea and Japan, meaning they used to visit them a lot.
'Are you sure we're at the right place?' Naito asked, hand wrapping itself around Midori's elbow to stop her from continuing down the path.
'Nope,' Midori answered, popping the 'p'.
Naito chuckled and let go of her elbow, gesturing for her to continue walking. 'After you, twat.'
'Idiot,' Midori muttered before stepping out of the forest and into the clearing.
INSIDE A HIDDEN ROOM FROM THE REST OF THE PARTICIPANTS, THERE WERE THREE JUDGES.
'Wait that's a girl!' Zico exclaimed and looked at Bang Si Hyuk with a confused expression.
'Ah― look at them, so cute.'
'Why'd you bring a girl?' Rain asked, also glancing at Bang Si Hyuk, watching as a smile spread on the older man's lips.
'They're twins.' Bang Si Hyuk explained, 'They've always been together. Midori, the girl used to be on a survival show but got eliminated in the final round. Her brother, Naito has been with us for a few years.'
'So Midori isn't from Belift?'
'She joined later after the survival show ended.'
'They've been training for quite some time,' Rain commented, eyes trained on the papers in front of them.
'Are they speaking Japanese?' Zico asked, placing a hand over his earphone to hear the two better.
'I think they're mixing the words,' Rain answered, listening carefully to the two siblings bickering. 'But they're half Japanese and half Korean, so it makes sense if they grew up speaking those two languages,' Rain further explained to Zico.
Zico's face lit up in realisation. 'But did they grow up in Korea or Japan? Their accent isn't either of those.'
'It says they grew up in England,' Rain answered, pointing at his papers.
'England━' Zico frowned.
'England,' Rain repeated.
'That explains the accent,' Zico shrugged.
'It's a Busan accent. . .' Bang Si Hyuk trailed off. 'They've been living in Korea since twelve.'
'Oh━'
OUTSIDE THE BUILDING, STOOD NAITO AND MIDORI.
'You remember that one movie we saw together?' Naito asked as the two looked at the gigantic door in front of them.
'Be more specific, please,' Midori muttered, poking the giant door with the tip of her nail.
'That movie with the guy. . .' Naito trailed off, glancing down at her as she continued to poke the door.
'Mhm?'
'And he was a grown up. . .'
'Mhm?!' Midori stopped poking the door and instead turned to more aggressive ways like knocking on it.
'And he was like in a house,' Naito continued.
'Yeah?'
She felt her hand begin to ache from knocking on the door. Frowning, Midori stopped and took hold of her hand, gently massaging it to ease the pain.
'The house was brown.'
'Okay?'
'And there was this other person, and he was like also a guy.'
'Inception?'
Naito quickly shook his head. 'No, not inception.'
'Then what?' Midori asked, gently kicking the door, trying to get it to open.
'Maybe we're at the wrong place,' Naito suggested with a small shrug.
'Possibly,' Midori said and spun her heels, ready to leave when the loud sound of something rumbling caught her off guard.
'Oh━?' Naito uttered, hand wrapping itself around Midori's shoulder to turn her around.
'Do you think there's going to be people inside?' Midori asked, gently removing Naito's hand from her shoulder while she peered inside, trying to find any dangers that could possibly kill her.
'Possibly.'
'Disgusti━'
'Heeseung-hyung is going to be there.'
'Lovely,' Midori corrected herself with a firm nod.
'Imagine if we'd die here,' Naito chuckled, pushing past Midori to walk inside.
'Hey!' Midori exclaimed, quickly jogging after him to catch up. 'I'd sacrifice myself for you.'
'I know,' Naito smiled, slinging an arm around her shoulder. 'I'd do the same for you.'
'Not if I do it first,' Midori said, cocking a daring eyebrow at him.
The twins seemed to have forgotten they were being filmed, and that their conversation was going to be seen globally around the world. But they couldn't bring themselves to care, after all, being themselves was what they were best at.
'THAT IS CUTE,' Zico commented as he listened to the two. 'I've never met a pair of siblings that are so close.'
'Neither have I,' Rain admitted, smiling at the screen in front of him.
'I'm not sure how their parents raised them but by the looks of it, they seem to share most things. Some twins are very close and when you open up on a more emotional level you grow closer,' Bang Si Hyuk explained to the two younger men.
'Their parents run a company, right?' Zico asked.
'I think I've bought stuff from them before. . .' Rain said with a light chuckle.
MIDORI WAS NOT TOO NERVOUS. That was probably Naito's doing. They trusted each other with their lives, it was only given that they'd make each other feel safer.
Feeling Naito gently squeeze her shoulder, she gave him a reassuring smile.
'Is Jungwon competing?' Naito asked, knowing about Jungwon and Midori's past.
While the boy was nice and all, Naito couldn't say that he liked him. Naito knew Midori was her own person and was allowed to date whoever she wanted to, that's why he never once voiced his opinion when Midori and Jungwon had their little thing going on. It wasn't much and only consisted of a few glances and shy smiles ━ until one day when Midori stormed into his dorm, fuming.
'He is,' Midori answered, voice slightly dropping.
'You're fine with that?'
'I'm just pissed at him,' Midori muttered.
'I am too,' Naito answered.
Midori had been excited about her first crush in a while, and Naito could see it. It was as clear as night and day. Jungwon made her happy, his presence caused her to smile, his laugh caused her to laugh, his tears caused hers to spill.
And then they kissed, and for the first time, Midori had felt like her head had been in the heavens. She thought something would've happened after that, something better, but no. Nothing happened, never once did Jungwon look back at her after that kiss. It was as if she didn't exist anymore for him.
Perhaps that was why it was called ghosting. She would forever haunt his mind, never leaving, engraved in his memory until the end of his days. But even then, he ignored her presence, acted as if she didn't exist when he knew full well she was there.
'Don't think too much about it,' Naito mumbled, hand running itself up and down Midori's arm in a reassuring way.
'I know,' Midori answered. 'I have better things to think about.'
The two rounded the corner, seeing the other contestants. Exhaling a small sigh at the sight of the many boys, Midori began counting them, twenty-three contestants.
'Twenty-three,' Midori said in a low voice.
'The number on the wall says fourteen,' Naito noted and nodded his head towards the side of the wall.
'Only fourteen will make it into the competition?'
'That's a small amount for the first day,' Naito admitted.
'Indeed,' Midori replied while the two stepped onto the bright white platform. Her eyes slowly travelled between the boys, studying their faces. She recognised most of them ━ they all came from the same company so it would've been strange if she didn't recognise them.
'They're here. . .'
'I didn't think Midori was going to be here.'
'She looks better up close. . .'
'She's not supposed to be here?'
'Who said that,' Naito muttered quietly beside her.
Midori's shoulders lifted into a lazy shrug before feeling the platform beneath her feet begin to move. She was quick to realise that they were the last ones since almost all the spots were taken, only two left between Jay and Heeseung ━ two of their old friends.
WITH PROUD STEPS, the Choi twins made their way over to the only seats left, bowing and greeting the other trainees with small smiles. Intimidation was one thing and having manners was another. Sure, knowing that people were intimidated by them and their skills boosted their ego but they did not want to be seen as rude.
'You look confident,' Jay commented as soon as the two sat down.
'I need to make a good first impression,' Midori answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
'You're scaring them,' Jay chuckled, glancing at the other trainees.
'As do you, hyung,' Naito chimed in, lips turning upwards into a smile.
A sudden alarm ran through the room, bouncing against the wall in a loud echo, causing Midori to jolt upwards in her seat. She had been in the middle of the yawn when the sound almost made her jump out of her skin.
As the lights shut down, creating an eerie feeling that simmered through the air, Midori nudged her brother's side.
'This is where we die.'
'At least we'll do that together too.'
Snorting, Midori only shook her head at him and watched as the lights began flickering. In front of her, a screen with an egg resembling thing was presented.
'Dear twenty-five applicants, welcome.'
'This is the stage of I-LAND and this will be the place for you to prove your ability.'
The screen changed again.
'After the gate, you'll see the unknown place called I-LAND that only existed in our imaginations.'
The wall opened, revealing what looked like a gate that resembled an egg.
'But all twenty-five of you can't go in there.'
'Sucks,' Naito commented.
'The capacity of I-LAND is only fourteen people.'
'My goodness...'
'The power to decide those fourteen people are up to you and every destiny in I-LAND is upon your hands as well. Now we're going to start the entry test with the performances you've prepared.'
'Right now?' Heeseung asked, glancing at the twins through a layer of worry. At the same time, Midori and Naito turned their heads towards Heeseung, both cocking an eyebrow at him.
'The entry test will be assessed by yourself. One of those with the majority of votes can go into I-LAND. If there's more of less than fourteen people, there will be another test.'
'It's a unit performance but the vote is going to be done for individuals, you may choose the performance order.'
Midori nudged Naito's side. 'We're going first.'
'We are,' Naito said before standing up, Midori following him closely.
Before anyone else got the chance to stand up, the two were already making their way onto the stage, confidence radiating off their every move. While it certainly did not look like it on the outside, the two were nervous and they knew it.
Sure, there wasn't any twin telepathy but they could read each other like an open book. They were well known trainees, people looked up to them and expected them to perform well. As did the public and everyone else watching. Only that caused a slight pressure and nervosity to float between the two.
Standing on the stage, Midori turned around, facing the crowd of boys with a small smile.
'Hello,' she began, the smile slowly growing. 'I'm Midori.'
Naito glanced at her, noticing the way she acted and copied her confidence with ease. 'And I'm Naito.'
'We're both eighteen years old, from England and we've been training since we were twelve years old,' Midori introduced the two to which Naito nodded.
'Let the performance begin.'