{ D - 139 }
The Age Ceremony was drawing closer and closer. The crew was only able to meet up together every few weeks on Resting Days, and it was challenging to continue their progress on preparing to escape. However, the supplies were being gathered at a steady pace, and there was a finalized design for their weapons they would use throughout their journey. They still had to figure out the route they would take once they were able to sneak outside the walls of the district. The only reliable map they had of the outside world was from simple geography books which they used as reference to create their own maps.
Junhui walked down the halls, careful not to express any negative emotions he was feeling inside. He'd been feeling so dejected lately. He'd wake up in an empty room; he'd walk to the Girl's Dorm by himself to greet Seohyeon and Jane; he'd go to second meal all by himself; he'd go to bed all by himself.
He hated it.
He hated living his life without his roommate.
He missed the boy's scolding, the boy's cheerful smile, the boy's sarcastic remarks.
He missed Minghao so much.
Junhui knocked on the door, waiting for a signal to open it.
"Come in," a gentle voice said from the other side, allowing him to turn the doorknob.
Junhui pushed the door open and was greeted by Jisoo, who was sitting at his desk and looking up at the latter with a smile.
"I'm here with a few files from Instructor Kim," Junhui explained, walking over and handing them to the former instructor, "He said they were today's inspection reports or something."
"Thank you," Jisoo responded, carefully taking them from Junhui's grip.
Once Jisoo placed them on his desk, he began to flip through the papers thoroughly. He could still feel Junhui standing there, wanting to speak up, but he simply continued to go over the reports.
"You're dismissed you know," Jisoo chuckled, his eyes never leaving the paper.
"I know, sir," Junhui replied.
Jisoo sighed and closed the file, looking up at the student, meeting his serious gaze. "Are you planning to watch me go over the reports then?"
"No, Jisoo, that's not it," Junhui defended, his voice beginning to trail off, "I just wanted to..."
Junhui took a deep breath before looking back at Jisoo, his expression growing desperate and a little frightened.
"Were you able to confirm where Minghao is?" He finally asked.
Silence filled Jisoo's office as the two continued to stare at each other, not really knowing what to say. After a few moments of quiet the instructor let out a sigh before hanging his head with a frown.
"I tried everything I could," Jisoo said, "But I couldn't find anything. I even checked with at District Headquarters, and there was nothing about Minghao in Confinement. It's like everything about him... vanished."
He clenched his fist with frustration.
"I'm sorry," his voice trailed off.
Junhui let out a deep, shaky sigh, careful not to let any of his tears fall. He simply gave the instructor a small smile as he began to walk away.
"It's okay, Jisoo," He finally spoke up, causing the latter to lift up his head, "I appreciate the effort. If it's a lost cause, then... I guess there's nothing we can really do about it."
Junhui was already at the door, his hand on the knob ready to turn it. He bowed politely at Jisoo before opening the door. Jisoo watched as his student exited out, leaving him alone in his office once more.
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{ D - 131 }
"You're really good at making gadgets," Mingyu pointed out, making the older chuckle.
"I've had a lot of practice," Wonwoo responded as he continued to piece together different metal items. "I am studying mechanics and engineering after all."
Mingyu simply nodded, continuing to throw punches and kicks in the air. Wonwoo stopped what he was working on and watched Mingyu train. He found it fascinating that the younger was so athletic and agile despite his size. Mingyu was tall and buff, yet he could move so meticulously when it came to training.
Wonwoo watched as Mingyu let out a groan and collapse onto the floor, practically gasping for breath. The older chuckled as he started walking towards where the younger was lying, handing him a bottle of water.
"Don't overwork yourself too much," Wonwoo told him in a slightly nagging tone. "The next Resting Day is in less than two weeks. You should give your body a break."
Mingyu sat up from where he was lying and took the water bottle from Wonwoo, opening it up as he continued to pant for air.
"What am I suppose to do in the meantime then?" Mingyu asked before chugging down his water.
"How about you help me stash up some of our weapons?" Wonwoo asked, his eyes glinting with mischief.
He held out his hand, making Mingyu smirk and grip onto it with his own, allowing the older to pull him to his feet. They walked over to the armory where Wonwoo picked at the lock with a gadget he made and slid the door open, creeping in ever so quietly and discreetly and hoping that no one was looking. Once they made it inside, Wonwoo closed the door behind them and began to gather up as many weapons as he could hold, and Mingyu did the same. Mingyu was about to grab a few packs of ammunition, but Wonwoo quickly stopped him.
"We're not using the District's ammunition," he said sternly. "It's too dangerous."
"Then what do we use to defend ourselves?" Mingyu asked. "We can't just shoot at them with empty guns."
"I'm working on a different kind ammunition," Wonwoo explained.
He tried to balance all the guns he had in one arm as he used his free hand to shuffle for something in his back pocket. His eyes lit up once he found what he was searching for, pulling it out of his pocket and showing it to Mingyu. He was holding a small, pill-shaped looking bullet that almost looked like the pills they were given every day. Mingyu looked at the pill then back at Wonwoo, a confused expression growing on his face.
"We'll be using these instead," Wonwoo stated. "Inside these bullet capsules are certain chemicals that won't kill the body. When you shoot these at shoulders, it'll only knock them unconscious for a few hours... or days."
"Days?!"
"It's better than killing them," Wonwoo rolled his eyes befitting putting the bullet back in his pocket. "Anyways, follow me I know where we can stash these."
Instead of going out the door, Wonwoo a little deeper into the armory, making the trainee even more confused than when he saw the bullet. Wonwoo only walked a few feet towards the wall on the left side of the armory, crouching down so that he was squatting in front of a large air vent that was near the bottom of the floor. He took a little screw driver from one of the tool boxes and began to unscrew the bolts that kept the frame of the vent in place. Once all of the bolts were unscrewed, he carefully took out the frame and gently placed it aside, revealing not an air vent, but a vast empty space.
"No way," Mingyu said in awe, making Wonwoo chuckle. "How do you even find places like these in the District?!"
"Just hand me two of those huge sacks," Wonwoo said, ignoring Mingyu's question, "and place your weapons naxt to me."
Mingyu quickly placed the guns he was holding down on floor next to Wonwoo before he went to find what the order wanted him to retrieve. Once he found the large brown sacks, he grabbed two of them and made his way back to the hidden chamber. Once he gave them to Wonwoo, he watched as his genius friend filled up the sacks with weapons and guns before tying each one closed. Wonwoo then tied a longer rope around both of the tops of the sacks before placing them inside the secret chamber. Once they were inside the so-called "air vents," he put the frame back on and screwed the bolts back in.
"Once the plan actually goes into execution, we won't have to go into the armory," Wonwoo stated confidently. "In order to not look as suspicious, there's another way to access these weapons from outside."
"There is?" Mingyu asked, a little shocked.
"Yup," Wonwoo nodded proudly, "Follow me."
They walked out of the room and back into the training gymnasium. Wonwoo guided Mingyu over towards the wall that separated the armory and the gymnasium. They stopped in front of another large air vent with a frame similar to the one inside the armory. This one was also located towards the bottom of the wall.
"Easy access right there," Wonwoo smirked, making Mingyu gasp with amazement.
"Wonwoo, you're actually a genius," Mingyu mumbled, still baffled.
"Yeah I know," Wonwoo grinned.
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{ D - 126 }
Seokmin and Hansol were walking around the District, looking at all the buildings and talking about how much of the place had changed over the years they were confined. Of course, everything was still the same, so there wasn't much to talk about. In the end, they were just goofing off and trying to find something that they could find entertaining in their own way.
However, while doing so, Hansol spotted a familiar young boy far away, immediately tapping Seokmin on the shoulder. He pointed a finger towards the direction of the boy, causing Seokmin to move his gaze to where Hansol was pointing.
"Isn't that Chan?" Hansol asked, making the older squint his eyes.
"Yeah, I think so?" Seokmin agreed, still a little uncertain. "What's he doing by the River? He looks so... mysterious."
They watched as Chan stood there on the sidewalk that ran along the River and was built a few feet tall. He was alone, no one else was keeping him company. He simply stood there, occasionally pacing back and forth along the pavement. His hair swayed with the occasional breeze that passed through, allowing himself to embrace the mist from the River that sprayed him.
Chan, completely unaware of his friends watching him from afar, looked to his side, pretending that there was someone there next to him.
Someone special to him.
Someone he cared about.
He looked back at the River, watching the strong current flow further and further away from him, until he couldn't see the water anymore. Sure, he was alone; he was lonely; but just being by the River made past memories resurface in his mind. He began to smile and close his eyes, allowing the cold, moist air to hit against his face.
For a short moment, the River brought him contentment.
Perhaps a brief moment of contentment was all he needed.
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Thank you guys for 1K reads on District 17!!! I cant believe we hit such a huge milestone!! Thank you for all the support for this book; it means a lot to me :) I hope you guys will enjoy the next chapters coming soon <3