Su Jin pov:
The wall was not much support for me as I limped through the dimly lit corridors and up a stairway with one hand over the throbbing wound of my torso. Sweat trickled down the sides of my face with every step I took from the agonizing pain I felt coursing through my body. I paused for a moment on the stairs to breathe and quell the burning in my lungs and then pushed on, hoping that I would find the exit to the outside soon.
It was not much later that I did reach an opening from which I could see sunlight coming in. I stepped through it and onto an enormous open courtyard of sorts, squinting my eyes at rue bright but warm sunlight that kissed my skin. With a deep inhale, I stepped to the parapet wall so I could look out into the distance to find out where I was.
I was not too surprised by what I saw - right in front of me was a large, muddly lake with a backdrop of a dense forest. The vegetation appeared odd though, uncommon in a way, very different from any sort of forest I had seen before even in pictures.
Surely this wasn't the Amazon Rainforest - the possibility of that had crossed my mind only for a moment but seemed impossible now. Besides, surely such a large building could not be built in the middle of a forest. It was unusual to say the least.
A sudden searing pain the shot through my body had me gasping before I fell to my knees with my eyes closed.
"Oh my gosh, are you alright?" I heard somwone ask in a worried voice and wrap their arm around my shoulders. Opening my eyes, I looked to the person who had come to help me - it was the same girl who had spoken to me earlier, and she was looking over me with an expression of worry.
There was not much strength in my attempt to push her away from me while I said, "Leave me alone."
"Well, excuse me for worrying!" she retorted in irk before letting me go.
"What is this place?" I asked whilst standing up with a stumble. I took support of the parapet to prevent from falling again.
The sound of two pairs of footsteps reached me and I glanced back at the opening through which I had stepped out, at the silver-haired guy I now knew was called Thor who answered my question, "You are on Planet Chimaera of the Balkan System."
"What? The Balkan System?" I repeated with a deep frown coming to my lips.
While Thor was gazing into the distance with a distant look in his eyes, the dark-haired man was watching me with suspicion swirling in his eyes.
"I wouldn't blame you if you're surprised. Most people don't know that this planet exists. Criminals and traitors are usually sent here," Thor added whilst glancing at me. "What did you do to get sent here?"
"I didn't do anything! I always did what they told me to, what I was ordered to! I've always been loyal and faithful!" I defended, though he only laughed softly, as I'm unbelieving of my words.
"Don't yell at him! You should be thankful that he saved you!" the girl hollered again - her attitude was beginning to annoy me but I just ignored her.
"I was merely asking - you don't have to tell us if you don't want to. But now that you're here, there's nothing you can do to change your situation. You have to get used to life here."
My gaze shifted to the stone floor, my brows deeply furrowed and many questions racing through my mind.
Why was I on a planet in the Balkan System? What had happened to Tae Hyun? Who had sent me here?
All of this was crazy and unbelievable!
"This is unbelievable," I mumbled, only to feel the states of the three who didn't understand my words.
"What did you say?" Tiz asked in plain curiosity.
Anger bubbled in the pit of my stomach suddenly, in frustration and humiliation for being played around with by these people. Surely they were making a fun of me.
"Are you having fun messing with me?" I hissed.
"Why would we do that? We're not benefitted by it in any way," said Thor before introducing himself and hisbtwo friends. "My name is Thor. This is Tiz and he's Third. We are the leaders of the Ochre Ring, with me being the Top. What is your name?"
"Ahain with that nonsense! Don't meas with me!" I spat, stumbling a moment. "I hate people who lie, and I hate people who think they need to pity me."
Third seemed amused by my words and behavior, and said after a chuckle, "It seems that we've got ourselves a rebel."
I shot him a glare and directed it towards Thor when he sighed and spoke again, "Just calm down. Whether you believe us or not, it wont change the fact that you were sent to this planet. I was quite frustrated when I first arrived here too, but in order to survive, it's better not to bee too uptight and rebellious. I came from Planet Junoh and I know of someone who came from one of the more unstable planets. Which planet are you from?"
It was a moment before I answered, as a lot of thoughts flooded my mind, the most prominent being the fact that I had been attacked by a huge, bulbous plant just before I passed out. The vegetation I had seen in the few moments after I had exited the space pod was not anything familiar...surely, even if I had been sent to a different country on Earth, some bit of the vegetation should have been recognisable as common plants around the world.
What if these three were telling the truth? What if I really was on some forsaken planet, in the Balkan System no less? What had happened to Tae Hyun? What about his wedding with Grace? What about...home?
Closing my eyes, I exhaled deeply to regain composure and just enough courtesy to speak with the three in front of me without lashing out.
I met Thor's blue eyes and said, "I'm from Planet Earth, from the Solar System."
It was odd that the air around them suddenly seemed tense. I half expected them to laugh at me or make me seem like a fool again - I hated the situation I was in, never having been like this before. It was all the more pathetic because my head spun and everything around me became fuzzy for a moment before I stumbled on my feet. I was about to collapse onto the floor again but Thor caught me against himself. An uncomfortable warmth spread over my torso and I had absolutely no energy to move.
"She's bleeding again!" Tiz hollered and I was immediately lifted into Thor's arms and rushed into the building. I wanted to struggle to make him let go of me but I couldn't - I felt so weak that I could barely lift an arm.
We were back in the room I had woken up in a few moments later and Thor put me down on the bed gently. He and Third left the room while Tize remained to undress me and treat my wounds. She applied strange smelling salves that burner my wounds and elicited hisses from me before rebandaging my torso neatly. She helped me put on a clean shirt before letting Thor and Third back inside.
My eyes were slightly unfocused as I stared into the nothingness in front of me. While Thor and tiz took seats next to the bed I was on, Third stood leaning against the wall a little away.
"Are you really from Earth? You said you don't like liars, so you shouldn't be lying either," Third spoke first. His voice was laced with suspicion as well as annoyance.
His words had me scoffing snd looking away. These three had saved me and I was grateful to them for that but I was not ready accept strangers in the least, especially ones who had such crappy attitudes.
"I have no obligation to prove anything to you, let alone tell you more than what I want to."
My response seemed to anger Third quite a bit. Well, it seemed to me that he didn't like me from the moment I had woken up and spoken curtly and sharply to them. He grabbed me roughly by the arm to turn me to face him and the sudden movement had me feeling like my innards had been crushed. I coughed, feeling like the air had been knocked out of me, and grasped his shirt tightly in my fists.
"Don't you dare talk back to us! You better learn some respect or we'll just have to throw you back with the verasomas!" he spat.
Breathing raapily, I shoved him back and retorted, "Fine, why don't you? Just retein my gun and dagged and I'll leave! It doesn't matter to you whether I live or die anyway."
My words rewarded me with a stinging slap on my cheek. It was from Third, and he said after that, "We should have just left you to die from the beginning."
His action had roused anger in me, much more than before. He had had no right to slap me, let alone touch me. Who did he think he was to slap me?!
"Third, that's no way to treat and injured person!" Thor scolded and was quick to stand and come to my side to place hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright? I'm sorry about Third - he can be a bit short tempered sometimes."
I slapped his hand away though. "Oh, you're taking up the good guy act after everything, huh?"
"Look, we just want to know if you're telling the truth. If you really are from Earth, you would be the first person to be sent to Planet Chimaera from there," he said with a sigh.
I couldn't understand why these three, let alone anyone cared about where I was from. I just wanted to find Tae Hyun, if he had been sent here too, and return to Grace and the others. Besides, it was unbelievable that I was the first person to be sent to this planet from Earth, and so was the fact that whoever has sent us here had used technology to send us to a planet several lightyears away in less than twelve hours before the effect of the tranquilizer had worn off.
"I don't care who you are, where I am or how I got here. Tell me how I can go back to Earth," I demanded.
"Do you think you can act all haughty with us and then expect us to help you? How do we know if you're telling us the truth in the first place?" Third sneered.
"Just as you said that it doesn't matter to you if I believe in what you said, I don't care if you don't believe in what I said. Just tell me what I want to know and I'll leave so I wont have to bother you anymore. I have no wish to stay in your company either."
"You b****!" Third barked, grabbing me by the collar and slapping me again. "Don't you dare show an attitude to us! You should be grateful to is for saving your life and show respect!"
The result of Third's slap this time was severe - it made me cough up blood, enough to burn my oesophagus all the way till my throat. Once again, it was Thor who scolded third and protected me.
"Stop it, Third! You're making the situation worse!" he yelled. "Tiz, take him outside!"
Third still had a hold on my collar and yanked me forward as he was being pulled out of the room by Third. It caused me to fall off the bed and cough up more blood. Thor, worried, kneeled to help me up. He held me around the shoulders but I shoved him away and sat up on my own whilse wiping off the blood that had trickled down my chin from the corners of my lips. Third was yelling at me until he was out of the room which finally fell silent.
Holding my breath, I placed a hand on my aching side and where I could feel blood seeping through the bandages again. Clenching my jaw, I glared at the floor while Thor sighed whilst remaining on one knee next to me.
"Why are you being so difficult? Just accept the fact that you are stuck here. It's not like you can do anything so why don't you just put a little trust in what we're saying?" he said.
"I have never trusted any strangers before and I don't plan on starting it now," I answered sharply.
"The only people who can survive on this planet are people who are strong mentally and physically, and who put trust in their comrades."
"I can survive fine without anyone's help. Now are you going to tell me how I can leave this planet or not?" I didn't have the patience or time to be sparing unnecessary talk like this ans I was glad to see that Thor qas quick to understand that too.
"The only way to leave Planet Chimaera is to become the Jyu Oh, after which, you will get the chance to go to The Tower and return...if you request it."
Though it wasn't easy to accept, all that Thor had said was probably true. I was stuck on a planet in the Balkan System that I hated with every fiber of my being, on which deranged, mutated plantlife thrived along with rude people who tjiught I needed their pity and help. I was sure that I could survive without anyone's help, and had only been injured now because of having to face the unknown suddenly. With a bit if reading and research, surely I would know what was necessary to survive in this world, and then I could search for Tae Hyun if at all he had been sent here with me.
"Tell me what I should do to become the Jyu Oh."
My demand surprised Thor. Curiosity swirling in his eyes, he asked, "You're joking, right?"
He attempted to help me when I tried to stand but I refused it, stepping away from him when I was standing with a slight wobble. Meeting his eyes, I said, "If becoming the Jyu Oh is the only way to get off this disgusting, fake planet, then I'll do whatever it takes to become the Jyu Oh."
"That's something you shouldn't be thinking about right now. First, you should learn about this planet, the rules we follow, and how to survive here. Tiz could help you with that," he said instead of telling me anything about becoming the Jyu Oh.
I looked away from him with a soft scoff. I was an assassin, trained in combat and survival in some of the most hostile of places. Sury I didn't need to be taught how to survive on this planet, save for being given some basic information on the possible dangers I had to look out for. Dealing with criminals and rogues was cake walk for me so a bunch of overgrown plants weren't going to be anything to worry about. But I suppose I didn't have much of a choice but to accept help from these people for now.
"Fine," I said halfheartedly, "I'll learn how this planet works. But don't think that I'm going let you subjugate me in any way. I have no intention of being anyone's subordinate."
Thor sighed, seeming a bit skeptical of me besides slightly exasperated. Nonetheless, he nodded and spoke, "By the way, we didn't get your name."
"You can call me Jin," I answered after s moment of silently staring at him.
"Alright, Jin, you should get some rest now. I'll have Tiz bring you something to eat later." He left the room after that, closing the door shut behind him.
Now that I was alone, I exhaled deeply while letting down my guard a bit as well as the tough act I had been putting up. With a grown in pain, I sat down on the bed and closed my eyes for a few moments.
When I felt a little better, despite the worsening of my wounds thanks to Third, I gazed at the floor in deep thought. Though I had accepted the reality of my situation, I was not ready to follow through the rules of an artificial planet that I had never liked even the thought of. I was strong and I would show the poeple of this planet who I was and what I could do.
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