DYSTOPIA | BOOK 2 of Death of the Future Series

TWO

MIN JAE

Kim Min Jae was displeased with the turn of events. He didn't know what he had said to cause Ricky to tuck his tail between his legs and run away from him, but he didn't like it at all. Watching the retreating figure of the man who Appa had never stopped talking about when he was alive, Min Jae frowned. Tendrils of annoyance mixed with the lingering anger at his world, the fucked up world he was brought into. He curled his fingers into fists, pressing them against his eyes in an effort to pull the shattered pieces of his self-preservation together.

He knew he should feel distraught, more than upset. Maybe a little hysterical at the fact that he had lost one of the few family he had left.

But he wasn't, not really.

All he was left feeling was this hollowness in his chest.

Regret.

Min Seo's face flashed into his mind, his sister's usual brown, bright eyes were lacking their lustre, dimmed by the death of their father. Unlike him, he knew their father dotted on her more. They had a bond between them that he never had with his old man.

Maybe it was because he refused to be a part of this — madness.

Maybe he refused to fight and wanted nothing more but hide and live out his life that way.

He dropped his hands on his lap, recalling the last words Appa had said to him just twenty-four hours ago. With a tight grip on his shoulder and the familiar chocolate brown eyes boring into his own, the words that left his father's mouth had seared into his brain.

"I'll be leaving now," Dae Hee had said, a brief smile crossing his lips before they disappeared when Min Jae made no move to return anything. With a sigh, his expression softened, a look that he rarely saw crossed his father's face. "No matter what happens, remember, I love you."

The urge to scream bubbled underneath his tight skin, pain coursing through his veins as the words drilled into his mind. His eyes watered, tears trickling down his cheeks, leaving behind a cold path. He could count the handful of times he had heard the leader of the Uprising tell him he loved him, or showed any kind of affection.

Why did he have to leave them behind?

What were they to do now?

He clamped his lips shut, wiping his eyes, desperate to keep himself composed. Min Jae pushed down the hurt and anger, the need to throw things to the ground to hear them crash and satisfy this need of violence within him.

It wouldn't change anything.

"Jae?" his sister's voice echoed in the empty hall.

Min Jae squared his shoulders, reigning back the memories of his late-father from continuously playing in his mind. He closed any cracks in his mask and put up defences around him. He promised himself once that he wouldn't show his weaknesses in front of the people he loved, preferring to stay strong and be their pillar of strength instead. And that was what he was doing, holding his true emotions from manifesting themselves in his eyes.

He stood up from Ricky's bed, turning to look at his sister who stood at the other side of the room, barely entering the hall from the second entrance. Deciding it was better if he went over there, he walked to where Min Seo was, forcing his mouth to form a smile that he didn't feel up to. It quickly vanished when she took a step toward him, an inch shorter than him, and placed a hand on his cheek.

"Where were you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

He could see the worry curling in those eyes, followed by sadness that he was sure she was still experiencing. Min Jae jabbed a thumb over his shoulders, searching her face. He leaned briefly into her touch before pulling away, taking a step away from his sister. She dropped her hand to her sides, a sigh escaping her lips.