Chapter Text
After what was essentially a day of driving, Heejin had finally arrived at the school. She left the mutant holding facility at sunrise and arrived at the school at sundown. She felt tired after such a long drive but was afraid to fall asleep, thinking something would go wrong. Although she could swear she blacked out for a bit, car rides are quite therapeutic, especially if you're as stressed as Heejin. At this point, Heejin can practically fall asleep anywhere. She didn't get a wink of sleep at the mutant holding facility, panic keeping her up. But now she was here at the camp and if she stayed awake any longer, she'd definitely go crazy.
Heejin sighed, she looked out the window and saw the giant sign above the gates at the entrance of the school. The driver had jumped out of the car to speak to the guard. 'Block Berry: Mutant Training Camp and School' it read in bold letters making it visible from far away. The school was a series of buildings (five if she counted correctly) surrounded by lush forest. The landscaping maintained the forest as a design with trees filling the lawn but just enough so that you can see who was on the lawn. It helped the buildings blend in with their surroundings, beneficial for young students who like to explore. The building was heavily inspired by Europeans castles giving it an ethereal look. Neutral colors added to the earthy theme and the decorative moss on the sides of the buildings completed the look.
Heejin was expecting large concrete buildings with bars for windows and such little lighting that even during the day the areas were dark. Maybe if she had just read through the pamphlet it wouldn't be such a shock. The design did look significantly less scary but still felt very sketchy. She made a mental note to herself to stay cautious of the school. It was a mutant camp and god knows what was stored within those stone walls ready to jump out and attack.
Heejin flinched when she suddenly heard the car door shut. She must have spaced out for a bit as she didn't realize when the driver returned. Soon after the car started up and once the giant gates were completely opened, the driver strolled in, still not saying a word. The path to the main building was a strip of dirt road with small lights on both sides dimly lighting the path. At the end of the path, there was a large fountain with water flowing out at all levels beautifully. Standing by two giant wooden doors was a young woman and elderly man. They had somewhat identical smiles on their faces making Heejin feel a sense of discomfort.
The car came to a halt directly in front of the door. A man suddenly appeared by the door opening it for Heejin. She frowned slightly feeling uncomfortable and confused. She grabbed her tote bag, holding it close to her body, opened another door and hopped out on the other side. The gentleman stared at her confused but she just returned a warning glare. The man shrugged and went to the trunk. Heejin realised he was about to take out her luggage. She quickly rushed to the trunk herself stopping the man before he could actually open the trunk. He stared at her with furrowed eyebrows. "I can do it myself," Heejin said sternly.
"Miss Jeon, this is my job." He said opening the trunk with a suspicious smile on his face. She slapped away his hand as he reached for the bags glaring directly at the man.
"Don't touch me with your nasty mutant hands." Heejin spat finally flattening his smile.
"Miss Jeon, you know you're a mutant as well, right?" That struck a nerve in Heejin, her expression changing to one of pure anger. Before she could even respond to the man another voice called out to her.
"Jeon Heejin. It's lovely to finally meet you." The old man by the door was walking towards her along with the woman who was there. She noticed that there were more people with her, judging with their outfits and stance, she concluded that they must have been security called for her specifically. She dropped her hands to her sides feeling a sudden ache in her chest. Guilt and shame. "I've heard so much and you and your family."
Heejin looked down at the mention of her family. The same family she trusted and supported all her life had sent her to this place to rot. She kicked the dirty on the ground trying to distract herself from everything.
"Ben here will take your bags to your rooms. Don't worry he won't do anything with them." The man said smiling at her, she looked into the trunk and saw the man along with her bags was gone. She looked at the old man her eyebrows completely furrowed. "Teleportation is a good thing when you have to carry around so many bags, don't you think? Follow me."
Heejin stared at him hesitantly before signing and giving in. He walked towards the door and openly them with unnecessary gestures.
"My name is Lee Seungri but I'm mostly known as the instructor. My great great grandfather was the founder of this institution, it's also the first institution that exclusively accepts children." Heejin rolled her eyes at the man's little speech. She could care less about the history of this hell hole. "We don't normally accept children your age this late in the semester and we have they assigned to a teenage exclusive or power exclusive school but when I saw your file my interest peaked." She rolled her eyes again groaning. A mixture of annoyance and exhaustion was making him completely intolerable.
"Can I just go to my room and we do this another day? Or never?" She asked to which Seungri only chuckled in response.
"That was my plan. I'm aware of your current physical state and I do know a good night's rest is in order." He said coming to a standstill. It seems that they have gone from a foyer into a hallway of sorts leading out to the huge courtyard. Heejin couldn't see how it really looked as the sun was so low it just looked dark and couldn't make out any details. "I also know that you haven't eaten anything since your detainment. Thankfully you arrived in time for dinner. We can talk tomorrow I guess. Miss Jo will take you to the girls' dorm and will direct you from there."
Heejin nodded lowly. She looked up and say the woman called Miss Jo. She was short, her hair was right on her chest, she looked about mid-twenties but still had an eerie glow. She was wearing a skin-tight dress with matching heels the weren't too high. She was wearing light makeup which made sense she already had a very defined face. She didn't look very intimidating and had a very welcoming aura.
Heejin walked towards her and gave her a warm smile. Ms. Jo bowed a bit and so did Haseul. "Follow me." Ms. Jo said before turning and walking away. Heejin took a deep breath and bowed to Seungri before following Ms. Jo.
The was calm and quiet just the way Heejin liked it. The path towards the girl's dorm was a dimly lit path. There was a fountain at the back as well but it was slightly smaller than the one in front of the building. From what she can see the building she left was to largest of the 3 buildings. On the left and right there were two buildings and just behind them were two other buildings that were a bit smaller.
"The buildings on your left and right are the dorms and the other 2 are the teacher's dorm and the other is the school's auditorium. " Ms. Jo suddenly said flinched. Was she a mind reader..? "I'm not a mind reader if you're wondering. I just assumed you would be curious about it, most students ask about it around this time." She said before turning around and facing Heejin, a slight smile on her face. " My powers are healing and regeneration but I only use them when it's completely necessary or to heal minor injuries you don't need to have to deal with for a few days."
Heejin nodded. That was fair. Her powers seemed inoffensive but you never knew how much she could actually do. "These schools have strict no use of powers rule that also applies to teachers although if we have a good reason we can get away with it. As for you absolutely no use of powers unless directed to by a teacher." Heejin didn't object to the woman's words. It was ok to her, less chance of getting messed with my other students and if they did that means she can report it. Her plan was to just go to this stupid school and graduate. As soon as she learns how to control these damn things she knew she'd be fine. She knew of mutants who lived in peace and followed all of the rules by heart. Some of which even supported anti- mutant programs. She'd be fine as soon as she's out of this damned place.
Eventually, they arrived at the girl's dorm. It looked like a smaller, less grand version of the main school. It had fewer floors but more windows. Ms. Jo opened the do and they were greeted by the sight of staircase that leads to the upstairs. "You go left for the common room. The right is to the dining room and if continue going you'll arrive at the kitchen. There is a porch and yard back there as well. " Ms. Jo said heading up the stairs. Heejin made a mental note about it.
"There are about 170 hundred girls here so be careful. The second and third floors have mostly elementary school kids so you can skip it. Fourth floor has middle school kids. 5th is where high schoolers like you are and that's where your dorm is." Heejin groaned at the thought of having to go up so many stairs every night. Not to mention she has a roommate and probably would have to share a bathroom. Heejin hates having to share anything with anyone, it always made her feel uncomfortable knowing some could walk in on her doing something weird or private or maybe the other way around. She's also a bit of a germaphobe so that of sharing a space and shower with strangers (mutants at that) was very nerve-racking. But from what she's seen the dorms are pretty neat and well kept but they were only on the 3rd floor.
Eventually, they arrived at the 5th floor. There were a lot more doors compared to the second floor, which only had about 6 or 7 doors. At the end of the two hallways, two were doors on either side. She kept looking around, the hall wasn't all that designed and only little paintings and little tables with vases. Heejin turned and saw that Miss Jo was looking directly at her with her signature warm smile.
"At the end to the left is a common room. Most girls go there to study together or just to talk to one another. At the end to the right is the baths. There are one 8 of them and 30 girls on this floor including you. Thankfully they came up with a little system so you can talk to your roommate about getting your name on the list. There are regular bathrooms separate to the baths but there are only a total of 5 toilets on this floor. There are more on the first floor as well." Heejin was beginning to question whether or not this woman was not really a mind reader. How did she know all the answers to Heejin's questions before she even asked them? Heejin tried to shake away the feeling that this woman was invading her mental space. "Oh, and by the way, these girls basically all grew up together so they are extremely comfortable around one another. Don't be too surprised if you see a naked girl running down the hall if someone just barges into your room or shower while you're in there or if you hear some weird noises at night. Just let them know your boundaries and they'll respect it."
Heejin groaned internally. She was nothing forward to the dorm life. She valued her privacy and she believes decency should be a must but from she's heard none of those things are present in this dorm. They finally arrived in front of her room. Miss Jo easily opened the door and stepped aside for Heejin to enter. The first thing Heejin noticed about the room is how surprisingly spacious it was. There were two twin-sized beds, both neatly made but one a yellow blanket was thrown on top with what looked like clothes. Above the beds, there was a shelf and on the other wall next to the bed was a cupboard. The beds were slightly elevated with two drawers attached to the base. Between the two beds were two mini vanities separated by a giant window that was currently cover by the curtain. By the door were two mini wardrobes that obviously couldn't hold much. There was nothing special about the lighting, just a simple nipple light in the center . The walls were a cream color although her roommate didn't hesitate to draw and add different decals to her side of the room.
Her roommate's side of the room was very bright and lively. From the cluttered vanity, the colorful clothes on the bed, the poorly organized shelf and she even managed to shove things to the top of the cupboard. All of her things were bright and colorful and followed no particular theme (although it did seem like she preferred yellow things) giving the room a strange homey feeling. It seems like she's comfortable here not afraid to express herself.
Heejin didn't bring much. Well, it's not like she had a choice her mom packed her bags with only the bare necessities. It's obvious her mother didn't pay too much attention while lacking her judging by the absolute mess of clothing in her bag. She had a crap ton load or underwear but only 2 bras. Her mom stocked her up on sweaters but barely any bottoms. Not to mention she only gave her 5 pairs of shoes. She did get all of the makeup even though most of it was damaged and broken. Thankfully she did still have stuff although she would need to restock very soon. Her mom thankfully packed some of her books for school and leisure along with her diary which she had disguised as a book for school. Needless to say, her side of the room was going to look very inferior to her roommate's but she didn't really care all that much. She was just going to be there for a year, no need to go crazy decorating.
"There isn't much room for clothes storage since the girls tend to share clothes with each other. Same for makeup and feminine products. They're really like sisters her to be honest but not in a cliquey sense." Miss Jo randomly said pulling Heejin from her thoughts. Heejin had an older sister so she knew what that sister bond was like but at the same time, they didn't share that much stuff in the first place. She had no intention of sharing anything more than she had to at this dorm. She just wants to get out of this place as soon as she can.
Heejin slowly walked deeper into the room. She saw her things at the bottom of the in a neat pile. She walked towards the window and moved the curtain. She peered out only to see pure darkness. The only place that was lit was the bottom probably from the dining room. If she squinted she could slightly make out the details of trees and a building but the place was already so dark. She doesn't even remember the sun completely setting
The pair were interrupted by the sound of someone running down the hall. Heejin was confused, wasn't everyone supposed to be at dinner. A girl stopped in front of the door a big grin on her face. She looked about Heejin's height and age. She had long straight black hair, with one side tucked behind her hair. Her face was round and plump and she had idyllic Korean features. She was wearing a long white tee shirt with shorts and flip flops instead of shoes.
Heejin glanced at Ms. Jo who had a warm smile on her face looking at the new girl before looking back at Heejin. "This is Kim Hyunjin. She'll be your roommate."
"Hi!" The girl skipped towards Heejin maintaining that bright smile. She extended her hand expecting a handshake but Heejin only stared at the hand before stepping back. Hyunjin understood what the girl meant and retracted her hand. Heejin noticed her expression had changed from excited to disappointed but the girl had quickly masked it with that same eager smile. There was a brief silence before Ms. Jo had spoken up.
"Well," she clapped, "I think Miss Kim can take over from here. I'll be leaving now but if you need me I'll be available." She bowed and walked out of the room. The silence had returned once was she was completely gone. Hyunjin stood there grinning adding to the awkward atmosphere.
"Uh... " Hyunjin trailed off looking down at her feet. She had something to say but Heejin didn't want to hear it right now. She was tired and if doesn't get any sleep she'll get cranky. She ignored the other girl and walked over to her stuff to look for what she would have needed to take a shower. She cursed when she realized her mother didn't pack anything.
"Do you know where I can find things like body wash of soap? My mom didn't give me any." She explained as casually as possible although she did sound pathetic.
"Oh, you can borrow some of mine!" Hyunjin perked up, she sounded far too excited. "I bought some new things recently and I went a bit overboard," she said sounding a bit embarrassed but Heejin wasn't buying it. "What do you need?"
Heejin gave her long list of things that she needed to shower and not so surprisingly enough Hyunjin had them all. The girl pulled out a draw from below her bed and it was filled with a bunch of random beauty products from body washes to make up palettes. She even let Heejin pick out the things she wanted from the stash before handing her a little basket. "Just so that you can carry everything with ease. Oh! And if you need a towel and wash rag we have a closet in the bathroom with a bunch of them but they're all white and boring. "
Heejin accepted the basket and muttered out a quiet thanks. She placed the things in there and immediately left the room. Unfortunately, Hyunjin was obviously not understanding that Heejin was not in the mood to talk. "The bathroom might be in a bit of a mess because we showered before dinner and the maids normally come at night. Also, we should try to fit you into the showering schedule. I'm sure the Unnies won't mind meeting with you tonight, it won't take all that long tonight. Actually, I think you can do it during dinner cause they're normally busy with the little kids while we eat so you might end up eating with them."
Heejin groaned at Hyunjin's rambling. She was barely listening to a thing she was saying. She was too tired to be bothered anyway. She just wanted to take a shower and head to bed, she didn't even feel like eating anything. Not that she was worried she was going to fall asleep but because she was afraid they'll try to poison her. Who knows what mutants cook with or what they even considered to be food. She turned around and faced the girl.
"Listen. You seem nice and all but honestly I don't need all of this right now. I just want to take a shower and go to bed. So why don't you go back downstairs and eat your food and just leave me be." She didn't try to hide her annoyance just so that she could be clear with her intentions.
"Oh ok. I can bring you up some food if you'd like. We're eating fish stew."
"I'm not hungry. Besides who knows what you people consider to be food."
Hyunjin was obviously taken aback by that statement and went quiet for a minute before speaking up again, "Well if you don't like fish stew you can have one of my pieces of bread. They're under my bed in the other drawer. I really think you shou-"
"I'm fine, thanks. " Heejin cut her off, beginning to get annoyed by just the sound of her voice. "Just go eat you mutant food and leave me alone."
Heejin turned too quickly before she could catch the dirty look Hyunjin had thrown her. Hyunjin mumbled something before storming off clearly offended but Heejin couldn't care less.
She took a quick shower before heading back to her dorm room. She changed into something comfortable before crawling into bed. As soon as her head touched the pillow she passed out not even bothering to turn off the lights or set an alarm. She had had a long week and her body was exhausted. This was the first time in a long time she had actually fallen asleep on her own without any outside help which was a bit confusing. Regardless she let her body rest, snoring a bit louder than she would have liked but still enjoying the peace and comfort.