A Race to New World // ATEEZ Dystopia AU

Epilogue

Dr. Yoo scratched his head violently, not stopping even when his scalp hurt and he thought he was going to bleed. He couldn't remember the last time he had taken a shower, eaten, or slept.

The clock on his assistant read 15:12, but there was no way to know for sure; much like the GHSA headquarters in South Korea, this one on ATZ-008 was also underground and devoid of windows. The front and back walls were covered with massive screens, while numerous hallways branched out on either side. The scientist's first impression of the place was that it reminded him of an ant's hill with its intricately-designed tunnels and chambers.

"Dr. Yoo," someone called, but he wasn't listening. He ripped his glasses off his face and knuckled his eyes.

"Dr. Yoo," the cry came again, accompanied by footsteps.

The lead scientist's head snapped up, as did the "What?" that slipped from his mouth. He didn't mean to be so ill-tempered at his fellow scientists, but it had been a little more than one month since he arrived ATZ-008, and he still had yet to locate the whereabouts of his friend and former boss, Im Changkyun.

People insisted that he was long dead, but Dr. Yoo didn't believe it. His corpse was never found.

"I believe we've found him," said the scientist - one of the many who was handpicked by Dr. Yoo when he assembled his own team. "Or rather--"

Dr. Yoo shot up from his seat. There was only one him. He scanned the myriad of screens on the wall in front of him, but they were all of unimportant data being unscrambled by the other members of the team. He swivelled around, ignoring the vertigo that formed blotches in his vision, and inspected the screens behind him.

On the left, a small square monitor was blinking with a green frame. Dr. Yoo had expected a map of some sort, but instead what he saw was an incoming call.

There was no time to wonder. "Switch it to a bigger screen!"

At his authoratative voice, everyone in the room dropped their work and looked up, their heads dipping down almost immediately again to obey the order.

By the time all screens combined to enlarge the image, Mr. Im's face was already looking down at the scientists from the wall. There was a stretch of silence as Dr. Yoo scrambled for the words that could articulate his thoughts, but he eventually settled on the most demanding one.

"I think you have some explaining to do, Changkyun."

Mr. Im scoffed. "That is exactly the answer I expected from you, Kihyun-hyung. Especially after all the rumors spreading around that I had bled to death in my old office."

Dr. Yoo crossed his arms and focused on a spot in the background over Mr. Im's shoulder. He didn't want to look him in the eyes, because he didn't know what would happen if he did. At the state he was in, he might even cry.

Mr. Im cleared his throat, licked his lips. "I- I'm sorry, hyung." His voice sounded different. It might be the speakers, or it might be just the lack of authority in it now that he was no longer a leader. He was just Changkyun now.

"I... um, I'm in America's GHSA headquarters now." He titled his body to the side and waved a hand at the scenery behind him awkwardly. Dr. Yoo caught a hint of the bandages around his forearm. "After the Invincs infiltrated the Korean headquarters, I called for help... and at that time I didn't realize that you were missing from the scene. I mean-- I had to leave that place as soon as possible. A team was mobilized and they sent me to America. I barely made it alive."

There was another pause. Dr. Yoo's team was staring at him expectantly, wondering why he wasn't replying and keeping Mr. Im waiting. Your friend is alive, he explained it all. What's there to think about?

But there was something else, and the lead scientist was now debating whether he should declare it aloud in front of everyone. It turned out his internal struggle was futile, for Changkyun beat him to it and brought up the topic himself.

"I know what I did was wrong. It's pathetic to say this only after I've been attacked, but releasing the Invincs was a terrible move. A mistake."

Mr. Im dipped his head as the room erupted into bursts of murmurs and whispers. Dr. Yoo hushed them with a look and dug his fingernails into the palms of his hands, holding in his sudden anger as he waited for his friend to finish.

The screen switched in an eyeblink. Mr. Im's face was gone, replaced by the footage of what looked like a lab, with all sorts of people hurrying about. People in lab coats, in business suits, in military uniforms...

"That's why I'm using all my power and resources to fix this, Kihyun-hyung," Changkyun's voice continued in the background. "We're looking for a way to lure and contain all the Invincs. And, meanwhile, we are also building more spaceships. Hyung, I've talked to the other leaders. We had a meeting. It was a mistake. Everyone should be allowed to go to ATZ-008, don't you think? We've lost too many lives already. So that's what I'm going to do. I'll be sending the rest of the survivors to you."

The room was once again silent. But this time it wasn't suffocating or uncomfortable.

Dr. Yoo made a small noise - no one around him could decide whether it was a laugh or a whimper - and his gaze fell to his toes. Something shone on his cheek and plopped on the ground between his shoes, one single drop of water.

Without looking up, the scientist maneuvered the crowd created by his teammates and found his way back to his desk.

"Great," he started, but, realizing his voice was too soft for anyone to hear, repeated loudly, "Great." He smiled wide now, though sniffling and holding back his tears. "Changkyun, this is great."

Mr. Im's face returned, smiling as well. "Thanks, hyung. Now all we need is to mobilize our first team who will carry out the missions-- they will have to be on Earth, seeking out the remaining survivors--"

"I... I've been thinking of the same thing--" Dr. Yoo took a deep breath to calm himself. "I've been distraught and all over the place, wondering if I should go ahead with my plan when I still couldn't be sure if you're still alive! But I'm so glad-- you see--" Hardly unable to keep in his relief, Dr. Yoo's fingers flew over his transparent tablet keyboard.

He pulled up eight holographic profiles onto the largest projector, making sure it shows up for Mr. Im as well. Eight faces flickered in the air, with some of their basic information written below.

"I've met them for barely a month, Changkyun. But they are it. I'm sure of it."

Mr. Im studied the faces, raising an eyebrow skeptically. Yet he trusted Dr. Yoo to make the right choice this time.

"I even gave them a team name. We'll be calling them after the planet's name..."

This piqued everyone's interest, including every scientist in the room. They leaned forward.

"Ateez."

-

Woohoo! What a twist - instead of naming the planet after ATEEZ, it's actually the other way round 👀😜 If you've gotten this far, thank you so much for reading my story! I'll be back again soon with another one, this time combining Sci-Fi and Fantasy, AND will feature groups other than ATEEZ!! I hope you're all as excited as I am because I'm having so much fun writing it now! Thank you again! You guys are the best 🥺❤️