EXO: "EXOPLANETS"

42

Hearing a muffled voice in the distance, I stopped and got close to the wall, peering at the corner. There are guards coming towards us, no doubt looking for us. I quickly slipped into the nearest door and closed it quietly after Chanyeol entered. Crouching near the door, we waited while listening to their footsteps pass.

Chanyeol tapped my feet to get my attention and I turned around to follow her gaze. I took a small and square room but what stood out was that the walls were covered entirely. Top to bottom, images and information filled every surface like a giant collage. Actually, what is a giant murder board like, which you see in crime movies.

There were too many things to focus on and my eyes had trouble adjusting to the visual appearance. However, my vision was eclipsed when I saw my photo on the wall. Curious, I walked closer to check it out and my eyes widened when I realized it was a photo of my passport.

The next photo that caught my attention was one of my family. It was taken during Chuseok and we all wore Hanboks in it. I remember my dad had installed a tripod in the living room and it took too much effort to get a picture that everyone saw. After she framed the photo and hung up the phone on the wall of our hallway and I would pass her every time I left the house. So how did the picture end here?

There are many other photos, some of which I have never seen before: of my childhood, of school photos and of which I did not even know were being taken. Even the photo my mother kept in my sister and I's purse, which was worn out and a bit crumpled, was affixed to the wall. This montage shows every aspect of my personal life and what is worse is the detailed information plastered next to each image.

There are things that only the closest people in my life will know about me but are there, on the wall. Even my smallest habits, such as making a sound while eating or rolling a ball when I sleep. My fears and even my secrets were staring back at me.

The information was accurate, making my hair stand up and shivering through my body. I have a bad feeling about this. How do they know all this? Unless ... they have been stalking me for years or worse, someone has told them. I felt nauseous and completely violated. 

I had been stalked from the start and it was worse than I had imagined. I don't know why I'm still surprised at this moment, but it's stupid of me. It feels like there is more behind this than is being targeted for arrest. The information they have is too specific. It was one thing to observe habits but to know my fears and desires was another.

How could they know my darkest secret? Looking back, the secrets I kept were just silly little schoolboy things. However, it's not the content of the secret that I'm worried about, it's the question of how they know. Who found them? Who told them?

"You might just hear things," another voice spoke and their footsteps sounded more muffled now. They must have started walking in the other direction after coming up short.

"What the fuck?" Chanyeol whispered in panic. His eyes were wide and I was pretty sure my expression reflected his face. Looking around at the closed wall, I subconsciously shivered again and replied, “I don't know but I can tell you one thing for sure, it's creepy. 

"Every detail about me is on this wall!" Chanyeol half-screamed in frustration, pointing towards his photo. "Things that no one knows about me .. but somehow they do." His fists clenched, starting to glow red hot and his face shriveled in anger. He was too loud and I had to calm the storm that was brewing inside him before we were caught.

I started talking but he cut me off, “they lied to us. This is not all destiny. Not one!" She tore the photos off the wall while I watched, unsure what to do. “We were targeted. The proof is here, look how young we are in some of these photos. "

I saw where he was pointing and he was right. I have asked myself the same question. Taking a photo of the now tangled land, he pushed it into my face, “how did they know about the bird I returned alive when I was seven ? Of course it wasn't me who took this photo, I didn't have a digital camera and it's funny if my mom or dad knew how to make it. So, who is it? ”

Chanyeol combed her hair with her fingers and she now looked a bit crazy. “Nothing is increasing! This was before Doctor Choi found the gene, before you went to his hospital, right? ”

I nodded in response. Maybe he got something because he was right. Not to add up, I was eleven when I was supposed to go to the hospital so how did they have a photo of Chanyeol when he was so young? Stunned by his realization, I whispered more to myself than to anyone else, “we were targeted.