"…Where am I?"
Mayex lay still for a moment, staring blankly at the ceiling. Then slowly, he sat up and surveyed his surroundings. The other children were still asleep, their shallow breathing the only sound in the suffocating quiet. He stood, walked to the heavy door, and pulled it open.
There was no sunlight. Just the cold, harsh glare of a bare bulb hanging from the concrete ceiling above. He stepped forward into the corridor.
Two men in brown clothing—completely sealed, covering every part of their bodies—moved instantly to block his path. Silent. Expressionless.
"Excuse me… sir… where am I?"
There was no answer. They didn't even blink. Instead, they grabbed his arm with an iron grip and dragged him down the hallway before he could utter another syllable.
"Wait—where are you taking me?!"
Nothing. They shoved him through a pair of heavy doors and slammed them shut behind him.
"Hey! That hurt!"
He caught his balance and straightened up, ready to shout down whoever was in charge—
"SILENCE."
The word didn't echo. It simply landed like a heavy weight, crushing the noise in the room. Mayex closed his mouth instantly.
And then he noticed the scale of the room. Children. Dozens of them. All around his own age, some even younger. Some were visibly trembling; others stared blankly at the floor. All of them wore the exact same expression—the same hollow look he felt on his own face.
Where are we? What is this? What is happening?
A woman stood at the front of the gathering. She was unusually tall, slim, and perfectly composed, possessing a presence that felt far too bright for the dim room around her. She smiled at the crowd of frightened children as if she were greeting distinguished guests at a dinner party.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Melon Violet. I am one of the heads of the Brown Organisation."
She stepped forward slowly, her heels clicking against the floor.
"I came to Turkey specifically to collect some… younglings. Children who will belong to my branch." She tilted her head, her smile unwavering. "I am not the only head, of course. There is one in Germany—that would be me—another in Sweden, and the list goes on. But that is not important right now."
She waved her hand lightly, dismissing the logistics.
"What is important… is that all of you want an explanation. Am I right~?"
The children glanced at each other warily. Then, one by one, voices began to rise from the dark.
"Yes."
"YES."
"YES!!!"
The woman's smile widened.
"Good. Then I will give you one."
She began to pace across the front of the room.
"Every single one of you has been abandoned. Betrayed. Or simply… left behind." She paused, letting the bitter weight of the words settle into their chests. "In other words—in the eyes of the world—none of you have any worth anymore."
No one dared to speak.
"So," her voice sharpened like a blade, cutting through the heavy silence. "ALL OF YOU OWE US YOUR LIVES."
The room went completely quiet.
"And I hate debt," she said softly, almost to herself. "Not only me—every part of the Brown Organisation despises it."
Then, the pleasant smile returned to her face.
"So you will repay us. All of you will become our soldiers. Part of our little… 'funny' gang~"
Some of the children began to tremble violently now. A few had tears running silently down their cheeks.
"You will have a place to sleep. Food. Everything you need to survive." Her eyes crawled slowly across the room, locking onto one face after another. "But in return… you will work for us."
A heavy pause.
"Forever."
She clapped her hands suddenly, and the sharp sound shattered the suffocating tension.
"Oh! But before anything else~"
Several adults entered through the side doors, each carrying a heavy wooden crate. Inside each box lay dozens of bracelets—all different colors, different materials, different shapes.
"Each of you will choose one~" She tilted her head at the frozen silence that followed. "You might be wondering why."
Her smile didn't move.
"It will decide your lifelong partner."
...
...
...
No one moved. Mayex stared at the boxes, his mind racing. What if it's a trap? he thought. What if they're watching us right now—seeing who steps forward first, who's brave, who's stupid—just to know who they need to get rid of?
Seconds stretched into eternity.
Then—movement. A boy near the front took one slow, deliberate step forward. Then another. He reached into the nearest box and pulled out a simple blue bracelet, turning it over in his hands once before slipping it onto his wrist. He stood up straight and faced the woman.
Melon Violet looked down at him with something resembling approval.
"Brave boy. What is your name~?"
The boy met her gaze without a single hint of flinching. "Boran."
"…That's all?" A small, melodic laugh escaped her. "No matter." She turned her gaze back to the rest of the room. "So… is no one else going to come forward?"
Total stillness.
BANG.
The sound hit the concrete walls and bounced back with deafening force. A boy near the center crumpled to the ground, entirely lifeless. The children nearest to him scrambled away screaming, pressing themselves frantically against the walls. Some froze completely, unable to breathe.
Melon Violet lowered her gun, a wisp of smoke curling from the barrel. She looked at the weapon for a moment—almost thoughtfully—then looked back up at the terrified crowd.
And smiled.
"So, kids…" her voice remained completely calm, as if she were giving a routine announcement. "I strongly advise every single one of you to come forward… and pick a bracelet."
She tilted her head, her eyes sparkling in the dim light.
"Or your fate will look exactly like his~"