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The residents of House #127 have an awkward introduction, but a fun time at the mall brings the group together.

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Taeyong didn't know what to expect after he passed Admissions and Security. Maybe some artificial sunlight that would temporarily blind him, but the kind that felt warm and comforting on his skin. Or maybe a row of trees, and behind it would be the beginning of an impressive urban city landscape.

But he wasn't expecting another room. This one had white walls, and still no windows. He looked at the wall behind him and saw a seemingly endless row of doors, which he figured out were for the other letters of the alphabet, for the other last names. To Taeyong's left was a door with a big "K" painted on it, and to his right was a door labelled "M". Taeyong had come out of the "L" door.

At the other end of the room, directly across from him, was a large, closed metal gate that went all the way up to the ceiling. This room was really high, and Taeyong could only see the ceiling if he threw his head all the way back. Taeyong groaned uncomfortably and rubbed the back of his neck. He couldn't remember the last time he had to look that high up, since he was always keeping his head down to avoid the glare of the sun.

"Hey."

Taeyong spun around towards the "M" door. A young man had just entered the room from that door, and he was smiling kindly at Taeyong.

"Oh, hi." Taeyong forced a smile on his face.

"I'm Taeil." The man said. "Moon Taeil."

Taeyong nodded and held out his hand. "Lee Taeyong."

The two boys shook hands. Taeyong felt a strange feeling of comfort, even though he had just met the guy. Taeil seemed like a good person, with kind, bright eyes and a sincere smile.

"Hey, do you know what we're supposed to do in this room?" Taeil asked. He looked past Taeyong. "Oh. Everyone seems to be going from list to list. Maybe they're looking for their names. C'mon, let's look for ours."

Taeyong looked behind him and noticed the "lists" Taeil was talking about. On either side of the big gates was a long line of papers attached to the wall. Each sheet of paper was spaced apart about twelve inches. Taeyong observed how everything was so clean and symmetrical- so different from the outside world. The outside world... Taeyong felt it hard to believe that possibly for the rest of his life, he would be living inside a dome.

Taeyong followed Taeil around the room, scanning each list for their names. On each sheet of paper was a list of ten names under a big, printed number. There were hundreds of lists, and Taeyong and Taeil still hadn't found their names even after the paper titled "100".

Once someone found their name, they would form a group in front of the piece of paper with other people who were also on the list. Some of the groups were filled with complete strangers, who smiled awkwardly at each other and timidly introduced themselves. Others were old friends reunited, and shouts of happiness were heard around the room as people embraced each other for the first time in years.

"Oh, wait, Taeil- I think I can see our names, over there, under 127." Taeyong nudged his new friend's arm. The pair scurried over to the list, where a small group was chatting quietly with each other.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted Mark and Donghyuck in the group, who rushed over to Taeyong and gave him a tight hug.

"Our names are on the same list!" Donghyuck exclaimed. "I think that means we'll be living together!"

Taeyong smiled and let go of his two friends, who proceeded to get acquainted with Taeil. Taeyong scanned the other faces in the group, but he didn't recognize anyone.

Taeyong inched his way closer to the list to read the names, but before he could move any farther, he heard an alarmingly familiar voice behind him.

"Well, holy shit. If it isn't Lee Taeyong."

Taeyong slowly turned around and faced the person he really hoped he'd never see again.

"Kim Doyoung." Taeyong cleared his throat and averted his eyes from Doyoung's cold gaze.

"So," Doyoung said, "you're also in this 127 group, huh?"

Before Taeyong could reply, a loud female voice filled the room through the speakers on the ceiling, and everyone was driven to silence as they listened intently to the message.

"Attention, please. Now that you're all in your respective groups of ten, A First Next City representative will guide each group into the city, where you will be shown to your houses. The representative will also give you ten tickets each person, which can be used to purchase items at the Supermall. Please stay where you are and wait for a First Next City representative."

Taeyong noticed dozens of faces around him light up at the mention of a Supermall. Around three years ago, every mall, school, arcade, and amusement park had been closed down, which, along with the heat, made most kids lose motivation to go out and spend time with friends. The thought of having those fun privileges again, however, gave all 500 young men and women in that room a new sense of joy and comfort. Not only would First Next City give these people another chance at life, but it would also give them another chance at having a better and more fulfilling childhood.

Soon enough, an adult male wearing a sharp, all-white business suit approached the 127 group. He had salt and pepper hair that was slicked back with a thick, greasy layer of hair gel. He didn't look all that friendly, and when he smiled at the boys, Taeyong grimaced and preferred if the man just kept his unhappy and intimidating demeanor.

As promised in the announcement, each person received ten tickets from the First Next City representative. Taeyong observed the tickets in his palm, which were red in color and bound together with a rubber band.

"All right, boys, follow me." The man said. The boys looked up and stared in awe at the big metal gates, which were now opening slowly, letting in an impressive ray of sunshine. Taeyong lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the sudden light, but he quickly adjusted to it as the hundreds of groups began moving past the gate and into the city.

They were walking on a wide, concrete road, and both sides were surrounded by rows and rows of identical houses. Some groups were immediately led into houses as soon as they stepped into the city, since their corresponding homes were the closest to the gates. But the 127 group moved further into the city, so they had more of an opportunity to look at the scenery they passed by.

There were trees almost everywhere the boys looked, boasting fresh green leaves and strong trunks. Meanwhile, the trees in the outside world were either dead or dying. The kids looked up and were finally able to look at the pale gray sky without suffering painful burns. Sunlight was pouring into the city, but a transparent dome was able to control the heat.

At last, the man in the all-white suit halted in front of a house, and the 127 group was so immersed in their surroundings that they almost crashed into each other at the sudden stop.

"This will be your home." The man said without looking at the boys. "As you can see, all of the houses here are two-story. Inside, you will find five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a laundry room. There is also a backyard. You are responsible for keeping up the cleanliness of your home, but we have provided you with basic cleaning supplies free of charge. In each bedroom, there are new clothes available for each person, but you are welcome to buy more clothes at the Mall. We have also provided you with toothpaste, toothbrushes, towels, soap, shampoo, conditioner, a hair dryer..."

As the man droned on and on, the boys slowly drifted away from him and decided to explore the house on their own.

"Enjoy your first day in First Next City. You must attend the Welcome Orientation tomorrow at the Convention Center for more information about your life here. Nine o'clock in the morning. Be there!" The man quickly finished his dull speech and finally walked away, leaving the boys to themselves.

---

"Wah, this is so cool! Mark hyung, let's go see what's upstairs." But before Donghyuck could start bounding up the stairs, a tall man spoke up.

"Wait, before we go crazy, don't you guys think we should get to know each other first?" He said, laughing awkwardly.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at him, as if he had just interrupted their fun. He noticed everyone's eyes on him and smiled nervously.

"Well, I'm- my name is Johnny. I'm 21 years old. When I was a kid I lived in Chicago-"

"Yeah, actually, thanks for the idea... Johnny." Doyoung interrupted. "If we're gonna be living with each other, we should at least know each other's names." He then went over to the couch in the living room and sat down. Everyone else quickly followed suit until all 10 boys were comfortably gathered in the living room.

Taeyong sat next to Johnny and spoke up next. "I'm Lee Taeyong... also 21 years old." Not knowing what else to say, he elbowed Mark, who was sitting next to him.

"Hey, what's up everybody. I'm Mark Lee, 17 years old, and this is my best friend Lee Donghyuck."

Donghyuck pushed Mark playfully. "Yah, I can introduce myself you idio-" Suddenly, he remembered that Mark was older than him and decided not to insult him in front of everyone. "Hahaha yeah, I am Donghyuck and I'm 16 years old. I have a feeling that I'm the youngest here so please take care of me!"

After Donghyuck was a quiet, shy kid. "Hi, everyone. I'm Dong Sicheng, 19. I moved to Korea when I was little but I'm originally from China."

"I like him." Donghyuck whispered to Mark. "He seems nice. And cute, like a scared little kid."

"Hi, name's Nakamoto Yuta, 21 years old. I'm from Japan, if you couldn't already tell." Yuta had a bright smile and gave off a friendly, carefree vibe, but also came off as someone that could be dead serious if he wanted to be.

"Moon Taeil, 22 years old. Umm, well I like singing, and I don't really know anyone here except for Taeyong over there, because we met earlier." He grinned at Taeyong, who smiled back.

"Hi, I'm Kim Jungwoo, 18 years old. I am very excited to be here and you all seem like lovely people." Jungwoo tried to make eye contact with every person in the group so that he could smile at them.

"Hello, I'm Jung Jaehyun, 19, I like sports and I lived in America for four years."

"Yo, Chicago too?" Johnny suddenly said.

Jaehyun laughed lightly and said, "No, I was in Connecticut but-"

"Jaehyun hyung, were you like an actor or idol or something before?" Donghyuck blurted out.

"Haha no, why?"

"Wah, I don't know, you're just so handsome. And your voice. Were you a singer?"

Mark let out an awkward laugh and swatted his friend's arm. "Seriously, you're so weird to ask something like that-"

"I mean, I sang for some talent shows at school." Jaehyun explained. "But thanks, Donghyuck. I'm so flattered-"

"Well ok!" Doyoung cleared his throat and smiled widely, but he had so much pain in his eyes that Taeyong almost laughed out loud, but he wouldn't dare make fun of Doyoung.

"I'm Kim Doyoung, 20 years old. I also like to sing." He nodded after his short speech and looked around at the group. "Well, I guess I'm the last person to introduce themselves, so this stupid icebreaker is finally over. What about this. Let's all get settled in our rooms first, and then we can explore the city. How does that sound?"

Everyone agreed and quickly dispersed around the house, continuing their own self-tours of the new home.

---

This diary belongs to Lee Taeyong!

It's nighttime now. After we all settled into our rooms, we all went to the mall together. On the way there, Donghyuck asked me what my deal was with Doyoung, because he said he could sense the tension between us. So I told him the whole story, and I guess I can briefly explain it here too. It's not like I'll ever let Doyoung read my diary anyways.

So basically we were the best of friends during our school days. We did everything together. We even always did the talent show together, even though Doyoung would be the only one actually performing. I liked writing songs back then, and Doyoung was the singer. But there was this one group of nasty kids- I guess you can call them the "popular kids"- that kept making fun of me because of my songwriting. One day, they started making fun of Doyoung too. They were trying to make Doyoung feel embarrassed that he was my friend, and they eventually succeeded. Doyoung joined their group and became just like them. He would tease me and bully me just like the popular kids. It used to hurt my feelings like hell, but after I got to know Mark and Donghyuck, things got a little better. Even though that just made the bullies make fun of me even more for "hanging out with the little kids", I stopped caring about what they had to say. Mark and Donghyuck never knew about my history with Doyoung though, until today. Back then, they only knew him as their senior, and someone who was very popular and cold-hearted.

Anyways, we picked roommates today before heading over to the Supermall. Taeil hyung and I decided to be roommates, and I'm ok with that because he's a pretty nice guy. At the mall, literally everyone from the city was there. Everyone was so excited, including me. The ten of us had ice cream, and then we went shopping. We all ended up spending all of our tickets, but it's fine because we get 10 new tickets the next day anyways. We all bought some clothes and food. There's also this automobile store there, but no one had enough tickets for anything in there yet. I mean, the cheapest vehicle there was a motorcycle and it cost 100 tickets. Don't know what we'll need cars and bikes for though. No one seems to mind the walking distance from their home to other parts of the city.

Man, our time at the mall today was really fun. We all had a good time. Even Doyoung and I shared a few laughs with each other.

After that, we all had dinner at the house. Jaehyun and I cooked for the boys. As we all ate dinner, we all got to know each other even better. The awkwardness from this morning is kind of gone now. I'm glad. We have a pretty good group.

But despite today being an unexpectedly fun day, I miss my parents. I hope there's a way to write to them or something.

Well, I gotta get up early tomorrow for the "Welcome Orientation" that the old guy was telling us about.

I'm kind of looking forward to it.

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-to be continued-