Illegal Relationships

On that fateful day, citizens of our country awoke to an era vastly different from the one they knew.

To an era where the very fabric of human rights had been marred.

A new law, named 'Relationship Qualification Act', had been forced upon us by the government, despite vehement protests. This legislation mandated that all individuals born after the year 2004 must complete a comprehensive educational course at the Love School—an institution owned by the state—once they turned eighteen.

The official reason was a disturbingly increasing number of divorces, break ups and cases of partner cheating within our population.

Refusal to comply with this mandate, or an inability to successfully graduate from the Love School, would render a person forever barred from entering into any romantic relationship - a dire consequence that awaited both myself and my girlfriend Sakura, who I had been dating for two years.

Fearing of being labeled as criminals, victimized simply for loving each other, we had no choice but to break up. Had we been born a mere year sooner, we might have evaded this oppressive predicament.

Unfortunately, the cruel reality was, that being eighteen years old, our generation was the first one to test this sadistic experiment.

And so, fueled by our burning love, we both enrolled at the so called ‘Love School’ together as the first years, in order to fight for our right to love each other and have a meaningful relationship.

There were multiple branches of the Love School throughout the country. It was certainly peculiar that the government could suddenly afford to fund this additional education for thousands of students, as well as the facilities and personnel.

Studying at the school meant that we would not come home for six whole months. Our mobile phones were confiscated and our parents were not allowed to visit or contact us.

As painful as it was to undergo such a ridiculous ordeal, it was still just a half a year. We would immerse ourselves in studies, conquer the final exam, acquire our hard-earned diplomas, and regain our freedom. Simple enough.

However, on 10th of July, the day of our enrollment, we soon discovered that the school diverged dramatically from any other learning establishment we had known.

Roughly fifty other people congregated in our designated classroom, their chatter dissipating into a hush upon the entrance of who we presumed to be our teacher. Clad in a somber black suit, his identity was concealed by a black leather bag over his entire head. A whimsical pink heart was drawn on the place where his face should have been. He instructed us to open the textbooks we received at the entrance on page one.

I was sitting next to Sakura, who wanted to hold my hand, but such gestures were at our age and without a diploma considered nothing but a crime against the state.

I didn’t blame her for feeling uneasy.

As the students all reluctantly opened their books like they were told to, everybody fell immediately asleep. Including Sakura.

I was the only one who didn’t follow the instruction promptly, which made the ridiculously scary looking teacher grab my head forcefully and open the book for me.

To my bewilderment, on page one, there was nothing but a blank screen, which after flipping the book cover swiftly turned on.

Before I lost consciousness, I faintly registered only those four pink words:

[START A NEW GAME]

CHAPTER 0: END