Strong arms encircled Han Kyum's waist just as the knob was about to turn.
Elijah picked him up off the ground before he could move
"W—wait—!"
Elijah's hold remained firm despite Han Kyum's startled twisting. He was carried as if he were weightless, one arm wrapped around his waist and the other hooked under his legs.
"Elijah, put me down! I wasn't even—
His voice was ineffective against Elijah's silent, steady gait.
Elijah remained silent. he was serious
Just that cold, focused expression like he had caught someone doing something unforgivable.
Han Kyum kicked lightly, palms pushing at Elijah's chest."Hey—seriously! Put me—"
Elijah just ignored han kyum
He carried Han Kyum through the hall, turned the corner, and pushed open a dark metal door with right shoulder.
Behind them, the door slammed shut.
Elijah didn't gently lower him until then.
Han Kyum gasped in shock as his back struck the wall.
"What's wrong with you, Elijah?While still catching his breath, Han Kyum snapped. "Why did you bring me here?"
Elijah moved to the front.
Han Kyum stopped talking right away.
because Elijah continued to get closer.
and closer and close :3
There was nowhere to go until Han Kyum's back was flat against the wall.
"Elijah...?"
His voice was shaky.
Elijah blocked Han Kyum's escape by raising an arm and bracing it against the wall next to his head. Abruptly, he raised his other hand and grabbed Han Kyum's chin, pushing his face up.
"Answer me.." elijah seriously looked down at han kyum. "Why are you trying to leave?..." he asked with those glowing deadly eyes
"its none of your business.." Han kyum confidently said and added "I just wanted to see and feel the outside world again.."
Elijah growls "NO!" he move his chin again "Look at me while i am talking.."
Han Kyum inhaled sharply, stunned at the command.
"Uh.. Elijah, you're—too close—"
Elijah stepped even closer.
(No space.)
Han Kyum's breath stuttered when Elijah's thumb brushed the corner of his lip—not soft, just deliberate.
"Elijah…" Han Kyum whispered. "What are you doing…?"
Elijah leaned in, forehead nearly touching his, his voice a rumble against Han Kyum's skin.
"Stopping you."
Han Kyum swallowed. Hard.
Elijah's grip on his chin tightened just slightly, pulling him closer.
"From leaving me again."
Han-kyum's chest only seemed to get tighter after each breath he took and the air eventually escaped from his mouth with a sharp exhale.
Enough.
He thrust both of his hands quite forcefully against Elijah's chest.
"Get off me."
Neither of them expected that power to be in Han-kyum's reaction. Elijah, confused and surprised, took half a step backward with his hand dropping from Han-kyum's chin.
Not wanting to give him the opportunity of a momentary silence, Han-kyum continued immediately.
"Are you out of your mind?" he said angrily, his chest still going up rapidly. "You don't get to physically assault me. You don't get to be the one who decides where I go, when I come, or if I breathe every single day!"
Elijah clenched his teeth. The fire in his eyes intensified but he refrained from making another advance towards Han-kyum.
"You were running away," Elijah stated, his voice lacking any emotion.
"No. your wrong," Han-kyum retorted quickly. "We've been stuck in this lab for like half a month or weeks.. And first of all i need freedom. Something that wasn't you towering over me like I'm some kind of thing."
That line pierced him.
Slowly, Elijah's fingers curled into fists by his sides.
"Do you think I'm unaware of the consequences of your leaving?" Elijah asked. "Do you think Yunseok won't come after you? Do you think Jin will survive if you vanish?"
Han-kyum became motionless.
"…Don't," he muttered in a low voice. "Don't use Jin."
"You already did," Elijah said critically. "The very moment you were heading to that door."
Neither of them spoke for a long time after that.
Han-kyum's laughter was almost nonexistent as it escaped his mouth.
"So, that's it? I'm the one that's stuck here because you're scared of what your brother might do?"
Elijah's eyes revealed a different story.
"I'm trapped as well," he said. "Don't think that you're the only one."
Han-kyum was not convinced. His temper was flaring up even more now and he went on to say:
"No, you keep making this decision over and over. Always. You choose to be loyal to the one who mistreats people like that!"
Elijah was only a step away from him now not stepping away from him, but like he needed some space to breathe.
"You don't understand," was his next line.
"Then tell me," Han-kyum said, daring him to do so. "Because if you look through my eyes, you are just another guard with a conscience problem."
That one hit him pretty hard.
Elijah really looked at him this time the way someone would look at another person they just met, and not superiors gave orders.
"Disobeying comes with a huge price that you are not aware of," Elijah said softly.
Han-kyum looked back at him and his eyes didn't waver though he felt the fear running down his spine.
"So stop pretending that you are my protector," he said. "Because the only thing you are doing is confirming that I was right to run."
There was no movement in the room.
Elijah didn't come in contact with him again.
At last, he walked away.
"Return to the lab," Elijah instructed, speaking in a hoarse voice. "We'll talk later"
Han-kyum fixed his lab coat, his hands still trembling, but his voice was resolute.
"No," he said. "We are not going to."
He moved in front of Elijah and headed to the exit.
This time, Elijah didn't intervene.
And that frightened him more than anything else.
Han-kyum reduced his noise level by half when he was back at the lab.
Not immediately after his arrival, he sat down. He was just standing next to the table, and he looked at Jin who was busy mixing the solution, his eyes slightly narrowed as if he was reliving some scene in his mind.
"Jin," Han-kyum called out after a long time.
Jin looked at him. "What?"
Han-kyum inquired with much caution and kept his voice very low: "What was it that happened earlier, when Ms. Hanrae came here? the time i leave the room cause elijah and i have some... m-meeting?"
Jin was so startled that his stirring motion was stopped midway. "…You noticed?" he inquired.
Han-kyum indicated affirmatively with his head. "You seemed to be under stress when I went out. And she, definitely, is not coming here just to 'see how things are going.'"
After a long exhale, Jin put down the glass rod he had been using to stir. "At first, she didn't change anything," he said. "But she was very close. Obviously she didn't give me any peace by asking the questions and she already knew the answers."
Han-kyum was deeply frowning. "Like what?"
"The cure," Jin answered. "Whether or not we were strictly following the original sequence. If we had made any changes. And whether the reaction was stable enough for… human testing."
Han-kyum clenched his teeth. "Let alone her doing that." Human testing.... he repeated in his own head
"Yap, you got it," was what Jin replied. "But she was still smiling while she was asking. As if she was waiting for me to make a mistake."
Han-kyum was running his hand over his hair in frustration. "Did she say anything about Elijah?"
Jin answered negatively by shaking his head. "Not at all. But she did mention the 'higher expectations.' Saying something along the lines 'errors won't be tolerated at this stage.'"
That caused Han-kyum to quietly make the sound of derision. "She acts like she's the boss."
"The funny thing is she really wants us to believe that," was what Jin replied. After a short pause, he added in a softer tone "Han-kyum… after leaving, she looked back at the samples. Not like a scientist would do. More like someone who is checking stock."
That made Han-kyum freeze.
"… So she's spying on us."
Jin was agreeing with that by nodding his head. "yea i think so."
There was a silence between the two of them which was only interrupted by the lab equipment that was working and making its usual noises.
Han-kyum was exhaling very slowly. "I'm glad you did."
"I was not going to take out your time with this, but…" I don't trust her," was what Jin answered with a small shrug.
His eyes went from the door to the table and then again to the door. "That's good. We see eye to eye, then."
With a quiet firmness, he was putting on his gloves, one by one. "Why don't we just complete this part? No slips."
Jin was agreeing with his plan by nodding. "Yeah. That's probably the smartest decision for now."
han kyum nods at jin
_____
Elijah walked in the hallway with mixed thoughts but then
A delicate sound came through the speaker system. "Elijah, your presence in the office is required at once. Please come to the office immediately," a mechanical voice said.
In disbelief, he looked at the watch, "Now?" he said aloud before heading to the office door.
When he got to the office, he was greeted with the creak of the door as he pushed it open. It was a very plain room, very brightly lit, and cold by the look of it. A young man, Seojun, was all there was in the room; and he was quite unfamiliar to Elijah.
Yuensok was not far from there, with his arms folded and his face not showing any emotion. "Elijah," he called out to him, "meet Seojun. From now on, Han kyum and jin will be his assistant"
Elijah got incredulous and his eyes became sharper. "Assistant? But… I was—" he started, pointing at himself l, "I've been handling this alongside with Han-kyum and Jin. Why—"
Yuensok was not amused as he spoke. "Your position has been put on hold temporarily. Seojun will be going to assist Han kyum and Jin from now. You, on the other hand, will perform other tasks."
He was silent and clenched his fists but there was an internal struggle within him. He could feel the shift – the position he had recently held, where he was working directly with Han-kyum, had been taken over without informing him.
Seojun moved a little nearer, speaking in a quiet and confident tone. "I'm here to assist. I'll follow the instructions and… make sure the work continues efficiently."
Measuring his character, Elijah was staring at him as if to say, "And you… understand the stakes here?" The question was very annoyed and low.
Seojun was very sure of himself and he even went as far as to say it without any sign of doubt or hesitation. "Yes. I'm aware."
Yuensok finally uttered the words, his eyes showing no signs of warmth. "No mistakes. And no buts. This is the end of it." With that, he exited the office, leaving only Seojun and Elijah present there.
Elijah slowly gave out the breath of air and the tension in him was somewhat relieved. "Well… looks like your first day is already more… interesting than expected," he said, half talking to himself, half to the assistant newly appointed.
Elijah just stood there for a few seconds, crossing his arms, visually and quietly evaluating Seojun. The kid's demeanor was literally spot-on—refined, self-controlled—
but there was something in his face that totally put Elijah off. Seojun kept looking at him without any doubt.
"I understand the character that I am to portray," he whispered. "I am not the one to disturb your work… however, I cannot be a silent spectator if mistakes are committed."
Elijah clenched his teeth. "Yes… because I am so bad at my job that I could use lessons," he said in a low voice. There was just the slightest trace of a smile on Seojun's face.
"Not lessons. Just… making sure everything is running smoothly." Elijah's spirit was vexed with a small flame of anger. As a matter of fact, he and Han-kyum had been closely working together,
he was in charge of the progress and the performance of the tasks and now, the presence of this new assistant who pretended as if he was the boss, was infuriating. "Okay, Elijah said this lastly, his tone being serious and sharp, 'Go on with your work. But I tell you, don't ever think that you are at a higher level than me.'" he looked at him with those glowing eyes
Seeing him be so serious, Seojun gave a slight nod as if to say he understood his words, though his face did not reveal his thoughts. "Noted"
_____
The lab was silent except for machines. Han-kyum was mixing some chemicals, totally busy in his work.
Noiselessly, the door moved aside and a new person came in-Seojun. and Seojun moved as if he was very sure of himself. At first, he did not say a word but only watched. After a while, Han-kyum looked up and saw a new face.
Frustrated, Elijah spoke. "This is your new assistant," he said flatly.
Seojun gave a slight nod, eyes focused, voice calm. "Hi my name is Seojun I'm here to assist," he said without any elaboration. (he is cold)
Han-kyum quickly looked at the new guy and saw that he was curious but polite. "You are new," he said.
"Yes," said Seojun, his voice unmoved, unreadable. He stayed at a distance, doing things only when it was necessary, and being careful not to attract attention.
Even though he was busy with his work, he was constantly looking around the lab and checking the chemicals. He was a model of efficiency and professionalism, but there was something remote, careful in his manner of walking, as if he was hiding more than revealing.
Elijah's clenched his teeth tighter. The new assistant had a suspicious atmosphere in the room. The tasks that Elijah had been doing were now being closely watched, and he was being replaced, without even realizing it. he growls and as he irritatedly rub the back of his neck
Minutes later , elijah just watched, seo jun and Han kyum became suddenly close. he bit his lip and walked away
(To be continued)