The lab that day seemed as if it were missing not much.
Han-kyum was standing at the bench, very closely observing and changing the stir speed, his eyes glued to the solution which was spinning in the flask. The color was consistent.
"Jin," he said, smiling and not being able to stop the smile himself, "you have to be seeing this as well, right?"
Jin moved closer with his head and looked at the data panel and then the mixture. He was speechless for a moment. Then, he burst into a short and incredulous laughter.
"It is sustaining itself," Jin said. "It is actually sustaining itself. No change in temperature, and no abnormal increase in pressure." He stood up straight and let out a long breath. "We are at 98%."
Han-kyum exhaled the air that he was holding without his knowledge. His shoulders dropped and the tension that had been there for days was relieved, for the first time, very slightly. "98%," he said quietly, "it is unbelievable that we have come so far."
"Well," Jin said, giving a slight push to him with his elbow, "it would be a jinx if you said that."
Han-kyum laughed. "Yes, I am sorry. I will keep quiet now."
They were like two parts of a single whole, both occupying different roles yet totally dependent on one another, as they had done before the event for a hundred times- Han-kyum following the reaction closely, Jin verifying the ratios and making notes. Each of their actions was like an old ritual and comforting too.
For a short time, they were almost like there in a normal laboratory. They were not imprisoned, nor was there a virus that was hurting the world outside these walls.
Jin interrupted their work with a statement. "You know, the moment when we actually finish this thing… I will take a sleep of three days straight…"
Han-kyum laughed loudly. "Wasn't it just three you said? I thought it would be a week."
Jin nodded. "Agree. But please, before that, you still owe me those drinks you promised."
Han-kyum was smiling as he imagining it clearly somewhere normal, somewhere noisy, not test tubes but glasses clinking. "Yes," he said with a low voice, "I remember."
The two of them exchanged a glance which was short but comprehensive. Neither of them voiced it but both were aware that finishing the cure was not the only thing that mattered. It was about staying alive until the next chapter."
"Alright," Jin said, making one clap with his hands, "let's save the feelings for later. We still need the stabilizer mixture for the final integration."
Han-kyum agreed by nodding his head and reaching the drawer under the bench with his hand.
Nothing.
He was confused and leaned down to check it again, this time much slower. "That's … strange."
Jin looked at him. "What is?"
"The stabilizer," Han-kyum said. "The one we got from the isolation yesterday. It should be here, right?"
Jin coming to the rescue was looking into the drawer. "No, it's supposed to be in the secondary drawer. The one labeled-"
Han-kyum already checking the side table moved there and revealing another drawer.
Jin's grin dwindled to nothing. "Alright. That's the point where the joke ends."
Han-kyum was slowly straightening his back. "I'm with you."
They started to open more drawers one after another, their actions becoming more intense and desperate.
Besides drawers and cabinets, they looked into shelves and a refrigerated unit. They had checked every place where that important mixture could logically be stored.
Nothing.
Jin was pulling his hair and exhaling through the nose. "No. No, no, no. That mixture doesn't just suddenly disappear."
"It cannot be that it is gone," Han-kyum said, however, already showing signs of doubt in his voice. "We documented it. We sealed it. I quite vividly remember that I put it—"
"In the amber vial," Jin completing the sentence, "with the red marker stripe on it. Yes. Me too."
They were standing there, and the noise coming from the machines was suddenly very loud and irritating.
"We are in dire need of that mixture," Jin uttered lowering his voice. "The cure will not stabilize in the long run without it. It will decompose."
Han-kyum was agreeing with him and his jaws were clenched. "It is the core of the final stage."
Jin was glancing at the door of the lab and then to Han-kyum. "Did anyone else come in here after we left last night?"
Han-kyum was unsure for a moment. "since when.. the laboratory is locked when we wake up this morning"
Jin gulped. "Then where the hell did it go?"
Han-kyum was forcing himself to be slow and accurate in his thinking, like he usually did when everything was falling apart. "Alright. We should not be freaking out now. It may have been moved for inspection. Or safety."
Jin laughed without a trace of humor. "They have been telling us since they started moving things that they do it without our knowledge?"
Han-kyum didn't give any reply.
They looked at each other, sharing the same unspeakable terror. If the disappearance of the mixture was not an accident, then it was not a mistake.
The lab, for now, is kept in the dark.
Han-kyum was slowly closing the last drawer and turning to Jin. "Without it, we cannot move on," he said with determination. "No shortcuts and no replacements."
Jin agreed by nodding his head, the emotions of fear and determination being present at once in his eyes. "Then we must find it. right now.."
Han kyum nods at him
they had looked at the labels not only once but twice and then for the third time as if to reassure themselves that they had read the labels correctly.
Han-kyum was standing in front of the bench, with his hands on the edge, and his eyes were moving over the surface although he already knew that it wasn't there. No result. Jin exhaled a breath that trembled and moved away from the table.
His legs did not hold him and he fell onto the little sofa that was against the wall and could hardly be called a piece of furniture suitable for rest.
He leaned over, with his hands on his knees, and his fingers ran through his hair. "I'm so tired..." Jin whispered and his voice was not smooth.
His head was tilted back with the support of the wall and his eyes were closed. "Can we take a break for just five minutes? Only five."
Han-kyum reacted immediately. "No." Jin was surprised to see that Han-kyum had his eyes wide open. "Han-kyum—" "No," Han-kyum repeated being even more determined this time. "We cannot rest. Not at this time." Jin, with a laugh lacking any trace of humor, showed his disbelief. "We haven't moved from this place for hours. I'm out of my mind. I can't even think."
"It is exactly because of that reason that we are not going to stop," Han-kyum said, bringing the point home. He removed his hand from his face after one round of walking and then stood still in front of Jin.
"That mixture didn't vanish on its own. There is a person who took it. And if we keep sitting here doing nothing, that is the time they get to have more power." Jin lowered his head and let out a big sigh. "I know. You're right. But I am only—" He waved his hand weakly in the direction of his body. "I'm completely worn out." Han-kyum was tightening his jaw. His tone slightly changed and he said, "I am like that as well. But if we slow down now, we will lose the momentum. And what we lose, if it is..." There was no follow-up from him. The silence between them was long, heavy, and suffocating.
Jin averted his gaze. "You behave as if the very moment we stop breathing, the world comes to an end." Han-kyum responded irritably, "The reason behind this is that for some people, it actually has already happened." Jin showed a sudden reaction to the words. "That's not right." "I'm aware," Han-kyum said, quickly, with his fists clenched by his sides. "I know. But taking a rest will not get the vial back."
Jin was on the verge of saying another thing when— —the lab speakers started to work. "Han-kyum," a very impersonal and cold voice was heard in the room. "Come to Elijah's office immediately." They both stopped moving as statues.
Jin was so surprised that he could hardly believe it. His head moved fast in the direction of the speakers. "What?" Han-kyum turned white as a sheet and his eyes followed the slow movement towards the source of the voice.
His heart was beating very fast. Of all the moments, why now? "It's not my fault," Jin said, hurriedly. He was on the point of going but stopped himself.
"You don't think—" "I really don't know," Han-kyum interrupted, already taking off his gloves. His actions were very deliberate and in control. "Don't move. " "Han-kyum—" "Thank you," he said, in a whisper,
"Just… refrain from touching." "I'll be back soon." Jin agreed by nodding his head, and as he lay down again on the sofa, the expression of his face was mixed with fear. "Be smart." Han-kyum gave no answer.
The only thing on his mind was getting out, and the sound of the speaker's request was still with him.
Han-kyum was walking down the hall with his footsteps echoing loud and each of them sounded like it was too loud in the quiet space. His hands were in the pockets of his lab coat but he was still clenching his fists and his fingers were very stiff.
Why now?
The more he walked the more his thoughts ran out of control. Was Elijah against the whole thing? Against the cure? hah Elijah was pretty much ignoring me yesterday, as if i didn't exist, like i was just another piece of equipment in the lab.
What changed?
Did he find something wrong with us? Han-kyum asked himself. Or maybe Yunseok that evil bit*h did something again,..?
The missing mixture kept flashing through his mind. His heart was not at ease.
Please, let it not be about stopping the cure, he thought. We are so close to making it. dont make this shut down.. hah
He stopped in front of the office door and after adjusting his breathing he made a single knock. No answer.
He opened the door by himself.
Elijah was in the office, but instead of sitting he was standing next to the desk. The room was even colder than the hall and the air was heavier. Papers were strewn over the table but Han-kyum barely glanced at them his eyes were on Elijah's hand.
The vial.
The very one.
The absence of the vial was the thing that caught the light of the office and was the reason it was so easy to see it was the vial that was held by Elijah's fingers.
Han-kyum's breath faltered.
Elijah slowly turned his face to Han-kyum, and what he saw there was pretty much an impassive face, dark and tired eyes instead of the usual sharp ones. Not even a bit, he raised the vial.
"Is this yours?"
how the hell did he get that..
"You took it," Han-kyum said tonelessly. And annoyed
Elijah didn't deny it. "I secured it."
"Secured?" Han-kyum moved closer to him, and couldn't stop himself from breaking through his weariness with anger. "That stuff should not be in your office. It's meant for the lab."
Elijah's jaw was clenched. "You left it unprotected."
"We were doing our work," replied Han-kyum with a snap. "You don't take something like that just for yourself without telling anyone."
Elijah's glance was a quick one. "And you don't think that everything is as simple as it seems around you."
Han-kyum gave out one sarcastic bitter laugh. "Simple? Elijah, that is a vial for the cure. There is no way to move forward without it. You are aware of that."
They stayed quiet for a while.
Elijah looked at the vial he had in his hand, his thumb by the glass. "Do you understand what I mean if this is done wrongly?"
"Yes," Han-kyum was quick to answer. "People die. This is why it should be done first and not just put away like that."
"What if Yunseok is the one who decides to do it quickly?" Elijah shot back. "What if Hanrae is behind pushing human trials when the drug is not even stable yet?"
Han-kyum was speechless.
"Exactly why we need to be the ones in control of it, not them," Elijah said with a quiet voice. "Not them but us."
Han-kyum's hands were shaking with anger. "Then return it to me," he was saying. "You are not entitled to make the decision alone."
i know his lying...
Elijah looked at him. For a second, he saw conflict in Elijah's eyes - maybe hesitation, or even guilt.
"It's not just a matter of science anymore," Elijah whispered. "It's leverage."
Han-kyum came closer to him with another step. "It's a hope," he said. "For all the people out there. Not for here. Not for your brother. Not for his evil games."
Elijah breathed in slow and long as if he was considering something really heavy.
"You think I don't know that?"
"Then stop being the obstacle," Han-kyum said, his voice trembling but still quite strong. "Because whether you like it or not, that thing is capable of saving lives. And I am not going to let anyone anyone use it as a hostage."
The fragile glass was carrying the weight of the world. It was a very thin separation between them with the vial hanging there.
Elijah stayed put.
Han-kyum watched the vial in Elijah's hand, disbelief slowly turning into irritation.
"You needed me here so badly," he murmured, his eyes narrowing. "And then you pull this shit?"
Elijah... did not seem particularly bothered by it. He was almost entirely relaxed, even though his fingers were only loosely wrapped around the vial. "I don't remember you saying that I could give the vial back if it was yours," he said.
Han-kyum let out a bitter laugh that was more of a sneer than anything else. "The reaction is going to be the most unstable without that compound—that compound is the main component of the cure. Jin is the one who is waiting for it. The reaction can't stabilize without—"
"I know perfectly well what it is," Elijah interrupted.
That was enough to make Han-kyum fire back at him from within.
"So what's your problem then?" he retorted. "Why don't you go ahead and tell me why are you acting like this all of a sudden when you've been avoiding me for the last few days?"
Elijah only averted his eyes for a moment and then refused to answer.
Han-kyum was clenching his fists tightly. "It's not up to you to make this decision. There are people, such as the ones out there, who are dying. Jin could be the one to get hurt, if this fails. If you try to stop us—"
"I'm not the one," Elijah said softly.
"Then return it."
Nothing but silence.
Han-kyum sighed heavily, his patience running out. "You are so outrageous."
He spun around quickly as if he wanted to cool off with a few quick steps—but when he noticed Elijah moving behind him, his fight or flight response took over.
He bolted.
Not a great distance just enough so that he could turn back around and throw himself at Elijah.
"Elijah—!"
Han-kyum went for the vial locating Elijah's wrist with his hand—
Not fast enough.
Without hesitation, Elijah elevated his arm, the vial being held at a safe distance from Han-kyum's reach, was far above his head.
"Hey!"
Han-kyum exclaimed catching a bit off guard and trying to tear at Elijah's coat with his hand, "You're not being fair give it here!"
Elijah was not uttering a single word. All he was doing was…looking at han kyum
Han-kyum attempted once more to step toward Elijah, lift his hand only to find out that they were quite close to each other at that moment.
Their bodies were almost touching, and you know, he could sense Elijah's warmth, and also, there was this slight chemical smell coming from his lab coat.
That's when Elijah too he noticed it, the fact How close Han-kyum was.
Han-kyum tried once more with his hand, his anger trickling out like, "You're doing this on purpose aren't you?"
Not quite.
His mouth was twitching, only barely noticeable.
"You're not as tall as I thought you were,"
he said quietly.
"You—" Han-kyum was caught off guard, scowled and then said, "You absolute—". "just give it already!"
Before he had a chance to finish, Elijah was already on the move.
Closer.
With just one fluid gesture, Elijah seized Han-kyum's wrist and pulled him towards himself not forcibly, but firm enough for Han-kyum to lose his balance and lean forward his chest coming into contact with Elijah's arm.
The vial was still out of reach.
Han-kyum gasped, his heart skipping a beat, and he looked up.
They were way too close.
Elijah was towering above him now, he was smirking and his eyes dark and focused. One of his hands was still holding the vial up high. The other was the one that was keeping Han-kyum right there.
For a flash of time, Han-kyum lost his ability to speak.
He was painfully aware of how little room there was between them. How Elijah hadn't let go. How his grip was strong almost like he was protecting him.
"Why,"
Han-kyum eventually, and quite quietly, in fact, voice being even lower than he intended to, "are you doing this?"
Elijah stared at him as if he were trying to figure out something that he didn't anticipate feeling.
"You don't see it,"
said Elijah in a low voice. "That is the problem."
Han-kyum gulps. Not even realizing it, he is standing right next to Elijah's chest, and it's so easy to lean one way or the other.
He didn't move an inch.
Neither did Elijah.
The silence between them was long, intense, and risky.
Then, Elijah was speaking again, voice still firm and under control. "I'm still not handing it to you."
Han-kyum lost it.
Before his brain could even process it, he gave Elijah a pretty solid shove in the chest.
"Get away from me!"
Elijah was totally taken aback. He staggered backward, his heel hitting the corner of the desk.
"Han-kyum—"
Too late.
Trying to calm his frayed nerves only made things worse and Han-kyum grabbed his anger fist and drove it into Elijah's belly.
The very notable impact threw the breath out of his body.
"—gh!"
Elijah bent a little over, his grip weakening—
Clink.
The vial fell.
Everything was slow motion here.
Han-kyum couldn't take his eyes off it as he saw the fragment hit the floor, come off the ground once, then break transparent liquid spreading over the cold tiles.
"No—"
The odor got to them right away. Sharp. Metallic. One of a kind.
Han-kyum was rooted to the spot, his face turning pale as he stood there smelling the thing.
The whole world seemed to stop and wait.
Elijah was moving slowly as he adjusted his position, still having difficulty breathing, and then he put both his hands up in the air palms facing out, almost as if he was joking and very composed.
"It's not my fault," he said in a very indifferent tone.
You punched me," Han-kyum said, turning to face him.
"You—!" His voice cracked and then became tough. "Are you out of your mind?! Do you have any idea what you just did?!"
Elijah kept silent.
Han-kyum's fury knew no bounds.
"Do you know how many people it was going to save?" he yelled. "Jin—Jin gave me the most precious thing! We were at ninety-eight percent, Elijah! Ninety-eight!"
He again shoved Elijah, his hands trembling.
"You're a selfish person. You have no heart. Do you think this is a laughing matter?!"
"Goddammit, what is wrong with you?!"
Han-kyum didn't cease.
He simply was not able to.
"You think it helps if you raise your hands?" he retorted, his voice cutting like a knife. "You think it standing there as if you were some kind of an innocent made things alright?!?
He kicked a piece of broken glass across the floor with his foot.
"That vial meant the world to us!" he added, going back and forth like one who is locked up in a cage. "Have you ever thought about how long it took us to work on that? Have you ever thought about how many times Jin didn't sleep just because of it? Because of people like you—"
He pointed a finger at Elijah's chest.
"—who play power games while the planet is on the verge of collapse!"
Elijah's hands were at his sides now, but his face was still very composed, in fact, too composed.
That made Han-kyum's rage boil over even more.
"Don't look at me like that," Han-kyum warned. "I'm the last one you should be looking at like that. Don't even think that I'm the crazy one here. You're the one creating the mess. You were the problem all along."
He laughed his words off with a scoff.
"I was right. You being indifferent to me, it was a secret between us, you pretending not to care this was all some terrible way of controlling me, wasn't it?"
Elijah moved nearer.
Han-kyum stood his ground.
"Oh, really? What?" Han-kyum laughed derisively. "Are you going to threaten me now? Do it. Say it. Say whatever for once in your life—"
"Enough," Elijah interrupted softly.
Han-kyum immediately interrupted him.
"No. Don't tell me 'enough.' This is not your call to make. You were not supposed to be the one taking that thing and now here it is because of your ego—
Elijah came even closer.
There was almost no distance left between the two of them.
Not only that Han-kyum saw it, yet he didn't quit.
"And don't you dare think I won't spill the beans to Jin if I don't tell you right here, right now. No matter who you think you are, Elijah—"
Just at that moment—
Elijah grabbed Han-kyum's collar and brought him towards himself. With force.
Han-kyum was so taken by surprise that he could barely initiate any counteraction before Elijah kissed him. (it was almost passionate)
It was sudden a intense, it was the kind of gesture that breaks the noise.
Han-kyum was not able to move.
His tongue was tied right away.
In that brief moment, his brain totally shut down.
Elijah withdrew quite quickly as well.
"Shut up," he instructed softly. "Only for a moment."
Han-kyum was looking at him completely dumbfounded his eyes were as big,
"And what the hell was that you just did?" he muttered, his voice quivering with a combination of anger and disbelief.
I needed you to stop yelling," he told her. "You weren't listening at all."
Once again Han-kyum's disbelief turned to anger.
"You think…" his voice trembled, "you think you can just do that and act like nothing's happened?"
He pushed Elijah away.
"You crossed a line," Han-kyum said, clenched his teeth. "Don't ever, even think, like that again."
Elijah grabbed a hold of himself, his eyes turning cold.
"Then listen," he said. "Because that vial wasn't taken for nothing."
Han-kyum's rage stopped for a moment—just barely.
"…What are you talking about?"
Elijah let the air out of his lungs slowly as if he had been holding his breath all the time. "The vial didn't break," he said."
Han-kyum was so shocked that his face looked like it was going to fall off the floor.
Elijah bent down and with his fingers grabbed the small metal casing that was lying amongst the broken pieces of the glass. The clear thing, which was quite bright, was still inside - not even a bit of it had been taken out.
"I changed it," Elijah explained. "The one you dropped was a fake."
Han-kyum was so shocked that he could hardly breathe. "You—the hell you did?"
If that flask contained the real mixture," Elijah said in a soft voice, " then Hanrae or Yuensok would be the ones having it already."
After that, he was not holding the vial lightly, as when he was playing with it or provoking. Instead, he was quite serious, and the vial was in his grasp firmly. "Also Jin is with them," Elijah said. "No doubt Jin is the one they are most worried about."
"You know that Jin is the one in danger, right?" Han-kyum was so shocked that he could hardly breathe. "Did I get it right that you are saying Jin is the one who is in danger?"
That was a very long time without any kind of noise. Their looks and speaking were quite different from what they had just been before a couple of minutes ago.
"The reason I had to take it away from here is to make it safe," Elijah said. "And I need it to make something else."
Han-kyum was just about to speak but couldn't. "What?"
"A shield," Elijah said. "Not a cure. Not yet. Something that keeps the infected alive long enough to survive what they're planning."
Han-kyum was not angry anymore but just a little bit of his anger was still left behind.
"You must have not kept it from me," his voice was not so good, and he said it as like annoyed
"and.. we've been thinking this for a long time.." "your a chemist and why are you not helping..?"
Elijah clenched the vial with determination, his eyes turning almost black.
"I just can't assist you in making the cure," he said in a low voice but with a hint of irritation. "If I do it... I'll be the one suffering."
Han-kyum was overwhelmed with anger but at the same time he felt a sudden pang of anxiety. "So what... what am I supposed to do then?"
Elijah's face was stern and unwelcoming. "You carry it out. I will be there as a silent witness. I will ensure that no one disturbs the work... but I cannot do more than that."
Han-kyum was shaking, he almost shouted. "You don't understand! You're the one who should be looking after us, not... sitting there like a—"
Elijah interrupted him with his cold stare: "And if I go beyond there, you, Jin… and everyone else will be the ones to suffer. Got it?"
He felt the pressure in his chest and exhaled long and uneven. "Okay... okay," he said in a low voice, his body still stiff with tension, trying to regain control over his thoughts. "I will take care of it… personally. But I promise, I'm not going to forget this."
Elijah was not reacting right away but only maintained his calm stare. The quiet between them was longer and heavier but at the same time it was full of the unspoken things that Han-kyum couldn't figure out.
While leaving, a thought about that kiss suddenly blinked across his mind. The memory assaulted him like a bolt of lightning. Quick. Sudden. Warm. And utterly infuriating.
He came to a halt, cheeks heated. "...Let's pretend that never happened," he said, almost to himself, and the sound of his voice was more like a whisper than a speak.
Elijah smiled a bit, as if he knew what was going through his mind. He was slowly nodding his head. "Alright," he said, half smiling, and his eyes getting narrow also showed that he was in a good humor.
Han-kyum let out a breath, the muscles of his shoulder relaxing a bit and the tightness in his chest getting a little less strong so that he could keep on moving.
The walkway was still. The lab was just around the corner. However, for a brief moment, the memory was there, sparking and not uttered, in between them.
he fixed his lab cloth and get out in elijah office, then han kyum remembered the vial.. he said its fake.. he returned
"i forgot to tell you.. can i have the vial now..?"
"no not yet. be patient"
"UGH! Your such an a bit**" and he was swearing and closed the door loudly..
elijah looked at han kyum and smirked before he got out of his office
(to be continued) (do you enjoy)