[GBtR] Chapter 18
Title: Getting Back to Real
Chapter: (18/25+Epilogue) Hurry Up and Wait
Pairings: YooMin, HoSuJae
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, sci-fi, drama
Summary: After the events in Dreaming Back to This, the five have fled Korea and started to rebuild a new life for themselves far away. The past still haunts them, however, perhaps even more than they first realized.
Notes: I apologize in advance for this writing. I agonized over this chap for the last two weeks, but it still feels little better than the stuff I used to write when I first got into fanfic writing waywayWAY too many years ago... :/
Previous: Dreaming Back to This, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Interlude, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17
Chapter 18: Hurry Up and Wait
Hyunae gets the boys and Tessa settled into a hotel then immediately flags down a taxi to take her to the Centre. As the streets pass by, she recalls what Yoochun had told them on the plane after his nap: Changmin thinks he's 14 again and still a dutiful student at the Centre.
She'd known that Phillips had been working on methods to block a person's memories; no one had told her they'd progressed far enough for it to be used successfully. She suspects that the bodily damage Yoochun had described was just a manifestation of the battering Changmin's mind had taken in the process. Until she can see him in person, though, she won't know for sure.
The car pulls over to the curb in front of the large building, and Hyunae pays the fare before stepping out and staring up at the imposing structure. Though, she thinks, perhaps it's only imposing because she knows what goes on inside. Without another moment's hesitation, she punches the entry code into the door's keypad and strides through the lobby past security.
She heads straight up towards Phillips's office, knowing the man will most likely be keeping Changmin in one of the maximum security rooms nearby.
Whether Phillips is there or not, he'll have someone with Changmin at all times. Even as late as it is, Hyunae will be able to get the information she wants. She finds the room easily enough and steps into the connected observation room, not at all surprised to find three doctors poring over files and the machines tracking Changmin's vitals.
"So, anyone want to bring me up to speed?" she asks, haughty and fully expecting answers as the mask she always wears at the Centre slips into place. The men turn to her, practically stumbling over each other to fill her in on all the details. Hyunae half-listens, most of their explanations simply confirming the theories she'd formed on the ride over.
The other half of her attention focuses on the still body through to the window looking into the next room. Changmin is laying flat on his back, eyes closed, chest rising and falling slowly. If she didn't know he'd locked himself far beyond the Centre's reaches, she'd almost think he's just sleeping. But she does know, even if the doctors don't, exactly why the teenager remains unconscious despite all their best efforts to wake him.
She's gratified to see no physical damage to his body, the injuries Yoochun had mentioned now confirmed to have been all mental. The doctors confirm that they'd successfully "reset" him to just after his 14th birthday, before Changmin had ever started having reservations about the Centre. When the men finish speaking, Hyunae thanks them for the information then heads to her own office.
He's fine, she sends to Yoochun once her door closes behind her. Well, as fine as he can be. No physical injuries, though I did get verification that the Centre is responsible for his memory loss. They wanted him back at an age when he still trusted them to make him more cooperative.
There's a long pause before Yoochun responds. How'd they manage it, though? he asks. If he was as safe in our core as you said, if they really can't touch him there, how did they take his memories away from him?
She shifts some papers around on her desk, anything to keep her hands busy while she talks to Yoochun. They didn't take the memories, Chun, she explains. They're still there somewhere, just locked away where it's difficult for Changmin to find them. And he is still safe in your core; that hasn't changed. I believe only his conscious mind is locked in there, though, which is why they can't get him to wake up. His subconscious is either all outside or has the power to move back and forth, giving the Centre the opportunity to grab those memories and block them off.
There's another long pause, but it doesn't bother Hyunae. She'd learned early on that Yoochun's a thinker; he tends to run things over in his mind several times before reacting to them. She's content enough to give him the time to sort his thoughts. How do we fix it then? he finally replies. If the memories are still there, there has to be a way to unlock them, right?
I'm sure there is, she reassures him. It only makes sense after all. The doctors had even admitted they couldn't get rid of the memories completely. Just like energy, memories can't be created or destroyed. Moved and manipulated, yes, but not taken away completely, so I'm sure there is a way to restore them. I don't know exactly what that way is yet, but I'm going to work on getting more information about what they did. We'll figure it out, Chun.
Okay, he answers quietly. It lacks some strength and confidence, but at least it isn't defeated and depressed. Not yet. Hyunae silently vows to herself to find the answers as quickly as possible. She doesn't want to face the possibility of losing Yoochun to his own hopelessness if she can't figure out how to get their Changmin back.
~*~~*~
Yoochun finishes passing on all of the information he'd gotten from Hyunae, and the other four just stare at him as it all sinks in. "So... what do we do now?" Junsu eventually asks, glancing around the room at everyone else.
"We should just go in and get him," Yunho states. "We've already done it once, so now we know any weak spots we need to work on. Bring him back with us and maybe, once he feels safe again, he'll wake up on his own." Tessa nods her agreement, always ready to jump into action headfirst.
Junsu shakes his head, predictably disagreeing with Yunho's idea. "Except he won't feel safe again," he points out. "He is, mentally at least, just barely 14 again. He doesn't know us anymore, Yunho. In fact, if I remember correctly, he wasn't even entertaining serious doubts about the Centre back then. If anything, he'll feel safe there right now than here."
Yoochun hates to admit it - the possibility that Changmin would likely trust the Centre over them if he were awake churns Yoochun's stomach - but he knows Junsu has a point. They're no better than strangers to Changmin right now, and he can't see risking any of them getting hurt or worse in a pointless attack on the Centre.
Just as Yoochun is about to voice his thoughts, Jaejoong beats him to it. "I think Junsu's right," he says softly. "We should probably wait and see if we can get Min's memories back first. He'll have a better chance of waking up then, and we won't be needlessly scaring him even more than he probably already is."
Yunho scowls but doesn't protest, likely upset with the logic for the same reason Yoochun is. It sucks to admit that there's really not a whole lot they can do for Changmin. Tessa, on the other hand, frowns rather mutinously. "So, what, we're just gonna leave him there?"
"For now, yes," Yoochun replies, gentle but unyielding. He resents the implication that they are in any way abandoning Changmin, but he knows that now is not the time to fight that out with her. "It sucks, Tessa, I know, but you haven't seen him. The way he is now, his current mental age, if we just went in and took him from the Centre, it would terrify him. He's hardly more than a child right now, and he's not ready for that. We need him to either remember us or at least get to the point where he no longer trusts the Centre again."
Twin sighs echo from both Yunho and Tessa, but both stay quiet this time. "So if we can't go get him," Yunho eventually questions, "what is our plan?"
"I think we need to wait to get more information from Hyunae before we can make a real plan," Jaejoong answers. "We need to find out exactly what the Centre did to him and how they did it so we can then start figuring out how to reverse it. Until then... maybe just talk to him? Help him start seeing that the Centre isn't really what he thinks it is."
Junsu reaches over to take Jaejoong's hand as he nods. "That makes sense," he agrees. "That way we have two different avenues working towards getting him out of there as soon as possible, whichever one gets through to him first."
"And in the meantime," Yunho adds, tone firm to leave no room for negotiation on this point, "we start working on a plan to get us in there. And I say, if we don't have any progress with Min in those areas within maybe three weeks, we go for him anyway. It may scare him for a bit, but we can work on getting his memories back just as easily when he's here, safe, with us."
Chapter: (18/25+Epilogue) Hurry Up and Wait
Pairings: YooMin, HoSuJae
Rating: PG-13
Genre: AU, sci-fi, drama
Summary: After the events in Dreaming Back to This, the five have fled Korea and started to rebuild a new life for themselves far away. The past still haunts them, however, perhaps even more than they first realized.
Notes: I apologize in advance for this writing. I agonized over this chap for the last two weeks, but it still feels little better than the stuff I used to write when I first got into fanfic writing waywayWAY too many years ago... :/
Previous: Dreaming Back to This, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Interlude, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17
Chapter 18: Hurry Up and Wait
Hyunae gets the boys and Tessa settled into a hotel then immediately flags down a taxi to take her to the Centre. As the streets pass by, she recalls what Yoochun had told them on the plane after his nap: Changmin thinks he's 14 again and still a dutiful student at the Centre.
She'd known that Phillips had been working on methods to block a person's memories; no one had told her they'd progressed far enough for it to be used successfully. She suspects that the bodily damage Yoochun had described was just a manifestation of the battering Changmin's mind had taken in the process. Until she can see him in person, though, she won't know for sure.
The car pulls over to the curb in front of the large building, and Hyunae pays the fare before stepping out and staring up at the imposing structure. Though, she thinks, perhaps it's only imposing because she knows what goes on inside. Without another moment's hesitation, she punches the entry code into the door's keypad and strides through the lobby past security.
She heads straight up towards Phillips's office, knowing the man will most likely be keeping Changmin in one of the maximum security rooms nearby.
Whether Phillips is there or not, he'll have someone with Changmin at all times. Even as late as it is, Hyunae will be able to get the information she wants. She finds the room easily enough and steps into the connected observation room, not at all surprised to find three doctors poring over files and the machines tracking Changmin's vitals.
"So, anyone want to bring me up to speed?" she asks, haughty and fully expecting answers as the mask she always wears at the Centre slips into place. The men turn to her, practically stumbling over each other to fill her in on all the details. Hyunae half-listens, most of their explanations simply confirming the theories she'd formed on the ride over.
The other half of her attention focuses on the still body through to the window looking into the next room. Changmin is laying flat on his back, eyes closed, chest rising and falling slowly. If she didn't know he'd locked himself far beyond the Centre's reaches, she'd almost think he's just sleeping. But she does know, even if the doctors don't, exactly why the teenager remains unconscious despite all their best efforts to wake him.
She's gratified to see no physical damage to his body, the injuries Yoochun had mentioned now confirmed to have been all mental. The doctors confirm that they'd successfully "reset" him to just after his 14th birthday, before Changmin had ever started having reservations about the Centre. When the men finish speaking, Hyunae thanks them for the information then heads to her own office.
He's fine, she sends to Yoochun once her door closes behind her. Well, as fine as he can be. No physical injuries, though I did get verification that the Centre is responsible for his memory loss. They wanted him back at an age when he still trusted them to make him more cooperative.
There's a long pause before Yoochun responds. How'd they manage it, though? he asks. If he was as safe in our core as you said, if they really can't touch him there, how did they take his memories away from him?
She shifts some papers around on her desk, anything to keep her hands busy while she talks to Yoochun. They didn't take the memories, Chun, she explains. They're still there somewhere, just locked away where it's difficult for Changmin to find them. And he is still safe in your core; that hasn't changed. I believe only his conscious mind is locked in there, though, which is why they can't get him to wake up. His subconscious is either all outside or has the power to move back and forth, giving the Centre the opportunity to grab those memories and block them off.
There's another long pause, but it doesn't bother Hyunae. She'd learned early on that Yoochun's a thinker; he tends to run things over in his mind several times before reacting to them. She's content enough to give him the time to sort his thoughts. How do we fix it then? he finally replies. If the memories are still there, there has to be a way to unlock them, right?
I'm sure there is, she reassures him. It only makes sense after all. The doctors had even admitted they couldn't get rid of the memories completely. Just like energy, memories can't be created or destroyed. Moved and manipulated, yes, but not taken away completely, so I'm sure there is a way to restore them. I don't know exactly what that way is yet, but I'm going to work on getting more information about what they did. We'll figure it out, Chun.
Okay, he answers quietly. It lacks some strength and confidence, but at least it isn't defeated and depressed. Not yet. Hyunae silently vows to herself to find the answers as quickly as possible. She doesn't want to face the possibility of losing Yoochun to his own hopelessness if she can't figure out how to get their Changmin back.
~*~~*~
Yoochun finishes passing on all of the information he'd gotten from Hyunae, and the other four just stare at him as it all sinks in. "So... what do we do now?" Junsu eventually asks, glancing around the room at everyone else.
"We should just go in and get him," Yunho states. "We've already done it once, so now we know any weak spots we need to work on. Bring him back with us and maybe, once he feels safe again, he'll wake up on his own." Tessa nods her agreement, always ready to jump into action headfirst.
Junsu shakes his head, predictably disagreeing with Yunho's idea. "Except he won't feel safe again," he points out. "He is, mentally at least, just barely 14 again. He doesn't know us anymore, Yunho. In fact, if I remember correctly, he wasn't even entertaining serious doubts about the Centre back then. If anything, he'll feel safe there right now than here."
Yoochun hates to admit it - the possibility that Changmin would likely trust the Centre over them if he were awake churns Yoochun's stomach - but he knows Junsu has a point. They're no better than strangers to Changmin right now, and he can't see risking any of them getting hurt or worse in a pointless attack on the Centre.
Just as Yoochun is about to voice his thoughts, Jaejoong beats him to it. "I think Junsu's right," he says softly. "We should probably wait and see if we can get Min's memories back first. He'll have a better chance of waking up then, and we won't be needlessly scaring him even more than he probably already is."
Yunho scowls but doesn't protest, likely upset with the logic for the same reason Yoochun is. It sucks to admit that there's really not a whole lot they can do for Changmin. Tessa, on the other hand, frowns rather mutinously. "So, what, we're just gonna leave him there?"
"For now, yes," Yoochun replies, gentle but unyielding. He resents the implication that they are in any way abandoning Changmin, but he knows that now is not the time to fight that out with her. "It sucks, Tessa, I know, but you haven't seen him. The way he is now, his current mental age, if we just went in and took him from the Centre, it would terrify him. He's hardly more than a child right now, and he's not ready for that. We need him to either remember us or at least get to the point where he no longer trusts the Centre again."
Twin sighs echo from both Yunho and Tessa, but both stay quiet this time. "So if we can't go get him," Yunho eventually questions, "what is our plan?"
"I think we need to wait to get more information from Hyunae before we can make a real plan," Jaejoong answers. "We need to find out exactly what the Centre did to him and how they did it so we can then start figuring out how to reverse it. Until then... maybe just talk to him? Help him start seeing that the Centre isn't really what he thinks it is."
Junsu reaches over to take Jaejoong's hand as he nods. "That makes sense," he agrees. "That way we have two different avenues working towards getting him out of there as soon as possible, whichever one gets through to him first."
"And in the meantime," Yunho adds, tone firm to leave no room for negotiation on this point, "we start working on a plan to get us in there. And I say, if we don't have any progress with Min in those areas within maybe three weeks, we go for him anyway. It may scare him for a bit, but we can work on getting his memories back just as easily when he's here, safe, with us."