Validation pt 4
Title: Validation
Chapter: 4/?
Author:
notochrasy
Rating: PG
Pairing: Kris/Luhan, not so much in this chapter but yeah (more Kris/Lay)
Genre: AU, Drama, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Summary:
55 years after a new radioactive mineral has been discovered and used as a new nuclear energy source for Earth,
the human population has changed. Exposure to the radiation to the natural human fertilisation process is hazardous.
Potential genetic anomalies may be overcome through the use of genetic engineering to assist IVF treatment.
Your choice to conceive naturally may be the choice that brings humanity to its demise.
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, blah blah blah.
Word count: ~2300
chapters: one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven
There’s a drawn out sense of tension in the rec room. Yixing stands silently, feet together, bloody hands held in front of him, eyes completely lost.
Kris stands up, leaving Chanyeol still seated and walks up to Yixing. “What did you do, Lay? And how does this concern Luhan?”
“I-I..I, just don’t tell him. Promise me you won’t tell him.” His voice is shaky and unsure.
Kris considers Yixing for a moment, the blood on his hands looks sticky, obviously fresh. “Tell me what happened first.”
“I’ve just been healing that’s all.”
There are small splatters of blood up his arm and on his shirt. “Who’s blood is that?” Kris sees hesitation in Yixing’s eyes. “I could swab it now and test it if you don’t want to tell me. I’ll find out regardless.”
“It’s Jongin’s.”
“Jongin…Kai…” Kris frowns, “How does this link to Luhan? I thought you guys were close anyway, this should be of little concern to him.”
“We are close, that’s why he can’t know. Luhan tells me everything, he’s an open book but he knows that he can’t expect the same from me… Didn’t you see the way he reacted with Sehun?”
“Excuse me? Sehun?”
“The new kid…” Yixing replies flatly.
Kris narrows his eyes, “It has a name?”
“Yeah…he told us after he settled in… And stop calling him an ‘it’.”
Chanyeol snorts from behind them. Kris turns around slowly to him and Chanyeol flashes his signature toothy grin.
“Fine.” Kris frowns, “He was mute on admission.”
Chanyeol stretches in his chair, “Maybe he didn’t think it was necessary to talk at the time.”
Kris raises a brow at Chanyeol, the boy made a fair point.
“Uh guys… can I at least get cleaned up? The blood is starting to smell weird.”
Kris turns back to Yixing, “The blood is oxidizing. Go ahead, I’ll follow, we can talk while you wash.”
* * *
“Well, continue.”
“Continue what?” Yixing strips himself to the waist and dumps the bloodstained shirt in the laundry basket. Kris grimaces and is glad he’s not sharing the basket.
“Continue from Luhan reacting with…Sehun” Kris sighs, uncomfortable with the new name.
“Ah yes,” Yixing turns on the tap and fills the basin with hot water. “Wait… should I re-enact that last part, the part before the last part, or do I just pick up from where you interrupted? I’ve kinda lost my train of thought.”
Steam clouds the washroom, and Kris isn’t sure if it’s rising from just the hot water or from his increasing frustration.
“Just stop avoiding the actual question and tell me why Luhan shouldn’t know about this.”
Yixing scrubs at his fingers, coloring the water red. “Luhan was brought up different. He doesn’t really understand the extent of our powers.” Flakes of dry blood underneath his fingernails soften. “His time here so far has been quiet, all his knowledge about us…Invalids, is from journals, articles, archived information. He chooses to believe that we’re all just…misunderstood, he doesn’t know what we’re capable of. Or maybe he does know but chooses to deny it.”
“That’s very insightful, Lay.” Kris says softly.
Yixing locks eyes with Kris, “Don’t patronize me.”
“I’m not.” He says through his teeth.
They glare at each other for a few seconds and then Yixing breaks eye contact and resumes washing himself.
“Luhan just isn’t ready to see the dark side of the powers.”
“The dark side? You’re a healer, Lay, what dark side is there?”
Yixing sloshes his hands around in the bloodied water. “You think Invalid powers are simply categorized as offensive and defensive?”
“Go on.”
“Everything exists in pairs, there’s a pull and push system in the world.”
Kris nods, “Kinda like Newton’s law, for every action there’s an opposite and equal reaction?”
“A little like that… but it’s not always opposite and very rarely equal.” Yixing empties the basin and the red water swirls down. “If I can heal, if I can restore something that is damaged…shouldn’t I be able to inflict that damage too? It’s like how there is no good without evil, no light without darkness. These things co-exist. My healing powers co-exist with my powers to inflict damage.”
Kris leans back against the washroom counter, “I’m not sure if I’m following. It’s possible for anyone to inflict damage.”
“It’s a different kind of damage, I’m sorry, it’s hard to explain.” He goes quiet, deep in thought. “You remember how Kyungsoo’s tests on me earlier this year showed that I can repair tissue by repairing collagen fibers?”
“Yeah, it was a breakthrough for the field of tissue regeneration. Kyungsoo was happy for weeks.”
“I can also rip them apart.”
“What?” Kris straightens up a little, moving away from the counter.
“The same way that I put them back together, I can pull them apart. And it’s not just the collagen fibers, I’m can pull apart nerve bundles, I can dilate the walls of blood vessels and cause an aneurysm…If I wanted.”
Kris edges back from Yixing, “If you wanted…”
Yixing dries his hands, leaving the palest pink of stains on the white towel. “But I don’t. I’m not that kind of person. But there are those type of people in this world. People who will abuse their powers. Luhan isn’t ready for that!”
Both of them are silent. Yixing stares at his feet, not sure what else to say.
“He’s like a kid.” Kris murmurs, breaking the silence.
“Yeah…Luhan’s a kid.” Yixing agrees, still staring at his feet.
Kris muses, “He’s older than you.”
“He’s older than you too.” He says looking up.
“Touché.”
A small smile forms on Yixing’s lips.
Zhang Yixing, also known as Lay or #9923LAY, is the oldest of all the Invalid cases that are currently staying at the Trident Rehabilitation Facility. Yixing was considered a unique case upon admittance due to the nature of his conception. He was not naturally conceived like other Invalids. His parents, both of the Invalid class had come upon an opportunity to be involved in a trial for genetically engineering assisted invitro fertilization (GEA-IVF). Deemed “fit” candidates for the trial, Yixing’s parents were guaranteed a child that would be classed as Valid if the trial was successful. Unfortunately the party that was heading the trial couldn’t seek out enough government funding and all the embryos were destroyed, having been labeled as “ruined”.
Of course, that’s what the government release claimed. If it had been true, Yixing would not exist today. A very small number of embryos were smuggled out before the bulk was destroyed and planted in surrogate mothers through out the Invalid community. These were to be born as the new generation of Invalids that would have a higher chance of integrating into wider society.
“So do you understand why Luhan shouldn’t be told now?”
“Yeah I understand.” Kris purses his lips, “I still want to know more though.”
“Know more about what?”
“About why you’re healing Kai.”
“Oh right… I forgot about that.”
Kris shakes his head in disbelief, “You really need to work on that, Lay.”
“Yeah I do,” Yixing says with a laugh. “Well, I think it’s best if you ask Kai.. I mean Jongin about it. Ask about his little leather book.”
“He doesn’t trust me.” Kris shrugs, “Probably because of when I had to get him sedated so I could inject the nano-bot substrate into him…”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t trust you either.” Yixing jests.
Kris laughs but then his face turns dark, “But seriously, I can’t ask him.”
“Get Luhan to do it. I’m sure Jongin would love to have a chat with him.”
“Why do you say it in that way?” Kris presses.
“As if it’s not obvious… Jongin likes Luhan. Why else do you think Luhan gets let into Jongin’s dream world?”
“What…so I haven’t been able to get through to Kai’s subconscious because he doesn’t find me attractive?” Kris swears loudly, burying his face into his hands.
“It’s not that simple. You still have to have a certain knack for it, which you still lack I guess.” Yixing says with a shrug.
Kris grinds his teeth in frustration, “How is that even possible, what does Luhan have that I don’t?”
“He definitely smiles a lot more.”
“Fuck, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Stop swearing…it’s annoying me,” Yixing scowls. “Hmm, Luhan emits a higher frequency electromagnetic field than you. I guess that makes it easier to bridge the gap between his subconscious and Jongin’s.”
“I never considered that. Interesting…” Kris shuffles his way toward the door of the washroom.
“What are you thinking?” Yixing calls out to him before Kris is completely out of the room.
“I’m just curious as to why his electromagnetic field is a higher frequency than mine, it would have to be a significant difference for you to be able to know with your..um..sensing..things...And perhaps I can somehow increase the frequency of mine…”
Yixing runs to the door and shouts down the hall, “Wow, competitive much?”
Kris is already around the corner and shouts back.
“Runs in my blood.”
* * *
There’s a sound of metal on metal as Kris walks into the shared lounge that connects to the staff kitchen. A short figure is standing in the kitchen, sliding a deep metal tray into the oven. And it smelled really really good. Kris’s stomach growls before he even utters a word and everyone in the room looks up. Baekhyun who was sitting on the dining table watching funny videos on his tablet, cracks up at the sound of Kris’s “entrance”, Kyungsoo who is slaving away in the kitchen dramatically turns around, clueless, and Luhan who is reading looks up from his book and offers a smile.
Kris cringes and wanders over to Kyungsoo. He peers into the oven and sniffs.
“Kimchi spaghetti right?”
Kyungsoo’s face brightens, “Yes, there wasn’t anything in the fridge so I went shopping and bought some stuff. Figured I might as well make lunch too.”
“I requested Kimchi spaghetti.” Baekhyun chimes in from behind his tablet.
“Smells good.” Kris compliments with another sniff and heads over to Luhan sitting in the lounge.
“Hey, can I talk with you for a minute?”
Luhan smiles, “Sure, what’s on your mind?”
Kris lowers his voice so the boys in the kitchen can’t hear, “How do you feel about homosexuality?”
“........That is a really random question.” Luhan tries to match Kris’s volume, “I guess it’s a little biologically impractical, but considering the gender segregation it’s definitely common. I have no issues with it.”
“I see.” Kris nods, pretending to be interested.
“Why do you ask?” Luhan whispers.
“Oh, nothing. Just something that came up in conversation earlier this morning.”
“Ah! About this morning, what was it that Chanyeol needed you for?” Luhan’s voice suddenly grows louder and attracts attention from Baekhyun who shot both of them a wink from the kitchen.
Remembering this morning in his room, Kris curses inwardly.
“He just asked a few random things. You know what he’s like.”
One side of Luhan’s mouth curled up into a half smile, “How about Yixing? I’m going to visit him after lunch if you want to come along.”
Kris catches himself before he blurts anything out. “You go ahead, I have some papers to work on this afternoon.”
“Okay.”
“Can I ask you a favor though?”
“Sure,” Luhan says as he stands up, “What is it?”
“After you visit Lay, can you visit Kai? And ask about his book. The small leather one.”
Kris stands and follows Luhan to the table where Kyungsoo has piled on generous servings of Kimchi spaghetti onto 4 plates. The melted cheese is baked golden brown, and the smell that is wafting throughout the room is mouthwatering.
Baekhyun cracks jokes between mouthfuls, mostly ones he picks up from watching funny videos on naver or daum. Everyone but Kris laughs, and it’s not that Kris doesn’t find the jokes funny, but with a mouthful of spaghetti he tries not to laugh or he’ll spit everything out.
“Hey Kris, your tremors have stopped.” Luhan points to Kris’s hand that is completely stable while holding his fork.
“Yeah, I guess they have.”
Kyungsoo shoots Kris a look of concern, “Tremors? What tremors?” But the question was directed at Luhan.
“He woke up shaking this morning.” Luhan replied while Kris continues to absently twirl the spaghetti around his fork.
“Has these been happening a lot?” Kyungsoo asks Kris.
Kris swallows, “Not at all, I just had a bad dream, that’s all.”
Kyungsoo exchanges an unbelieving glance with Baekhyun then looks back to Kris. “You know we’re only trying to help right?”
“We’re some of the best scientists in the country. We can definitely help.” Baekhyun adds in mischievously.
“Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.” Kris mumbles, “But really, I’m fine.”
Kris hears Luhan exhale loudly.
“Suit yourself.”
* * *
After lunch everyone goes their own way to resume work. Kyungsoo insists he should wash the dishes by hand but Kris manages to convince him to just let the dishwasher handle it.
Baekhyun pulls out his tablet again and heads back to his room, probably to continue watching random videos.
“Luhan?” Kris calls out before Luhan heads out.
Luhan looks at him expectantly.
“Remember to visit Kai okay?”
“Will do.” Luhan answers and he walks out leaving Kris alone in the lounge.
Kris stands there for a few minutes in the middle of the lounge, shoulders hunched, slightly oblivious to what he should do next. He then shrugs it off and stretches out on one of the couches.
Pulling out his phone from his pocket he drags down the lock screen and stares at the photo he set as his wallpaper last year. He quickly scrolls through his contacts and lets his phone dial a number he hasn’t seen in 11 months.
He puts the phone to his ear and swings his legs onto the couch. He lies down, his head propped up against the arm rest and listens to the call connecting tone. There’s a faint click and a soft feminine voice answers.
Kris breathes into the phone.
“Yoona?”
a/n:
next chapter, luhan visits yixing and has a talk with kai.
please enjoy your stay at the trident rehabilitation facility.
take note how crude classifications and false generalisations,
are curses of all organised human life,
and that cynicism is just humor in ill health.
hi. read, leave comment? or tweet me @notochrasy
Chapter: 4/?
Author:
notochrasy
Rating: PG
Pairing: Kris/Luhan, not so much in this chapter but yeah (more Kris/Lay)
Genre: AU, Drama, Sci-Fi, Dystopian
Summary:
55 years after a new radioactive mineral has been discovered and used as a new nuclear energy source for Earth,
the human population has changed. Exposure to the radiation to the natural human fertilisation process is hazardous.
Potential genetic anomalies may be overcome through the use of genetic engineering to assist IVF treatment.
Your choice to conceive naturally may be the choice that brings humanity to its demise.
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, blah blah blah.
Word count: ~2300
chapters: one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven
There’s a drawn out sense of tension in the rec room. Yixing stands silently, feet together, bloody hands held in front of him, eyes completely lost.
Kris stands up, leaving Chanyeol still seated and walks up to Yixing. “What did you do, Lay? And how does this concern Luhan?”
“I-I..I, just don’t tell him. Promise me you won’t tell him.” His voice is shaky and unsure.
Kris considers Yixing for a moment, the blood on his hands looks sticky, obviously fresh. “Tell me what happened first.”
“I’ve just been healing that’s all.”
There are small splatters of blood up his arm and on his shirt. “Who’s blood is that?” Kris sees hesitation in Yixing’s eyes. “I could swab it now and test it if you don’t want to tell me. I’ll find out regardless.”
“It’s Jongin’s.”
“Jongin…Kai…” Kris frowns, “How does this link to Luhan? I thought you guys were close anyway, this should be of little concern to him.”
“We are close, that’s why he can’t know. Luhan tells me everything, he’s an open book but he knows that he can’t expect the same from me… Didn’t you see the way he reacted with Sehun?”
“Excuse me? Sehun?”
“The new kid…” Yixing replies flatly.
Kris narrows his eyes, “It has a name?”
“Yeah…he told us after he settled in… And stop calling him an ‘it’.”
Chanyeol snorts from behind them. Kris turns around slowly to him and Chanyeol flashes his signature toothy grin.
“Fine.” Kris frowns, “He was mute on admission.”
Chanyeol stretches in his chair, “Maybe he didn’t think it was necessary to talk at the time.”
Kris raises a brow at Chanyeol, the boy made a fair point.
“Uh guys… can I at least get cleaned up? The blood is starting to smell weird.”
Kris turns back to Yixing, “The blood is oxidizing. Go ahead, I’ll follow, we can talk while you wash.”
* * *
“Well, continue.”
“Continue what?” Yixing strips himself to the waist and dumps the bloodstained shirt in the laundry basket. Kris grimaces and is glad he’s not sharing the basket.
“Continue from Luhan reacting with…Sehun” Kris sighs, uncomfortable with the new name.
“Ah yes,” Yixing turns on the tap and fills the basin with hot water. “Wait… should I re-enact that last part, the part before the last part, or do I just pick up from where you interrupted? I’ve kinda lost my train of thought.”
Steam clouds the washroom, and Kris isn’t sure if it’s rising from just the hot water or from his increasing frustration.
“Just stop avoiding the actual question and tell me why Luhan shouldn’t know about this.”
Yixing scrubs at his fingers, coloring the water red. “Luhan was brought up different. He doesn’t really understand the extent of our powers.” Flakes of dry blood underneath his fingernails soften. “His time here so far has been quiet, all his knowledge about us…Invalids, is from journals, articles, archived information. He chooses to believe that we’re all just…misunderstood, he doesn’t know what we’re capable of. Or maybe he does know but chooses to deny it.”
“That’s very insightful, Lay.” Kris says softly.
Yixing locks eyes with Kris, “Don’t patronize me.”
“I’m not.” He says through his teeth.
They glare at each other for a few seconds and then Yixing breaks eye contact and resumes washing himself.
“Luhan just isn’t ready to see the dark side of the powers.”
“The dark side? You’re a healer, Lay, what dark side is there?”
Yixing sloshes his hands around in the bloodied water. “You think Invalid powers are simply categorized as offensive and defensive?”
“Go on.”
“Everything exists in pairs, there’s a pull and push system in the world.”
Kris nods, “Kinda like Newton’s law, for every action there’s an opposite and equal reaction?”
“A little like that… but it’s not always opposite and very rarely equal.” Yixing empties the basin and the red water swirls down. “If I can heal, if I can restore something that is damaged…shouldn’t I be able to inflict that damage too? It’s like how there is no good without evil, no light without darkness. These things co-exist. My healing powers co-exist with my powers to inflict damage.”
Kris leans back against the washroom counter, “I’m not sure if I’m following. It’s possible for anyone to inflict damage.”
“It’s a different kind of damage, I’m sorry, it’s hard to explain.” He goes quiet, deep in thought. “You remember how Kyungsoo’s tests on me earlier this year showed that I can repair tissue by repairing collagen fibers?”
“Yeah, it was a breakthrough for the field of tissue regeneration. Kyungsoo was happy for weeks.”
“I can also rip them apart.”
“What?” Kris straightens up a little, moving away from the counter.
“The same way that I put them back together, I can pull them apart. And it’s not just the collagen fibers, I’m can pull apart nerve bundles, I can dilate the walls of blood vessels and cause an aneurysm…If I wanted.”
Kris edges back from Yixing, “If you wanted…”
Yixing dries his hands, leaving the palest pink of stains on the white towel. “But I don’t. I’m not that kind of person. But there are those type of people in this world. People who will abuse their powers. Luhan isn’t ready for that!”
Both of them are silent. Yixing stares at his feet, not sure what else to say.
“He’s like a kid.” Kris murmurs, breaking the silence.
“Yeah…Luhan’s a kid.” Yixing agrees, still staring at his feet.
Kris muses, “He’s older than you.”
“He’s older than you too.” He says looking up.
“Touché.”
A small smile forms on Yixing’s lips.
Zhang Yixing, also known as Lay or #9923LAY, is the oldest of all the Invalid cases that are currently staying at the Trident Rehabilitation Facility. Yixing was considered a unique case upon admittance due to the nature of his conception. He was not naturally conceived like other Invalids. His parents, both of the Invalid class had come upon an opportunity to be involved in a trial for genetically engineering assisted invitro fertilization (GEA-IVF). Deemed “fit” candidates for the trial, Yixing’s parents were guaranteed a child that would be classed as Valid if the trial was successful. Unfortunately the party that was heading the trial couldn’t seek out enough government funding and all the embryos were destroyed, having been labeled as “ruined”.
Of course, that’s what the government release claimed. If it had been true, Yixing would not exist today. A very small number of embryos were smuggled out before the bulk was destroyed and planted in surrogate mothers through out the Invalid community. These were to be born as the new generation of Invalids that would have a higher chance of integrating into wider society.
“So do you understand why Luhan shouldn’t be told now?”
“Yeah I understand.” Kris purses his lips, “I still want to know more though.”
“Know more about what?”
“About why you’re healing Kai.”
“Oh right… I forgot about that.”
Kris shakes his head in disbelief, “You really need to work on that, Lay.”
“Yeah I do,” Yixing says with a laugh. “Well, I think it’s best if you ask Kai.. I mean Jongin about it. Ask about his little leather book.”
“He doesn’t trust me.” Kris shrugs, “Probably because of when I had to get him sedated so I could inject the nano-bot substrate into him…”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t trust you either.” Yixing jests.
Kris laughs but then his face turns dark, “But seriously, I can’t ask him.”
“Get Luhan to do it. I’m sure Jongin would love to have a chat with him.”
“Why do you say it in that way?” Kris presses.
“As if it’s not obvious… Jongin likes Luhan. Why else do you think Luhan gets let into Jongin’s dream world?”
“What…so I haven’t been able to get through to Kai’s subconscious because he doesn’t find me attractive?” Kris swears loudly, burying his face into his hands.
“It’s not that simple. You still have to have a certain knack for it, which you still lack I guess.” Yixing says with a shrug.
Kris grinds his teeth in frustration, “How is that even possible, what does Luhan have that I don’t?”
“He definitely smiles a lot more.”
“Fuck, I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Stop swearing…it’s annoying me,” Yixing scowls. “Hmm, Luhan emits a higher frequency electromagnetic field than you. I guess that makes it easier to bridge the gap between his subconscious and Jongin’s.”
“I never considered that. Interesting…” Kris shuffles his way toward the door of the washroom.
“What are you thinking?” Yixing calls out to him before Kris is completely out of the room.
“I’m just curious as to why his electromagnetic field is a higher frequency than mine, it would have to be a significant difference for you to be able to know with your..um..sensing..things...And perhaps I can somehow increase the frequency of mine…”
Yixing runs to the door and shouts down the hall, “Wow, competitive much?”
Kris is already around the corner and shouts back.
“Runs in my blood.”
* * *
There’s a sound of metal on metal as Kris walks into the shared lounge that connects to the staff kitchen. A short figure is standing in the kitchen, sliding a deep metal tray into the oven. And it smelled really really good. Kris’s stomach growls before he even utters a word and everyone in the room looks up. Baekhyun who was sitting on the dining table watching funny videos on his tablet, cracks up at the sound of Kris’s “entrance”, Kyungsoo who is slaving away in the kitchen dramatically turns around, clueless, and Luhan who is reading looks up from his book and offers a smile.
Kris cringes and wanders over to Kyungsoo. He peers into the oven and sniffs.
“Kimchi spaghetti right?”
Kyungsoo’s face brightens, “Yes, there wasn’t anything in the fridge so I went shopping and bought some stuff. Figured I might as well make lunch too.”
“I requested Kimchi spaghetti.” Baekhyun chimes in from behind his tablet.
“Smells good.” Kris compliments with another sniff and heads over to Luhan sitting in the lounge.
“Hey, can I talk with you for a minute?”
Luhan smiles, “Sure, what’s on your mind?”
Kris lowers his voice so the boys in the kitchen can’t hear, “How do you feel about homosexuality?”
“........That is a really random question.” Luhan tries to match Kris’s volume, “I guess it’s a little biologically impractical, but considering the gender segregation it’s definitely common. I have no issues with it.”
“I see.” Kris nods, pretending to be interested.
“Why do you ask?” Luhan whispers.
“Oh, nothing. Just something that came up in conversation earlier this morning.”
“Ah! About this morning, what was it that Chanyeol needed you for?” Luhan’s voice suddenly grows louder and attracts attention from Baekhyun who shot both of them a wink from the kitchen.
Remembering this morning in his room, Kris curses inwardly.
“He just asked a few random things. You know what he’s like.”
One side of Luhan’s mouth curled up into a half smile, “How about Yixing? I’m going to visit him after lunch if you want to come along.”
Kris catches himself before he blurts anything out. “You go ahead, I have some papers to work on this afternoon.”
“Okay.”
“Can I ask you a favor though?”
“Sure,” Luhan says as he stands up, “What is it?”
“After you visit Lay, can you visit Kai? And ask about his book. The small leather one.”
Kris stands and follows Luhan to the table where Kyungsoo has piled on generous servings of Kimchi spaghetti onto 4 plates. The melted cheese is baked golden brown, and the smell that is wafting throughout the room is mouthwatering.
Baekhyun cracks jokes between mouthfuls, mostly ones he picks up from watching funny videos on naver or daum. Everyone but Kris laughs, and it’s not that Kris doesn’t find the jokes funny, but with a mouthful of spaghetti he tries not to laugh or he’ll spit everything out.
“Hey Kris, your tremors have stopped.” Luhan points to Kris’s hand that is completely stable while holding his fork.
“Yeah, I guess they have.”
Kyungsoo shoots Kris a look of concern, “Tremors? What tremors?” But the question was directed at Luhan.
“He woke up shaking this morning.” Luhan replied while Kris continues to absently twirl the spaghetti around his fork.
“Has these been happening a lot?” Kyungsoo asks Kris.
Kris swallows, “Not at all, I just had a bad dream, that’s all.”
Kyungsoo exchanges an unbelieving glance with Baekhyun then looks back to Kris. “You know we’re only trying to help right?”
“We’re some of the best scientists in the country. We can definitely help.” Baekhyun adds in mischievously.
“Thanks guys, I really appreciate it.” Kris mumbles, “But really, I’m fine.”
Kris hears Luhan exhale loudly.
“Suit yourself.”
* * *
After lunch everyone goes their own way to resume work. Kyungsoo insists he should wash the dishes by hand but Kris manages to convince him to just let the dishwasher handle it.
Baekhyun pulls out his tablet again and heads back to his room, probably to continue watching random videos.
“Luhan?” Kris calls out before Luhan heads out.
Luhan looks at him expectantly.
“Remember to visit Kai okay?”
“Will do.” Luhan answers and he walks out leaving Kris alone in the lounge.
Kris stands there for a few minutes in the middle of the lounge, shoulders hunched, slightly oblivious to what he should do next. He then shrugs it off and stretches out on one of the couches.
Pulling out his phone from his pocket he drags down the lock screen and stares at the photo he set as his wallpaper last year. He quickly scrolls through his contacts and lets his phone dial a number he hasn’t seen in 11 months.
He puts the phone to his ear and swings his legs onto the couch. He lies down, his head propped up against the arm rest and listens to the call connecting tone. There’s a faint click and a soft feminine voice answers.
Kris breathes into the phone.
“Yoona?”
a/n:
next chapter, luhan visits yixing and has a talk with kai.
please enjoy your stay at the trident rehabilitation facility.
take note how crude classifications and false generalisations,
are curses of all organised human life,
and that cynicism is just humor in ill health.
hi. read, leave comment? or tweet me @notochrasy