Han-kyum entered the code, and the lock clicked open. "Ready?" he asked quietly. Jin nodded, small and nervous but determined.
Together, they stepped inside. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, reflecting off polished counters and rows of neatly arranged vials. Han-kyum set down his bag, organizing the chemicals and tools for the day, while Jin followed, placing stirring rods and measuring devices in careful rows.
"Compound 47-B," Han-kyum began, his voice low. "It's the base for the antiviral sequence. It's unstable if the pH is off by even a fraction."
Jin swallowed and nodded slowly. "I've only done sequencing before, but I… I can manage pH monitoring." "Good," Han-kyum said, tapping a vial gently. "Speed doesn't matter; focus does. The cure doesn't forgive mistakes."
They worked in silence for a while, the air sharp with the scent of chemicals. Each pour, stir, and measurement was deliberate. Han-kyum checked the temperature and notes repeatedly, while Jin monitored the pH changes and recorded data meticulously. After a while, Han-kyum spoke again, quieter this time.
"The virus is evolving. Mutations are happening faster than anyone expected. If we're off by even a single step, the cure fails." Jin's eyes widened. "Do you think it's too late?" Han-kyum shook his head.
"Not yet. But the window is small. Timing, ratios, temperature they all have to line up. One slip…" His voice trailed off, leaving a heavy silence between them.
Jin exhaled slowly and focused harder. "Then we have to be perfect." Han-kyum glanced at him. "We do what we can. That's all any of us can do."
Hours passed. The solution shimmered under the lights, bubbles forming and fading. Sweat trickled down their foreheads, and the metallic smell hung thick in the air. Han-kyum's hands were steady, Jin's careful, and together, they monitored every change.
_____
Meanwhile in Han-kyum old laboratory company, Jae-heon walked through the dim corridors. Concern tightened his chest. Han-kyum had disappeared he and Ms. Jana, along with other employees, had been vanishing one by one. It wasn't surprising, but that didn't make it any easier.
He needed answers. Determined, he approached Ms. Gael's office. He knocked sharply. "Ms. Gael," he said. "I need to know where Han-kyum is."
The office door opened slightly, and Ms. Gael's cautious eyes peeked out. "wait? he's missing to?," she said quietly, her voice tight. "He and Ms. Jana… a lot of people have disappeared recently. This isn't new."
"That's why I need to find him," Jae-heon said, stepping closer. "He's in danger. I can't just wait." Ms. Gael pressed her hands to the desk, panic flickering in her eyes. "I can't help you. It's too dangerous. The virus is spreading fast; anyone going near those rooms, near the facility, could get infected. I won't risk it."
Jae-heon's jaw tightened. "You're talking about fear, Ms. Gael. This is bigger than that. Han-kyum's life is on the line. If you don't help, more people could die." Ms. Gael shook her head, stepping back slightly.
"I understand, but it's not just fear. The virus is unpredictable. It's lethal and spreading. Anyone exposed could be gone in hours. I can't take that risk not even for you, not even for Han-kyum." Jae-heon's hands clenched into fists. "Then I'll find him myself. I'll be careful, but I won't stop searching." Ms. Gael's eyes flicked to the door, fear and regret mixing. "Be careful. Don't underestimate it. It's dangerous out there."
____
Han-kyum leaned against the cold metal counter, scanning the vials and notes Elijah had left for him.
The underground lab was silent except for the faint hum of the ventilation system. Jin sat on a nearby stool, nervously twisting his gloves, fear still evident in his posture. "Do you… do you know why I was brought here?"
Jin asked quietly, his voice barely a whisper. "I mean… why me?" Han-kyum glanced at him, his gaze softening slightly. "you know.. that's the question i asked my self when i was new here" "You were working on the formulas before all this happened, right? Yunseok and Elijah… they need someone who understands the work, and i don't even know why they still need help, i mean they are both chemist and scientist too.."
Jin nodded, swallowing hard. "Yeah… I was on the sequencing team. I didn't think it mattered much I was just following instructions. But Yunseok…you know he's not normal" Han-kyum raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean by not normal?" Jin shivered, looking at the dark corners of the lab. "He… he's cold. Calculating. He doesn't care about people unless they're useful. And even then… it's like he enjoys seeing fear, seeing you scramble to fix things. He's not just strict he's like… evil. He is one of my managers at my company, and I don't know why he resigned. He abducted me without my knowledge that he worked here." Han-kyum tensed. "That bad?" Jin nodded quickly. "Worse. He's precise, almost obsessive. Every mistake is punished… sometimes physically, sometimes mentally. People disappear if they fail him too often or if he thinks they might interfere. I… I saw it happen to others." A chill ran down Han-kyum's spine. He had suspected Yunseok was dangerous, but hearing it from Jin, a survivor who had seen him up close, made it feel real. "And Elijah…?"
"He's… different. He's calculating too, but quieter. He watches. He lets Yunseok make the first move, then steps in if things get too chaotic. He's still dangerous, but… I think he respects people who can follow instructions. That's why you're still alive, maybe." Jin's hands trembled slightly
"had no desire to intervene. I didn't even know about the virus at first. I was just... working late, trying to finish formulas. And then… Yunseok shoved me here. Just like that. No explanation. Nothing." Han-kyum sighed, leaning back.
"Yeah… it's the same for me. I woke up here one day with a lab coat, instructions, and the realization that if I messed up, people could die. No warning. No guidance. Just… survive and work."
Jin's eyes were wide, haunted. "He… he watches everything. Every movement. Even small mistakes. And he… he likes control. The way he talks, the way he move it's like he's always one step ahead, and he enjoys knowing that we know it."
Han-kyum clenched his fists. "That's why we need to focus. Forget fear, forget anger. Just precision. That's our only chance to get through this."
Jin nodded, swallowing hard. "It's… it's just hard. You see it in his eyes, how he thinks about you. You can't make him like you, you can't argue, you can't… fight him. You just… do what he says." Han-kyum's expression softened slightly. "Then we focus on what we can control. The cure. Our steps. Each reaction. That's where we fight back. Not with anger or confrontation. With science. With survival."
Jin's shoulders relaxed a fraction. "Yeah… that's what I'm trying to do. I just… I've never had to work under someone like him before." Han-kyum gave a small, almost imperceptible nod.
"Neither have I. But we have each other now. That counts for something." Jin hesitated, then managed a small smile. "It does. At least someone here understands what it's like."
The two sat in silence for a moment, listening to the faint hum of the ventilation and the occasional drip of condensation from the ceiling.
The chemicals on the counter glimmered under the harsh fluorescent light, reminding them of the fragile balance between life and death in the lab. "Tomorrow," Han-kyum said quietly, breaking the silence, "we focus on stabilizing Compound 47-B. If we get that right… maybe we actually have a chance. But we have to do it carefully. One mistake, and Yunseok will make sure we regret it."
Jin nodded, gripping the edge of the counter tightly. "I… I won't mess up. I'll do my best. I have to." Han-kyum met his eyes, serious. "Then we will get through this. Together." In that cold, underground lab, with the virus pressing close and Yunseok's shadow looming outside, they began to plan their next steps not just for the cure, but for survival of all
_____
In a different part of the town, Jae-heon was wrapping his face mask tightly around his nose and mouth. He left behind the brightly lit company lab with a quiet urgency as he walked down the corridor. Time was of the essence Jae-heon couldn't afford any other delay than the one that had already happened as he was looking for Han-kyum.
He was rushing out and about, but Jae-heon's brain was on a different floor to Han-kyum's place of living.The thought couldn't be pushed away: what if Han-kyum was there alone? It was of course the first checkpoint in the end, if Han-kyum hadn't run anywhere new, that would be the place to find him.
Jae-heon got to the place and stopped for a moment at its entrance. Methodical or not, he didn't have enough time to struggle with keys and locks here and the danger of being spotted was too high. Hence, he lowered his head a bit and tried to look inside through the window pane of the apartment of Han-kyum.
Not a soul was residing in the apartment. Absolutely no sign of Han-kyum, the place looked in perfect order just the typical quiet of an ordinary apartment. Jae-heon's clenched his teeth and thought to himself: Han-kyum wasn't here.
Stepping away from the window a little, he took some of the air into his lungs. Whoever had kidnapped Han-kyum whoever kept him was definitely a person with great care and attention to details. He wouldn't be left to find a single clue here.
Outer areas of Han-kyum's flat were being checked by Jae-heon's piercing glance; he wanted to stop anyone unusual from passing or see signals of some kind. The metropolis was carrying on its daily ordeal but still, it was completely unaware of the impending emergency wave that was pressing very hard upon Jae-heon and was silent at any other time.
After standing at the window, tightening his muscles ands peaking to himself very quietly, he said: "Where the hell have you gone, Han-kyum…?"
He walked away from the window and combined with the crowd or people and the labyrinth streets turned to a lost person. Jae-heon's street-wise instincts were guiding him.
The detours, the winding streets, the areas where he thought Han-kyum could be hiding the maze of his life and of the city had just become Jae-heon's hunting ground. He was sure that every single one of those streets would lead to the missing Han-kyum in some way or other, directly or indirectly. Jae-heon had not even considered the possibility of giving up on them, let alone risking his life to find him.
It was quite after Jae-heon came into the laboratory. He latched the door while entering.The place still smelled of the usual doses of disinfectant and chemicals. It seemed like he was hesitant to proceed further as he even took another breath before going to the little corner of the room where the sink was.
By no means, he could catch dirt on his hands; he had to wash them first,of course. Then he sprayed the parts of his face that remained uncovered by his facemask and the facemask itself with disinfectant. Not a single spot of skin was left out. The act was very tone, almost a rite, he couldn't stand the idea of making an error. They hadn't time to lose.
In the end ,Jae-heon brought his facemask back to the proper position and took out the little notebook which was always with him. The time had come to see Ms. Gael.
The office was a peaceful one and the lights were dim. Ms. Gael whose face was a mixture of anxiety and wariness looked at him while he was entering. "Jae-heon," This is what she uttered, her voice was very cautious, "You're here. Did you manage to find anything?"
He returned a negative response by slowly shaking his head. "Not yet. Han-kyum is not at his place. I have checked there and it's only Han-kyum's apartment, which is empty. He is… gone."
Ms. Gael groaned, saying it by leaning away from the desk on her chair. "I was worrying the same thing. What about Ms. Jana?"
"I haven't gotten a trail on her," said Jae-heon. "But we can't be out of time. The first thing we should do is to have a plan of what comes next."
Ms. Gael looked at him as if she was trying to figure him out. "You are in danger. The virus is spreading rapidly. Any mistake on your side can lead to you being infected or the people around you."
"I am aware of that," Jae-heon's voice didn't waver. "That is the reason I did it at first. I cannot betheone who brings the virus. We do it cautiously. We follow the steps of Han-kyum and Ms. Jana. The first step will be their last meeting places, then we will visit those places and find more leads from there."
She was uncertain and probably cursing her luck but her hands were locked in prayer on her desk. "It is really a gamble. Nevertheless, I suppose there isn't another option. If we are serious about finding them, then we have to step out."
Jae-heon agreed by nodding his head. "That's it. We fetch every piece of intel—contacts, office logs, even the tiniest things and we put the puzzle together. Until then, I won't take a step forward."
Ms. Gael gave a small, reluctant nod. "Fine. I am your source of information. Whatever notes, whoever schedules, or whatever that indicates their location that you come across."
"That's fine,"Jae-heon said, kindling a bit of his inner fire, "We are going to find them. Step by step. Careful, precise. No risks we don't need to take."
They had a very uncomfortable silence between them only for a short while.The pressure of the urgent matter was what that silence was made of. The lab was softly alive with machinery noises but it was a very quiet place. This gave the feeling that the time was rapidly going by. However, a plan had been formed for the first time since the disappearance of Han-kyum and also there was a chance to bring him back.
____
Theunderground lab was completely silent, with a somewhat uncomfortable light from the harsh fluorescent tubes reflecting off the counters and rows of identical glassvials.Metal-like smell of chemicals was very faint but it was there nevertheless. Han-kyum was pouringapowder very precisely out of a container into a beaker while Jin was watching him and then he swirled the solution gently.
"Don't let the temperature get out of your sight," Han-kyum said while he was fixing the stirrer. "If the temperature goes even half a degree beyond the limit, the reaction will become unstable."
Jin agreed with him and putting the thermometer near tried to get a better reading. "I understand the base layer is stable… I am just thinking about the pH to use as the catalyst."
Han-kyum with a glance at him, his face serene but concentrated, said, "Precisely. The accuracy,thetime,andthe patience. Only that and nothing more."
They followed the instructions with absolute focus and in silence for a few minutes, they made their moves, measured, mixed, and jotted down, and only the noise of the instruments was heard.
After that Jin broke the silence, his voice was very low. "Han-kyum… when we finish this… I mean… everything… do you think that we'll… be free?"
He stopped for a while, continued to swirl the solution and then watch it settle. He took a long breath. "Yes," was the answer he gave quietly not looking at him. "We are definitely not going to be bound to this lab any longer once we are done with this. This… this cure… is the way we get out."
Jin eased the tension from his shoulders a little but still the tension was there. "So… every single one o four measures, every step taken… is not just for the cure. It's… it's for us."
Han-kyum was nodding. "Correct.The chemicals, and the reactions to them—while they are significant—what we do here, here is even more important. Our freedom is waiting at the end of this. One slip and it will fail, but if we succeed… we get out. As simpl eas that."
Jin was twiddling with the cuff of his lab coat and small smile was forming on his lips. "I never thought I'd care about a chemical reaction so much."
Han-kyum might have allowed himself a slight grin. "And I never thought either. But when it's your life that hangs in the balance… every measurement, every note, every second counts."
They went back to their work, only now there was a silent resolve that wasn't there before. It was not just about the chemistry anymore. It was the first real step towards survival, really taking hold of your life: every stir, every adjustment, every check of the thermometer.
Jin looked at Han-kyum. "After all this, do you really think that things will be as they were before? What I mean is… will we really be free?"
Han-kyum didn't respond right away and kept his eyes on the container with the solution. Later, he said in a quiet but firm voice: "I myself am no longer sure what normal is. What I am certain of is this once we complete it, we make it through, and we get to decide what happens next. That's plenty for now."
Jin smiled with a bit of hope shimmering in his eyes. "Then… it's got to be us. Doing it step by step, just like you said."
Han-kyum's smile was very faint. "Step by step. That's the only thing we have."
They decided to put their full focus on the task at hand and get back to work. Only half of their minds were one chemical sand the reactions. The other half was occupied with the thought of freedom that was waiting for them at the end, which made them even more meticulous, which gave them the strength to survive, and which made them trust that they would be able to leave the under ground lab and enter the world on their own terms once this was over.
Han-kyum started talking "Hey Jin if we get out this place together i will offer you an drink...and finally i can work in my normal lab"
Jin nods with approval "ofc i would love to..."
Han-kyum paused and said "and i will never forget about jae-heon, he's my friend since i worked in my company laboratory, so i missed him"
When jin was about to talk elijah buts in, he clears his throat
he pointed his finger to Jin and raised his body a little bit. "A new employee, isn't it?" His voice seemed indifferent, but he stayed a little longer than usual.
Surprised,Jin had to think for a second before he answered. "I-I'm Jin Seo-hyun, yes,"and he clutched the notebook more tightly.
Elijah was like a hawk searching for the next target and after looking at Han-kyum asked sarcastically "What was the subject matter that you two were broaching?"
Han-kyum, a bit uneasy, still kept it cool and tried to clarify the situation. "We were not doing anything that needed our attention. Just… making sure we are following the steps of the reaction. Everything is a sit should be very precise."
He kept on switching his stare between them. "Ok, got it. But let me make myself clear—it is not the time for talking, be it personal or work-related. Every moment you divert your attention there is a risk for the reaction to be compromised."
Feeling the pressure,Jin responded right away. "Yes. We have taken that into consideration."
Han-kyum, looking a bit more determined, spoke in moderation though. "We are not jeo pardizing the reaction; we already have our minds made. Nothing apart from that has our attention."
Elijah's eyes moved closely to the vial's neatness and the stirring of the solutions. "Fine. Then keep it up. Detail by detail. Don't lose sight of a single step. I am not willing to take the chance of even the slightest mistake."
After his departure,the quiet of the lab took over. Though his influence remained in the atmosphere, Han-kyum and Jin communicated through their eyes, and he went back to their task.
"On point."
"On point."
Words changed, but the meaning stayed the same as well as the rhythm of the work, the changes in the temperature, and the quiet will that, in case of victory, will bring them not only success but emancipation from their current situation.