Elijah walked into Yunseok's office, the doormaking a gentle sound when it closed behind him.Yunseok seemed to notice it keenly, his eyes narrowing and a teasing smile lighting up his face.
"Have you been treating that kid gently, haven't you?" Yunseok asked casually.
Elijah stopped, lifted his brow, and looked at Yunseok. "Gentle? Me?" He spoke in a very composed manner, but his calmness was slightly broken by a trace of irritation. "I'm not gentle at all."
Yunseok looked at him while leaning on his chair with a smile. "Not gentle at all, huh? I saw the moments when you were reluctant. You allowed him to make decisions, Han, kyum, right? You were reluctant. You cared more than anyone else."
Elijah was not convinced of his own words and proceeded to counter, argue by crossing his arms over his chest and furrowing his brow. "I… I am only doing it to avoid a situation where mistakes occur, that's all. Not that I… care or anything like that."
"Of course, you are, " Yunseok said putting up a good face but quite sarcastically "You're considerate, caring… be the label what you want."
Elijah was so frustrated that he could hardly stand it and thus he shook his head dismissively and answered: "I don't know what you are up to here. I am not soft. I just… I won't discard my life to follow someone's whims. That's all."
Yunseok made a sound with his throat resembling a gentle laugh. "That's something. You appear to be less of a tough guy than I thought."
Elijah pretended not to hear that and his gaze also became sharper. There was no arrogance in his position, only a firm refusal.
After awhile Elijah also changed his position and supported his weight on the back of the chair with his left hand. He took a deep breath and said, "Moving on…" Looking a at Yunseok he said it in a lower and more serious tone, "Regarding the scenario after the cure… one of them will have to be sacrificed. That's how the experiment is designed. Only one will have freedom."
Yunseok surprised by the statement raised his one eyebrow. "What about your opinion?"
Elijah became very determined and showed his disagreement by clenching his jaw. "I… I can't be the one to say yes to that. They are the ones who make the world safe and they did everything perfectly. They really should not be the ones to pay the price. Not that way." His voice was strong, but it was not an expression of anger. It was simply the truth.
Afterward, Yunseok was watching Elijah carefully and silently, lettingthetime for reflection be taken by the words spoken by the latter. "So you're denying?"
Elijah pointed his head in affirmation, eyes steady. "Yeah. It's not right. Someone else is free to… but not them. Not Han, kyum and Jin."
They both stood there for a little while,the heaviness of the decision being felt all around the room, but Elijah stayed firm. He wasn't grinning. He wasn't plotting. He was simply there, resolute, not accepting what was anticipated.
"Well, "Yunseokwhispered, "they still have to do it… whether you like it or not."
Elijah sharply narrowed his eyes. "Yunseok, "
"No."Yunseok silenced him by raising a hand. His tone was not of an anger but of a sort of dispassionate reasoning. "That's the way it is. The authorities demand a final test. A conclusive demonstration. One life, to show the release of the cure is the real deal." He ingrained the words into Elijah's mind by looking directly into his eyes."If they don't go voluntarily, the police will be sent to get them. Both of them. Arrested.You know what's coming."
Elijah stood stunned; his breathing stopped for a moment. "Jail? They are going to put the bad guys on the side of the good ones who've saved lives?"
"That's the game system they're in, " Yunseok made no effort to sugar, coat it. "No sacrifice, no approval. No approval, no cure release. And if the cure is not released, everyone is going to be dead. That's the magnitude of the situation we are facing."
Elijah had to bite his tongue hard. His fists were so tightly clenched that the skin on his fingers had turned white. "It's still not right."
"That's true, "Yunseok acknowledged with a calm voice. "But we are not in a position to change the rules." He stopped for a moment and looked a thim with a somewhat different expression. "And you know it very well… if you try to oppose the system, they won't think twice before they put you in jail with them."
Elijah's lips were tightly pressed against each other and his chest ached. He did not respond immediately and after a while only, his breathing was shallow and controlled, with an expression of being torn between anger and helplessness, he was standing there.
Yunseok toned down a little when speaking. "The sacrifice is not ours to decide. It's theirs. One of them will be the one coming forward, the other will be the one going away. That's the way the agreement is."
Elijah briefly opened his eyes, then closed them again.
"So we're really going to do this, " he mumbled.
"You know that we don't have a choice, " Yunseok answered smirking.
Elijah remained mute. His quietness was his giving in.
Not because he was in favor of it. Not because he desired it. But simply because there was no other option.