Detonate Me, Granulate Me | BTS

Chapter 12

The sanitation machine here is old and rickety, an antique model that only sprays water and soap without the usual antibacterial disinfectant, and Jungkook has to get used to the sensation of water cooling and evaporating on his skin. Jungkook finally steps out of the underground room on his third day here, exploring their new quarters. The underground residence that Namjoon had prepared for the three of them is underneath a large lab, one that Namjoon uses for his scientific experiments. Namjoon and Yoongi's sleeping quarters are in a room upstairs, connected to the main building, publicly visible.

Jungkook, Taehyung, and Jimin are forbidden for the time being to go above ground. The government and Paradisus have camera drones performing surveillance on the entire city, and anything out of the ordinary could endanger their lives.

But, down here beneath the ground, in their newfound residence, Jungkook finds it difficult to sleep.

It haunts him, the images from the hoverpads. The videos, the evidence, the moving holographs of Hybrida lined up in a row, eyes blank and lifeless, just products. Jungkook's been going through videos for the entire morning, video clippings of news stories, on hybrids, Paradisus, insides churning with anger and indignation at each clip he watched.

"It's wrong," Jungkook mutters, when Jimin joins him, chin resting on Jungkook's shoulder. This time it's a video of the Hybrida stationed outside S&M Corporation, eyes glassy and unfocused, faces lifeless. "They're so much more. We're so much more."

"Yeah," Jimin says, scooting closer to Jungkook, gently prying the hoverpad away from Jungkook's hands, setting it down on the bed and switching it off. "But this is the way Seoul is run, I guess. Money and power."

"Just products," Jungkook says, voice heavy. "This—this is what we've lived for. All those years in Paradisus, just to be turned into products and sold for public consumption? Years of training, and we have no autonomy. No say. Puppets on a string."

"Hey, hey," Jimin says, taking Jungkook's hands in his. "Don't think that way. We're not, you know that. We have our own voices and opinions and we can fight for ourselves, too."

"Yeah, well," Jungkook says, closing his eyes and lying back down, arm held over his forehead. "I wonder what two cats and a dog can really do against an entire military squad."

The weekly blood and plasma transfusions that Jungkook's so used to are apparently unnecessary. Just another setup within Paradisus to trick the Hybrida into believing the Institute's elaborate lie, Namjoon had explained, to fool the Hybrida into believing they were reliant on Homini to survive. A way to suppress and chain them down, enslave them. At first Jungkook panics when Namjoon refuses to give any of them their transfusions, but a week passes without any of them showing adverse side effects, and Jungkook thinks that maybe Namjoon and Yoongi are telling the truth about everything after all.

But that still doesn't mean Jungkook trusts them enough to help them, not yet.

"Have you at least thought about it?" Jimin asks, lying on his back and looking up at the dirty ceiling of their sleeping room. Taehyung's rushing up and down the stepladder to bring food down into their room, and Jungkook watches as he clambers up to the underground living room to retrieve a large plate of meat that Yoongi had attempted to cook for them. The keyword being attempted. "Joining them? Helping them out?"

Jungkook grunts. Namjoon and Yoongi hadn't pressured them or anything, just remarked gently they'd really appreciate it if the three of them could participate in some scientific investigations they're conducting on the Retroviridae Animorphus virus. Jungkook's not certain what that means, but they had mentioned taking blood from the three of them and something about testing the effects of different drugs on their body.

"I think it'll be fun," Taehyung pipes up, setting the plate down on the table in the corner of the room. He yawns, then flops down and stretches his body over both Jungkook and Jimin's, giggling when Jungkook makes a face at him and Jimin whacks his arm. "We're never going to be able to go back to Paradisus anyway. And I'm not sure I want to, not after this."

"We don't even know what they want," Jungkook mutters. "Who's to say they're not lying to us too? That all they want is a group of Hybrida to do their own illegal scientific experiments on? Take our blood and analyse it so they can create the same sequence for themselves? We can't trust anyone but ourselves."

"They seem like good people," Jimin says, shrugging. Jungkook scoffs, and Jimin gives him a little pout. "No, I'm serious! I've always been a good judge of character. Husky instinct. They wouldn't hurt us, I can feel it."

"Yeah, well," Jungkook says, tone surly. "My cat instinct is telling me that humans can't be trusted."

"Mine's not," Taehyung says, then gives Jungkook a pained look when Jungkook kicks him in the shin. "What? If they wanted to kill us we'd be dead already. Plus, anyone who gives me meat," Taehyung continues, pointing at the plate of half-raw beef, "is a good person to me."

"But more than that," Jimin says, voice dropping low, "if what they're saying is true, it's not just us who have this morphing virus thing. There are—were—ninety-seven others. And Paradisus is trying to kill them all off, just like they tried to with us. If—if what we're doing can help our friends who are still inside Paradisus who don't know anything, even just a little bit, then..."

"Then we should help, of course," Taehyung pipes in, rolling over Jungkook and Jimin's legs and popping a piece of meat into his mouth with relish. "You don't have to if you don't want, Jungkookie. Jimin and I will do it, you just stay put and be grumpy."

Jungkook kicks Taehyung's butt, putting an arm over his eyes. While he's not completely convinced, he still doesn't want Taehyung and Jimin to go off and help, just the two of them, while he's left out of the loop. If they do this, they do it together.

Jimin and Taehyung are all Jungkook has now. They have to stick together.

"We'll see," Jungkook says. He rubs his temples. There's something he needs to ask Namjoon first, to get clear. "Just... Give me two days."