a/n: sorry for the lack of excitement in this one :]
[ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ]
"Get up," the man shouted, startling Jungkook out from his absentminded reverie.
After Jeno had left, the only remaining emotion was a bubbling anger that slowly transformed into a crippling pool of depression, gradually plunging the boy into a seemingly endless spiral of inattentiveness. He hadn't even noticed 'Hangyeol' returning, staring him down without a slight twitch of the eye. If he wasn't so lanky, perhaps Jungkook would have been intimidated. Still, the horde of guards trailing behind him like lost puppies was enough to make him pause. He should be reasonable, rational even, if he wanted to see Jin anytime soon.
"Can I help you?" Jungkook drawled, not even standing up from the bed. It hadn't been made and, despite the uncomfortable sensation of the metal frame digging into his thighs, he felt no urge to stand.
"I've been requested to escort you to the lab," the man replied, spinning a pair of handcuffs in his palms whilst shooting the boy an almost smug look.
Jungkook didn't even bother fighting back, even managing to hold back his inner snarky retorts, as he held out his wrists expectedly. The cool metal hitting his scorching skin tingled uncomfortably but it could be worse; at least handcuffs were humane.
It took a few wobbly attempts to stand up from the bed, struggling without his hands to steady him and, once he'd successfully managed, he raised an eyebrow at Hangyeol. The aforementioned man scoffed, almost as though he had wanted a confrontation to emerge and it took a few moments of rational thinking before Jungkook lost the desire to punch his lights out. It would be so easy, so, so easy.
The journey to the lab was dismal, not for Hangyeol who soaked up every slight bit of attention he could access, but for the new 'toy' of the laboratory. Most of the scientists in the hallway had never seen Jungkook before, hardly anyone had, and the looks that they gave him... they made him shiver. He felt as though he was being inspected under a microscope like some kind of bacteria, some kind of disease.
It only got worse when he entered the stuffy lab, the entirety of the room's inhabitants turning to look at him with a scrutinising glare, as he was herded up the room, being manoeuvred around several workbenches. He couldn't help but notice how a woman flinched, physically flinched, when he accidentally brushed her shoulder. This was Hell; especially from a boy who flourished around positive energy.
It wasn't till he reached the end of the room until he spotted someone he knew, not that the sentiment particularly excited him.
The Captain stood against the wall, that menacing look of unwavering glee taunting Jungkook as they gradually approached. The boy couldn't believe how similar and different this man looked to his son. It was weird, they certainly held family resemblance but, whereas Jeno could be considered as handsome, this man was anything but. He looked like a homeless thug that they had dragged off the streets and that honestly terrified Jungkook. This man really was the definition of his worst nightmare.
"Did Hangyeol take good care of you?" The man asked with a smirk, a gold tooth glinting under the dim lights. Jungkook didn't answer instantly and that seemed to infuriate the man, thrusting out his arm and grasping the boy's chin with the sharp tip of his nails. Jungkook flinched, feeling the skin split under the pressure, but refused to look away, daring to challenge the older man. The Captain only chuckled when he realised that he wouldn't relent, releasing his hold and wiping his hands on his trousers as though he had grime on his palms. "You're confident, I admire that. Maybe you could teach my son a bit of that."
Jungkook didn't have the energy to bite back. Instead, he was propelled into another conjoining room to the original lab and only just managed to regain his footing as he glanced around curiously. It was a bizarre room- small and stuffy with the only noticeable objects being a metal cabinet and a menacing looking chair.
"What's that for?" Jungkook motioned towards the chair, only just managing to subdue his gulp of fear. It was large and padded, similar to that of a dentist chair, but that wasn't the part that scared the boy. Instead, the thing that almost made him cower were the restraints at either side of the handrests and a collar, similar to that of a neck brace, on the headrest. Unknowing of whatever reason this chairs purpose was, Jungkook was certain that sitting wasn't one of them.
The Captain's eyes flickered over to the chair and smiled lazily as though he was proud at whatever this new invention was. "You don't have to worry about that, at least not yet. Why don't you take a seat and I'll call over the health assessor?"
It wasn't a question, it was a demand but the air ballooning inside of Jungkook's erratic lungs seemed to deflate at the mention of the health assessor. They often weren't scientists, instead they were trained doctors or nurses called in to 'assess' the health of whoever needed a checkup. This was a feature of the laboratory that had been carried on from the American laboratory and it wasn't usually something to fear, just a mild annoyance. The only reason Jungkook had been so insistent on avoiding them during his last stay was because he wanted to cause as much ruckus as possible but that wasn't an option this time around; he had to stay calm for Jin and he didn't suspect the laboratory had any other Hayeon's lying around, willing to brave the storm. He would have to be an obedient, little puppet- at least for now.
As he timidly took a seat on the dreaded looking chair, choosing to only lightly perch on the end as though the restraints were going to jump out and strangle him, the door swung open and an unrecognisable woman strolled in. She was young, probably younger than Hayeon, and seemed excessively nervous, refusing to look at Jungkook as she hastened her steps. Once she reached the metal cabinet, she began to extract all sorts of recognisable medical equipment and the boy sighed in preparation for what was about to occur.
Whilst the Captain sat in the corner of the room, observing everything like a bird does its prey, the woman shakily held up an infrared thermometer to the boy's forehead. Jungkook decided to be well-behaved, aware of the taser tucked safely in the other man's belt strap, and of pity for the woman who looked as though she could burst into tears at a moments notice. He understood- at least he thought he did; he'd also probably be scared of himself, and obediently moved his long fringe so that it no longer obstructed his forehead. There was a small beep and the woman instantly scribbled down his temperature onto her clipboard. He tried to peak at the result but all he could see was the red screen (representative of a fever) that didn't give him much information. He always had a high temperature anyways.
The next step in the sequence was monitoring his heart-rate, the woman choosing to use an oximeter over a stethoscope and fitting it snugly onto his finger. He wondered why Hayeon had never offered to use these less intrusive measures where direct contact could be avoided.
The final steps were a couple of questions, which seemed to terrify the woman immensely. Taking a large breath, she asked the first question without taking her eyes off the clipboard. If they had been alone, he might have tried to reassure her but he knew that the Captain would revoke any of his kind motions, choosing to demonise the boy.
"Do you have any open wounds? Any recently discovered allergies? Any contact with a contagious disease?"
The questions continued to be rattled off and, when she had finally finished, she pulled out a pile of fabric from the bottom drawer of the cabinet. Despite recognising that the items were quite obviously clothes, he was pleased to note that the orange jumpsuit appeared to have been scrapped, replaced by a white cotton shirt and bottoms. Maybe he could let go of his old, spoiled clothes for these new fresh ones, regardless of his attachment.
"Follow me," the woman mumbled, directing both Jungkook and the Captain to the exit before shuffling back down the length of the lab. When they reached the hallways, after another bout of distasteful stares, they took a sharp right into a corridor Jungkook wasn't familiar with. In fact, he couldn't recognise any of this place; either they had done a mass decoration or his memory was dwindling.
Eventually they reached the destination and the health assessor nudged the door open with the front of her foot, beckoning inwards. "Take a shower, there's some soap and shampoo on the side."
She continued to glance away and as Jungkook attempted to slip past into the newly revealed shower room, she also proceeded to take a cautionary step backwards. Shit, he thought to himself, running a hand down the length of his face, I'll never get used to this.
The shower room was both clean and vacated and, after pausing for a second, Jungkook slipped into the first cubicle. Placing the fresh clothes onto the wooden bench, Jungkook stripped out of his current ones and winced as he rolled them up and tossed them in the trash. They weren't salvageable anyway but the loss of another personal item caused him to feel slightly emotional. If he didn't reunite with Jin soon, he really felt as though his thoughts and feelings would overwhelm him.
The shower was cold, despite his efforts to turn up the hot water, and the soap smelt like antiseptic but once he had finished, he was glad to feel mildly refreshed. As he unpacked the meticulously neat folds of fabric, a hair brush also proceeded to fall out and he instantly combed the bristles through the long waves of tangled hair. Then, for a minute, he decided to stand there in the centre of the room with no motivation to leave. This was nice, he breathed, inhaling the sterile fumes. However, as much as he enjoyed the peaceful environment, the only noise being the pit patter of a loose shower head, he realised that the longer he stayed here, the more irritated the Captain would become. It would be more beneficial, in the long run, to be as hasty as possible.
However, as he exited the room, he was surprised to see that the Captain had left, abandoning the woman to continue the job alone. She didn't look impressed by it, shifting from foot to foot and shooting nervous glances down the corridor. When she the creak of the door opening, she jumped and turned around slowly as if fearful that the boy was going to pounce. Instead, when she finally faced him, she found him to be completely relaxed, shoulders dropped and holding out the comb as though he was offering her a present.
Coughing in embarrassment, she snatched the hairbrush and flounced down the hallway, scolding herself under her own breath. If the situation wasn't so dire, Jungkook might have been inclined to issue a laugh.
She hadn't told him to follow her but he assumed that he was meant to and sauntered down after her, occasionally pausing curiously to peer into windows. He wondered if escape was possible but they were obviously on level 5, known for being deep in the ground with a large staircase to climb before reaching any kind of way out. He wasn't sure he'd even make it to the first step.
Finally, after what felt like hours of walking, the woman stopped and flashed a key card against a door before typing a code into the wall, making sure to shield the device with her entire body. There was a soft sound and the flash of a green light before the door clicked open and he was, once again, bustled into another room.
This room was eerily similar- a surveillance room yet, not quite the same as his old room; it was larger.
The woman wasted no time in opening the next door, holding it open politely and gently moving her head in signal for him to enter. Why were they leaving this crucial role to such a mundane girl? He could crush her skull in a matter of seconds if he wanted to (not that he did). It was all very bizarre.
That was until he heard a shuffling sound and a familiar face appeared in the frame of the door, head tilted in curiosity of what was occurring outside his cell. Jungkook couldn't help but smile.
"Jin."