"And here we go again." Commented sarcastically Yunho while laying his lower back against the side of the bed Somi was sitting on under the blankets. He was aware that such a comment could shake something inside Mingi and
the former glared at him as a warning not to start his childish tantrums.
"Not the time, Yunho." Scolded Hongjoong without even giving him a look.
Seonghwa was the one who stopped Yunho from retorting by asking the question that Somi had been inquired about a lot recently, yet the answer was always the same, it never changed and she couldn't decide whether that was a good or a bad thing.
"How are you?" The oldest male questioned as he pointed both of his elbows on the mattress and placed his back on top of his hands to support it.
The woman shrugged her shoulders, "Fine, I guess." She answered lightly, "Even if I haven't been sure about that for a while now."
"What matters the most is that you're alright physically." Hongjoong stepped in between her and Seonghwa.
Wooyoung rolled his eyes and slapped the leader's shoulder, who wasted no time to throw daggers through his look. "Gosh, show some empathy, will you?"
Hongjoong didn't think twice about not replying to Wooyoung since he was aware that the younger male wouldn't have comprehended the actual meaning behind that question: Wooyoung was the type of person to see only black or white, good or bad, did not incline middle grounds. And San was the same but with a marked innocence.
The leader dragged his orbs back on the hospitalised girl, however, before reaching her, his eyes met with Seonghwa's, the member he had the most affinity with and the one he had the most trust in. For that, when Hingjoong analysed the oldest member's expression, he did not doubt that Seonghwa had understood what he meant by that question, but was silently scolding him for his lack of tact, especially around people who cared for her in a special way.
Somi rubbed her dermis by running her hand through her hair, "I am." She clarified dryly. "Anyway, I've spoken with Jongho." With that simple sentence, she managed to catch everyone's attention, even Yunho's, whose presence seemed to be rather superficial, since he was there only because the whole group had decided to go there, and not because he cared to pay a visit to the blonde girl. "He was alright and worried for all of you. And appeared rather regretful for not telling you anything."
Yeosang scoffed, "That prick."
"He had created a pill that helps people having Déjà-vu. His goal was to find someone that could finance his idea in the medical field and this is how he bumped into Doctor Lee Dong Wook."
"Wait," San interrupted her explanation by raising the palm of his hand in front of him, "That Lee Dong Wook? The owner of the hospital we're standing in?!" And pointed his index finger toward the ground to emphasize the location.
"Exactly." The girl replied with confidence and with a nod of her head, holding San's stare.
Yeosang dove his hand into his blonde hair, the colour draining away from his face as panic began to have the best of him, "Oh shit, shit, shit! We're officially dead!"
"He chose the medical field because he believed that being able to travel to the future could help find new therapies, but also to make health care accessible to everyone without classifying people based on how much money they have at their disposal." Somi didn't even realise she was animatedly gesticulating, overwhelmed by the conviction that she shared with Jongho. "Though, he met Lee Dong Wook, who had other plans. He locked up Jongho so that he could produce as many pills as the doctor needed, in order to gain fame and money."
Yunho rubbed his temples, "That's more serious than I thought." He commented sarcastically.
Wooyoung didn't miss the occasion, "Yes, because he used his free time for something productive and useful, instead of wasting it between one mean comment and the other."
The attacked male glared at Wooyoung but, as he was about to open his mouth to reply, Hongjoong stepped in, "Don't you dare start arguing."
Seonghwa leaned close to the bed, "Did he tell you where he was imprisoned?" He inquired softly as if dealing with a toddler.
The girl shook her head, answering negatively, "Though he felt he had never left this hospital."
"That's a good start." Sang Hongjoong, his shrilling voice tone pleasantly shocked Somi, who couldn't contain the smile curving her lips at the thought of her being useful to the group, for once. Finally, she felt as if she was truly helping them and was not being a burden as she had always feared. "What's your plan, then?" He lastly added.
Somi gasped, "Honestly, I have no idea. As long as he has the pills, he can predict every move we attempt." She rapidly reasoned while brushing her chin with her fingers.
Mingi was staring at an undefined point on the floor in front of him pensive, "Which means that..."
"We have to prevent him from taking those pills. Only in that way, we'll be able to act." Somi completed his sentence.
─↻─
"What the heck?" Aggressively murmured Tsuki, punctuating every single word, wondering if she had suddenly lost her sanity or if what she had just eavesdropped was true.
She was aware that she was committing a mistake, nonetheless, she knew Somi and could tell from miles away and with eyes closed that something was off. The blonde girl had been acting weirdly distant and distracted, lately, which only nourished Tsuki's curiosity.
Still, she would've never expected to hear such things, such... nonsense but, for some strange reason, she believed everything she and Ateez had talked about. Probably, they also needed help and she was convinced she was the right person that indulge them.
So, she opted to get busy. The girl planted her feet on the ground and used them to raise her bottom from the floor and straighten her legs which were all stiff because of the crouched position she had assumed to listen to the conversation.
She wondered where she could start, and if she were a pill where would she hide? If she was the illegal possessor of something that was affecting her job (and she wasn't even trying to hide it) where would she keep that "something"?
If it had been for her, she would've never left those pills unattended. She would've kept them in her pockets, or hidden them in her bra like a teenager hiding the proof of a transgression.
Following that instinct, she then began to think of a plan: how could she verify with hands that the surgeon was carrying the pills in the pocket of his white coat? What if they were inside the pocket of his dress pants? Just imagining her hands "inadvertently slipping" down to his groin made her shiver and gag with disgust. She shook her head, hoping to shoo that scene away from her brain.
However, what she believed was only her fervid imagination, had become a reality the second after the top of her head hit something hard, making her yelp and step backwards, and what she wished was a wall, turned out to be a person and not a random one.
Doctor Lee grabbed the girl by her elbows to prevent her from falling and bent his back a little to have a peek at her face, checking whether she was feeling good or not.
"Miss Fukutomi, are you not feeling well?" The man asked, knitting his eyebrows with worry.
Tsuki raised her eyes and met Dong Wook's inquiring, brown orbs that pierced right through her soul and made her blush in embarrassment. He was way too close for her liking, so she wiggled out of his grip, fixed her hair, and cleared her throat. As she was about to bow to apologise, she rapidly remembered her plan from minutes before and realised there was no better occasion than that one.
"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, pretending to feel guilty for her lack of attention, "Oh no, your coat is all creased!" Her fingers danced on the wrinkles of the fabric, emphasising her words to make the situation sound more tragic than it actually was.
Doctor Lee sheepishly giggled, amused by her behaviour, and lowered his stare to follow the path of her small and tapered hands on his chest. "Ah, don't worry. I'll send it to the laundry to iron it." And attempted to comfort her with a smile.
However, Tsuki had no intention of giving up. "Please, let me do that. To excuse myself for not paying attention to where I was walking to." And she flaunted the best puppy eyes she had mastered until that moment, thanks to years and years of training with Somi, whenever the latter didn't want to indulge her cravings or interests.
"Miss Fukutomi, I appreciate your gesture, but it's nothing serious. I can-"
She folded her arms as if ready to throw a tantrum, "Doctor Lee, I insist!"
The man raised his hands as if someone had just pointed a gun at him, and with an amused grin, he replied "Alright, alright! But first, let me go grab the new one in my office."
She mentally cheered and followed her senior to his studio. The pit of her stomach suddenly closed to twist with anxiety. If what Somi had revealed about Doctor Lee was true, Tsuki had better keep her eyes open and ensure that he couldn't move without her noticing.
Lee Don Wook was a cunning man, she had comprehended it right from the beginning. His icy calmness had always terrified the girl as he made sure to leave no room for speculation or hypothesis related to his next move, and it was the fact that no one could tell what was going on in his mind that brought everyone who had to deal with him to not retort nor question his decisions.
Tsuki followed her boss like a puppy following the owner, her steps matched his and she had to be careful not to step on his expensive shoes, not planning on taking them to the laundry as well, since they surely cost more than a simple white coat.
She was a nervous wreck and, even throughout the whole way to his office, she couldn't figure out a way to keep her arms: if she had buried her hands in the pocket of his scrubs, she would've been rude; she felt kind of uncomfortable if she folded them under her chest, and if she had let them dangling by her hips, everyone would've been able to notice her nervousness through her fingers digging in the palm of her hands or her nails picking at her hangnail. In the end, she opted to pretend to fix her hairdo, making sure to gather every single strand.
Finally, they reached the light brown door to Doctor Lee's office, he placed himself in front of the number pad, hiding the code with his body from Tsuki, who didn't even attempt to peek over his shoulder since the man would've immediately noticed her. The door creaked and the couple crossed the threshold, Tsuki halted her steps close to his desk, while the man reached the corner on the other side of the room, where a double-door wardrobe covered the wall partially. With a metallic sound, the man opened one of the doors and grabbed the new coat and, with a swift movement, he slipped out of his rumpled coat and wore the new one.
However, before delivering the article of clothing, Tuski caught the man sketchily squeezing every centimetre of the coat to ensure nothing was being left in the pockets. After reaching the final seam placed at the end of the coat that reached his knees when he wore it, Doctor Lee finally handed Tuski the garment, which she gladly accepted with a slight bow, heading right after outside his office.
Even while travelling through the same labyrinth of corridors from before, Tsuki sneaked her fingers inside every pocket of the white coat, only to confirm that they were all empty.
With a sigh, she gave up and admitted to herself that she was back to the starting point.
___
Hello everyone!
I hope you had a happy Christmas for those who celebrate it! I ate way too much and I didn't want to go back to work :(
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, we're getting closer to the end!
I'm already working on a new story, at the moment I'm looking for characters for the cast, since a lot of you like it when the author introduces you to the characters of a story.
I'll see you soon (I hope sigh)
Luv ya! ♡︎