a/n: I've been nice recently... not anymore :)
Honestly though, I really enjoyed writing this chapter and have had it saved in my chapters for MONTHS. It's been so hard keeping some of this a secret.
Also, if you don't understand something in this chapter it will probably be explained later in the book :D
[ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄 ]
Jin didn't know where he was. Actually, that was a lie; he did know where he was. It was obvious knowledge that he had been herded back to MediHeal laboratory but, his exact whereabouts in the building, was uncertain. At the current moment he sat alone, tied to a metal chair situated in a plain white room. He wondered what the purpose of the empty room was originally but, after spotting the dark table-leg marks on the floor, he recognised that this must have been some office of sorts that they'd emptied for whatever reason they'd dragged him here for.
The journey to the laboratory had been the worse half an hour of the boy's entire existence. It was somewhat a blur of deep emotion and his brain struggled to wrap itself around reality. Why was he here? Why didn't they take Jimin or, even Taehyung? Why was he the chosen victim (not that he was complaining; he'd rather suffer a thousand times over than have to watch the others hurt)? And, the question that haunted his mind the most- why was Jungkook here?
As soon as the plane had landed, the two boys had been ripped apart by a stampede of armed soldiers. Jin didn't remember much after that- just a lot of screams, mostly from himself.
"Ahh, you're awake. Good," a woman announced, throwing open the door with a sort of predatory grace. Jin didn't recognise the woman- she was still young, probably early 30s, and dressed formally, almost excessively. Her ghastly scarlet coloured heels clacked against the marble floor as she approached Jin, an almost friendly look on her face. Luckily, Jin didn't fall for the woman's deceiving looks and instantly recoiled, pulling away as much as the rope, tied around his wrists, allowed him to.
"You probably don't know me. My name is Kim Choi." She introduced, the red lipstick, matching the colour of her shoes, twisting up into an almost sinister smirk. It was as if she was trying to be welcoming but failing dismally. Jin could read these type of people like a book; they were all rotten to the core.
"I've heard of you," Jin replied staring directly into the eyes of the devil, quite literally. He'd heard about his notorious 'Dr Choi' from both Hayeon and Jungkook. Both accounts had been negative, to say the least.
"Good, then we don't need formal introductions." The woman waved a pointed finger towards the door and it swung open, a soldier entering with a chair in hand. She didn't thank him as he placed the seat down and, as soon as the man had left, she took a seat, kicking off her heels and putting up her feet. Jin wanted to cringe but managed to withdraw the facial expression. "I'm sure you're confused about what's happening here."
"I really don't care about anything. I just want to know where Jungkook is."
The woman rolled her eyes, clicking her tongue. "Test Subject 312 is receiving appropriate... retribution for his actions. Don't worry, you'll see him soon but, for now, I don't want to focus on him. I want to focus on you." He didn't even want to imagine what that entailed.
On the final word, she leaned forwards so that her chin was in her hands and her elbows rested on her knees. That near entranced look made Jin gulp, head flashing around from a possible exit route. She noticed and let out a dainty laugh, holding a hand up to cover her mouth as though she actually cared about manners. "Don't look so alarmed. I'm only here for a little chat."
"I don't want to talk to you," Jin spat, wrenching his hands back and forth. Of course, the tightly bound rope failed to budge an inch and the only things the boy received was a bruised ego and wrist.
"Shame," the woman mused, pretending not to appear interested as she inspected her nails in the light. "I thought you'd want answers."
"Answers about what?" Jin was beginning to feel enraged- an emotion he wasn't accustomed to.
"Answers about everything. About why you're here. About why you're enhancement is failing you. About how you're starting to forget your past."
"How- how do you know that?" The boy stuttered, his blood running cold. He'd had a hard time remembering his childhood memories for a long time, he knew that both Namjoon and Yoongi had picked up on it before, but he didn't expect MediHeal to be so certain about it. Almost as if it was their fault...
"What did you do?" The boy gulped, a bead of sweat trickling down the back of his neck and soaking into the collar of his shirt, still stained with Taehyung's blood.
The woman laughed, the shrill noise reverberating around the entire room. "I didn't do anything. I would never have done what they did back at the American facility."
"What did they do?" Jin barked, biting his lip and feeling the skin split from underneath the pressure. He felt the blood swell from out of its wound but, without his hand to wipe the excess away, he used his tongue to swipe the blood. He cringed as the copper tang brushed his tongue but withheld his unwavering glare, directed towards the smug-looking woman.
"They created you," she announced as if that made any sense to anyone but herself. Cruelly waiting for Jin's confused look, she cackled and continued. "You're probably wondering about why you're memories are disappearing but, in reality, they're not disappearing in the slightest. You're just finally beginning to see the gaps."
"What gaps?"
"The gaps that they forgot to fill in. Jin," she rolled his name around as if it had given her a sour taste that was hard to swallow, "none of what you remember is real. You were born in the facility in America. You grew up there. You never had a mother or a father or any siblings. Those 'memories', so to speak, aren't real. MediHeal planted them. They created an idealistic childhood for you."
"You're lying," the boy pushed, scrunching up his eyes, "I had a mother and a father. They loved me!"
"If that is true then, what are their names?"
Jin went to reply instantaneously only for the words to clog in his throat. No, no, no. He remembered his mother's name. It was Jiyeon or, or Jooeun or, or, or Jieun. The reality hit Jin like a slap in the face and all his energy rushed out of his every pore. Without the will to sit straight, the boy slumped backwards and was hit with the tiredness of the day's events. Who knew that his day would include being kidnapped only to then find our that his mother was a fake? It was almost laughable.
"Why would they do that?" He whispered, the face of his 'mother' vanishing in a sudden moment. He'd always known something was different about him. What kind of child can't remember their own mother?
"It was done at the request of a scientist who raised you. Maybe you've heard of him; I heard that he's been aiding your little escape for years."
"Si Hyuk," Jin announced, not needing conformation. The boy couldn't help but feel conflicted- was this an act of kindness? Or just pure cruelty? The woman just nodded obliviously.
"Either way, it doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is your potential."
"I don't have any potential," the boy mumbled, glaring holes into the floor. Jin was usually the optimistic one of the bunch or, at least, as optimistic as a teenage runaway could be. For him to loose faith in himself so rapidly was out of character. He'd lost everything that had kept him sane.
Dr Choi appeared to notice this moment of weakness and leaned forward, a mischievous glint reflecting in the corner of her eyes as though she had some mysterious plan shoved up her sleeve. "You're the reason we can continue our research. Do you realise that, Jin?" He really wished that she'd stop saying his name. "Think about it. You were genetically designed, a test tube baby, made for one simple purpose. To pass down the enhancements."
"I don't understand," the boy stuttered, terrified of the truth that she was going to reveal. Being told your entire childhood was a lie was enough trauma for one day.
"Why do you think that we've been unable to replicate enhancements? Don't you think we'd have just built replacements the minute you ran away? But, that's the thing, we couldn't." She was so near now, hands resting on the arms of Jin's chair as she leaned in closer. So close that he could smell the sickly sweet odour of her perfume. "You're the key. Your blood is the key to everything. The science behind it is irrelevant but, Jin, you should know that you were only created for one reason. The only thing we need from you is your blood; the only possible way to pass enhancements to new test subjects."
In that moment, the boy had an epiphany. So, that's why they'd taken him? They wanted to use him as a donor for their case. They wanted to make more test subjects. All because of him. The mere thought made his stomach leap and he gagged, throwing his head back against the chair frame and hardly cringing as his skull smashed against the metal. This was too much. Too much.
What made the situation ten times more dreadful was the fact that Dr Choi seemed to be enjoying every single moment of it. Hayeon was right; this woman really was a cunning, hard hearted, evil bit-
"And, you've already helped to aid our first successful experiment in years," she announced, flicking her hair over her shoulder and she peered down at the boy. At first he just felt uncomfortable, the mere aura of this woman making him feel sick to his stomach. That was before he realised what she'd said.
"Hayeon..." he breathed, remembering the onslaught of events that occurred on that fateful field. They'd taken his blood and injected it into... holy shit.
"So you've realised," the woman drawled and chest puffed out. "Poor Hayeon was the first one we experimented with. If all goes to plan, she's going to be very useful in future events."
"Stop it!" Jin screamed, wanting to hold his hands to his ears and block out the entire world. He couldn't deal with this. He wouldn't deal with this. It was too unfair. He was a monster. If he didn't exist, none of this would've ever happened.
"And that's not all. All your life you've viewed yourself as inferior to the others because your enhancement constantly failed you." This was the last thing he wanted to be reminded of and he almost had the guts to tell the woman exactly what his thoughts entailed. Almost. "But, you're not. All this time you've viewed your healing ability as your number one enhancement but, what would you do if I told you that, it wasn't?"
He didn't want to repeat that he didn't understand. He felt as though he'd said that too many times in one night. It was a surprise his brain was still functioning.
"Think about it. The soldiers informed me that you stopped a bullet earlier."
Jin laughed, no longer caring about appearing rational or stable. "If you think that was me," he paused to bark out a laugh, "you're more insane than I am."
"Who else could it have been? You don't have to believe me at this moment in time but, be prepared. We are definitely going to experiment with you in the future." The woman shrugged as though she was almost unbothered by the revelation.
The laughter stopped instantly, hanging from his lips by a loose thread. This woman was serious. This woman genuinely thought that he, boring old Seokjin, had stopped a bullet midair. And, they were going to experiment? No, no, no he couldn't deal with this. He didn't want this.
As he began to hyperventilate once more, the beginning of a panic attack hitting in full force, the woman stood up. She pushed back the chair and sauntered towards the door. As she began to turn the handle, she paused and glanced backwards.
"I've really enjoyed talking with you. It's been very informative."
"Go away," he growled beneath gritted teeth. His panic was enough to deal with, he didn't want to suffer through her annoying taunts.
She smirked for what felt like the millionth time and pushed the door open gently. As she went to close it behind her, she shot one more indistinguishable look towards the boy.
"Welcome home... Test Subject 311."