Warning: slight gore

So there are two rumours flying around the Lab. One is that one of the Legends (the youngest members to enter EX'ACT) of EX'ACT Lab, had finally found his significant other, a newly fresh trainee who is both beautiful and clever. The other rumour is of the other Legend of EX'ACT Lab, who is said to have been seduced by the youngest trainee in history in order to help this trainee become an official member of EX'ACT. The difference between the Legends and the youngest trainee is that the Legends, namely Zhang Yixing and Park Chanyeol, have never been a trainee before they entered, whereas Byun Baekhyun is currently one, and the youngest one on record.

Maybe Baekhyun's frustrated for many reasons - first, how everyone had assumed he had slept with Zhang Yixing to earn his protection; second, how everyone now thinks he had intentionally gotten close to two of the most famous professors in EX'ACT Lab so that he can become an official member himself; third, how all rumours of him are negative and put him in a negative light even though he never had those intentions; lastly, how the two biggest rumours affect him so – in which one of them he's directly involved, but he's in love with someone from another rumour in which he's not included.

Of course, it seems as if Park Chanyeol is oblivious to them, and always seems to be in his own little world with whoever he's talking to - and nowadays, he's always with Dara. And then there's Zhang Yixing, who's always alone and silent such that Baekhyun's sure he's aware of the rumours, but the way he continues eating with Baekhyun at the cafeteria without a word is an indication that he doesn't care. Maybe it's a good thing overall, the fact that these two close-to-legendary figures (and even called 'Legends' by most) don't let these rumours affect them, but Baekhyun does. He's nothing compare to them, and to everyone, he's just a parasite that clings onto them and feeds off their fame, knowledge, and status. Not only that, but Dara is now possibly arguably the most perfect female in EX'ACT Lab, at least, Baekhyun can tell she too has her own fame from the way eyes seem to stare at her wherever she goes. Now he's the only one in the dark trying to catch the light that is these three people. By his sixth testing on a Friday, he comes first again, sighing in relief to himself. Compared to his other results, he's sure these ones are much better, as if Chanyeol's teaching had helped him a lot and ... Zhang Yixing's accompaniment had aided a lot.

"I'm second!" Dara bounces up to him and shows him her results. This time Baekhyun is genuinely happy, because now both of them are top two and have a higher chance of becoming official. Still, a secret happiness that fills him stems from his excitement to tell his professor, who had sat with him and covered so many topics with him this week. Just as he's about to excuse himself, though, Dara does first.

"I'm going to tell Chanyeol-oppa." She says, grinning widely. Baekhyun falters, his smile falling and he hates himself for it. "Are you coming?"

"Um ... I have something to do." Baekhyun whispers, gripping his results tightly in his hand. "You go without me. Have fun." When Dara hugs him and waves him goodbye, Baekhyun can only turn around and pray she doesn't see through him. He just wants to be happy for them. Why can't he just do that wholeheartedly?

Still, he hurries out before the other trainees can confront him again. On the elevator, he presses any floor (except the highest one) and wishes it can take him to somewhere new, fresh, and deserted. When the door opens, Baekhyun steps out, looking around. This floor is a town-like setting, except the buildings are way smaller, as if they are for little dwarfs. Mood lifted, Baekhyun walks around to admire the beauty before him. In the end, he opts to settle down on one of the benches, sitting down before opening his slightly crumpled piece of paper. He had always been slightly in front of the others in his tests, yet this time he's greatly above all of them, especially in the academic tests. All thanks to his professor. And now he refuses to see the older, only because he's afraid to see the two of them together ...

"What rank?" A cold voice makes him flinch, and he looks around immediately, and finds Zhang Yixing standing beside him, hands shoved in his pockets, hair slicked back like usual.

"Oh." Baekhyun quickly folds his paper, but then wonders why he's doing that. After all, Zhang Yixing won't give him shit for his results, like the other trainees do. "I came first."

Yixing watches him silently, still standing a distance from him, and Baekhyun wonders whether this man actually likes him or hates him or is disgusted of him. Baekhyun looks elsewhere instead, and his eyes fall on Yixing's neck.

It's that necklace he saw the other day.

Baekhyun remembers seeing it somewhere before. Eventually he remembers, and his eyes widen in realization. It was Chanyeol who also wore something like this.

But Professor said it's like a friendship bracelet. Are they friends?

"Trainees normally tell their trainers their results the moment they receive them." Yixing says, and the question hangs in the air and slaps Baekhyun in the face. "It's a normal gesture of respect."

"Don't you have any trainees?" Baekhyun replies, attempting to change the subject. "You're old enough." Oh shit ... I meant, he's experienced enough.

"No." Yixing shoots back. "I'm "old" enough to reject any trainee or choose anyone to take a trainee in my place."

"You don't have to do it anymore." Baekhyun says quickly. "In the morning."

"I do what I like." Yixing responds with a defiance in his tone, and Baekhyun turns to him sharply.

"But - the rumours - " Baekhyun splutters.

"Am I supposed to care?" Baekhyun stops, speechless as he stares at the older.

"Uh..."

"Doesn't seem to affect him a lot, does it?" Yixing continues, once again staring at him almost as if he's glaring. Or staring into him.

Who? Baekhyun wants to ask, but in his heart he knows.

"Learn from your professor." Baekhyun reddens and looks away, half frustrated how this man can see through him so easily.

"Don't tell him, please." Baekhyun mumbles, refusing to look straight at the older. Okay, so he had just confirmed it for the doctor, if Yixing had any suspicions. Or maybe Yixing's going to ask on just exactly what he means. Is he going to just let that plea hang in the air and not explain it? "About m-my feelings." There's a lot of silence between the two of them, such that Baekhyun really thinks that in no way will they ever be more than a colleague relationship.

"Next week you'll be spending half your time at the Lab, with a few Experimenters, instead of with your professor." Yixing says, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Huh?"

"It's compulsory for trainees to go through Experimenting, as that is the hardest job at EX'ACT." Yixing continues. "You'll be seeing some Monsters, and you'll be performing an experiment on one of them."

"..." Baekhyun's eyes widen in horror.

"You worked so hard for this, did you not?"

Baekhyun's throat is dry. Part of him wants to shake his head and ask Zhang Yixing whether he can be excused from Experimenting, but another part of him knows that Zhang Yixing is an Experimenter, and might take offense from this. So in the end, he can only stay frozen in his spot, doing nothing because he doesn't know what to do.

Upon seeing no response, Yixing walks away. Just like that. And Baekhyun is left alone in this pretty little town again.

Baekhyun takes a deep, shaky breath and closes his eyes. What happens if he really has to Experiment on Monsters to pass? What will he do then?

He doesn't think he can bear doing that to someone.

But there's no other choice if he wants to stay here ... For his dream ... For his passion to achieve peace ... For himself.

To keep seeing his professor.

I gotta man up. Baekhyun thinks to himself, taking a huge breath of energy. It's all for peace. I can do this!

He stands up, feet shoulder-width apart, fists against his waist.

"HAH!" He yells, punching the air once with his fist. "HAH" He yells again, punching the air with his other first. Then he jumps and lands confidently. "YOU CAN DO THIS, BYUN BAEKHYUN!" Then when he's satisfied with giving himself his own fight song, Baekhyun stands properly and walks away.

In the darkness, a certain doctor sees Baekhyun's fight song, and lets out the slightest twitch of a smile.

Are they friends? Baekhyun thinks to himself, clutching his results in his hands as he walks mindlessly around the hallways of a random floor. But how? Professor is so charming and kind, whereas he is just plain cold and mean sometimes ...

Sometimes Baekhyun thinks Zhang Yixing is doing all that for him just to make him feel guilty about it. Either way, Baekhyun decides to go for a little run, since he hasn't trained his physical body for a long time and someone nearly overtook his place.

Feeling pumped, Baekhyun walks towards the windows of EX'ACT, where he can see everything below him. In every floor of the EX'ACT Lab, there is a running track right next to the windows, because the circumference of the Lab is largest there. Then the track splits, one way is to continue the path on the floor until the track becomes a circle, another way is a staircase down to the previous floor and up to the next floor, if Baekhyun wishes to run down or up any floor. Baekhyun finally arrives to the running track, and throws down his coat and his paper, then steps onto the running track and begins running.

He runs up and down floors, and he doesn't know how to explain it but running had always made him feel carefree. When he stops running, he forgets which floor he had ended up on, and even though he jogs around the floor to see where his things are, he finds that there are none.

Slowing to a walk, he sees someone walking by.

"Excuse me, do you know what floor this is?" He asks.

"Floor 19." She replies.

I always end up here, don't I ... Baekhyun thinks to himself, sighing and thinking mentally to himself that he'll get back up on Floor 30 eventually to get his things. Taking a cold bottle of water from the vending machine, Baekhyun decides to walk around to cool down his body. They say the most dangerous floor is the safest floor, and Baekhyun prays that he won't see Dara and his professor anywhere here.

Why am I like this ... Baekhyun thinks to himself, frustrated. It's silly, because he fell so quickly that he has no time to accept these feelings of jealousy. And he continues to hate himself over and over again, for feeling like this towards two of his dearest people. Trying to wake himself up, Baekhyun screws open the cap fiercely, gripping the cap tightly in his hand as he dunks the icy cold water over his head.

He doesn't expect it to be so cold that his head begins hurting. Baekhyun sighs as he rolls the cap back on and continues walking. At least it's numbed his feelings a little.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea though, because now the sweat, combined with the cold water, is making him shiver. Still, he scolds himself for being so unfair to his friend, and tells himself this is his punishment.

Dr Freqse ... He thinks to himself, mentally sending a message to his idol. What would you do if you were in my position?

Mother ... Father ... Baekhyun further thinks to himself, heart hurting. I wish you were here so you can tell me what to do.

As he walks back towards the centre of Floor 19, there are more people present, and they all stare at him as he walks past them. Baekhyun doesn't think too much of it, for the very first time, and he continues walking, this time also letting himself be humiliated in front of so many people. Maybe then he'll stop feeling so horridly towards his best friend's and his professor's relationship.

Like he predicted, he doesn't see Dara nor Chanyeol on Floor 19. The whispers that fly around him are all about him and Zhang Yixing, ranging from how Baekhyun is depressed because Yixing doesn't love him, to how Yixing saw Baekhyun for who he truly is (which is what? He doesn't know himself) and rejected him by pouring water on him. Silent, Baekhyun checks the time and finds that it's already the next day, a fresh Saturday morning. That means Baekhyun's mind automatically swims to Chanyeol, wondering whether he has eaten and wondering whether he will eat. After much conflict, Baekhyun decides to buy breakfast for his professor before he changes his clothes, because he doesn't want his professor to starve one second later if Baekhyun can do anything about it. Knowing his professor always seems to eat more whenever he buys from a certain cafe (seems he doesn't like cafeteria food as much, so Baekhyun has to sacrifice a little of his wallet), Baekhyun grabs a bag of croissants and a cup of coffee and heads over to Room 350. Upon arriving at the door, he stops and wonders whether he should walk in. After all, if his professor sees him like this what will he say? Then again, his professor might be sleeping like he always is. Or his professor might be in his own room, resting. Thinking about this, Baekhyun takes a brave breath and opens the door, and a little like expected, there is no one there. Baekhyun sets down the food, but he finds a note on the table.

Little one,

It's a beautiful Saturday and I'll be out all day. All the books are where they should be. Don't study too hard. I'll have someone to look after me so don't worry about my eating habits.

Baekhyun sets it down, once again the raw feeling at the thought of Chanyeol out with Dara gnawing at his gut, sending him into overdrive. Wordlessly, he grips the bag and instead forces himself to walk over to the ground where he used to always eat with his professor, and sits down by himself.

He isn't curious about my result? Is all Baekhyun can think about as he opens the bag of croissants and takes one out. The croissant feels hot against his fingers, and he wonders why when he takes a bite, the heat of it seems to transfer from his lips down his throat and into his stomach. Were croissants always this hot?

Why are you like this? He scolds himself, and rubs his eyes fiercely. His fingers are ice cold compared to his face. Stop it. You're just a child.

Is it possible to feel like this, for your heart to thump with pain and yet with so much happiness for someone else? Yes, Baekhyun is happy for them, but only part of him is. This happiness, laced with pain, is almost unbearable. Once again frustrated at himself, Baekhyun sets down his food even though his stomach is screaming for it, and he stands up, feeling tempted to crush this disgusting feeling deep down, and maybe freeze it with even more icy cold water.

Baekhyun turns and walks further into Chanyeol's office, where the bathroom is. Furious, Baekhyun steps underneath the shower head and turns up the cold water angrily fast. The coldness almost has him flinching, but he stays under it, letting it soak him numb. He's such a bastard for feeling like this, and he should really deal with these feelings once and for all.

Stepping out of the shower, Baekhyun shivers, dripping from head to toe. Now he's scolding himself for being stupid, because how is he going to leave this bathroom without making a mess? And there he goes, causing trouble for everyone again.

I just want to live happily, in peace, without worries, without being a burden, without feeling like this. I want to make a better difference to the world, and help in bringing together two worlds again. Baekhyun thinks to himself as he instead stands where he is, trembling like crazy. Why is that so hard?

Then his thoughts are interrupted when the bathroom door slams open, and a Zhang Yixing stands there, eyes alert and shocked. Baekhyun is too numb to be afraid.

"What the hell are you doing?" Yixing stomps over, angry like he always is, and he grabs Baekhyun's arm. Baekhyun doesn't reply, doesn't really want to, but he lets the older pull him towards the bathtub, screwing the hot tap over and over until water gushes out and the heat stings Baekhyun's skin. When Yixing attempts to place Baekhyun in there, the hot water touches Baekhyun and he cries out in pain. Yixing growls in frustration and screws the tap closed, then lets go of Baekhyun. Baekhyun lets his limp body fall to the floor and closes his eyes. You caused trouble again.

He doesn't dare open them for fear that Yixing's glare will burn him. And then he's feeling warm fingers pry open his shirt and then his pants, a warm cloth moving over to wipe off the droplets off his skin. It takes him a long time to realise that he's naked and completely exposed to this scary and mysterious man, and he immediately attempts to push the older away, feeling the warmth of Yixing's skin seep into his fingers. Yixing is melting him.

"Stop destroying yourself." Yixing sounds furious, more so than he always was. Baekhyun wants to apologise, yet a part of him doesn't want to. And then Yixing is carrying him towards something that's warm. Baekhyun dares open his eyes now, watching the gentle flow of the fire that reminds him so much of the man that he's not supposed to love. The warmth that he's not supposed to have. A layer piles up over his shoulders, and then another layer, and then another layer. He's now covered in warm blankets that Yixing had gotten out of presumably nowhere. Or maybe Yixing is just fast and efficient, and he had been daydreaming while the older was gone. He pulls the blankets around him, realising how much he needs the warmth now, and he closes his eyes again when another cloth goes over his head and someone starts rubbing furiously.

"You do all this, and then who's affected? Me." Yixing scolds. "I can't be your personal doctor, Baekhyun. Start taking care of yourself."

Baekhyun opens his eyes now, because a hand presses against his cheek, and the warmth that seems to pass onto him is so similar to the feeling Chanyeol gives. It's too familiar.

When Baekhyun closes his eyes again, tears fall out. Strange, because he never knew tears could feel so hot.

Yixing is still trying to dry his hair, and even though he pulls roughly, Baekhyun doesn't yelp or make a sound. But now he's crying so hard that he can't help but sniff. The movement stops and Baekhyun's sure the doctor has found an angle so that Baekhyun's face is entirely exposed to him. The younger sniffs again, moving up to violently rub tears away, angry at himself and so, so frustrated.

A hand catches his arm and then Yixing is right in front of him. For once, Baekhyun doesn't care and he looks away. It doesn't help though, because tears are still falling out and he can't stop them. He tries to fight back against Yixing's hold this time, but the older is stronger, and so he gives up.

Baekhyun closes his eyes again, and he can almost taste Yixing's scolds before they even leave the older's lips. But he doesn't want to hear them, he just wants silence.

Unexpectedly, a warm hand clutches his face and wipes his tears away. Surprised, Baekhyun opens his eyes immediately and stares at Yixing, who for the first time, doesn't look angry. His eyes have lost all the vigor and intimidating energy, replaced by soft eyes that look empathetic and understanding and concerned, as if asking him what's wrong. Somehow, it's harder to defy these eyes.

"I ... I ... I ... I hate ... myself." Baekhyun hiccups and chatters. "F-For having ... such ... s-self-f-fish fee ... lings." Sniffing, Baekhyun reaches up with his other hand to rub violently again at his tears, because he's so angry with himself. Once again, Yixing stops him by grabbing his wrist, pulling it away from his face.

"I w-want to for ... get." He continues, not sure why he's confessing. "But ... I-I ... c-can't."

He shuts his eyes tightly, letting the tears gush out of his eyes, feeling ashamed. Ashamed for confessing the darkest feelings in his heart. And then something soft touches his lips.

Confused, Baekhyun opens his eyes, seeing Zhang Yixing's face to be inches from his.

Zhang Yixing is kissing him.

Baekhyun is so shocked he can't move.

Yet when Zhang Yixing pulls away, Baekhyun does nothing. Strangely, his mind is blank - it's as if Yixing has sucked out all his previous emotions, and the emotions he was about to feel when the older kissed him. Yixing says nothing, but only stares at him as he slowly stands up and walks away to the other side of the room.

All Baekhyun can think about now is how warm the kiss had been, to the point where it transfers all the way to his heart. In the background, he hears Yixing calling someone, telling that someone to come to room 530, and Baekhyun remembers.

"Professor doesn't a-allow for just anyone t-to enter." Baekhyun says, and then remembers that it includes Zhang Yixing. Yixing is back now, his hard gaze back again.

"Chanyeol will be here soon." He says strictly.

"Please l-leave." Baekhyun is mentally scolding himself now - how could he just let someone walk in and not do anything about it? For such a long time? Once again, he had let down his professor. "Please ..." He prepares to stand up, but Yixing walks away again, and this time, out the door.

Baekhyun silences himself and takes the time to warm himself up further. He's not chattering now, and the tears have dried on his cheeks. He doesn't even register the fact that his professor is coming and his professor is going to see him like this until the door opens once more and the two older ones barge inside.

"Baekhyun!" Chanyeol exclaims, running over to Baekhyun. He kneels down and clutches the younger's face. "You're always worrying me, little one."

"I'm sorry." Baekhyun whispers genuinely. "I won't do it again."

"Why are you always hurting yourself?" There he goes again, with his concerned eyebrows. "Do you know how much you worry me? Why?"

Baekhyun can't respond. He shuts his eyes and turns away, pulling up his blankets closer to his body.

"We know now that he's fine. Don't look into it further." Yixing says, and now Baekhyun can't look at him either, because all he can think about is the kiss they shared. It was Baekhyun's first kiss, believe it or not, and now that his mind isn't blank anymore, his feelings are rushing back to him, a mix of confusion, shock, anger, hesitation, frustration, and many other little things Baekhyun doesn't dare identify. Why had Zhang Yixing kissed him? Chanyeol stands, and Baekhyun watches as the two of them walk out of the room.

I wonder what they're doing. He thinks to himself, and then blinks in horror. Is he going to tell Professor that ... we kissed?

Heart racing, Baekhyun tries to stand, but then he falls again because he hasn't had breakfast at all, and he had used up all his energy by running. This huge appetite of his is going to kill him one day. Biting his lip, Baekhyun instead wraps the blankets over himself tightly, and thinks about how Chanyeol had probably cancelled his date with Dara because of Baekhyun.

Baekhyun should be happy. Part of him is, happy at the fact that he still holds some importance in Chanyeol's heart, yet the most part of him is angry at himself again.

Now you ruined their date. He thinks to himself, and at the realisation, he puts his face in his hands. Now not only does he hold such horrible feelings inside him, but he's also physically acting out his feelings too, whether it's intentional or not.

Just what has he become?

The door opens and they re-enter again. Footsteps sound louder and louder until there is a dull thud in front of him, and warm hands over his. Those hands pry open his own until he's forced to face the eyes of the man he loves. And is slowly destroying.

"Don't hurt yourself, for whatever reason." Chanyeol says softly, and Baekhyun wants to cry but he doesn't. Instead, he takes a deep breath and summons up a smile.

"I'm fine." He says weakly. "Don't let me ruin your date with Dara-noona. I'm really fine. Just go."

"You're my student, I have to know you're okay first."

"Can't you see I'm looking well?"

"Baekhyun -"

"Just go. Please." Baekhyun's bottom lip trembles but he bites the inside of it.

"I'll take care of him." Yixing says. Chanyeol lets go and stands to face the doctor.

"But he's my student -"

"Please, Professor." He whispers, and when he closes his eyes, tears roll down his cheeks.

"Okay." Chanyeol's voice is neutral now, devoid of emotion, and Baekhyun wonders if he's angry because Baekhyun, his student, rejected him. Only because Baekhyun is his student, and nothing else. "But Baekhyun, you have to promise me that in my absence, from now on, there needs to be nothing happening to you. No trouble caused by you. No troubling Doctor Yixing."

"Yes." Baekhyun breathes with a slight nod. His cheeks pink with shame because now he has humiliated Chanyeol in Yixing's presence. And he let Chanyeol down. And he's just a burden.

"Thanks, Yixing. I'll come back in the afternoon." Chanyeol mutters, and then he's gone.

"You heard what he said." Yixing announces. "Don't cause me trouble again."

Baekhyun sniffs then nods again.

"I'm sorry." He says softly. "I won't cause you trouble again." He repeats what Yixing said, hoping that will sound genuine, and hoping that maybe it'll become like a contract that he won't break.

"It's pointless to blame yourself." Yixing continues. "Feelings can't be controlled. You're too kind."

It's the first time Yixing has ever commented on his character, and Baekhyun's heart skips a beat.

"You're just too young. It'll take you a while before you mature enough to understand." Yixing comes over and passes him a bag. "Dress up and eat up." And then he walks out and Baekhyun is left alone.

Maybe everything he's doing to control his feelings is too destructive, and too attention-seeking. Baekhyun knows he's wrong in handling his emotions, always deciding to go to the extremes to punish himself, yet if he doesn't go to the extreme, how is he ever going to push down and crush his feelings?

But it's affecting people, especially the two people who are probably the busiest mostly because they're most prestigious. It's really time Baekhyun stops being selfish, all because he can't handle his own feelings. He's sure if he controls himself, everything will be fine.

Baekhyun obediently eats his food even though he wants to punish himself not to, because he caused trouble. And then he puts on his clothes and moves to grab a book out from the shelf on Data and Research. For some reason, he feels as if he had been cleansed, because for the next few hours he was able to concentrate so thoroughly that he learns more than he usually does. And then once he's finished the chapter, he closes the book and lies onto the ground, pulling the blankets over him, searching for warmth. Then when he closes his eyes, he falls asleep.

The next time he wakes up, the surroundings have completely changed. Baekhyun sits up, blinking in confusion because this place looks exactly like his room. When he turns, he finds his bag not far away from the door, how he usually keeps his bag. This is definitely his room. Then something moves from the corner of his eye and he yelps, instinctively reaching for the blankets as a form of protection. Chanyeol emerges, blinking with his huge eyes.

"You're awake, little one." He says, and prepares to jog towards the younger, but he trips in the process and nearly falls.

"Are you okay?" Baekhyun asks, preparing to leave his bed to his professor, but then the taller looks up at him and nods, not a hint of a smile on his face.

What's wrong? Baekhyun thinks to himself, heart hurting. Chanyeol usually smiles sheepishly whenever he trips (and he trips a LOT), so why isn't he smiling now?

"I realised ..." Chanyeol stands straight and fiddles with his fingers. "... I've been neglecting you, haven't I?"

"Uh, of course not." Baekhyun replies, shaking his head violently, eyes wide to prove that he really doesn't feel like that.

"Whenever you're hurt, I'm never there ..." Chanyeol says. "... It's always the doctor that's there to help you, and I'm ... I'm your professor but I'm never there ..."

"That's because ..." Baekhyun bites his lip. "... I was avoiding you."

"Avoiding me? Why?" Hurt flashes across Chanyeol's eyes.

"I didn't want to trouble you, Professor." The smaller whispers. pulling the blankets up further as if to shield himself away. "I'm sorry."

The taller sighs, inching closer until he's right by Baekhyun's bed. "But you want to trouble the doctor? Do you have a crush on him?"

Baekhyun is so confused that he falls silent.

"I've heard the rumours, Baekhyun." Chanyeol continues. "Now, I don't think you're the type to seduce someone, but I do think there's something more going on between the two of you, is there not?"

"I ..." Baekhyun's throat goes dry. The person I have a crush on is you ... Lost, Baekhyun remains silent once more.

"You don't love Doctor Yixing, do you?"

"What? No ..." Baekhyun's voice is small because he's afraid of exposing himself. "I don't ... love anyone right now."

"Really?" A cheeky smile hangs over Chanyeol's lips. "What about your family? You don't love them?"

"..." Baekhyun lets out a smile. Chanyeol's smile widens and he points to Baekhyun's lips.

"At least now I know you're all right." The taller says, then pinches Baekhyun's nose. "Silly one, promise me you won't cause trouble for anyone other than me again, you hear?"

"Mm." Baekhyun responds meekly, cheeks flushing pink. The older chuckles, and ruffles his hair.

"Good." He bends down, as if picking up something, and then dumps a bag on top of Baekhyun's bed. "Now eat up, you skipped lunch, you unhealthy little one."

"Oh." Baekhyun quickly takes out the first bowl of noodles and eats it quietly. His professor is watching him so intently that embarrassment claws at him. In the end, he dares himself to look up into the older's eyes.

"I'm ... I'm ... eating." He mumbles, lifting up his bowl.

"I know. Just making sure." The taller says. "I'm going to watch you from now on, and make sure you don't hurt yourself again. I'm watching you right now."

At that thought, Baekhyun reddens, and attempts to hide it by stuffing himself with more food. Then he remembers.

"You ate too, didn't you?" Baekhyun sets down his food to look at Chanyeol, this time without shame, and at the older's sheepish grin, Baekhyun points his chopsticks. "You didn't ..."

"I ate breakfast though...?"

"Here." Baekhyun holds up the noodles with his chopsticks and passes it to the older. "No wonder you were looking at me, Professor ... You were hungry."

"No, I ..." Chanyeol stares at the noodles, then up at Baekhyun, but the smaller holds it out even more, lips forming into a natural pout. In the end Chanyeol takes it in his mouth and eats the noodles off Baekhyun's chopsticks.

"Good job, Professor!" Baekhyun grins, mood lifted, and he takes more noodles in his chopsticks and continues feeding his professor, who seems to have forgotten about Baekhyun and had started eating it himself.

"It's delicious ... it's not because I'm hungry." Chanyeol tries to excuse himself.

"Mm, okay." Baekhyun replies, smiling sweetly as he feeds the older another mouthful. Really, looking at Chanyeol eat is giving him more energy than it's supposed to.

"Aah!" Chanyeol exclaims once the bowl is empty. "I'm supposed to watch you eat, not let you feed me!"

"Heh heh." Baekhyun laughs, taking out the next bowl. "I'll let you watch me eat this time. Promise."

"I can't believe I got distracted ..." The older mutters to himself. "At this rate how am I going to correct his wrongs ...?"

Feeling happy, Baekhyun quietly eats his noodles, forgetting his awkwardness towards his professor and momentarily forgetting his feelings for him.

"Are you friends with Doctor Yixing?" Baekhyun asks once he's finished with his lunch. "You guys ... wear the same necklace."

"Oh! You mean this?" Chanyeol holds out his necklace. "Yeah, since both of us were the youngest at the Lab before you entered, I decided to make friends with him."

"He .... wore it?"

"Yeah. I made him." Chanyeol grins widely. "His heart is softer than mine."

"As if ..." Baekhyun mutters in disbelief.

"Really!" Chanyeol exclaims. "He wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"He's ... an Experimenter." Baekhyun mutters, then looks up at his professor in interest. "Did you want to be one?"

"No way." Shaking his head violently, Chanyeol says it with force. "I'm ... scared of blood."

"Oh ... I didn't know that."

"Yeah." Chanyeol sighs. "People go around calling me a legend, and in the end I really can't do anything."

"You can teach." Baekhyun smiles. "You can be funny. You can be kind. You can be the youngest ever to enter EX'ACT Lab." Baekhyun watches the smile on Chanyeol's face widens, then closes his eyes instinctively when the older reaches out and pinches his nose again.

"You're such a sweet one."

They start the experimenting the next day. Baekhyun watches anxiously, fiddling as he stands with other excited and passionate students. Zhang Yixing stands there with two other Experimenters, watching silently as one of the other two Experimenters talk to the trainees. Baekhyun can hardly listen, because his palms are sweating and his heart is thumping so fast it's making him dizzy. His breaths are also short, and fear is starting to choke him whenever he tries to think too deeply on what exactly they do in the laboratories.

"We will now take you to our main laboratory centre." One of the Experimenters say. "You must not talk in there, must follow all instructions, and do not touch anything unless given permission to." And then they form a line to follow the Experimenters.

Throughout the walk, Baekhyun is anxious and he's outright panicking. He never thought he had such a fear towards this until now, when he is forced to confront it. They enter a floor Baekhyun has never been on before, and the lights are dim. One of the Experimenters puts a finger to his lips and then leads them through. Baekhyun is too nervous now to speak, his legs trembling and nearly giving out underneath him. They stop inside a small room, where the Experimenters pass them masks to wear. Baekhyun takes it with shaking fingers, and in his vision he briefly notices a very excited Dara next to him. Her lips are moving as she looks to him, but Baekhyun can't hear it. Instead, he tries to smile and nod, then puts on the surgical mask. Once again, they are led to another room, and this time, Baekhyun can hear voices now, speaking quietly. The room is dark and Baekhyun is the last trainee to enter. When he does, he sees two Experimenters crowding over a bed, and on the bed, lies an unconscious man.

It's the most peculiar thing he's ever seen.

The man's hair is a bright blue, fitting around his otherwise normal-looking face. He's half naked, his chest wide and nicely toned, and his lower half covered by pants. The trainees stand in a straight line, and Baekhyun's in the perfect position where he can see the least. Then the door closes behind them, and the Experimenters that escorted them here leave.

"This is a new Experiment." One of the new Experimenters introduce, his voice a little muffled by mask he's wearing. He's also wearing gloves, and Baekhyun wonders why. "Usually, the Experiments are wide awake and conscious, so that we can perform to the best of our ability, however for the purposes of new trainees today, we have rendered him unconscious."

"Also," the other Experimenter jokes, "we like to hear them scream."

Excited whispers sound between the trainees, but Baekhyun can feel something rise in his throat and he covers his lips with his hand, swallowing it down.

Just how much hatred do Lucky Ones bear for Monsters? Just how horrible were the Monsters, for the Lucky Ones to resent them like this? It must've been too horrible for them to reminisce.

Maybe Baekhyun is too young to understand.

One of the Experimenters presses a knife against the top middle of the man's stomach, and then he pushes it in.

Strangely, no blood flows out, and the knife moves down the man's stomach, almost as if the Experimenter is cutting a cake. Baekhyun is at first stunned. After a few minutes, the man's stomach is opened, and Baekhyun can see his insides.

Then the nausea comes, but not as bad as he had expected. He covers his mouth again, shutting his eyes tightly as he tries not to let the grotesque imagery enter his mind. Instead, he tries to think about how this is for a good cause, and for the greater good.

When he thinks he's ready, he opens his eyes again. This time, he sees one of the Experimenters reaching into the opened stomach, as if looking for something, when he pulls out, Baekhyun sees the blood stained onto the gloves. So that's what the gloves are for.

Even so, Baekhyun's weak heart can't handle it, and he steps back and crouches down, taking small, shallow breaths. The Monster can't feel the pain ... He can't feel the pain ... Baekhyun thinks to himself, hearing the voices of the Experimenters float over.

"Hm, I can't seem to see anything clearly from this."

"It seems as if the sedatives have made it more difficult for us to detect any problems, or symptoms."

"Let's keep one of the organs for further inspection." Silence.

"Um ... is it healthy for the patient? The Experiment, I mean?" A trainee asks.

"That cannot be clear." One of them replies. "However, it will not be detrimental to the Monster's life."

Then, when Baekhyun has the guts to stand up and watch them again, the man's stomach has already been sewn back up, and there are blood stains and little bits and pieces all over the man's body.

Then it is over.

Baekhyun is the first to leave, and he rushes towards the corner, clutching the wall as he takes huge breaths. Okay, so he survived. It means everything will be okay, right?

"Baekhyun!" Dara calls as she walks over to him. "What do you think?"

"F-Fine." Baekhyun replies breathlessly, then stands up straight and sends a wobbly smile at his friend. Dara grins and then links her arm through his, pulling him away.

"I heard that that was just a small demo." She explains. "Ran for an hour though." That short? Baekhyun thinks to himself. It felt so long to him, maybe because half the time he was crouching down, refusing to face reality.

"In truth, these experiments last for hours, and with the Experiment awake too. So you can hear them screaming." Baekhyun, who hasn't fully recovered, stumbles a bit and clutches his head. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Baekhyun mumbles, trying not to puke at the idea that he'd have to watch more of these, even worse ones, for the rest of the week.

"Hm, guess you're too young." The older has seen through him, and she taps him on the head. "You'll get used to it. It comes with experience."

"Mm ..." Baekhyun replies, until Dara bids him goodbye and then leaves to seek her trainer. Baekhyun decides to find his own Professor in the meantime. He enters the elevator after every other trainee has left, and that's because he had needed to stay up there to catch his breath. He's alone in the elevator, realising that although these laboratories are on a high floor, they're not the highest floor, like the floor Baekhyun had accidentally ended up in the other day. He briefly wonders why they're not the same floor, thinking back to that room when the Experimenter had held up a piece of -

Baekhyun crouches down again as the elevator pulls him down at a high speed. The speed doesn't help, and once the elevator stops and the door opens, Baekhyun stumbles out, coughing. About to vomit, he runs and thankfully finds a public toilet (they're not very common). He rushes in and bends down, vomiting into the toilet bowl.

Oh god ... Experimenting is supposed to be a huge aspect to passing and becoming an official member of EX'ACT. How is Baekhyun ever going to be part of EX'ACT at this point?

After flushing the toilet, washing his hands and his mouth, Baekhyun walks out, feeling weak, frustrated, and dejected. As he returns to room 530, his professor asks him how it is.

I can't say how much I hated it ... That'll be disappointing to him. He thinks to himself, so he summons up a smile. "It was great!"

"Was it?" His professor's smile is gentle in comparison as he stretches out his hand and ruffles Baekhyun's hair again. Baekhyun loves that.

"Yep." Baekhyun keeps his voice confident and excited.

"What did you see?"

"...... Uh ..." Baekhyun falters now. Cold sweat begins to appear on his skin as he tries not to think back to that horrible experience. "I ..."

"All right." Chanyeol chuckles. "Let's just continue learning. We want you to climb back up the ladder so you can become an official member."

"Okay." Baekhyun blinks and turns, stumbling over to his table and almost tripping. He grabs a book, steadies himself, and returns to Chanyeol's desk. Chanyeol, in the meantime, had moved all his papers and books out of the way, and made way for Baekhyun.

"Professor ..." Still completely unused to how the taller seems to throw everything down just to spend time to help his student, Baekhyun can only feel his heart racing at how thoughtful his professor is. "You really ... don't have to."

"Baekhyun, I'm already angry at myself for neglecting you for so long." Chanyeol says. "I'm not going to do that again. I won't abandon you again."

Upon hearing that, the younger's heart quickens and heat rises to his cheeks. Why must his professor treat him like so?

If this keeps going, he's only going to fall harder, and he'll get even more deeply hurt.

"Get your chair here." Sure, Baekhyun's seen his professor's many clumsy days. His professor trips more often than not every time he walks, and when his hands move to do something they always somehow accidentally break something or they'll accidentally hit something and bruise themselves. His professor, more often than not, drops things or bumps into things. Yet, it's these uncommon moments where he's gentle and cool and elegant, and it's these moments where Baekhyun finds himself pulled in stronger than he wants to be.

But what's he saying? He's sure he'll be moved even when his professor is his clumsy self.

Baekhyun runs over to grab his chair, and returns as quickly as he can. His professor smiles at him encouragingly, reaching out to pinch his cheek.

"..." Baekhyun stares at him, a little at a loss.

"Hm?" Realising that his student is not moving, as if seeking an explanation, Chanyeol smiles. "Oh. You just seem so much like a cute little dongsaeng to me, I really wanna take care of you, you know?"

"Oh." Wordlessly, Baekhyun sits down on his chair, too distracted to flip the pages. It's strange, how the fact that his professor sees him only as a child hits him now. After all, it's always been obvious, the way Chanyeol ruffles his hair and calls him "little one", yet a part of him had always denied this fact, set on believing that maybe Chanyeol could look at him the way he looked at Chanyeol. And he hates it, how he's always getting affected by these little things that shouldn't even matter. He's a student, his goal and dream is to be a part of EX'ACT and solve this tension between Monsters and Lucky Ones once and for all, and yet, here he is, wanting to give up because of his mere feelings.

His feelings ... that are insignificant.

"Little one?" It's this voice that he loves, full of concern and kindness. Since he doesn't see me that way, I'm going to have to get over it. Or pretend I don't have these feelings. Summoning up a smile, he straightens his back to face his professor.

"Hm?" He responds cheerfully.

"... What page?"

"O-Oh!" Laughing sheepishly, Baekhyun quickly flips the page, and once again they start learning together.