Friend or Foe

            Leeteuk rushed to the lab and flung open the door, causing it to hit the wall hard.  Heechul was so startled—not expecting anyone to visit the lab, least of all cause such a commotion upon entering—that he jumped and managed to fall off his stool in the process.  He began cursing to himself as he stood up and dusted off, but as it was Leeteuk that had walked into the lab, he refrained from giving his friend a hard time about it.  After all, Leeteuk had been avoiding him the last six weeks, despite his numerous apologies.  (Didn’t the stubborn man realize that Heechul rarely ever apologized to anyone?  Couldn’t Leeteuk just get over his mistake already?)

            Heechul sighed deeply and turned to look at his friend as he approached.  “Teukie!  What brings you to the lab?”

            “I hope you’re happy!” Leeteuk said, shoving Heechul hard in the chest. 

            Heechul stumbled backwards.  “Why?  What?”

            Leeteuk walked to the other end of the lab and began to rub his own tense shoulder. 

            “Wook wants me to perform an abortion on him.  He doesn’t feel able to tell Kyuhyun about the baby.  Kyuhyun might be transferred to Beijing and Ryeowook isn’t prepared to raise the baby alone.”

            Heechul sat back on the stool and thought this over.  Even if Ryeowook had an abortion, he’d still proved the effectiveness of the drug.  Heechul did not need him to have the baby to prove that…but he felt that Ryeowook would later regret the decision himself and that he did not wish to see.  Ryeowook had always loved children.  Heechul couldn’t stand them, for the most part, but Ryeowook saw something entertaining about them.  He loved to play with Eunhyuk’s son or go visit Saeun’s twins. 

            “He’s making a mistake,” Heechul said.

            “I already know that!” Leeteuk exclaimed.  “But he seems hell-bent on doing it, as soon as possible, and I don’t know what I can do to talk him into thinking it over a little more or telling Kyuhyun about it.  I promised I would do the abortion if that’s what he chose.”

            “When is he coming for that?”

            “Three,” Leeteuk answered.  “And I don’t know how I’m going to psyche myself up for it.  I just…I know he’ll feel terrible about it later and so will I.”

            Heechul shook his head.  “You’re not going to do it.  I’m going to meet Ryeowook in your office instead.”

            Leeteuk spun on his heels and waved his hands in front of him.  “I think that’s a bad idea.  I don’t think you and Ryeowook should be anywhere near each other right now.”

            “Au contraire, mon frere, I think it is best that we finally get this initial meeting over with.  He has wanted to meet with me since my return from the conference and this will give him the opportunity to say or do whatever his wishes to me.  And you should not have to do an abortion when you do not feel comfortable performing one.  I am the one who gave Ryeowook the drug against his will.  If this job falls on anyone, it is me.”

            Leeteuk narrowed his eyes.  “I don’t know…”

            Heechul got up off his stool and walked over to Leeteuk.  “I know I have lost your confidence after what I did, but if you have any faith left in me at all, please let me meet with Wook instead of you.”

             Leeteuk puffed out his cheeks, glancing over at Heechul.

            “Do you trust me?”

            Leeteuk continued to stare at him.

            “When it comes down to it, if it were a life or death situation and it depended on me to save your …would you trust me to do it?”

            “Yes,” Leeteuk answered. 

            “Then trust me with this as well,” Heechul said. 

            Leeteuk nodded.  He stepped forward and hugged Heechul, then he left the lab without another word.  Everything banked on Heechul handling Ryeowook the right way later in the afternoon.  Heechul’s own friendship with Leeteuk was riding on it.  The trouble was, would Ryeowook respond best if he apologized or if he continued to act like an ?  If he seemed too sympathetic, Ryeowook might insist on the abortion because Heechul was being too considerate. 

            So this would be the price he would have to pay for his sin…he would have to continue playing the part of the devil for a little longer.  But at least Leeteuk was starting to forgive him and that was a big relief.  When you’re a mad scientist, you don’t generally have a large group of friends.  Pissing off the few you have isn’t the best plan. 

            Ryeowook nearly ran up the stairs.  He had run a little late getting to the medical wing.  He’d lost track of time while composing.  As a general rule, times of hardship were great times of inspiration for him, if anything positive could be said of hardships.  He tried his best to hurry down the hall without running.  He would hate to fall.  Falling wouldn’t be good for the baby.  And even if he was about to have an abortion, certainly he shouldn’t hurt the baby before that.  Right?  Or was that a strange way of thinking?  But the baby was probably still so small and underdeveloped that it couldn’t feel anything.  So, maybe all this worrying over falling was in vain.  Still, Ryeowook hurried, without running and reached Leeteuk’s office only about ten minutes late.

            Stopping just outside Leeteuk’s door, he took a couple deep breaths and straightened his clothes.  He didn’t want to look as if he’d rushed or that he didn’t appear orderly.  He wanted to look calm and put together, even if he was anything but. 

            Just as he raised his hand into the air, his text alert went off.  Ryeowook dug into his pocket.  He’d forgotten to turn off his phone.  Before he did so, he glanced at the text.  Again, it was from Kyuhyun. 

            Worst day of my life.  Not exaggerating.  Could probably be somewhat salvaged if you agreed to have dinner with me later.  Possible?

            Ryeowook bit his lip.  How could he make such a promise if he didn’t know how he was going to feel after the procedure?  Instead of answering, he turned off his phone and shoved it back into his pocket, trying not to think about it.  One thing at a time.  Once this was over, he could concentrate on what was happening between him and Kyuhyun. 

            He resolutely knocked on the door, just in case one of Leeteuk’s appointments went late.  He’d hate to accidentally walk in on something.  “Come in,” he heard in a grumbly voice.

            Ryeowook opened the door and walked in, taking off his coat.  “I’m sorry I’m late, Teuk.  I started writing a song and lost track of time.”

            After Ryeowook hung up his coat, he turned towards the desk, and that’s when he finally realized why he hadn’t heard his hyung enthusiastically greet him yet, as he usually did.  Sitting behind the desk was Dr. Kim Heechul, his feet kicked up on Leeteuk’s desk, smoking a cigarette. 

            “I would start ing at you for taking up all my time away from the lab, but seeing as I’m partly responsible for putting you in this position in the first place, I’ll hold my tongue today,” he said, leisurely blowing out a stream of smoke. 

            “Partly responsible?” Ryeowook questioned, his voice rising.

            “Well,” Heechul said, leveling with him, “wasn’t my up your , was it?”

            Ryeowook narrowed his eyes.  “What the hell are you doing here?”

            Heechul inhaled from the cigarette again.  “Leeteuk came to me in a panic.  He didn’t feel comfortable doing the abortion, especially since he’s convinced you’ll regret it later.  So I told him that I’d do it instead.  After all, as you pointed out, I’m more than a little responsible for your current predicament.  I should be the one to do the deed.”

            Ryeowook watched as Heechul continued to smoke.  “Put that out!  You shouldn’t be doing that in a room like this!”

            “Leeteuk isn’t seeing anyone else here until next week.  It will dissipate by then and no one will notice,” Heechul argued.

            “You’re not supposed to smoke around pregnant people.  It’s harmful to babies!”

            “The only pregnant person around me is you, but you’re planning on aborting the baby, so why is it bad if I smoke?”

            Ryeowook rushed around the desk, snatched the cigarette from his hand, pulled open a window, and threw the thing out.  Heechul’s brows rose as he grabbed the rest of the pack off the desk and threw them out as well.  Then he shut the window. 

            “On a related topic, how are those pregnancy hormones treating you?”

            “You’re a ing !  You know that?” Ryeowook swore.  “What the hell were you thinking when you slipped me those drugs?  That I would be happy?  I’m unmarried and my boyfriend of less than half a year is being sent to China for work.  He won’t even be around to help me, assuming he doesn’t run the other direction the moment he catches wind of this!  And I actually love him!”

            “If you love him so ing much, why don’t you tell him about the baby, Wook?”

            Ryeowook picked up the model from on top of Leeteuk’s desk and threw it at Heechul, who caught it and carefully repositioned it behind him where Ryeowook couldn’t reach it.

            “I can’t!  He already feels terrible enough about having to leave me now!” Ryeowook explained.  “I don’t want to mess with his career, but I don’t think I can raise a baby alone.  I’m not sure if I can afford child care.  I don’t know if I can be the one getting up in the middle of the night for feedings, every single night.  I still have my own life, too.”

            “If your only reason is finances or support, then you don’t need to worry about that.  I’m the one who slipped you the drug, I will give you money if you need it.  I will even come over in the middle of the night if you need to sleep.”

            “As if I’d let you anywhere near my kid!” Ryeowook cried out, backing up and holding his stomach.  “You really are a nutcase!  After what you did to me, I’d be worried sick that you’d experiment on the baby.”

            Heechul opened his mouth to deny this, but he couldn’t exactly deny it.  What if one diaper worked better than the other?  What if they slept longer while swaddled than if they weren’t wrapped in blankets?  Were toys that made noise more popular than toys that flashed lights?  They didn’t help his experiments in fertility, but they would be interesting experiments none-the-less.

            Ryeowook pointed his finger at him.  “You’re a sick bastard.”

            “Now, now…babies can hea