Youngjae stumbled into the greenery; taking a prolonged moment to catch his breath. The few times he had run quick enough to feel his blood threatening to burst from his body had always ever been to retrieve an ingredient or two from the grocery store. He would than hand them over to a frantic Yezi who would replace the used-up items in both location and quantity to make it appear as if she had never been in the kitchen at all. It saved her the hassle of having to explain to her mother how she had 'evaded' her grandmother—who would always fall asleep watching whatever drama she could find on TV at the time—to mess around in the kitchen without supervision.

At first, Youngjae, in fearing for Yezi's safety, would tell her not to do it again. But as the days went by, the times Yezi proved her maturity in the kitchen also increased in number. Not long after that first day, he stopped pestering her about the dangers of working alone. Of course, that hadn't meant Youngjae didn't teach her how to use a fire extinguisher.

Ignoring the web of pain that jabbed at his side, Youngjae hurried on towards the back where the vials from his previous experiment were hidden beneath the shade of an evergreen. He stepped into the crowded space and nearly stopped short of making his way towards the hunched over figure. Yugyeom was on his knees, leaning forward into the ground to inspect the liquid up close. To think that someone as good-natured and handsome as Yugyeom didn't mind looking the part of a fool in public ellicited a smile from Youngjae. Too many people worry about what others think to genuinely enjoy life.

"You're not supposed to smell that," Youngjae said as he handed Yugyeom a surgical mask.

Yugyeom looked up, any traces of amusement wiped clean off of his face. "You're kidding, right?"

Youngjae chuckled. "Yes, but this fixative—he slid a metal can out from under the rack—is going to smell atrocious." He uncapped the can in time to see Yugyeom hurriedly slipping his mask on.

Youngjae made sure the liquid wasn't anywhere near the cracks separating each large square from one another before carefully layering a coat of the fixative over the liquid. When the particles from the spray began to disipitate into the air, Youngjae opened his mouth to say: "The smell might even linger on your clothes if you stay within a two mile radius."

Yugyeom groaned. "This shirt could have bought me six bowls of ramen and now it's all ruined."

Youngjae looked over at Yugyeom, surveying him to understand if he meant what he said. Here was someone who surely had the money to buy things any materialistic person would drool at the thought of.

Yugyeom walked over and stretched his hand out. "But that doesn't matter. I could care less about things like that. What matters is that I caused the problem so I should be the one to fix it."

When Youngjae didn't hand the can over, Yugyeom squatted in front of him and asked again. "Please?" He raised one end of his lips up to reveal a crooked tooth near the back.

"Not this time." Youngjae stood and moved to the other end of the square before layering another coat on top. His head was starting to pulse and a wave of nausea was beginning to accumulate in the pit of his stomach but instead of attributing it to the lack of Vitamin C in his body, he thought it was the horrid smell coming from the fumes. "What I said holds true, though. Never forget to wear your lab coat. You pose a serious risk to yourself when you show up here without one on."

Yugyeom on his bottom lip, his eyes following the movement of Youngjae's hand. Sensing that it sounded too much like a scolding, Youngjae scoured his mind for something else to tack on. He was just about to say what he had settled on when a tidal wave of dizziness slammed into his body until he saw a neverending sea of black. He stretched a hand out to catch himself before he could slam into the ground but his muscles wouldn't latch onto his command. Youngjae yelped as his shoulder crashed into the ground.

"Youngjae!" Yugyeom kneeled beside Youngjae, the space above his right eyebrow rumpling with worry. "What's wrong?"

"Hey, I'm okay."

Yugyeom stripped himself of his windbreaker and folded it.

"Stop."

He lifted Youngjae's head to slide the jacket underneath when five cold fingers grazed his skin. Yugyeom looked down to see Youngjae's fingers laced around his wrist.

"I said stop." Youngjae sat up slowly. He slumped forward, his chin tucked against his chest with his eyes shut tight. "I'm okay, really. Just. Five seconds, okay?"

Yugyeom nodded despite knowing that Youngjae would not be able to see the gesture. After a droll of time passed by, Youngjae cracked an eye open and than the other. The darkness started to fade as his eyes grew accustomed to the bright, vibrant space around him. "This happens when I don't take my Vitamin C supplements." He swallowed whatever bit of saliva he had in his dry mouth.

Yugyeom was on his feet in an instant. "Don't you worry. Be back in a flash with those supplements." He snapped his fingers and dashed off before Youngjae could say anything against it. Youngjae pulled himself to his feet and closed his eyes, letting the welcome emptiness give him a moment to collect his strength.

Back at his workstation, Youngjae pulled open his desk drawer and reached for his bottle of Vitamin C. He let his fingers graze over the cool plastic sticker as the memory of Yugyeom heading off with a passionate intensity replayed in his head. There shouldn't be any harm done in spending a little more time without taking his recommended dosage. He had already gone a couple of days without doing what he had routinely done for the past several years.

"What is another half hour of my life without Vitamin C?" He blew a gust of air out through his nostril.

"That sounds like it can kill you."

Instinctively, Youngjae tensed up, slamming the drawer shut as he whirled around.

"Do you want to die?"

"Who are you?" A shadow of doubt passed over Youngjae as his eyes caught on the insignia emblazoned on the left pocket of her lab coat. The gold-colored pair of needles set before a dark green patch of land was only ever used by the Biology/Biomedical students. As per anyone who cared about society's expecations, being accepted to this department was the greatest honor anyone within the city or town could have if they attended either University.

"Oh, I apologize. I hope that wasn't rude of me." She tsked. "I didn't mean to alarm you."

Youngjae shook his head. "No, it's quite alright."

"That's strange. Isn't there two of you?"

Youngjae furrowed his eyebrows. It took him a moment to realize she wasn't talking about Jaebum but Yugyeom.

"He left to retrieve something." Youngjae felt his vision begin to swirl into a blur but he tried his best to clear it before he could let it overtake him again. He didn't need sympathy from a complete stranger.

"I must have come at the wrong time but I'm already here, sooo..." She grinned from ear to ear, her smile never quite reaching her eyes. "On behalf of the Biology department, I came to extend an invitation to the botany students. We've planned a retreat for the Juweok Mountains to take place next weekend. It'll be a two-day, two-night stay. All expenses paid." She made sure to pronounce every word from the last sentence with distinction.

Her watch beeped, signalling the change in hour. With a smile that accentuated her doll-like features, she curtsied the exact same way Youngjae used to all those years ago. Any icy cold chill rippled over his skin, knocking every last ounce of fatigue straight out of his body. He must be losing his mind. It was just a curtsy. Like any other. Nothing more.

"Details in the formal invitations to be delivered soon. I hope