Minseok twitched, Baekhyun’s tail sliding against his cheek as the rat shifted his position. He yawned, his mind leaving the fog and returning to the present.

The present. Lu Han awkwardly dragging the only other heavy mahogany dining chair out so he could sit, looking every bit like he was afraid the chair might break in his grasp. It was a momentary weakness, an innate reaction, a telltale sign. Minseok filed it away for future reference.

Yixing appeared with a covered silver tray, the first of many he would bring to the great dining hall. Minseok stared across the long table, pointedly ignoring his manservant in favor of Lu Han. He was an odd fellow, Minseok surmised, noticing that the awkwardness was gone and the confidence had returned. Perhaps he was too confident, a sign he would fail like the rest of them.

“Lu Han, when you were in Antarctica…” Minseok trailed off, not certain how best to ask the question.

“Yes, Mr. Kim?” Lu Han was following his lead, ignoring the dishes that Yixing placed on the table in favor of staring down his opponent. If Minseok didn’t know better he would take Lu Han for one of his own, an upper-class gentleman used to being waited on hand and foot.

“Do you enjoy duck?” Minseok changed the subject, asking but not really asking, skirting the question that had entered his mind earlier. “They are plentiful on the estate at this time of year.”

“Yes, I do,” Lu Han answered.

Minseok hummed out a response while Yixing began lifting the coverings off of the silver platters, revealing the sumptuous feast. Even if he dined alone, Yixing insisted that he eat a meal that was fitting for his station in life. An obscene amount of food was served at every meal, whether Minseok protested or not.

Baekhyun squeaked at the appearance of food. It was a sudden reminder that he had promised to introduce him to his new business partner. “Lu Han is going to help us, Baekhyun.” Minseok glanced at the rat on his shoulder and then back across the table. “Lu Han, Baekhyun is my most trusted friend.”

He waited for the adventurer to proclaim him a madman but it never came.

“A pleasure to meet you, Baekhyun,” Lu Han greeted with all of the grace and sincerity due when meeting a gentleman.

Minseok couldn’t help but smile, pleased with the way Lu Han handled himself. His smile faltered when he considered he might appear too trusting, too easy, and too ready to be meddled with. He must keep the upper hand at all times.

“Explain why you proposed marriage as a reward.” Minseok demanded, sipping on the glass of red wine Yixing had poured him.  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yixing pause, platter in hand. Surely his servant was startled at the news. Yixing was a professional, however, and quickly resumed his activities without a word.

“As I said, your surname and lineage will help me,” Lu Han answered matter-of-factly. “It is truly as simple as that, Mr. Kim.”

Minseok savored the wine, mulling over the logic. It seemed too simple, too contrived. “I wouldn’t think someone of your profession would be so concerned with his social standing.”

Lu Han shrugged. “An adventurer needs wealthy benefactors, Mr. Kim. Names open doors, your name in particular.”

“I wasn’t aware that my family still had such leverage in society,” Minseok remarked under his breath.

“Indeed, your family is still much talked about.” Minseok detected an edge to Lu Han’s words, sarcasm perhaps. It made him stiffen, unnerving and insulting.

“Let’s eat, I no longer feel like conversing,” Minseok said curtly, his anger barely suppressed.

After that they ate in silence, the only sound in the great hall the periodic noise of silver hitting porcelain. Minseok excused himself to his room once he his plate was empty, not sparing another glance at the adventurer as he departed from the great hall.

Minseok sat at his desk in his chambers, reading and rereading the carefully written notes from the last experiment. The candles burnt low, wax dripping onto the inlaid desk. Minseok ignored the mess, his thoughts elsewhere. The last experiment.

He could still picture the business partner he had prior to Lu Han, the strange vacant stare that he emerged with after the experiment had failed. Minseok would have felt sorry for him if he could, but that capacity was long gone from him. It was his own family, his own life at stake -- he could not spend his time feeling remorse for those who agreed to help him.

The soft click of the door told Minseok his manservant had arrived. Yixing’s footsteps were quiet, all part of his training to be as unobtrusive as possible.

“He is sleeping, sir,” Yixing reported, shuffling towards the desk.

Minseok looked up from his notes and nodded towards his servant. “Very good. He didn’t suspect anything?”

“No, sir. If he suspected the wine was drugged he didn’t say.”

Minseok noticed that Yixing looked anxious, his calm demeanor belying hidden feelings, noticeable only to someone who knew him well. “What is it?”

“Will you marry him, sir, if he succeeds?” Yixing looked for confirmation, his brow furrowing with worry over what he had heard during dinner.

Minseok sighed. He dragged his hand through his hair, his fingers catching on a tangle. He needed a haircut, he knew, but that was the last thing on his mind. “If he succeeds I will keep my word,” Minseok admitted. “A marriage on paper isn’t the worst thing I’ve been asked for. It will be little more than a legal arrangement.”

Truth be told Minseok had never thought of marrying anyone, for love or for opportunity. It wasn’t a luxury he was afforded, not while he struggled to right the wrong that had been done to his family. If Lu Han succeed where others failed, he would give him this, it was only right. It was what the adventurer had asked for and Minseok desperately needed his help.

Yixing shifted on his feet. “What if he discovers the truth, sir?”

“He won’t,” Minseok quickly assured him. “No more than he needs to. No more than he will if the experiment is a success.”

“I trust you know what you are doing, sir. If there is nothing else I shall take my leave.”

“Go. Rest,” Minseok ordered with a flick of his wrist.

Yixing retreated towards the door, bowing slightly as he turned.

Minseok returned to his notes, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. He wouldn’t sleep again this long night, but that was nothing new.

Morning broke over the Kim Estate, the light of dawn creeping over the overgrown landscape, reflected in the grass wet from the prior day’s rains. Minseok greeted dawn in his laboratory, fiddling with his machine, waiting for Yixing to stir Lu Han from his slumber.

When the adventurer arrived in the laboratory Minseok immediately stopped working, focusing his attention on his business partner. “Good morning, Lu Han,” he greeted.

“Good morning, Mr. Kim.” Lu Han’s voice had a subdued quality to it unlike the day prior, likely an effect of the drugs he had ingested during dinner. When Lu Han got closer Minseok could make out the telltale blood red seeping into his left cornea, another effect of the drugs.

“Please, lie down in the machine, and we will begin,” Minseok directed him, gesturing towards his most prized possession.

Lu Han walked to the contraption without protest, following Minseok’s orders without question or a hint of discomfort.