Asami's in the room again. The blinding whiteness of it brings about an acute ringing in her ears, but at least the pain has dulled. Barely.

With what little strength she has, she sits up and squints to examine the place of her containment. A loud creak sounds from the metal table she's on as she shifts her weight. Each motion sends a burning ache through her limbs, yet she cannot control them. Her movements are not by her own volition, although she feels the freedom and control over her individual parts. In fact, the body she inhabits isn't hers. It's much smaller; by an estimate, she'd say she's about seven years old and is dressed in a dark hospital gown that does nothing to warm her frigid skin. 

An odd tug on her right side catches her attention and she desperately wishes to rip the IV out of her arm. Especially so when she notices that the solution being injected into her is a deep purple color, very much unlike the transparent one you'd expect to see in the bag. 

"Ah, you're awake," a male voice she recalls hearing previously greets her as he enters. Her eyes immediately shoot to his face - hoping for something recognizable - only to see that his features are blurred out the way reality TV shows do to extras in the background. "How do you feel?"

Like crap, Asami wants to say. Instead she replies in a completely different manner. "What did you do to me? It hurts." Not that she doesn't feel the same, however the words are not the ones she formulates. It's as if she's been put into a scene only to experience it vicariously instead of participate in it. Which wouldn't be so bad if only she didn't feel everything this little girl is feeling. 

"I promise you won't feel that way permanently. It was a small, harmless procedure," he explains far too happily. The blockage obstructing her view from his identity unsettles her greatly. "We'll have to perform another because it'll hurt worse if we make you wait any longer. Is that okay with you?"

It's complete and utter bull. Asami remembers what she heard before. The mention of termination rings clear in her head. So, no, it's not okay with her at all. Unfortunately, her host seems to feel differently and she chooses to trust the sickeningly sweet front this man has put on.

Her head nods even though, internally, the female watching all this wants to cry. "Do I need to go to sleep again?"

"Just for a little while." The man stalks over to a table and pulls open a cabinet to take out a syringe filled with clear liquid. Anesthesia, most likely. He returns to the table side and motions for her to lie back down. She does. "Relax. You'll be awake and better before you know it." Then, he pushes down on the top of the syringe and allows the medication to enter the tubing where it drips into the IV bag rhythmically.

Asami's breaths are shallow and the stinging pain that originally felt dull is now sharper than ever. Fear clenches her heart in its fist. The young girl's slowly closing eyes dart around the room in a final attempt to find an escape. This action is akin to entering REM sleep preemptively, except she doesn't want to sleep. She doesn't want to close her eyes because when she wakes up everything will hurt and the cycle will start all over again and she doesn't know what's happening to her.

She stops when she sees twelve orbs lined up against a wall together, shining under the harsh lights. Her eyelids fall.

When they open again, she's back where she was before: on the couch in Jaehwan's living room. The sun peeks through the windows of the living room and she swipes at the sweat adorning her forehead and neck. Tiredly, she rolls onto her side and takes in the details of Baekhyun's orb still on the coffee table. Eleven others similar to it flash in her brain. This is the proof that her dream may be more than that. The only thing she cannot understand is why she's the one living it.

For all she knows, she has no prior experience with human experimentation and didn't even consider the idea of it until meeting Baekhyun. Is one of the twelve a girl? He only mentioned brothers, so she doubts it. There is no way to find out where she fits in the context of all this without going directly to the source of it, which she knows is going to do more harm than good.

Trust in Baekhyun, Asami chants in her mind like it'll reveal all things to her. A quiet mumble from said male directs her focus onto him and she fights the upward quirk of her lips.  

Much like the orb, its owner has a specific glow to him that she's not sure is entirely a product of his power. It's relieving to see him resting for no other purpose than to rest. No fatal injuries pull him into unconsciousness and for once he's simply asleep. The seemingly gravitational pull between his brows that creases the skin between them is smoothed out, making way for a childlike serenity. 

In all the commotion he's brought along with him, it isn't until now that she realizes how human Baekhyun is. He's just a stretch of an arms length away and a part of her longs to brush a piece of stray hair away to confirm he's real. Suffering and sadness lies very close under the surface, she knows. Guilt follows in succession to the prior two - some of it directed towards her.

She wants to tell him that there's no reason to be. All she's left behind really are her home and schooling, both of which are easy to replace or, in the case of the latter, redo. Her family, who isn't even within close proximity to begin with, wouldn't realize she's gone missing. Without her phone, she'd be unable to contact her parents, which she seldom did anyway. All in all, she bitterly notes, there's minimal loss on her part.

A loud banging at the door makes Asami's heart jump and she sits upright, meanwhile Baekhyun remains in the confines of his dreams despite the noise. She waits, hands clenching the fabric of the blanket tightly. The bangs persist and for some reason she's the only one aware of them. Her feet make contact with carpet as she carefully steps around her companion and approaches the lone bedroom in the house.

"Jaehwan?" her soft raps at the wood are drowned out. "Are you awake?" When he doesn't give any indication of an answer, she enters. The ai