It worked on embryos.

It worked on embryos.

Yesung still couldn’t believe it as he watched the tiny pink mice around their mother, blindly pushing and shoving at each other for just a sip of milk. Every single one of them sported identical twin buds on their shoulder blades.

The protein he’d isolated had been the key transcription factor for genes that encoded dragonfly wings. Finally, finally, he’d figured out the necessary epigenetic factors. Taking normal stem cells from dragonfly embryos, he’d rewritten their programs, rearranged the DNA expression, and injected them into the wombs of pregnant mice.

And here they were. Six of them, infant mice, barely two days old, and already, they were showing signs of wing development. He’d taken sample cells from their shoulder buds, stained and examined them under the microscope, and there was no doubt about it.

Dragonfly wings.

A true chimera, the first of its kind. And he’d created it.

“What’s that?” Yesung winced as Siwon’s annoying cheerful voice greeted him and presently, the man was peering over his shoulder, staring down at his experiment. He hissed under his breath- Siwon couldn’t know about it yet. Not when his research wasn’t complete.

He smiled politely and turned to the other man. “Just some experiments that I’ve been working on. It’s for my paper.”

“Ah!” Siwon looked genuinely pleased for him- why?- and nodded for further explanation.

Gritting his teeth, Yesung continued fabricating his story. “The regeneration of motor and sensory neurons in the body. I induced spina bifida in mouse embryos and implanted neural stem cells to complete the closing of the neural tube.

"That’s fantastic,” Siwon beamed. “They look great, Yesung. Dr. Park will be so pleased.”

As if Yesung cared about pleasing Dr. Park.

"Speaking of which, he wanted to see you,” Siwon continued, unaware that Yesung was scowling at him now that his day had been ruined. “I wouldn’t make him wait too long.”

“Fine.” Yesung shut the mouse cage and placed it back on the shelf. As he followed Siwon out of the room and turned off the lights, one of the infant mice emitted a loud squeak and began biting and scratching at its back until it tore the skin open.

Its iridescent wing tips glowed in the dark.

“What’s a stem cell?” Ryeowook asked out of the blue as he poked and prodded the half-solid scrambled eggs that were supposed to be his breakfast.

“Hell if I know,” Heechul replied, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “You gonna finish yours?”

Ryeowook shook his head and passed the plate of eggs over to him. Heechul nodded his thanks and dug in. When his roommate’s mouth was full, Ryeowook tried again. “I heard Zhou Mi and Hangeng discussing it at night sometimes, right outside our door.”

“Who cares?” Heechul snorted, catching the piece of egg that slipped out of his mouth with his tongue.

“Th-they said it might help us…” Ryeowook didn’t finish the sentence; he just stared at the blanket covering the lower half of his body.

Heechul’s face softened and he swallowed before speaking again. “I wouldn’t bet on it, kid. There’s no use in believing in crap that might work or might help.”

“But…” Ryeowook sighed and picked up his slice of bread, tearing off the crust and stuffing it into his mouth first.

“These doctors, your Hangeng, and whoever else…they’ve already proved that they’re useless, right?” Heechul snapped. “So why would you believe it? Heck, for me, I’m just focusing on getting out of here.”

Ryeowook nibbled the soft center of his bread before answering. “But you don’t participate in their therapy exercises. You’ll never get to leave.”

Heechul offered him a lop-sided smile. “I’m not leaving on their terms. I’m leaving on mine. Eat your bread, and stop acting like a ing mouse.” Ryeowook hastily took a big bite of his bread, finishing it off so quickly, he choked and had to wash it down with a glass of water.

The older patient smiled as he watched the boy drain the glass. “Everything will be okay, you know,” he said suddenly. “Whether or not these crap doctors do their job.”

Before Ryeowook could ask what he meant, the door opened and Hangeng came in, smiling brightly as he always did. “Good morning,” he called. “How are we feeling today?”

“Fine,” Ryeowook answered automatically, while Heechul just rolled his eyes and continued shoveling down his breakfast.

“I have some news for you,” Hangeng announced as he stood at the foot of Ryeowook’s bed, the clipboard in his hands. “There’s a new therapy that could help you walk again.”

“Many great advances have been made in stem cell research,” Yesung intoned as he appraised the patient before him. The boy was sitting straight up in bed, hands folded in his lap as he looked at Yesung attentively. He looked like the kind of goody-two-shoes everyone adored.

Yesung hated people like that.

The boy’s parents were sitting nearby. The father was holding the mother’s hand, though neither were making an effort to comfort the boy. It was interesting, but irrelevant. He continued talking.

“While there is a risk of tumor growth of even cancer, clinical studies done in patients with spinal cord injuries, like yours, have shown remarkable improvement.”

“So if he gets this treatment, he can walk again,” the father said. The boy’s hands clenched more tightly together.

I never said that. “Well, there is a chance the damaged nerves will be repaired and-”

“That’s great!” the mother gasped, beaming at her son. “Isn’t it, Ryeowook?”

The boy smiled, but his smile was strained; perhaps he was too polite to give his true opinions? Or was something else hindering him from expressing his thoughts.

The mother continued talking; she hadn’t noticed her son’s discomfort. “The doctor is offering such a great opportunity and-”

The boy flinched slightly when she touched his shoulder and Yesung had to frown when she didn’t seem to notice.

“So how do we get involved in this treatment?” his father asked.

Yesung frowned slightly as the boy's shoulders began to shake and neither adult made an effort to comfort him. He stood up. “May I speak to you both in the hall?”

Ryeowook sighed and slumped back against the pillows as the new doctor left with his parents. The moment they’d left, though, Heechul wheeled himself back in. “That Dr. Kim guy looks like a prick. What’s he trying to sell you?”

With complete precision, Ryeowook repeated the lecture that the doctor had just given him, watching as Heechul’s expression grew more and more incredulous.

“The hell kind of improvement did he get? Did those guinea pigs grow extra legs to compensate or develop telepathic powers to levitate so they don’t need to walk anymore?”

Ryeowook giggled, covering his mouth with his hand before replying, “My mom says it’s a good opportunity…”

“Your mom would probably tell you to cut your legs off if a doctor told her that was a good idea,” Heechul snorted. “She believes whatever they throw at her. It’s pathetic, really.”

A part of Ryeowook felt that he should defend his mother, but he didn’t feel like it at the moment.

“And your dad.” Heechul rolled his eyes at this. “Man, where do I start? He thinks that money can solve all the world’s problems. Has he ever- no, have either of them ever asked you what you think about anything?”

Ryeowook didn’t answer as the door opened and Dr. Kim came back in. “I’ve spoken to your parents, and now I’d like to speak to you alone,” the doctor said with a smile that made the boy shiver.

“Guess that’s my cue to leave,” Heechul huffed, wheeling himself towards the door. He glanced over his shoulder and mouthed, “Don’t believe his bull!” before he disappeared into the hallway.

Ryeowook clasped his hands together tightly on his covers, staring down at his fingernails. I know.

As Yesung closed the door, a voice spoke up from the bed.

“It doesn’t work, does it?”

He turned around slowly and met the boy’s eyes. His polite, attentive manner had been dropped; he slouched against his pillows, arms crossed over his chest. The boy glared at Yesung, his distrust and resentment clearly written on his face.

“No,” he said finally, taking a seat by the boy’s bedside. “It doesn’t. Not really.”

The boy’s hands clenched his blanket and he gritted his teeth. “Why does everyone keep pretending I can get better? I’m not stupid just because I’m a kid!”

“So you don’t want the treatment?” Yesung asked simply.

“Of course not!” the boy shouted, angry tears springing to his eyes. “I’m tired of useless tests and medications and doctors and everything! I know I can’t be normal again!”

“What is normal?” Yesung’s voice was quiet as he leaned closer. Perhaps this boy could be useful after all… “What makes you think you’re not normal?”

The boy hesitated- not in a way that suggested he didn’t know the answer to the question. Rather, he knew too many answers and didn’t know which one to pick. Finally, he settled on, “My dad’s disappointed in me because I’m different from other kids, and it makes my mom upset too. That’s why they’ll make me get the treatment. They want a miracle to happen and fix me.” He stared down at the useless appendages as he traced the stripes on his blanket with a fingertip.

"And what do you want, Ryeowook?” Yesung asked softly.

Ryeowook looked shocked. Apparently, no one had ever asked him this before. “I want…” He sighed and stared out the window as a flock of geese flew past on their yearly migration to the south. “I want to get away from all this crap.” He flinched as he said the curse word and looked at Yesung fearfully, as if expecting a reproach. The only response he received was a faint amused smile.

Emboldened, he continued. “I want to forget about the accident and my injury and just… just make it not matter! I want to escape.”

The fluffy clouds drifting lazily by were reflected in the boy’s eyes as Yesung examined longing expression on his face. He smiled. “Ryeowook.”

The boy turned to look at him and once again, shuddered.

“I have a way for you to escape.”

Ryeowook brightened, his eyebrows rising as he leaned forward subconsciously.

“How would you like to fly?”