Chapter 16
Project Yunho
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One Month Ago
Another assassination mission was done. Another faceless man that he was instructed to terminate, dead.
He was back at the agency. The scientists surrounded him, his creator telling him of a job well done. His face remained emotionless. A bullet was being extracted from his arm. Nothing more than a flesh wound. Every time he came back from a mission, there would be very few, or none at all wounds decorating his skin. He was efficient and swift, everybody acknowledged that. Any minute now, he had to undergo another torture session, mere minor flashes of the sensation called pain registering in his mind.
They did to him what his targets couldn't do. He would get beaten up, to the point that he wouldn't be able to properly breathe. Blood would flood his vision, body battered and broken but the danger of his physical condition wouldn't matter to him. Pain was barely existent. He's learned to deal with it a long time ago. He never screamed or asked them to stop. He knew that they only stopped on their own time. He'd wait and endure through everything in silence, until his training was over, or when he lost consciousness.
Sometimes, in the middle of the beatings, a stranger's face, a young boy to be precise would flash in his thoughts. He didn't know who he was or where he had seen him. But he soon realized that he liked seeing those soft doe-like large eyes, the beautiful face with the breathtaking smile and how a sense of warmth would blossom in his chest every time he thought of that nameless somebody.
He told his creator once about what he saw in his head. Without another word, the scientist fetched a syringe and injected a bluish colored serum into his skin. When he woke up the next day, everything about that person was gone from his thoughts.
Unknown to him, the erasing of memories of a past that he didn't know existed, always happened once every one month and a half. It was the serum's time limit. Within that period, his head would only be filled with missions, tactics, strategies and nothing else.
And yet, even with the absence of those memories, he knew that something was slowly changing in him.
He was certain that everything started from 2 months ago while he recuperated from his injuries inside the containment unit.
An oxygen mask covered his face, an eye protector that appeared black from the outside but actually gave him a clear view of his surroundings was upon his eyes, while numerous wires were attached to his body. He was supposedly sedated into a deep sleep, but the loud noises on his temporary resting place roused him from his slumber. When he opened his eyes, he was met with the image of a young man repeatedly poking at his glass tank as if he was thinking that Yunho was some kind of fish.
Yunho was quick to realize that he was just like him. For more than a minute, he simply looked. The other one had the usual clothing that an experiment like himself wore. A pair of white tight long sleeved jacket-type shirt along with white pants.
He knew that his questions regarding his existence started that day. When he saw the scientist Mr. Kim Junwoo (the one making the medicine that aided him to 100% functionality whenever he was in a bad shape) approach the young man and hug him tightly from behind as he ruffled his hair affectionately, calling him "Junsu-yah" in such a loving manner.
He watched as Junsu turned around and embraced the scientist tight in return, exclaiming "father" as he wore a vibrant, bright smile on his face. Yunho rested his right hand against the glass panel as he gazed at them in both curiosity and confusion. It was the first time he's seen a human treat an experiment so kindly and for an experiment to look so open, unguarded and free.
Shortly after, the other experiment walked out, saying something about going to the training grounds.
Soon, the scientist was left all by himself as he worked around the lab, not knowing that Yunho watched him. Fatigue was apparent on the old man's face. He paused in his work and stared at the ceiling with sad eyes. When the scientist uttered a name "Jaejoong ah", a deep seated longing that he didn't know he had stirred in his chest. He gets another flash of a boy. But the next day he forgets.
It turned out that the old scientist was the one appointed from that day onward to look after him while he was sedated. Numerous times Yunho simply watched the two beings inside the room. The scientist and the experiment, truly looking like father and son.
Such a sight caused a dull ache in his chest.
He had lost count of how many times he was owned. But he clearly remembered how not one of them ever looked at him like he meant something to them. Sure he was fed, provided with shelter and clothing, the daily necessities in order for him to have the energy to get his work done, but other than that there was simply nothing else for him.
At the back of his mind, he knew that he wanted to be close to that particular scientist. Then maybe he'd feel something, anything, other than the big black hole of emptiness that was his existence. But the old man didn't looked at him like he did the other hybrid. Instead, there was contempt in his eyes every time their gazes locked. Sometimes, his low mumbles would reach Yunho's heightened ears - as he called him a murderer, having no conscience, nor remorse or guilt and how the old man hated that place.
He's never started a conversation before, but one morning while he sat upright on his bed as the scientist worked on his bruises, he just blurted it out. A simple "why" was asked, that one word holding so much meaning as if everything in his life rested upon it.
Why wouldn't the old man look at him like he did the other experiment? Why was he brought into this world? Killing another person was considered a crime, but why did everyone encouraged him to do such an act? Why couldn't he make moral decisions on his own? Why did his heart always felt like he was missing something but couldn't figure out what? Why was he alive at all?
But his near silent question hadn't been answered. The scientist went on with his task without uttering a single word.
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A red folder landed on the desk with a light smack. Yunho opened it and quickly read the details on his next assassination mission. The surprise hit him like a speeding train though his face remained permanently stoic. His target this time was Junsu X14212.
For minutes, Yunho was left repeatedly reading the details, trying to understand but couldn't. He needed a reason why they wanted him to kill this man. But he wasn't allowed to say a word unless they gave him permission. The mark on the upper right corner of the white paper caught his eyes. It was a stamp that said "HIGHLY DEFECTIVE SUBJECT" on bright red ink. But what did that mean?
"It's been brought up like a human being and it doesn't help that it's got exceptional fighting skills as well."
These people weren't scientists, that Yunho had figured out a long time ago. They were an altogether different set of human beings that worked within the agency alongside their creators. He's always felt a dark, menacing aura whenever he was with them.
Eyes still on the folder, his ears picked up every word that floated around him.
Yunho listened as they talked about Junsu, finding fault after fault with the human-like subject. Soon enough, he understood the reason for the termination. X14212 was defective because he had emotions, a mind of his own and a free will.
He didn't hold any respect for anyone in the agency other than his creator. He wandered around a lot. He pestered other experiments into talking and playing games with him. He had exceptional fighting skills but proved to be useless since he made his own judgment calls and would never willingly take an innocent life, that even while on training, he would wear this guilty look whenever he hurt more than what was necessary, the fellow subject that he had sparred with. And when something angers him, he explodes.
Even though Junsu had animal-DNA. He was a human-being in every aspect. Yunho felt that these people feared him because he was unpredictable. Other than that, Junsu had a strong sense of loyalty over his "father". They were concerned over the influence his creator had on him. If Mr. Kim as much as hint of wanting to rebel, they knew Junsu would turn on them in the blink of an eye.
Junsu was just an accident waiting to happen. And so they decided to get rid of him before he did something they'd all regret.
After Yunho was given his instructions, he was excused out of the room. Once he was outside the metallic sliding doors, he saw Mr. Kim standing there, like he was trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. His eyes drifted down to the open folder that Yunho was holding. Junsu's picture and the stamp could be clearly read. The scientists' expression crumbled instantly, gasping "no" under his breath.
Yunho would never forget the fear he saw in the old man's eyes as he ran back to what he guessed was the direction of his lab.
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"Please, I beg of you! Don't do this to my son!" Junwoo pleaded, crying tears of sorrow as he clutched at Yunho's shirt.
They were inside an abandoned room, somewhere in the east wing. Yunho could have alerted the other scientists about Mr. Kim dragging him all the way to this place. But the desperate look flashing in the old man's eyes earlier had him following in silence.
One hour, 23 minutes and 15 seconds later, Yunho went out of that room leaving a devastated, weeping scientist behind. Junsu was to be terminated, and no matter how much Mr. Kim begged for him to spare his son's life, he had to follow through his orders.
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Yunho was instructed to do the termination in silence, not alerting the other experiments about the fact that the agency itself was the one that gave the orders in Junsu's assasination. It was better to be safe than sorry. Junsu might have influenced a few subjects into having emotions and if his death, and the perpetrator behind it was revealed to all the hybrids, something bad might occur.
Junsu was in the training grounds again, executing stunt after stunt, practicing rigorously to better himself in combat. He was really good, Yunho had to admit. He had fast reflexes and impressive moves. But there was no point in doing that now. Yunho held the sniper gingerly in his arms as he locked it on his target. It would only take one clean shot to the head and Junsu would fall.
Without warning, the broken, misery-filled pleas of Mr. Kim from the other night infiltrated his thoughts. There was no reason for him to feel any sympathy for Junsu. This was what he did. For the three years that he's been doing this, he never questioned it. Killing came as easily as breathing. Yunho violently shook his head in an attempt to clear his suddenly conflicting emotions. But he couldn't.
And why was he trembling? Why won't his finger press the trigger? Those tearful, sorrowful eyes. Why wouldn't they get out of his mind?
Junsu finally left the training grounds unharmed. In the end, Yunho wasn't able to do it. He slumped in his spot and clutched his face in his hands before punching the ground repeatedly until his fists bled red. Slowly, he stood up and went back inside the agency.
He was given three more chances to terminate Junsu, all of which he failed to accomplish.
It was then they knew, that Yunho himself had gotten defective.
"That subject always lounged in the containment unit. I should have known he'd affect X53112 in some way!"
Soon after, without Yunho knowing it, his name was added to the termination list.
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Another day of torture that came by the name of "training" arrived and Yunho was once again left on the brink of unconsciousness. His whole body was littered with cuts, wounds and bruises. For some reason, he felt like he was being roughed up more than usual. His suspicion over their real intentions was quickly answered. While he was on the floor taking in labored, gasping breaths, one of the trainers hovered on top of him. Suddenly, he felt a sharp object that was actually a piece of broken glass tear through his middle.
Blood instantly gushed out of the wound and flooded back up his throat.
He recalled how his creator had told him once about how he was a candidate for termination himself. But he didn't think they would actually kill him. It dawned on him too late, that no matter how valuable he had been to the agency, even after all those years of overwhelming success regarding his missions, once he developed a mind of his own, he was just as good as dead.
His control over pain was slowly diminishing. His surroundings began to blur. The glass was pulled out of him, then pushed back deeply inside once more. He was assaulted over and over in the same area, the pain intensifying with each stabbing motion.
When death seemed so near, overwhelming fear gripped his whole frame.
He didn't know where such fear was coming from. But as flashes of his life passed before his eyes, he was reminded of all the good things that he's learned about being human, of family and friends, every little thing that he wished to experience and to possess.
Even the very thing called "love" that he realized he wanted to experience more than anything in the world.
He wondered if he was capable of loving.
Every person that had someone they loved always looked so fulfilled and happy.
How did it feel? He needed to feel that. He couldn't lose his life until he's experienced it for his own. He didn't want to die!
However, it was already too late. His heart rate had slowed down and his eyes didn't have enough energy to stay open anymore.
But just when he thought everything was going to end right then and there, he was proven wrong.
His savior came by the scientist called Kim Junwoo, in his hand a tranquilizer gun that he shot at his comrades in order to rescue him. The elderly man walked over to him and poured a vial down his throat. Eventually, he felt his energy come back, just enough for him to get up on his feet. His wound still bled profusely but he found himself being able to once again control the pain.
"This is my gratitude over to what you've done for my son. You have to get out of here now."
"But... what about you?" Yunho croaked out through a searing throat.
A gentle hand landed on his shoulder as the scientist smiled. "My son and I will leave as soon as I've finished collecting enough evidence to put a stop to the agency's rotten deeds. Go to the south wing and enter the fourth room from the right side of the warehouse. It wasn't easy but after studying the building's blueprints I've found an escape route connecting to the outside directly from under that room."
Yunho memorized the directions in his head.
The scientists' expression went grim. "If we ever cross paths again in the future, don't tell my son about the termination. He doesn't know about it and I'm afraid of what he might do if he found out how at one point his life had been threatened. If I am unable to reveal the agency's true colors by that time, he might come back here and do something drastic."
Yunho didn't understand why he was asking that of him. And what were the chances of them crossing paths in the future anyway? He didn't think they'd ever see each other again. But nevertheless, he forced the words out of his mouth. "Is that... an order?"
"I'm addressing you as a subject, soldier."
A weak nod was what he gave in return.
"Good. Now leave at once."
Without wasting one more second, Yunho followed the scientists' instructions, fled from the agency and never looked back.
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Present Day
Three days passed ever since the confrontation. After they were all somewhat calm enough to think properly, it was decided that Junsu had to go home with Jaejoong and Yoochun. It hadn't been a good three days. The apartment was filled with a tense atmosphere. Several times, Jaejoong had wanted to talk with his baby brother but Junsu refused to even look at him, so holding a conversation was impossible. Maybe it was because Yunho wouldn't leave Jaejoog's side and Junsu didn't like seeing him just yet.
Yoochun had assured Jaejoong that it would only be a matter of time before Junsu was going to open up to them. Junsu was just trying to deal with the information that he received. At least there had been some progress. The fact that he wasn't that intent of killing Yunho anymore should count for something, even if he still occasionally glared at the other man.
But as what everybody said, wounds heal through time.
After the first week passed, Junsu suddenly came out of his room and threw his arms around Jaejoong in an embrace, calling him "hyung" over and over again as he sobbed into his neck. Jaejoong held on to him tight and brushed his hair as he rubbed his back in soothing circles, muttering soft reassuring words into his ear as he mentally thanked all the gods in the world for giving him the chance to hold his baby brother so close once again. Soon, Jaejoong gently pulled back and wiped his tear-stained cheeks.
When asked why Junsu was crying, he said he had a nightmare and how he saw Jaejoong drop to the floor inside a burning house.
It was a memory, Jaejoong had brokenly told him. It was supposed to be Jaejoong that died inside that house. But he got covered with fallen debris from the rooftop, and his baby brother, pure heart that he had, begged for Yoochun to go save their hyung first because his head was bleeding. When Jaejoong and Yoochun were able to go out into the open, it was too late for Yoochun to go back inside.
Junsu hadn't uttered a thing as he listened to his hyung's story, flashes and images in his head responding to every word. Soon, it felt like he was watching a movie in his mind. He remembered those moments. And he realized that, if that were to ever happen again, he would stay by his decision that time. He loved Jaejoong so much. His safety would always be his first priority.
It still felt strange, knowing that he had a family. That he had a past. He only remembered bits and pieces, but it had been enough to convince him that they were indeed his brother and his best friend. And Yoochun, he never stopped loving him and it brought Junsu great joy to know that his feelings for weren't one-sided. All those confusing emotions that he had for him, it finally made sense.
The next day, he had a talk with Yunho and both hybrids came to an agreement - that they would both protect those that they held dear. It was almost funny in a way, how both couldn't stand the other and had literally almost killed each other more than a week ago, but now, whenever they weren't hanging off Jaejoong or Yoochun, they were at the backyard, sparring and having fun.
Changmin's visit to their apartment became frequent. Two weeks later, he showed the video he had coincidentally recorded of Yoochun and Junsu inside his guest room. Jaejoong laughed like a maniac at how red Yoochun had gotten as they watched.
"So I'm forever the bottom huh?" Jaejoong , a gloating smirk on his lips.
Yoochun lightly smacked the other man by the shoulder, scowling. "Shut up."
Junsu giggled beside him.
"By the way Jaejoongie, you still haven't taught me how to use toys." Yunho cut in when he remembered the promise, lower lip jutting out in a pout.
Changmin choked on his jigae.
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A/N: Got into an argument with an anti-yunjae for the past 2 days now. I'm so utterly pissed I could barely concentrate with fandom. Shhessh, people need to grow up and accept that not everything is STRAIGHT in the world. And you have no right to call me crazy, CRAZY! Gahd, anti pisses me off so much.
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