this chapter was actually written during may of 2014 but i somehow never posted it. probably some mistakes here and there but i just wanted to post it so i can attempt to continue this fic. another thing is, since i wrote these two chapters last year, if i do continue writing, a lot of the original ideas and maybe even writing style have changed so i hope you guys don't mind that too much. (more notes at the end of the chapter)

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It’s been two weeks since my 20th birthday and it’s now the start of December, meaning the year is coming to an end and a new beginning is arriving soon. Maybe this “new beginning” arrived a bit earlier than it was supposed to…

Things aren’t really the same between us anymore. In fact, things are completely different between us now, and to be honest, I hate that. I hate myself. I hate myself for all the things I didn’t and should’ve done ten year ago. I was only ten years-old, but I know that’s no excuse because for my best friend, for him, I’d do anything. That rule remains unchanged up until today and will remain that way till tomorrow, till forever.

There are way too many things I want to tell him and ask him; most important of all, I want apologize for being the worst best friend in the world. I just want to catch up and talk like we used to do when we were still kids. But things are different now. Way different.

I hate myself for ever saying this- even merely thinking it makes me feel sick and disgusting- but I am scared...of him.

He’s different. I mean, of course he is since it has been 10 years since we last saw each other. He has gotten much taller, taller than me. His hair also grew longer, bangs covering half of his face. His face, his features, are gorgeous. But his eyes...look wild and lost.

--

When I finally managed to open my eyes and try to figure out where the hell I was after falling through the bathtub, I immediately wished I hadn’t. The sight in front of me was definitely something no one would ever want to see in their entire lifetime. There was only one nearly dying light bulb hanging down from the ceiling, therefore in this dimly lit room, I had no idea how big or small this place really was, not that I wanted to see anymore the ‘stuff’ that I could actually see. It was cold and humid, smelly and sticky, giving me goosebumps and sending chills down my spine. All I wanted to do was to get out of wherever I was and never come back because not even the word disgusting would do, and neither would gruesome, horrifying, or grisly.

They tell you to feel and walk next to a wall when you’re in a dark room in order find the exit, but what if there is no exit? I blindly extended my hands out as much as possible in hopes of finding a wall near by. That was a bad idea. I was touching, breathing, and stepping on things I never and would never wish to know. My eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and...

...he was just lying there.

--

For someone who used to be very sociable, cheerful, and playful, it’s hard to believe that the now distant, cold, and unresponsive boy lying on my couch is the same person I knew ten years ago. That same boy was my best friend but now I'm not even sure if i can call him that.

Now I'm not even sure if i can call him human.

You’d think that two best friends who have been apart for ten years would want to catch up and spend lots of time together to make up for the all the time they have lost once they met up again, but this wasn’t the case at all. Not even close.

--

At first, when I saw him in the basement, he was just lying there, on top of a worn-out and rusty metal operating table. Before I realized who he was, the first thought that came to mind was- there is a dead body. I am in the same room with a dead body. Please get me out of this strange place. However, curiosity got the best of me and I stepped closer to get a better look. When I stood next to the boy, or teenager, or adult (I couldn’t really make out his age just by looking at him), I nearly jumped backwards when the corpse, or so I thought, twitched ever so slightly. He was breathing, barely and irregularly. I didn’t know what to do or if I should do anything at all. And as much as I wanted to run away, both my mind and body were too confused and in shock to process and make the move.

A few minutes had passed and I was still unable to look away from him. Something about that person was so…

Before I had the time to finish my thoughts, his eyes suddenly blinked opened and he tried to sit up but his body seemed too weak to obey his own instructions. Was I out of my mind to think it was okay to help him up? Maybe. Perhaps. Possibly.

The closer I got to him, the more I felt like throwing up because of the horrendus smell of chemicals but more because this was all too much for me to process at once, warning me that terrible things could happen. If they haven't already. Something was telling me to get away at this instant, but at the same time, something was telling me to keep walking forward.

His hair was messy and long enough to cover most of his face. His frame wasn’t extremely small but his body looked thin and weak, although he had good complexion and his skin wasn’t discolored or rough-looking; it looked nice and smooth, healthy and much better than my own. I helped him sit up carefully, (what on earth was I even doing) noticing the discomfort portrayed on his face. His face was indeed gorgeous and I’d be lying if I said it’s not the best I’ve seen.

But his eyes... his eyes were tired yet wild and lost. All at the same time.

He didn’t struggle or act violently at first, probably because he was too weak to do so, but when he seemed to have woken up completely and come back to his senses, he managed to push himself off the operating table he was sitting on and flung the whole thing around with more force than I would have ever expected from a person so frail-looking. There was huge crashing noise and he turned around to look at me, already on the ground next to a desk trying to protect myself from any damage. When I looked around at the whole mess he had just created, something on the ground grabbed my attention. It was a pinned name tag that fell off of his shirt. It was a name tag that had the name

LEE CHANHEE

...written with already smeared black ink. The neat handwriting belonged to my mother. That's for certain.

Scientist.

Basement.

Laboratory.

Lee Chanhee.

Act now, think later. A billion thoughts were flowing out at this instant but I had to get out. I grabbed a rope and managed to pulled myself and this weak-looking but actually strong...person...who was apparently my long lost best friend out of the laboratory. I dragged him along and headed home without looking back.

I had a bad feeling about this, and I was right. There was still so many missing pieces left of this ed up puzzle, but they finally are being put together now, after ten whole years. That’s a start, right? And maybe everything will begin to make some sense from now on.

I took a look at him through the rear-view mirror while I drove home and honestly, he looks like a regular person from the outside. But who knows what has been done to him on the inside.

I'm so sorry, Chanhee.

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hi. surprise surprise, guess who's back? well...kind of back. the last time i updated this fic (which was also the day i posted the first chapter) was just about a year ago. i am so terribly sorry for not updating this since then. i've been really busy and will continue to be busy for who knows how long but i want to continue and maybe even finish this at some point. i'll do my best to update but it might take me weeks or months to write just one chapter.. i'm really sorry for always keeping you guys waiting ;n; 

(2014.05.14 // 2015.04.05)