Curious Consequences

“Professor Jung?” Ji Won knocked on the door to the professor's office, which was left ajar. When no one answered, she popped her head inside, gingerly pushing the door open. “Whoa...”

“What?” Tae Hwan peeped over her from behind. “Whoa, it’s a mess in here.”

“I think we should wait outside.”

“Hey,” Tae Hwan pushed passed her and let himself into the office. The dim afternoon light forced through the shut blinds, adding the slightest touch of eeriness to the room. The subtle sound of the wooden floorboards creaking as he stepped over them made Ji Won feel uneasy.

“Tae Hwan! Get out of there!” She said through clenched teeth, but he ignored her, continuing to make his way towards an ajar file cabinet while she incredulously gawked after him.

“Look, our assignments have been marked!” Tae Hwan pulled the cabinet further out when a manila folder, labelled '1994', dropped from beneath.

“Stop it!” Ji Won stormed over and pushed the drawer of the cabinet shut, then gasped as Professor Jung’s voice came into earshot.

Tae Hwan tugged at the handle of the cabinet. “Damn it, Ji Won. It’s locked! What do I do with this folder?!”

“Give me that!” She snatched the folder off him and tried at the cabinet herself while he stepped outside the office to keep watch. When the cabinet didn’t budge, she shoved the folder into her canvas tote bag. It would've seemed suspicious and out of place if she'd just left the folder on the professor's desk. Maybe she could hide it under that pile of paperwork- 

“Hide!”  Tae Hwan hissed as he closed the door behind him, leaving her inside. “Professor Jung! We- I mean, I!” He forced out a laugh. “I was waiting for you. I uhh...desperately need to talk to you about umm...exams!”

“I’m busy at the moment, email me or come back tomorrow okay?” The door handle began to move, snapping Ji Won out of her frozen stupor. She dived behind a couch just as footsteps entered into the office and the door closed.

“Did you check the body?” Ji Won heard the professor asked in a low, guarded voice.

“Yes, I went before the cleaners came.” The voice of an unknown woman replied. “He... He deviated from the standard method.”

“What?! Soo Hyuk did?! How?” Professor Jung’s tone was suddenly urgent.

“The body was tortured for a longer period. That wasn’t part of the training. It’s the first time I’ve seen any of the subjects do that.”

“No, this can’t be.” The professor paused in deliberation. “Soo Hyuk’s showing resistance against the pills. It- It’s only a matter of time before he remembers what happened nineteen years ago. If that’s the case, he’ll remember the experimenters. None of us will be safe if we don’t keep him under our control... We’ll become his targets.”

“What do you propose we do then?”

“Warn the experimenters. We need to meet our employer.” The sound of footsteps grew fainter as they left the office. Ji Won peeked over the couch to confirm that the room was clear then hurried out, her thoughts in turmoil. But as she was about to take the turn towards the exit of the building, she collided into the professor.

“P-Professor Jung!” She stuttered. "I- I was looking for you. Uhh... I’d like to r-request a reassessment of my r-research report?”

“Not now, Ji Won. Email me please.” Professor Jung said dismissively, then re-entered his office with a woman of short stature following closely behind.

Ji Won could hear the sound of the professor rummaging through his cabninet as she paced away, feeling flustered and unsettled. “The files are missing!” She heard faintly while the professor was still within earshot, and she didn’t know it, but she was now running.