Code: 03

Location: Farm

Time: N/A

The quiet rustling of a wheat field surrounded Chanyeol, playing a symphony with the whistling breeze that glided across the tips of the golden grains. With his limbs outstretched and back planted on the dirt floor, Chanyeol lay sprawled in a circular clearing somewhere in the field.

He couldn't exactly tell where he was, considering how his body burned in pain and his eyes refused to open to the relentless sun beating down on his face. For all Chanyeol knew, he could've been reliving another memory.

It was the sound of static in his ears that told him otherwise.

"Ch…an…yeol?" Snippets of Kyungsoo's voice broke through the annoying buzz, though Chanyeol didn't find much relief in hearing the alternative. "…answer me."

Quickly sitting up and shaking the dirt off his hair, Chanyeol snorted out a contemptuous laugh, " you."

"I understand that you're angry, but hear me-" Kyungsoo tried to reason with him, his voice returning to its original clarity.
 

"Angry doesn't begin to describe what I'm feeling, Kyungsoo." Chanyeol snapped, wiping away the streaks of dirt mingled with the sweat on his nape. "If I oppose the system, something bad happens. If I go along with the system, something bad happens."

"There's a reas-"

"Yeah, I know. You're only trying to save me." Chanyeol quickly interjected, beginning to wade through the thick sea of wheat that stretched out for miles around him. "But how the does electrocuting me help in any way? How is keeping me in the dark all the goddamn time going to save my life?"

His guide sighed, almost on the brink of losing his patience. "Look-"

"And what is all of this?!" Chanyeol exclaimed, viciously whacking the grains that grazed his body. A cloud of pollen emerged, leaving the man to convulse in a sneezing fit. "Why would Sehun code such a stupid simulation?"

"Chanyeol." Kyungsoo said sternly. "If you keep on asking questions, I won't be able to give you answers. Plus, it's not like you're telling me everything either."

When the man in question recovered from his bout of sneezes and splutters, Kyungsoo continued without any further interruptions, "You've been seeing memories, yet you haven't said a word about them ever since the incident at the day care."

Chanyeol kept his head down, lips pressed into a line while Kyungsoo's words stirred up some unease. "You need to talk to me as well. Sehun's probably brainwashing you and I have no idea what you're being shown."

"Brainwashing? But they're all pretty harmless…" Chanyeol mumbled, sentence trailing off while he fiddled with a blade of wheat. It felt like he was being berated by his mother, even though Chanyeol didn't know whether he had a mother or not.

"Chanyeol, you like Sehun, don't you? Ever since the first level, you've been saying that Sehun is your friend, that he's not dangerous." At Kyungsoo's words, Chanyeol's ears perked up, breaking out of his sulk. "He is dangerous. Everything that you've seen regarding him is a lie."

"There has to be some truth to what I've been seeing." Chanyeol argued, splitting the stalk of the wheat between his fingers.

"No. There isn't." Kyungsoo replied bluntly. "Tell me everything that you know about Sehun, minus those 'memories'."

"He's…nice." Chanyeol said after a moment's thought while chewing on the blade of wheat, something which he had always wanted to try. "Okay, so that's all I remember. When I woke up in the simulation, that was the only thought I had of him."

"Has it ever occurred you to that you're trusting this man based on the fact that 'he's nice'?" Kyungsoo half-stated, half-sneered. "Chanyeol, he's trapped you in a simulation for goodness sake and has made multiple attempts at your life!"

"The thing is, I don't remember who I am either." Chanyeol retorted, spitting out the wheat upon realising how unpleasant it tasted - and that it wasn't real. "I can count all the facts about myself on two hands, Kyungsoo. Does that mean I shouldn’t trust myself? The same goes for you. I only know your interests, how can I trust you?"

"What kind of point are you trying to make?" Kyungsoo said in a slightly irritated tone. "One person seriously wants to kill you, the other wants to save your life. Who you're meant to be trusting shouldn't take much consideration."

"I'm saying that I have no clue about who I am, who you are and who Sehun is!" Chanyeol exclaimed, catching a glimpse of a ginormous tree not too far in the distance during his outburst. "That honestly concerns me than being hunted down by a so-called hacker."

"Fine. If you want me to tell you about yourself, I will." Kyungsoo relented, composing himself as his aggravation simmered down. At that point, Chanyeol had already noted how his guide only ever had two settings: apathetic or annoyed.

Making his way to the colossal oak tree randomly situated amongst the field of wheat, Chanyeol smiled with satisfaction, "I'd appreciate that. My other questions still stand, by the way."

"First of all, there's something I wanted to clarify about Sehun. He's an ethical hacker, and a pretty famous one at that, which is why he was hired by your family's company to oversee their computer network's security." While Kyungsoo began describing the events that occurred outside the simulation, Chanyeol eventually reached the base of the tree, the roots of which protruded from the dry earth and s around the trunk.

"Not ringing any bells, but go on." Chanyeol commented as he sat down on one of the thicker roots, thankful for the shade provided by the dense canopy of leaves.

"He…Sehun's father is your father's business partner. Was, I mean." Kyungsoo resumed, the hesitation between his sentences barely noticeable. "…your father pulled some strings and now Sehun's father is bankrupt."

"Oh. I can see where this is going."

In Chanyeol's mind, Kyungsoo was probably nodding knowingly, "Sehun got angry, stole and hijacked new technology that your father and his father worked on together, and created a simulation to trap you here. As a threat."

"Is there a ransom? How much am I worth? I'd say a billion won at least." Chanyeol asked, leaning back into the sturdy trunk while he overlooked the endless swathes of crops.

"If only everyone had as much confidence as you." Kyungsoo remarked, the unseen eye-roll blatantly obvious judging from his tone. "Moving on, there is no ransom. Sehun is doing this with the full intention of killing you. That's where I come in - your father hired me to save you, as you already know."

"Can't you just, I don't know, find and arrest Sehun?" Chanyeol suggested, freezing in place as a bee flew by his ear.

"I never would've thought of that." Kyungsoo said snidely, unimpressed by Chanyeol's idea. "If it was that easy, you wouldn't be here."

"Okay, okay, that was a stupid of me." Chanyeol admitted, side-eyeing the fuzzy creature which made loops in the air before flying towards the tree branches. "Now, on to the most important question, why the hell did you electrocute me?"

"Just trying out a new approach, y'know." Kyungsoo responded offhandedly, as if his actions were nothing out of the ordinary. "It worked, as you can tell. This means that I can just fry you into the next level, so you don't have to go gnome hunting. The only problem is that we're on a farm and they don't tend to have massive electrical generators lying around."

"Actually Kyungsoo, I've taken a liking to those gnomes." Chanyeol cut in swiftly, his palms sweating from the flashbacks. "We don't need electricity, we can just use the traditional method. For old time's sake!"

Not missing the hint, Kyungsoo seized the opportunity to tease Chanyeol, "You're scared, aren't you?"

"Pfft. No. Not at all." Chanyeol said unconvincingly, physically waving the very idea away. When Kyungsoo gave him a short, disbelieving laugh in response, Chanyeol pouted,  "Maybe a teeny tiny, minuscule, virtually non-existent bit."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night Chanyeol." Kyungsoo chuckled. Low and melodious, the laugh had a certain warmth to it that Chanyeol never noticed before. It wasn't condescending, as it usually was, but comforting, like he was having a casual conversation with a close friend.

A tingling feeling bubbled on Chanyeol's tongue, the foreign sensation accompanying the sudden contentment that overwhelmed him. Chanyeol wanted to take it as a sign that he had somehow gotten closer to Kyungsoo, leading him to speak in a more relaxed manner , "By the way, Sehun's bionic arm is pretty damn cool. Can you code one for me?"

"If I did, I could probably have coded you out of the simulation." Kyungsoo answered, the stiffness in his speech all but gone as well, from what Chanyeol could hear, "You seem to forget that there's only so much I can do here."
 

"Dude you summoned a gnome mecha, why can't I have bionic arms?" Chanyeol whined, slumping in his wooden seat like a child in a strop.

"I didn't summ- wait, did you just call me dude?" Kyungsoo said in disbelief, a brief pause following his question when Chanyeol didn't want to make comment, "Anyway, that mecha was just another manifestation of a 'key', and there were wires lying around that weren't that hard to manipulate so…"

"Hold on, you electrocuted me on a hunch?" Chanyeol interrupted as he immediately straightened his posture, brows knitted.

"Yes. Do you have a problem with that?" Kyungsoo stated matter-of-factly, which Chanyeol imagined to have been followed by an uncaring shrug.

"Jesus Christ." Chanyeol muttered, shaking his head in disappointment. "Kyungsoo, you need to have a lesson in ethics. This just isn't right."

"If you want to talk ethics-" Kyungsoo began to speak, but was cut short by the scuffling of feet and an incessant buzzing noise.

From behind the trunk of the tree, a man in a white suit and veiled hat appeared. In a cautious voice, he addressed Chanyeol, "Excuse me?"

Jumping in surprise, Chanyeol spun around to face the man, shocked by the sight of his gear. "You almost gave me a heart attack." Clutching his chest dramatically, Chanyeol took a second to catch his breath.

"Are you here to help out?" The man asked, disregarding Chanyeol's over the top attempts at calming his rapidly beating heart. "If so, I'm Junmyeon, a beekeeper."

"Of course you are." Chanyeol whispered under his breath, shrugging off his apprehension to accept the greeting with a resigned smile, "Nice to meet you Junmyeon, I'm Chanyeol. What do you need help with?"

Looking at him as if he was mad, Junmyeon chose to dismiss Chanyeol's question as a joke, "I thought it was obvious. I mean, that's what you're here for, right? Beekeeping."

"Ohhh." Chanyeol nodded in an exaggerated manner, fully aware that he probably looked like a fool - not that it mattered, none of it was real. There were a lot of things he was willing to put up with, however, he drew a line at beekeeping. Chanyeol had nothing against bees - they made honey, what could possibly be bad about honey? - but he much rather preferred to admire them from afar, miles away from their stingers. "Erm…I'm allergic."

"Allergic to what?" Junmyeon ped the veil, revealing his face with its sheen of sweat acquired from a hard day's work.

"Bees." Chanyeol said curtly, lips pursed as Junmyeon looked at him dubiously. "I have a bee allergy."

For a moment, Junmyeon stared at him in silence, long enough for Chanyeol to think that the simulation had froze and he would have to redo the entire scenario. Shortly after, Junmyeon simply gave him a small smile.

"That exists? Wow, you learn something new everyday I guess." He answered in a genuine tone, which left Chanyeol wondering whether his lying skills had vastly improved or the man was just plain gullible. "Then I suppose that it's a bit counterintuitive to be hanging around a bee farm of all places. Why are you here?"

"This is going to sound a bit odd, but I'm looking for a gnome." Chanyeol confessed, sliding off the root.

"Well why didn't you say that earlier? Come with me." Junmyeon gestured for him to follow, not at all fazed by Chanyeol's response.

As Junmyeon led Chanyeol around the diameter of the tree trunk, which was unbelievably wide, they eventually reached the other side. Rows of wooden beehives were arranged in the vicinity of the tree's base, all of them swarming with bees. From what Chanyeol could see, there were at least fifty. Naturally, he felt sorry for Junmyeon, who was tasked with harvesting the honey all by himself.

"Where is the…" Chanyeol slowly surveyed the bee farm, but as he turned his attention back to the tree, he saw a gaping wide hole in the trunk that revealed its hollowed insides. In the centre, a giant queen bee slept, its legs latched on to the inner walls. "I think the heat is getting to me."

"No, no, you're not delirious. That's the queen bee." Junmyeon said as he picked up a container from a nearby stack. "She takes care of the bees while I harvest the honey. Makes the place less crowded, I suppose."

Upon a closer look, Chanyeol noticed the familiar varnished red suit of a gnome. The figurine was, in fact, embedded in the  thorax of the insect, directly between where its wings connected with its body. Had Chanyeol not known any better, he would've thought that it was a sticker.

"How exactly do I get that gnome?" Chanyeol asked Junmyeon, who had fished out a harmonica from one of his pockets. Engraved on the metal cover was the image of a bee with music notes trailing behind it.

Junmyeon held the instrument to his lips and started to play a tune. A moment later, the queen bee stirred, the sudden rustling of her wings giving Chanyeol a fright. As the melody continued to play, the insect rose from her slumber and momentarily hovered in the air, before gliding outwards into the open.

"Climb on her back!" Kyungsoo hastily ordered. With no time to think, Chanyeol jumped and climbed on to the bee's abdomen, taking care to avoid her stinger. As he clambered up the body, the bee became agitated and started to shake vigorously in her attempt to remove Chanyeol.

Chanyeol held on tighter, kicking his feet off the abdomen to propel himself upwards and on to the thorax. At his sudden movement, the queen bee jolted into a vertical position and buzzed in anger, drowning out the upbeat tune of Junmyeon's harmonica.

With one hand able to reach the gnome, Chanyeol quickly grabbed the ornament before losing his grip altogether. He fell on to the ground with a thud, his back bearing the brunt of the force. Writhing in agony, Chanyeol managed to withstand the pain long enough to slip his hand into the gnome. For once, he was thankful for its existence.

As the world around him fragmented into clusters of cyan pixels, Chanyeol could hear Junmyeon's laughter, "I knew that bee allergies weren't a thing!"

Filename: PConf_#8_20261002

Tag: [Sehun][Chanyeol][News]

Several rows of news reporters were stretched out before Chanyeol, the clicks of their camera tablets filling the hall along with their mindless chatter. Opposite to the furthest row was a small stage, on which stood a single podium with the logo of Mr. Oh's company etched on the front. It was a wolf's head, one that was designed by Chanyeol after the man wanted to replace the previous logo.

As Mr. Oh tapped on the mic to silence the reporters, he quickly glanced at Chanyeol and Sehun, who were sitting on a designated row lining the back wall of the hall. They gave him a thumbs up, a silent reassurance.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today on such short notice." Mr. Oh said with confidence, his voice steady as a result of the hours practising in front of the mirror. "As you all know, GN Group has been funding this project for years now and so, I am happy to announce that OM Enterprises will be releasing the fruits of our labour to the general public in a month's time."

A short round of applause erupted, followed by the readying of recorders and note-taking equipment as the reporters anticipated the grand presentation. At the back, Chanyeol squeezed Sehun's hand in consolation, as the latter's worrisome expression had become a source of concern.

"Hey, don't look so anxious. Your father's doing fine." Chanyeol assured him, rubbing his back slowly. Nodding in response, Sehun tried to relax his muscles and let out a tense sigh. Out of habit, he started to fiddle with the wires jutting out of his right arm, a nervous reflex which his father often scolded him about. "Don't do that, you'll interfere with the input."

"I know, but I can't help it." Sehun bit the inside of his cheek as he pulled his fingers away. Although three years had passed since the operation on his limb, which was on the verge of complete paralysis, Sehun had yet to grow accustomed to the fact that his nerves were now controlled by external wires. Most boys his age would've been thrilled at the thought of having tech implants, especially the ones that Sehun's father and OM Enterprises produced, but more than anything, Sehun hated it.

His father being a pioneer for new technology was a double-edged sword: on one hand, it brought Sehun popularity and a comfy lifestyle, but on the other hand, their family was always in the media's sights.

"God, they're annoying." Sehun sneered as the reporters began throwing his father a flurry of questions, even though he had yet to finish speaking. "They're like bees, always buzzing around."

"To be fair, your father did arrange this press conference." Chanyeol tried to reason with him, but he couldn't help but agree. Over the past year, the media had constantly hounded Mr. Oh for not only his inventions, but several scandals he had become involved with. "But I guess it is a little worrying seeing him up there."

"They better not bring up that man." Sehun said uneasily as he watched his father hush the rabble.

On the screen behind Mr. Oh, a three-dimensional image of his latest project appeared, the technical outline of which surrounded the model in bold white letters. "I proudly present to you 'Sentience'."

A collective sound of wonderment resounded in the air, causing the man to smile with pride, "A.I. capable of creating sentient robots has been heavily debated for the past decade, but I feel that…"

While Mr. Oh continued his presentation, one that Sehun and Chanyeol had heard him rehearse countless times before, the two boys discreetly checked the live feed for the press conference to see what the reporters were saying about him. Sehun grimaced after reading the first comment.

"For the love of God, my dad gives them permission to write about his new tech and all they care about is his divorce from a decade ago?" Sehun grumbled, rapidly scrolling down his phone to skip the endless piles of unrelated nonsense. "My parents are on good terms! Good. Terms."

"At least they didn't bring him up." Chanyeol pointed out as the main news site loaded on his phone. As the words formed on the screen, his attention was immediately drawn to the topmost comment. "Ah, I spoke too soon."
 

During the brief interval allowed for discussion, one reporter raised a question, "Mr. Oh, is it true that you worked on 'Sentience' with an affiliate of GN Group?"

With practiced firmness, Mr. Oh responded level-headedly, "Yes, that is true to some extent. It started out as a collaboration, but because we had conflicting views on the project, we decided to go our separate ways. "Sentience" is a result of that, not the origin."

Another reporter stood up, an brashness to her words that followed, "Was your partner Mr. Do, the founder of Haneul Technologies?"

Mr. Oh gripped the edges of the podium tightly, but he remained composed, "Yes. Mr. Do was an exceptional partner." He answered with sincerity, retaining eye contact with the reporter. "Korea has lost a great man indeed."

"Mr. Do committed suicide shortly after GN Group withdrew their support from Haneul Technologies and increased the funding of your 'Sentience' project, do you have any comments on the matter?" A male journalist chimed in with a cockiness to his tone.

As his face contorted in anger, Sehun quickly rose from his seat, only to be held back by Chanyeol, "That bastard." He growled, almost on the verge of shouting. Chanyeol covered the boy's mouth and pulled him back down, hands firmly latched on to Sehun's shoulders to stop him from attacking the reporter.

"…That case was resolved as of last year." Mr. Oh replied, his words slow and heavy. "For the sake of the Do family, I implore you to not bring up such matters anymore. But I will repeat this for the last time - OM Enterprises is in no way related to the bankruptcy of Haneul Technologies."

Murmurs in the crowd of reporters escalated into a chaos of questions and loud debates amongst themselves. Eventually, Junmyeon, OME's PR specialist, halted the conference once no civilised discussion could continue.

"Thank you for coming today." He said through the mic, "Unfortunately, we have run out of time. Refreshments are available in the neighbouring hall."

As each one filed out of the hall, Sehun eyed them with disdain, inwardly cursing them as they all started to talk about Mr. Oh's relation with Mr. Do. Still standing on the stage, Sehun's father called out for him and Chanyeol. Both boys instantly stood up and raced each other down the hall, with Chanyeol beating Sehun due to his advantage of a two centimetre height difference.

"Sehun, I saw what you were about to do earlier." Junmyeon sighed, scolding the boy for his outburst, which was luckily quelled by Chanyeol. "Thank God Chanyeol was there or else that reporter would've been torn to shreds."

"Why can't you just ban those sleazy tabloid journalists from coming here?" Sehun scoffed, crossing his arms to emphasise the injustice of it all.

Tutting, Junmyeon simply ruffled the boy's hair, "That's not how public relations work."

"By the way Junmyeon, Yixing's visiting from Changsha to have dinner at our place, why don't you come along?" Chanyeol suggested. Beside him, Mr. Oh nodded in agreement with his briefcase in hand.

"I'd love to…but it depends on who's cooking." Junmyeon laughed wryly, flashbacks of their last gathering sending shivers down his spine.

"Don't worry, Junmyeon, I've gotten better. Minseok's been giving me some lessons." Mr. Oh reassured him, trying not to sound too offended by the indirect jab at his culinary skills.

Giving him an incredulous look, Junmyeon eventually agreed, "Fine, but if I find that my hair is in danger of being singed, I swear to God-"

"-that you'll cry again?" Sehun butted in, a smirk on his lips. With narrowed eyes, Junmyeon glared at the boy, which was met with laughter from Chanyeol and Mr. Oh.

"Enough chit-chat, I need to cook. We'll see each other again at six."  Mr. Oh announced, a joyful smile on his face, which was a pleasant contrast to the serious expression he wore during the press conference. Sehun liked it that way, when his father wasn't so strung up on company affairs.

Chanyeol knew that and had taken it upon himself to always keep the atmosphere relaxed between the three of them. The happiest moment of his life was probably when Sehun started to laugh at his jokes, which the boy had been adamant on shunning. As time went by, their borders became non-existent and enjoying each other's presence came as easily to them as a bond forged between brothers.

As they walked out of the hall, Chanyeol overheard the hushed conversation between Mr. Oh and Junmyeon.

"Mansik, " Junmyeon leaned in, voice barely audible, "Are you really going to hire that boy? I know that it's good for keeping up appearances, but I hardly think that this is the smartest of ideas."

"My choice isn't personal. It's strictly for the sake of the company." Mr. Oh said resolutely. "He's practically a genius, I've never seen an application as good as his."

"But Mansik-"

"Junmyeon, I don't want to hear another word about it." He snapped, before throwing a glance at the two boys, who were preoccupied with a mobile game. "I have the final say on this, and I say that we will  hire Do Kyungsoo."