Taemin woke up slowly after his tests. It was pitch black but he was alright with that. They’d done six shocks today and he didn’t pass out somehow so he was able to see the lower body tests. They were violating and even just thinking about them made him shudder. That was what they had been doing to him all this time, huh? He wouldn’t remember it next time but he still felt so disgusted by all of it.

Taemin sighed as he attempted to stretch his arms and legs, the chains rattling. His muscles hurt and he just wanted Minho to get there and make him forget it all.

Minho was really all that was on his mind at this point. It helped to take his mind off the pain and the loneliness. Minho was his only… Friend? He didn’t know if he would call him that really. He was just a caregiver for the most part. At least that’s what he told himself.

Taemin slid down on the bed and covered his face in his hands, running them down his face and when he came back up, the room was just as black as when he’d closed his eyes.

The door creaked open slightly and a sliver of light let a figure slip in.

“Hi Minho,” Taemin said, his voice croaking slightly from his screams earlier. The figure did not respond for a moment and then Taemin heard chuckling by his side. It was different, he didn’t recognize it at all. It wasn’t soft like Minho’s and upon hearing it, Taemin froze up.

“I’m not Minho, I’m someone much more important than Minho for sure.” Taemin felt a cold hand on his cheek briefly and then the sound of a cloak brushing the floor indicated the figure was sitting down. “I’m Mr. Kim, his employer.”

Mr. Kim… For some reason, Taemin believed that he had known that name before.

“So you’re the one that put me in here, then?” Taemin couldn’t hold back the venom in his voice. Mr. Kim, or whoever this was, laughed and then sighed. Taemin then heard him sit into the chair that Minho would usually be in.

“You sound so mad about that, don’t you…” The hand caressed his cheek once more and pinched it condescendingly. “But yes, that was me. You have no reason to be afraid of me…” He paused for a moment, almost solemnly.

“Choi Minho, however… Your anesthesiologist… may not be the friend you thought he was.”

“What about him…?” Minho? How dare he say anything like that about him?

“Well, long story short, I’ve been able to watch every single time that he comes into your room and his actions are not the most truthful.”

Something in that damn voice was making him even angrier than he thought he could be.

Minho, a liar? What the hell does this guy think he knows?

Taemin made a little noise of acknowledgment, tongue in cheek as he mulled the information over.

“I just thought you might like to know about his intentions. You want to get out of this place, same as every other specimen in this place, and you think of Minho as your friend and possibly your ticket out, do you not?”

“I never said that…” Taemin bit his cheek and his hands unconsciously balled into fists at the mere mention of Minho not being trustworthy.

“Either way, whatever you think about him, I do have something for you that you will want to hear. See, Minho was in my office the other day and he told me some interesting things about his relationship with you.” Taemin could just hear the smirk in his voice. Scratch that, a full-on grin. He was getting pleasure out of this, teasing Taemin until he was at his wits’ end.

Just as Taemin was about to retaliate and say that Minho would never betray him, he heard a rustle coming from next to him, and a click.

“Mr. Choi, our other anesthesiologists are not like you in the least and I believe that this shows why. It is okay to be different, but it is also something that I am inclined to worry about. If you really care about it, then you may want to ‘save’ it, might want to take it out of here.”

It was the same voice as the person sitting in his room but it sounded recorded. Taemin held his breath in anticipation.

“Should I be worried about this, Mr. Choi? You tell me.”

“No, Sir.”

Minho’s voice… or was it? It was nothing like he had heard before. It was almost devoid of life, none of the softness that Taemin had come to know.

“Can you repeat that just so I’m sure?”

There yet another smirk coming from Mr. Kim.

“No, sir.”

Minho again, louder but he sounded even more dead. Taemin sat up a little bit, making the chains rattle once more, hearing a little chuckle from his side. Whatever.

“And all of your ‘comforting’ is only because it is your job as a part of my company, correct?”

“Yes, sir."

This made Taemin shudder a bit.

None of what Minho does is genuine? It’s all just part of his job and he didn’t care at a-

“You don’t love the specimen, do you?”

There was a long pregnant pause that had Taemin on the edge of his seat.

What am I expecting? There’s nothing that could come from this anyway. I’m stuck here, chained in this bed. What can love do for me?

The questions and doubts circled but he couldn’t help but want a different answer than what he was expecting.

“No, Sir. Not at all.”

Taemin’s heart sunk into his stomach with that as the recording clicked off. He laid back on his bed, turning his face away from Mr. Kim even though he was sure he wouldn’t be able to see his tears.

Why am I crying? He’s just the person who gets to see me tortured every waking day of my life. I can’t possibly love him. It only makes sense that he wouldn’t love me.

He then felt a shudder-inducing cold cup his chin and turn it against his will to look up at Mr. Kim. He could absolutely tell that the grin had gotten even bigger since the last time he noticed from the bated breath he heard coming from the other man.

“Tsk, tsk… Are you crying?” Mock care was spliced into Mr. Kim’s tone before he started laughing sinisterly, borderline maniacally. “What did you think he was going to say, hm? That he cared? That he wanted to get you out of here? Of course, he wouldn’t. It’s his job to keep you primed and ready for those tests. He doesn’t see you as anything more than an asset to getting his salary.”

The hand on his chin started to grip tightly, his lips becoming pursed as he furrowed his brow and shut his eyes- not that it helped to alleviate the feeling. Mr. Kim kept his grip firm and was breathing heavily down onto Taemin a few inches above him, almost as if he was extremely pleased with seeing his discontent.

“He doesn’t think of you like more than what you are. A dirty specimen meant to be kept from the world so it isn’t tainted by you.”

Mr. Kim finally let him go quickly and Taemin heard the sound of him wiping his hand on his cloak. He was disgusted by Taemin, that much was definitely for sure.

“Keep this conversation in mind the next time you want to trust him. He hates you. He doesn’t want you. There is nothing you can do to change his mind about it.”

Mr. Kim left the room swiftly, the little sliver of light that emerged from the door burning Taemin’s eyes before he was in complete darkness once again.

Is that really all Minho thinks of me? After everything?

Taemin could remember feather light touches and kisses on the forehead. The tightness of Minho’s hand holding his every once in a while. The rumble of Minho’s voice as it lulled him to sleep.

Was it all a trick? Was it all just all a ruse to keep me from escaping? Was everything that happened between us nothing at all?

He didn’t want to think about it.

Minutes later he heard his door open again and he turned his face into his pillow to keep whoever it was from looking at him.

“Taemin?”

“Minho.” Why am I being cold to him? It’s… It’s not his fault that he works here for that bastard. Despite his reasoning, Taemin’s voice was dry and without any emotion he normally had.

“What’s wrong, Tae?” That damn nickname. Another trick.

Taemin’s face turned sour as he turned away from Minho’s hand that was trying to caress his cheek.

It’s definitely Minho’s hand, his loving voice, everything. But is it really genuine?

Taemin’s chain rattled as he nearly swatted Minho’s hand away from him, choosing instead to open his mouth wide after saying, “Just put me to sleep."

A/N:

Hi agaaaiiin!~

Yeah, I know it's been a while, and this is hardly enough to satisfy anything but I have been really wanting to continue this story!

I've been under a lot of stress as of late, as I mentioned in the last chapter, and I'm really, really, really sorry this all takes so long to do...

Part of it is the stress and then part of it is just me being a procrastinator. *sheepish laugh*

Please, please, please forgive me! *bows 90 degrees*

Anyways, regarding the chapter, Mr. Kim Kibum is up to his evildoing yet again! *rubs hands together mischieviously*

Taemin really wants to believe that Minho's a good guy but Mr. Kim is just very good at making him hate his life. *smh*

The next few chapters will be up in the air about when I can update, but I promise that however long it takes, I will be a good author for you!

Thank you all so much for reading this chapter if you got this far! Please subscribe and leave a comment to tell me your thoughts, or theories about this universe I have them in (Lord knows I love conspiracies!).

Until next time everyone! *squeezes you all tightly and waves you off*