My senses kick back in, and I wake up in a strange room. I lift my head with my sore and tender neck and take a look around the area. Bodyguards stand in front of each entrance. I am sitting in a chair, arms strapped to the armrests. The President sits in front of me, smirking creepily upon seeing my waking.

"You're a very special boy, Byun." He says. His tone of voice sends shivers down my spine. A mix of fear, anger, and confusion pumps through my blood.

"Where's Chanyeol?" I demand.

"I'm here to talk about you, not him." He responds sharply. I open my mouth to object, but his pointed finger raising quickly to his lips signals that its safer to keep quiet. I slowly close my mouth and he nods at my actions before continuing.

"I know you have noticed some changes lately about yourself, correct?" He looks at me awaiting an answer. I stare at him, not saying a word. "Baekhyun, please. If you don't want you or your damned boyfriend to get hurt, you need to cooperate with me here." He says in a deep growl-like tone. I nod my head hesitantly.

I gulp before speaking. "H- How do you know that?"

"Oh, I know a lot more than you think."

"What do you mean?" I ask. The mix of emotions builds higher and higher. Questions fill my thoughts.

"Don't worry, I am here to explain everything. You just have to promise me that this stays between you and me, or else someone could end up hurt. I just..." His voice fades off and he hesitates before continuing, as if he's figuring out what to say next. "...really need your help."

I nod once again, not knowing what else to do. I hold back the urge to fight my way out of the chair and demand answers. Instead I sit quietly and calmly, trying my hardest to ignore the pressure of the emotions pulsating through my body.

President Jaeshin clears his throat. "It is a pretty obvious fact that my father was President before me, so, as a result, I have been involved with the politics of this country for quite awhile now. What isn't well known, however, is that this war has been planned to take place for awhile. Despite all the technological advances throughout the past hundred years, the knowledge the world has on radiation is quite lacking. It's been a recent goal of many countries to experiment with radiation, hoping to gain more knowledge and understanding to provide better safety of the public in future generations.

The tensions against our country has increased greatly through the past decade, and my goal as president is to achieve what my father could not: gain respect and power from the rest of the world. What better way to do that than provide the very knowledge those countries want?" I sit still in confusion and shock.

"The question I came to face was: How do we get that information? How can we successfully conduct an experiment that not only provides the knowledge we need, but also gains us the power I'm so desperately looking for? The answer I came up with: start a cyberwar with North Korea, the country with highest tensions against us, to hopefully lead up to a real war. Fortunately, the mission was a success, when they blasted us with the nuclear bomb providing us with the exact environment we needed to start testing. From there, things were simple, we just needed to get our tests subjects in action. So what did we do? When we brought everyone to the residencies, we gathered everyone's DNA, some basic information, and injected each of you. For some, it was only basic body fluid, but for others, we implanted a gene that was intended to cause radiation immunity. However, nothing turned out as planned after that. Even though, yes, they did become immune, they also became completely inhuman. You're the only one that reacted positively, Baek, and I am kindly asking that you please use your gift to help us." The president finally finishes talking, and a satisfied smile is plastered creepily across his once friendly face. I sit quietly in shock, trying to comprehend the information that was just given to me. As the words and reality finally sink in, the shock turns into rage.

"You're saying you planned this whole thing? This was all some ing experiment?"

"Indeed. Clever, right, kid?" He responds, followed by a few chuckles that irritate my eardrums.

"All of the thousands of people dead; people's families and innocent lives! All for a mothering experiment?"

"This was all done to help you!" He objects.

" you, you bastard! Help me, my ! The people suffered. The country ing suffered!" I spit.

"Listen to me, you little ! You don't understand the position we were in! We are desperate for power, and sometimes the extreme has to be done to get there."

"But what about the people? Do they not matter to you?"

" the people! It's always about the damn people, huh? They always think they know everything. They think they're so smart and know what's best for them. What bull! The people aren't always correct. The government has always kept things from the people, and it's always been to protect them, whether they understand it or not. Nothing has changed because of this." He retorts, face becoming red and expression booming.

"Protection? You think this is protection? That little boy at the busses, that man at the cafeteria, those thousands dead at the explosion site, and the thousands more killed in the aftermath. They were protected? This isn't for protection anymore. All of those people; Hyung - you're own ing friend - is dead because of you!" I hold back tears as the thought of Hyung's dead distorted body flashes through my memory. I take a deep breath in attempts to calm myself before I continue.

"Chanyeol, the only ing person I have left in my life is dying because of you! Because of this ing experiment! you! your experiment! your power!" Despite the rage in my voice, tears flow from my eyes and stain my flushed cheeks. With a clenched jaw, balled fists, heavy breaths, and a glare of hatred and disgust, I stare into the The President's eyes. He keeps silent, and his face and body loosens, the booming expression and redness in his face fading away as if he wasn't booming with anger just seconds before. He rubs his forehead and sighs.

"Listen, kid. I told you this wasn't supposed to turn out this way. I want to fix this. I want to stop this. I want everything to end just as much as you do, but I can't do it alone. I need your help, Byun Baekhyun. I can't do this without you. I beg you, please help me." He begs with a soft tone I haven't heard since Chanyeol and I first entered the residencies.

I keep my tough gaze into his eyes and maintain a serious tone as I speak. "How can I trust you?" 

"Do you really have a choice? Either you refuse to help and watch your lover die in front of you along with everyone else hanging onto survival, or you can team up with me and we can find a way to stop this. Your choice." He throws a friendly smile in my direction, causing my stomach to churn in disgust. Tears continue to flow down my face, and dizziness begins to take over as I try to ponder everything at once.

"So tell me. Will you help me?" He asks once again, pleading with his eyes in a way that almost makes him feel trustworthy.

Never.

Between clenched teeth I spit out my final answer. "Fine."

I can't trust you.

"I'll help you."

You'll ing regret this.