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Crescent
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Yeosang steps into the meeting room, the first meeting 1 week after the fateful night. They had to wait until all of them are recovered, or at least until they're able to sit down for a meeting. This time they'll be joined in by Danbi, Remy and Lee Minhyuk. During the period of 1 week, they promised to put everything on hold, their health prioritised over the discussion they're about to have. Everything resumed somewhat normally, beside the fact that their positions are currently uncertain, and they had turned away all the requests they received.

They're looking to put down their titles as secret couriers, but they know that the closure has yet to be found. The sudden burst of trainees they saved on the island were ferried away by the police and special forces who were tipped off by them secretly. The investigations are currently undergoing for the chaos ensued on the island, on the boat and at the restaurant by the sea. The authorities found the link between the three separate attacks, courtesy to Mingi who sent the information regarding the high-profile investors and the Bifidensis board members.

But they haven't found a link to whom it could be behind those attacks. Yet.

Yeosang had arrived at the meeting room a little bit earlier than their promised time, looking to download all the information he kept for the past week and prepare himself to relay whatever he had read during the break-in. None of the boys knew the full story of what happened in the data bank, because his explanation only went as far as them being test subjects, but the topic was dropped when they had to go undergo treatments at the hospital, pausing their activities as ATEEZ for a week.

The burden of the information was too much for him that Yeosang spent most of his last week in isolation; he did not even contact Anna when he got discharged from the hospital, partly ashamed and partly stressed with everything that's reeling in his head. He's scared that he would direct his stress towards Anna, and he doesn't want that, especially to someone as fragile as her. Unless she visited the cafe, she probably doesn't even know that all of them returned somewhat safe and sound.

"Earth to Statue," San comes in the meeting room as he hops into the seat. He was the least injured out of those who went on the initial mission, sustaining only bruises and cuts from the fights. He looked to be trying his hardest to forget about his feelings for Byul too, especially after seeing Hwayoung reunited with her mother.

"Oh, Shiber," Yeosang acknowledges him, but there's a distant tone to it.

"Are you unhappy to see me?" San tries to joke but he only receives a silent shrug from Yeosang. "How... heavy is this information you're about to reveal to all of us? One that you have kept for a week, refusing to tell us anything because you told us we'd need the mental capacity to accept it."

"Very." He presses down a button as the blank screen is projected with the information. "What I found and read... every file is in here. Even the details of our past before they recruited us." There's a grave undertone as he looks at San in the eyes. "Even some that we don't know ourselves."

San respects his following silence by waiting patiently for the rest to gather. They find Yeosang standing in front of the laptop, his mind wandering as he stares at the screen in front of him. Only when Hongjoong snaps his fingers to bring back his attention, he shakes his head and proceeds to dim the lights. He starts with the revelation of the information a bit hesitant.

"Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to gather for a meeting here," he says. "Uncle Remy, Kim Danbi and Lee Minhyuk too. Welcome to our headquarters."

The guests smile and nod politely, because they sense the atmosphere is not one where they can be celebrated as if they're special people. Even the members of ATEEZ and Byul feel that this is the most serious meeting they've ever conducted when all the members are gathered in one place.

"As I was the only person who read everything in the data bank, I felt the need to share everything, and by everything I mean what I found there, which rocked my belief again." He brings forward the screen with the names of the files. "From the names of the files themselves, you can tell what they're doing with the trainees at KTC." He gives them a moment to digest.

"Test subjects..." San speaks up. "We, the trainees are the test subjects for the drug they're creating. Do correct me if I'm wrong, Kang Yeosang, and I hope I am because I feel like I'm about to vomit right now. I never knew this was that... vile."

"My assumption was that these investors only approached the Bifidensis board members around 30 years ago, when the data of this particular nameless drug started to appear. We can cross-check that with the period of when the investors actually started putting in money for the KTC."

"So they needed human test subjects," Remy offers. "And all of you were the candidates for this drug."

"Yes, and the drug was slipped into the food that we ate. According to the data sheet for this drug, it's ingested and it's a colourless liquid. Two drops are enough to last until the next round of food." He opens the data for the drug next. "Han Byul, I'd say you understand these scientific words more than we do considering your background. Can you scan this through and confirm about what this drug particularly do?"

They wait in silence as Byul scans through the information as Yeosang glances at her, studying her expression that goes from surprise to shock, before it's shaped to complete disgust. The rest let their eyes scan through the data too, but they don't understand as much as she does.

The expressions Byul put out make Yeosang confirms his understanding of the drug, and that it's not him simply being paranoid when he reads something that is not his field. Byul seems to stare at the table first, before she opens to start explaining about the mechanistic of the drug.

"A nameless mind-controlling drug, where you'll literally follow whatever is said to you because you'll have no recollection of the past. There's already a drug similar to this in the black market; but it's mostly used by criminals to rob. It makes you lose your own willpower and memories, plus you'll wake up only after the criminals are long gone. It blocks your neurotransmitters-" When they stare at her like she just grew some horns, she backtracks, "-they're your electrical signals throughout your body, that's basically to signal your body to do something."

"Ahhh, I see," Wooyoung nods with interest.

"Basically, the current available drug causes the victims' neurotransmitters to be blocked to the part of the brain that stores short term memories; that is no signal to that part. No signal, makes you unaware of what you're doing at the particular moment the drug is acting on you, plus it somehow makes you more open to suggestions by other people. Basically, you can be convinced to do something without even remembering anything. But the downside of this drug is that the victims will fall into a slumber after, and it can also backfire. Victims can be agitated too after the administration of the drug, and they can become the perpetrator instead."

"So what you're saying," Yunho says, and heads turn to him. He smiles slightly to Byul before he continues, "is that this drug they're trying to develop is to tone down the downsides. Instead of making people sleep after, they only want a drug that helps them to stay awake long enough to go through a normal schedule. And to make the victims' senses dampened, without the worry of having them acting aggressive."

"Correct."

"For us, ATEEZ," Hongjoong speaks up. "We're not the favourable outcomes of the experiment. We're the failures, because the drug somehow didn't work on us. Can you open the files of the trainees considered failures of the experiments?"

A flicker of hesitation passes over Yeosang, and it takes him another deep breath like he's about to plunge his head underwater for him to follow Hongjoong's request. He gives them an overview of the subfolders of the file before explaining.

"Some of you might or might not remember them, but these trainees either mysteriously disappeared or publicly executed, but some of the reasons were undisclosed. We assumed that they broke any rules imposed, but which rules were not stated." Yeosang breezes through the profiles of these trainees and he can see the newfound understanding on each of their faces, including Lee Minhyuk. "As for us, we were the failed specimens, because we could somehow resist the action of the drug." He decid

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Magbuull5245 #1
Chapter 70: By far the best book I have read. Laughing, crying, deep thinking. Just amazing!
jeongsclown
#2
Chapter 3: LMFAO THEY'RE SO CHAOTIC I LOVE IT
Manna-chan #3
Chapter 70: This story is amazing! You are so talented, the flow of the story, the way you managed to tell about all of them without it seeming forced or weird. I love it, thank you for making me smile, cry, smile again and cry happy tears at the end. Thank you for sharing this story with us <'333
WiltedStar
#4
Chapter 1: You're such a great writer.
Jade_Flower #5
Chapter 70: Loved it!!
TaeTae_wife
#6
Chapter 70: I so love your story! It's the fist Ateez story that I read and it's WOW!
Congratulations!!!! <3
MsPinKai
#7
Chapter 70: THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME SHED HAPPY TEARS ??? this was EVERYTHING!!!! One of the best written stories & plotline ever! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Animeakume
#8
Chapter 70: prepared my heart for a tragic ending but tHANK GOD ??? shed happy tears instead but it’s all worth it

i love this whole story so much! defs one of my go tos for rereading <3 thank you so much for this amazing story
Animeakume
#9
Chapter 57: i cracked and bawled my eyes out when yunho and byul repeated that they said back then as trainees ??? the whole “Dont you wish everything here is an illusion” “us, being here?” “No you idiot” back and forth conversation ohmyheart
MsPinKai
#10
Chapter 51: just when I was already believing that she 's not eunbi.......OH. MY. GOD.