Track 48. INVISIBLE STRING by Taylor Swift | ♩

“Are you okay?” As soon as working hours were over, Rara and the Other Baekhyun drove to the research institute. Though Rara was behind the wheel and her passenger didn’t need to do anything besides sit and breathe, the Other Baekhyun was still feeble, and he wasn’t getting any better when they entered the building. He seemed like he was going to pass out any second. 

“You should’ve stayed in the car.” Rara insisted. When the Other Baekhyun ignored her, she marched in front of him, halting his walking. “You know what, I’ll willingly walk you back to the car.”

“I’m fine.” He urged. “Let’s just get this over with.”

“But—”

“Look, I don’t want this to turn into a full-blown argument. So I’m gonna say this just once.” He stared at her with solid authority. “If a fight erupts when you confront your brother, I don’t wanna be sitting in an air-conditioned car when I could’ve lent you a hand.” He said in a firm tone. He slightly tugged her ear and said, “You have two perfectly functioning ears with no earphones or earbuds, you’re a vampire with superior auditory senses, I’m only one foot away from you, and I evidently have no speech defect. So I assume that was loud and clear enough for you.” 

Rara bit the inside of her cheek and scooted back to his side. Well said, smartass. A brief staring contest emerged between them, which ended after Rara held his hand. “I heard you. Now let’s go.” 

Shinae was said to be at the Biochemistry laboratory, centrifuging samples. It was a laboratory on the far end of the hallway of the second floor. The closer they got to the laboratory, the more the Other Baekhyun felt frail; he made sure Rara didn’t notice, but she could probably tell by the way he was squeezing her hand. 

Rara knocked on the door and moved her hand to clutch the Other Baekhyun’s arm, looking at him with a determined expression. When the door opened, they were surprised to see who it was, and even more so with the fact that they knew who it was. 

“Kyungsoo?” The Other Baekhyun looked at him confusedly. “Dude, what are you doing here? Weren’t you assigned to a different laboratory?”

D.O chuckled with a hint of astonishment as well. “I could ask you the same thing,” He turned to look at Rara. “And you too, Doc.” He greeted with a small smile. “I’m helping Shinae sequence DNA samples. I specialized in Genetic Bioengineering, in case you’ve forgotten.” 

A female voice in the background called out to D.O, asking him who was in the door. When the person approached, it was Shinae. 

“Rara! Baekh—!” 

Then the Other Baekhyun collapsed, but Rara caught him before his body hit the floor. 

Every laboratory had a mini lounge where the researchers and scientists could relax or wait for the machine to work on their samples. D.O helped Rara carry the Other Baekhyun and lay him down on the sofa. She immediately checked for vital signs, and seeing the rise and fall of his chest and feeling the throbbing in his wrist and neck, he was going to be fine. Just needed a much-deserved rest. 

“Is he sick?” Shinae asked worriedly. “Why would he get sick? He’s a werewolf.” 

Before Rara could answer, D.O had something to say about it. “