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CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE

❝GARDENOFMEMORIES❞

"Catch!"Sunggyu heard, and suddenly, a small, shiny object came flying his way. The young man caught it with ease. He eyed the item in his hand. It was a silver necklace in the shape of the ‘Infinity’ symbol. Sunggyu held the pendant in front of him, twirling it slightly.

The symbol itself reminded him of the orphanage he grew up in.

“What is this?” Sunggyu asked, raising a brow at the blond, who came running towards him.

“It’s called a necklace!” The blond laughed.

“I’m being serious, Himchan.”

“It’s what Dr. Wu made me wear during the mission. It’s made of adamantine,” Himchan answered, leaning against the wall. They were in a small corridor that led to the test labs on the fifth floor of the underground portion of the BEQP.

“Adamantine? I’ve never heard of that before…” He mimicked Himchan’s posture, leaning against the wall as well, his gaze never leaving the pendant.

Himchan had left a note on his bed, telling him to meet him there later on that evening. Apparently, he had something important to tell the teenager. Nothing was specified in the note except the strict orders of not telling Yongguk about this meetup.

It was almost close to midnight and not many BEQP employees were still roaming the halls. The few that were still there didn’t questioned why Himchan and Sunggyu were in the restricted corridors of the fifth floor, though. They were both high-ranking soldiers, and Himchan was often seen down here for his missions that were related to Dr. Wu’s research.

“Why do you need to wear this?” Sunggyu asked, tilting his head. He raised the pendant higher till it sparkled from the ceiling lights behind. He couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from it. He felt some sort of invisible pull towards it.

“I don’t know the specifics, but apparently, this metal is made up of special components. According to Dr. Wu, in order for one to–,” Himchan eyed the surroundings for a moment, making sure no one was around before whispering, “travel, one must carry an object from the period they want to travel in order for the results to be correct. And if one wants to return to their own time, they must carry something that is unique to his. Or something along the lines of that. It sounded like a bunch of bull to me. In his theory, there is supposed to be a lot of other factors that would allow an individual to travel, but–Hey! Are you even listening to me?!” Himchan punched Sunggyu’s arm, forcing a whine out of the teenager.

“I was!” He finally looked away from the pendant, rubbing his arm. He frowned at the blond.

“Whatever,” Himchan rolled his eyes, snatching the necklace out of Sunggyu’s hands. He stuffed it in his pockets.

“Why did you bring me down here, Himchan?” Now that his attention wasn’t on the pendant, he rubbed his eyes, yawning slightly. He was so tired. He had been doing drills and teaching the new trainees non-stop for the past week and a half. It took all of his willpower to come down here and meet up with his close friend.

“I never got around to telling you the full details of my mission,” Himchan mumbled, eyeing their surroundings again. “Technically, I’m not supposed to talk about the contents of Project K.O.T, but I need to talk to someone, Sunggyu.”

The redhead crossed his arms, observing Himchan’s silently. Something was obviously bothering the soldier. He looked stressed and nervous. His eyes kept flickering back and forth, eyeing their surroundings. He kept tapping his foot in what seemed to be a nervous tick. He looked smaller since the last time he had seen him. It’s only been a week since he had gotten back and yet the bags under his eyes were noticeable. And he was pale, so very pale. Had he been eating?

“Why not tell your boyfriend?”

“Hm,” Himchan was quiet for a moment. “He wouldn’t understand,” he hesitantly answered. “Yongguk… Yongguk… Yongguk is a soldier. He wouldn’t understand.”

“And what does that make me and you?”

“He wouldn’t understand, Sunggyu,” he repeated himself.

“Well, I don’t understand,Himchan,” Sunggyu sighed, rubbing his temples. He was forming a headache. He didn't have time for this cryptic bull. He really needed to head back to his quarters and get some rest; he had an early start tomorrow. Again.

“Yongguk is a good man, but,” Himchan trailed off again. He stared at the ground, his foot still tapping.

“He isn’t,” Sunggyu frowned, not liking the way Himchan kept hesitating. “…hurting you, is he?”

“No,” Himchan looked up to Sunggyu, his eyes widening. “Where did you even get that idea from?!” He glared at the redhead.

“Then what’s the problem, Himchan? What’s going on that you can’t tell Yongguk about?”

“We may all be soldiers, but Yongguk isn’t like me. He isn’t like you,” Himchan sighed. “Yongguk is the prime example of the kind of soldiers South Hallow produces. Strong and capable. He follows orders to the T without a second thought. If he was instructed to go and kill you in order to prove his loyalty to YG, he wouldn’t hesitant, even if you guys are good friends. Yongguk is that kind of solider.”

Sunggyu pushed himself off the wall, his arms falling to his sides. “What are you trying to say?” It was just a whisper, but it echoed in the empty hallway. The redhead swallowed thickly. There was no lie in that statement, though. Yongguk wouldn’t hesitate to kill him. Sunggyu, on the other hand, though. He couldn’t even imagine pulling the trigger.

“Sunggyu, we’re–you’re not that kind of soldier. I see it in your eyes while we’re out in the field. I see it during mission briefings. I see it when we’re addressed by our commanding offi