But I love You

Chapter Sixteen

“I don’t care how long you think it’s going to take! I want the test results on my desk by the end of the week. Or I will find someone who can actually do your job correctly!” president Yang roared, making Young Bae flinch a bit. The man was practically seething, and he seemed to note that he was. Taking a deep breath, president Yang smirked as he sat back in his chair, and snidely said “What’s happened to you Dr. Dong? It feels like every ing year you regress in your capabilities to do research. You are falling behind, and that is not acceptable. I want to see results within this week! Now go,”

Young Bae felt like he had just been slapped and completely insulted, but instead of saying anything in retort, he simply bowed, “Yes sir,” and walked out of the room. He was so mad! How could the president ever even come to understand what it was that he was asking for! Being president seems to have gone to his head; otherwise he’d be smart enough to know that what they were doing was wrong and completely out of their element of comprehension.

They were playing with something that was beyond their control, and they were being pressured for immediate results.

Young Bae was one of the scientists assigned to the sole study of mutation in the DNA. It was a lot easier to understand that the DNA strand could be mutated, but harder to know why and how it all worked for proper manipulation to occur in nature, versus induced by other factors that could be introduced by them. The most vulnerable that a human was subjected for this mutation without turning it into cancer, was when they were just an egg and .

Furthermore, the DNA history in humans was more closely related to chimpanzee compare to any other animal in the world. DNA was universal, but the history and evolution of it dictates and separates different species. The Gene pool in humans wasn’t completely as diverse as they would like it to be. Targeting the cells in both genders was going to be absolutely crucial to be able to come up with something that would work. The bottom line questions always was, and would be, how to get the DNA to adapt to changes that have been encoded not needed in the evolution of humans, and bring about those suppressed traits that would allow the adaption and translation of different species outside the gene pool.

Sure, the DNA gene seemed to be the same in every living being, with different patterns. Meaning that if the right keys were met, DNA itself, would be able to change into something else and favor itself into a human. It would be hard, perhaps impossible, but they had to try.

The biggest challenge would have to be why evolution happened in the first place- and that was for the sole purpose of the survival of the species. The body was an idiot, but it would always try to save itself and for it, it would change—and they had to take advantage of that. 

Young Bae sighed in frustration, pressing for the elevator doors to open before stepping inside. He then pressed the button for the underground floor level, where they kept what they were doing, covered up like a bad secret. He could almost turn back and run, but at this point he would be killed as a traitor for abandoning the experimentation. He knew too much about it and was already too deeply involved. He grimaced as the doors opened to the heavy hospital sterile smell, and the sight of stark white walls.

“Welcome back,” Dong Wook greeted as placed down a clear vile to hot flame, and turned to smirk at him, “So, what did he want?”

“He wants the results of the latest experiment.” Young Bae grumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked across the room to his own work station. “He says I’m lagging it, and I should have already figured how to change the human biology at will,” Young Bae rolled his eyes, his hands slamming into the near table were beaker after beaker of clear fluids brewed. Each glass clinked and shook, but nothing was disturbed.

“Well,” Dong Wook muttered, looking back at the beaker he’d been holding, the boiling liquid turning an interesting shade of indigo. “Not all good science can be done as he wishes, but he is ignorant in all of this,” He said, and Young Bae numbly nodded. “I’ll let you take some of my results in case you get called back into his office,” Dong Wook eagerly offered. Young Bae was thankful for his help.

“That would be great,” he smiled. “What is that?” he asked as the vile in front of him started to turn black.

“Something that worries me,” Dong Wook said in a low tone, “A dangerous side effect that could result in the mutations.”

The next few weeks came and went like a bad dream, starting with the calling cast interviews that were being held by normal university students aspiring to get experience as scientists. Young Bae, as well as several others monitored every volunteer that came in hoping to get some of the offered money. The sum was forty five million dollars for a month’s worth of testing, but that was an utter lie. They were just taking advantage of an innocent front in students, and before the day was over, several of the people interviewed were chosen- and their information transferred for kidnapping.

Young Bae hesitated for as long as he could, before he turned his forms in- fingers shaking with how demoralizing it was to his very soul. His body was still shaking as he walked out of the building, the night sky having no comfort as he stared up at the bright, constant, cold moon. He must have been looking up for a while, because he soon noticed movement from the corner of his eye, and he turned his head to see his young stalker standing on the other side, curiously looking at him.

Their eyes locked, and like a scared kitten the stalker ducked his head, and tried to hide behind the skinny tree that was the only thing that blocked their path. Young Bae felt his heart warm, a small comfort as he smiled and decided to approach. But the moment that he took three steps towards him, the man ran off, and Young Bae halted in his steps, wondering why he had scared him.

Am I a monster to him? He wondered, can he see how much of a terrible person I am?

Three days later things became serious.

“The adducted bodies are here,” the delivery man called, he had a clipboard with a list in his hands as he walked down the lab. He was a hired trafficker whom specialized right under the government. “Where do you want em?” he asked as if he was just delivering slabs of meet. Seon Woong came forward, looking over the order and snapped his fingers around, face serious as he did it and his tone completely cold.

The man nodded as he signaled his men to get things in place. No one showed any emotion that day as they approached the bodies. The task was simple. They would keep the bodies for a total of ten days, inject them, and make sure that their cells were all affected. Once the infection was completed, they would drive chips into their lower backs, just to make sure that they never lost track of them.

See, for this too work they had done their interviewing and selections respectably.

Young couples.

Newly wedded, young couples

Newly wedded, young couples that were looking to bare young with the next two years, to be more precise.

How to monitor their developing fetus, and future children? Easy, offer them medical services so that they would only come and see the doctors that they had assigned for them. Special doctors trained by the government and ones that were following the research closely so that they knew what to expect and look for. Once the ten days were done, the bodies were returned with no recollection of what had happened while they were in their induced state.

“They seem bothered by the fact that they feel like they have lost time, but other than that, they are still happy to do the testing,” Dong Wook muttered as several came in and tried placebos. The promised money was given to each couple, but that wasn’t an issue- they had what they wanted, and president Yang was sure that they were going to get their money back by any means.

It was an extremely controlled issue.

Young Bae stepped out of the work that day even more burdened. He pulled out a pack of smokes that he had bought a few days back, and couldn’t help but break the seal, and snap back the top. He stared at each cigarette, round, and tempting. Surely they would help with the stress, bad dreams, and the guilt that he was feeling. He snapped the box, making one stick slip half way out, but before he could place it into his mouth, a hand was slapping the box out of his.

“You shouldn’t smoke!” The tone of voice was unfamiliar to him.

He looked up, wide eyed. It was his stalker. “You…” he had whispered.

The man was blushing, shaking even as he stood in front of him with slight tears in his eyes. “I’m Seungri,” he introduced himself, before taking a step back, and bowing deeply. “I…”

“You stalk me,” Young Bae gently murmured, before placing his hands back in his pockets. “Why are you always watching me?”

“Cause…cause…” Seungri seemed shy, but he was also bold, “I love you, a lot! I’ve been watching you forever, and I know it so. I love you, Young Bae,”

Young Bae was shocked, this man knew his name, always watched him—but just how much did he know. “I…I have to go…” Young Bae was the one to take steps back this time. Seungri looked shocked, and scared, walking towards him.

“You don’t have to like me! I can understand, you don’t know me, but I…”

“Stay away from we,” Young Bae coldly said, moving to walk away from him.

Seungri gapped, his hand reaching for Young Bae as the man made a mad dash away from him. Seungri wanted to follow, but he just stayed where he was, looking up at the building he always watched Young Bae leave from. “I’ll be here again tomorrow anyways,” he whispered to himself.

And that is what he persistently did.

Young Bae tried focusing on the issues at hand, creating new experimentations in animals this time- the ones more closely related to humans. Changing the codes were a bit more complicated than what they had thought, and even had scary abominations, none functional be born.

“They look like things that might have come out of hell,” Seon Woong commented one day, smirking down at the monkey, dog mix that looked utterly vicious and like a gargoyle for a baby.

“What shall we do with it?” Dong Wook asked.

“Let’s see how long it lives,” Seon Woong chuckled, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “The humans are next; I can’t wait to see what they give birth to,”

Within the year, the couples had managed to grow pregnant with children. Delivery would fall within the next few weeks, and every scientist was anticipating it.

“I can’t believe the year is almost over,” Dong Wook had whispered, running a hand through his hair. It was utterly tense around them. Preparation and everything were key to what was going to happen next.

No scientist went home that day, as they waited around the hospital. The mothers gave birth at different times, throughout the span of the weeks that came. Sleep was scares between scientist as they studied the first babes born—no change on the outside, nothing. Everything was normal, completely normal- an utter failure.

President Yang was furious.

Not one mutation.

“Again!” the man demanded, “And this time, make sure it damn works!”

Young Bae and every other scientist left that day, hoping to go home for some rest before the new plan was devised. They had enough information now to truly cause some damage to the human DNA. There was a secret base even lower under the ground where further experimentation was going to take place. Young Bae had no doubt in his mind that the next time they were called to it, something horrific was going to be waiting for them.

“I haven’t seen you in days, I’ve missed you,” Seungri was there, like magic, blocking his path, and lifting his mind from the dark thoughts.

“What…” he blinked completely confused.

“You look sleep deprived,” Seungri noted, and reached his hand for Young Bae’s. The scientist let out a puff of air, as a spark flew between them. Surely, it was just his waddled imagination trying to understand what was happening. “I don’t live far, come, you can share my bed,”

Young Bae didn’t even protest, his mind fogged by the need to sleep, and the comfort that he felt around Seungri, so he allowed the man to drag him to wherever it was. It was a blur in his mind, arriving at a cozy apartment, taking off his shoes, and being pushed into a soft bed as he was being stripped of his shirt. He’d fallen soundly asleep.

The next time that he opened his eyes though, he jolted upright to the sound of a shrilling ring of his cell phone. He reached into his pocket, ready to hear the news as to what would happen next, but to his relief, it was just his mother. They talked for a while, before he hung up and noted the time. Two in the afternoon, and he was in a strange place, because this was definitely not his home.

Relaxing himself, he suddenly picked up the soft snoring in the room, and turned his head to look at the person that had been sleeping beside him.

“Seungri,” he whispered.

The man looked so small and he seemed to be sleeping so well. Young Bae slowly got up, picked his shirt from the floor, and dressed. He gathered his things and wrote a small note, a short Thanks, and placed it on the night stand as he dashed out the door. It was odd, he should be terrified more than just blushing and having his heart pound.

Was his stalker dangerous?

One thing was for sure, in his state, Seungri had definitely not taken advantage of him, and he couldn’t help but wonder.

“We got called in so suddenly,” a day later Dong Wook was handing everyone latex gloves as Seon Woong led them down to the lower secret base. “But it seems we got our next subjects to work with,” Young Bae nodded his head in agreement and slapped on his gloves. Once they were inside, they were greeted with several people strapped to cold metal tables- unconscious.

As long as the masks remained over their mouths, they would sleep without a hitch.

The couples had been kidnapped again, but only five of them, along with their children. Missing reports were blasting all over the media as they set to work. Artificial insemination took place for two of the couples, the group that Dong Wook and Young Bae were working on. The other one was more dangerous, where the woman had their eggs, and the males had their extracted so that the cells could be changed. They were going to use only one woman’s womb to carry the altered specimens, and see what would grow.

The last group dealt with the children, recording their day to day development. Half the kids were left on their own to just grow, and see if they were smarter, quicker, anything that would give them an advantage. The other half were shot with special enhancing serum that they were hoping would stimulate the DNA to adapt and make the mutation visible on their bodies.

Whatever way they looked at it, this was going to take years, and these people- these kids- where never going to be seen again.

Young Bae kept getting visits from Seungri. The more he saw the man, the more he liked him, and learned to appreciate him, but he couldn’t. For the life of him, he couldn’t ask him out or ask him to be his boyfriend. Not when he was this monster playing with people’s lives. Yet, he didn’t stop seeing him, he couldn’t help but want to be around him, and their odd relationship had started to grow into something he wasn’t sure he could just let go of now

“Are you dating the cutie down there?” Dong Wook asked one day, as they were looking down the windows from the break room. Their voices were low and secretive so no one overheard them. These days, you didn’t know who you could trust, and the less that their fellow co workers knew about them the better. 

“Huh, no,” Young Bae said, his eyes going back to Seungri and how he seemed to be sketching on a tablet he was holding. The happy look on his face so carefree, he wanted it too badly. Yet, he was scared that he was going to be the one to steal that expression, and then he would never be able to forgive himself.

“Why not? You two look great together. Besides,” Dong Wook rubbed the back of his neck, obviously stressed, “If I didn’t have Han Byul to get to at the end of each day, I think I would go insane.” He whispered. Young Bae looked at him in awe, for a moment considering that perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad, but if he told Seungri the truth….what would be of them then…

“We need more to carry children!” Everyone there looked up towards the door where Seon Woong had entered, followed by a fuming female. 

“But the idea is insane!!” Younha snapped at him, her hair looking like a mess. She was one of the main scientists in Seon Woong’s team. “Men aren’t meant for such things, you are taking it too far!”

“It’s no physically impossible,” Seon Woong hissed, more than ready to stand for what he believed he could do. And the man could take things to the extremes. “Watch, by the very end of this day, a legitimate man is going to be carrying a baby,” he said, in spite of anything Younha had to say in the dangers of doing such a thing. Men, after all, didn’t have wombs, and weren’t equipped to carry children. The mere thought that he planned to do that in a few hours was pure insanity.

But Seon Woong kept his word. By the end of the day a drastic change was happening to one of their male subjects. He was growing a womb, as the feminine genes were by the stimulation, and change of DNA mutation. Bottom line, the man was successfully impregnated and was expected to be able to carry to term.

That day, Young Bae was silent as he and Seungri walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. “Why are you so silent?” Seungri asked, giving him that shinning look of his eyes. How was it, that whenever Seungri saw him, his eyes just lit up. If only he knew…

“New experimentation, a male was impregnated and the science is picking up,” Young Bae said.

Seungri looked at him perplexed.

That was it, no more. He couldn’t keep looking at him without telling him the entire truth behind their science. Young Bae and Seungri had dinner and headed back to the apartment they practically now shared. Surely, he would never see this place after this. But before he could speak, Seungri beat him to it. “Young Bae, there is something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Seungri looked nervous, and Young Bae felt his heart stop, “Will you marry me?”

What…

“No,”

Seungri’s smile dropped. “Why not!” he grabbed him around the collar of his shirt, “Young Bae”

That was when he told everything to Seungri, all that they were doing. Everything that their agreement entitled or they would be dead.

But Seungri didn’t kick him out or look at him in disgust. He understood, and he still wanted to be with him because he believed him to be kind, and he believed that they were meant to be. “You aren’t a monster,” he had whispered that night after they had made love, and he snuggled himself to Young Bae’s chest. “I’m never going to let you go,”

Young Bae was in awe to say the least, and completely in love with Seungri—God he wanted to marry him if only he wouldn’t be in danger. If only he didn’t believe that his own life was in complete danger as well. If things were completely different, then he would have said, yes. 

But while he slept soundly that night, he couldn’t anticipate what life would have for him in the near future.

How much things can change in just a few years--- was amazing.

Seon Woong found himself having fun, filling out applications and mimicking the signatures of various scientists. Amongst them, Dong Wook, and Young Bae- but he didn’t care. He was only focused on reaching his goals—and for that he needed more! More!

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