Chapter Three
Baekhyun

Suddenly, I feel my heart racing a millions miles an hour as I sprint down the steel walled corridors of The Compound. I feel like I’m an imprisoned animal looking for a way out, and that only exit is to see her face in person. Perspiration trickles down from my temple to my jawbone and my worn out gray shirt clings to my body.

      I glance at the door number. Room 4567.
“She’s in Room 5002.” Chanyeol’s voice echoes in my head as I whip around the corner into corridor ninety-nine.

      As I dash down the scarcely occupied hallways, thoughts run into my head like ramming Spanish bulls. What does she look like now? It seems like I haven’t seen my mother in a million years when in fact it’s only been four months since I saw her face. I remember distinctly how she looked four months ago. People always complimented her wavy jet black locks of hair and her healthy complexion for a woman in her late 30s.

      Does she still remember how I look? I don’t like the idea of her not being able to recognize me, but then again I’ve transformed drastically, mentally and physically, since arriving at The Compound. I can faintly remember being the goalie of my school’s soccer team, being a happy-go-lucky teenager who painted the town red every weekend, and practically bombed every class with the exception of P.E.

      Now looking at myself and comparing the new me to the old, I don’t see a trace of the blithe guy I used to be. The light that used to twinkle with charisma in my chocolate eyes has died out through the months of being in The Compound. My once thriving muscles have become flabs without the protein and nutrition being given to me down here. Not to mention, my perfectly healthy skin has become a somewhat lighter shade from the absence of sunshine.

      I can’t even have a moment of relaxation with me being worried about Hyuk’s health day and night, tormenting myself about whether or not we’ll have enough sustenance for the time being, and endlessly questioning myself if we’ll endure this unfortunate period of time. I never had to think about such things four months ago.

      Other than that I think everything else is the same on the outside. The blackened coal hair and shy, yet absolutely charming, smile (something I haven’t done in a long time).

      I don’t notice when the wooden door opens in front of me. I don't even notice that I had stopped walking at all.
“Baekhyun, that was fast.” I stare at Nurse Lee for a bit and then look beyond her shoulders at the dark haired woman in the corner sitting in a chair. Without even a single greeting I move into the room and go straight toward the middle-aged lady.

      “Baekhyun, wait!” Nurse Lee calls after me, her delicate, healing hands grasp around my upper arm, tugging me back toward the door. I only glance once at the woman in the chair. She didn’t even turn around to see who I was. She didn’t even react in any way whatsoever.

      I jerk myself away from the nurse and race toward the corner of the room. Like a falling pebble, I drop to my knees onto the hard floors at the woman’s feet. My fingers extend toward her frail hands, holding it tightly yet lightly in my own.
“Mom, it’s me, Baekhyun, your little bacon.” I whisper as tears are itching behind my eyes to be let loose. Her dull eyes stare down at my face, but I don’t see any emotion at all. No love, no sign of tears coming, nothing, nothing at all.

      “Mom?” my voice breaks on me. No. This can’t be happening. I won’t accept it. This cannot be happening to Hyuk and me.

Not now.

Not ever.

“Who are you?”

Sorry for the late update, but it's here!