The Mad Scientist

"And so that's what happened. Amazing, right?"

Slowly, I eyes opened my eyes. The brightly lit ceiling made me squint. After a few seconds, my vision finally adjusted to the light.

I raised one of my palms in the air and stared at it while my other hand combed my hair and picked my cheek lightly afterward.

Okay, this is real. I'm not dreaming anymore.

How long was I asleep? What time did I fell asleep last night again? Right, 5:00 am. Typical.

"Yoongi! Were you listening?"

Instead of a question, that sounded like a demand. I stood up straight, scratched the back of my neck and sighed.

"Shut up, you're just telling the whole story over and over, Hoseok. I can't help but to doze off."

"But you don't understand. Holly jumped from the chair, three times. Do you hear me? THREE TIMES."

"Dogs do that most of the time, and Holly is no exception. Wait, why are you obsessing over him again? I swear I'll sue you for dog abuse."

There were screams and shouts in the background as if the person holding the phone was jumping from couch to couch in a hurry. I sighed as I waited for him to reply.

"Hey, I just hug him around and raise him up like that monkey on the lion king did. I'm sure that's not abuse."

With a sigh, I just accepted his reason to be valid to not push the argument further. "So what's going on there?"

"I don't know what to tell actually. Why don't you come home and get informed on your own? Ever since graduation day you disappeared to who knows where. You only returned like... once? twice?"

"I told you I had to work on something," I pulled the phone away from me and yawned before continuing. "How about you, how's work?"

"Same as usual. Ah! I do have something to tell you. Complain actually. I never told you this before because I didn't think you would care. But I guess I should inform you now."

"How thoughtful of you."

A firm knock turned my attention away from the phone. I fixed my clothes and combed my hair nicely before walking to the door and entertain whoever was knocking.

"I tried complaining this to Namjoon but every time I do, he just laughs at me. Why is it that every time I--"

"Your test subject has awaken." said somebody with a mask covering half of their face. The person gave me a file before nodding and leaving the area.

"Ah, right. I have to go Hoseok."

"Wait what was that? What woke up?"

"It's a human being, don't treat it like a thing," I glared at the phone on loud speaker, hoping that my glare would somehow reach him. "What? Do you think I play around with explosives or something?"

"Isn't that what doctors sometimes pretend they are? You know, a mad scientist?"

"Point taken."

"So as I was saying about my issu--"

Beep.

I ended the call. I don't trust Hoseok's standard for the word 'serious', and by that I think he'll just say something about him tripping or so.

/////

"Sir, he's confused and hostile at the moment but I think you can work things out. Here, right behind this room."

Yoongi thanked the person who escorted him to this place with a slight nod. After he did, accompanied with a deep sigh, he held the door knob and began to turn it open.

"Who are you? Are you Min Yoongi's brother?"

Yoongi was taken aback by the response, he couldn't help but to smile a bit as he was checking the file he had in his hands.

"I am Min Yoongi. How are you feeling?"

"That can't be. I mean, the Min Yoongi I knew was... short?"

The paper he was holding crumpled a bit as he was about to turn the next page. His face showed an intimidating glare. "Ho? I'll take that as a compliment. Assistant, bring me the razor. Shut this guy up."

The assistant ran to get the room's bathroom to get the tool Yoongi needed. While the person he was talking to obviously shook a bit in fear.

"W-What? Are you planning to kill me? Is that why I'm in this place? Are you the one behind this? Why are you disguised as--"

"That razor is obviously for you. Don't stand up or runaway just yet. My assistant will fix you up."

And with a snap of his fingers, the assistant did what he was told.

"Why? What's wrong with me?"

Yoongi rummaged through his pocket and threw a mirror at the bed. "You look like someone who lost their home because of a debt and decided to live on streets-- you get the idea."

Without second thoughts, the man held up the mirror and looked at himself.

"I think your mirror is broken...?"

"I think your common sense is broken," Yoongi muttered. "Well it's not like you'll understand right away, you were asleep."

And the other seem to have heard it. "Asleep, how?"

Yoongi walked closer and gave the other a sneaky smile. He waited so long to say this sentence. "Just like how you kept a secret or two from us, Jungkook. I also kept one from you."

"Huh?"

The assistant cleaning up Jungkook's face was finally finished. Yoongi ordered him to take his leave to give the two some privacy.

"What was the last thing you remember?"

As Jungkook tried to recall and to find answers to Yoongi's question, his head hurt and felt a rushing pain. "I'm in a hospital? Is this the same building?"

"That's in Seoul, I brought you to Daegu," Yoongi said, crossing his arms and leaning on a nearby wall. "Ever since you told us about your condition, I started researching about the whereabouts of your parents in secret. Well that's the best I can do. Namjoon was like our group's leader so he tried his best to make things comfortable for you, and Hoseok was your roommate who was always there. Both took care for you and I just stayed silent like a background character without doing anything... well," the corner of his lips curved upwards. "Let's just say I have my own ways."

"Wait! What happened to Taehyung? To the hospital I was first sent to?"

"Oh, you mean what happened three years ago?

"Three what?!"

He was starting to feel numb from standing up for so long so Yoongi grabbed a nearby chair and sat on it as he continued with his explanation.

"It turns out both of your biological parents are dead. I asked the hospital my family owns, this one, to research about the experiment I wanted to do. So after our graduation, I rushed here to help with the trial. Three years ago, I brought you here. You know, right after the hospital drama."

Jungkook was trying his best to remain calm and slowly accept the situation he was in. "What about the others? Do they know about this? Does Taehyung know?"

"I told you this was a secret of my own. Besides, what do you want me to tell him?" Yoongi coughed and raised his tone a little. "Like, 'Hey Taehyung. I'll be sending Jungkook away to Daegu to do some experimental surgery on him because he's dead meat anyway so I just want to see if my experiment works or not. Don't worry, despite 80% chance of failure, there's a 20% chance he'll survive. Though because this is a trial surgery, I'm not sure if that would work because the results would either be him surviving or him staying in coma until we decide to cut the machine that's keeping him alive. Are you okay with that?'"

Jungkook just stared at him in mixed awe and confusion. Even he was unsure on how to feel right now.

Yoongi lost his composure for a second and flailed his arms around. "Is that any better? Do you think he'll even let me to do this instead of just letting you 'rest in peace'"?

Speechless about everything so far, Jungkook just raised another question.

"Who knows about this?"

"Supposedly your guardian. But you have no legal guardian so Namjoon and I had to run some connections here and there, but that doesn't matter anymore. You're alive, aren't you?"

"S-So was the operation a success?"

"Oh, no. I'm just casually talking to a ghost," Yoongi mocked playfully. "You're alive and breathing right now so what do you think? Yes, it did. But you still have to take medicines and stay for some tests."

Jungkook raised one of his arm and showed the spot where doctors and nurses usually take blood from patients. "Then hurry up, please! Let's go back to Seoul. I'll surprise Taehyung and everyone!"

Yoongi suddenly flinched and froze in his spot. Jungkook noticed this so he can't help but to ask.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Well, as I've heard from Namjoon, apparently you were asking Taehyung to 'find someone better' and now you're excited to see him? Throwback attitude much?" Yoongi joked, but only he laughed. "A lot can happen in three years, you know. I'm just being blunt but don't get your hopes up that everything stayed exactly the way you left it."

A sudden realization came to Jungkook. And just like Yoongi, he was now also looking at a distance from his spot. "How about you, Yoongi hyung? Do you know something?"

Yoongi stood up from his seat and stretched a bit. "I told you, ever since graduation, I left to participate at work here. I only went back there like... once or twice in three years. I'm just as clueless as you are about Taehyung."

Jungkook showed a sad expression on his face. But behind that sad exterior was a feeling of determination. "I still want to see him."

"And then what?"

"I don't know, I'll know when I get there."

Yoongi pauses for a bit. "Fine, I'll book a flight to Seoul tomorrow. For now, get some rest."

Jungkook finally smiled for the first time today and cheered. He was excited but at the same time, scared. As Yoongi said earlier, who knows what could've happened in three years.

/////

"Yes, you heard it right. I'll be on Seoul tomorrow. I'll see you in my free time."

Beep.

Yoongi just left Jungkook's room a while ago. And now, here he was at the corridor having a phone call.

After the caller screen disappeared, the display showed a browser opened that contained search results.

He stared at his phone while flipping it around side to side.

"Trying to defy the laws of nature by doing something that can only be done by a miracle," Yoongi chuckled. "Well, he exaggerated, as always. That being said...mad scientist, huh? I guess I somehow am."