Everything's Prettier Underwater

Chapter 12: Trust is Lost

Seungmin waited for a minute, in silence, sitting stiffly on something that seemed to be a chair. When he was sure that he was alone, he lifted his hands to his face, pulling down the blindfold that was tied around his eyes. Blinking, he took the time to analyze his surroundings, his brain picking up every little detail.

He was in a small room with grey walls, a high ceiling and some ventilation grills near the floor. In front of him, there was an army-style cot with a thin blanket. To his left there was a barren desk with a lamp, and the wooden chair he was sat on probably belonged to the small workplace setting. On the wall to his right, there was a slightly ajar door that led to what seemed to be a bathroom, judging by the sink he could see through the opening. Turning around, the scientist saw the metal door that stood behind him, which was also where he'd came in the room, and the only exit out of this place. At least, there didn't seem to be any cameras in the room.

Now, Seungmin wasn't dumb. This was obviously a prison. However, a few of the objects that were in the room left him perplexed as to the true reason of his stay. On the desk, he could spot his glasses, next to a case of contact lenses that perfectly fit his prescription. At the foot of the bed, a rudimentary clothing rack contained his second lab coat, as well as a few of his clothes and even his favorite pair of sneakers (which his currently naked feet were very grateful for).

Those few items were so... personal. That meant that whatever Director Park's plan was, he planned on keeping Seungmin in this place for a while. Granted, Seungmin already suspected that "this place" was actually the brand-new research facility that had recently been built by the company to house all of their "Research and Development" branch, or R&D. Not a lot of people had access to this new building, that stood on the cliff side of the coast on a restricted property, and none of Seungmin's colleagues had been able to say exactly who worked in the R&D or what they did there.

The pink-haired boy took a breath to calm himself and stop his nervous fidgeting when he realized that he'd been picking at the splint on his left hand. Tightening the wrappings around his broken fingers, Seungmin decided to change out of his three-days-old clothes. He deserved to feel clean, and it's not like he had anything else to do in the meantime. He didn't even need to try the door to know that it was locked.

Getting in the shower in the adjoining room had been an experience, as it was a very small space and he'd barely managed to get dressed without knocking his shins in the sink or the toilet. He'd managed to check himself out while putting on some new clothes, taking stock of his condition.

Obviously, the fingers on his left hand were still broken and his right ankle was still sore, the mad swim he'd been forced to do to the shipwreck not having helped his sprain. However, his ribs looked almost fully healed, only a slight bruise left behind on his torso and the cut on his calf was now completely closed and scarred, looking as if it was at least a month old already. He'd definitely have to get his hands on Felix's magic ointment to study it, the results were absolutely fascinating! That was... if he ever was able to meet with the pod again.

Sighing deeply, Seungmin passed his hands through his wet faded-pink strands and stared at himself in the small mirror above the sink. Everything was so screwed up right now. Jisung, Jeongin and Changbin were definitely in danger, he had no idea where the rest of the pod was or how they were faring, and he was stuck in this place until someone deemed it worth their while to come and speak to him.

The sound of the door opening back in the main room made him jump in surprise, hurrying out of the bathroom. Standing in the doorway, Director Park looked down at the boy, a sneer on his face. Seungmin tried to reign in his emotions, but just seeing that man standing there was making his blood boil. After all, he was the cause of everything that went wrong in Seungmin's life recently.