Biochemical; NCT Dream

✯•Twenty-Two•✯

Chenle sat at the window, waiting patiently to see when Donghyuck would enter Doyoung's cabin. Thankfully Jisung had fallen asleep the second his head hit the pillow, which also meant Chenle would be able to leave easier.

He felt bad keeping this from him but friends are supposed to have secrets right?

After around ten minutes of waiting, Chenle spots a shadow moving in the soft spot lights of the camp, he knew instantly who it was. He waited until the boy had disappeared into the cabin before scrambling off his bed and making his way towards the door.

He pulls on a pair of sneakers, being as quiet as he possibly could. Once he was ready, he rests his palm on the handle but jumps when hearing a voice.

"Where are you going?" Jisung asks from where he sat in bed, holding himself up with his forearm whilst his other hand rubbed his tired eyes.

"I-I'm not feeling well so I was going to see Doyoung"
Chenle says quietly, a nervous laugh slipping from his lips as he moves closer to Jisung's bed.

"You're sick? I'll come with you" Jisung says, throwing his blanket off him but the elder stops him. He gently pulls the blanket back over Jisung's body.

"No you should stay here, I'll be back in a few minutes" Chenle assures "I'll just get some medicine and then I'll be back, okay?"

Jisung looked a little sceptical about it but he nods "okay" he moves to hold Chenle's hand, squeezing it a little before letting go with a satisfied smile. "You're hands are warm"

The comment makes Chenle laugh a little. It was obvious hat Jisung was still half asleep. "Go back to sleep, I'll be back soon" and with that he moves away from the bed, opening the door and slipping out of the cabin.

It was slightly cold outside and Chenle hugged his jacket around him tightly before sprinting over to Cabin 4. He didn't bother knocking since he figured they would know it was him.

As soon as he was inside his jaw dropped. Unlike last time the curtain was open, revealing a wall covered in photographs, newspaper clippings, sketches, everything that could be published on paper was on that wall. The virus being the topic to link them all together.

"What is all that for?" Chenle asks as he finally manages to close the door.

Donghyuck sighs "we're trying to stop the virus"

"What!?" Chenle says I'm shock but apologises for his loudness. "But, if you're trying to stop the virus then why are you hiding this? Isn't this a good thing?" He asks a little confused as to why Mark was always yelling at Hyuck and why they're always so secretive with the rest of the camp.

"Because people think it's better left alone, if you try and stop it then people are more likely to think you have something to do with it malfunctioning" Doyoung says, his gaze focused on a book in his arms.

Chenle only nods in understanding, even though he didn't really understand. "So have you made any progress on stopping it?"

"Oh we already know how to stop it" Doyoung tears the page out of the book and pins it to the wall, drawing an arrow in red marker pen to a photograph of a large building.

"Y-you do?" The blonde asks, moving closer to the wall and having a better look "how long have you known?"

"Since it started mutating" Donghyuck shrugs, taking a seat and resting his feet on that large desk in front of him.

Chenle's heart sinks a little at this. They had known yet hadn't tried to stop it? His parents could still be alive.
"B-but why-"

"I tried" Doyoung says, turning towards the younger, his tone was a little softer this time. "I told them how to stop the virus but they fired me and told me they would never do it" he looks down "if I could have saved yours and your brothers parents I would have, but it was out of my hands"

Chenle felt a lump form in his throat at the mention of his parents. The idea of them still being here was too upsetting for him to handle right now. "Why wouldn't they let you do it?"

"Because the only way to stop it is to switch off technology for good since the virus is controlled by the networking system. It's too much of a moral panic for our world to handle" the orange haired boy shrugs.

No more technology? Before, Chenle would have thought it was impossible to live without modern technology, but since coming to this camp he had realised how much better it was, and how much more rewarding it was to do things yourself rather than relying on an android robot to do it for you. He liked how he could introduce himself properly without people asking to scan his wrist first.

"Surely there must be a way to do it" he says and he sees the two boys share a look.

"There is, but it's going to take more than the three of us to achieve it"
Doyoung says. "Eight or ten people at least"

"Everyone in this camp is against technology" He moves towards the hospital bed he had sat on last time he was here "surely the entire camp would be willing to help"

Donghyuck shakes his head "I asked Mark, since he's probably one of the only people I trust here, but he hated it. He kept saying how dangerous it was and that as long as this camp is safe that's all that matters" he explains "we fear the rest of the camp will react the same way"

A silence settles over the room until an idea comes to Chenle's mind. "What if I can convince them. If I can convince at least four more people to help we would be able to do it right?"

Hyuck looks over to Doyoung, both boys waiting for his answer.
The elder sighs but nods "fine you can try. But you mustn't mention anything about this until you know for sure they'll agree" he says, pointing towards the wall behind him.
"Would you be able to do that?"

Chenle looks between the two of them before nodding, smiling a little "of course".

And he already had four people in mind.

•••••
A/N: I wanna write a Minsung fic but I don't know if anyone would read it.