Heat Waves

Origins

Chapter Fourteen -

Seokjin's lab was not far from the Han family estate. Nestled in an unsuspecting residential district of downtown Seoul, Jin had set up a small research facility several years ago. At first it had been just himself pouring over various biological texts and decades of hybrid studies searching for answers. He had been obsessed with discovering the origins of the hybrid race, the reasoning on why some presented as alphas, omegas, and betas. What genetic code within humanity had shifted and when that formed their current race. Of all the animals that they could have evolved with, why wolves, and for what purpose? History was vague at best, and the science worse, and Jin had just scratched the surface of his curiosities. By the time he emerged from his self-made prison he barely recognized the hollow figure and sullen face staring back at him. Weeks of eating less than a bowl of rice, drinking nothing but soju, and chain smoking hadn't been kind to the alpha. At the time, his health had not mattered, only his research and two weeks after his short stint outside he ended up in the hospital. It was there that Han Beom Seok had discovered him half-conscious on IV's being force fed jello from an overzealous nurse.

What Kim Seokjin thought was lack of progress had actually generated ripples throughout the scientific community regardless and rumors of his studies had spread. He was the first geneticist to suggest that alphas, omegas, and betas were not permanent secondary genders, and that if the right formula could be cultured it was possible to mutate the DNA to evolve. In simple terms, transitioning into whichever gender was preferred. His hypothesis had been rejected by many, partly because of the unethical nature of the experiments to prove the theory, and because of the societal implications of transitioning at will. For years, alphas were considered top of the food chain, omegas the bottom, and betas not worth considering at all. If someone could change their rank, then it would upset the primal instinct within all hybrids, and no one could predict how overreaching that result would be.

Fortunately for Seokjin, Beom Seok was a typical pure-blooded alpha, one who sought glory for his own family over the greater good. His goals were selfish, and his greed fueled him to accept Jin's terms when he had offered to fund the doctor's mission. It was strange to say the least that Doctor Kim had agreed to partner with the same man who had shattered his own dreams years ago when he was a naive graduate student careless and in love.

At first, Jin's fixation on transgender studies was for himself, a delusion that he could have influenced the outcome of his own story with science. But his goals were hollow and would never come to pass. His dream had died in burning wreckage and quiet snow on a frozen Seoul street, forever lost. It wasn't until Han Beom Seok had given Kim Seokjin the burning sword to destroy him and his pack that he realized revenge was a sweeter ending than his own death.

Unknowingly, he breathed life into the young scientist that day who eventually was released and set to work assembling his team. Most of the members he sought refused to work with him, but with unlimited resources from the Han clan, and blackmail, he had managed to secure the perfect group. Several well-known geneticists from accredited universities made up his staff, older and wiser, who completed their tasks with little complaint. However, his head research scientist was a different story, someone who had much to lose and everything to gain. He had a reputation in their field for being unorthodox and naive, but it could not be denied he was a genius - even if his personality was the opposite of the stereotype.

Song Mingi had been someone the Han clan threatened to join them, and the young man never allowed Jin to forget this despite his outstanding results. The second one who had to be coerced was Yang Jeongin, another prodigy, who graduated High School at sixteen and spent the remainder of his teens and early twenties in Seokjin's facility instead of a college, putting most of his seniors to shame. Truly, it was these two that had aided Jin to get as far as he had and while they hated him, he was grateful for them both.