"We have been selected for the project," Mr. Ong said, merrily spinning around his chair while playing with a zygote-shaped stress ball.
Yes, a zygote-shaped stress ball.
Jay bowed his head with a smile.
"Thank you, sir. I will relay this to the members," he said.
"How are they doing, by the way?" Mr. Ong asked.
"They're doing okay," Jay said. "They seem pretty tired with all the work they had to do for the past week, but they're coping well."
"Good," Mr. Ong said, still playing with his stress ball, now tossing it high in the air.
"And how's their center doing?"
"He's still in the hospital, sir," Jay responded. "I visited him yesterday, and he seemed to be recovering well. The doctor also said he's recovering faster than the average person."
"That's nice," Mr. Ong chimed.
Jay cleared his throat. "This project—how do we go with it while June is still in the hospital?"
"Beats me," Mr. Ong chuckled, causing Jay's eyebrows to furrow. "I say we start preparing for it now. We can't really delay anything since we're also going to be preparing for their comeback at the end of the first quarter."
"Do you think we can delay this project a little longer to wait for him? He's an integral part of the team," Jay insisted.
"They can't push back the date anymore. Other groups are already settled. They've known about it since last December. June will just have to adjust once he comes back. He can join the group when he's okay," Mr. Ong concluded.
Jay pursed his lips in frustration.
"Make sure they do well, okay?" Mr. Ong smiled, rolling over to where Jay was standing and placing a hand on his hip. Then, the older man tightened his hold on Jay's hips, squeezing tightly.
Jay flinched, feeling the pain radiate through his leg.
"I let the shooting incident pass since it gave many opportunities for ambassadorships. I just hope you don't commit the same mistake," he said, a wide smile on his face.
However, despite his happy expression, his eyes held a glint of seriousness, making Jay quiver.
Jay quickly nodded.
"That is noted, sir."
"Good," Mr. Ong exclaimed, removing his hold from Jay's hip.
"I'm looking forward to their performances."
***
One week had passed since June woke up, and he was now feeling better than ever. There was still an ache on his left shoulder, but it didn't debilitate him from doing his daily activities.
He could even dance with minimal pain now!
However, he was still bored out of his mind.
He even became more active on their group chat, but it seemed like all his members were busy since they only replied late into the night.
Minjun diligently went to school, too, so June was all alone in his boring room.
Dr. Oh came a few times to pester him into participating in a 'human' project, but June didn't find it interesting or ethical.
So, for now, he was stuck scrolling on Navel to satiate his boredom.
- I know the company said that June was alive and well, but I'm still worried.
