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Heeseung
Heeseung stood in the break room, calmly sipping his coffee. For once, the usual storm of chaos in his mind was quiet. He couldn't help but smile. Something had shifted in him, something he didn't fully understand but wasn't ready to fight against either.
He had never been one to dwell on feelings, but this—this was different. Aiko's face kept slipping into his thoughts, and for the first time in a long while, he felt... hopeful. Like maybe there was something to look forward to beyond this never-ending nightmare of fighting Neomorphs and barely surviving day to day.
Just as he was taking another sip, his peaceful moment was interrupted by Yuna practically sprinting into the room, wide-eyed and breathless.
"Heeseung!" she gasped, trying to catch her breath. "We've got something. The blood tests... I think we've figured something out."
His casual demeanor vanished immediately. "Wait, seriously? What'd you find?"
"Come with me. It's easier if I show you." Without giving him time to finish his coffee, Yuna grabbed his arm and tugged him down the hallway toward her makeshift lab. It wasn't much—a couple of old computers, some outdated equipment, and a clutter of notebooks and papers. But Yuna worked miracles in this space.
Inside the lab, the clutter looked even worse than usual, and Heeseung could tell she had been working non-stop. Her hair was in a messy bun, and there were about five empty coffee cups scattered around.
Yuna pulled up a chair next to her monitor and gestured for him to look at the screen.
"So, I ran Aiko's blood sample against the Neomorph's blood again. And... Heeseung, it's insane. Aiko's blood is acting like some kind of—well, the closest analogy would be an immune suppressant—but not really. It's... more aggressive. I've never seen anything like it."
Heeseung blinked. "Okay, slow down. What the hell are you talking about?"
"Right, right. Sorry. In layman's terms—Aiko's blood, when mixed with the Neomorph blood, doesn't just suppress their functions—it actively attacks them. Like... it's going into battle, almost. I observed a rapid decline in Neomorph cells when exposed to her blood sample."
She turned the monitor towards him, showing detailed graphs and charts with erratic spikes and drops.
Heeseung squinted at the screen. "And this means...?"
Yuna sighed in frustration. "Okay, you're not getting it. Look, imagine Aiko's blood is like a virus to the Neomorphs. But instead of slowly infecting and weakening them over time, it's going straight for the kill. When I introduced her blood into their sample, it initiated massive cellular breakdown. Their cells began lysing—breaking apart—and the Neomorph tissue practically disintegrated within minutes. Like, this stuff doesn't mess around."
"Wait, wait," Heeseung interrupted, still trying to wrap his head around it. "You're saying her blood kills them? Like, directly? Just... destroys their cells?"
"Exactly. Her blood contains enzymes—or some kind of biochemical compound—that seems to function as a catalyst for cell death in the Neomorphs. But that's the freaky part—her blood doesn't just stay neutral. It's already *in* them. It's in their system, like a dormant virus waiting to activate."
"Okay, hold the hell up," Heeseung said, putting down his coffee cup. "Aiko's blood is already inside the Neomorphs? How the fuck did that happen?"
Yuna bit her lip, clearly having thought about that question already. "That's what we can't figure out. The Neomorphs have some traces of her blood or some chemical structure extremely similar to her blood composition. Either she was exposed to something early on—before she was ever bitten—or there's a genetic component."
Heeseung frowned. "A genetic component? Like something with her mom?"
Yuna nodded. "It's a possibility. Maybe her mother had some kind of immunity, something passed down genetically. Or... maybe her mom was exposed to Neomorphs long before we knew about them. It's a working theory."
Heeseung sat back, crossing his arms. "So, let me get this straight. Aiko's blood is some kind of biological weapon against the Neomorphs, but it's already in their system? So why aren't they all dropping dead?"
"Good question. And I'm working on it," Yuna replied, tapping at her keyboard. "My guess is it needs some kind of activation. Her blood alone isn't enough—there's some kind of trigger that makes it lethal. That's why it doesn't affect them unless it's introduced in a lab environment. I need more data on that."
"Could it be tied to their physiology? Maybe something to do with stressors or damage to their systems?" Heeseung asked, trying to follow her logic.
Yuna nodded vigorously. "That's what I'm thinking. There's probably a threshold. The Neomorphs are highly adaptable—they might be suppressing whatever mechanism Aiko's blood triggers until their systems are compromised in some way. Maybe her blood only becomes lethal when they're weakened or injured. I'm running more tests to figure that part out."
Heeseung sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "This is some wild shit, Yuna."
"Tell me about it," she muttered, scrolling through more data on her screen. "I need more advanced equipment to fully analyze her blood. The machines we have here are ancient, and I'm basically working with duct tape and prayers at this point."
Heeseung shook his head in disbelief. "So, what do we do with this information?"
Yuna turned to him, her face serious. "We protect her. Aiko's blood might be the key to all of this. If we can figure out how to activate it—if we can harness that power—she could be the solution. But if the Neomorphs figure out that she's the key? They'll be coming for her."
Heeseung's face darkened at the thought. The idea of Aiko being targeted, of her being in danger because of something inside her blood, made his gut twist uncomfortably.
Yuna continued, "There's more to this puzzle, but at the very least, we know Aiko's blood is a weapon. We just have to figure out how to wield it."
Heeseung nodded, his mind swirling with a million thoughts. The tension he felt earlier about Aiko, the strange connection between them, now had an added layer of weight. It wasn't just attraction or some passing thing. She was important—more important than any of them realized.
"Thanks, Yuna," Heeseung muttered, his voice low but appreciative.
Yuna grinned, cracking her knuckles. "Don't thank me yet. We're just getting started."
