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Aiko & Heeseung
The next morning, all nine of them gathered in Heeseung's office—the only room big enough to hold them comfortably without feeling cramped. Aiko stood at the front of the room, eyes a little tired but filled with purpose. Heeseung sat on the edge of the desk beside her, arms loosely crossed as he watched her with quiet pride.
She exhaled slowly and glanced around at the others. Jake and Yuna were seated side by side on the couch, Sunoo was cross-legged on the floor with a clipboard, Ni-ki leaned against the wall near the door, and Jungwon, Sunghoon, and Jay shared a couple of folding chairs they'd dragged in.
"I've been working all night finalizing everything," Aiko began. "And I have a plan."
That caught everyone's attention. Yuna sat up straighter.
Aiko turned toward the whiteboard behind her where she had scribbled out some equations and diagrams. "So. The cure works. We've seen that now. But to save everyone, we'll have to use the Atmospheric Dispersion Device on top of the lab."
Ni-ki groaned instantly, dropping his head back against the wall. "Again? That place's cursed, I swear."
"It's the third time," Sunghoon muttered. "Third time's the charm, right?"
"But if it'll save the world," Jungwon cut in, nudging them both with his elbow, "then we'll go."
Aiko smiled faintly. "It's the only way. If we get the cure into the air, the atmosphere will slowly carry it across the region. It might not reach everyone right away, but with time it will. Think of it as... inoculating the wind."
"How?" Jay asked, tilting his head.
She stepped closer to the board, tapping a formula. "The cure is formed through a recombinant fusion—my blood, treated with viral RNA from the original infected samples, combined with a stabilizing agent. The high concentration of antibodies in my blood is what triggers the reverse mutation in the Neomorph genome."
Everyone blinked.
"Right," Jake said, nodding slowly. "Science."
Sunoo looked confused but impressed. "That sounded cool, honestly."
Aiko laughed under her breath. "The point is, once it's stabilized, we can load it into the dispersion device and let it release. It'll atomize the particles into the air—just like the Oscorp Lizard plan. Same delivery method, completely different purpose."
"That thing's still working?" Ni-ki asked.
"It should. My mother's notes say so." Aiko replied.
"It'll still need calibration," Aiko added. "Which is why I'll be heading up there early to prep it."
"But we're going with you," Heeseung said, finally speaking. His voice was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.
Aiko nodded at him gratefully before turning to the others. "I'll also be making backup darts with condensed versions of the cure—just in case. For those it doesn't reach."
