BYUN BAEKHYUN: BEYOND DETECTIVE ▷ EXO GAMEBOOK

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THE GAME BIRD, BROKEN-WINGED

 

True to his decision, Byun Baekhyun cocked the prototype like a soldier and his good rifle. He raised his weapon at the same level as his own feverish heart. The clumsy fingers spilled all over the prototype’s screen were the tell-tale mark that he was a first-timer. His grip was graceless and the weight of the prototype pressed hard against his hands that they shook. He was only a researcher scientist, not a military man!

The shaking of his hands brought back the memories of his elation during the day EXO went to file the patent for their invention, the iFrost. He was proud and nervous. His hands shook and his signature came out misshapen. Pride and expectations died as a memory. Today, the iFrost was lost, and this was the first step he took to claim it back.

Fate intervened. He had to shoot.

“But you can’t shoot like that,” Chen moved Baekhyun’s left hand to support the prototype and placed his right hand over the screen with his index finger touching the red virtual trigger. “Tap the trigger if you want to shoot.” Chen instructed.

“Thank you,” With the posture problem solved, he could give all his focus to the first shot. His eyes were sensitive to the sight, detecting the slightest change in the shade of the trees until he saw what he wanted. A still, white figure between the dark brown tree trunks.

Chen took a cover behind nearby trees.

Lightning Shock fired.

The atmosphere cracked. A shot went off. Electric sparks flew from the prototype to the woods. Baekhyun took the recoil and fell backwards, panting. The sparks met his target—a ringing scream and a heavy dropped body. Then, there was silence.

Chen crept out of his hiding. “It was the scream of a man.” he whispered. “Is he—?”

“I’m sure that he’s only unconscious.” said Baekhyun confidently. “Care to have a look?”

“No, thanks. I’m staying.” Chen kept himself at a safe distance, you know, just in case.

Baekhyun trotted over fallen logs and went for his fallen kill. He pushed several branches aside and held his breath. He had stared his target in the face. “Chen! Chen! Look at this! Look at this! You won’t believe it!” Baekhyun slapped hand over his wide mouth.

“What’s it?” Chen crept away from the comfort of his cover into the hunting ground. Baekhyun was in great shock, frozen to his place. The moment Chen’s eyes fell upon the unconscious target, he had to squeal a yelp. “Oh, God—Baekhyun! What have you done?”

The target was dressed in an unspoiled lab-coat. A camping bag was slung over his right shoulder. On his left chest was an emblem, a letter in Earth alphabet written in fractured script, green in colour. They couldn’t read it. That wasn’t the worst thing about him, though. The cruel realisation set in when they examined his face—narrow, long and marble-white, calm, a sharp nose that gets wider by the end, soft lips and a strong jaw structure. He was almost smiling (perhaps the shot was ticklish for him) until faint suggestions of dents were present in each of his cheeks.

“H—how did Lay follow us here?” Chen stuttered. He boxed Baekhyun in the head. “And you nearly killed him!”

“It’s not Lay. The emblem on his lab-coat is of Earth origin.” Baekhyun rubbed his head and explained. “It’s another version of Lay living in this universe. Not our Lay.”

“How is that even possible?”

“With so many parallel universes formed by every quantum interaction, there must be one that produces a being with the same genetic composition as Lay.” Baekhyun marvelled at the similarities between the fallen figure and his fellow EXO member. “Like blindly cracking a safe. A combination of random numbers could be the password if you keep trying. Ah, let’s just call him Alternate Universe Lay.”

Chen knelt down and ran a finger over Lay’s nose. Air was still coming out of it. “He’s still alive.”

“See, I told you!” Baekhyun sneered in triumph. “The mild shock won’t kill him!”

“Now, what will you do?” Chen glared at Baekhyun.

“Let’s leave.” suggested Baekhyun.

“And leave this Lay behind?” asked Chen, disbelieving.

Baekhyun shook his head. “He’s not Lay.”

“He looks like one.” Chen was as awestruck as Baekhyun about their similarities. It brought another side-effect, too. An imprinting syndrome.

“They shouldn’t see us. Our cover will be blown. We don’t want them to discover us aliens, right?” Baekhyun demanded. “And we can’t stay here for long! The bomb is ticking!”

“Maybe Lay will tell us something.” Chen said. “He’s a local.”

“He’s not Lay! He’s a human!” Baekhyun tried to hammer the idea into Chen’s head. Only because he looks like Lay, doesn’t mean that Chen should be too biased. “It’s only a look-alike! A doppelganger!”

“Human or EXO-L, it’s your fault and you have to take responsibility.” Chen fought back. “We stay. Okay?”

If you choose to wake ‘Lay’ up, turn to 4. If you choose to leave ‘Lay’, turn to 5.

A/N: Happy 1 month anniversary, Shooters~ Thanks for supporting this story *bows* ! I don't expect this gamebook to have 2k reads, 200 votes and 500 comments in a month! ^^ Here's a challenge for you guys to celebrate with~ Tee-hee!