Enhanced || JJK

III. The Lab

When he opened the door, I saw people working with machines that, in my three years of university, I had gotten to know all too well. I had been in labs before, but only the ones at the university. Except for my professors, I had never actually seen real scientists working in a lab.
"And this is where the magic happens..." Dr. Jung said.
"You modify also embryos in here, right?" Jungkook asked.
"Yes, I mean we're mostly here to research and discover new things, but after all we're a private lab, so we need an income... A lot of people come to us to get their embryos modified..."
Jungkook didn't seem satisfied with that answer, but I didn't pay attention to it because I was too excited to be in a real-life lab.

Dr. Jung showed us all the machines that were in the lab and that we were going to use during our internship. I knew everything about each and every one of them, but obviously Jungkook knew more.

Since first grade I've always been second to him at school and that, plus his personality, annoyed the hell out of me. I hated the fact that I had to be second to him, it wasn't fair to me because he's a GM, so of course he's gonna beat me in every subject, even if I put 200% of effort in everything.

Unfortunately, we always attended the same private schools and, since the classes are organized based on the ranking of the students, we were always both in the top class, so I had no way of avoiding him. And, by the time we were in high school, I started giving up on the competition, I couldn't beat him anyway, so there was no point in trying.

But he always kept bugging me, whenever we would meet in class or in the hallways, he always had something to say to make fun of me. And then high school was over and I was super excited about studying genetic engineering at the SNU. The excitement vanished when I found out he was studying in the same university as me and in the same major. I started asking myself if I was ever gonna get rid of this kid. And now I have to bear with him even during my internship, it was a nightmare. But I decided I wasn't gonna let him ruin one of the most important experiences of my life.

"So, this is all for the lab, now we can go back so you can meet Dr. Kim..." Dr. Jung announced, making his way back to the door.
We left the room and removed masks, gloves and lab gowns.
Dr. Jung's phone beeped. He tapped on his earpiece and then looked at us.
"Let's get going, guys. They're waiting for us..." He said, starting to walk through the hallway. We followed him.
We arrived in front of one of the conference rooms, with glass walls, and I could see a couple of people inside.
Dr. Jung opened the door and let us in.
"Here they are! The stars of this season!" He announced loudly, which made me feel super embarrassed.
The people sitting in the room remained silent, as if they were used to that kind of behavior that Dr. Jung had.

"I see you've met Dr. Jung and also Dr. Min told me he had a brief encounter with you... I'd like to introduce myself... I'm Dr. Kim, founder and CEO of the ALF Lab... Please have a seat and we'll have our first meeting..." The only man I hadn't yet met spoke to us.
He looked authoritative but at the same time really gentle. His voice had a deep tone and he wore glasses, which made me think that maybe he was a natural like me. That alone gave me so much motivation to do well, because knowing that a natural can still be a CEO means that there's still possibility for everyone to achieve their dreams.
We got a seat as he had invited us to do. I was so excited for everything that was happening, but I was trying to look professional, so I put on my serious face and listened carefully to what he had to say.

"So... You'll be working on a project with us for the next three months... As you both know, it is a needed step in order to get your degree, so I hope you'll put effort into it... The projects you proposed in your internship application were both very interesting and very different from one another, that's why I assigned to you two separate mentors, but the techniques and procedures that you'll have to use are similar, so you'll probably find yourselves cooperating with one another... Dr. Jung and Dr. Min will discuss with you the steps and we will have a meeting every Monday to talk about the achievements of the week and how you intend to continue your work... For now it's all, if there are no other questions, I'll leave you to your mentors..." He slightly smiled.

Jungkook and I both shook our heads, we had no other questions and even if we did we could have asked our mentors. You clearly don't bother the boss with your silly questions!
So he stood up and said bye, leaving the room, probably to go and start his day of work with a business meeting.

"He's working on an important project, so he's really busy these days, but we'll try to be as available as possible..." Dr. Jung said, after Dr. Kim had left, speaking for himself and Dr. Min.
"Dr. Jung and I are actually working on a project together, so you guys will be spending a lot of time together as well and, as Dr. Kim said, your tasks are similar so you'll find it easier to work together..." Dr. Min added, destroying all my hopes of staying away from Jungkook. Apparently we had to work side by side and I wasn't really loving the idea.

Dr. Jung told me he was really fascinated by the project proposal he read in my application, since it was also the topic he was specialising in, and explained how he was thinking of carrying it out. My dream was coming true: a research on how to apply new genetic engineering technologies in order to cure one of the deadliest diseases in the world.
I didn't hear what Dr. Min and Jungkook were talking about, but I could tell that, just as Dr. Jung was doing with me, Dr. Min was also talking to him as if we were their colleagues, not just students who knew nothing. It was such an amazing feeling. I was already forgetting all about the fact that I had to experience this with my worst enemy ever since first grade.

"So, guys, now you can start gathering info on the topics of your respective projects... You need to be prepared before getting to the practice, so read a lot of papers and try to understand everything... You can still count on us if you have any doubts... We'll be in the lab to work on our project and you can stay in the lounge and use the free workstations to do your research..." Dr. Jung explained, indicating the desks in the big hall I saw at the beginning, which faced a smart wall. Dr. Jung seemed so funny and energetic, but he becomes immediately serious when talking about his job.
"So, we'll get going... Work hard, you two!" Dr. Min told us, before standing up and leaving with Dr. Jung, who had become all talkative and smiley again, while Dr. Min listened to him in silence on their way to the lab.

We were left alone, me and that GM kid. Luckily, for the research step we didn't have to work together, but I feared that later on we were going to have to cooperate somehow. I had a feeling that I was going to spend the best and worst three months of my life there.

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And these are the first three chapters of my new book 'Enhanced'! 

I'll keep posting three chapters at a time, every thursday, saturday and tuesday. I hope you look forward to it!

Lots of love,

Mypoornerves 💜