- three -

Jaemin took the machine on his head off. 

He was in shock.

...The only M.C.M. still imputing, 00.00.01 still inputs to this day. His daily required input time is 12 hours. If this requirement is not fulfilled, 00.00.01 gets sudden pains in the cerebral cortex, which travels down to his spinal cord, leaving him immobile and temporarily paralyzed...

Jaemin still recalled the information he had been learning for the past hour.

Going further and further into the lesson, he was able to recall the videos that were shown of Renjun in one of those fits.

...00.00.01 rarely gets these attacks, but several clips will be shown of the effects of an attack.

Jaemin stared at the screen displayed in his mind, seeing the blonde boy stagger in a dark gray room. Jaemin watched as the boy clutched his head, and losing his footing. Then eventually collapsing against a wall, sliding down it slowly, and sitting limply. 

Jaemin was heartbroken. The boy shouldn't live like that. 

Jaemin  felt like crying at the scene went on. The mono-tone voice went on, explaining the pain's course through the other's body.

...the pain continues to flow through the nerves, until eventually the whole body is immobile, and all the pain receptors are active...

Jaemin felt the familiar lump form in his throat at what was happening next.

Renjun, still slumped limply against the wall, crying. Jaemin held it in as the boy sobbed, tears running freely down his face. Jaemin tried to hold it in, but eventually he too, started crying with him, though silently.

His emotions were jerked when another clip started to play.

It was a younger version of the boy, sitting in a pristine white canteen. He automatically recognized Chenle sitting next to him. 

So Chenle was right.

The clip went on and had the footage of the two boys talking to each other in Chinese.

"Renjun-ge, what have you been learning recently?" Chenle asked the other boy.

"Nothing much. Just the different types of diabetes today. But it shouldn't take too long since there's only two," Renjun answered, looking down at his food.

Jaemin marveled at the purity in the boy's voice. He might not speak Chinese, but hearing the native language coming out of the boy's mouth seemed to perfectly fit the him.  

Renjun, he forced himself to think.

He could now call the boy by his name, and put it to his face, as he was given the chance to fully see it.

I wonder how his Korean is, Jaemin couldn't help but think.

The clip continued to play.

"Ge-ge, are you alright?" Panic was evident in Chenle's voice.

"No." Renjun managed to get out, pain showing.

"There's something wrong," he continued, "my head. It hurts. It's like I'm going to explode."

"H-hold u-up, ge. L-let me f-find someone," Chenle stuttered in panic.

"Um. S-someone...h-help us...p-please," Chenle said in the broken Korean he was still learning.

Chenle got up from his friend clutching his head. 

"P-person, I n-need-" 

"What is the problem?" A Person cut him off.

"Um...he is in very bad pain, and it's with his head, and I'm very scared," Chenle ended up rambling in Mandarin, hoping the person inputted that.

"Alright," the person responded, but in Korean.

The video cut off. 

Jaemin was a complete mess. 

He had seen everything he needed. He was meeting this guy. 

Today. 

Whether it was with Jeno or not.

. . . 

Jeno had tears running down his face. He watched everything and was mildly emotional.

Seeing the smaller in that much pain made his heart ache on the inside. Hot tears ran down his face.

What am I going to do? He thought.

He wasn't sure if he should meet this boy. He hesitated, but he knew that Jaemin would, with or without him, and he wasn't going to let him go by himself.

Jeno had to meet Renjun. 

His story was just too sad, an emotion that Jeno hadn't felt in such a long time. 

The lesson was paused. Where the smaller boy sat against the wall, frozen with tears dampening his cheeks.

Jeno was sad. 

Jaemin was sad.

Then the video switched.

There he was.

Renjun.

He was sitting in a large white, large leather seat. It was leaned back, with him laying in it. The video footage coming from the video camera in his room. Jeno watched as the smaller laid there, eyes closed, eyebrows drawn into his brow, focused. 

There was another difference in the way of inputting between M.C.M. and those without it. Where "normal" sessions had a video screen in front of their face, with a special wire attached to the back of their neck to activate the chip, it was different for M.C.M. 

Those with M.C.M. they had a "mark" on the back of their neck. That way it was easier to identify those different from the regular inputter. But, that mark had a function. That was were their cord was put, and they did not need the screen. The information was projected to the rods and cones in the eyes, where, if needed, the images could be seen, but otherwise, they only needed the information relayed to them in order to remember them.

The boy was in pain, the other two could tell.

There was sweat on the boy's brow, his face paler than the surrounding walls around him. He was shivering, cold, but warm at the same time.

Jeno couldn't watch anymore, ripping off the wire, and pushed the screen away from his face.

He wished he could help the boy. If he could do anything at all.

But as he sat in his chair, hunched over, his shaking hands holding his face, the bell rang.

It's lunch time.

. . . 

Jaemin needed to talk to Jeno, now.

He rushed out of his room, running down the hallway to the canteen. 

Eyes puffy and tired, he searched for the taller, wanting to make a solid plan to meet Renjun officially. 

He looked around, looking for the familiar hair cut that signified his best friend. Spotting the boy, he looked into the other's puffy eyes that reflected his own. Jeno knew he had seen the same as him. 

Briskly walking to each other, they went to the usual table, heads down, saying nothing quite yet.

They reached the table, going to the closest seats, and immediately went in to each other. Huddling to each other, they began discussing what they were going to do.

"What are we going to do, Jeno?" Jaemin asked, wiping a stray tear path on his own cheek, sniffing his nose.

"We wait at the Corner. It's near the school entrance, but out of view, so the school won't notice us and neither will he."

"But are we sure what time he gets out? We still have a curfew to follow."

"But he would have one, too. He might have a M.C.M. but, he is still in school," Jeno pointed out.

The other boys had settled at the table, looking at the strangely close couple.

"Are you guys good?" Mark's voice rang out.

This distracted them, making them separate quickly.

Jeno had a slight tinge to his cheeks for being caught so off guard, but Jaemin smiled brightly. 

"We're going to meet the M.C.M.!" he said, shocking the rest of the group, including the boy sitting next to him.

"What do you mean?"

"But how?"

"Can I see him too?"

"Isn't that gonna get you guys in trouble?"

The questions surrounded the two, but they weren't overwhelmed, they already had a plan.

"No, we have to eat first," Mark said, signalling everyone to get up, and go to the cafeteria to get the food. 

They all walked into the familiar straight line, grabbing a metal tray along the way. They continued to question the other two.

"When?" Chenle asked.

"Today," Jeno said, grabbing a roll, making sure it wasn't too hard, tapping it on the table it sat on.

"But how?" Jisung asked, grabbing silverware. 

"We are going to hide. And don't ask where, because then you'll get into trouble," Jaemin said, turning to look pointedly at the two youngest.

"Why can't we?" Donghyuck asked sassily.

"Do you know his story? Are you truly interested?" Jeno said, getting slightly sassy back. He didn't want anyone else to go. He wanted to meet him, not with a crowd. He trusted Jaemin and knew he felt the same way about the boy.

They were going to find out who he was.

Why?

They weren't sure themselves. They had this slight pull to protect the boy.

From what? Again, they weren't sure, but they'll find their answer in the future.

But they had to meet the boy first.