#neoverse

I. AWW, YOUR SCATHING REMARKS ARE SO CUTE!

Haechan grabs his neuroscience exam from the professor with a small “thank you,” smirking at the bright red 100 scrawled in the corner of his page. Flipping through the booklet, he returns to his seat, placing it on top of all his books, the professor's comment standing proud against the creamy paper. Another exam, another excellent grade, just another sheet amongst others with the same result. But the grades weren’t important to him, not now. Better than his perfect score was the main event, much more interesting than a piece of paper. 

Behind him, you are seething. Your paper crumples in your hand, the red 98 serving as yet another loss. He had won. Again. A 98 is a good score, a great score even, for anyone, but not you. For you, it was just another clear reminder of Haechan's victory, of how your grip on Dr. Seo’s internship was slipping, and of how much harder you need to work. 

“So, sunshine, what'd you get? I got full marks, if you couldn't tell,” Haechan drawls as he wiggles his paper in front of your face, the three digits on his paper burning into your eyes.

“Shut up, parasite,” you say through clenched teeth. deep breaths, deep breaths, count to 10- 

“A 98? So close.” Haechan’s face is arranged into an expression of mock pity, his mouth puckered slightly and eyebrows drawn close. “Well, I guess you didn't try hard enough, huh?” Your eyes shoot open, an incredulous laugh bubbling out of your throat before you can stop it. 

“I didn't try hard enough? listen here, Haechan, because-” 

“Everything okay up there?” your professor's voice floats up, interrupting you before you can spill the obscenities running through your head.

“Everything's fine, Dr. Seo,” you say, plastering a fake smile on your face. 

"Yes, perfect," Haechan follows along, nodding. "I was just complimenting y/n on her test results."

"Ah, yes. you did a great job, y/n!" he gives you a small smile, followed by a sigh as he walks up to your seat. "If you hadn't confused the functions of sodium and potassium in intraneural communication, it would have been perfect."

Haechan looks at you as if he got the scoop of the year, giving you the "is that what you got wrong?" eyes. So annoying.

"Right, Dr. Seo, I just mixed up the names. I’ll do better.”

"It's alright, you still did a great job, y/n," he gives you a small clap. "But Haechan got the edge on you  this time, didn't he?" he chuckles, averting his gaze to haechan. "You were excellent, as always, Haechan."

You wince. You are great. He is excellent. 

"Oh, you flatter me, Dr. Seo. I'm simply a hard worker." He glances at you briefly with a smirk.

"You were quite bold to delve into optogenetics this time, huh?" he praises, seeming quite impressed. "I was very pleased with both your results. Each one of them reminds me why you are my favorites." his tone is playful as he places his hands on yours and Haechan's shoulder. "Keep up the great work, kids, I have high expectations for both of you." 

Fuck you, Lee Haechan.

Dr. Seo is the only person you’ve ever wanted approval from, and Haechan is ruining it. Your parents are proud of you just for making it so far in the course, and your 98s and 99s have them over the moon. But to get Dr. Seo’s internship, you need 100, and nothing less. That internship is your way into the industry, your holy grail, your foot in the door. Without it, you’d have to spend years in crushing debt and even more time in the rock bottom of the industry. But Haechan wants it too. And Haechan is currently giving you a cocky grin as he flaunts his 100 one more time before placing it neatly in his satchel.

God, how you hate him.

—

“I fucking hate his guts,” you scowl, watching your best friend, Mark, grimace, as he stirs whipped cream into his salted caramel latte. "And how do you have your coffee so sweet?"

“Well I don't know how you can drink your coffee black, seriously.”

“Not everyone likes their teeth to rot every time they need caffeine,” you shoot back. “And you're missing the point. If you saw his disgusting face in class today, gloating over that exam you'd be just as pissed.” Mark raises an eyebrow. 

“Really? you're still harping on about that? I swear, ninety-nine percent of this rivalry is just Haechan having fun making you mad. And he keeps doing it 'cause you get mad.”

“Pfft, don't be ridiculous. He hates my guts. He's hated me ever since I took his little first place spot, which is the only way he gets any validation anyways,” you scoff. 

Mark rolls his eyes and you punch him in the arm. “Ow! what was that for?”

“For not being on my side.”

“Hey, I'm always on your side.”

“Okay, Canadian boy.” You check your phone. 3:45PM, and you have a class in half an hour. Bidding Mark goodbye, you grab your bag and begin the walk across campus to the sciences building.

--

The autumn weather is beautiful, you think as you breathe in the crisp air. Across the grounds, you can see the green leaves of the trees turning to brown and orange, looking like molten gold as the rays of the evening sun wash over them. The sounds of laughter reach your ears as students throw frisbees for the campus dogs and chat together, the birds chirping in harmony. You sigh constantly, hoisting your bag back up on your shoulder. allowing yourself another brief moment of peace, you pull out your phone and note your to-do list for the evening.

TO-DO AFTER CLASS:

finish bio prac (smithson building, lab 2 booked for 6:30PM)

outline neuro essay

brief design of newspaper graphics

“God, get off your phone! You're such a technology-obsessed gen-z. Break the stereotype, why don’tcha?” Your mouth presses into a firm line at the agitating voice assaulting your ears. 

“Go away, Haechan,” you sigh.

“That's not very nice, is it sunshine?” he replies playfully, his mouth in an exaggerated frown.

“shut up. and don't call me that." You hate that nickname.

Once, you and him were paired up for a group project, the first time you had to spend more time with him after you ‘beat’ him in the rankings. It's not like you didn't know about each other's existence, you just… preferred not to engage.

So, when you were forced to be in the same group, it was a recipe for disaster. He started saying some things here and there, you answered his snarky remarks with your own. Your bickering continued until the end of the day, where he spat, "You sure are a ray of sunshine, aren’t you?" 

That was the day he started calling you sunshine and you started calling him a parasite. Because he was one. Taking your ideas, your marks, your chance at Dr. Seo’s internship. 

Haechan pouted even harder, plush bottom lip jutting out in mock sadness. “Where ya going?”

“None of your business.”

Haechan, being Haechan, peers over your shoulder to take a look at your phone, sneaking a peek at your screen before you can snatch it away.

“Ahh, getting a head start on your practical hmm?” You shoot him a withering glare.  “Well, too late. I started writing up my report 2 days ago!” 

Rolling your eyes, you start walking away. “I have class,” you call over your shoulder. Jogging lightly to catch up to you, Haechan slings an arm over your shoulder, the other offering his coffee cup to you. 

“Sounds like you need it more than me, sunshine. Don’t worry, I haven’t drunk from it yet.” he says, pushing it in front of your mouth. Your eyes flick down to the americano, eyebrows creasing. You know Haechan prefers his drinks as sickeningly sweet as Mark does, having run into him at your favourite cafe far too often. So why is he–

“It’s almost time for your class. See you later sunshine!” He says, shoving the americano in your hands and flouncing away.

Huh. Weird. 

—

The fluorescent lights of lab 2 flicker on as you step inside, the lemony smell of cleaning fluid hitting your nose. Shrugging off your backpack, you pull out your lab coat, a neat NCIT embroidered on the breast pocket next to your name. “Okay, dye-labeled nucleotides, DNA template, primer…’ you ramble under your breath as you gather your supplies. Carefully preparing the reaction mix for the experiment, you type your heading for your report:

FLUORESCENT DYE SEQUENCING: EUCALYPTUS 

Placing the solution into the temperature-controlled incubator, you slowly add the enzymes into the reaction mixture and close the lid. “Great. Now all it has to do is sit there until the enzyme exhausts the bases it can copy.” Exhaling softly, you start to clean up your mess, quickly rinsing out your equipment and drying it before putting it in its place. As you’re locking up the lab, you hear a quiet rustle. Your head shoots up, scanning the dark hallway for any sign of life.

Thud. 

“Hello?” you whisper uncertainly. Clearing your throat, you say, a little louder, “Is anyone there?” 

You grab your phone and turn on the torch, the white light pooling in a puddle at your feet. Taking a few tentative steps forward, you wave your phone side to side. Nothing.

Strange. As you dismiss it as a trick of the mind and turn to leave, a figure stumbles out of the darkness. Their pale skin is shot through with prominent, black veins. As they come closer, their bloodshot eyes become clear, their chapped lips opening in a groan. You back away slowly, shoes squeaking against the tiled floor.

“Okay,” you breathe, voice trembling. “Okay, you’re going to be fine, if you die at least you don’t have to finish your lab report-” 

“God, shut up for a second!”

Wait a minute. You recognise that voice. Your jaw drops in shock. 

“Haechan?”