#i wanted to dedicate this thesis to my grandfather but we are not meant to write dedications into our theses | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

marshmallow-phd · 7 years

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The Experiments

Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, experiment au

Pairing: Fem!Reader x Exo (????)

Summary: You were a med school graduate who just wanted to help research cures for the world. Instead, what you got was a dream job at EXO Applied Sciences. That is, until you discover the secrets of Level Sixty-Six and the nine inhabitants that inhabit there….

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 I 17 I 18 I 19 I 20 I 21 I 22 I 23 I Final

A/N: This is a story that had been bouncing around in my head for a while. I hope you all enjoy it! The pairing is unknown right now because I’m still trying to decide who (y/n) should end up with. BTWs the picture is not mine. Happy reading!! XOXO

EXO Applied Sciences and Operations was the dream job. You had to be at the top of your class to entertain the idea of the company as a possibility and even then, there’s no application process. You have to be offered the job personally, no exceptions. Those who wanted to spend their lives doing research and finding cures vied for the right to be accepted there. And that was exactly your goal.

Since high school, you knew you wanted to be a doctor. By the time you got into medical school and had to start boggling down on a specialty, you realized you didn’t want to be in an OR or the ER; you just didn’t have the steady hands for that. But you liked the experiments. You liked analyzing the data and coming to conclusions, finding the answers to problems those before you couldn’t solve.

All the hard work paid off. You graduated third of your class. Not exactly the top spot, but it was enough. The day of your graduation ceremony, after all the cheers, speeches, and annoying traditions that still somehow get carried on, a man in a black suit pulled you off to the side, handing you a large manila envelope. At home when you were alone, with shaking hands and a pounding heart, you opened the package. Sliding out the stack of papers, you read the first sentence and nearly fell off the couch.

It was the invitation you’d been waiting for. All the information you needed to accept the job was right at your fingertips and you didn’t hesitate. But those first six months were brutal.

Though it wasn’t officially “entry level”, it might as well been. On your first day they introduced you to the other new hires in your area and dropped you off in a large laboratory where the walls were lined with filing cabinets and a long table in the middle littered with desktops.

You were on paper pushing duty. As the results of the experiments that other people were conducting came in, it was up to you and the other bottom feeders to organize, sort, and label the findings and put them in the filing cabinet to be easily accessible later on. If someone came in needing those results, you were there to find the file and check it out in the system. There was only one room that was off limits to all of you in the laboratory. A special code encrypted on the company-issued badge was needed to gain access. The others around you were all dying to know what lied beyond the secret door, but you didn’t really care. You just wanted out of that damn filing position.

As the months rolled by, you watched the faces of the people around you change. Some were transferred to other departments while others just flat out quit. You held on, though, just needing to get through the grilling trial of being the newbie. You weren’t going to quit just because the road got a little bumpy. But it was a bit disheartening to watch others be freed while you were left behind.

It was another day of expected boring paperwork when your luck finally change. As soon as you clocked in, you were pulled out of the laboratory and into the office of Dr. Kwon Daesuk. You’d never met him, but you’d heard some of the other doctors whisper his name as they passed through the lab right to the secret door. Worry washed over you. Had you done something wrong? Had important files gone missing?

Dr. Kwon was sitting at his large desk looking over files as you entered. As one of the top researches for EXO, it was no surprise that he was up there in the age department. His hair was more silver than black and his face was littered with crevasses that wrinkled even more when he frowned. Though he wasn’t as big as some of the other doctor’s you’d seen, he did have a little extra weight on him that gave him the aura of a grandfather you could trust.

When he saw you standing in his doorway, he motioned for you to sit down in one of the simple, dark wooden chairs in front of him. The upholstery was a garish green and tan paisley pattern. At least you were sitting on it and not having to stare at it.

“Good morning, Dr. (L/n),” he greeted, closing the files. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve called you here today?”

You nodded cautiously, your entire work history running through your mind. As far as you remembered you hadn’t had anything disciplinary worthy happen.

“Well, we’ve been monitoring your work here so far and you seem to be very dedicated. As you certainly are aware, most people don’t make it to the sixth month mark. We wanted to be sure of your determination.”

“Working for EXO Applied Sciences has been my dream for a long time,” you answered honestly. “I wasn’t just going to give it up for some pharmaceutical company that I have no interest in because I wasn’t handed a lead position right of the bat. If that meant another six months of filing before being moved to a team, I’d do it.”

Dr. Kwon grinned. “That’s exactly what I like to hear. Dr. (L/n), you’re no longer stationed in the holdings lab. We’re moving you to level sixty-six.”

You nearly choked on the air in your throat. Level sixty-six was deep underground and the most secretive area in all of EXO. It was where the government sanctioned experiments and top-secret holdings that no one but the select few knew about were located. It was also access to the forbidden room.

“Your thesis on using animal DNA to heal injuries and cure diseases was fascinating and exactly the kind of ideas we need here.” He tossed over a badge to your side of the desk. Your picture that you’d taken on your first day here was smiling up at you and a tiny new symbol that you couldn’t quite make out from this distance was shining in the top right-hand corner. It looked like a hexagon, but you’d have to confirm it later with a closer look. “You’ll need this to gain access to the basement. Come with me. We’ll start the tour.”

You followed him out of the office and back to the laboratory that you would no longer call home. Your former coworkers watched you pass the tables, their eyes growing wider than petri dishes at the realization of where you were headed. Dr. Kwon stopped in front of the door that, until now that it, had never really given you excitement.

“Ladies first.”

With a little worry that your badge wouldn’t work, you held it up to the square black pad off to the side and watched with glee as the small red light switched to green. Dr. Kwon opened the door slowly and allowed you to enter first. Whatever your imagination had conjured up about this room, it was a complete let down that shouldn’t really have surprised you.

Bright florescent lighting stung your eyes as the beams bounced off of the white and chrome surfaces. Twelve individual filing cabinets lined the walls, four drawers high. Each cabinet had its own designated number, large and black on the top drawer. Three of them had a harsh red “X” passing through them.

You turned around to face Dr. Kwon, who was smiling at you expectantly. “What exactly is housed in here? I mean, what do we do on level sixty-six?”

More importantly, what would you be doing there? And would you constantly be having to ride the elevator up here?

A little chuckle left his thin lips. “Well, my dear, level sixty-six is where we conduct the human trials. Thanks to grants given by our wonderful government, we’re working on the ultimate soldier.”

“Super soldiers?” you scoffed. That was seriously still a thing? “Like Captain America?”

“Not quite,” Dr. Kwon countered, walking over to the filing cabinet labeled “12” and pulled out a file. He handed it over to you. Inside was a standard info sheet, including the subject’s date of birth and their current height, and weight. All that was missing was their picture. “They’re Special Forces, but we’re concentrating on the healing factor, especially for severe injuries, along with unique abilities that could come in handy in covert operations.”

Now your interest was piqued. “What kind of abilities?”

“In time, in time.” Dr. Kwon took the file back and replaced it into the cabinet.

Your eyes settled in the large red “X”’s. “What happened to these three?”

Dr. Kwon frowned. “They were transferred to our Chinese division. They’re doing much better over there.”

There was no explanation for it, but for some reason the way he phrased the transfer set you on edge, like a ghost story around a campfire. But there was nothing unusual about a patient moving to another building for further testing. Maybe your nerves were just getting the best of you today.

“Come now, let’s introduce you to your new coworkers.” Leading the way to the elevator, Dr. Kwon explained to you how your full hours were to be taken in the basement, including lunch breaks, just for precaution’s sake. There was a fully stocked break room and bathroom facility, so the only reason to ever leave was to come to the holding room for any files that you may need.

Once again, your badge was needed to access the basement from the elevator and when the doors dinged open, they revealed a small round lobby that broke off into two hallways at eleven and one o’clock respectively.

“Your main lab is down this way,” Dr. Kwon said, leading you down the hall to the right.

You couldn’t hold in your curiosity. “What’s down the other hall?”

“Oh, that’s where we house the subjects,” he clarified. “For safety precautions.” Safety precautions. You seemed to be hearing that a lot. It shouldn’t be that strange since this was a laboratory, but the way Dr. Kwon was saying those words was sending strange signals off in your head. Maybe you were still just waiting for him to say “just kidding!” and make you go back to filing for another six months.

That strange, ominous feeling just could be shaken from you as the hall, lined with heavy metal doors on either side, seemed more like a jail than a housing center, but you forced the thoughts away. You still didn’t know exactly how things operated down here and for all you knew on the other side of those doors could be five star hotel rooms.

Dr. Kwon stopped at the second door on the right. “This is our blood work lab and your new home.”

The lab was like any other you had worked in during med school. Everything was either white or chrome. Refrigerators with glass doors so you could see inside lined one side of the room, storing dozens of vials and dishes waiting for testing. Other display cases showcased glass slides, each shelf labeled with a corresponding number with the cabinets upstairs. At the long table in the middle of the room sat a woman around your age in purple scrubs looking into a microscope while an older woman in her mid-forties stood over her, writing on a clipboard.

The older woman noticed you first and bowed a greeting.

“Hello, there. You must be (y/n).” she stepped forward as the younger one looked up. “I’m Dr. Wang.” Your new boss appeared to be a kind woman, her smile wide and genuine. Her hair was pulled back into a precise and sharp bun without a hair out of place. “This is my assistant, Dr. Kher. I’ve been waiting for you to arrive here since you accepted our offer. I’m looking forward to what you can bring to our research team.” She held out her hand and you took it enthusiastically.

“Thank you,” you beamed. It was the greatest compliment you had ever received.

Dr. Kher stood up and walked up to join the group. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m happy I won’t be by myself anymore.” She was beautiful, with caramel skin and dark hair to compliment it. Her friendly grin just seemed to pull the whole package together. You hoped that her personality was just as pretty. So far, it seemed so.

“Well, I will leave her to you then,” Dr. Kwon bowed and left us alone.

Dr. Wang shook her head as she watched him leave. “I can’t believe he made me wait six months to get you down here. I wanted you from day one, especially after getting a hold of your thesis. Your analysis on blood work is right in line with what we’re doing down here. But no, you still had to go through the trial period.”

“I’m surprised they waited six months,” Dr. Kher chimed in. “I was only up there for three before they pulled me down here.”

“Oh, well,” Dr. Wang sighed. “We’ll just have to make up for lost time. Dr. (L/n), I’ve already taken the liberty in pulling the files for subjects’ Zero-One, Sixty-One, and Ten for you. I’ve pulled all their vials and set up your station; it’s just across from Dr. Kher. I’ll be in and out today, we’re running some further tests on subject Zero-Four. For now, I just want you to become familiar with those three subjects and get to know their blood like the back of your hand. Later on, I’ll introduce you to more subjects and what we’re aiming for. At the end of the day, just make sure everything is put back into its proper place, including taking the files back up to the filing room. If you have any questions, Dr. Kher should be familiar with everything by now.” She checked her watch at the end of her speech. “Oh, I’ve got to go. But I’m so glad to have you here.”

Practically running out of the room, Dr. Wang disappeared from view, her white lab coat flapping behind her.

“That’s about the same introduction I got when I transferred here,” Dr. Kher mused. She turned to you with that smile still on her face. “I read your thesis, too, although it seemed a bit comic book to me.”

You blushed with embarrassment. “Well, to be honest, that’s where the inspiration came from. However, all the research is legitimate, Dr. Kher.”

She threw her hands up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend. Just an observation. I know your research was accurate. Oh, and you can call me Nada when it’s just the two of us.”

“No, it’s okay,” you reassured. “I’m just protective over my work. And you can call me (y/n).”

“Well, (y/n), I think we’re going to get along just fine.”

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