Since that incident, Lucas has become increasingly withdrawn from everyone. He comes to the office dressed in black from head to toe, wearing a mask. He doesn't greet anyone, unlike almost everyone else there.
In the laboratory, he focuses solely on taking notes and refuses to conduct any research independently. He rarely asks questions and speaks only when it is necessary.
"Lucas, want to have lunch together?" a woman from another department asks.
"No, thank you," Lucas replies coldly, stands up, and leaves without another word.
Grace, whose desk was next to Lucas', never approached him either, feeling awkward about what had happened between them two weeks ago.
However, there was a small desire to talk to Lucas and apologize for her words that might have hurt him. Grace was also worried that Lucas's current attitude was a result of his phobia of her blood.
"Grace, let's go to the cafeteria," Eric said, appearing at the door and calling out to Grace.
"Okay," Grace replied.
They went to the cafeteria together as usual. There were so many people in the cafeteria, and they always joined any group to enjoy their lunch.
But not Lucas.
Lucas always sat at the farthest table, which was truly meant for one person, so no one would sit across from him, talk to him, or disturb him.
"He looks like a guy who just got dumped by his girlfriend," people whispered about Lucas.
"Ah… too bad he's so hard to approach. I wanted to enjoy his face," another added.
Grace looked at Lucas's table. Lucas never really finished his lunch. He was often seen staring intently at his food, eating only one or two bites, as if he wasn't feeling well.
Because of that, Grace felt even more guilty.
"Grace, you're the only one who hasn't finished your food," Ezra said, snapping Grace out of her reverie.
Grace didn't know how long she had been daydreaming, but she found that all her friends' plates were empty.
"Are you not hungry? Lunch time is almost over," Ezra said worriedly.
"You guys go ahead. I'll finish in ten minutes," Grace said, quickly devouring her food.
Her friends left, leaving Grace behind. When Grace glanced back at Lucas's table, he was also already gone, making her sigh in disappointment because she had intended to greet Lucas to break the awkwardness between them.
Another strange thing Grace noticed was the scent of Lucas's dried roses, which was fading day by day.
Whether others noticed it or not, Grace, who sat closest to Lucas's desk, was aware of it. Lucas had truly become a mysterious, shadowy figure.
Since lunch was over, Grace ran back to her room. However, she was surprised by the commotion in the laboratory. She stopped for a moment and peeked in, but none of her colleagues were there.
Not wanting to get involved, Grace quickly returned to her room.
"Why is everyone so gloomy?" asked Grace, seeing all her friends' faces looking downcast.
"Three blood sample bags are missing," one of them answered.
"What?!" Grace exclaimed in shock. That was why there was also commotion in the laboratory.
"What are the sample codes?" Grace asked as she checked the data on her computer.
"Those samples haven't been analyzed yet."
"The samples haven't been analyzed yet. But the Biomedical Security Division suspects that we were careless."
"That means we didn't touch the samples before."
Everyone nodded but didn't respond further. One by one, they tried to recall whether they had accidentally moved the blood sample bag or if they were being scapegoats for another division's carelessness.
In the tension in the room, only Lucas remained silent, his expression blank and unmoving.
"Lucas, at least say something," Grace finally urged him to speak.
"What should I say?" he replied coldly.
"I mean... maybe you know something?"
"No."
"Did you see anyone suspicious in the lab?"
"No."
Lucas, who knew nothing, naturally chose to remain silent.
Moreover, his silence wasn't because he didn't care about what was happening around him. He was holding back the pain in his chest that was spreading throughout his body. Lucas was trying to maintain his 'poker face' so that no one would know what was happening to him.
The burning sensation in his chest made Lucas feel like his entrails were being pushed up. His throat felt bitter, his head was spinning, and his vision began to blur. Immediately, Lucas got up from his seat and rushed to the bathroom.
But Ezra suddenly appeared and grabbed Lucas by the collar and pushed him so hard that Lucas's body hit the wall.
"You took it, didn't you?!" Ezra accused.
Lucas had no energy left to speak. He felt like he was going to vomit, and Ezra was blocking his way.
Despite that, Lucas didn't want to attack Ezra at that moment, especially in the middle of the crowd.
"Just admit it, Lucas! You took the blood sample bag, didn't you? Say it!" Ezra cornered Lucas.
"Can you please take your dirty hands off me first?" Lucas asked calmly. Ezra's intense emotions didn't provoke him.
"Not until you admit your mistake."
Lucas took a deep breath. Truly, his stomach felt like it was ready to erupt. One of the things making the pain unbearable was the fact that his body had collided with the wall quite forcefully.
"Let me go to the restroom for a moment." Lucas continued to plead politely.
"You want to run away?"
"No. I feel sick."
"You're lying."
Running out of patience, Lucas gathered all his strength and pushed Ezra back with all his might, sending Ezra flying into a pile of useless papers.
Everyone was immediately in an uproar, not expecting Lucas to respond to Ezra's rough treatment with even more violence.
"Damn it!" Lucas muttered, holding his chest and staggering out.
After Lucas left, everyone approached Ezra, who was rolling around among scattered papers, trying to endure the pain.
Meanwhile, Grace's body seemed to move on its own, following Lucas. She felt that Lucas's condition seemed very bad and made her worry, even though they weren't close at all.
"Hey, this is the men's restroom!" someone scolded Grace as she entered the men's restroom.
Grace ignored the remark and immediately began searching for the restroom stalls where Lucas might be. She stopped at the only locked stall door. She hesitated before knocking.
Before she could knock, Grace was startled by blood flowing out from under the stall door. The red blood quickly turned black.
"L—Lucas, are you okay?"