Above and Below // SeongJoong

10. Close Call

DISCLAIMER: I have limited knowledge of the law, so please excuse any mistakes or inaccurate representations of reality. This is fiction, and everything that happens does not reflect any real events.

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"Vascular scissors," Seonghwa said, and less than a second later felt the long handles on his palm and the thin rings slipping right through his fingers. He snipped the last of the ligatured vessels, freeing the heart from its owner's now-hollow chamber, and tossed the instrument aside with a clang of metal on metal as it fell into the disposal tray. "Get the cooler ready, I'm moving it now," he announced.

Wooyoung pushed over a trolley with a metal case the size of a toolbox opened on the top, while San played the nurse's part and gave the black-market surgeon a hand with drying the heart and removing the final pieces of surgical sponge. Once the organ was in, the pink-haired gangster sealed the box and stacked it with the others on a side bench, the whole process taking no longer than five seconds with his swift and practiced movements. He ripped his plastic gloves off and started checking the list off. "Two kidneys, right lung, left lung, liver," he muttered, "pancreas, intestines, bone marrow, and... heart." He gave the last one a pat on the lid and spun around with a phone in hand. "That's all, I'll call the boss and let him know... and hyung, I think you just set a new record again! Now Woo and I will definitely have time for a drink after this." He grinned, though even his joy lacked the usual sincerity in a time like this. "You can join us if you want."

Against his will, Seonghwa grimaced. I've done this so many times now that I'm even setting personal records for dissecting a human's body and taking out all his organs, he thought gloomily as he slipped out of his protective equipment. The blond, who was focused on cleaning up after the operation, looked up meekly to give an almost imperceptible nod in response.

"Alright," San said, his voice dropping low, close to a whisper. "I'll start loading them onto the van then."

"No, I'll go." The doctor shook his hair out after removing his hat and shrugged on a white coat over his scrubs for the cold outside. "The team's on their way to... deal with the corpse. It's better if someone stays to help."

The pink strands swayed side to side as the man shook his head. "You're not coming with us this time. Woo and I will go, so you can make sure nothing gets seen when they bring the body out."

Already Seonghwa knew something was off. He gave quick glances to both the younger men in turn, but neither of them looked him directly in the eye. "What's going on?" he demanded with a frown. "That's not the usual protocol. I always went with you both to the main base until the clients check––"

"Yeosang's orders," Wooyoung piped up suddenly. He instantly shrank under the attention he'd garnered from the other two in the basement. "Sorry, hyung," he squeaked, all jittery. "Yeosang gave different instructions for this job."

"What are they?" probed the surgeon, his eyebrows furrowing so deep they were sure to touch each other.

The blond seemed so tortured with guilt that he was like to break down at any moment, but in the end it was the other gangster who spoke up first. "He only wanted your input up to the operation. We needed the organs ready for the black market, and now that that's done, you're supposed to stay out of this gig until the next time your expertise is required again." He'd let that all out at once, so he sucked in a breath and then sighed out once more. "That's all I can tell you, hyung..."

But not a detail could elude Seonghwa's mind. "What do you mean, my expertise is needed again? If there's a surgery, at least tell me something so I can be ready for it!"