beloved of grace

Chapter 34 - Illuminated Feelings

"My teacher told me to learn how to smile." A young girl swung her feet upon the desolate swing. Overhead the girl was the starry night sky, watching over her in all its glory. She spoke to her friend, the lingering warmth of friendship blossoming like spring had come, "But I can smile. What do you think?"

And when she turned to look at her friend, there was no one there. Such was the life that was called forth under the moon's watch in the unforgiving pod.

— —

Mary told you about her story, in more detail this time. She told you about Seokji Yuk, the Cheonliang fam, her parents, and the deaths. She stared at you through her glossy eyes, and though her conflict was evident, her kindness pulled through, "You and Vin. . . I'm sorry about him. But, take care of him for me, will you?"

You know you shouldn't promise that, your death may just be around the corner and you have no reason to give him more grief, so instead, you spoke carefully. The words are soft, like the traces of snow aloft in the spring breeze, ". . . I will do what I can."

"Vin. . . probably really respects you and Duke." Mary started, staring down at her hands and clenching them with a bitter smile, "He always runs away, but the two of you. . . The two of you are not like him."

"I. . . see." You mumbled, letting her take your hand and play with your fingers, "I won't ask you or Duke to forgive him. But slap some sense into him, won't you?"

Through the tense and vulnerable moment, she hugged you as her lifeline. Slowly, the embrace was returned. Mary pulled away after a long moment, smiling tenderly as she outed her friend, "Alright, that asshole is in the arcade. Kick his ass for me, [Name]."

— —

Jace and Daniel were hard at work, searching for the first affiliate's dark secret after the latter had encountered Jinyoung Park in the clinic's dispensary. Although they seemed to be having a bit too much trouble with the affiliate.

So here you were, helping the two out, "Hangyeol Baek, is in a word, unhinged. His standards of beauty are different from other people. But he doesn't always perform abrnormal surgeries, usually, he does what the patient asks for. But apparently, whenever a patient desires true beauty, he carried out the procedure according to his standards."

"His victims are those who signed a contract and received free surgery as part of the sponsorship deal, the contracts are written so cleverly that whatever the results of the procedure are, the doctor and the hospital bear no responsibility." Jace handed you a report of the doctor, which you took as he rambled.

"If a victim attempts to sue or publicuse what happened to them, the hospital forces them to pay an astronomical amount of money in damages, as per the contract. Even if the victim takes them to court, an individual has very little chance of winning a suit against the clinic, especially when they've signed such a contract." Jace explained.

"And the strangest part is that he wears a platinum badge even though he's the president of an affiliate. As you know, the platinum badge is only worn by minors. There's no way someone jnderage could have a medical degree. Even if he were an actual genius, that would be impossible." You nodded once he finished, humming to yourself as you thought of your dear friend who nearly accepted the sponsorship, ". . . This is no secret then."

"Yeah." Jace nodded, seemingly at a loss for words himself. Daniel, with his frustration evident, clenched his fists, "Then what is their dark secret?"

". . . I should go. I will be back" with a mannered smile as graceful as evening stars, you turned on your heel and left.

The clinic is unfamiliar to you— you couldn't discern whether you've walked through these halls before.

Just like so, you explored the clinic, sneaking past the staff to restricted areas. Quietly and slowly, you pushed a door to the dispensary open, closing it behind you when you stepped in— and right there, in the corner of the room was your creator. Desks and cabinets upon which plenty of reagent bottles and lab equipment laid upon filled the dispensary, a pile of boxes laying about in the corner.