Blinded By The Lights | Sungjoy

Act 4 - Chapter 86: New Beginnings

Underneath the streetlights of Seoul's busy roads, Sungjae deftly maneuvered his new car through the traffic, weaving in and around the other cars as he focused on the road in front of him. Spotting his destination, he pulled into the parking lot smoothly and parked beside a familiar-looking luxury sedan. As he got out of his car, he looked at the towering building in front of him. All of the windows were shuttered and dark and the floors were vacated except for one.

Shining like a beacon in the darkness of the night, Solar's clinic was still brightly illuminated as its current inhabitants waited for Sungjae to join them. From the moment that he saw them on the television, Sungjae knew that it was a message, a ploy to get his attention, so when a text message came from Peniel asking to meet at Solar's clinic, Sungjae told Joy that he had something to do later on and left her after lunch.

Sungjae waited for Solar to unlock the door to her clinic and swiftly made his way towards her office, passing by all of the expensive medical equipment on his way there. There would be time to examine them later. Right now, he needed to focus on the task at hand.

As he entered the room, Sungjae noticed Moonbyul already sitting behind Solar's grand desk flanked by Peniel while Solar sat on another chair, her head resting on her fist before she turned at the sound of the opening door to greet Sungjae.

There was an odd feeling of déjà vu that Sungjae felt as he walked towards the desk and sat down on one of the empty seats.

"Thank you for coming, Sungjae." Moonbyul reached out behind her and Peniel instantly dropped a folder into her hand. She extended her hand out and offered the portfolio over to Sungjae.

"What's this?" Sungjae asked warily. "I didn't realize that my consultancy would be needed so quickly.

"Neither did I," Moonbyul replied tersely, "but in this situation, I think you're the best person to ask."

Sungjae shrugged as he opened the portfolio, trying his best to ignore Moonbyul's gaze on him as he leafed through the papers.

--

During his convalescence, Sungjae worked closely with Peniel to discuss their individual plans once they were both discharged from Yeoreum.

For Peniel, his plans after Yeoreum were slightly convoluted due to his long absence from the underworld. While Sungjae had offered to find him legal work that would fit his skillset, Peniel had remained adamant about his wish to return to his former gang. However, due to his disappearance, Peniel had been outed from the organization, losing his status and reputation in the aftermath.

Sungjae, on the other hand, wanted to leave behind his Fallen Doctor status. After an extensive talk with many people, including Joy, Chorong, and Changsub to name a few, Sungjae decided that it would be best to sever ties with his Fallen Doctor persona. He no longer needed the immense financial gratuity that came with the job and he finally found himself moving on from the grief of losing Sejeong after so long. The thought of pushing someone to the brink of death just so he could feel that fleeting rush no longer held any appeal to him.

The only question for the two of them was how they were supposed to achieve their goals.

They had racked their minds together over several days, thinking up multiple solutions that eventually lead to fruitless ends. Peniel's discharge was looming closer and Sungjae loathed to let him leave the hospital without helping his friend as much as he could.

Sungjae had sat in the darkness of his hospital room, tapping his finger like a madman as he stared blankly into space, his mind running through each scenario as he thought of them before he grew increasingly irritated with his lack of progress. Frustrated, Sungjae ripped his eyes away from the hole he was drilling into the wall before he realized that the solution had been above him the whole time.