Scalpel [EXO Gang AU] DISCONTINUED

vii

They calmly walked outside, trying not to draw too much attention. Of course, that was hard for Yixing, whose white dress shirt was now covered in blood.

It would be a miracle if the driver actually let them in.

Ji Ah stumbled as they got onto the sidewalk. She took in a deep breath and shifted her weight to her opposite leg, hoping that would take some of the pain away.

Yixing let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her, holding her upright.

"You okay?" He grunted, his eyes up ahead.

"Yeah," She replied, gripping his arm tight.

She didn't like holding onto him, but unfortunately, she needed to.

They stopped at the end of the street and waited for a moment or so.

Suddenly, a black car pulled up and a window rolled down.

"Uh," the driver said, looking at his phone, "Min-Hyuck?"

"That's me," Yixing said, helping Ji Ah limp over to the vehicle.

They both sat down in the back seat, side by side.

And it was then, that Ji Ah questioned the duality of Yixing. He had put a knife to her neck, but a few days ago he was giving her comfort and pity. What was his angle?

It was also then that she assessed her own duality. Why did she help them? They were criminals—murderers, and she had rushed back to save two of them. But, she'd also tried to escape by jumping out a window.

What was she abandoning, if she didn't make a bold move and try to escape?

Her career, helping the people who were counting on her, and possibly her mother. She wasn't quite sure yet if she still remembered her. Her father had passed away years ago, and her mother had suffered from dementia for a long time, slowly detaching her from the world around her.

Her patients, surely, would notice her absence, and that would cause some sort of commotion.

Truthfully, she didn't want to leave the patients. They loved her, and she loved them back. She just wanted to help them, to save them.

She played out the different scenarios in her head.

So, let's say I escape, and it goes horribly wrong and they kill me. Let's look at the pros, I'm not kidnapped. Good pro. Now let's look at the cons, the cons are that I'll be dead, I won't be able to help anyone, and I won't have any chance of ever being let go.

But let's say I stay. That would mean I'm working for them for the rest of my life, or until they release me, or until we get arrested by the police. Those aren't very good either.

Police...

What if I got a hold of a phone? If I call the police and tell them what's going on they can rescue me!

No, no, that's too risky. All of their phones stay in the inside pockets of their jackets, and they're all disposables. Attacking them with my strength would be useless. I'll just end up dying.

I have to play along. I have to play along until something happens. Until their desperation ruins them. I have to stay calm. I have to play the game. 

Her plan lacked logic, but an adrenaline rush was clouding her thinking. 

Suddenly, about an hour or so into their trip, Yixing stopped the car, telling the driver to drop them off there. Although the driver was confused, he accepted Yixing's extremely generous pay and drove away.