What are we? (2)

Jin felt a sharp pain jolt him awake from his sleep. 

"What the?!" He nearly jumped up, instinctively reaching for his gun, but the searing pain in his stomach sent him crashing back onto the soft surface of whatever he was lying on.

"What the hell happened?" Jin's mind raced, struggling to piece together the events leading to his current state, but his memory was clouded and fragmented.

Weakly placing his right hand on his stomach, Jin felt a wet sensation seeping through his fingers. It was blood, his wound had reopened, and he was bleeding once more.

His eyes, still unaccustomed to the sudden brightness after being jolted awake, struggled to adjust, making it difficult for him to see clearly. 

The weak flickering of the light made him somewhat uncomfortable, adding to his disorientation as he tried to figure out his surroundings.

His eyes continued to adjust to the dim light, struggling to make out the details of the room.

Finally, as his vision cleared, Jin recognized the familiar surroundings.

The doctor's office.

His eyesight gradually improved as he scanned the room, taking in the sight of various surgical tools neatly arranged on tables and a shelf stocked with an array of medicines.

The room, though fully white, appeared somewhat clean, albeit unkempt.

Just then, the door creaked open, and someone entered the room, their footsteps accompanied by the loud clacking of metal. They wheeled in a metal cart laden with medical and surgical tools, including a vial of Med X.

"Jin, you damn animal!" shouted the man as he stormed into the room, his eyes fixed on Jin. He couldn't help but notice the blood staining Jin's white shirt, meant for patients.

"Good day to you, Doc Parker," Jin greeted with a forced smile, masking the pain coursing through him, particularly from his bleeding wound.

Despite this, he couldn't feel the pain from the lack of Med X, the very same that dulled his mind with its cellular collapse.

"Shut the fuck up, Jin! Thanks to you, there's nothing good about this day. Do you have the slightest idea how much I had to struggle to patch you up?!" screamed Doctor Parker, his wizened forehead veins bulging with frustration.

Doctor Parker was old, perhaps around 70 years or more—an age rarely seen in the Tenth District. He wore a white lab coat over a barely visible blue shirt, his round, thick glasses perched on his nose, and his head was completely bald.

"I'm so—" Jin began to apologize, raising his hands in a sign of resignation, but Doctor Parker cut him off.

"No, shut the fuck up, Jin. You just messed up the wound. It's open again. Now I have to sew it closed a second time, and that's going to be another 50 credits," snapped Doctor Parker, his tone indicating that he was beyond furious.

"50 credits is robbery! Just kill me then!" shouted Jin, his shock at the probably already blood-chilling medical bill now compounded by the increase.

"I've thought about it, Jin… Your organs would probably sell for a good amount of money," said Doctor Parker with a slight smile on his face, his thoughts already drifting to the potential profit.

Before Jin could respond, he felt a slight crackling in his ear. It was his earpiece, malfunctioning after he unleashed more of his lightning than he should have, damaging his equipment.

"Don't ever say anything like that, Doc… it's scary," Jin said, his voice trembling as he glanced at Doctor Parker, whose smile remained unsettling, seemingly fixated on the potential profit from Jin's organs.

Jin continued to stare at Doctor Parker, his bald head almost shining under the gaze, a sight that almost made him chuckle. 

However, he quickly suppressed the urge to laugh, mindful of the fact that he still needed to be patched up. After all, he didn't want to antagonize the man who would soon be wielding needles to stitch up his body.

'I don't want to get murdered by this bald bastard,' thought Jin as he continued to gaze at the man who had brought him in and saved his life. 

"… Thank you, Doc, for bringing me in," expressed Jin, his gratitude evident as he clutched his wounded stomach.

"Thank me with your money, dumbass," laughed Doctor Parker, walking up to the bed where Jin lay. Beside it stood a clean metal table, storing various surgical tools like scalpels.

"I used some Med X on you while you were out of it," said Doctor Parker as he delivered the news to Jin.

"I could have gone on for a bit longer without it, Doc," Jin replied dismissively.

"Jin, you are not invincible, and you can't stop the destruction of your body with willpower alone. It may sound good on paper, but you wouldn't have woken up without Med X," informed Doctor Parker with a somewhat angry tone.

Jin couldn't find words to respond, left to lie on the comfortable bed while gazing at the ceiling.

"How much time do I have left?" he asked, his voice strangely solemn and calm despite the weight of his question.

"Two years at most," Doctor Parker informed him, his voice was apologetic as he delivered the news.

"Good to know," Jin said, his voice low as he hummed softly. Despite the grave news, he didn't appear visibly shaken. 

"I'm sorry to say this. You're only 21... It's such an early age," Doctor Parker said, his voice laden with sorrow. Yet, Jin remained unfazed.

"This is enough. Two years is enough," Jin murmured to himself, repeating the words silently in his mind.

Meanwhile, Doctor Parker approached Jin and began to stitch up his wound. Despite the slight pain caused by the needle piercing his skin, Jin couldn't bring himself to care. It was nothing compared to the agony he felt from his cells collapsing. 

Doctor Parker worked at a remarkable pace. Despite his age and normally shaky hands, the moment he picked up the needle, they steadied, and he worked his magic on Jin's wounds without a single hitch.

Jin barely uttered a sound, the pain barely registering.

In almost no time, after disinfecting the wound, Doctor Parker expertly sewed it back together.

"Don't ruin my stitch again, you bastard!" shouted Doctor Parker once he finished, his tone a mix of frustration and pride. The stitch was perfect.

"I won't doctor, don't worry." Said Jin, pulling up his watch to prepare to pay for the payments.

"I was both treated and got a Med X… this is going to be terrible…' THought Jin to himself as he prepared to hear the amount.

"2200 credits." Said Doctor Parker solemnly while opening his own watch as well.

"What?" Jin was dumbstruck by the amount. 

"Doc, that's nothing. Just the Med X I buy usually costs around that," Jin protested, puzzled by the surprisingly low cost of the treatment.

"Don't worry about it, dumbass. Just pay me and get the fuck out. You were out of it for a while. It's almost nighttime now, and I want to go home and watch some shows," Doctor Parker grumbled impatiently, prompting Jin to settle the payment.

Jin could barely say anything as he quickly processed the payment from his watch to Doctor Parker's.

Glancing at his new balance, Jin thought to himself, 'They finally sent out the payments, and I have more of it left than I would have thought.'

"Thank you, Doc, seriously," Jin expressed his gratitude one last time before heading out of the doctor's office.