Deal!

"WHAT?! Are you out of your mind?!" Gabriel exclaimed. 

"I'm serious," Alreign calmly replied to him.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not."

Gab saw how serious Alreign's face was. "Goodness, you're really a product of hell! How am I going to tamper with your records?! Did you lose a screw or something? Besides, there's no way I'm going to do that!"

"You're not the one who will tamper with his records. He said he would just use your connection," Gabe interrupted.

Gab took a deep breath, calming himself. "I get what he meant, and my answer to that is NO!"

"Bro, when did you become a saint?" Gabe asked in sarcasm, but Gabriel just ignored him as if he didn't exist.

Gabriel massaged his temple and let out a deep sigh. "Listen, unidentified entity—"

"I'm Alreign!"

"Whatever, just listen to me. It's not that easy. I'm also not a risk taker, you know? Bribery or whatever you wanted to do is a crime. I fought for this profession against my family. I struggled to stand my ground. So, I can't. I hope you understand me," Gab explained.

Alreign nodded in response. "I understand, but I never told you to bribe someone or commit a crime. I'm just referring to what you suggested, like changing my name or something. It was a good idea, but it also needs to be convincing."

Gab's forehead knitted in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Aside from it being pricey, it would also take a long time and should go through a legal process. You can't change anything without juridical authority. I know you're aware of that. But what I'm trying to say is, I died. I already have a death certificate."

Gab was more confused. His eyes squinted, trying to understand Alreign's point.

"How should I justify my reason for changing my name? I died and I resurrected. I could say I faked my death, but why am I making myself alive again? Okay, let's say I will tell them the truth. Will they believe me? No matter how you look at it, it just doesn't make sense," Alreign added.

"Hold on. What?" Gabriel asked, completely baffled. "What are you trying to say?"

"If I'm going to change my identity, I need background. I'm not some kind of mushroom that just suddenly appeared here. So, I must have it, especially when I want to work in the professional field again," Alreign explained, which enlightened Gabriel. 

Gab nodded as a response. "So... you want me to help you tamper with your records and change them all to your new name?"

"Yes."

"Then it's the exact same thing! It's illegal!" Gabriel replied to Alreign.

"I don't have a choice. Well, I actually have one if you let me work here."

Gab stared at Alreign and gently shook his head. "No. You shouldn't work here."

Gabe slightly tilted his head, staring at his brother. "Why not?"

Gab cleared his throat and looked away. "Because he's giving me goosebumps."

Gabe chortled at his brother's response. "Bro. That's the stupidest reason I've ever heard, I swear!"

"It's the truth. Stop laughing, you punk! Okay. Okay. You know what? Here's the deal." Gabriel looked at Alreign seriously, then crossed his arms as he faintly breathed in.

"I've been careful my whole life because I have pride. As I said earlier, I fought for this profession. One mistake is equivalent to failure. And I think you're aware of what will happen after that since you've been friends with Gabe," Gabriel said, which caused an awkward silence around them.

"Helping you is like creating a crack in the foundation I've built all these years. It's too risky, so I won't do it that easily. You must be worthy of that risk," Gabriel added.

Gabe didn't try to meddle in their conversation, as he felt his brother was too serious now. Gabe knew he would be a completely different person when matters became too consequential, especially if his profession was at stake. 

Gabe admitted that, although they were identical twins, their way of thinking and how they would approach the situation were way too different. Gabriel knew when he should stay ignorant and an idiot and when he should take action. And that was exactly what he hated about him, but not as much as he hated their family.

"So, what's the deal?" Gabe heard Alreign ask, which made him look at him, then turn his gaze in his brother's direction.

"I'll let you handle five patients who need surgical operations. If you make all their operations successful, I will write a letter of recommendation for you, and I'll think about your request. How's that?"

Without a second thought, Alreign instantly smiled at what Gabriel said. Then, he stretched his arm towards him and said, "Deal!"

A few hours after Alreign left Gabriel's office, both he and Gabe were unusually quiet. Gab, who was in deep thought, and Gabe, who was just observing his brother. 

"Hey. Are you hiding something from me?" Gabe asked, which caused him to receive a death glare from his brother. "Stop glaring; I'm asking you!"

"I glared because you asked something stupid," Gabriel retorted, then he stood up to heat some water. "You want coffee?"

"Yes, please."

"Then make your own."

Gabe's mouth hung in disbelief after what Gabriel said. "Seriously? I delivered your pizza, you see? I also paid for it. A cup of coffee won't hurt, Gab."

"Well..." Gab looked at the opened pizza on the table, then glared at Gabe. "You almost finished the pizza, and you still have the guts to brag that to me? Make your own coffee!"

Gabe just faintly clicked his tongue, then he walked towards the tray of coffee sachets. He glanced at his brother, who was now stirring his coffee. Gabe could see he was still in deep thought. 

Gabe sighed and returned his gaze to his mug as he put the powdered coffee in it. "Gab. Can I ask you something?"

"If it is something stupid again, don—"

"Why don't you want Alreign to work here? Don't say it's about goosebumps because we both knew you were lying about that," Gabe said, cutting off Gabriel's sentence.

Gab fell silent for a moment, so Gabe turned around to look in his direction. "Am I right?"

Gabriel slowly looked at him and let out a deep sigh. "The truth is..."