My initial reaction was actually—what?

I actually had thoughts regarding what could happen but I just shoved those away and asked Mr. Kim about her.

"What is this? What is a plastic surgeon doing in here?"

Mr. Kim laughed at a seemingly ridiculous question for him. "I know that you know the answer, Jyno. Why else would I call for a plastic surgeon?"

I stepped back and shook my head. "No, no! This is ridiculous. I'd rather be high in weed!"

"Aren't you already—for killing the son of a powerful business icon? You said that you will listen to me. Think properly, Jyno! This is the only way out!" Mr. Kim yelled.

Being semi-glued on my place, I wasn't really able to think straight. I suddenly got nervous in a way. He was right! Even if I hide in the most isolated corner of this country, with the technology nowadays, I'm sure that Aldrian's family could find me. Spending millions would be just a walk in the park for them just to track me down.

"So, tell me straight, what am I supposed to do now?"

The doctor stepped up and answered, "Simple. We will just recreate your face—change everything."

"Simple? Well for you, that is simple," I shaded.

Dr. Celine raised her thin tattooed brow as she wandered her eyes in my face, which made me conscious. "Hmm, your face is easy to recreate."

I scoffed and placed my hands on my pocket, "I would take that as a compliment." I looked up at the monitor and asked Mr. Kim again. "Why are you doing this? This is my own problem; I don't want you to waste your time worrying about my shit."

"Don't you realize that this move is like hitting two birds in one stone, if successful? You will be saved, and this whole gig will be out of danger as well. We could continue our operations without you causing any trouble."

My forehead wrinkled in confusion, "Wait, what? What does that mean?"

"You heard me right, Jyno. After your surgery, you will no longer be running errands with our group."

"Mr. Kim, is that the only way? This organization is like a home to me. I can't leave you and the guys for good!" I protested.

"Jyno, we don't have much time! As much as I want to, I really wish to keep you by our side. You have done so much effort in this family. But, I have to do this to save all of us... If you really are concern with us, do as I say."

I dipped my head and closed my eyes for a few seconds. I started thinking all the possibilities and consequences of this big move. This was not an easy decision to make. My face—would I just change it in order to escape this mistake I made? What if I met my true parents someday? How are they going to recognize me? But somehow, Mr. Kim was right. This organization treated me as family, and I have to protect it.

I faced the monitor again and exhaled heavily. "Fine. I agree—for the family. So, when are we going to do this?"

"As soon as we leave this warehouse," Dr. Lim answered.

"That fast?"

"Yes. Time is ticking, Jyno. Any moment from now, the Franco family might find you," smiled Dr. Lim.

Mr. Kim added, "It was a pleasure working with you, Jyno."

As Mr. Kim said his words of farewell, Dr. Lim signaled me to go at the back of the warehouse. When we went out, I saw a cobalt-blue sedan with a sticker in front saying, "The doctor is on call."

"Shall we?" Dr. Lim asked.

I just nodded and entered the car. As we were cruising down the length of the infamous traffic-congested avenue in Manila, I asked her something out of my curiosity which I held for hours. "Why did you agree with this? You are helping a criminal like me. Is it because of money?"

"Why do you care? Jyno, I am not here to do some chit-chats about my personal life."

I frowned and crossed my arms, looking away from the shady bitch-ass lady. Hours had passed by before we finally arrived at our destination. The orange color resurfaced on the blue sky, as dusk took over the noon time. The car stopped in front of a salon, which was about to close.

"Get down," commanded Dr. Lim with her icy tone.

I opened the car door and descended.

"Get in the salon," she added.

What the hell are we doing here anyway? I thought it is my face that will be recreated, not my hair or something.

Without saying anything, I just followed her inside the salon. The attendants inside greeted her as they swept the floors full of fallen hairs. Some even stole lustful glances to me as if it was their first time seeing a tall, fit guy.

Dr. Lim opened the door at the far end of the salon with a key card and some pass codes, and I followed her inside. When she opened the lights, I was surprised to see a big room with a small, white surgical bed at the center with a surgical light head on top of it. Posters of the human systems stood at easels, which were strange. Various medical apparatus, laboratory equipment which I was not familiar, were also around the room. It looked like one of those laboratories in movies owned by mad scientists, where the main character infiltrates and takes the antidote or something. This salon was entirely a front!

"Sit down at that bed while I brief you," Dr. Lim instructed.

She resumed, "Welcome to my current base of operation. This is where I take special clients like you." She paced around the room as she oriented me about the upcoming operation.

"Alright, usually, before we perform surgical procedures to patients, we conduct a psychological assessment first to determine their mental status in terms of handling the result of the surgery. Knowing your job, I know that your psychology is indeed not in the same level with the normal, law-abiding citizens. But since we don't have much time and Mr. Kim wants you to do this procedure ASAP, we will skip that."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Okay. I have to do this for my family and for myself. I know this is wrong but—" I sighed. "—never mind."

"I have studied your facial features already while we were at the warehouse. Also, your front photos that Mr. Kim sent me through e-mail were also helpful."

She continued, "Before I forget, this one would somehow be a risky procedure since I was not able to monitor your food and water intake for the last twenty-four hours. All I could do is to examine your basic vital signs."

That made me think for a while. They wanted to do this to me ASAP but then again, it was risky. I felt like walking on tightrope, balancing between life and death.

"Can't we just do this tomorrow or two days from now?"

"I don't think so. We're running out of time. I will explain to you in a more detailed way later. Yes, it is risky but trust me, I did not had my specialization in Europe just to kill a patient."

Her words of assurance and encouragement settled my beating heart for awhile. I guess death would have a higher chance to get me if we did not do this today.

"Do you currently take any medicines?" she asked.

"Uh, yes. I do take some anti-depressants and sleeping pills. I am always bugged with the same nightmare almost every night."

"Hmm, okay. I will just examine you later." she lifted a brow and walked closer to me, locking her slitty eyes to mine. "Are you ready to say goodbye to your face?"

With wrinkled forehead and narrowed yes, I nodded. "Yes."

"Good. Now, let's start." she walked to a closet, put her lab gown on and surgical mask. She washed her hands on the sink and wore a pair of gloves in her hand. Technically, she prepared the whole room by turning on some medical apparatus and prepared all equipment needed to examine my vital signs such as my weight, height, blood pressure, etc. She even took some blood for me and did some tests on it. The pre-surgical procedure felt like half a day for me. I was starting to feel sleepy because of my idle, limited movements.

"All your vital signs are normal. We will formally start. I will apply anesthesia to you." she injected a colorless chemical via a long syringe in my forearm. After a few minutes, I felt groggy; the entire room was shaking slowly in my vision, which was slowly fading away.

After a few minutes, boom! It was pure-black darkness.

Actually, I felt like I was not really asleep for the first few minutes. I could feel the weight of my body on the bed; I could hear the beeping sound of my heart monitor, and lastly, before my final senses vanish into the deep, black dimension, I felt Dr. Lim drawing circles around my eyes, nose, lips, and chin.

~~•~~

After some time I didn't know how long, I managed to wake up from my deep sleep. The moment I opened my eyes, all I could see were faint colors of the room, from the thin threads of the bandage in the windows of my sight, covering not just my eyes, my entire face as well. The energy that was mine when I was awake seemed to be almost non-existent in my current condition. I was fighting the powerful prowess of the anesthetic side-effect. I felt like a vegetable, being cooked for I could hardly move any part of my body. Every part of my body felt heavy. All I could do was to grunt, hoping that someone was around.

"Jyno—are you awake?" it was Dr. Lim's voice.

I grunted again, giving a positive response.

"You are experiencing the post-effects of the anesthetics. It's normal. Regarding the bandage, I will remove that after about two to three days in order for your wounds to heal."

I did not respond for I should just save my energy. Apart from muscle aches and grogginess, the piercing pain of my face was the one which kept me from talking. Every portion of my face hurt. I felt like my eyes were going to bulge out and fall off my skull, the same with my nose, cheeks and jaws.

"Let's watch TV so that you'll not be bored while lying there," suggested Dr. Lim.

When she opened the TV, the news regarding the updates of Aldrian's murder welcomed my ears. I heard Dr. Lim tittered, "What a coincidence!"

"—a shocking update from this case, John. Aldrian Franco is not dead!"

What? He's not? How could that be after all what I have done to him? My mind was actually experiencing too much turmoil because of what I just heard.

Dr. Lim teased, "Good for you! At least he is alive. Your charges will be lowered, just in case you were caught. But that won't happen!"

Honestly, I didn't know what to feel. I couldn't fathom if I should be rejoicing right now or I should be more fearful and careful now that the boy that I tried to kill was still alive. The moment he recovers, I am sure that he won't stop; he will turn the whole country upside down just to get me.

Changing my face would not save me absolutely from his deep-hell wrath, knowing his connections and all. What if suddenly this woman, Dr. Lim sell me out? What if she reveals everything to them in exchange for some money? Damn! What is this thing that I am into now? Why did I haven't think of that before?

"Are you worried that Aldrian might find you?" asked Dr. Lim.

She continued, "Don't worry, Jyno. It won't happen. The reason why I agreed with this surgery is not money-related."

I listened again to the news.

"Police officials have confirmed that the son of the business tycoon, Eduardo Franco, is still alive," said the reporter.

"Everyone thought that he was dead already, but when he was brought to the hospital for autopsy, the pathologist was shocked to discover that his pulse was beating, but very very weak." a police official said.

"John, the real reason of this was still unknown, but the scientific and the religious community are still in an ongoing debate about this. But whatever the result was, one thing is for sure: Aldrian Franco is alive. Whether by science or divine intervention, it is still a huge mystery. This is Devin Jacinto reporting."

Then the TV was turned off.

"That's it for today, I guess. Take your rest. You need to save your remaining energy," said Dr. Lim.

~~•~~

Days had passed by terribly slow. Every minute, every hour was a low-key condemnation for me. Sleeping was supposed to be a luxurious thing for others, but in my case, it was a torture device which prolonged the pain that I was feeling.

Finally, after enduring all of these tormenting pain, Dr. Lim decided to remove the bandage. I was excited and nervous at the same time. What would I look like?

She started from the back of my head and continued peeling down to my chin. After all the bandages were removed, I opened my eyes slowly, squinting and adjusting to the new element perceived by my eyes—light.

When everything started to become clear, I saw Dr. Lim's fingers flashing before me. "Can you recognize me?" I nodded. I looked around and realized that I was in a strange hospital room. It seemed like a hotel for there were elegant tables and sofa on my right, golden curtains by the window and a thick, maroon carpet on the ground, a wide flat screen television and a big fridge. There were also nurses standing on two sides of the door, perhaps waiting for me to ask anything I want.

"Where am I?" I asked, with a little bit of panic inside me.

"You are in a hospital, obviously," Dr. Lim rolled her eyes.

"Yes, I know but what are all of these? What the fuck is going on in here? I am confused!" I started writhing and yelling. The nurses went to me and grabbed my arms.

"Let go or I will kill you!"

"Calm down, will you? If you want this to be finished, you better hold your raging lions inside you. I am warning you," Dr. Lim scolded, pointing her fingers to me.

I tried calming down and avoided her glare. I cocked my head towards the nurse on my left who was wearing glasses. When my eyes had a brief landing on her glasses, I saw a strange reflection. My eyebrows folded in a frown as my eyes narrowed down in uncertainty. Unsure about what I just saw, I asked Dr. Lim to give me a mirror.

"Mirror. Give me a mirror!" I demanded.

"Will you please leave us for a moment?" she ordered the nurses, and the two walked out of the room.

"Here. Look at your new face in the mirror," she smirked, handling the thing that I wanted.

Holding the mirror with my quivering hands, I slowly raised my arms as I flashed the mirror at my chin. It was shorter now, then to my jawline which was not as prominent as mine before. Before the moment of truth, I dropped the mirror down my lap and talked to Dr. Lim first.

"What? Something bothering you?" she sneered.

I closed my eyes and sighed, preparing myself for the new revelations on my look. With full courage, I raised the mirror again and gazed directly to my whole face.

"So, how do you like your new face?" Dr. Lim asked, grinning.

The mirror dropped on the floor and crashed. I glowered straight into her eyes, cursing her, lips shaking in rage.

"You... what have you done, you psychopath?"