DEAD MAN'S HAND.

IV

4. Evidently, Seungcheol's crime was a lot worse than desperate theft and petty defamation.

"The fuck?" The shock registered on Jisoo's face before he could hide it, every muscle in his body freezing at the abrupt confession. He was a thief and Jeonghan a trash-talker, but nothing could have prepared him for the news of Seungcheol's crime. He was timid and fidgety, uncertain of his surroundings and painfully inexperienced. He was no murderer, didn't have nearly enough skill to pull that off and had the personality of a barren forest overrun with bunnies. Jisoo would never have pinned him as a killer and absentmindedly awaited laughter, for some confirmation that it was a joke and that his vice was tax evasion or something of the sort, but only silence ensued.

"I killed someone," he repeated, eyes clouded over with an unrecognizable emotion. His lips curved into a frown, shirt balled in his loose fists. "Got drunk, stole a car, and killed someone. Just - bam. In seconds. And then poof. They were gone."

"Okay." Jisoo said, the hesitation evident in his voice. Jeonghan offered no confirmation despite Jisoo's wary side gazes, instead staring back with a blank expression and crossed arms. "That's fucked up. But that's okay. I think. That's why we're here – in group therapy. 'Cause we fucked up. And now we're partners in crime. That's fine. That's good. Great, actually."

"Why are you guys doing this?" There was a fleeting moment of unease between them, shared all-knowing looks exchanged between the other two that made Seungcheol feel more of an out of place third wheel than a trusted participant in their spontaneous getaway strategies. They were perpetually at each other's throats, but their faith in each other stretched further than their hope in Seungcheol. "You admit to fucking up, but you're still so insistent on living. What's the point?"

"I have no confidence in the criminal justice system." Boredom. Jisoo picked at his nails absentmindedly, admiring the way they shone in the minuscule moonlight, an apathetic ring to his words. He was so incredibly nonchalant, indifferent about the world around him, as if nothing that could ever happen would be compelling to him in the slightest. Seungcheol wondered what it was like to be that aloof despite the circumstances. "I fucked up, I'll admit that, but I'm not following the dictation of a government that doesn't give a shit about poverty. Theft is wrong, but it's not something that should be punishable by death. I don't think anyone should die for a crime, regardless of what it is. There's too much value to a human life to kill someone for tax evasion, you know? And I don't really want to die. That's all."

Perhaps Jisoo was right. There was a reason for doctors, for hospitals and surgeons and newfound cures for old diseases - humans were not born to die. A mere crime should not have come at the cost of death. No one deserved to be thrown onto an execution list. Jisoo may have been an idealist, but above all, he was a good person without clouded judgment. If Jisoo believed that no one was meant to meet the cruel hands of the grim reaper before they were well into old age, perhaps Seungcheol could believe, too. Maybe Seungcheol didn't deserve to die. "But what's the end goal? What are you trying to achieve?"

"To get out, I guess. Staying alive." Jeonghan was resolutely unimpressed as he peered in Seungcheol's direction, but the latter was too fascinated by being spared a glance to care. Seungcheol shivered, wrapping his arms around himself although the icy touch of his cold fingertips running up and down his forearm did nothing to console him. He was better off frozen than dead. "I don't have a plan, but if there's one good thing about having family in the government, it's the connections. I know people. I'll figure something out."

"Well, you're strikingly optimistic." Jisoo grinned. Jeonghan scoffed - he did that a lot, Seungcheol noted - offering no ongoing conversation of his own. Jisoo began again. "Listen, I'm kind of exhausted. We've had our bonding time and I've got a massive headache from Jeonghan's bullshit, I'm kind of feeling like death right now. I'm going to pass out if you don't let me sleep."