Jin's Mistake • KSJ

Forty Three

It was hot. Your skin greasy slick with sweat, not a single body part exempt. You shifted your butt on the hard uneven metal floor, propping your elbows on your knees, head falling forward into your hands. The stench of body odor, human waste, and engine oil permeated everything. The jostling rock of the ocean had been unsettling at times forcing many of you to get sick adding another layer to the foulness.

Your father had wasted no time delivering you to the back of one of the trucks, tossing you into the cramped space with the five women you'd been so sure you were going to save days ago. Now that truck was in a shipping container on the back of a cargo ship.

You thought it had been about twelve days, from your endless paperwork over the years you knew it took ten to fifteen days for arrival at the Hong Kong port. It was hard to assess time, no natural light getting into the truck, your only break from darkness two lanterns and candles.

The ship had been eerily still for a day then loud with the sound of machinery surrounding it. You guessed it was cranes unloading the containers, you knew it was only a matter of time until the next part of your punishment began.

The water in jugs and small box of food was close to gone, despite the six of you rationing fastidiously the entire time. You guessed you'd not been given enough on purpose, just another way to crush the spirit and resilience from you.

You'd been trapped with your thoughts the entire time, rotating from guilt over Seungho and Ji Hoon to fear of the future, to moments of hope that somehow Jin could figure out what to do. You barely slept, each time your eyes fluttered closed you saw Seungho's blood between your fingers, his eyes rolling back.

If there was something that Jin could do, how would he even know where you'd ended up? How could anyone but your uncles have known the contents of the permits or the details of where the trucks were going? Certainly no one, not even you knew where the contents of those trucks were delivered.

You'd spent too much time counting on Ji Hoon, never learning to take care of yourself. Now just like your brother had excitedly pointed out, you were helpless without your body guard.

You'd not managed to bond with any of the women, the fear and distrust was palpable between all of you, each of them looking out for themselves. You couldn't blame them, where you'd still been fairly comfortable and pampered leading up to the trip, they'd likely gone through things you couldn't imagine.

Without proper light you couldn't see, but your bruises had felt less painful day over day. Had it not been for the awkward sitting positions and the hard floor you might have already recovered. Was your future so bleak you had to count that as a silver-lining?

All at once a loud deafening bang rattled overheard, the whole space shaking with the impact. All of you looked up and then the wobbly shaking began a terrible creaking noise. You guessed the crane had finally reached your container and was lifting it.

~

"All of you out!" Your eyes burned with pain as the rolling door of the truck slid upward.

It was like acid into your eyes but all six of you moved forward toward the voice. Even if this wasn't the best idea, the desire to be out of that space overriding the danger awaiting you. How quickly would you wish the worst was the back of that truck?

As soon as your eyes adjusted you realized you were in a huge garage, dozens of trucks just like this one lined up around the outer perimeter. The bright light was generated by huge fluorescents overheard. The man who'd shouted at you was short, balding and had a vicious smile on his face.

All at once ice cold water was sprayed at you, drenching you and making you scream in protest. Several men had large hoses and were aiming them at the six of you, had the water not been arctic in temperature it might have been refreshing.