To Find Something True

※ fifty-six

A quiet gasp escaped her mouth. She muttered, "what is all this?" She looked at Soohyuk.

A slow, lopsided smile drew his lips. A short, dark chuckle surfaced the spacious house followed. "Meet your new friends," Soohyuk softly cooed, his eyebrows raised as his lips showed a tight smile.

Soohyuk's dress shoes clicked slowly against the rough ground. "Oh! Which section would you like to sleep in? Organs section or–" he looked behind her as his rough hand traced down from her hair to her collarbone. Then, it slowly went down more. He continued, "–body section?"

Jiwoo thrusted his hand with the back of her hand, earning a loud laugh from the man she called 'boyfriend.'

"Have you decided, baby?" Soohyuk asked in a mocking tone. "Dang, they're right," he said, taking out a cigarette from its case. "Money blinds everyone."

"Go to hell, you!" Jiwoo shouted, trembling in anger.

Ignoring her words, Soohyuk added, pointing on the left side, "ahh, if you choose organs side, you're at risk of dying. Aww, I don't recommend that. You know I love you, right, Jung Jiwoo?"

Tears were on the brim of escaping. She looked on her left side and spotted two women on the ground, their faces pale, breathing shallow. The rest looked healthy, but she was sure some of them were going to show some symptoms soon.

Soohyuk walked closer to her. He mockingly explained, "and if you choose the body side, you might as well, going to be joining your new friends at some hotel soon. Don't worry! We don't allow clients to bring you to some cheap hotel." His eyes widened with a finger lifted as he said, "Oh, I've tasted you! I'm sure our clients gonna love you."

Jiwoo's chest rose up and down, her breath shaky, and eyes glaring at him. She whispered, "fuck you."

The man bent down at her height, smirking. "You wanna save Bejiwoo? Then, you have two choices. Left side, immediate big money. Right side, well... how much have the clients–"

As Soohyuk turned around to look at the women, Jiwoo turned her heels and ran. She was almost at the exit when two men–one buff, the other chubby–appeared at the door. She gasped as they had their eyes wide at her presence. Slowly, she backed away while looking left and right to find another escape. But there were no ways.

At the corridor, she heard Soohyuk calmly said, "bring her." The door of the store slammed as his dress shoes clicked furiously against the tiled corridor.

The buff guy threw her over his shoulder and walked. Jiwoo struggled, shouting to let her go. She scratched and hit the man until he put her down with Soohyuk in front.

Soohyuk curled his fist and immediately gave her a punch. Another punch, and she stumbled to the ground. One more punch, he gritted his teeth and said, "you love to get on my nerves, huh!" Then, another punch, she lay on the ground, almost unconscious.

Through her blurry vision, Soohyuk bent down and grabbed a fistful of her hair. It forced her back to consciousness. He dragged her all the way down the corridor. Her cries, beggings, and struggles echoed until they entered the room again.

The door was slammed shut after Soohyuk threw her to the ground. Striding to her, he sent another blow. It darkened her world immediately.

**********

"Jung Jiwoo," a soft feminine voice reached her eardrums. A soft, slender hand slowly shook her body to wake.

Jiwoo blinked her eyes, still groggy and dizzy. Turning her head left and right at a snail's pace, she recognized a woman she had seen from the left side of the room.