The captain pointed at the map with shaking hands. "Deck C, forward section. Room C-7."
Seongji locked him in the storage closet and headed down to Deck C.
His shoulder was bleeding through his sleeve. His hip ached. He counted doors as he walked. C-3. C-4. C-5.
Five men came around the corner ahead, all armed. One of them stared at the carrier. "Why the hell is he carrying a baby?!"
They charged. Seongji went through them in under a minute and kept walking.
Two guards stood outside C-7. They raised their weapons when they saw him. He put them both down before either landed a hit, checked Yenna, and kicked the door open.
The room was dim. Around twenty girls huddled against the far wall. He scanned their faces and found Sally, Sujin, and Hyesun Oh.
Sujin stood slowly. She had bruises on her face. "Teacher?"
"Stay close," Seongji said. "We're leaving."
He turned toward the door.
A steel wire wrapped around his left arm and bit into the skin. He turned. Jenny stood behind the group, holding both ends of the wire, her face completely different from the girl he had seen laughing on the beach.
She smiled. "Got you."
She threw a second wire at Yenna. Seongji twisted and took it across the shoulder. She pulled both wires hard, trying to drag him down. Seongji stepped forward instead. The wires went slack. He grabbed one and yanked. Jenny stumbled toward him. He swept her legs and she hit the floor.
She rolled clear and threw three wires at once. One caught his leg. She pulled it sideways and he lost his footing for a second. She was already moving, swinging a longer wire in a wide arc. It cut through the air. Seongji caught it with his left hand. The wire split his palm open. He didn't let go. He pulled her off balance, grabbed her wrist, twisted it, and threw her into the wall.
CRASH!
She hit hard and came right back. She threw wires from both sleeves in rapid succession. Seongji moved through them, taking cuts on his arms and waist, closing the distance. His left hand grabbed her shoulder. His fingers found the joint and squeezed. The bone cracked. Jenny screamed. She swung a wire at his throat with her free hand. He caught the wrist, pulled both arms behind her back, swept her legs, and drove her face into the floor.
She went limp.
Seongji unwrapped the wires from his body. He was bleeding from his arm, shoulder, and palm. He looked at the girls. "It's okay. Let's go."
Sujin and Sally moved away from Hyesun Oh as they stepped toward the door. Hyesun noticed but said nothing. She had come on this trip because of Heesu Pi. They were from the same dance club and she had agreed to the vacation without knowing anything. She was not part of it.
Seongji led them into the corridor and toward the stairwell. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. A man sat on the steps above him with his elbows on his knees. Long shaggy black hair, bangs over his eyes. He was smiling.
Minyul Cheon.
"I tried to divert your attention," Minyul said, standing slowly. "I didn't expect it to actually work out like this." He looked at the carrier, then at the blood soaking Seongji's sleeve. "You're impressive. Genuinely. But I can't let you take the others. They're merchandise and this operation took a long time to build."
"I'm taking them all," Seongji said.
Minyul cracked his knuckles. "Then I'll have to stop you."
Seongji turned to Sujin and unclipped the carrier. "Hold her for a moment."
Sujin took Yenna carefully and stepped back.
Minyul came down the stairs fast. He was fluid and unpredictable, mixing kicks and elbows in combinations that had no clear pattern. He caught Seongji's chin with a backflip kick and followed immediately with a roundhouse that cracked into his ribs. Seongji hit the railing. Minyul pressed forward without giving him a breath.
Seongji grabbed a punch and pulled him close. His knee hit Minyul's ribs. Something cracked on the second strike. Minyul drove his elbow into Seongji's wounded shoulder and broke free. He kicked off the wall, spun in the air, and came down with his heel aimed at Seongji's skull.
Seongji stepped aside and grabbed the leg on the way down. He twisted and threw Minyul into the wall. The wall cracked and Minyul bounced off it. He came back immediately, caught Seongji's collar, flipped over him, and drove him headfirst into the stairs.
CLANG!
The metal bent. Seongji's head was bleeding. He grabbed Minyul's ankle on the way down and twisted hard. The joint snapped. Minyul screamed and fell. He tried to stand and his leg wouldn't hold. He grabbed the railing and pulled himself up anyway.
"Such a monstrous grip," Minyul said through his teeth. Blood covered his face.
He pushed off the railing and came forward on one leg, throwing with everything he had left. Seongji caught both wrists. He pulled Minyul in and headbutted him. Minyul's head snapped back. Seongji grabbed his throat, walked him back into the wall, and slammed his head into it.
CRACK!
The wall split. Seongji slammed it again. And again. Minyul's hands dropped from Seongji's wrist. His legs stopped working. Seongji let go and Minyul slid down to the floor.
His chest moved. He was breathing.
Seongji turned back to Sujin and took Yenna. He clipped the carrier back on and checked her. Still asleep.
He looked at the girls filling the corridor behind them. "Let's go."