A/N: Don't say I'm not nice - the final 3 sections of the climactic day, all at once, mwah

Slight warning for physical abuse

Dae

I have to find Nikki.

I don't even know how long he's been gone, but I have an advantage over the cops, because I know where he is. I won't let Chul-moo hurt my friend.

Earlier, Nikki and Ellis had come to visit. I even felt bad at the time, because I knew I was being miserable, and it wasn't fair on them, because they were only trying to cheer me up. But the whole thing is my fault. And now it's even worse, because after I'd thought they'd left, and I was even thinking I could do with a nap or something, Ellis came bursting in, panicking and shouting something about Nikki being taken. And then he told me his bodyguard had been shot, so that's another thing I could have prevented if I hadn't been such a coward.

I took advantage of Ellis, but I'll save that bit of guilt for later. I asked him to go get me some Coke, claimed I was feeling tired but needed the sugar 'cause I really needed to be aware of what was going on.

I don't even know where my clothes are, because Daddy told me they'd needed to be laundered, and they haven't come back yet, but the nicest nurse, Susan, had given me some scrubs for when I wanted to go outside to get fresh air, though she insisted on coming with me. This time, though, I need to get out without an audience, so I'm glad the scrubs are navy blue, which matches all the nurses on this floor, and my sneakers are white.

All I need is the confidence to walk out and look like I belong, and if that isn't a skill I've picked up lately, I don't know what is. I don't have a plan. I grab my phone though, in case, and I even think of calling Daddy, just for a moment, but I put it on silent instead.

It's easy to walk out. I keep my head up, smiling a wide, fake smile, and it does the job of distracting from the bruising on my cheek and jaw. I'm sore, all over, but I can't let that show – I refuse to let what he did to me be the reason I get stopped from taking action now.

It's nerve-wracking, even at the side of the huge building, waiting for an Uber. Chul-moo will know where I am, because he gets notified when I use the account. But it's fine. I even tell myself it would save twenty bucks if he just came and picked me up. He doesn't though, and I get into the car when it arrives, confirming where I'm going with the tired-looking driver.

When we pull up to the building, it's only his scowl that forces me to step out. I'm shaking now. Wondering if I'm even right. What happens if he didn't bring Nikki here? But I know Seung is away now – home, which is what he still calls it, even though he wasn't even born there. Any time Seung goes away, Chul-moo likes to play with the idea of being in charge, so he'll be here.

I head up the gray concrete steps on shaking legs. Kwan opens the door before I even get to it, a sneer on his face.

"You returned," he says, in Korean.

"Of course," I try to act calm, like this is all part of the plan – as if I have one.

"He isn't happy with you. But he's busy now."

I gulp, bile rising in my throat.

"He's here?" I ask the obvious.

"He's in the basement, with the merchandise."

I should have known he'd have people here. They aren't normally. Seung turns his nose up at this side of things, though he's always been happy enough to take the money. But with Seung away, clearly the mice are playing.

I don't know when Chul-moo plans his next auction. They're usually about every six months, because it takes time to select only the finest 'flesh' from the desperate people he pretends to help into America. I was nineteen before I realized I wasn't the only one he was taking everything from, when I'd heard noises in the basement and gone to investigate. There'd been a dozen there then, in makeshift metal cages, and he'd proudly told me there'd be double that before he held a sale, and the profits would pay for what he called 'our way of life', though, of course, it was never anything like that for me.

I think I only found out then because he started taking more liberties after my mother died. Started thinking of himself as more of a second in command, and of course Seung allowed it – the golden boy could never do wrong, no matter how much wrong he was actually doing. Still, even to this day, he only holds them in the house when Seung's away. It's better for me, though, because it means Nikki will be here.

I go to the kitchen, because the sickness needs to be washed away, gulping down a glass of water. I hang my head, suddenly seeing the foolishness of coming here without any kind of plan. I know what I want to happen, but Chul-moo is not a man unwise enough to go without bodyguards, and I have nothing to make anything happen.

His thick hand at my throat is a surprise, even as it shouldn't be. He has always been light on his feet, moving like a predator.

"Where have you been, little sparrow?" he hisses in Korean.

"Your men made me sick. I was in hospital," I manage to croak out.

"Hospital? I can expect another bill then, despite how useless you have been. Despite the fact that I have had to do it myself."

It's too perfect a segue to waste mentioning he won't have any bill to worry about.

"You have the wrong person, Chul-moo."

"What?"

"The boy you took-,"

"I know. Perfect isn't it? Everyone knows he is like a fluffy cat for that boy. Pathetic and content. He'll be broken when the boy is gone."

"What are you planning on doing with him?"

"Why, selling him, of course. He'll make even more than the drowned rats I usually deal with. So healthy and American," he sneers, and all I can think is that at least Nikki has had the sense not to say anything.

But I'm uncertain. If I point out it isn't Ellis, what will he do to Nikki? I could assume he'll want to sell him anyway, which buys more time. But he's unpredictable. If the news makes him angry enough he might do something else. He might hurt Nikki in his fury. But surely he'll be contacting Master François soon to gloat, and he might find out then anyway. And it might be even worse if Master François makes him feel stupid when he points out that he took the wrong person.

"Can I see him?"

"You want to say goodbye? I suppose I can arrange that," he's smugly magnanimous as he pushes me to the basement door.

It's brightly lit, and I can see scared faces peering at me from the cages, which are fuller than I've seen before. Maybe we don't have much time after all. Nikki takes most of my gaze though, as he's bound by his wrists, metal cuffs fastening him to a strong pipe, his feet only just reaching the floor, making him spin a little. He looks exhausted, and Chul-moo's main bodyguard, Tae-U, stands behind him with a bullwhip, pearls of blood rolling down its length.

"What are you doing?" Chul-moo demands.

"Keeping him in line, Boss," Tae-U simpers, but Chul-moo hisses.

"We need him in one piece, idiot. I have a buyer, but he won't want damaged goods.

This could be my chance.

"Let me put cream on his back, Chul-moo," I request, looking as sweet as I possibly can.