“You guys in position?” Sunggyu asked through his earpiece.

“I’m right outside the doors,” Hyemin answered. She passed out restaurant flyers at the entrance of Hotel 운명, where she watched everyone who walked in or out.

“Here, too,” Sungjong answered. He was moving delivery boxes around the back entrance of the hotel, recording security measures through a camera Myungsoo had installed in his hat.

“Everything looks good,” Sungyeol answered for himself and Myungsoo. They were in the hotel across the street, which was under construction. Before dawn, they managed to climb up to the top level and block it off from construction workers. Myungsoo was able to have a full surveillance setup, complete with a laptop, a camera, and a phone that connected to all three of their earpieces.

“I got into the hotel’s CCTV. But hyung, where are you?” Myungsoo asked.

Sunggyu adjusted his glasses and looked around the cramped janitor closet. “Well, this isn’t exactly a phone conversation I can have out in the open,” he said. “We all know what we’re doing, right?”

“Looking out for Hoya, Dongwoo, and Woohyun,” Hyemin answered.

“Layouting the back entrance,” Sungjong answered.

“Watching for Manjeok and the two other people in charge,” Sungyeol answered.

“And of course keep an eye out for any more gang members that have a way in,” Sunggyu said.

“We know,” Sungyeol said. Myungsoo was already deep in his work, attempting to hack further into the hotel’s system.

“Myungsoo, continue to direct everyone—and even me—if you see anything going on. We meet back at our hotel room at 9pm, in twelve hours.” Sunggyu hung up and opened up the closet door—just a crack at first—to meet with Eunjoo at the lobby.

“I was just about to call you,” she said, smiling brightly. She handed him a cup of coffee. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just got black. There’s crème and sugar in the buffet room if you want.”

“I’ll take black, thanks, nuna,” Sunggyu said. “The meeting is in a few minutes, right?”

“Yes, we should start walking over to Soyoung’s office right now. She’s always so busy,” Eunjoo said. They entered an elevator behind the front desk and went down to the basement floor.

“I didn’t know there was an underground,” Sunggyu commented. At this, the elevator boy glanced at Sunggyu suspiciously.

“It’s his first day as my assistant,” Eunjoo said, lightly patting his shoulder. As she did, the blueprints rolled up under her arm began to slip, but Sunggyu quickly caught them.

“Nuna, be careful!” he exclaimed.

“It was fine,” Eunjoo mumbled. When they exited the elevator, she continued, “Stop calling me nuna so much!”

“What should I call you, then? Eunjoo-ssi? But I even went to your house before. And you’re only a few years older,” Sunggyu said, bumping into Eunjoo.

“You’re still my assistant,” she answered, a bit flustered.

“But I’m the one who had to give you advice. How long have you been working on circuses? Maybe you should be calling me sunbae—”

“Okay, okay, I get it. You’re my associate. Call me nuna. I don’t care,” Eunjoo said. Finally, she stopped at a door at the end of the hallway. When they opened the door, the secretary had to call Soyoung before they entered the actual office. There was a name plate that read 기소영 on the office door.

“Gi Soyoung?” Sunggyu read out loud.

“Yes, and though she keeps a very low profile, she’s been working on various projects for this hotel for many years now. You must give her utmost respect. Nothing cute—and no calling me nuna—in there!” Eunjoo said.

But his thoughts were elsewhere. For some reason, the name sounded familiar. When he said it out loud, he realized that this Gi Soyoung was very likely the ㅅㅇ from the journals. Suddenly, his insides began to shake with rage, knowing that the person responsible for his parents’ deaths was right behind the door.

“I understand,” Sunggyu said.

Eunjoo massaged one of Sunggyu’s shoulders for a quick second. “Are you okay? You’re suddenly breathing really heavily. Is my little dongsaeng nervous?”

“Nuna,” Sunggyu said, taking her hand in his. He took deep breaths to calm himself, but his voice was still unsteady. “I can’t—”

“You may go in now,” the secretary said, hanging up the phone. “But your assistant has to stay out here.”

“Are you sure?” Eunjoo asked. “Is there—”

“That’s fine,” Sunggyu quickly said.

The secretary opened the door to Soyoung’s office for Eunjoo. “I’ll show you around after, okay?”

Sunggyu nodded, but all he could focus on was Soyoung, sitting at her office desk. Soyoung had on a designer suit and a large Rolex watch, and her hair was slicked back in a tight bun. She must have been in her late 40’s or even 50’s, but she had enough botox, plastic surgery, and makeup to cover up her age. She even had a framed photo on her desk—likely a family photo.

One glance was all that Sunggyu could handle. He envisioned her searching the hotel room last night and testing on the circus family ten years ago. He envisioned her lighting the match that ended Circus Infinite.

With just a glance, her obviously well-kept appearances mocked him and said I’m living well off of your misfortune.

Any apathy in Sunggyu burned up and was replaced by a new determination.

-

Dongwoo tightened the tie around his neck in front of the mirror and smoothed the silk over his chest. Woohyun was shaving in the bathroom.

“Where do you think they’re sending us?” Dongwoo asked.

“To keep guard for a drug cartel in Incheon? To take out a hitman? North Korea? Anywhere dangerous,” Woohyun said. He cut himself on his right cheek and dropped the razor.

“You good in there?”

“Yeah, fine.” Woohyun blinked his eyes a few times before picking up the razor again. His vision in his left eye had returned to normal, but not his right. The area around it was still bloody and swollen. He moved his bangs to cover the wound with his hair.

It'll go back to normal soon, he told himself.

Dongwoo checked the time on the Rolex watch Gi Company provided them with. “We gotta be down at the lobby in five.”

“Then let’s go.” Woohyun swung his suit jacket over his shoulder and swiftly opened the door—not without nearly missing the handle.

“You all there?” Dongwoo slapped the back of Woohyun’s head.

Woohyun rubbed it and laughed. “I just couldn’t sleep last night.”

“Tell me about it.” Dongwoo’s mind wandered to the thought of the circus family being tortured and forced to work on some level under his own feet. He put a hand over his stomach, and was glad it was empty. While he wasn’t looking, he bumped into another person in the hallway.

“Sorry,” she quickly said, even though she was the one who fell down on the floor and dropped her documents.

“No, no—it was my fault. I’m sorry,” Dongwoo said, squatting down to help her. One of the documents was about the circus animals, but Dongwoo only had a split second to see them before the girl gathered them together. He stretched out his hand to help her up, but she stared at him and Woohyun blankly for a second.

“Ah—thank you,” she said. Her voice was quiet and unsure. Even Dongwoo could barely hear her speak. She took Dongwoo’s hand but let go as soon as she could, and started walking down the hall again.

“Lift your head up! Watch where you’re going,” Dongwoo called out.

“Hey, we gotta go,” Woohyun reminded his friend. Dongwoo wanted to continue to watch the girl, as she looked just as imprisoned as they did.

He grabbed onto Woohyun’s arm as they walked into the elevator, and whispered, “What if we’re not the only ones?”

“What do you mean?”

Dongwoo looked at the security cameras in the corner of his eye. “What if we’re not the only ones Gi Company is messing with? What if—”

The doors opened on the fourth floor, and a family on vacation entered with smiles. Dongwoo and Woohyun stood on one of the sides silently.

“Ajusshi, what’s wrong with your eye?” a small child asked, pointing to Woohyun’s right eye.

“It’s not nice to point,” the mother said. She apologized as they exited on the lobby floor.

“Your eye really is fine, right?” Dongwoo asked, reaching towards his face.

Woohyun quickly swatted Dongwoo’s hand away. “It’s… it’s just a little tender.”

Once they exited the elevator, two other gangsters ushered them to the back entrance of the hotel.

“Where are we going?” Dongwoo asked, with a new roughness to his voice.

“Your first job. It’ll be easy. Don’t you worry about it,” one gangster said. He gripped onto both Woohyun and Dongwoo’s arms tightly. The exit was busy, as deliveries were rushed in and out of the exit. Suddenly, Dongwoo pulled away from the gangsters and raised his voice.

“Why can’t you tell us where you’re taking us?”

The gangster pressed onto a pressure point in Dongwoo’s elbow, silencing him.

“Ahh-Ackk—”

“Who do you think you are, a fighter?” The other gangster kicked at Dongwoo’s heels. “I’ll give you a tip: Don’t get any big ideas. Maybe then you’ll survive.”

Woohyun stared as Dongwoo helplessly fought the gangsters. What is he thinking? Woohyun wondered. He looked at Dongwoo with pity, when suddenly Dongwoo’s eyes met his.

Listen up, they said, before fixing themselves elsewhere in the room.

“I’m never giving up,” Dongwoo said. The gangsters laughed and continued to taunt Dongwoo. Woohyun followed Dongwoo’s line of sight across the room, and had to do a double take.

Although Woohyun’s eyesight was deteriorating, he could recognize Sungjong signing off a delivery, winking at him.

-

Hoya’s knees collapsed as he hunched over the ground, vomiting up his insides, though he hadn’t eaten at all that day. The vomit was acidic and burnt his throat. His insides were all over the floor of the glass cage, sticky and pungent. Watching the circus family be forced to work was worse than death for him.

He closed his eyes and thought back to the day before, when he had first woken up since the fight in Daegu. He honestly thought that he had died because he started to see things—people.

Soji.

Hoya shook the memory of her hand his face out of his mind. Of all the places she could have run off to after leaving him, this hell was not one.

“How many times is this?” Soyoung asked, walking out from the dark hallway with her nose scrunched up in disgust.

“We’re not even keeping track anymore, but this has to be at least the seventh time this baby’s thrown up,” one of the gangsters said, throwing a greasy napkin into Hoya’s cage.

“Disgusting,” Soyoung mumbled. “Daniel’s an idiot for giving him so many drugs.”

Hoya lifted his head and made eye contact with Soyoung. When he met her eyes, she smirked and looked down at the animals below, as if taunting him. His fists tightened and pulled at the chains around his wrists.

“Is our little cheerleader full of fight again? Do we need to bring the whip out again?” Soyoung asked.

“You’ll never break me,” Hoya said, spitting on the ground.

“Oh, we don’t need a whip for that,” Soyoung said, with a mysterious smile. She then leaned over the railing and looked over the bottom level. “Jihyuk, move them out. They’re done for today.” Soyoung and the gangsters walked away without another word, leaving Hoya alone in the dark underground.

Hoya watched as Jihyuk blew a whistle and roughly brought the animals out of the practice room. Hoya’s father was the last to leave, looking back for a split second before completely disappearing.

“Appa!” Hoya cried, his hands reaching out as far as they could. “Appa!” Tears began to stream down his face again, over lines of dried tears on his cheeks. His knees collapsed again and he fell onto his own vomit. His throat was damaged, but he continued to cry out hysterically. “Appa, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. Take me instead. Please. Please!”

He continued to cry to himself in the glass cage. He screamed at the top of his lungs, punched the walls, and cursed the world.

But no one heard him.

He was alone, weak, and already broken.

And then, in the midst of all the silence, the door to Hoya’s glass cage opened. As the figure approached him, he began to hear the light footsteps and feel warmth radiating from her body. A pair of slim fingers traced around his wrists to find the clasps of his chains and unlock them. The hands began to slip away, but Hoya grabbed onto her left hand.

“Who are you?” he asked. His voice was even raspier than what he thought it would be.

There was no response, but the hands directed Hoya up, on his feet again.

“Who are you?” he asked again.

The girl’s left hand grabbed onto Hoya’s right wrist and led him out of his cage. Hoya moved his arm to hold her by the hand, and the sensation felt strangely familiar. He continued to hold tightly onto her hand as she led him down the dark hallways of the underground. He could hear her right hand tracing along the concrete walls, counting the doorways until they reached their destination.

Once they entered the room, the girl began to let go of his hand, but Hoya held on.

“Am I dead?” he asked.

Silence. The girl had nowhere else she could lead him, but Hoya would not let her go. He repeated his question and patiently awaited her confirmation.

“No,” she finally said. Her voice was strong, but there was something sad about it. “You should wash up. This is a bathroom.” She began to leave, but Hoya held tightly. He didn’t say anything—couldn’t find anything to say—but unconsciously shortened the distance between them.

“I wish I were dead,” he finally said.

“Don’t say that!” the girl desperately cried, her hands reaching up to his face.

Hoya’s heart stopped beating. One inch closer, and he could probably hold her in his arms for the first time in years. But instead, he pushed her hands off of his face.

“Why are you here?” Hoya asked, his voice growing unsteady.

“I’m the only one who can save you,” she answered.

“And yet you can’t even show me your face.” Hoya turned around to search for a light switch on the wall.

“Howon-ah—”

“—Don’t call me that—”

“—I’m sorry, but—”

“—Don’t pretend—”

“—This is the only way—”

“—I’m locked up—”

“—For us—”

Hoya flicked on the light.

“Howon-ah,” she said. Her voice was sadder than before. “I’m sorry.”

He slowly turned around, with his eyes dropped to the floor. She was on the other side of the room, but it was a small bathroom. When he met her eyes, he knew that they had really broken him. They took everyone he loved. Every single one.

It took all he had to say her name out loud.

Soji.