Min Ah was back on the table. Her neck, wrists, and ankles were chaffing from her constant movement and her body was littered with bruises from the beating she had gotten. Min Jun had returned shortly after, apparently still very angry, and took it all out on her by making her his personal punching bag. It was the better option in her opinion compared to other things he could have done. There were a few more cuts on her body and Min Ah could feel the burn of the patterned row of five X’s that had been carved into her right side as that bastard went on about something she had tuned out. Every injury she had hurt like hell, but it wasn’t going to kill her. She knew that was entirely up to that man. With a twisted sort of curiosity she wondered how much practice he must’ve had to be able to cause so much pain without accidentally killing her.

Despite the physical pain, Min Ah felt the thoughts in her mind were much more powerful. She was over the despair and the depression. At the moment she was being smothered by pure hatred. Something she had never had the displeasure to feel was running through every cell in her body. She clung onto it as she stared at the bright light above her. If she had the chance she would have taken one of those small and sharp blade and stabbed that man right now. There was no doubt in her mind that there would be no hesitation.

Her body apparently didn’t share the same ambitions as it pleaded for a break. Her muscles longed to relax and she had lost enough blood to make her more than a little dizzy. So when her mind went black and she suddenly came back into consciousness she wasn’t surprised to see Wu Fan staring down at her. She had hallucinated about him before. This time his expression was horrified instead of the simple worry she used to conjure up on his face. He said something, but she didn’t hear it. He reached down to her and he touched the side of her face so gently it almost seemed as if he was afraid she would break. Min Ah’s eyes widened because her hallucination had never touched her before and also because this was beyond a doubt a real touch coming from a real person.

She swallowed and opened . It took her a few seconds to gather her thoughts, “Wu Fan?” She whispered ever so slightly. Wondering if her hallucination would talk back.

“It’s me” It responded, in a voice identical to his and Min Ah blinked. If her hallucinations were getting this vivid she must be in far worse state than she originally thought.

~~~~~~

“I want to see her” Myungsoo said calmly as Park Min Guk pulled up to their meeting place.

“I can’t let you do that until I’ve got what I want. In case you hadn’t realized, this whole thing is kind of going to go under my own terms” Min Guk said calmly, “Got it?”

“So how do you want this to happen? And by the way, you’re not getting your wife until I get Min Ah back”

“Money up front first then paperwork then we can get to the rest”

The ring of a phone interrupted Myungsoo’s negotiation. The man besides Min Guk, a huge man who looked to nothing but muscle, pulled out a small black cell phone and silently checked it. With a slight hesitation he put forth his hand and Min Guk’s gaze darkened. He glanced back at Myungsoo and gave him a smirk.

“I’ve got a call”

“You’re not familiar with this are you? Traditionally someone wouldn’t be taking a call in the middle of this con—“ Myungsoo began before getting cut off.

“Like I said, my terms” Min Guk said arrogantly as he took the phone from the man’s hand and turning his back on the rest of them, he walked a few feet away.

Myungsoo stared at him in disbelief. He hated that this man was so blatantly aware of the power he had in his hands to the point where the could comfortably take a phone call in the middle of something like this. Woohyun glanced at him questioningly and Myungsoo said nothing. Instead he looked curiously as Min Guk’s body language seemed to completely change. Gone was the relaxed and arrogant stance, instead the man now stood at attention with his back completely rigid and he spoke firmly into the phone. Finally, he seemed to say something into the phone and if he had just been a few feet closer Myungsoo’s might’ve been able to hear, but there was nothing as he abruptly hung up and stood in place.

“Deal’s off” He said, absolutely no trace of anything in his voice.

“I brought you wanted! You don’t have the right to—“

He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and wrote something on it quickly, “Here’s the address to your girl. Better hurry though the role of white knight is being stolen as we speak”

“You think I’m going to give you all of this and then take your word that this isn’t just an abandoned warehouse? Do you take me for an idiot?” Myungsoo snapped.

“As a matter of fact I do. You’re an idiotic and arrogant law enforcer who should’ve done his job right and caught the criminals that were delivered to him on a ing silver platter!” He screamed and Myungsoo frowned wondering what the hell this psycho was going on about.

“You’re not getting anything until you bring her” He said carefully.

“Then don’t give me anything. You make your own choice either you go or you don’t, but when you do just make sure you bury them all” He hissed and turned away as he headed back to his car.

“Do we arrest him?” Dongwoo asked as Myungsoo stared at the piece of paper in his hand and heard Park Min Guk’s car start and begin to pull out.

“No, let’s go to this address first” He said quietly, “If Min Ah’s there we can’t waste time. What we brought is worthless now and they have no reason to keep her anymore”

~~~~~~

“What are you going to do?” Tao asked from the other side of the phone.

“What I need to do” Wu Fan answered truthfully, already preparing himself for the worst.

“Have there been any other news about Min Ah?” Jong In’s voice echoed from the background and Wu Fan listened as Tao shushed him promptly.

“He sounds better” Wu Fan said dryly, keeping to himself the relief that came with it.

“He is. The operation went by without a hitch. We shouldn’t be having any more problems from this punk anytime soon” Tao said with a hint of a smile before steering the conversation back onto the more serious topic at hand, “You should have come like I had suggested. Staying in Korea was a mistake. I could have handled Min Ah’s situation too”

“No, I had to stay just make sure Jong In is safe and recovering well” Wu Fan said as the man who he had considered a friend moved slightly, “I have to go” He said and without another word he hung up the phone.

As Luhan stirred awake, Wu Fan scrolled through the phone he had found in Luhan’s room once more. There were over a dozen missed called from Kim Myungsoo and he instantly felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he wondered if that man was even aware of Min Ah’s disappearance. On that note, he held the DVD in his hands and tried not to replay the 7 minutes of footage of Min Ah bound to some pole. Hard as he tried, her cries and struggling looped in his mind until a sudden noise snapped him out of it.

Finally Luhan opened those deceivingly innocent eyes.

“Are you going to tell me the truth or am I going to have to do things I don’t want to do?” Wu Fan asked plainly, he had no time for games.

Luhan seemed to remember what was happening and he stared down at the ground quietly.

“Whatever friendship we had is over. I don’t have time for this. Min Guk took Min Ah and as much as I simply want to give into his demands I know this man is going to kill her anyways so I’m going to get her and I need you to tell me where you’ve been meeting them because chances are that she’s there” Wu Fan explained as he stepped closer and hoped that getting the truth wouldn’t involve anything more physical.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I didn’t want to do this” He whispered, sagging forwards as his eyes became glossy.

“You know I will never forgive you for this so save it and just tell me what I need to know” Wu Fan cut in impatiently.

“Eun Mi… that man took her and I had to get her back. She didn’t dump me, she was kidnapped. As long as I made sure that you all went to jail for a long time they said they would return her. Please just quit, help me get her back” Luhan whispered desperately.

“She’s  dead”

Luhan stared up at him, his eyes wide with shock as he shook his head slowly, “No… that’s not true”

Wu Fan stared at him before reaching besides him and pulling out the file of the printed photographs Min Ah had emailed. He felt a stab of pity as he assessed the real shock in Luhan’s eyes. The poor fool didn’t even know that the woman he loved was dead. As he took out the photographs and showed them to him, he could actually see Luhan break on the inside. He could sympathize with that and he wondered what he himself would do if this happened to Min Ah. He wasn’t going to let that happen though he told himself as Luhan screamed and shook his head.

“That’s impossible. I got an audio…. You’re lying to me! STOP IT!” He cried out, tears spilling over as he struggled in place.

“Her body was found 2 weeks ago. She’s been dead for a while. I assume they prepared many types of ‘proof’ to give to you to keep doing what they wanted”

“Please stop! That’s not true I heard her voice! She’s alive!” He screamed and Wu fan stared at him in silence until he calmed down at least a little.

“She is dead and it wasn’t your fault, but if something happens to Min Ah it will be”

“…. What?”

“They took her and they’re going to kill her just like this if you don’t tell me everything you know”

Luhan stared at him and glanced back at the photographs tearfully.

“Kill me” He whispered. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know, but please kill me”

“Write down everything you know first” He said quietly as he gave him a piece of paper and a pen and untied him.

Luhan’s hand shook as he quickly jotted down a couple of addresses, a phone number, and information. When he was done he placed the pen down and pushed the paper forward. Wu Fan took it and scanned the information quickly. He nodded to himself and looked back at Luhan who had reached for one of the photographs and held it as his shoulders shook with silent sobs. He watched him, conflicted with his own feelings as he wondered what to do with this traitor and yet even as he thought it the word traitor seemed wrong he realized as he remembered that in this little war with Park Min Guk, Luhan had lost the most so far. He reached for his gun and placed it in front of Luhan.

“Do what you want. Kill yourself or not that’s not my business nor is it my problem, but know that… you don’t have to do that”

“I have nothing left”

“Maybe not, but there are people that will still consider you a friend after this” He said before walking out, he had no more time to waste on this.

~~~~~~

Wu Fan opened a door leading to a lower level of the building and he cautiously made his way down. The first two buildings had been empty and with the number of men they had at the entrance here there was no doubt in his mind this was the right place. The situation was eerily similar to when they went to get Sehun except it wouldn’t end the same way Wu Fan told himself. Their objective was simple, find Min Ah and get out. Nothing more. Also, kill anyone on sight.

“Barricade the doors down here! Contact my father!” He heard someone speak and Wu Fan smirked as he slowed down before rounding the corner.

The voice was growing closer he realized excitedly as he waited in place until Min Jun walked into view. He could have laughed at the comical image of surprise on the man’s face as he moved forward and punched him so hard he sent him to the ground. He didn’t waste any time as he came around kicked him in the head. He grabbed him by the neck and putting his arm around the surprisingly short man’s neck he squeezed until he heard nothing, but a choking sound. Wu Fan decided it would be a good night to see how much pressure it took to break someone’s wind pipe.

“Let him go!” A man he had never seen before yelled out as he aimed the gun at the two of them.

“Are you going to shoot your boss’s son then?” Wu Fan asked calmly as he tightened the lock he had Park Min Jun in and pressed his gun against the man’s temple.

“Let me go and we’ll release your . My father will pay whatever you want” Min Jun said in that pathetic voice of his and Wu Fan had to grit his teeth to keep from pulling the trigger right then and there. Listening to this man try to bargain for his life as if he had even a chance of making it out alive made Wu Fan want to end it for him now.

“Your father isn’t even here” He said, playing along as he took a step back, dragging him with him.

“We can get him on the phone! CALL HIM!” Min Jun screamed at the man standing in front of them as Wu Fan allowed him to throw his cellphone over to that man who quickly caught it, “The keys to where we kept her are in my coat pocket” He said quickly and Wu Fan quickly fished them out.

The man hesitated a millisecond before dialing the number and putting it on speakerphone.

“What?” The voice came out sharp and Wu Fan wondered what important business this man had gone out to.

“Dad—“ He began before Wu Fan shut him up by pulling his arm tighter around the man until he made faint chocking sounds.

“Min Jun? What’s wrong?” Park Min Guk asked from the other end.

“Min Jun is a little busy. This is funny, I sort of remember a familiar phone call the first time you made contact” Wu Fan said, his voice cold and unforgiving.

The line was silent and finally he heard a sigh.

“What do you want? You can have her just let him go” Min Guk said gravely.

“Do you remember how that phone call ended? Do you remember what happened to my friend?” Wu Fan barked out.

“Whatever you want it’s yours” He answered simply and the subtle sound of worry was unmistakable in the other man’s voice and it filled Wu Fan with satisfaction, “The girl is alive”

“I heard you like to play little tricks like that. I just really can’t believe you” Wu Fan replied and in one quick movement he tightened his hold on Min Jun and used the hand with the gun to aim at the man holding the phone. It only took one bullet to the chest for the man to fall dead, “Your son’s fine! I had to get rid of our audience. I like to have my conversations in private”

Wu Fan dragged Min Jun over with him as he kicked the dead man’s hand away and grabbed the phone.

“I said you can have what you want after we can work out a… deal. Something to keep us both happy and never cross paths again” Min Guk said quickly.

“We’ve already crossed paths so there’s no going back. I don’t want a deal with you. I just want revenge. You killed someone I considered family and now I’m going to do the same” Wu Fan said calmly cocking the gun and placing it against Min Jun’s head. The man screamed and stuttered a string of profanity riddled pleads for him life. Min Guk on the other hand stayed silent.

“You’re going to kill him” He stated and Wu Fan pressed the trigger. A slight spray of blood got on him, but the majority of it landed away from them as he let go of the now dead body. Park Min Jun’s corpse fell with a heavy thud and a heavy silence fell. He glanced down at him and just to be safe shot the man once more, this time the shot was to the face. He wanted Min Guk to have a taste of the horror he had put others through. Wu Fan gave a last look at the scene in disdain at the corpse of a man who didn’t classify as human in his opinion.

“…Min Jun?” Min Guk asked and Wu Fan took note of the slight tremble in the man’s voice.

“His body is in the basement. Ah, I suggest you come with a few mops or something it’s quite messy. Also there’s two bodies in the same area, your son’s is the one with the ed up face”

“You piece of I’m going to make you—“ Park Min Guk started before Wu Fan hung up the phone and threw it aside.

He put the gun away and ran down the hallway, whatever that man had been doing, it was over and he was coming fast. He encountered a few rooms all empty before he reached the three towards the end. He spotted one with a padlock on the front and he knew she was there. As he tried the keys that Min Jun had so quickly handed over anxiety pricked at him. What if he was too late? What if she was gone? What had that man done to her? Even if she was alive… would she be alright? The lock gave way on the fourth key and he slowly opened the door. The odor of blood instantly attacked him as he walked in and looked around. He recognized the pole from the DVD and he went still as he looked past it and saw the woman fastened to the table. He approached her wearily because she was so still that she might not be breathing and in that case Wu Fan knew he would lose it so he waited before he called anything. Instead as he got closer he merely confirmed that it was her.

Min Ah looked so frail that for a moment Wu Fan just stood there and had no clue what to do. He was afraid to touch her. He was afraid to try to wake her up because there was a huge possibility that she would not open her eyes, that she would not come back to him and that was terrifying because he refused to lose her like this. She was in her underwear and her skin was discolored with bruises and cuts and he shuddered to think what else if he hadn’t come soon enough.

Then her eyes opened and despite the dim look in them there was nothing more he could have asked for.

“Thank god you’re alive” He said and she simply stared at him. No reaction except a slight widening in her eyes.

 He reached out and touched her face, she was too cold but she was alive and breathing and he couldn’t imagine any other outcome.

“Wu Fan?” She asked, her voice was faint and he barely heard her, but it was the best thing he had ever heard in his entire life.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Thanks for reading!