Na-ra happens to grab a piece of bread and a water bottle and offers to share with Ha-neul and Hye-jin. Ha-neul gives her entire portion of bread to Hye-jin. Ha-neul says to Na-ra, "Go ahead and drink whatever you need. We'll take the rest."
Na-ra does so, drinking about a quarter of the water before handing it to Ha-neul. Ha-neul feeds about a quarter of the water to Hye-jin, before drinking a quarter herself. She walks over to the boy in the corner, and offers him the rest of the water. He finally sits up and leans his back into the corner of the room, taking the water bottle and drinking most of it. He leaves a tiny bit in the bottle, as he rips off a piece of his shirt and wets it with the remainder, then uses it to wipe the blood off his face.
"Here, let me help you," Ha-neul says, taking the damp cloth. She wipes the boy's face methodically as she asks, "What's your name?"
"Yeong-su," the boy replies discreetly.
"How old are you?" she asks, continuing to wipe each side of his face. She notices he is actually quite handsome.
"Seventeen," Yeong-su answers. He seems unable to make eye contact. His brown, downcast eyes match his long, gloomy bangs covering his forehead.
After wiping away all of the blood, Ha-neul cheerfully says, "Done! All clean!" Suddenly Ha-neul's brown eyes are hidden once more by her gleaming cheeks, as she manages to find her bubbly smile again. Yeong-su's eyes do not meet hers though, unfortunately. He simply gives a slight bow in gratitude, and returns to the corner, leaning his head up against the meeting of the two walls, his eyes still downcast.
It seems an hour passes when suddenly the brutish man returns. He points to one of the young women in the corner. "You, come with me!" he barks at her.
The young woman gets up and slowly walks towards the door. She hangs her head, trying to hide it in between her shoulders as she drags her feet.
"Aish!" the brutish man exclaims, shaking his head in frustration. "Hurry it up!" He grabs her by the arm and escorts her out of the room towards the garage door.
This repeats several times over the course of the day, their group growing smaller at each instance.
After another young woman is taken out of the room, Ha-neul asks Yeong-su softly, "Are they ... being sold?" They are both sitting together along the wall next to the corner to the left of the door. Hye-jin is resting her head on Na-ra's lap nearby. Yeong-su is still keeping his eyes on the ground.
"Probably," Yeong-su replies.
"What kind of people do you think ... you know, buy this kind of thing?" Ha-neul asks.
"You'd be surprised," Yeong-su says. "From the super rich to the super sadistic."
"Have you ... been in one of these before?" Ha-neul asks in a half-joking tone. She watches his face, eagerly hoping for a laugh.
Yeong-su looks at her with a blank expression.
"Ha ha," Ha-neul says, laughing half-heartedly and wishing she could take it back, as Yeong-su seems somewhat offended.
Just then Yeong-su chuckles as he shakes his head, easing the tension, somewhat unsurprised at the insinuation. "No, I haven't."
"Please don't misunderstand," Ha-neul says, smiling awkwardly. "I was just trying to lighten the mood."
"You have an odd sense of humor," Yeong-su replies, still with downcast eyes despite managing to smile for once. "Why, you thought I was a trafficker?"
"Oh, no!" Ha-neul replies sincerely. "Really, I never doubted you for once. I thought ... well, it was just a joke. You could've been sold before."
Yeong-su suddenly bursts out a laugh.
Ha-neul smiles, glad he finally lightened up a bit. "It's possible!" Ha-neul adds.
Yeong-su chuckles some more, the bottled up stress seemingly escaping as if the lid of a pot had been lifted to let the steam out. He finally eases up after a few minutes, his sullen countenance returning but suddenly sounding more open.
"Mm," Ha-neul replies. "Perhaps, do you know the smuggling network well? That's why they're - you know - picking on you?"
"Mm," Yeong-su replies, "I - knew someone who was well-connected." Just then, Yeong-su hangs his head momentarily, before composing himself and raising it again, but not his eyes.
"I wonder what they'll sell you for?" Ha-neul asks playfully.
"Mm," Yeong-su replies with a slight smile, "You do have an odd sense of humor. Me - probably my organs," he says in a joking tone. Just then he checks his body - he is quite thin - before adding, "Though - I'm not sure which ones. Definitely not my muscles," he says, chuckling. "I'm way too skinny."
"Definitely not," Ha-neul laughs along with him.
"What about you?" Yeong-su asks. He still cannot bring himself to make eye contact.
"Me?" Ha-neul replies. "Mm, probably sex. I'm cursed with this pretty face," she says, forming a heart with her hands around her face, trying to look cute for Yeong-su. He still doesn't look at her.
"Ah," he replies, hanging his head again. "I see." They both pause awkwardly as the mood becomes more somber. Right before the conversation dies, Yeong-su adds, "You're with your sister?"
Ha-neul suddenly snaps back to reality. "Yes, Hye-jina - she's over there."
"Mm," Yeong-su replies without looking over. "Stay with her no matter what happens," he says in a serious tone. "Even if they try to separate you, say that as her sister, you can control her, she'll do whatever you tell her to do. Just make sure you do not separate from her."
"Ah," Ha-neul says, "I see. Yes."
Still staring at the ground, Yeong-su suddenly adds, "Let's escape."
Ha-neul looks around the room. Everyone seems to be hanging their heads now in despair. She whispers to him softly, "But how?"
Yeong-su asks, "Did you stop at a Chinese restaurant at the edge of town when you first arrived? We stopped at one in the morning."
"Yes," Ha-neul replies.
"Good," Yeong-su continues. "If it's in our fate, let's meet there before leaving town. I know where we are, and how to get to the coast from here. I know a man who can get us to South Korea by boat. If we are fated, then when you are bought, it will likely be for a Chinese family where you'll work as a maid since your sister is so young. No matter what happens, you have to leave before you get to the house. They will lock you or your sister up in there, then you won't be able to leave. So your only chance is to escape on the way there. They will threaten you with deportation if you try to run away, but they won't bother chasing you, they'll just buy another person - so jump out of the car or bus or whatever they use and run straight to the Chinese restaurant. I'll meet you there."
"But what about you?" Ha-neul asks.
"I have some leverage," Yeong-su says. "They want information, and won't get rid of me until they get it. I'll wait until you guys are sold, then I'll give it to them. I know for sure they won't just let me go free, so in exchange, I'll ask to be sold immediately, but to someone of my own choosing. That way, we can escape at about the same time. Wait until nightfall. If we are fated, we'll meet before the sun goes down. If not, then let's promise."
Just then Yeong-su extends his arm towards Ha-neul and sticks out his pinky, managing to keep his eyes downcast. Ha-neul offers her pinky in return and locks it with Yeong-su's.
Yeong-su then says solemnly, "We won't wait for each other."
"Mm," Ha-neul nods, swearing to their promise.
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