"No. He doesn't need a hospital. How many times do I have to say that? He's fine." Min-jin said in Japanese, speaking into his cellphone.
The cellphone's glow was the sole light source in the room.
Min-jin didn't intend on having a clear view of his hired Yakuza thug trembling in the bed.
But Dachi's groans met Min-jin's ears.
Releasing a frustrated sigh, Min-jin rubbed his forehead, stomped his foot.
If Dachi died, Min-jin would have wasted his money, would have to rescue his sister alone.
"No. No. No. No. No. No. No." Dachi said, sounding as insane as a man believing eating a cactus would prevent World War Three from happening. "I'm fine... Yes. I am... fine. Completely fine. I..."
Min-jin shook his head, took three steps away from Dachi's bed.
"He's going crazy right now." Min-jin said.
On the phone's other line, Min-jin's former girlfriend-Yuri-said, in Japanese, "Put me on speaker phone. I want to talk to him."
Min-jin scoffed.
"Yeah. But he's not going to do much talking." Min-jin said before pressing speaker phone on his cellphone. "Okay. I did it."
"Dachi-san." Yuri said.
Dachi groaned.
Min-jin shook his head, placed his palm on his forehead. He said, "Fucking Yakuza. Get better."
"Dachi-san, you're not going to die. You're going to be fine." Yuri said, her voice soothing as she spoke. "You are a Yakuza man. No one is stronger than you. So, get well. Get well, then help my dumb ass, former boyfriend get his sister back."
Dachi released a sigh. He said, in an loud tone, "Okay! Thank you!"
Movement reached Min-jin's ears, Dachi moving in the bed.
A click emitted from the lamp on the nightstand.
The lamp glowed its light, illuminating the corner, Dachi, Min-jin, the Japanese yen bills on the comforter.
Dachi raised the yen bills from the bed. In an weak tone, sweat spread across his forehead, he said, "Kid, give me a burger."
After Min-jin took the money, Dachi moved his face's side onto the pillow, panted.
Min-jin turned off his cellphone, ending his call with Yuri. He said, "It sounds like you need water too."
"I need a beer." Dachi said.
"No. Water." Min-jin said while walking towards the hotel's door.
Dachi sighed. He said, "Fuck you."
In Tokyo, Wei kept his focus on a photograph on his red case-encased cellphone.
The photograph displayed Tina's nude body.
Furrowing his eyebrows, Wei tapped his fingers against the desk he sat behind.
"She's not that amazing. Maybe she'll sell for one million yen." Wei said in Mandarin. He averted his focus to the pencil in his hand, nodded. "Yeah. One million yen sounds perfect."
The gangster wrote on a page in his notebook, writing in Japanese.
Standing beside Wei's chair, a six and a half feet tall Chinese man stood, rubbing two scars on his left cheek.
He was more muscular than Wei, hulking.
"Good, boss," the man said in Mandarin. He placed his hand on Wei's shoulder, gestured to the two sleeping eighteen-year olds on the sofa in the room. "You really go to your school? And she's really your girlfriend's best friend?"
Wei nodded. He dropped his pencil before saying, "You know it's strictly business. She's money. I don't care if she was my Jap's friend or enemy, money is money. I'm thinking of selling her to those skin-flaying motherfuckers."
"You're... talking about... the Mongolians?" the hulking Chinese man said before slamming his fist into his palm. "If you are, I'm going to have a tough time not bashing their faces into the wall."
Wei laughed.
"Yeah. Them. I'm definitely going to need you here for that. The skin-flayers aren't as agreeable as the roaches over in South Korea. They definitely don't hug me after a sell. They're not like that last Korean guy did when I gave him that pale beauty last week." Wei said.
The hulking Chinese man whistled. He said, "She really was a beauty. I would've hugged you too if you sold her to me."
The hulking Chinese man walked towards the refrigerator in the office. He said, "When's the next meeting with your boss?"
"Saturday." Wei said, flipping a page in his notebook. "And he wants me to guard him while he does business in Italy. That's not until four weeks from now, though. His demands keep getting weirder. He wants me to find a random girl who has a mole on her face and speaks Arabic. It's crazy."
Wei sighed, moved his fingers to his temples.
While the hulking Chinese man pulled a bottled soda from the refrigerator, Wei said, "There's no rush to give my boss a Arabic-speaking Jap girl. He just wants her in November. I already know how I'll deal with this situation. But my boss is starting to frustrate me."
The hulking Chinese man opened his soda.
Wei grabbed his pencil, lifted it from the desk's wooden surface.
"I'm honestly considering retiring from the business soon." Wei said, causing the hulking Chinese man to open his mouth a bit.
"Retire? But what we do is funner than fucking married women," the hulking Chinese man said. "And I took a woman in Vietnam, like you said. She's twenty three. I have her all chained up at my place. Her pussy is shaved and everything."
Wei smiled, unzipped a pouch in his backpack. He pulled a yen stack from it, tossed it to the hulking Chinese man, who caught it.
"Good job, Bo." Wei said. "You should take one of your girlfriends to dinner, have fun. You deserve it."
Bo bowed, straightened.
"Are you going to let a South Korean person have me?" Tina said.
Wei turned his head to the eighteen-year old Japanese girl.
Bo sipped his soda, pretended as if Tina did not exist.
Wei stood.
Tina kept her focus on him, waiting for the Chinese gangsters answer.
Beside Tina, Reo's eyes were closed as he remained seated.
"Bo, wake up the Jap." Wei said in Japanese, giving the hulking Chinese man a command. "I'm not going to lie to you, girl. You're not going to be getting fucked in South Korea. I'll sell you to one of those skin-flaying motherfuckers."
Tina shook her head, gripped her school skirt. In an trembling voice, she said, "If you're going to sell me, at least sell me to a Korean. Please."
Wei scoffed, slammed his palms against the desk while Reo stood.
Warm rage coursed through Wei's body.
He trained his eyes on Tina's neck, which birth control pills passed through earlier.
Gritting his teeth, Wei had the overwhelming urge to tear Tina's eyeballs from her eye sockets.
The sex trafficker aimed his palms at Tina, clenched his fists, unclenched them. He said, "Will you prefer I tear out your fucking eyes?!"
Tina gasped, took a step back.
"Wei." Bo said, speaking to Wei as if he was the boy's father. "It's alright. No need to hurt anyone right now. Okay?"
Wei took three steps back, advanced forward, vaulted over the desk.
Tina didn't flee, terrified.
Reo watched the Chinese gangster.
Bo tackled Wei, sending them both onto the floor.
Wei struggled, let a roar leave his mouth, filled with heavy rage.
On top of Wei, holding the gangster, Bo said, in Mandarin, "Say her name. Say it, Wei!"
Wei resisted.
Bo bared his teeth, pressed harder against Wei.
Wei made a pained noise.
"Say her name!" Bo said as Tina and Reo observed the rageful Wei. "Say her name, dammit!"
Wei stopped struggling.
He let his forehead meet the floor.
"Ling," he said before taking a deep breath. "I still... miss her. And love her."
"I know." Bo said. He stood. "Get up, Wei."
Wei moved onto his hands and knees, stood. He clenched his fists, unclenched them.
"Sorry." Wei said in Japanese, after he turned his head to Tina. He faced Bo, reverted to speaking Mandarin. "And retire wasn't the right word. But I'll go on a vacation lasting years. I just need to make a few more sells. Take the Jap boy out. I don't need him for the rest of the night."
Bo nodded, went to the spot in front of Reo.
Reo bowed his head, Bo's presence near him as intimidating as Wei's earlier rage-filled outburst.
Bo clapped Reo's shoulder. He said, "Come on. I'll escort you out."
Reo lifted his head.
The hulking Chinese man and the Japanese peeper walked towards the door leading out the office.
For a brief moment, Tina stroked Reo's hand.
When his underling and the Japanese peeper were gone, Wei turned to the desk, placed his red case-encased, business cellphone in his pocket.
Warm tears leaked from his eyes.
His hands trembled.
"Fuck!" he said, not caring Tina was in the room with him, Ling in his mind.
While descending the steps in the warehouse with Reo beside him, Bo said, "Wei's a extremely angry guy, violent, but he gets problems solved. And who doesn't love anyone who's wealthy?"
Reo shrugged, debating if he should talk negative about Wei or not.
Bo was not an gangster Reo longed to fight.
The Japanese peeper would rather swim in a bitter cold lake than have Bo hurl his fists into his thin body.
"At least he apologized." Reo said. He frowned. "Hey, I left my things in his car. Can I get them back?"
Bo laughed.
"My car. Wei was using my car. And sure." Bo said, more likeable than Wei.
Bo worked for Wei, but the hulking Chinese man seemed as polite as a person bringing a shivering stray puppy into their car on a Winter day in Alaska.
"And Ling is Wei's girlfriend back in China. He misses her all the time. The guy's not a complete monster." Bo said, giving Reo more information. "And I can drive you wherever you want to go in Tokyo. Home. A restaurant. A karaoke place. Wherever."
Reo emitted an sigh.
His stomach growled.
After bringing a hand to his stomach, he said, "Take me to get something to eat."
"Sure. I'll give you food money." Bo said, sincere.
Nineteen minutes later, Reo sunk his teeth into a cheeseburger.
His hands grasping the burger, Reo cherished the warm joy filling his body, cherished the burger.
He smashed the food between his teeth, swallowed.
The eighteen-year old Saya Ito entered his mind.
Reo sighed, lowered the burger to its gray wrapper.