six;

It’s nightfall when Kyungsoo hears the racket from downstairs. It jolts him from his temporary slumber.

Perhaps it is just his uncle having one of those episodes. Smashing his grandfather’s priceless vases is not an uncommon occurrence.

However when he hears the footsteps approaching his room, he knows something is different. These footsteps are light and swift, as opposed to his uncle’s usual disoriented stomps.

Kyungsoo sees the doorknob turning, and then he hears a weak attempt to kick the door down. Slowly, he approaches it and opens it slightly, allowing a small sliver of light to penetrate the darkness. In tumbles a scrawny girl with a bob cut. She lands right onto him and they both fall to the floor.

Kyungsoo shuts the door with his foot and cups his hand over .

“Don’t make a sound.” he whispers.

They recede into the darker corners of the small attic room, with Kyungsoo’s hand over the entire time.

“Go into the closet,” he orders.

The girl silently obliges, climbing into the old wooden closet. In that moment, the door swings open, revealing a flood of light. Kyungsoo has to squint his eyes.

“Hey, brat, have you seen anyone come up here?”

“No, uncle.”

“You best not be lying to me, or you’ll end up with a broken hip. You remember what that feels like, don’t you?”

“Yes, uncle.”

His uncle slams the door and locks it. Kyungsoo doesn’t move until his heavy footsteps disappears.

The girl peeks from the crack of the closet.

“Can I come out, now?”

Kyungsoo nods. She climbs out of the closet and takes a seat next to him. She’s his age, and she regards him with curiosity mixed with a little bit of fear.

“You don’t need to be afraid,” Kyungsoo whispers.

Her expression relaxes and her fear is replaced with more curiosity.

“Do you live here?” She asks.

“Yes.”

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