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“Leave nothing behind!” Sungjae ordered his men to take out every furniture they find inside the old apartment. “Put everything in the truck!”

Coming back from her night job was Namjoo who was utterly terrified. Her front door was wide open. The doorknob was dismantled into pieces on the ground, and some of her appliances were already outside the house. “What the ?!” She immediately rushed inside, finding several men all over the place. “Why are you here?!” She grabbed her toaster from the nearest intruder. “This isn’t yours! What are you doing?!”

“Take ‘em out!” A familiar voice rung Namjoo’s ears.

“Sungjae-ssi!” Namjoo approached the man wearing a dark blue aloha polo. “What are you doing?!”

“The deadline was three days ago, Namjoo-ssi,” Sungjae said sternly.

The tensed woman gulped in her place. Three days ago, she hid somewhere so the loan sharks couldn’t find her.

“You think we’re not taking deadlines seriously, right?” Sungjae scoffed.

“N-no!” Namjoo felt uncomfortable at the number of men listening in their conversation. “I got a new job as a secretary which pays a lot, and today’s the first day.” She held on Sungjae’s arm for mercy. “Please, come on… if you wait for another week I can give you a part of the interest!”

“Stop! My boss will kill me if I don’t do something!” Sungjae shook off his arm. “Everyone! Hurry up!”

For an hour, Namjoo stood as she watched the men carry her things out of the house. In a blur, the place was almost empty. Sungjae approached her and whispered into her ear. “Your house will be sold if you don’t pay up your debt. For now, this is a warning for you.” Sungjae wore his shades and left the house with his men.

Namjoo closed her eyes, waiting for her fright to subside. Once she felt better, she took a glance at her messy apartment and just sighed. Without uttering a single word, she started to clean up the remains in her house.

“Namjoo-ah! What happened?!” Eunji entered the ransacked place, carefully avoiding the rubbish all over the floor. “Should we call the police?!” She brought out her phone but the blonde woman held her wrist and stopped her from dialing.

“Don’t.” Namjoo gave the older woman a nervous yet reassuring smile. Her life may be put in danger if they reported what happened. “Don’t worry, unnie.”

“Are you sure about that? Isn’t this a bit too much?” Eunji asked in concern. “What about your door?”

“Yeah… about that…” Namjoo’s voice trailed off. “I don’t know. There’s nothing to steal in this now-empty house anyway.”

“I thought you got a new job as a secretary?” Eunji asked curiously. “Isn’t your first day today?”

“I don’t think I can make it today…” Namjoo’s eyes were b in tears, puckering her lips in dismay. “I need to find a cheap place to stay first.” She took out her phone and dialed the office, telling them that she couldn’t make it to work because of her personal matters. The person on the other side of the line sounded disappointed but still granted her request with the condition that she had to work harder for the remaining days of the week. After the call ended, she continued cleaning her place quietly along with the older woman. She packed her clothes in giant black garbage bags since she did not have any proper bag to put in her luggage.

Eunji broke the silence and asked the younger woman. “Where are you going to stay?”

“I don’t know…” Namjoo shrugged. “I’ll walk around the outskirts… I heard there are cheap rooms there.”

“Aigoo… this kid.” Eunji ruffled her neighbor’s blonde hair. “I’d be more than willing to take you in even if you don’t ask. My house is a bit lacking but it’s fine. You can have the other room.”

Namjoo’s strong front melted from hearing those words. Tears wouldn’t stop from then on. The older woman had already helped her in so many ways she didn’t even bother asking for more.

“Thank… you… unnie…” Namjoo mumbled between her cries. Her face was covered with snot mixed with her tears, making the eye-smiling woman laugh inappropriately. “Unnie!” She slapped the older woman on the arm.

“I’m sorry!” Eunji bit her lip to control herself. “It’s just that your face looks funny,” she explained, belting out another laugh after taking a second glance at blonde woman’s snotty face. “Here.” She handed out her handkerchief for the woman to use.

“Thank you…” Namjoo wiped her face and sniffed in short breaths.

“Go and pack your things. I’ll prepare my house and your room. Give me a call once your done so I can pick you up,” Eunji said as she carried the bags her neighbor had already packed. “See you later.”

“Thank you, unnie,” Namjoo said with sincerity. “Seriously.”

Namjoo wasn’t looking forward for the following days, but she was a bit relieved even though it seemed like the world was against her.

She didn’t feel unlucky at all. Good things were still happening in her life despite how dreadful it turned out to be for someone like her.

-----

“I told you already, didn’t I?” Naeun rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Just go.”

Daehyun, her suitor and a married man, was very much persistent in making her his girlfriend. “Just in case you change your mind,” he searched his wallet and brought out a shiny card, placing it on the bed table afterwards, “here’s my personal number.” He approached the woman as he whispered into her ear, “I can give you everything. Just let me.”

Naeun hovered away from him, displeased. “Stop it. I’m