Byunghee made his way out of the dance floor and into the club's kitchen, hoping to run away from the flirtatious, persistent woman who has been creeping around him and forcing him to go home with her. He ran across the kitchen towards the back door that lead him to a dark alley. Seeing that the main road is still a bit far, he hid himself behind the big trash bin that was just a few steps from the back door.

When he heard the backdoor opened, he peeked a bit only to see the woman who was still looking for him. He chuckled when the woman stompped off, frustrated.

To celebrate his success, he took out a cigarette and lighted it, facing the trash bin. At the corner of his eye, even with the faint light given off by the lighter, he saw a person's head peeping from the heap of cardboard boxes that was piled beside the trash bin. He approached the heap slowly and carefully using the lighter as his light source. He fell to his when he confirmed that it was indeed a man's hair and forehead that was peeping through that pile of boxes. With his cigarette still in his lips, he immediately removed the boxes piece by piece.

He swallowed the lump in his throat when he found a man dressed in what seems like a plain white shirt and worn-out jeans while hugging his knees. Using his lighter, he tried to inspect the man for signs of life. He noticed that the man 's face was full of big bruises and cuts, his lips were all blue, and his arms were full of red, whip-like marks. He touched his arm and felt him trembling badly.

“Holy ! Hey man, wake up!”

He tried to shake him a few times but the man did not respond. Seeing how unhelpful his actions were, he cursed and stood up. He pulled his hair with both hands as he cursed, his anxiousness swallowing him whole as he panicked seeing a dead-looking man. He didn't know what to do!

He paced fast in front of the delirous man, looking at him every now and then as he paced out and thought of ways on how he'll deal with the situation. He didn't have the money to take him to the hospital, nor does he have the skills to take care of a badly injured person. He just wanted to ignore the man!

With his fear taking over him, he decided to just walk away and pretend he did not see him.

He was just 3 steps away when he heard the man whimper followed by a soft thud. Byunghee's heart ached, thinking that the man may have died already.

His head ordered him to run away, but his feet refused to take another step.

“Aaargh!” Byunghee ruffled his hair and stomped as his mind gave him a final instruction.

He ran back to the man, who was now lying lifelessly on the ground.

“Hey man, wake up!” he tried to shake him a few times, but the man did not wake up. Byunghee could only curse in frustration.

He pulled the man's arms and slumped it over his shoulders as he tried to help him up. The man's body was so stiff, Byunghee had a hard time forcing him to stand up. Once up, he dragged the man's body towards the main street to get a cab.

“Hey man, please hang on. Please don't die!” Byunghee whispered to the man as he dragged him.

Fortunately, an empty cab immediately stopped in front of them to which Byunghee gave instructions to drive to his apartment.

Byunghee thought that that was probably one of the most intense cab ride he had. The stranger's body shook badly, even with Byunghee's jacket around him and with the heater of the cab, that made Byunghee more nervous. Afraid that the stranger may die on him at any moment, he took out his phone and forced himself to dial the number of a despicable person.

“Hey...yea...About the favor you owe me...can you, go to my place now?...Yea, now...And bring your medical gadgets and some medicine...No, it's not me. It's this man I found on the street. He's unconscious and trembling with fever...Yea...Ok...I'll see you there...Yea...”

Byunghee really felt uncomfortable asking a favor from that man, but he was left with no choice. He didn't want his guilt to eat him alive if he left the stranger to die on the street, so he thought he just convinced himself that he did the right thing.

When they arrived at Byunghee's place, Byunghee immediately and gently placed the man on his sofa, and covered him in 2 layers of thick blankets. Not long after, his doctor 'friend' arrived and started working on the man. Byunghee waited in the kitchen while the doctor did his work. After what seems like 2 hours, the doctor called Byunghee and informed him of the man's condition.

“He was badly beaten up unfortunately. Since I don't have the proper equipments to assess the degree of his internal injuries, I just cleaned his wounds, gave him some antibiotics for possible infecton, and hooked him up to an IV fluid to keep him hydrated. If you could send him to a hospital, it'll be better; but if you can't, then let's just see what happens”

“O-ok. Thank you.” Byunghee eyed the unconscious man on his couch as he listened to the doctors explanation.

“C'mon Gio, what are you being nervous about?” The doctor smirked as he asked, cupping Byunghee's cheek with one hand at the same time.

Byunghee's reflexes took action making him step away from the doctor that instant. “N-nothing. Now were even. You should go now.” Byunghee said, sounding a bit pissed and nervous at the same time.

“Is that how you thank the person who saved your friend?” The doctor asked as he smirked on Byunghee. Byunghee just gave him a glare in return.

“Oh well, seems like your pretty embarassed to just say thank you. That's fine. Just a reminder: since this friend of yours is in a pretty bad shape, I'll be cheking on him more often. You know my professional fee is not cheap, so it'll cost you a lot. And it seems like you don't have enough funds to pay me, so I guess I'll be getting more visits from you Gio.” The doctor noted while he caressed Byunghee's biceps.

Byunghee can do nothing but to close his eyes and hold his breath as the doctor caressed him. At that moment he already regret calling that ert doctor; but his conscience told him otherwise.

“Fine. But just 2 visits, OK? Nothing more, and nothing crazy this time.” With a stern face, Byunghee laid his part of the deal.

“Alright, don't worry handsome. I'll play nice.” The doctor chuckled before leaving the aprtment.

Byunghee just sighed in frustration.

Just this once Byunghee...just this once. I'll just have to make sure he does his part to make sure this stranger gets well, then I'll stop. Byunghee thought to himself as he looked at the stranger sleeping in his sofa.