Iseul sat as a silent member of the conversation she was drifting in and out of. All the boys were talking about things she didn’t know of laced with inside jokes that had them howling. She spent most of the night watching whatever dramas Jackson had on screen from her spot between Jaebum and Jinyoung. The night passed with her only speaking when spoken to and trying her best not to fall asleep. Once the boys started announcing their departures, Iseul payed attention. One by one the guys left, sometimes winking or making a stupid gesture towards the girl until she was left alone with Jinyoung.

After the room was cleared, Iseul tried her best to be subtle while scooting away from the boy. He looked at her and pouted.

“You said you’d get my things back, right?” she asked, wishing she had her phone with her.

“I called my dad and he wouldn’t be able to pick it up until Thursday,” he said, leaning his body away from the armrest and towards her. She frowned but nodded at his statement nonetheless.

“So I’m spending the night?” she asked, ready to go to bed. The boy smiled and nodded.

“And we can cuddle in peace,” he said, nearly holding his chin in the palms of his hands. The girl scrunched her nose at him.

“I’ll be fine on the couch, by myself, thank you,” she said. The boy pouted again as if it was his part time job.

“That won’t be good for your back, a bed will be much better, come on,” he said while grabbing her hand and standing up. The girl was a bit weary of what he had in mind. But she thought to wait until he fell asleep then sneak off and lay on one of the couches.

Jinyoung took her down a different hallway than before and up a flight of stairs. This time it was lit up and so were some of the rooms on the second floor. Iseul thought of how her parents would have a fit if she left all of the lights on like this. They walked further, turned a corner, kept the pace down another corridor and turned again. Before them at the end of this hall was a single door. The girl couldn’t find her way downstairs even if she wanted to. The boy opened the door and flipped on a light. Once the area was illuminated, Iseul saw that it was a pig sty. It didn’t stink, which seemed magical considering the floor was covered with dirty clothes and messy dishes. Half empty water bottles lined the window sill. Centered between two tables was a massive bed, the comforter invisible due to loads of papers containing a several lines of writing on each page. A guitar laid on top of a dresser, threatening to fall off. When the boy tugged on her hand to lead her in, she stood her ground.

“Your room is filthy, I’m not sleeping in here. We can both sleep on the couch for all I care,” she said, looking him straight in the eyes. He tilted his head and looked around the room as if she were seeing things. Iseul let go of his hand and turned around.

“I’ll be downstairs if you need me, goodnight!” she called out from the end of the hallway. Turning right led into a dead end. She spun around and came face to face with a crossed-arm Jinyoung who had his right eyebrow raised. She ignored him and tried to walk past. He stopped her and put one arm around her shoulders and the other behind her knees, forcing her to fall into him. He picked her up and carried her.

“Let’s go the guest bedroom,” he said while turning a corner and started down the stairs.

The next morning Isuel woke up in the bed alone. She sat up and took inventory of her surroundings until she noticed a note on the bedside table. The girl got on her feet and picked up the piece of paper. In sloppy delicate writing it told her that Jinyoung left for work and would be back with his father around nine. After that he would show her something. She sat the note down and walked out of the room. Two steps down the hall led her to the living room. She found the remote and clicked the power button. According to the channel selector on screen, it was half past noon. The girl had no idea what time she fell asleep last night, but she wasn’t tired anymore.

Iseul laid on the couch and stared at the ceiling. With no one to call and nothing to do for almost