Jongsuk was wandering in a lonely street. Even with a crappy hand written map from Krystal in his hand, he was still lost. Normally, he’s good with directions even in unfamiliar places but perhaps; luck was not on his side tonight.  If only he had not been too much of a coward to ask, “Where is the nearest mart?” it would have saved him some time to stroll around. At least before Krystal return from work. Stupid phone, why do you have to be on low battery now?

“Excuse.” he asked a man who was leaning on a car just a few meters from him. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt with a pair of loose jeans. A cap covered his blonde hair. On him was a set of earphone and he seemed to be deep in thought. Feeling emotional in this starry night, dear lad? Nevertheless, the man seemed trustworthy and Jongsuk was desperate to return home. He inched closer to him when the man suddenly straightened up and walked ahead. – ignoring him.

“Aish… seriously” he muttered. Jongsuk’s voice must be inaudible due to the music blasting from his ears. 

He started to walk faster, taking larger steps towards the man when suddenly his head ached. His vision was blurred and it didn’t take long for everything to turn pitch-black. Soon, he was lying unconscious on the cold hard ground.

On the next day, he woke up to the aroma of porridge filling the living room. Jongsuk rubbed his tired eyes and whimpered at the stinging sensation on his face. His head felt awful! Not only that, the morning ray shining from the window pane was terribly blinding his eyes.

“Good noon, clown.” she greeted him with a delicious bowl of porridge in her hand. Insults, insults. Those are the only thing that frequently escaped her lips. Krystal then placed the bowl on a small wooden table and began to examine his swelling face. “Your cheekbones are too high, no wonder it’s a target of beating.” she joked, but he didn’t respond. Besides his cheekbones, there were also visible bruise on his forehead.

“I think you were robbed last night” she said while eyeing him.

Jongsuk didn’t need that information to explain last night’s incident. His missing watch was an ultimate proof. Even a fool could easily predict it’s worth just by taking a glance at the silver-toned metal circling his wrist. Sure, owning a branded watch was a luxury but what bugged him more was that it’s a gift from his late mother - which didn’t even last a year. The man actually looked familiar to him but what exactly is his identity? He was positive he had seen him before. Was it in the airport? Or was he the man who kept on following them yesterday?

He grabbed the bowl on the table and carefully sipped the warm porridge. No use crying over spilt milk.

“Can you please brush your teeth first?” she said disgustingly. For the first time in his three days spent with her, Jongsuk found himself wanting to shut with an adhesive cello tape. This is really not the right time to fool around.

Silent lingered among their midst for a few second before he finally responded, “I’ll have to brush my teeth after eating anyway so do the environment a favor and save water” with an expressionless face. Obviously, Krystal was not the cause of the robbery so it indeed is a foolish idea to get mad at her. Especially considering how much she had taken care of him before this.

“I’ve applied ointment to your bruises.” she muttered. Sorry I can’t afford to send you to the hospital.” She then directed her attention towards the window opposite them. Not bearing to look at his bruised face any longer. She felt sorry for him for having to experience this, especially on his first vsit to her current home.

Jongsuk didn’t feel the need to utter a word to her but that doesn’t mean he was not grateful for her effort. He just gave him a subtle smile and continued to savor his porridge. After an hour of small talk, Krystal finally left him for work. Of course she won’t stay long just to babysit him. After all, he’s a big boy now. He should be able to take care of himself well. Not that he was badly injured. A bit of bruises here and there but walking was still an easy job.

Anyway, he was in a state of boredom and neither napping nor sleeping was a satisfaction. His phone was stolen so simply making phone calls and surfing the net are impossible. For a moment, he just stared at the ceiling with absolutely nothing to do.

“Why do I have a feeling that today is an important day?” he pondered. His mind seemed to be persuading him that there’s a significance today’s date brought. But what? Is someone celebrating their birthday or anniversary today? Or was he assigned with any duty that should be completed today?

Suddenly, a smile slipped his face. That was it! It’s Krystal’s birthday. He ought to do something but with no cash in hand, buying gifts are impossible. Finally, the lad stood up and approached the kitchen. He opened the small refrigerator and frowned at the sight of it. There were two carrots, about half a dozen of eggs and sausages. Other than that, most of the space was occupied with mineral waters and tins of diet coke. Next, the cupboard. Too bad all he found was just canned corns, packets of instant noodle and snacks.

“She really needs to stock up on groceries” he mumbled while cutting a bulb of garlic and two onions into pieces. Then, he heated the pan with a little too much of oil and just added in the raw materials. Jongsuk may not be a good cook but cooking could not be that hard, right? You just have to throw the ingredients in and wait for the delicious aroma to enter your nostrils. It’s that simple.

Smiling at his boiling egg soup, he bragged, “I bet this taste better than the traditional seaweed soup” And when he did taste his dish, he knew he had spoken too soon.

“Krystal-ah, where did you put your salt and MSG?” he frantically searched for it. Not in the cupboard, and definitely none in the refrigerator. Did she hid it to avoid Jongsuk ‘stealing’ her groceries?

Not long after, he smelled something burning and turned to the stove. “Fire!” he rapidly tried to put out the fire but his effort was up to no avail. He then ran out of the house to search for help. Thankfully, the next door neighbor was present and quickly rang the fire station. Jongsuk borrowed his phone to call Krystal but since he lost his phone, he had no idea what her contact number was. However, he knew someone who can provide it for him. And that person was the one who were supposed to be celebrating her birthday today, not Krystal.

Her legs felt like it could give up any time soon, but Krystal ignored them. Instead, she dashed across the street like a mad woman with her teeth clenched. It’s a wonder how she managed to escape any accident.

Upon reaching her shared ‘half-cooked’ low-cost house, her eyes darted all over the place in search for the figure she desired for. That was when she spotted him. “How dare you?” The house had been reduced to a pile of rubble, ashes, and items  “I let you stay in my house and even feed you but you repay me like this?” she pointed her finger at the man who was shaking in fear. The tone of her voice rose and Jongsuk knew better than to fight fire with fire; especially since he was already defeated with one.

After noticing the man’s traumatic state, she tried to calm herself down. Burying her face in her hand, she squatted down and he mimicked her action. “What happened?” she said. However, he just kept his mouth shut. If she had come earlier, she may have witnessed the terrifying scene before her eyes. Part of the house engulfed with fire while the firefighters worked together to put off the monster before it increase in size. The street was full of people, wanting to catch a glimpse of the incident. That was exactly why Jongsuk did not want her to witness the incident as he was afraid she might be traumatized. Though it may not be the best decision, it was certainly better to let her come when everything calmed down. After the street was evacuated and the police were done with their short investigation.

When he found her enraged eyes, words slipped his lips, “Umm… a fire broke out, the firemen came, fire put off” The putrid smell still lingered around the neighborhood but at least not as overpowering as before.

“You know that’s not what I meant!” she shouted. At this rate, Jongsuk is reconsidering dying in the fire instead of in her hand. Then, a figure shadowed them from the scorching sun.

“We have to secure this place to avoid further break out so please claim your valuables.” A fireman informed them. Funny how he expected them to find any treasure in that messed up house. Krystal went inside with heavy steps. Her bedroom alongside the kitchen was half gone while the living room seemed to be in a questionable condition. Tears threatened to fall as she wondered just what will happen to her next. Hell after hell was all life was to her.

What will Kris do if he found out?

A/N: I hope this is slightly better than my past chapters. Thanks for the support ^^