Seulgi has a great but not so great life. She’s a college student, typically working in a restaurant to support her life because there’s only her as she’s got no one else to count on to. But, to her dislikes, her employer is such a bastard that she has to endure his snarky, misogynist remarks when he’s not happy with her for whatever reason (she believes it’s her refusing to sleep with him that he’s become like that).

“You can’t even do your work right! Women and their stupid weaknesses!” her employer shouts at her today just because she’s dropped the garbage bags. Seulgi closes her eyes and clenches her teeth as the man goes on and on about her tiny little mistake.

The only reason she stays there is because the pay is quite high other than any of the job she’s applied to. She can use them to buy books and pay for the bills. She’s doing the job for a year and a half, there are 2 years and a half left and she’s swear she’ll quit as soon as she gets her degree.

When her boss finally left the kitchen, it’s only her in the room as everyone has gone back to home. She has to stay and clean up to every mess because that bastard likes to torture her but she’s not going to complaint, he pays her much than she deserves. When she hears the clink of the bell of the main door and it being slammed loudly, she picks up the bags and makes to move to backdoor. Her boss finally leaves the restaurant and it’s only her again in the middle of the night, cleaning the restaurant. When she’s out, she throws the trash bags in the garbage can and goes inside to mop down the floor and do the dishes. It is a tiring work but again she’s paid more than she deserves.

She put on the radio as loud as it can and sings and dance along to every song that is being played. She’s enjoying herself while she can.

BANG!

Seulgi, who is doing the dishes jump and drop the plate she’s been cleaning. It falls to floor and breaks to pieces. Her heart is hammering so hard in her chest, she is trembling. What was that? She gulps down her saliva and stares intently towards the backdoor, waiting if anyone is going to come in. Her eyes catch the set of knives on the kitchen counter and meant to pick the biggest one. She has also pick the metal baseball bat that her colleague put in the kitchen some time ago – “Because you always stay up too late, it’s pretty much dangerous” said her colleague and she’s very thankful to him for it – she walks slowly to the door that leads to the back alley. With her hand that’s holding the knife, she shakily and slowly turns the knob. When the door is slightly ajar, she peaks outside. There is nobody outside. She opens the door completely and crosses the threshold. She looks from left to right of the dimly lit alley. It is empty.

She’s making to go back inside when she finally hears it. Though with the loud music from her radio, she still can makes out the s and grunts in the alley. Her eyes instinctively scan the pavement road and finally she notices a figure lying on the ground next to the falling and misshapen garbage can. It is breathing rather shallowly and it’s leaving the sound of agony and it is muttering something. Though she’s unsure and very much scared her feet take her closer to the lump on the ground. She looks carefully at a distance and with the light made from the very few lamp poles, she at last makes out that it is a human – a man to be exact – badly injured on his left shoulder that is sodden with unmistakeably his own blood.

Seulgi lets out gasps of horror. She drops the knife and the bat and quickly kneels down next to the man who is gasping for air like a fish out of its water. “Sir, are- are you a- alright?” she stammers. She checks for his bloody shoulder and to his wounded face. Her hands are in the air, doing gestures that are meant she doesn’t know what to do with them.

The man however, doesn’t answer her. Instead he is muttering incoherently, words she couldn’t pronounce. “Must warn… tell her… he… they… coming… call… him… Warn… Danger…” she surveys him with such horror and when she catches the word ‘call’ is when it hits her. He needs help! She fishes out her phone from her pocket and starts to dial the emergency number. But when she’s about to press call, the man grabs her hand. She shrieks out of shock. He’s looking at her with his pale and scary face. His eyes wide, nose flaring and face white due to losing so much blood. “No… not ambulance… No… 03…” he gasps in between breaths. He keeps on repeating a line of numbers that she finally realizes he needs her to dial and call it. She does and presses the phone to her ear.

“Hello? Choi’s speaking,” the person on the other line answers.

“H- hello,” she stutters. She seems to lose her ability to speak due to shock. “Hello? Who is there? How can I help you?” the man who answers her call asks with concern.

The grip on her shaking hand tightens and that’s when she gets hold of herself and speaks, “Hello, I don’t who you are but there’s a man… he’s badly injured… he gave me your number… please I don’t know what to do! He’s dying!” she cries out.

“Where are you now?” the man asks sharply as though he already knows who she meant ‘is badly injured’. She gives him their location and the man hangs up instantly without any other question.

She curses under her breath and stands up. She runs back inside the kitchen, picks up a basin and a clean towel. She fills the basin with warm water and runs back out to the alley. She rips off the man’s shirt on the shoulder and she almost throw up her dinner and the sight of his wound. It looks as though the man was bitten by some kind of animal. His shoulder is almost being ripped off and that his hand is going to break apart from the body any moment from now. She takes a shuddering breath and starts to clean the wound gently. The man wails in pain when the wet towel touches his skin. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” she cries. She bites her bottom lips so hard that she tastes iron.

When the water in the basin has turn completely red, she runs back inside and fills it with clean water and does the same routine for two or three times. On her fourth times, when she sprints back out with clean warm water, she stops in her tracks at the sight in front of her and drops the basin that the water wetting her shoes.

The dying man is nowhere to be seen. He’s gone.

A few seconds later, her phone vibrates in her pocket and she takes it out. A message comes in. she opens it,

‘We’ll be in touch.’

It was the number she calls earlier. What does he mean they’ll be in touch? Shaking from head to toe, she runs back inside, locks the door, takes of her apron and her belongings and leaves the restaurant premise as faster as her legs could take her. She doesn’t want to care of how her boss will yell at her about the broken plate nor the bloody sink and the bloody towels with bloody basin the next morning. She doesn’t want to care about anything. All she knows, after she’s get herself cleaned and tuck herself to bed, all of this is just a dream and she’s just dreaming about cleaning someone’s ripped shoulder.