The next morning, Heeyoung awoke to a calming, mellow song she’d set for her morning alarm. Reaching over to where her phone lay on the bedside table, and with her eyes still shut tight, she turned it off. Heeyoung took a deep breath and lazily threw an arm over her eyes as though she was arguing with herself to either get up and get ready for the day, or burrow deeper into the covers and never emerge.

A wet sensation rubbed up against her skin making her open her eyes and glance down at the arm that lay at her side. Minmin was busy giving her early-morning kisses. When he caught sight of her looking at him, he wagged his tail and scurried over to her where her face lay propped up against the pillows.

"Morning Minmin-ah. Don’t worry, I’m up.” she yawned and sat up, rubbing Minmin behind the ears as she did so. It was then that the events of the previous night came back to her and she sat back in bed stunned. Had it been some sort of weird dream? Perhaps her over-extended mind had played tricks on her. After all the math she’d been doing last night, she couldn’t deny the possibility that she’d fried her brain and begun to hallucinate.

Putting on her slippers, she unlocked her bedroom door and stealthily snuck down the hall. As the living room opened up in plain view before her, she put her hand to to stifle a gasp. The man still lay on her couch, and from the looks of it, he hadn’t moved an inch. Tiptoeing back to her room, she grabbed her phone that had charged through the night. She dialled her boss at her first part-time job.

"I’m sorry, sir.” she said quickly when her boss answered the phone, “An emergency came up, and it looks like I won’t be able to come into work today.” Her boss quickly asked if she was alright. After explaining a little bit of the situation, she hung up and proceeded to call her other two part time jobs, and let them know she wouldn’t be coming in that day either. Once that was done, she decided to at least get ready for the day so she could take the unconscious man to the hospital. They definitely needed to take a look at him.

She began rummaging through her closet for a set of clothes. When she had loaded her arms full of all she’d need, she scurried into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

Kang Heeyoung loved taking showers. She loved how clean and fresh she felt when she’d finished with one. Relaxing under a spout of hot water just did wonders to one’s mentality. Despite the medical drama case lying a room away, she took her sweet time, and when she was finished, she let out a blissful sigh of contentment. She dried herself and wound her hair up under a towel. She dressed for the day in a dark pair of jeans, and a long, white-knit bulky sweater that reached a couple inches above her knees. Then, she proceeded to towel dry her hair. Since she wasn’t going into work that day, she decided to let her hair air dry instead of using a hair dryer like she normally did.Placing her feet back into her slippers, she padded back out into the main living area connected to the kitchen. She glanced at the man who still lay passed out on her sofa with worry. Hurriedly snatching up her phone, Heeyoung called the nearest hospital.

A young, female voice answered the call. It took a moment for Heeyoung to repeat to her the story of what had happened the previous night. She opted out of telling the girl on the line that the mysterious man had fallen randomly out of the sky, and just said he’d taken a nasty fall, but she hadn’t been in a place to get medical help. So she’d taken him home, and now wanted to know what to do with him.

"Hmmm…” the girl on the line sounded slightly bored, as she said, “Well first, we’ll need to know how seriously he’s been hurt. If you follow my instructions, I’ll tell you how to check his basic vitals first.”

"Aren’t you listening to me?” Heeyoung blurted. “This man is unconcious. He hasn’t moved a muscle all night long, and for all I know, he could die any minute! This is very serious, so if you can send an ambulance over, right now, I’d really appreciate it.”

"We’ll be happy to send an ambulance as soon as we determine the situation.” the girl droned, “Since it’s already been hours since he fell, we need the basic vital information for our regulations here. We thank you for your patience and accommodation.”

Heeyoung shook her head in frustration. What was with the medical personnel lately? Realizing they wouldn’t be sending her any help unless she checked on the man’s vitals, she sighed in defeat and headed over to him. She knelt on the floor next to the sofa. From there, she followed the instructions for taking the man’s pulse, she felt his forehead to see if he had a fever, and she relayed his height and age to the best of her estimation to the girl on the phone.

"Alright. Finally, since you said he fell, we’ll need you to check for any excessive bruising, or for cracked ribs, punctured lungs etc.”

"And just how am I supposed to do that?” demanded Heeyoung, “Isn’t that your job?”

"It’s easy. Just check around his stomach for bruises, and press lightly around his ribs to see if there is any swelling or tenderness.”

"You want me to what?” Heeyoung turned red at the thought of poking and prodding a stranger. What if she messed up?

"Are you going to do it or not?” the girl on the line asked as if she were beginning to grow impatient.

"Fine! I’m going. I have to set the phone down first.” She laid her phone gingerly on the coffee table, and carefully removed the blanket from off the man. His clothes were so strange. Again, she marvelled at their unique look...how was she supposed to remove such a complicated looking garment? Her eyes alighted on a buckle, and she reached out for it. Tentatively, she loosed it and pulled it back. With it, the rest of the shirt fell away from his front easily enough. As she brushed the shirt aside, she noticed a hard, bulky object fall from its folds onto the floor.

Picking up the object, she took a closer look. Realization dawned on her features and she almost dropped what she was holding. It was a knife! It was a beautiful, simple knife, that somehow took her breath away... but it was still a weapon. Gasping, she stared at the weapon, turning it over in her hands.

Why does a person like him have a knife? Is he dangerous? Some sort of thug? Did I just bring a gang member into my home?!  She tore her eyes from the golden hilted, sheathed blade in front of her to glance at the stranger, and her heart almost stopped.

A pair of brown, almost black, hypnotic eyes were staring back at her.

With a startled yelp, Heeyoung fell backwards banging her head on the edge of the coffee table. She hissed in pain, and rubbed her hand against the back of her head. But her eyes soon made it back to the stranger who had, in one fluid motion, sat up. As he moved, she saw that he was, indeed bruised, but the bruises were practically faded, as if they’d disappear any moment. His dark eyes never left her for a moment.

Scrambling to her feet, and stumbling backward to place the coffee table between herself and him, she stared at him wearily. There was a prolonged silence that ensued. She waited until she couldn’t stand it anymore, and finally she said, “Nol, kenchana? (Are you alright?)”

The man just stared at her, not saying a word.

"Are you really ok?” she asked again, “You fell out of the sky. Technically, you should be dead...I mean...but obviously you’re not...So um...that’s good.”

Mentally she face palmed herself. Oh way to state the obvious. You’re not dead. Pathetic!

The man continued to stare. He looked at the knife dangling from her hand, down at his bare torso, and back up at her. His expression seemed to be asking her just what in the world she’d been trying to do, undressing him while holding his knife.

"Oh, that.” Heeyoung cried quickly her cheeks starting to heat up, “It’s really not what you think. I swear. I’m not...that is, I would never...the people I called at the hospital asked me to check your vital signs to see if you’d sustained any serious damage, you know, when you fell from the sky and all. So I was just checking to make sure you um...didn’t have any broken bones or anything…”

The man raised a fine eyebrow.

"Um...well...I guess you don’t have any broken bones, considering you’re able to move and it doesn’t seem to cause you any pain…”

Babbling again.

She stopped, and took a deep breath. When she felt like she’d calmed down enough, she eyed the man in front of her. “Yah. Just who are you? What’s your name? And why are you carrying a knife?” she held up the knife to prove her point.

Instead of answering, the man reached out his hand, palm up; he looked at the knife and then at her, an expectant expression, similar to that of Mimmin when he wanted a treat gracing his features.

Does he want his knife back? Instantly, she hid the knife behind her back, “I don’t think so. I don’t know who you are, or what kind of person you are. I’m not giving some random stranger a weapon. I’m sorry. You’ll have to answer my questions first.”

The silent stranger didn’t seem to be listening. His expression hardened when he saw her hide the knife behind her back.

Instantly, with inhuman speed, the man was on his feet. Heeyoung blinked. She hadn’t even seen him move. He was suddenly just standing. Her stomach clenched uncertainly as she realized, she might be way out of her depth with this man. If he could move that fast, he didn’t even need a knife to be able to hurt her.

In fluid-like movements, the man strode around the coffee table and grabbed her arm. Heeyoung let out an alarmed cry as, in one smooth motion, he’d flipped her arm over her head, and twisted her wrist (though not hurting her, it was uncomfortable enough) making her drop the knife. It fell into his open palm. When he had what he wanted, he released her, and she began massaging her wrist.

A high-pitched yipping followed by outraged growling filled the air. Like a little blur, Minmin flew at the man, coming to Heeyoung’s rescue. The man, seeing the toy yorkie charging him, stumbled back, eyes wide. He silently turned and leaped onto the sofa just as Minmin began pawing at the sofa, being too small to jump onto it. The man stared uncertainly at the snarling dog, and his eyes darted back to Heeyoung. If Heeyoung didn’t know better, she’d say this man with the knife was afraid of her toy yorkie.

The sight was so ridiculous, that she started laughing, in spite of herself. The man looked confused at her reaction. But his eyes were soon back on the dog in front of him. With a snap of his wrist, he unsheathed his knife and pointed it at the little bundle of fur, brandishing it threateningly.

“"No!” Heeyoung cried, rushing forward. Instantly, she caught Minmin protectively up in her arms and glared at the man with the knife. “He’s just trying to protect me! If you kill him, you’re dead! Arasso?”

Seeing that she now had Minmin under control, the man settled himself slowly back onto the couch. He eyed Minmin wearily, and she eyed his knife wearily. When he saw her glancing at the knife, he flashed her a brilliant let’s-start-over smile, and placed the knife deliberately back on the coffee table and raised his arms in the universal sign of surrender.

Heeyoung blinked in surprise. The man looked pointedly at Minmin and then at his knife.

Oh. He wants a compromise! If he puts away his knife, I have to put away Minmin.

Instead, Heeyoung smiled, turned, and plopped down next to the man on the couch. He recoiled at the nearness not only of her presence, but the presence of the yapping dog in her arms.

"Don’t worry,” Heeyoung laughed at his expression. “He’s harmless. I promise. Minmin, it’s ok. He’s a friend. You two boys need to be nice to each other, ok?” she told the dog. Minmin accepted her words with a quiet yip and a few soft thumps of his tail. Heeyoung hugged him and then turned her attention to the man next to her.

"This is Minmin. I’m Heeyoung. What’s your name?”

The man stared daggers at the dog and didn’t reply.

"Look, he’s not dangerous. Have you never seen a dog before?” Heeyoung asked. She deliberately made an exaggerated show of petting Minmin, and demonstrated how to rub him behind the ears. The puppy hummed in content.

"Now it’s your turn.” She pointed at the man’s hand, and then at Minmin. The man stared at her with an expression that said, You’ve got to be kidding me. I have to touch that little monster?

But slowly, he steeled himself and carefully reached out towards Minmin. Minmin, upon seeing the stranger reaching for him, let out a warning growl. Immediately the man snatched his hand back.

"Minmin, I toldyou to behave,” frowned Heeyoung. “Come on. Try one more time. It’ll be alright, I promise.” she said to the stranger gesturing for him to try again. But he refused.

"Oh, alright then. But no trying to kill my dog.” She placed Minmin back on the floor and he regally strutted from the room. Heeyoung rolled her eyes at the dog and smiled fondly, “He can be so dramatic at times.”

The man watched Minmin until he was sure the dog had left the room. Then he turned his eyes back to Heeyoung.