The downpour is merciless tonight. 

Seulgi could barely feel her hands. She clasps and unclasps them repeatedly hoping she can feel her own touch, but she couldn't. Her footsteps are equal and slow on the magenta pavement. Cars zoom past her, their windshields occasionally slapping rainwater sideways. 

She's soaked from head to toe, senseless in all her limbs. For that she could still walk under the shower is surprising. Lifeless she is, she couldn't even manage a sigh. 

People around her don't heed to her existence. They have raincoats and umbrellas to keep them dry. She looks at every one of them, hoping to spark sympathy by making eye contact. Nonetheless, they walk by her without batting an eye.

A taco restaurant comes into view and she fastens her footsteps. As much as she wishes to die, she didn't want to either.

The air conditioning in the restaurant didn't help. Seconds ago she was shivering, now she is freezing.

There were no unoccupied seats, so she sat right beside the entrance, curled into a ball. Her breath is cold to the the touch of her skin, while her head feels light and her stomach grumbles for just an ounce of matter. 

The entry opens, the sound of rain heightens. Then shuts. A man just entered the restaurant. 

Working boots trample over the wet floor and she looks up. Maybe it's her shaby appearance that caught the eye of this man. Her stained jacket. He pauses and gives her a curious look. Hesitantly, he pries his attention away and approaches the cashier with a list in his hand. Her hope crushed.

Seulgi whimpers. Do people here really have no pity? She has walked from district to district, trying to find someone to help her. 

Many gave her a temporary stay at their homes, but decided to send her to a shelter as they couldn't afford to feed someone that wasn't even their friend and family for the long term.

Each time they brought up the topic of registering her at a runaway shelter she left without a say once they retreat to their bedrooms at night. She didn't want that. She didn't want to go back.

But the people here left her baffled. 

Seulgi bites down the urge to puke. Her back of hurt. And without anything in her stomach to vomit out, she worries that her guts would come up next. This feeling is all so familiar. She needs food and water, fast.

Seulgi blinks when she feels warmth at the side of her head. It pats her head twice. She looks up again to see the same man. His middle age face turning into a smile. 

"Take it." He said. The whirling scent of rice cakes and deep fried squid awakening the mechanics in her arm. She grabs the folded top of the packed food. Her eyes widen, looking up to him to see his reaction. 

The man nods, encouraging her to take it. Seulgi didn't want to seem desperate and loosens her grip. He releases his hold. 

"T-thank you." She said. 

Pit-a-pat. 

The man nudge his head to the side and leaves. Noticing she's still on the floor, he

pats her shoulder. "Come with me."

–––

Vroom. The streets lights blind her. In an average mpv, they ride off on the highway, without air-conditioning and the window wind down. Cool is the air slapping onto her face. But she's freezing. Her orange windbreaker sits on her lap, so her clammy skin's to the breeze. 

She takes the packet of food to her nose, sniffed it, then unfolds it. With one whole bite she forces the whole Mexican dish down , so eager to finally eat something decent. Mr Bae sees her action and grins, he's amused. 

The man looks over from the wheel, his thick brows lifted. 

"What's your name?" 

She contemplates on whether to tell him her real name. She goes by the nickname Rowoon on the streets. She's tired of it. opens. She almost choke on thin air. The words don't come out. "I......" She swallows and sighs. 

"Seulgi." She managed, shutting her eyes to clear out her thoughts. At the very blink, she saw a small smile grow on the man's face. 

"Call me Mr Bae." 

Mr Bae. Noted. She rubs her hands together. 

"Thank you, Mr. Bae."

The clicks of the signal grabs her attention and her eyes go wide. They've reached a wide property with a black six foot gate. 

Mr Bae invites her to the living room. 

—

Three light knocks on her room door made Joohyun jump and look up from her phone.

 “Yeri what do you want?” She questions and waits for a reply, but was greeted by her father opening the door and walking in.

“Oh hi dad.. Is anything wrong?” She frowns slightly, putting her phone down and sitting up straighter. 

Mr Bae leans on the side of the door frame and motions outside. “I have someone I want you to meet.” 

Weird. They usually don’t have visitors over. Who on earth did Joohyun’s father bring home this time?

“Go get your sister. I’ll meet you two in the living room alright?” He pats Joohyun lightly on her shoulder and leaves the room.

She follows after him, but turns to the direction of Yeri’s room. She knocks repeatedly on the door. “Yerim-ah, open the door.” 

Joohyun hears some shuffling, a loud thump, something that sounded similar to a groan. 

The door swings open.

“Hi unnie..” The older girl squints at the eleven year old standing in front of her, then looks at where the girl is rubbing her elbow, wincing. 

“Did you.. fall off your bed? Again?” Awkwardly, the younger girl laughs and scratches her head. “Why did you call me out?” She changes the subject. 

“Dad says there’s someone he wants us to meet.. not sure who or why, but that’s all he told me.” Joohyun says, then pulls Yeri forward slightly to inspect her elbow. “Be more careful next time.” She slings her arm around Yeri, flash her a smile, and they are off to the living room. 

Joohyun's been expecting to see someone who looked around her father’s age, perhaps a colleague or an old friend of his stopping by to catch up, but what she sees is the complete opposite.

There a stranger is, a girl that looked young, similar aged, sitting at the side of their living room couch while clenching onto her bright orange windbreaker. Her wet dark brown locks stick to the sides of her face, and only upon further inspection did Joohyun just realize the girl was soaked from head to toe, clothes and all. It tells her she's just got out of the storm. 

“Um.. dad.” Joohyun hesitantly calls out to the man.

“Who is this?” Her gaze switches back to Seulgi for a second, then back at her father. Yeri goes over to the couch and be seated  beside Seulgi who remained stiff as a rock.

“Hi my name’s Yerim. But Yeri’s fine.” When Seulgi doesn’t respond, Yeri asks another question. “Do you... need a towel? Yeah you need a towel alright.”

The girl looks over at her father as if waiting for approval. When she receives a light nod, she holds onto Seulgi’s hand and tugs on it. “Let’s go, I know where to find a towel.” 

—

Seulgi follows the young girl into the brightly lit hallway. Yeri skips all the way, in a giddy, cheerful sense. Seulgi exhales heavily through her nose, searching her memory for a time she did the same. Failing to do so, she smiles with eyes on the marble floor, hands clenched to her sides. Of course she hadn't.

Yeri retrieves a dry towel from the rack and brings it out of the common bathroom to her.

Seulgi reaches out to take it, but it's then wrapped over her shoulders and her back. "Let me," Yeri smiles, "I don't know you but you look like you've gone through a lot...I'm not really good at comforting people, but I know you'll  be alright!"

Alright. Seulgi swallows an inward scoff. This girl seems too positive, too naive. Eventhough she’s never read many books, she's heard the same general phrases everytime used to comfort her, to give her hope. However.

Seulgi shakes her head. Yeri has good intentions and seems sincere. She shouldn't doubt her kindness, she can see it in her eyes, the innocence she once owned, the energy she once possessed. Yeri reminds her of her a few years back.

Seulgi pulls at the edges of the towel and smiles at the young girl. "Thank you."

A few seconds pass. The dryness throat disturbs her thoughts. She covers to suppress a cough, then looks to Yeri for help. "Can I have a glass of water?" 

"Sure! Wait here." Yeri raises her hand and runs to the kitchen at the back. 

She realizes her heart feels warm as she watches her from behind. How adorable. 

–

It's a whole different story when she sets foot back into the living room. The older sibling, whose name she didn't catch has her arms crossed and an eye raised towards her father, then she notices her presence and stares at her, but only briefly.

"Seulgi, would you mind resting in Joohyun's room tonight? We'll try to make arrangements tomorrow."

Question marks planted all over her face. 

"Dad, didn't I say–"

"It's just one night, Joohyun. I'll make sure to find a space for her."

"But why?"

"It's the right thing to do."

Seulgi watches as Joohyun walks away in a huff, then gazes down at the floor. It's another familiar scene. It's her fault. She faces the father with a lighten expression to show genuine gratitude, for he has been righteous to her.

She chews the insides of . "You don't know me, yet you're doing this, thank you."

"You're welcome." Mr Bae says, scratching his head. "You don't always see a kid looking pale like snow white on a restaurant floor, and a girl that swallows a whole taco in one go."

Embarrassed, Seulgi looks away. "I was, really hungry."

"I figured, and I'll leave the questioning session for tomorrow." Mr. Bae pulls his sleeve, then his hand went to his hips. "And this shouldn't be left unsaid, don't try anything sneaky in my house, understand?" He still looked friendly, but his tone is stern. 

She nods, "I understand." 

"I can sleep in the living room if your daughter is uncomfortable with it."

Mr Bae uncrosses his hands and exhales. "It's alright. I know she doesn't really mind."

Seulgi takes her orange windbreaker from the couch. She subconsciously pinches the outside of the pockets for a rectangular box. It's present.

—

Seulgi's left lingering outside Joohyun's room after she took a shower in the common bathroom. Mr Bae left her a set of clothing, assuring her they were clean, although she heard a lot of noises while washing up. It seemed like he had difficulty finding them. She didn't complain although they were oversized tee and boy shorts since beggers can't choose. 

In fact, she likes them. They're comfortable. 

The purple name plate on the door is her only amusement at the moment, with random carvings and dust sticking at the sides, she can tell it's a creation from years and years back. It's simple and childish but it keeps her entertained just staring at it. 

It's dark outside the window, stars twinkling around a crescent. She sits on the wooden floor and hugs her knees, closing her eyes to get some shut while sleeping upright, a skill she gained while roaming the streets for the past few months. 

So she counts in her head, from one to Infinity.

She falls asleep before counting to ten. 

Seulgi feels her head hit the ground, hearing a scream from above. Her eyes shoot open and sees Joohyun's widening pair looking down at her with a palm on her chest. 

—

“You scared me...” Joohyun’s wide eyes relax slightly when she sees that it’s just Seulgi who made that noise and not some intruder or something. Her hands had scanned over the top of the nightstand beside her bed for her phone ready to call for emergency. 

“Thought you were a burglar.” Joohyun mumbles while placing her phone back down. 

She managed to get her focus back on Seulgi who looks blank, but drowsy. Seems like she interrupted her sleep. 

“Why were you even sleeping out here?” Joohyun furrows her eyebrows in confusion. Her dad did say she's supposed to rest in her room, although she was against it. But as she went up the stairs and walked into her room, she had thought of giving in to the idea when her father approaches her again but he didn't, and assumed he changed his mind and told the teenager to take the couch downstairs. 

Joohyun sighs. She knew that was unlikely of her father. She switches on the lights. 

The girl snaps out of her blank gaze and bow her head. “I was just thinking." Her irises lower to her level. "I guess I fell asleep.”

Joohyun lets out a low hum in response and motions to the mattress at the side. "I can take the mattress. You can sleep on my bed tonight."

Seulgi raises a brow and shakes her head. "No, I can't. It's your room. I'll be fine sleeping on the floor. I'm used to it already." 

Joohyun inhales, wanting to tell the girl she could bear a night on the floor but at the same would savage the chance not to if given the choice. She nods, half-hearted. 

"Alright then, but do tell me if you need anything. I'm sorry if I sounded like an downstairs, I was just–" 

"It's fine," Seulgi waves her off and plops down onto the thin mattress, and Joohyun closes the door. "You're forgiven."

Joohyun climbs onto her bed while Seulgi gets comfortable. Its dark at midnight, and the two of them soon drift off the dreamland. 

Seulgi wakes up seeing Joohyun folding her bed covers. She knows it's her cue to get out of the room, not wanting to meddle in the fellow teen's morning routine. However, she's stopped in the midst of getting out. 

"We've not had a formal introduction have we? So......yeah, i'm Irene, a sophomore at high school. What about you?" 

Seulgi blinks. Irene? Kids her age do like to adopt English names these days. She's never thought of having one, since well, they don't suit her. 

"I'm," She pauses, "Seulgi."

"I'm 17 this year."

Questions. 

"That's a nice name. Where are you from?" 

Answers. 

"Ansan....... Seoul."

"You're here in Daegu alone?" Joohyun stops folding the covers, facing her with disbelief. 

That goes without saying. Seulgi turns her back against Joohyun with head down. The door clicks. 

Word by word she whispers, "I'm always alone."

Tbc. 

A/N: Thanks for reading