It was him again, the caller ID shines a little too bright in the darkness of our bedroom and I reject his call for what feels like the millionth time. Putting my phone down on the bedside table, face down, I see the edges glow as he calls again. Glancing across the bed, I watch her back rise and fall as she sleeps and I sigh, getting out of bed as carefully as I can, I pick up my phone and slide my thumb across the screen. The door clicks softly as I answer in a whispered, "What do you want? It's 4am!". He apologises but asks if I can come out to meet him in the hallway outside the apartment, I groan and agree, just to shut him up and make him go away. Hanging up, I grab my robe, pulling it on and tying the belt tight, I slide on my slippers near the door. Taking care not to be too noisy, I grab my keys and slip them into my robe pocket, the latch clicking as I open the door. For a second I blink, bedazzled by the artificial lighting of the hallway. I pull the door closed behind me and stand with my back against it, the cold making me shudder a little as my warm back touches it. I see him coming and roll my eyes, for a man who sounded so urgent on the phone, he walks like he has all the time in the world. How long exactly did it take him to get here?, he's fully dressed and there's not even a sleepy look on his face, that's annoying. I wait until he gets level with me and press my finger to my lips to show him we need to be quiet, he nods and smirks. It's been so long since i've seen him that I forgot how annoyingly smug he can be, why haven't I deleted his number yet?. He steps closer and I press even harder against the wall, god he smells like he bathed in alcohol, it's on his breath and somehow saturated into his clothes. "Soojung-ah...come home with me..I miss you...come on...just give me a little kiss..for old times...come on..SOOJUNG! COME HERE!!". What started as a slightly too loud whisper, has turned into a shout and I turn my face away from his, which has moved entirely too close as flecks of saliva punctuate his words. He smacks his hand against the wall next to my ear and I feel my heart thumping, the fear in me rises as he carries on insisting I go with him. I feel tears well up in my eyes and I shake my head vigorously in protest. This is why he came?, he said on the phone that he needed to see me but I had no idea he had been drinking or I would have said no. I feel so vulnerable trapped between his arms in little more than my robe and slippers. My face heats up and I slap him in anger, I don't know what made me do it but it works, he stops shouting and presses a hand to his cheek for a second, stunned. It doesn't last long and I realise that my strike has only served to anger him more, I see his face redden and his jaw clench as he raises his hand to hit me, wincing and closing my eyes, I wait for the pain. This is the reason we never worked, this is why I had had to get away from him. I wait and wait but the pain doesn't come, I don't want to open my eyes just yet, so I listen as I slide slowly down the wall. All I can hear in the sound of someone hitting the floor after the soft thud of solid maple wood on skin. I hesitate for a second and open my eyes. A hand reaches down for me and I hear the comforting words: "Don't worry, he can't hurt you now.". I take the hand and feel myself pulled into an embrace, the smell of her makes me feel safe, the warmth of her pressed against me.

A door opens across the hall and old Mrs Ahn steps out, she has her raincoat and hood on, the wheeled trolley she always uses follows her out of the door as she locks it. Looking around, she smiles as she sees us and carries on down the hall, not even noticing his crumpled form just laying there unconcious. For a second, I wonder what she thinks, seeing me in the arms of another woman, has she really changed that much?, I remember her looks of disgust every time I walked hand in hand down the hall with Amber. I think since her husband passed last month, she must have decided there was no point in continuing her judgemental way of living. As I think about it, she turns and ambles over to us, putting a hand on my arm and softly squeezing, she smiles, sparing a momentary glance towards him and looking back at me, her voice is soft as she says, "Good for you." and turns away, walking down the hallway and into the elevator at the other end, the doors sliding closed slowly. I pull away only when my own apartment door opens and a dishevelled and barely dressed Amber pokes her head around the door frame. The arms around me have vanished and I feel the distance between me and my saviour as she steps back into her apartment and closes the door. Amber doesn't notice any of this and a part of me is grateful, she looks at me as she rubs her eyes and emerges fully into the hallway, her messy red hair sticking up in all directions, she's at least managed to put on her shorts pyjamas as she walks over to me and takes my hand, her eyes finding him and goggling. She knows very little about my past relationships but she knows I left him and why. I don't hear anything she says as she holds me at arms length and looks me over, checking for any injuries. I let my arms droop at my sides and my face glaze over as she hugs me tight. There was a time when I would hold her the same way and settle into her embrace but I can't seem to find the feeling in me that makes me want her comforting touch. I can still smell a mix of Mrs Ahn's old lady perfume and her warm musk. I relax, putting my arms around Amber as she holds me, I feel her against me, I feel her breathing softly, I smile and let the memory take me away as I hear the sound of radio chatter and police issues boots down the hall. The door latch to my left clicking and she emerges.