“Was the apartment wall really that thin?” Yuju's friend, Yerin, asked her.

 

Yuju told Yerin about the incident. As usual, Yerin just teased Yuju about it—saying stuff like ‘you might be living with crying ghosts’ and ‘maybe that's just your imagination’ but Yuju knew that it was real.

 

“I don't know,” Yuju said.

 

“What do you mean you don't know? You've literally been there for three years. Of course I wouldn't know myself. I've been there only twice,” Yerin said. Yuju glared at her jokingly.

 

“I'm sure it was my neighbor, but I've been having way too many sleepless nights. I can't have more of those,” she said with a sigh.

 

Yerin pat her back. “I'm sorry I can't really help with that. Maybe you can tell the management about it? Or at least go to a doctor. You might need to drink sleeping pills.”

 

Yuju hesitated. She didn't want to tell the management about the cries she heard, as the neighbor might not be comfortable with other people hearing them cry. She also cannot go to a doctor. She barely has enough money for everyday, and buying medicine would mean more expense and less money for her family.

 

“I'll… I'll try,” was everything she could utter.

 

Yerin smiled. “I'm so sorry I have to leave now. It's very busy at work these days, you know. I'm glad to see you though!” She waved at Yuju while smiling with her eyes. Yuju smiled and waved back at her friend.

 

The rest of the day was usual to Yuju. She was, as always, really tired to stand up from her office desk, but she managed to fix her things and go home while carrying her heavy laptop bag. Her thoughts, however, were drifting away.

 

As she reached her apartment's door, she couldn't help but take a glimpse of the door right next to hers. The door was closed, and the small window next to it was closed too, with a black curtain that can be seen from the outside.

 

‘Seems gloomy,’ she thought but shrugged it off anyways. This isn't her business.

 

She opened the door and because of her heavy bag, she knocked her miniature flower pot over as she made her way to the couch. It was one of the most important things that Yuju has in her small apartment room—it contains the small cactus gifted to her by her high school bestfriend. Yuju pressed her eyes shut and waited for the pot to shatter, but it didn't happen.

 

The flower pot was stopped by a stuffed bear, something that Yuju didn't notice. The stuffed bear, which was a gift from her dad, has long been forgotten by Yuju. Not on purpose though—she was just preoccupied by so many things.

 

Yuju smiled as she fixed the pot and traced her fingertips on the stuffed bear. She lifted the bear, but to her surprise, the money she hid behind it fell off. This was, again, one of the things she forgot she hid there.

 

“I'm getting really forgetful these days,” Yuju chuckled. She picked up the money and hid it back to where it was, placing the bear to hide it once again.

 

Just as she put her laptop on the table, she heard the sobs again. This time, it was quite louder—but still muffled. She ignored the sound and changed her clothes immediately.

 

Walking like her energy was drained, she went straight to her bed and sat on it. She can still hear the crying neighbor clearly, but it had subsided to sobs.

 

Yuju laid down her bed and stared at the ceiling. She sighed. “I can't sleep again…” she whispers to herself. At times like these, she would've hummed a tune; but now, she wasn't in the mood for it. Not now, when her humming can easily be overpowered by the little sobs that she can still hear through the wall.