The alarm clock, thoughtfully moved away from the nervously kicking arms and legs, rang at exactly six in the morning with a nasty squeak, eliciting an agonizing groan from Yunho.

How wonderful life is, damn it, especially before work! Especially when your neck is stiff from an uncomfortable position. Especially when you wake up wet from the heat because your apartment is under the roof, even though the sun hasn't even reached half its strength yet. And especially when--

"Oh, f-ing hell!"

...when there's a man sitting next to you and you actually live alone.

The dark-haired boy, whose face was hidden by long strands of hair, was sitting on his left side, seemingly staring out of the window or at the wall, although Yunho clearly remembered - now that he recalled the events of the previous day - that he had put him to bed in the evening.

"Ugh, I'd already forgotten," he breathed out and clutched his heart, "I brought you in yesterday. Were you even asleep?

The boy didn't turn around or give any sign that he understood or even heard. How long he had been sitting like this, if he had fallen asleep during the night, and when he had woken up, if he had wanted something - all this would remain a mystery, because silence accompanied every question, and Yunho, who had slept with these thoughts, did not expect an answer.

So, good morning sunshine... Though it could have been worse: the habitual, unfilled space of empty life smiled much less than the strange neighborhood with a harmless stranger.

"Get up, Toadstool," Yunho crawled to his guest on all fours, looked him in the face and smiled. Unfortunately, his eyes hadn't lifted since yesterday, and he wasn't looking out of the window, as it seemed, but at the ground - still. "Come on, let's get cleaned up, or the crows will make a nest on my head... And why do you look so good in the morning? Have you seen yourself?"

He sat down across from him, lifted his own hand and tucked the boy's long curls behind his ear.

"So soft... Are you a model or something?" he whispered, turning the boy's face by the chin. He clucked unhappily when he saw the yellow bruise, which looked much paler in the dim light of the lamp than it had this morning. "I'm sorry for touching you without permission, but... who did this to you, huh? It takes a lot of effort to hit yourself with this place..."

There was a large one on the right side of his chin and across his jaw, and another one just above his temple that Yunho hadn't noticed at first. It must have hurt a lot... And he couldn't even complain.

*

"Come on, come on," Yunho mumbled as he gently pushed the boy's back into the bathroom, "fresh breath is the key to not getting cursed by the especially nervous ones on the way. Don't tell me I have to do it for you, okay? Ah... you can't, actually."

Yunho chuckled, left his ward at his side and opened the door of the small cabinet above the sink.

"Lucky for you, I was just about to replace my old toothbrush," Yunho unpacked it and, full of hope, lifted Toadstool's hand, took the brush in his fingers, and - oh, miracle! - he held it up. "You are not hopeless! Wait a minute, let me get the toothpaste."

More excited than ever, he grabbed the tube, squeezed some out, and stared expectantly at the boy and the brush. It took about twenty seconds before his hand lowered smoothly and a pea of paste fell to the floor in slow motion.

"Hopeless as well," he said with a sour note in his voice. With his lips pursed, Yunho took the toothbrush, squeezed out the toothpaste again, and with his other hand, pulled the boy's lower lip away and put the brush in his mouth. He started brushing and said: "This is not how I imagined the beginning of a friendship, you know? Not that I have much experience, anyway. I had a good friend in school once, and then he moved away, and I haven't seen him since. A great guy by the way, I'd like to know how he's doing now... But don't worry, bud, I won't let you down and your teeth will shine more than ever... Friendship is like marriage, isn't it? Through fire and water, in sickness and in health. Open your mouth wide... What was I talking about? Oh, teeth. I hadn't thought of that. How are we going to rinse your mouths?

He frowned for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed: if he held up a glass of water, the boy would probably just swallow it along with the paste. But you can't just leave it like that... When he came to his senses, Yunho ran the brush over the boy's teeth again, thinking hard but finding no alternatives.

"I doubt you'd want to drink that dubious cocktail instead of coffee," he nodded to himself and turned to the sink to rinse the brush, when his gaze accidentally fell on the shower stall next to him and something suddenly clicked in his head. "I was born a genius!"
With a grin, Yunho picked up the shower head, twirled it in his hands, then nodded again and pulled the hose toward him, placing it in the sink. Leaving Toadstool standing there, he took the only chair in the room, came back and sat him down so that his head hung in the washbasin. The convenience was questionable, of course: standing behind him, he had to turn on the water with one hand, hold the shower with the other, and open Toadstool's mouth with the third. The third hand was unfortunately not available, so one hand - the left one - had two tasks. So he took the shower with his right hand, pointing it slightly to the side, and grabbed the faucet with the other. He turned the faucet sharply - just accidentally pulled harder than necessary, and ...

The pressure hit with full force, drenching him and everything around him, but worse: while Yunho was distracted, his right hand turned and sent the stream straight into the poor guy's face, who coughed as the jets hit his nose. Grunting, Yunho hastily turned the tap back on and slapped the boy's back in frustration - as long as he doesn't suffocate! Cursing himself with all the curses he knew, Yunho listened to Toadstool cough for several minutes. Water dripped from his hair.

"Well, we washed our faces at the same time," he muttered miserably, pulling off his wet t-shirt. "And I even took a shower..."

The good mood was gone. Yunho grabbed a towel from the hook and wiped Toadstool's face and hair.

"Okay, even geniuses don't get it right the first time... I almost killed you, Toadstool," Yunho wrinkled his nose in guilt and patted him on the back, but the boy didn't look too displeased, although he did cough from time to time. "I'm sorry, I've never been able to take care of anyone before... But I'll learn, I promise."

Meanwhile, there were still a few things to do in the morning. There was nothing to feed them, but coffee - instant coffee with a sour aftertaste that made Yunho cringe and drink a liter of water for a long time - with a spoonful of sugar should do something to mask the hunger. In theory.

"Work, shopping and a proper dinner were on the agenda. But first... You know what, my friend..." Yunho bit his lip, thinking about the fact that they had generally failed to satisfy the most logical and basic need. "Toilet. I need one. So do you, I think. You didn't eat much last night, but you drank.

He turned around thoughtfully and stared at the toilet as if he'd seen it for the first time. The color rose to his cheeks as his imagination conjured up images of what to do next.

"Not sure... Why don't I just walk out of here and shut the door behind me? Do you think that would work, Toadstool? Can you figure it out? "He didn't have much hope, remembering the toothbrush, but it was worth a try. Yunho lifted the boy from the chair, turned him around and announced solemnly: "Look! It's an ordinary toilet, you've probably seen one before. I'll be back in a few minutes, okay? In the meantime... Well, do it... anyway."

Clenching his fists in a gesture of support, he stepped back and covered the door. He let out a long breath: why hadn't it occurred to him when he'd decided to bring home a man who wasn't of this world? Such... private moments were just obvious! After counting to one hundred, Yunho carefully looked inside. His eyes involuntarily rolled back in despair: the guy hadn't moved an inch.

"Okay. Fine! You asked for it!" Yunho approached him and turned him around in two decisive steps. "You could've made it less awkward, Toadstool."

Yunho's cheeks burned stubbornly as he fumbled for the button on the boy's jeans and pulled down the zipper, his eyes darting over every dried drop and divot on the tile, only to be confronted with something he wasn't ready to face yet.

"I'm not looking, I'm not looking, don't worry," he muttered under his breath, stripping off clothes. "And we're both guys, so don't be embarrassed when you wake up."

Contrary to his words, no one in the room was more embarrassed than he was - Toadstool let himself be undressed indifferently and sat on the toilet, unconcerned and outrageously calm. From the sounds that soon followed, it was clear that at least this time there would be no problems.

"One less headache," Yunho whispered, leaning his forehead against the cold tile. He waited for a moment and then looked at the familiar stranger with a heavy sigh. "Feeling better, huh? Of course you do. How long did you put up with it when you couldn't even go to the toilet?

While he was dressing him, Yunho was surprised to see that the long and wide t-shirt the boy was wearing covered everything that should have been covered. It also made Yunho's shoulders look wider.

Tension, as it were…

*

"Well, it's dangerous," he said with a shrug, leading Toadstool with him. "I don't know what to do with you yet... You stay inside while I work, okay? I'll come and look in when I break, and you can still see me through the window if you want to. I'll walk back and forth, wash cars... We'll get you something to eat for lunch... I'll wait until tonight. Actually, it's a shortened day, so it shouldn't be too long. Well, here we are.

It was a short walk from the house to work, about seven minutes at most.
Strangers were not forbidden in the workroom, or rather, there were no rules as such, but it was difficult to explain to the other workers what a stranger was doing there, studiously ignoring everyone. "Psychological problems," Yunho said with an earnest look, cutting off further questions with a single glance. A relative with no one to take care of him - that was the excuse he'd made up on the fly. It worked well, but... it might raise more questions in the future, so the first item on the plan was to take care of his new friend.

During his lunch break, he ran to the store, bought some prepared food in a plastic container, and fed Toadstool while he sipped his coffee and took care of the second item: he typed in an internet query about missing people and their search. Fortunately, Seoul was quiet, and on the one hand he would be frustrated not to find any clues, but on the other hand... Yunho looked up and checked out the guy.

On the other hand, he was too engrossed in what had happened so far, a bright spot outlining the loneliness that had become familiar.

There was no desire to return to the emptiness of home.

On top of that, Toadstool wasn't annoying, even if you took into account all sorts of embarrassing situations. Of course, he was a poor conversationalist, but a great listener! Unaccustomed to talking, Yunho for some reason did not feel tired, only relieved.

It was two hours after lunch before they could finally leave with their paychecks in their pockets.

"At home, we will carefully calculate everything and distribute it over the month. We have to divide everything, Toadstool," Yunho said, "because there's two of us now. Wait here, I'll get my umbrella."

The black clouds made it look like late afternoon. The rain pelted the pavement, spraying dusty drops, but he still had to go shopping, because Yunho never liked to see pale and emaciated people, especially when he was confronted with them every day.

*

With this weirdo in his house, his life had become a living hell, and Yunho only now realized how much trouble he was in. Feeding him, putting him to bed, washing him... Damn drivers and puddles!

Too bad the umbrellas didn't protect from the cars that decided to drive on the sidewalk in the rain, even when they saw pedestrians. Yunho realized that he and Toadstool would have to do this sooner or later - he was thinking about a future life together while he worked - but he didn't want to force things unnecessarily.

Thanks to the notorious drivers and all sorts of bad weather, the need had come sooner than he had expected.

Well, no matter how difficult the future life seemed to be, in retrospect, if he hadn't taken the boy with him, he wouldn't be alive anymore, and then Yunho wouldn't be able to live in peace. It was strange and embarrassing to take care of a stranger, yes, but it was not hard, and the effort paid off, which pleased him: after lunch, Toadstool had acquired a healthy blush and no longer looked so deadly white.

Only the problem of bathing remained unsolved.

"Pull yourself together and do it, Yunho, he can't walk around in mud for the rest of the time!" he tried to put himself in a better mood by patting his cheeks. "There's no shame in helping or in a human's body!"

Swearing and blushing uncontrollably again, Yunho led him to the bathroom, took off his dirty clothes, threw them into the washing machine, the warm water and helped get him in.

"Listen, dude... I'll rub your back, I'll even wash your head, but beyond that... " Yunho realized the inevitable and examined his ward from top to bottom, feeling how even his ears were getting red. He had made progress in accepting the situation compared to this morning, though, as the inner barrier cracked under the pressure of the realization that there was no one else to help Toadstool. It's just... "I'm not sure you want my help that badly."

He poured the rest of the shower gel into the water, lathered it up with his hands, and sat Toadstool down, wrinkling his nose in embarrassment.

"Well, why don't you go ahead and get soaked now..."

He didn't even have a bathtub, just a shower tray deep enough to fill it. So Yunho didn't worry about leaving him in there for a while - he couldn't drown, and rice couldn't cook itself.

Oh, what a tiring day it could be when the usual routine was suddenly interrupted....*
"Let's make a deal: I'll feed you at the same time every day, and you'll want to go to the toilet at the same time," Yunho said, wagging his index finger. "If it gets to an... embarrassing moment - well, at least no one will die from it, but we'll try to stick to the plan, okay? Great. I knew you'd support me."

Smiling, Yunho took some kimchi from the bowl, put it on the rice and extended the chopsticks towards the guy's face.

"Come on, open your mouth. Like this. Not bad, huh?" he said, tilting his head to the side and resting his chin on his fist.

Among the few remaining functions Toadstool could perform on his own were chewing and swallowing reflexes, so the dance with the tambourine could be temporarily postponed. In contrast to the still embarrassing natural needs: By the end of the day, after everything else had apparently been taken care of, Yunho was gradually less horrified by bathroom questions. He even wiped the boy with a towel and wrapped him in a bathrobe, but the lack of understanding for Toadstool's needs was still very noticeable.

It's not surprising: the beginning is always harder than following a well-trodden path.

"I am glad that you can at least eat. You know, Toadstool, I believe in you. You'll get some rest and then we'll learn something together: how to use the toilet or... I don't know, maybe even how to heat food by yourself. And if that doesn't work... Well, so be it, it'll work out later. Every defeat is the beginning of a new journey that will surely lead you to victory. Or maybe not. I'm not a philosopher, you know, just an ordinary guy... It's just stupid to give up when you want to achieve something. Like me, for example... I think one day I'm going to start my own business. I don't know exactly what I want to do, but something fun, you know... Something that doesn't involve sitting in an office, but seeing different people and places. And I don't even know how to do that or where to get so much money - our salaries just cover our room and board now. But I'm only eighteen... What do you think, will it ever work out?"

In silent agreement - Yunho wanted to believe that - he finished feeding Toadstool, ate himself, and after taking care of the remaining needs, spread out the blankets.

The first day, full of unexpected and embarrassing moments, had come to an end, and from now on...

From now on, they would definitely be fine.