“Seo Yuna-ssi?”

Yuna’s ears perked as she heard her name being called out. She turned away from all the big brown boxes in front of her, and turned to the voice. A stout old man stood there, squinting his eyes from her face to his clipboard, checking her out.

“Are you Seo Yuna-ssi?” he asked again.

“Neh,” she nodded slightly, giving him a warm smile. “Annyeonghaseyo, I’m going to be living in Apartment 412 from now on.”

“Ah, welcome to our building! I’m the guard here, nice to meet you,” he greeted cheerfully. “Do you need any help with moving in?”

He peeked behind her to see if there was anything he could help out. But seeing his shape, Yuna felt bad if she were to ask for help. She shook her head, still maintaining her soft image with the warm smile.

“Ani, I don’t have much stuff with me. It’s just a few boxes. I can do it myself!”

“Are you sure?” he asked again. “Alright then, I’ll leave now. If you need any help, I’ll be at the security office.”

She watched him walk away, before turning back to her things. Well, she was right. She did only have 2-3 boxes with her. She only brought the things she needed the most, which were mostly her clothes and her collection of cameras. She sighed at the box labeled ‘CAMERAS’. She was contemplating on whether she should sell them off when she had decided to move here, but she couldn’t bring herself to do that. She thought of the money she could have gotten if she had sold them off as she placed all her boxes into the elevator.

A ding sound rang as the elevator doors opened to her floor. She carried her boxes all at once and walked unsteadily as she looked for her apartment. Well, it was easy to find. There were only two rooms on that floor and hers was the one on the left. The hallway was quiet, and narrow, as expected from the small old building. The building was located at the very end of a secluded neighborhood, even she had trouble finding it. It was the cheapest room she could afford in that area and she was desperate. She unlocked the door, revealing the empty room.

Immediately, a burst of loneliness entered her soul as the four walls stared back at her emptily. The room was bare, with only a desk in the corner of the room. She put down all her boxes, and quickly set up the room to make it feel more welcoming. But as she unpacked her things, the troubles she was facing suddenly hit her like a brick. She burst into tears, and sobbed as she continued arranging her things. She had been trying not to cry for so long, thinking that if she were to keep up with the smile, she could lessen the burden on her. But the empty room practically screamed out all her pains.

She was done with the unpacking in just two hours, because she really hadn’t brought anything much with her. Her sleeping bag lied lifelessly in the middle of the room, while all her clothes remained in a box at the corner since she hadn’t gotten herself a closet. She stared at the photograph of her dad that she had placed on the desk.

“Appa, ottoke? I don’t know what to do now. I don’t feel safe, even though I know they won’t be able to find me here. Appa, I’m scared,” she mumbled to the lifeless photo.

She wiped off her tears and picked herself up again, patting her face a few times to smile again. She decided to check the area out and also to get some fresh air, and grabbed her coat and ear-flapped beanie, still feeling upset. But as she stepped out of her house, she bumped into a tall guy with pale skin, so contrasting to his dark black messy hair.

He looked down on her, his eyes studying her before looking at her door. “Who are you?”

“Ah, annyeonghaseyo I’m the new tenant here,” she awkwardly answered. “Seo Yuna.”

He didn’t greet back, which she felt was rude of him, but gave her a face which told her that he didn’t really care much about her. She continued standing there, avoiding his eyes as she waited for him to enter his house. She had to admit he was pretty good-looking, giving off a rocker image with his icy cold stare and black leather jacket.

“Hmm, weren’t you going somewhere?” he asked.

“Ah right,” she jumped. “Bye!”

She quickly slipped past him and entered the elevator, glad to be away from him. He didn’t seem the least bit friendly. But she figured that was a good thing since she hadn’t intended to be friendly while she’s here.