“Luna! Get up! Luna, look at me!” SeungHo shook her. He looked up and down the street and there was still thankfully no one on it. He got her out of the seatbelt and stood her up. She slapped at him weakly, but wouldn't open her eyes. Once he was sure she could stand on her own, he reached into the backseat and pulled out a hat and her bag. “Luna! I need you to look at me. NOW!”

Luna could feel herself being shaken and handled roughly. She fought against the hands because they were making her head hurt worse. Her ears were ringing. She was sleepy, she just wanted to lay back down. It was a chore, but she managed to get her eyes open enough to recognize SeungHo. “It hurts.”

“I know it does, but I need you to walk. I need you to walk away from here while no one is looking. Right now. Here is your bag. Walk away!” SeungHo said urgently as he kept looking around the street. Not sure what else to do, he pulled her after him down the block quickly and sat her on the stairs of a closed store. “Listen to me carefully. Are you listening?”

“Yes.” Luna croaked out after a pause.

“We can't be caught together. The police are on the way and you can not be here when they get here. You understand that, right?” Even as he talked to her, he kept looking around the corner to see if anyone else had shown up to the scene.

“Yes . . . ?” I think? I'm so confused.

“You can't be seen by too many people. Call someone to come and get you. I would do it, but I have to stay with the car,” SeungHo kissed her hard on the forehead and looked in her eyes. He hated to leave her, but he had to. “Get home safely. Go now. Go.”

Luna watched him walk away. Where is he going?, she asked herself. She continued to sit there for a while, trying to figure out what was going on. Thinking made her head hurt. She knew that she was cold, wet and that he told her to go. Go where? Where am I going? Luna leaned her head back against the door of the building and relaxed. No! Get up! SeungHo said 'get up'!

Luna jerked and made herself stand. She wobbled a bit and had to brace herself on the wall. And then she threw up. As she pressed her forehead against the wall, the accident came back to her. They had hit a pole. She remembered the feeling of being thrown forward, then, nothing. Looking around the corner, she saw police cars and an ambulance. Panicked, she took off down the street as quickly as she could. It took all of three steps to realize that her knee hurt. And she was dizzy.

Once she was a few blocks away, she considered herself relatively safe and ducked into a bus stop shelter. What am I going to do? The pain in her knee was bad. She knew she wouldn't be able to go far. With one hand pressed to her temple to stop the pounding, she felt around in the bag for her purse. Where is my purse? She ended up dumping out the contents on the sidewalk. Clothes. Shoes. No purse. No wallet. No cellphone. No money. .

Gathering her things back up, she looked around and noticed the map on the shelter wall. She saw the big, red dot indicating where she was and gasped. She knew where she was. She was about four blocks from YoungBae's apartment. She could make it that far. She started in that direction and stopped. What if he isn't there? What if he won't help? . . . What if he isn't alone? Luna didn't want to show up at his house unannounced. Rubbing her aching head again, she remembered that there was a twenty-four hour convenience store a block away.

When she walked into the store, there was an older man at the counter reading a book. “Excuse me, ahjussi. I need . . .” Think of the word. Think. “Phone.” Luna slurred.

“There's a pay phone on the side.” he told her, not looking up.

“No . . . no money. My purse . . . gone. Need t-to call.” she stuttered out. Luna rubbed her head. What is wrong with me? Everything she was saying sounded right in her mind, but wrong to her ears.

With an aggravated sigh, the man closed his book and looked up. His eyes widened as he took in Luna's disheveled state. “Oh, you're foreign. Did someone steal your purse?” he asked slowly.

“Yes.” We'll go with that. “Need to call friend. He is close.”

“How about we call the police instead? They can—”

“No! I need him! Please.” Luna said forcefully.

“Do you know his number?” the man asked as he reached for the phone under the counter. Luna looked at him blankly. I know this. I know this. I tried to forget it, but I know that I know it. She stared at the keypad and suddenly the number rose through the fog.

“Teul-set-hana-teul . . .” Her mind went blank again. Luna looked on the counter and grabbed a pen. She wrote the number on her hand quickly before she lost it again. The man nodded as he dialed and handed the phone to her.

Please pick up. Please pick up. Please pick up . . .

*****

YoungBae heard his phone ring and rolled over to grab it. He didn't recognize the number, so he hit ignore. He was so tired. He had flown home after finishing a show with JiYong the night before. All he wanted was to sleep the day away.

There was a brief pause, then the phone rang again. He ignored the call again. And then three more times after that. Assuming it was a saesang, he picked it up. “Do you realize what time it is?!”

“. . . Bae?”

YoungBae sat up in his bed and rubbed his hand over his face. “Luna?”

“It's me. I'm calling you. Sorry. But . . . I need your help.”

“What's going on?” He rubbed his forehead in confusion. She didn't sound right. “Luna, have you been drinking?”

“No drinks. Promise,” she said urgently. “Near your house. Can I come?”

“Where are you now?”

“Store near you,” he heard her voice muffle as she asked someone where she was. She doesn't know where she is? That worried him. “Lim Go Market.”

YoungBae knew where that was. “I'll come get you.”

“I can walk. Please let me in?”

“I don't live there anymore, Luna. I moved.” he explained. Even as he spoke, he walked to his door to put on shoes, a jacket, hat and sunglasses.

“You moved? Oh.” Luna sounded very sad.

“Luna, let me talk to whoever you were talking to,” there was another round of muffled speech, then a man came on the line. “Ahjussi? Is she okay?”

“I'm not sure. I think someone took her purse, but she doesn't want me to call the police. She was adamant about calling you. She said she needs you.”

“I can be there in less than ten minutes. Please, watch her for me until I get there.”

“Sure thing,” again with the muffled voice. “She wants to talk to you. Hold on.”

“YoungBae?”

“Yeah?”

“ . . . Thank you.”

*****

YoungBae pulled up outside the store and saw her sitting at the bar along the windows. She was eating a cup of noodles and holding her head. She looked up when he walked in and the relief on her face was so genuine that he made him pause.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” Luna looked like she was going to start crying as he walked towards her and ped his jacket. He wrapped it around her shoulders, then went to the counter. He bowed to the ahjussi and thanked him for taking care of her. He offered to pay for the noodles, but the man waved him off.

“It's no problem. Just take good care of her.” he told YoungBae with a smile.

“I will,” he turned back to Luna and held his hand out to her. “Come on, Luna.” he said gently. When their hands touched, he noticed how cold they were. He picked up her bag and walked her out. She stopped at the door, bowed to the man and thanked him repeatedly.

In the car, he turned the heat up the whole way and watched her put her hands directly in front of the vents.

“Going home?” she asked.

“No. We're going to the hospital.”

“No hospital! Can't . . . hospital. Can't see me. Can't ask questions. Please.” Luna looked frantic as she spoke.

“Do you realize what you sound like?! You speak Korean as well as I do. You're barely making sense.”

“I know!” she sounded so frustrated as she said it. “I hear it. It's not . . . me. Please. No hospital.”

YoungBae pulled the car off to the side of the road and turned to look at her. “Tell me what happened.”

“Going home with SeungHo. Roa