While Hoya informed the boys of what he had seen, the manager was showing the girl around the dorm; picking clothes and food off the ground as they went along.  He was embarrassed to bring her to such a disgusting place but he knew she would be safe here; that’s what she had asked for in the first place.  He opened the door to Myungsoo’s and Dongwoo’s room; because there were only two of them sleeping in the one room it would be easiest for them to sleep elsewhere for a few days.  The manager didn’t need to ask how long she would need a place; in fact she hadn’t asked to stay at the dorm.  She had asked where a good hotel was; she had plenty of money but she didn’t remember her way around this part of Seoul.  The manager, an old “acquaintance” of hers was the only person whose phone number still worked.  Even if her work caused her to stay longer than she had planned she would most likely not be in the dorm in two days…max.  In her line of work she moved around…a lot.

                The manager watched her from the corner of his eye as she helped him organize the room.  She never touched the boys’ personal things like bags and food but she did fold some of the clothes and threw away trash.  The manager began changing the sheets of the bed while the girl left the room to tackle the dirty dishes in the kitchen.  She had given up trying to dissuade him from letting her stay in the dorm much earlier in the day and had grown tired of being told “No.”  She kept quiet and did what she could to show her appreciation.  The two continued to work in harmony and silence until eventually the main rooms were cleaner. 

                “I hope this’ll do, Helen.”  The manager approached her in the kitchen where she was placing clean dishes back in the cupboards.  She was on her tiptoes, grunting in frustration as the shelf was just barely out of her reach.  He reached up and pushed the plate in for her.

                As he stepped back into the living room she responded, “Thank you very much, Jungryul appa.”  She pushed her hair over her shoulder and pulled a hair pin from her pocket.  She tucked her bangs up on the top of her head as she continued to work.  He shook his head.  It seemed like an eternity since he’d seen this girl. 

He began to think of the first time they met; she was nine years younger then.  Aigoo…she was only ten years old!  She’d run up to him at the airport pulling on his shirt and smiling broadly.  He looked behind her, expecting a man in a suit to be bringing her luggage.  But as he glanced around, no one stood out; no one came forward.  He’d been told an old friend was arriving at this airport through a blocked phone number; it was before Infinite had even existed; the idea was still a little odd…absurd even.  Nine years ago, though, no one knew his name or his phone number. 

                “Appa!”  The little girl caught his attention; her hair was auburn red and her skin didn’t look Asian at all.  She was still tugging on his shirt trying to get him to notice her. She smiled up at him and held out a sealed envelope to him; before he could open it she pulled on his arm to sit somewhere.  He remembered how confused he was at the moment in the airport; and then he remembered opening the letter. 

“Appa?”  Helen called to him from the kitchen.  He blinked and shook the thoughts from his head.  She was watching him from the sink; concern was etched into her forehead.

“Hajima…” Jungryul waved in the air, “you’ll look like an ahjumma if you keep that up.”  He used his thumb and pretended to erase the wrinkles.

“Ne!”  She smiled happily.  She turned around to finish the rest of the dishes.