“Wait, y-you can’t stay here!” No, of course not. Not at my apartment. Not with me. I’m a girl, he’s a guy and well, he has hormones and...so do I, BUT that’s completely beside the point! Plus, this is a SINGLE bedroom apartment.

“I’ll leave, but can you let Gun Tae stay? He’s only caught up in all this mess because of me.” I nodded, feeling a pang of disappointment. “Thanks,” he whispered.

“Where are you going to go?”

“I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.” He reached for the door handle. I’m not worrying. In fact, I...I don’t care where he’s headed. I bit onto my lower lip, then tugged at the tail of his woollen coat. He turned around and watched me, slightly amused.

“You can stay,” I said reluctantly, looking down at the floor. It’d be more than cruel if I forced him out into the frost, and who knows what lurks the streets of Seoul, especially during these eerie hours of the night. “BUT there will be rules!”

“Ye!” Gun Tae gave an immediate soldier-like response, smiling.

“Thanks, Eunji.” Joon Young's voice sounded weak. “It’ll only be three to four weeks,” he assured me, placing his hand onto my shoulder. My body tensed. “We won’t make you feel uncomfortable,” he said.

***

3AM. I couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning in bed for the hundredth time. Through the bedroom doorway, which I had left ajar, I could see Gun Tae on the two seater sofa, sleeping soundly with his right arm dangling off the edge of the cushioning. His chest moved up and down, calmly and steadily, ignorant of the physical world.

I sat up, giving up on sleep, and tiptoed to the kitchen where I poured myself a glass of water. I swigged the water down as I gazed through the base of the cup to see Joon Young sleeping on top of a blanket, unfolded onto the cold wooden floorboard. Then, remembering the bruise on his face, went to make a warm compress out of a cloth and kneeling down beside him, I applied it onto his left cheek.

“What are you doing?” Joon Young asked softly, bringing his hand up to the warm folded cloth covering his bruise. He stared at the ceiling, the night lights of Seoul reflecting off his dewy eyes.

“Heat helps to relieve the pain from the bruise. I’m sorry for waking you...” Quiet followed.

“I haven’t seen him for two years, my...father,," he said, breaking the silence as I was on the verge of standing up. "He finally visited two days ago, from his business trip." Then, removing the cloth which had cooled down, he pressed his fingertips against the bruise. "Does your father ever...hurt you?"

No, never, not intentionally anyway, but these words wouldn’t budge from my mouth. “Oh, my father’s done worse than bruises. Once, he lifted me onto his shoulders and my head aimed straight into the end of a tree branch! He rushed to the hospital with the branch sticking out of my head. It’s left a dent!” I took his hand and guided it along the concave dip at the back of my head, giggling at the reminiscence.

“I was still a child when...” I trailed off, and gulped, feeling his fingers running down my hair, slowly, and tenderly. His hand paused to gently fondle it, his thumb back and forth along the length of the strands resting helplessly on his palm. I bit onto my lower lip, the flesh throbbing from the prolonged force. I knelt beside him, frozen.

“Eunji- I shouldn't-" His jaw tightened, and he removed his hand away from my hair, the strands falling back onto my chest. Then, rolling over onto his left side with his back facing towards me, he whispered, “Never mind. Goodnight, Eunji.”  

I staggered back to my bedroom, stubbing my small toe into the leg of a chair along the way. I collapsed onto the bed with my hands positioned over my heart, its wild pulse powered by an internal electrical storm, its frantic beat drowning out the blaring alarm bells setting off inside my mind. My breathing was jagged, and I surrendered to the sleepless night awaiting me.  

Rule #1: Do NOT approach Joon Young by his bedside!

Thank you for all your motivating comments!!! ^^