TaekWoon moved swiftly down the sidewalk, listening to everything and nothing. There was a stiffness in the way he walked, and not just from his hands that were held firmly in his pockets. He did not like this district - it made him feel dirty. But it was the quickest route back to the apartment, and after being at the doujen for the past week, he was beginning to miss his own bed.

He came up to a stop light, making sure to keep his distance behind the crowd of people that were also getting ready to walk across the street. He stared over the cars rushing past and up at the red light that sat across from him, waiting patiently for it to turn green.

Out of his peripheral vision, he saw the front door of a building 20 feet away from him open and out stumbled three women. One was at tall and slender blonde, another was short and petite with pastel blue hair. In between them was the shortest girl, wearing an asymmetrical little black dress and five inch stilettos. The two on the outside were doing their best to hold the middle female up, signifying a heavy intoxication, but rather than a sense of careless enjoyment from a girl’s night out, the two women had a look of panic and worry on their faces.

TaekWoon watched in natural curiosity, their words just barely being carried over the sound over the vehicles.

“What are we going to do?” The shorter one asked.

“One of us is going to have to take her in.” The taller one answered.

“Isn’t your house already packed?”

“Yeah…”

“She can’t stay there then.”

“Why can’t she stay with you? You’re living by yourself.”

“I have to go to Daegu this weekend for my sister’s wedding.” The shorter one replied. “And after that, I’m moving to the Jeong-ju district with my boyfriend.”

“Why can’t she just stay there while you’re gone? She can watch over your house.”

“I’m not sure I want to leave her alone right now though. Not since her sister kicked her out.”

“I could go over everyday and check on her.”

“I guess that could work.” The shorter said. “But what about when I move?”

“We can figure that out when we get there.”

“Okay.”

With the agreement made, they moved the drunken female over to the taxi. They opened the door and put her inside, allowing TaekWoon a glimpse at the woman’s face and turning his blood cold.

Why am I not surprised? He thought, grimacing and turning away as Raelyn fell over in the backseat. He looked up at the light, seeing that is was still red.

Glancing back at the taxi, he found the two women scrounging their purses for change.

Don’t bother with it, TaekWoon. Just leave it alone.

“Do you have another dollar?”

“I don’t.”

“Darn.”

He glanced back up at the red light, cursing the sweet time it was taking to change to green.

“Why don’t we just take the subway?”

“Well, you and I could, but dragging her down there would be a chore.”

“You’re right.”

“Does she have any money?”

“Raelyn never has any money."

"True...."

When TaekWoon looked back up at the stop light, he found that it had turned green. He began to move along with the crowd of people, but then stopped himself. He stood there for a long moment, the numerous people bumping into him and brushing shoulders as they passed him by. After a while, he let out a sigh.

Goddammit.

The two women had set their purses down onto the ground in their search for pocket change. The were so engrossed in the action that they didn’t even notice TaekWoon hop into the cab and shut the door behind him until the engine revved into drive.

The taller one looked up as the vehicle pulled out of the parked spot on the side of the road, watching for a split second as it took off down the street.

“Hey, wait a minute!” She said, hopping up and running out into the street. A car came to a screeching halt behind her, the horn sounding for her to get out of the way, to which she reluctantly complied. She trotted at half-pace down the sidewalks, watching helplessly as the taxi became further and further away. As it turned the corner, she slowed to a stop, bending over to catch her breath.

“Natsuki!” The short one came galloping up behind her. “You left your purse.”

“Thanks SeoYoung.” Natsuki said, her breath still heavy. She stared off down the street before tearing at her hair and letting out a frustrated shriek.

“Should we call the police?” SeoYoung asked.

“You can’t file a report on missing persons until twenty-four hours after the abduction.” Natsuki replied in defeat.

“Well what are we supposed to do now?”

“I guess we just wait to see what happens.”