Shin Hye was humming softly as she exited the elevator. Like Kyuhyun, she also had a great time.

The smile on her face turned to terror when she reached her apartment’s door. The door was unlocked and the knob was almost broken. At that moment, she knew that someone broke in. She began to panic. She could feel her heart beating fast as the palms of her hands became cold and sweaty. She pushed the door open, then hesitated, as she wasn’t sure if someone was still inside. She opened her bag and fumbled for a pen. She slowly stepped inside her apartment and turned the light on. She scanned her place. The cabinet was open and her things were scattered on the floor. She immediately walked through the bathroom and checked if someone was hiding inside. Luckily, there was no one. Her gaze went straight to her bed. The mattress was turned upside down. She felt her knees weakened as she saw the envelope where she kept all her money on top of it. She remembered putting the envelope in a white plastic zipper bag and placing it under the mattress. She hurried to check it only to find out that all her money was gone. Her savings and the rest of her first pay were gone. Her whole body was trembling, unable to think of what to do next.

Unknowingly, she fell on her knees as tears started to fall from her eyes. She was really scared and she felt all her energy drain from her body. But she knew she had to do something, so, she tried to stand up quickly, wiped her tears, pulled out her phone from her bag and dialled the landlady’s number. She told her that her apartment was ransacked and all her money was stolen. The landlady told her that she was out of town, but asked her to wait for her as she will go home right away and that she will call the police. She felt so helpless at that time, and suddenly thought of Kyuhyun, the only friend she can rely on at that moment.

“Yoboseyo?”

“O-Oppa...” she said. She couldn’t help it, but she began to cry again as soon as he answered the call.

“Shin Hye? Wae, what happened? Why are you crying?” he asked worriedly.

“O-Oppa, please help me..”

“Where are you? Tell me!” Panic was already in his voice. 

“I-In my a-apartment.” She was sniffling in between words.

“I’ll be there. Wait for me, okay? What’s your apartment number?”

“4..0..8”

“Okay, just hang on. I’ll be right there,” he said and ended the call.

Shin Hye was sitting on a chair holding a picture frame when Kyuhyun arrived. He went straight to her apartment right after he ended the call. He was shocked to see everything in a mess. From the looks of it, he was sure someone broke in.

He immediately walked towards Shin Hye, and she instantly stood up upon seeing him. Her eyes were red and full of tears. He couldn’t help but hug her. He could feel her body shaking as she cried.

“It’s okay. I’m here,” he said softly as he gently patted her back.

When he felt that she almost stopped crying, he released her from his embrace.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

She nodded and forced a smile.

He made her sit down again, then went to get a bottled water from her kitchen. He gave it to her, reached for another chair that fell on the floor and sat beside her.

“Gomawo, oppa,” she said softly, almost a whisper.

“Have you called the police?” he asked. He was really worried about her, but he tried to appear calm.

“A-Ani. Our landlady did.”

“Still scared?”

She shook her head.

“Were you hurt?” he asked again.

She shook her head again. “I-I didn’t see who broke in. He might have already escaped before I came.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear. I can’t imagine if he..or they.. were still here, something worse could have happened.”

Kyuhyun was right, she thought. She realized that she should be grateful that she wasn’t harmed.

“But, oppa...,” she paused. “they... they took all my money,” she said sadly.

Before Kyuhyun could respond, two police officers arrived at her apartment. They surveyed the place carefully and interviewed her. She was, somehow, still not in the right state of mind, but he was there to help her out, so the inspection and interrogation went well and fast.

The police officers told her that they will come again first thing in the morning to speak with the landlady. But just as they were about to leave, Mrs. Yoon arrived. She invited the cops to her office to discuss about the matter. She also advised Shin Hye to rest for the mean time while she was in her office, and that they will talk later.

“I think you should leave this place now,” Kyuhyun said after the three stepped out of her apartment.

“Neh?” Shin Hye asked, a bit surprised by what he said.

“I mean, this isn’t a safe place anymore, so I think you should find another place to live.”

She heaved a heavy sigh. She knew that he was right. “I know...but I don’t have enough money to do that.”

“Hmm, I can lend you...,” he paused as he knew that she might not like the idea. “If..if that’s okay with you, of course.”

Shin Hye gave him a weak smile. “Oppa, thank you for your kindness, but you’ve already done a lot of things for me and I don’t want to burden you more.”

She actually appreciated the idea, but rent was not the only thing that she needed money for. She has other needs like food, etc.  She also has bills to pay for. If in case she finds another apartment, and if it happens to be a little far from Sukira, then that would be an additional expense on her part. And since she’ll be starting to work as a singer, she needed money to buy some clothes, among other things.

“How would that burden me? It’s okay, really,” he said looking at her eyes with a sincere smile on his face, as if pleading her to say yes.

He fully understood her situation. He knew that lending her some money would not be enough, but he really wanted to help her.

“I really appreciate your help,” she said with sincerity in her eyes. “But I guess I have to think about it,” she continued.

“I understand. Just let me know when you’ve made your decision, okay?”

“Arasso,” she said with a smile, a real smile th