When Minhyuk woke up, every centimeter of him was soaked as if he had taken a shower under Niagara Falls. It was quite obvious it had been raining buckets the whole night, and the cheap, narrow tin awning above them had done nothing but divert more water to dump on their feet. Beside him, his sister was still asleep, and he winced at the awkward position she had taken. At only 15, both of them were no stranger to kinks and pinches in their backs and shoulders, something most people had to wait until they were about 60 for, from sleeping on the ground or on benches. Living meal to meal, it wasn't as if they could afford acupuncture or medication either, and they depended solely on massages from one another for relief. He nudged her- she couldn't stay in that position any longer and they needed to get going on their morning rounds. She didn't stir. He nudged her again, more forcefully, and still she slept on, which was peculiar. Both of them had learned to be light sleepers and quick to wake up in case danger was near. Minhyuk shook her shoulder. "Moonstar. Wake up. Come on, we hafta go. Star!"

Her eyes finally fluttered open, and as she looked around groggily, Minhyuk noticed how red her nose was. Oh, shoot, he thought. They had picked the wrong night to sleep outside: a night where it had probably dropped into the forties and Moonstar only had a thin sweatshirt. 

"Moonstar, how do you feel?" he asked softly.

"What?" she said loudly. "What'd you say? There's ringing in my ears." 

Minhyuk felt her forehead, but realized that wasn't a fair judge since his hand was wet and numb. Moonstar sneezed. And then she sneezed again. And again. 

Well, that does it, Minhyuk thought. His sister was sick. Great.

"Star, we have to get you to a doctor. Let's go." He stood up, tried to wipe off some of the mud, and tugged Moonstar along. She complied, which just proved his point further; if she'd was well she would be jabbering on about how much doctors cost, blah, blah, blah. Her jabbering was going on in his head, though. Where were they supposed to go? How and where would she rest up? 

They had only walked for five minutes when Moonstar pulled him to a bench and collapsed on it, breathing heavily through . Minhyuk sat beside her and brainstormed where to go.

The doctor's office was a few blocks away, but Minhyuk ruled that out almost immediately. There was hardly a chance they would do anything for free, and it was flat-out impossible they would even be able to pay for anything. Maybe he could talk to the city's welfare department, but the city hall was across town and he wasn't even certain they could help. There were three or so homeless shelters around, but Minhyuk didn't think they provided medical care. They were too dangerous anyway, as it was known on the streets how common robbery or even were in them. It seemed hopeless.

Minhyuk took Moonstar's hand and started rubbing it between his to try to warm it, willing the sun to come out. It was spring, for God's sake! He muttered a few curses at the cloudy sky and began to watch vendors setting up for the day. 

Watching the vendors brought another problem to his harried mind. How were they going to eat breakfast? They usually had a few dollars saved, but had splurged on a tiny, cheap motel a few nights before and since then had only saved a couple cents. The vendors were kind and gave discounts, but nevertheless, they had to make a living and probably wouldn't give anything for free. Minhyuk had too much pride to ask or even accept, anyway. 

"Minhyuk!" 

The voice interrupted his worried thoughts. Minhyuk turned to see who it was, and, despite the current situation, smiled when he saw it was his friend Sanghyuk. 

Sanghyuk was 19, four years older than Minhyuk. He was also homeless and had a childhood of foster homes and the orphanage. He was very tall (almost 6') and could probably attract a few girls if he got himself cleaned up and groomed. He sidled down on the bench and looked with concern at Moonstar. "What's up with her?" 

"She's sick," he replied. Sanghyuk didn't have to ask why: it was clear the twins had spent the night out in the rain. 

"Too bad. Other than that, how have you guys been doing?"

"We're fine, considering we're homeless."

"Minhyuk..." Sanghyuk started, frowning. "I haven't seen you in a couple months. What have you been doing? Where are you staying?"

"We've been collecting trash," Minhyuk replied, as if it were the most matter-of-fact thing in the world. "As for where we're staying- well, you know."

Sanghyuk knew alright, as he wasn't the least bit foreign to benches and alleyways. He leaned in towards Minhyuk and whispered "She's still pure, right?" 

Minhyuk rolled his eyes. "Of course. We're not that desperate. And even if we were, Star isn't like that. Jeez."

Sanghyuk nodded. "Sorry. I was just checking. But you guys are too young to live like this, and Moonstar definitely needs to rest up. You should be in school, too. When was the last time you attended?"

Minhyuk's face went red. "Seventh grade," he muttered, biting his lip. 

"Well I know just the place you can stay and get back on your feet. I discovered it a few weeks ago." 

That got Minhyuk's attention, and he perked up. "Where?"

"C'mon, I'll show it to you. It's just a little bit away." Sanghyuk answered, standing up and beckoning. 

●●●

Moonstar's nose and ears felt like they had been stuffed full of cotton when she woke up. Her entire body was damp. Her ears rang and ached as she looked around, trying to figure out why she was in this room. It was relatively small and a dim lamp illuminated the pale blue walls and clean shag carpet. A faint smell of washed sheets and air freshener lingered around her nostrils. The biggest surprise was the bed. Unlike motel ones, it was soft and welcoming and the sheets and quilts were warm and had been tucked around her with care. And she wasn't sharing it with her brother, something she hadn't done in years.

Where was her brother? She became alert suddenly and propped herself up on her elbows, cursing the mattress for being so soft and making her struggle to not sink in. She was definitely alone in the small room, and what only seconds ago had seeming welcoming and comforting was now eerie and hostile. Thoughts of what had happened to her one night when Minhyuk wasn't around started leaking into her brain, but she forcefully shoved those memories out before they could touch her fear trigger. She had to be rational. A door to the outside was across from her bed, but before she could do anything, it swung open and a light was flicked on. 

It was Sanghyuk. Moonstar breathed a sigh of relief at the familiar wild sparkle in his eyes. He had somehow gotten a haircut and a shave since they had last saw each other and looked considerably better. She even blushed a little at his wide smile.

He turned and shouted out the open door, "Sleeping Beauty has awaken!" and stood aside as footsteps padded down a wood floor. In burst Minhyuk- a totally different one from the usual. His hair had been washed, trimmed, and combed, and the patches of stubble growing on his chin had been shaved. His fingernails had been trimmed and scrubbed and he no longer reeked of mud and trash and alleyways. He was barefoot and wore new khakis and a black sweatshirt, and she thought she even got a whiff of cologne. He hugged her tightly as she spewed questions. 

"What happened, Min? What are we doing here? How did you get all that stuff? What is this place? Why is Sanghyuk here? Did-"

"Shhhh," he shushed her, laughing. He sat beside her on the bed and squeezed her shoulder, knowing that could always calm her down. "Ms. Seon can explain."

The tiny lady that had been standing behind Minhyuk was apparently Mrs. Seon. She was old and grandmotherly, and despite her short and thin stature, held her head high like a successful businesswoman. 

She spoke after smiling at Moonstar. "This is your new home. It's a what the government calls a welfare center, but we prefer to call it a haven or sanctuary. People in unfortunate situations like yours come here for a bed, some comfort and compassion, and a hot meal. It's safe and secure and not crime-ridden like some homeless shelters. We'll get you healed, cleaned up, and well-fed. Usually we let people stay here for about three weeks before we expect them to get a job, then another three weeks before we expect them to get a place to stay. Your's and Minhyuk's case is very different, of course, so you're welcome to stay much longer. You're expected to be sober and clean while within the premises, and all alcohol or drugs are confiscated at the door."

Despite her stern and businesslike tone, Moonstar could sense the warmth in her voice and eyes. Her head was spinning, trying to comprehend the she had a place to stay. And not just any place: a warm place, a friendly place, somewhere she had her own room, somewhere she didn't always look over her shoulder or huddle close to Minhyuk when sleeping. It was all too much. And for what? What had she done? She suddenly remembered the prayer from the night before. Moonstar wasn't sure what she believed, but she knew places like this didn't pop up at just the right time for no reason. She said a quick thank you to whoever was out there before Mrs. Seon started speaking again about her being expected to keep her room tidy and help out with household chores. 

Sanghyuk, Minhyuk, and Mrs. Seon soon left. Despite all her joy, it was clear that Moonstar had a high fever and needed to rest, along with the small room being very contagious. She stared at the blue walls until she drifted off and didn't have to dream about utopia. She was already in it. 

●●●

The cook, Jinri, signaled that it was dinnertime by obnoxiously banging on a cowbell three times and then yelling "DINNERTIME!" in unison with her assistant and Ms. Seon. Everyone staying at the haven was required to wash up and attend dinner unless they had a legitimate excuse and told Ms. Seon about it earlier. Minhyuk, who had suddenly become a deep sleeper in the four days he'd been there, had to be roused from his nap by Sanghyuk.

 The dining hall had a single long table and various donated chairs- some wooden, some metal or plastic, some stools and even a few overturned boxes. When Minhyuk walked in, he was surprised to see Moonstar standing at the buffet line. She had been quarantined by Ms. Seon and it had been a lonely four days without her. She appeared to be all well now and looked completely different. Her whole body had obviously been scrubbed and her hair washed, trimmed, combed, and braided. Her dark jeans were just a little oversized but looked fine. And she was standing next to another girl and talking and laughing. He suddenly realized a sad truth: as far as he knew, Moonstar had never had any friends, just him. 

"Star!" he called out. She turned around and ran to hug him and introduced him to her new friend, Wheein. Jinri called out to them to hurry and get their food before it became cold. At the dinner table, Minhyuk noticed that his sister, despite her previous lack of social life, was quite the conversationalist. She exchanged stories funny stories with old men and chatted with everyone. The whole time, she never stopped smiling- and her smile was infectious. Even the patrons that had gone through much more than Minhyuk and Moonstar combined and usually ate silently cracked a grin at her witty remarks. Everything was going their way, and Minhyuk fell asleep with a goofy look of utter contentment on his face.