There was barely enough room around the mattress to move without bumping into something. Wallpaper had started coming away from the corners, and a water stain spread across part of the ceiling.

A young boy sat on the edge of the mattress, wiping dried blood from Shin Ho-jin's face with a damp cloth. Whenever he reached a cut or bruise, he slowed down so he would not hurt him more. Through all of it, Ho-jin remained unconscious.

After peeling the paper from a bandage, the boy placed it over the cut above Ho-jin's left eyebrow and kept his finger there until it stayed.

A nightstand stood beside the bed with Ho-jin's phone and a black leather wallet on top. Once the cloth had been put on the floor, the boy picked up the wallet, went through its compartments, and found a student ID.

He pulled the card out and looked at the photograph before reading the information beneath it. "Shin Ho-jin, Miryeong Institute of the Arts, Department of Photography."

The card went back into its slot. A few folded bills were inside another compartment, and after counting them, the boy returned the money, closed the wallet, and set it on the nightstand. With nothing else to do, he stayed where he was and watched Ho-jin sleep.

At that moment, the door opened and another boy came in with a bag hanging from one shoulder. He was shorter than the first and dressed like he had spent some time choosing what to wear. "Ya," he said.

"Ya, hyung."

The bag landed on the floor before the roommate came over to the bed. Looking down at Ho-jin's bruised face, he asked, "Who's this?"

"I found him on the street," the boy said. "He got beaten up pretty badly."

"I'll throw the last punch, then."

The roommate reached for the wallet on the nightstand. After checking the ID, he went straight to the money compartment, pulled out every bill inside, and looked through them.

The boy looked at him as if he had personally offended him.

"What?" the roommate asked. "I need money." Into his front pocket went the cash, and the empty wallet landed back on the nightstand. Then he bent over Ho-jin and studied his face for a moment. "I feel like I know him from somewhere. Whatever, I'm gonna take a shower now."

"Okay."

A few seconds later, the bathroom door closed, and water started running on the other side.

The boy reached into his pocket for his own wallet. He counted out the same amount his roommate had taken and slipped the money into Ho-jin's wallet, then set it back on the nightstand.

—

A few hours later, morning light came through the window and fell directly on Ho-jin's face.

He opened his eyes, but the light made the pain in his head worse, so he closed them again. After a few seconds, he tried once more. This time, when he looked around, he realized he had no idea where he was.

His whole body hurt, and his mouth was dry. When he turned his head to the left, he saw a window and, two floors below, the street. A convenience store stood across the road while cars passed in front of it, horns going off every few seconds.

Then his eyes went down to his body, and he realized he was completely naked under the blanket.

His heart began beating faster. Turning toward the other side of the bed, Ho-jin found the two boys standing near his feet.

He moved back against the headboard, only for pain to run through his ribs. The blanket came up to his neck at once, both hands holding it in place. "Who are you?" he asked. "Where am I?"

The shorter boy looked at his roommate and laughed. "Pfft. I'm heading out."

"Ya, don't bring anyone back," the other boy said. "I need to study."

"I'll try."

The door closed behind him hard enough to make Ho-jin wince.

Once the room was quiet again, the boy who remained looked at him. "Do you remember what happened last night?"

"No." Ho-jin remembered the fight at the bar, but everything after that was gone. As soon as he realized it, another thought came to him. "Where is my wallet?"

The boy crossed his arms. "Do I look like a thief?" With a movement of his head, he indicated the nightstand.

Ho-jin found both his wallet and phone sitting there, which was enough to calm him for the moment.

In the corner of the room, the boy opened a fridge and took out a bottle of water. He brought it over and held it toward Ho-jin. "Drink this."

When Ho-jin reached for the bottle, the blanket slipped down and exposed his chest to the cold air. He pulled it back up before taking the water.

A long drink helped his throat, though swallowing still made his ribs hurt.

"Don't you remember who did this to you?" the boy asked. Before Ho-jin could answer, he had already turned and left the room.

Ho-jin had no interest in explaining the whole mess over a table charge while every part of him hurt. Instead, he raised his voice toward the other room. "Where are my clothes? Why am I naked?"

About a minute later, the boy returned carrying Ho-jin's clothes. They were folded, though the fabric was still damp, and he set them on the edge of the mattress. "Your clothes were covered in blood," he said. "Blood comes out if you wash it quickly in cold water. So I washed them in the sink."

After moving away from the bed, he put his hands in his pockets. "I found you passed out by a wall on the street. You looked like shit. I just brought you here so nobody would jump you."

Ho-jin looked at the clothes, wanting to put them on immediately. When his eyes returned to the boy, the message was easy enough to understand. The boy turned around and left the room again.

Ho-jin pushed the blanket aside. "Aissshh..."

Moving hurt more now that he was trying to get up. His muscles hardly wanted to cooperate, and a bruise covered much of his side. He got to his feet and pulled on his pants, though bending down to fix the zipper made his ribs hurt again.

As he put on his shirt, Ho-jin looked around the room. On the opposite wall stood a shelf with several plush toys arranged beside a bouquet of dried flowers.

His phone was still on the nightstand. Pressing the power button did nothing, so he picked up his wallet next and called toward the other room. "You can come in."

The boy returned.

Ho-jin opened the wallet and took out all the cash inside. Holding the money toward him, he said, "This is for helping me."

There was no argument. The boy accepted it and put the bills in his pocket. "Thanks."

Ho-jin nodded. At that point, he only wanted to get home. "Have a good day."

He left the room, crossed to the apartment door, and stepped into the hallway. A few steps toward the stairs were enough to make him stop.

Something had come back to him.

Ho-jin turned around, returned to the apartment, and knocked twice. A few seconds later, the door opened.

"Did you forget something?" the boy asked.

This time, Ho-jin looked properly at his face, at the dark hair and the features he suddenly knew he had seen before. "Yeah, I forgot," he said. "But now I remember. Moon Ji-hun?"