Joo-won's hand remained on Yo-han's shoulder. "Give me the keys."

Yo-han turned toward the open car door as though the request had come from somewhere too far away to matter. "I can drive. I drive every day."

Taking the keys from his loose fingers, Joo-won closed the door. "You're not driving anywhere."

Yo-han stayed beside the car until the cold finally made him move. Once he lowered himself into the passenger seat, he struggled with the seat belt until Joo-won leaned across and fastened it for him.

"Don't throw up in here," Joo-won said.

"She's not yours."

"The car?"

"Yulie."

Without answering, Joo-won closed the passenger door and walked around the car. Once he was behind the wheel, he checked the time. His shift at the clinic would begin in an hour and a half, which gave him enough time to get Yo-han home, leave some water beside the bed, and reach the clinic before anyone had a reason to call him. He started the engine and opened the navigation menu, where the home address was already saved.

The car moved into the evening traffic while Yo-han leaned against the passenger window. He remained quiet for the first few blocks. His eyes were almost closed, but every time Joo-won looked over, he seemed to be fighting sleep.

When they turned onto a wider road, the car picked up speed with ease.

Yo-han raised his head. "How do you drive this thing so well?"

"What thing?"

"This car. It's fast." 

"I used to work as a valet."

"Hm..."

Apparently satisfied with the answer, Yo-han rested his head against the seat again.

Traffic slowed near an intersection. When the light turned red, Joo-won settled farther into the driver's seat, angling his body slightly toward the door. One hand remained on the wheel while the other rested on his thigh. When he looked toward the passenger seat, he found Yo-han watching him.

"Go to sleep, Lee Yo-han-ssi."

Yo-han continued studying his face. "Your eyes look like Da-in's."

Joo-won said nothing.

Who is Da-in? His girlfriend?

The light remained red as Yo-han's gaze wandered toward the windshield.

"My beautiful Da-in," His words came slowly, but the careless tone he had carried out of the bar was gone. "If you weren't here, I wouldn't want to wake up in the morning."

Joo-won's hand left his thigh and returned to the wheel.

Yo-han closed his eyes. The light changed, but Joo-won did not move until the car behind them sounded its horn.

A few minutes later, Yo-han spoke again. "Maybe he's right."

Joo-won kept his attention on the road.

"Maybe every door closes because of me."

After that, Yo-han went quiet, and Joo-won drove the rest of the way without turning on the radio.

—

The building's underground garage was nearly empty. After parking in the space assigned to Yo-han's apartment, Joo-won shut off the engine and remained there long enough to make sure Yo-han was still breathing normally. "Lee Yo-han-ssi."

When Yo-han did not respond, Joo-won unfastened his seat belt and went around to the passenger side. It took several attempts to wake him enough to stand. Once he was out of the car, most of his weight kept falling against Joo-won, who put an arm around his waist and guided him toward the elevator.

The keys included a building fob. Inside the elevator, Yo-han managed to name his floor before resting his head against the wall.

"You live alone?" Joo-won asked, but no answer came.

The apartment door opened with a code Yo-han mumbled on the third attempt. Joo-won brought him inside.

The place was larger than he had expected, with dark wood, pale walls, expensive furniture, and very little clutter. Everything seemed to have been chosen by someone who had money.

Yo-han nearly walked into the low table in the living room.

"Where's the bedroom?"

Joo-won pointed down the hall.

By the time they reached it, Joo-won's shoulder ached from holding him upright. He sat Yo-han on the edge of the bed, removed his shoes, and pulled off his jacket. The tie came next because Yo-han had begun tugging at it without managing to loosen it. "Lie down, Yo-han-ssi."

Yo-han obeyed without arguing. Joo-won rolled him onto his side and placed a pillow behind his back so he would not end up lying flat. After finding a bottle of water in the kitchen, he set it on the nightstand along with a plastic wastebasket from the bathroom.

That should have been enough. He checked the time again. As long as he left now, he could still make it to the clinic.

Joo-won returned to the living room to collect his backpack, but instead of going directly to the door, he stopped beside a dog bed near the window. Yulie's name had been stitched across the front. Two clean bowls stood beside it, along with a bag of dog food folded closed with a clip. A row of toys had been arranged along the wall, and one of them had been chewed almost flat.

Continuing into the kitchen, Joo-won found one side of the refrigerator covered in photographs. Most showed Yo-han with a little girl. In one, she sat on his shoulders at an amusement park with both hands buried in his hair. Another showed them asleep on a sofa with Yulie, still a puppy, between them.

A piece of paper had been tucked beneath a magnet. 

DA-IN, AGE 4

Below the writing was a drawing of two people holding hands. The taller figure wore a black suit, and DADDY had been written above his head in uneven letters.

Joo-won returned his attention to the photograph. Da-in. Not his girlfriend. His daughter.

He studied the little girl's face again. Her eyes did resemble Joo-won's.

Where is your wife, then?

The question remained in his head, though he had no intention of asking it.

A phone began ringing from the bedroom. Joo-won ignored the first call, but it started again before he reached the front door. When the third call followed almost immediately, he went back.

Yo-han had not moved. His phone lay on the nightstand beside the water. 

Hye-ri ❤️

…is calling