Rescue
"Hyung, you live here?"
Climbing out of the taxi and following Seong-min into the alley, Min-hyuk stopped short and stared at the house where Seong-min had come to a halt, eyes wide with shock.
"Yeah. This is it."
"Holy shit…!"
It was no wonder he reacted that way. Even at a glance, anyone could tell it was a two-story detached house with its own yard. Not some ordinary multi-family unit—this was a real standalone home, complete with a front gate and a proper courtyard. Min-hyuk had never imagined Seong-min lived somewhere like this, and the admiration slipped out of him before he could stop it.
"Stop gawking and come on in."
"Am I… really allowed to go inside…?"
"Why wouldn't you be?"
Seong-min punched in the door-lock code on the pedestrian gate, pushed it open, and stepped through. Min-hyuk followed cautiously after him into the yard.
"Whoa…"
The moment he set foot inside, Min-hyuk marveled all over again. Well-tended flower pots lined one side, and the yard itself was far from cramped.
"There's even a bench?"
Off to one corner sat a single bench, the kind of spot where you could sit with a cup of tea and simply unwind. Min-hyuk kept turning his head this way and that, unable to hide his continuous astonishment.
"I already knew you weren't ordinary, hyung, but…"
He never would have guessed Seong-min lived in a place like this.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
Still looking around, Min-hyuk started toward the main entrance at Seong-min's words.
"Not that way."
"Huh?"
He turned to look. Seong-min was already heading for the stairs instead of the front door.
"We're not going in through the main entrance…?"
Seong-min nodded at Min-hyuk's puzzled question.
"We don't use the front door."
"Ah."
Min-hyuk let out a soft sound of understanding.
So there's a separate entrance on the second floor, then.
With that thought, he followed Seong-min up the stairs.
"Hyung…"
"What?"
"Isn't this the rooftop…?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Did we… climb up here by mistake or something…?"
"What are you talking about?"
Seong-min kept walking and headed for the entrance of the rooftop room tucked into one corner of the roof. He punched in the door-lock code, then opened the door, leaving Min-hyuk standing there blankly behind him.
"Don't just stand there. Come in."
"……"
Seong-min disappeared inside. Min-hyuk remained rooted in place for a long moment.
"What are you doing?"
Only when Seong-min reappeared and spoke did Min-hyuk finally move and approach. Stepping through the open door, he found himself in a kitchenette with a gas range and shelves.
"It's small, but there's plenty of room for two people to sleep, so quit hanging back and come on in."
"Y-yes… yes…"
Still flustered, Min-hyuk finally slipped off his shoes and carefully stepped inside. Seong-min watched the awkward, bewildered look on his face and let out a quiet snicker.
"Surprised it doesn't match the picture you had in your head?"
"A… a little…"
"This is the place I rent."
Back at the front gate, Seong-min had deliberately kept quiet about living in the rooftop room after seeing how stunned Min-hyuk looked. Watching him gape had been too entertaining to spoil.
"So this isn't your house, hyung?"
"You think I've got the kind of money to buy a whole detached house? Of course I'm just renting the rooftop room."
He opened the fridge, pulled out a 500-milliliter bottle of water, twisted off the cap, and took a swallow.
"Disappointed?"
"N-no, not at all…"
"You say that, but you're stammering."
"I was just… a little thrown off. I'm not disappointed, so please don't get the wrong idea, hyung…"
"Here."
Seong-min held out the water bottle. Min-hyuk took it and drank.
"You wear size 100, right?"
"Yes, I do…"
"Then… take these."
Seong-min pulled out a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants for Min-hyuk to change into, then glanced toward the bathroom.
"That's the bathroom and shower combined. We're heading to the hospital tomorrow, so just rinse off roughly, change clothes, and get some sleep."
"Okay."
Following Seong-min's instructions, Min-hyuk endured the stinging pain and washed up as best he could, then changed into the comfortable clothes. While he did, Seong-min laid out bedding on the floor.
"I'm going to wash up too, so rest first."
He grabbed a towel and stepped into the bathroom-shower.
A short while later, the sound of the shower running filled the room. Sitting alone and staring blankly into space, Min-hyuk suddenly let out a soft laugh.
I really got free.
It hit him all at once—the reality that he had truly escaped those bastards. He turned his head and looked at the closed bathroom door.
Hyung really is incredible…
He had never even imagined it. That this hyung would come to rescue him. When he opened his eyes to a familiar voice and found Seong-min standing right in front of him, how shocked had he been? He thought it was a dream. He wondered if he was seeing things. But it hadn't been a dream or a hallucination. It really had been Seong-min. And now here he was—inside the rooftop room where Seong-min lived, wearing Seong-min's clothes.
Slowly, Min-hyuk lay down on the floor.
This feels… comfortable.
The rooftop room wasn't large, yet in that moment Min-hyuk felt he was lying in a truly safe place. Wanting to savor the comfort a little longer, he closed his eyes. Relief at being free, and gratitude toward Seong-min, settled over him.
"Huh?"
Toweling his hair dry as he stepped out, Seong-min looked down at the sleeping Min-hyuk with mild surprise.
"This kid…"
A wry smile tugged at his lips.
"Already out cold."
While Seong-min had been washing up, Min-hyuk had lain down and fallen straight to sleep. And yet a faint smile lingered at the corners of the sleeping boy's mouth, as if he were having a good dream. Seong-min roughly dried his hair, switched off the light, and lay down beside him.
"Sleep well."
With those quiet words to the sleeping Min-hyuk, Seong-min closed his eyes as well.
The next morning, Seong-min and Min-hyuk woke to a voice calling through the door and a series of knocks.
"Mmm… hyung… I think someone's here…?"
Seong-min stretched out an arm, checked the time on his phone, then got up. He slipped on slippers, crossed to the kitchenette, and opened the door.
"Seong-min, were you still asleep…?"
"Yes, I just woke up a little while ago."
"I see… no wonder…"
"Did I make you get up early because of me?"
"No, no. I just woke up and decided to come check."
"Ah… I should have told you in advance… I'm sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about. Wash up and come downstairs. We'll have breakfast together."
"Yes, but…"
"Hmm?"
Hye-suk, who had been about to turn away, looked back as if waiting for whatever else he had to say.
"I'm not… alone right now…"
"Not alone? Do you have a guest…?"
Seong-min glanced briefly into the room, then spoke.
"Yes. The younger guy I work delivery with…"
"Ah."
Hye-suk smiled as if she knew exactly who he meant.
"Then bring him down with you. I'll set a place for him too."
"That would be imposing on you…"
"Imposing? Don't be silly. Just come down together."
"Yes… then… we'll get ourselves together and come down."
"Good."
Watching Hye-suk turn and head back toward the stairs, Seong-min closed the door.
"Hyung, who was that…?"
Min-hyuk, who had been listening from inside, asked with open curiosity.
"The landlady."
"The owner of this house?"
"Yeah."
"She said to come down together…"
"She wants us to eat breakfast with her. She's going to set a place for you too, so come on down."
Min-hyuk pointed at himself with a finger.
"Me too…?"
"That's what she said."
"N-no, it's fine. You go by yourself, hyung. I'm okay."
"She already invited us like that, so we're going down together. And you'll be fine."
"Huh?"
"You'll understand once we get there."
Seong-min walked back into the room and headed for the bathroom.
"I'll wash my face first and come out."
While Seong-min was in the bathroom, Min-hyuk blinked a few times, then got up from the floor. He didn't simply sit and wait. He neatly folded the bedding that had been spread out and set it carefully to one side. By the time he had stacked the two pillows as well, Seong-min emerged, toweling his face dry.
"Oh? You folded everything?"
"I should at least do this much… after imposing on you like this…"
"You've got some sense, at least."
Seong-min smirked, then spoke again.
"How are your eye and the rest of the injuries?"
"They're bearable."
"When we go down, I'll cover for you with the landlady, so just play along and answer carefully."
"Got it…"
Next, Min-hyuk carefully washed his face around the wounds, and together they put on their shoes and headed downstairs. Seong-min entered the door-lock code Hye-suk had given him for the main entrance and stepped inside first.
"We're here."
"Oh~ you came?"
Hye-suk appeared from the kitchen and walked over.
"Where's the younger one?"
"Come on in, Min-hyuk."
Min-hyuk stepped inside carefully, reading the atmosphere.
"Ah, hello."
"Oh my…!"
Hye-suk took one look at Min-hyuk and gasped in shock.
"What happened?"
She turned her startled gaze on Seong-min.
"Well… Min-hyuk tried to help a passerby who was getting hassled by some punks and ended up like this."
"Oh dear."
"I got the call, went over, and handled it. It was already late, so we just slept in the rooftop room last night."
"Are the injuries all right? Your eye is swollen… there's bruising, and your lip is split…"
"I was planning to take him to the hospital today anyway."
"So you're Min-hyuk."
"Y-yes…"
"Come on in."
Following Seong-min's lead, Min-hyuk carefully removed his shoes and stepped up into the living room.
"Go sit on the sofa with Seong-min. I'll bring the first-aid kit."
"The first-aid kit?"
"Even if you're going to the hospital, you can't just leave it like this. We'll treat what we can with what we have at home first, then go."
As Hye-suk headed for the bedroom, Seong-min looked back at Min-hyuk.
"Let's go to the sofa."
"Hyung… is this really okay…?"
"It's fine. She's just worried about your injuries."
A moment later Hye-suk returned from the room carrying the first-aid kit.
"You were still standing there?"
"We were just about to sit."
At Seong-min's gesture toward the sofa, Min-hyuk moved awkwardly over and sat down.
"That must hurt a lot… are you all right?"
Hye-suk examined Min-hyuk's face with a worried expression.
"Yes… it's bearable…"
"Bearable, he says… it must have hurt terribly… let me see."
She opened the kit, took out disinfectant and cotton, and carefully tended to the smaller cuts. Only after cleaning them, applying ointment, and finishing with adhesive bandages did she finally let out a breath.
"I don't have an eye patch… what should we do?"
"No, it's fine… thank you so much for taking care of the wounds."
"Make sure you get a proper examination and treatment at the hospital. All right?"
"Yes… I will. Thank you, really."
Hye-suk closed the first-aid kit and walked back toward the master bedroom.
"She's a good person, right?"
"Huh…?"
Min-hyuk looked at Seong-min with a puzzled face.
"The landlady."
Min-hyuk blinked, then a small smile touched his lips.
"Yes… she really is a wonderful person…"
After the temporary treatment, Min-hyuk sat down at the table with Seong-min.
"Eat plenty."
A full spread of food covered the table. Even though his split lips must have stung, Min-hyuk ate with obvious enjoyment.
"Want another bowl?"
"Huh…?"
"Don't be shy—just say so…"
After a brief hesitation, Min-hyuk spoke up.
"Yes… then just one more bowl…"
"All right."
"I'll have one more too, please~!"
"Hahaha! Of course~ as much as you want~"
After a solid, filling breakfast, Seong-min and Min-hyuk thanked Hye-suk and headed back upstairs.
"Ate well?"
"I really did."
"The landlady's a great cook."
"She really is."
"Surprising, right?"
"What?"
"She's got a great personality, cooks well… and she's beautiful, too."
"Ah… yeah."
"Sometimes I think I really lucked out finding this rooftop room. My wallet's not exactly full, but I ended up with a good landlady."
"That's really true."
Min-hyuk fully agreed. The way she had treated his wounds, the consideration she showed at the table—he felt she was a truly kind person.
"But hyung, it seemed like the landlady already knew about me?"
"She does."
"Huh?"
"I told her I'd met this unusual kid while doing delivery work."
"And that unusual kid is me?"
"Yeah."
"……"
"Don't worry. I didn't say anything unnecessary."
"R-really?"
"Probably."
"……"
"Get ready. We're going to the hospital."
Seong-min clapped the dazed Min-hyuk on the shoulder, then opened the door and stepped back into the rooftop room.