"Ah." So Joon gasps, grasping her knee, her one arm over the one who took her home. His motorbike resting against the front gate of the apartment complex. Both helmets, that they wore, resting against one another on the seat of the motorbike.

"Can you walk yourself up?" He asks, glancing up at the colossal amount of stairs. "Is there an elevator?"

"No." So Joon replied, grasping her scabbing knee, moving her hand further down her leg, close to her ankle "Ah- I'll be fine."

- One month ago -

"I can't believe you've done this." Song Woo sighs. "How will you get around like this?" He points at the cast around her ankle.

"It's fine. It's just a sprain. It'll be better soon." So Joon smiles, outside the gates to the apartment complex. Her hands holding crutch handles, her eyes staring up to her love. She isn't, she knew it would take ages for her to reach the top floor, she needed his help, but felt nervous asking.

"Actually-"

The ringing of his phone interrupts what she wanted to say, finally picking up limited confidence to ask him for assistance. Even if it's to just help her up the stairs.

"I have to take this." He states. "I'll see you soon."  Instead of his help, he leaves her with a meaningless kiss on the cheek, before leaving to take the call. "Yes I'm free now. Yes I'm on my way." He laughs, opening the car door and sitting inside. She remains struggling to stand, resting all her weight on the crutches. He doesn't watch her struggle up the stairs back to her apartment, but instead drives away, without even looking at her.

That forced smile could finally relax and she deeply exhaled. Turning to notice the stairs leading up to her apartment. Coming down was a lot easier then going up.

—

"So will you be ok?" He repeats, his hair slightly in his eyes, no longer as slick back as it  were before. With his other hand he runs his fingers through, aligning the strands, pushing them out of his face.

"No!" So Joon replies. "I mean. No I won't."

"Right-" the right side of his lip twitches. He was thinking about forcing a smile but decided not to.

One step at a time, one arm around her back, under her arms, guiding her up the stairs. His upper body strength apparent, as she obviously struggles less reaching the top step. Taking her key out of her purse, she opens the apartment door.

"In we go." He murmurs, kicking off his shoes at the front of the apartment. "Where's the living room?" He asks. He notices a long corridor with three possible doors.

"I'm fine don't worry." She replies, trying to gently push away.

"It's no bother." He replies.

"To the right."

He sits her down on the grey fabric sofa, facing a flat screen hooked onto the wall, and next to two arm chairs. The walls were just a basic cream, but had various canvases of sunsets and landscapes scattered across the room. In the same room is a small circular dining table, with four chairs, tucked in, around it, a small vase of roses in the centre. A coffee mug from this morning still resting against a coaster, leaving behind a circular tea stain.

"Thank you." She smiles. "Really I appreciate it."

He gets down to her level and notices her knee, then looking down at her ankle. "Does that hurt?" He asks, pointing at the knee then the ankle. "Where's the first aid kit?" He asks.

"Honestly sir don't worry. I'll be fine." She replies. She grabs her purse and takes out a ₩50,000 note. "Here, you'll need gas money. Take this as my gratitude." She holds out the money to him and bows her head.

He refuses.

"It's fine. I've still got enough to get me home. Where's your first aid kit?" He repeats, standing up and walking towards the doorway.

"In the kitchen on the shelf." So Joon replies, feeling a little awkward and guilty for asking. She reaches for her phone in her handbag and notices missing text messages from Jo Hyun.

Park Jo Hyun
How did it go boo?

"Christ how do I answer this..." So Joon murmurs to herself.

Me
Meh...

Park Jo Hyun
Hmm... it went badly didn't it. I told you he wasn't great. Did you listen? Of course not... Where are you now? How did you get home with your ankle hun?

Me
Someone offered me a lift

"How do I put this without her thinking I have a serial killer in my apartment."

Park Jo Hyun
Who took you home!! No one was there to do it!!

Me
I hurt my knee and he took me home. He's just dressing my wound it's nothing to be concerned about...

"I worded that wrong..."

Park Jo Hyun
HE!!! AND HE'S IN YOUR HOUSE!! SO JOON WTF YOU DONT KNOW WHO HE IS GET HIM OUT 💀 💀

At that point So Joon just put down her phone as he walked back in. "I found it." He states, holding the kit in his hand.

"Ah. Thanks."

He crouches down to her level and takes off his gloves, putting them on the arm of the sofa, cleaning, disinfecting and bandaging her wound. So Joon looks to the side as he does so, feeling nervous when he touches her skin. Having the sense that he may take advantage of her any time.

"What happened to your ankle?" He asks, gently winding the bandage around her knee.

"Nothing. I just sprained it." She replies. Her eyes turn to his large muscular hands, which had words written on. 'HELL' written across one set of knuckles and 'MADE' written across the other. There were several spirals and patterns across his hand, which seemed to edge up his arm, but his coat hid any more.

"Oh. I see." He replies, taping her bandage and standing up. "Well you need to be careful."

" I will thank you." So Joon nods her head. "Thank you for your help." She realises if Jo Hyun was here, she'd scream at her telling her to kick him out straight away. But instead the words "would you like some coffee?" trailed from her mouth instead.

He smiles. "I'm fine. I should get going. Stay safe now."

Pushing against her weight on the sofa, she presses herself up into the air and stands. "I'll see you out." She smiles, slightly hobbling. He seems like the sort of person you wouldn't want to engage in a conflict with. His large muscles and tattoos would make you want to stay a hundred miles away. But he seems like a kind and caring person on the outside. His voice, deep but reassuring, feels as soft as silk and as smooth as honey.

With his large tattooed hands, he opens the door and slides his shoes on. "Sorry for intruding on you miss." He bows.

"No! There's no need to be sorry." She smiles, standing in the corridor, leaning against the wall "You helped me. Are you sure you don't need any money to get yourself home?"

"I'm fine." He replies, zipping up his leather jacket. "See you around." He waves while showing an expression of amusement, raising his smile and his eyebrows, before closing the door.

The sound of the lock echoes throughout the corridor. Snapping So Joon back into reality making her hobble into the living room, she stumbles and throws herself onto the couch. "I didn't even get his name, how foolish of me." She sighs. Picking up her phone, she notices missed calls and texts from Jo Hyun and a few missed calls from Song Woo.

Jo Hyun
HEY!!! ARE YOU OK?

WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING!!

OH MY GOD WHAT HAS HAPPENED!

"Idiot..."

Me
Good night b...

She reaches for the remote on the arm of the sofa and feels something leather, making her alarmed. "Oh no, that man left his gloves..." she gasps, picking them up and inspecting them. They seemed worn, definitely old but the leather still clung on. Inside was a label which had Hangul written in bold.

MonsterWoo

...