Letters from the Void // ASTRO ✔

Chapter 13

Moon Bin pressed his finger on the panel beside the lift after waving the temporary card over it. He took a moment to recall the floor number he meant to go to, and he nodded when the number came to his mind, sure that he got it right. He searched for the number on the list of buttons, and finally found it. LG5. Eunwoo had tried calling him when he was with Rocky, but he kept missing the calls. Though when he tried to call him back, it seemed that Eunwoo had his commander switched off. It seemed urgent, so he was quite worried that he decided to pay Eunwoo a visit. He wasn't even sure whether he would be at home. He glanced at his clock; it was 7:10 p.m.

He had a tag around his neck, with the word 'guest' printed on it. He had to give his thumbprint before he was given the tag and a temporary card for him to be able to use the lift. It was only for the lift; it's not like he could burst into Eunwoo's house as he liked. But since he had been here multiple times before, it seemed easier for him to gain access. As he walked towards Eunwoo's unit, from a distance he could see a plastic bag on the floor in front of his door. When he came near, only then he realized it was a wrapped burger. He looked around, thinking someone misplaced it. But he was the only one there. He picked it up and knocked on the door. There was a moment of silence followed by something crashing inside. Panicked, he repeatedly knocked on the door.

"Hey, are you okay?" His knuckles hurt from knocking again and again; at the same time he was trying to remember Eunwoo's house password. He punched in the code, but it kept flashing red, showing that he got it wrong. He tried knocking again, and heard a whimper from inside. It was the voice of a girl; his hand froze on the surface of the door. "Haeun... is that you? Are you okay?" There was no answer, only another desperate whimper. "Can... can you tell me the password? I'll come in and help you!" Moon Bin was now shouting at the door, hoping that Haeun would be able to let him in. It seemed like she was in much pain. He didn't even take a second to think about why she was in Eunwoo's house.

She took forever to answer, and he tried his luck by punching in a code that came to his mind. It finally turned green and he was able to push down the doorknob. His left hand was still gripping the plastic. The sight in front of him was a mess; Haeun's left fingers were wrapped around her right hand, an overturned frying pan was near her knees and smashed eggs were on the floor. She was kneeling on the floor, her eyes watery and her fingers red.

"Haeun, what happened?" Moon Bin quickly placed the plastic bag on the counter and crouched beside Haeun.

"I thought I could stand it, but I was so hungry that I thought I could cook. But I don't have the skill," she laughed, obviously trying to cover the pain. "I burnt my hand and now everything's ruined. Eunwoo is going to get mad when he finds out about this."

"I should've known," he smirked. "It's so obvious when he suddenly brought in a new worker. Since when do you guys live together?" He helped her up, and let her sit on the stools at the counter.

"It's hard to explain," she muttered.

"It's fine, I won't pry into both of your lives," he chuckled. "But is Eunwoo not home? I couldn't reach him since his commander is off."

"He left in the afternoon. I'm not sure where he went, but it didn't matter since he always does that. Usually he would leave food for me, or ask me to go to the restaurant to eat, but he didn't do it this time."

"Really? Oh, I thought this was for you," he pulled the plastic bag closer and took out the wrapped burger. "It seemed like he left this for you, but I'm not really sure since it was in front of the door." Haeun didn't ask further as she unwrapped the burger, totally forgetting about her burnt fingers. Moon Bin clicked his tongue, unimpressed. "You should treat that burn first." He stole the burger from her, pulled her hand to make her stand and let the water run over her fingers. After making sure it was enough, he reached for the bandage in his bag and wrapped it around her fingers.