Daegu

진 골목

Nari's POV

The grey clouds of the darkening sky masked the light from the moon but the street lamps lit up the alleyway ahead of me. My navy blue umbrella wasn't doing the best at its supposed function as i was still getting soaked from the pouring rain that hammered down. The streets were quiet and i, apart from a few others also running from the rain, was trying to get home after a long shift at the cafe i worked at. 

Finally, i reached the most dreaded part of my journey home. The tenebrous alleyway that lead to the front of my apartment block stood in front of me. I mentally prayed that the same gang from the day before were not blocking the way through. With a sigh, i speeded ahead, hoping to get home without any bother. 

"argh" 

He laid in the corner to my left as i walked past. Beaten, they called it. Such a simple word for a simple idea. But this was not simple. The black haired man laid hunched in a ball and was groaning whilst holding onto his stomach, clearly in pain. I walked up to the bloody mess on the floor. He was grotesque. He'd be lucky to remember his own name.  I knelt down to study his face. The perfect jaw line covered in cuts, his eye's clearly bruised and an extremely bloody nose. 

"are you okay? Can you hear me?" i questioned, holding onto his shoulder but he didn't reply.

"Im gonna call an ambulance for you okay?"

"no." He spat out sounding breathless.

"Please don't." 

"You need help. You are covered in blood."

"Just please don't take me to the hospital. I can't go there." He looked me dead in the eye.

"why not?" The man didn't reply. 

I put my arm around his waist and made sure his arm hanged over my shoulder for support so that the two of us can waddle back to my apartment. 

~

Unlocking my door was hard. Having to put the key in whilst the beaten up stranger hanged off of me wasn't easy. I slowly carried the man inside, him still groaning from the pain he was in. He was pretty badly beaten and i hadn't got a clue in the world as to how i was gonna clean him up. 

I dragged him to my grey sofa, which was bound to get covered in blood and rested him there whilst i got the first aid box. Gently, i cleaned the man's cuts with the antiseptic wipes, and applied plasters and bandages after. I debated checking his stomach to see if that was okay, but thought it would be better if i didn't.

Tucked away in my bed, i think about the stranger sleeping on my sofa. The stranger that i had let into my home. The stranger that i had carried home and cleaned up. Perhaps, this was a dumb and health risking decision for myself. However, i was sure that this was an act of decency. Maybe he would return the favour one day. 

What happened to the stranger that i fount on Jin Alley?