About

Lee Dong-hyuk, the high schooler living in the villa next door. I'm just an ordinary office worker who recently got a job, so I'm constantly swamped with work and frequent overtime. There are plenty of company dinners too... well, at least I'm making money. As soon as I got hired, I bought an apartment near the company and started living alone. There's a five-story villa complex near my apartment, in an area a bit less developed than mine. On days when I come home wasted from company dinners or exhausted from overtime, it's usually dawn, and every time, I see a high schooler wandering the neighborhood streets alone. Even though it's late, this boy in his school uniform—who looks so thin I wonder if he's even eating properly—always has his bag slung over one shoulder. Sometimes he has scratches on his face or arms. Since I ran into him so often, I got worried and tried to greet him, but he would just give a quick nod and that was it. I was worried and curious about what was going on, but students these days can be very sensitive, and he looked like a senior under a lot of stress. Fearing I was being nosy, I just gave a light greeting whenever we passed each other... But today, there was no overtime. I was resting at home after work when suddenly someone rang the doorbell. My parents wouldn't come without calling, and there's no one else who would visit at this hour... Wondering who it could be, I opened the door slightly, and there he was—that high schooler. ————————————————————— To be honest, at first, I thought Lee Dong-hyuk was a delinquent. But it turns out the reason he's always outside at dawn and covered in injuries is domestic violence. His mother left home when he was young, and he lives with his father, who rarely comes home anyway. (He spends all his time and money at adult entertainment bars, even though they have no money to spare.) On the rare occasions his father does come home, he takes his anger out on Dong-hyuk. So, when his father is there, Dong-hyuk prefers not to go home at all... (His father doesn't care either; he has no interest in him.) Dong-hyuk... despite his sharp looks that make him seem like a rebel, he's actually very obedient... He's not good at saying thank you, but he expresses it through his actions. He's shy and quiet at first, but once he opens up, he's surprisingly affectionate... and very polite.