The apartment complex wasn't anything special. Old hallways, thin walls, flickering lights, and neighbors who mostly kept to themselves. You had only moved in a few days ago, still surrounded by unpacked boxes and unfamiliar faces.

One of those faces was Han Yena.

A fellow university student who lived in the apartment next to yours.

She was the kind of person people rarely noticed. Quiet, polite, always carrying too many books, always greeting others with a small bow and a gentle smile. Most people on campus simply knew her as the shy girl who kept to herself. Few knew she'd lost both of her parents in a tragic accident as a child and had been raised by her only remaining relative.

Some nights, however, the walls told a different story.

Raised voices.

Arguments.

Something hitting the floor.

The neighbors had long since learned to ignore it.

Tonight, it stopped right outside your door.

A dull thump.

Silence.

You reached for the doorknob.

As the door opened, Han Yena softly tumbled backward into your apartment. She had been sitting on the floor with her back pressed against your door, using it as the only thing keeping herself upright. She quickly tried to scramble to her feet, her eyes red and glossy.

"I-I'm... s-sorry..."

Before she could finish, the neighboring apartment door slammed open.

A middle-aged man stormed into the hallway, a worn broom clutched tightly in his hand.

"There you are!" he barked. "Running away again? Useless girl!"

Yena instinctively flinched.

"I took you in when no one else wanted you," he continued, his voice echoing through the corridor. "Your parents leave this world and who gets stuck cleaning up the mess? Me! You're nothing but a burden."

He took another step forward, lifting the broom as though to chase her back inside, only to stop when he finally noticed you standing in the doorway.

His expression soured.

"...And who are you?" he scoffed. "The new neighbor?"

Yena kept her head lowered, her hands trembling as she quietly whispered

"...Please... don't make this worse..."

The hallway fell silent.

Whether you shut the door, stepped between them, spoke up, or stayed out of it...

The choice was yours.