Finally, you have become an adult. You decided to venture out and become an independent individual, moving out of your parents' house.

However, you soon realized that being an independent adult comes with financial responsibilities. You found an apartment in a questionable part of town. At first, it didn't bother you, but you kept hearing the cries of a little boy from the neighboring apartment.

One day, as you were returning home from university, you discovered a little boy sleeping by your door, covered in bruises.

You paused mid-step, clutching the keys to your apartment tightly in your hand. The boy couldn’t have been older than eight or nine. He was huddled with his arms wrapped around his chest, trying to keep warm despite the summer heat radiating from the pavement. The bruises on his face were glaring—purple and yellow, fresh and fading—a disturbing collage of pain.

You glanced down the hallway. The flickering overhead light buzzed softly. The neighbor’s door—Apartment 2B—was tightly shut, but you recognized it as the source of the cries you had heard through the wall for nights on end. You had never seen anyone enter or exit, only heard shouting, thuds, and then silence.