I stood up from the chair, the leather seat making a soft creak as I pushed it back. The room still smelled faintly of cigar smoke and whiskey.

"Good to see at least someone of us is having a family to live for," I said, raising one eyebrow while looking at Jonathan.

He turned halfway toward the door, already stepping out, and laughed—big, deep, the way he always did when he thought something was funny and true at the same time.

"Haha, you’re young, Ezra. You’ll be there someday as well. Chill out and enjoy as much as you can right now."

"Yeah, sure..." I said lazily, shaking my head side to side. "Like I’m enjoying."

Jonathan paused in the doorway, one hand on the frame. He looked back at me with a curved, knowing smile.

"And hopefully it will be with the woman you love," he said. "i.e. Aeri." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The name landed soft but heavy. I pictured her face for a second—pale on the hospital pillow, eyes closed, breathing slow under the thin blanket. My chest tightened.

"Haha, thanks for the blessings," I said, trying to keep my voice light. It came out quieter than I meant.

Jonathan gave a short nod, still smiling, then turned and started walking down the hallway. His heavy footsteps echoed on the carpet.

I rubbed the back of my neck once and looked down at myself. Same black shirt and jeans from yesterday. The shirt had a faint smell of Elizabeth’s place—coffee and her perfume. I wrinkled my nose.

"I should get ready now," I muttered to the empty room. "Need to change clothes at least."

"Yeah, go take a shower and get ready," Jonathan’s voice floated back from the corridor. He hadn’t gone far yet.

"Alright, sir," I called after him, exhaling long and tired. I stood up straighter, rolled my shoulders like I could shake the heaviness off.

"And eat something while you’re at it!" he yelled again, voice already farther away.

"Okay, Daddy!" I yelled back, half-laughing, half-annoyed.

I heard his low chuckle echo one last time before it faded.

"Jeez... he treats me like a kid all the time," I muttered to myself, shaking my head again as I stepped out of the room.

The hallway felt cooler after the warm lamp light inside. The golden wall sconces threw long shadows behind me. I walked toward the staff changing area at the far end—past the rows of closed doors, past the faint sound of music already starting to drift up from the main hall downstairs.

The shower room filled with steam fast. Hot water poured down from the wide showerhead, hitting my shoulders and running in steady streams over my back. *Shwaa*—the sound was loud in the small tiled space, drowning out everything else for a minute.

I’d already showered that morning at Elizabeth’s place, standing under her fancy rain shower with the good-smelling body wash. But after spending hours in the hospital—sitting next to Aeri’s bed, breathing in the sharp smell of disinfectant, hand sanitizer, and that heavy medicine air—I felt like the smell had stuck to my skin. I needed to wash it all off again.

I squeezed a big dollop of the plain white body wash onto the rough scrubber. The foam came up quick. I started scrubbing hard—first my arms, then my chest, down my stomach, over my legs. I made sure to get everywhere: neck, behind my ears, under my arms. Then I moved lower, scrubbing the jock area carefully, not wanting even a trace of hospital smell left on me. My client didn’t need to smell antiseptic and sickness the second I walked into the room.

I sighed, long and tired, letting the hot water beat against my closed eyes for a second. Then I turned the knob again. Fresh water rushed down, washing away the last of the soap bubbles in swirling white trails that disappeared into the drain.

I shut off the shower, stepped out onto the black rubber mat, and grabbed a clean towel from the stack. Quick dry—hair, face, chest, legs. I brushed my teeth at the sink next to the showers, spitting out the minty foam and rinsing twice. Felt better already. Cleaner. Like I could leave the hospital behind for a few hours.

I wrapped the towel low around my waist and walked out of the shower area into the small staff changing room attached to it.

The door was half-open. One of the waitresses—Soojin, the one with the short bob and the silver bunny ears—stood there holding a folded stack of clothes. Black pants, black t-shirt, fresh underwear on top. She must’ve grabbed them from my locker.

"Here... are your clothes, Ezra," she said, holding the stack out with both hands.

"Thanks a lot," I said, taking them from her.

I didn’t wait. I dropped the towel right there—let it fall in a wet heap on the floor. Fully naked, I stepped into the clean black boxers first, then pulled the pants up and zipped them. The fabric felt cool against my still-warm skin.

Soojin made a small sound. "Umm..."

I glanced over. Her cheeks had gone bright pink. She was staring at the floor now, but her eyes kept flicking up quick, then away again. Her thighs pressed together a little, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

I didn’t say anything. Just pulled the t-shirt over my head, tugged it down so it sat right across my shoulders. We were in a brothel. People walked around half-naked or completely naked here all the time. No one blinked twice. She knew that.

Still, she looked flustered. After a few seconds she turned fast, almost tripping over her own heels, and hurried out of the room without another word.

"Weird woman..." I muttered under my breath, shaking my head with a small smile.

I ran my fingers through my damp hair a few times, pushing it back so it wouldn’t fall into my eyes. A quick look in the small mirror on the wall—good enough. Clean, neat, ready.

I picked up the wet towel, tossed it into the hamper, then slipped on my shoes. One last deep breath.