The first time I saw him was on New Year's Eve.

I had just moved into my new apartment in New York City and was exploring the surrounding streets at night. It was the start of my new life away from home. Here, I was going to build my career as a concert pianist from the ground up. Though I was excited, I had to admit that I was absolutely, positively terrified. 

I looked around me. Everybody around me was smiling and laughing with their friend or lover. My mind travelled to my family and friends who were all thousands of miles away.  Though I kept a smile plastered on my face, the truth was that I had never felt more alone in my entire life.

I wandered aimlessly for hours until I arrived at a clock tower. Looking around, I spotted a lonely street dancer. I decided to stop by and take a look.

The dancer had his eyes closed and was moving with a raw passion. He had tousled brown hair and tanned skin and was wearing dark clothes. Moving every inch of his body at an incredible pace, he was a beautiful blur. He didn't seem to notice me; he was lost in his own world. 

I was mesmerized. I found it a little odd, however, that the dancer was not playing any music. 

After what seemed like an eternity, a loud clanging could be heard from overhead. The clock tower struck twelve. I could feel the vibrations of the tolls running through my chest.

The dancer paused, sensing the commotion of the clock tower. He looked up at me with warm, brown eyes and gave me a bright smile. It was the first smile I had received since arriving in the city. I smiled back. Shortly after, the dancer returned to his little world.

I never knew what a big difference one smile could make. In a place that's filled with unfamiliar faces, that one smile gave me a much-needed boost.

Later, before I left to return to my apartment, I discreetly slipped a hundred-dollar bill into the dancer's cup. "Happy New Year," I whispered. As I left, I noticed a word neatly written on the cup. Jongin.

--

The next day, I was taking a morning stroll when I found myself at the clock tower again. I wondered if Jongin was there.

He was.  Again, he seemed like he was in his own little world. I stopped to observe him. I stood there for about twenty minutes before he finally opened his eyes and saw me.

A look of recognition settled into Jongin's face as his eyes locked with mine. He gave me a small, almost shy smile. I blushed from the sudden eye contact and turned away.  As I focused my eyes on the nearest trash can, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around.

Jongin was in front of me, holding out the hundred dollar bill I had given him earlier.

I looked down at the money and back up at him with a confused expression. Soon, I realized that he was probably thinking that I had accidentally given him a hundred.

"Oh, no, I meant to give you that," I said, pushing the bill away. He looked at me with a puzzled expression. "It's for you," I added.

Jongin seemed to think for a moment before looking up at me with a warm smile. He wrapped his arms around me in a loose, but cozy hug. Though I was startled, I eventually leaned into him. Then, he turned away and returned to his dance.

I watched him for a few more minutes before returning to my apartment. When I got back, I felt something in the hood of my coat. It was a hundred dollar bill.

I smiled.

-

A day later, the weather was especially cold, so I decided to visit a nearby cafe. It was a quaint little place that advertised organic milk and locally-sourced ingredients.

"I'll have a caramel macchiato with extra whipped cream," I said.

As the barista started to write down my order, I looked out the window. My eyes landed on the clock tower peeking through the trees.

"Actually, make that two," I added.

-

Again, I found myself at the clock tower. This time, I was holding two hot cups of coffee. I walked straight towards Jongin.

He stopped dancing and looked up at me, giving me a heart-fluttering smile. I returned the smile and held out a cup of coffee. He glanced at the cup and pointed at himself. I nodded and pushed the cup into his hands.

After a moment, he finally accepted the cup. He motioned for me to sit down at a nearby bench. We sat a couple of feet apart on the bench and drank our coffee quietly.

Normally, I would feel the need to fill the silence with conversation, but somehow, with Jongin, the silence was comfortable.

Suddenly, the clock tower tolled, its loud chimes shocking me. I cursed as my hot coffee spilled onto the jacket. I glanced at Jongin. He didn't seem affected at all by the sudden blaring noise.

That's when I realized that Jongin was deaf.

My eyes lingered on him. He continued to sip his coffee but sensed my gaze on him. He turned to meet my eyes. I wanted to turn away from his brown eyes but couldn't find the strength to. His eyes lowered from my eyes to my nose and from my nose to my mouth. Suddenly, he reached up to touch my face. My eyes widened, but I didn't pull away. 

I felt his finger brush over my lips like a whisper. Startled, I reached up to touch my lips. My finger came in contact with a dollop of whipped cream. Jongin chuckled a little as he watched me wipe away the whipped cream moustache. It was a deep, throaty laugh that I couldn't help but love.

--

After that day, I made it a part of my everyday routine to visit Jongin. I always had something for him, whether it was a cup of coffee or a warm croissant. And each time, he welcomed me with a big smile. My heart would skip a beat.

Sometimes, he would teach me complicated dance moves. Other times, we would sit on the bench and feed birds. Once, when a pigeon pooped on his shoe, my laugh could be heard from a mile away.

Some days, I would bring my keyboard out and play for him. Though he couldn't hear it, he seemed to enjoy it. Every once in a while, I would catch him looking at me fondly as I played.

Eight months passed by like a blur. During that time, I had grown comfortable with Kai. Though we never exchanged a single word, I felt as if I knew him like the back of my hand.

--

I stopped by the clock tower as usual. Today, I was holding two vanilla ice cream cones. I glanced around and frowned. The dancer was nowhere to be found.

--

It took me 35 hours to find him. I scoured every building, every park, every corner of the city to find him. With teary eyes, I finally found him in the city hospital.

This time, though, he didn't welcome me with a smile. Instead, I was welcomed by a stone-faced doctor in a stark white lab coat.

"The driver's brake was broken and the car was hurtling forward. She honked multiple times, but Kai kept on walking," the doctor said. "The car was going ninety miles an hour when it hit him. He broke 40 bones in his body. He's lucky that he's even alive."

I wiped away a stray tear. "Will he be okay?"

The doctor pursed his lips. "His body should be able to recover just fine. It'll take a long time, but he'll get there. His brain, on the other hand, suffered some serious damage. We don't know how it affects him until he wakes up. That is, if he wakes up," the doctor said.

My eyes widened.

"Just...be prepared for the worst," the doctor said hesitantly.

"Also," the doctor added, "He was holding this." The doctor held out a bouquet of white roses. The snow-white petals were stained with blood. There was a small note peeking through the flowers that read "I love you".

My world came crashing down.

--

Three years later...

It was New Year's Eve and I sighed softly as I walked through the streets of New York. It was my first time in the city ever since she left for Europe three years ago. It looked exactly the same as it did in the past. But to Amber, it wasn't the same.

Though I had received dozens of New Year's party invitations, I rejected them all. I wanted to go somewhere by myself. So here I was, strolling through the same neighborhood I was so familiar with. Every now and then, I would get stopped by a fan. I was, after all, a star pianist.

After a while, I found myself at the clock tower. I stared at the empty space where Jongin used to dance. A sharp pang ran through my chest. I sat down at the bench where Jongin and I used to sit. The clock tower struck twelve and with each toll, my heart felt heavier and heavier.

I felt someone sit down next to me on the bench and turned to look at who it was. The person was holding two cups of coffee. I looked up to meet his brown eyes.

"Happy New Year," he said with a smile.