After the skateboarding competition ended about an hour ago, the sight of a male in his early twenties walked ahead before a sigh escaped between his lips. He was not other than the winner of the competition, Lee Changsub’s rival, Lim Hyunsik. Heading to the typical stall he used to go, he easily found a seat before the owner immediately served him two bottles of soju since he was indeed one of the regular customers she had. Putting down his skateboard beside the table and poured the drink into a small glass then took a sip ceremoniously without any delay.

Unknown to Hyunsik though there was a girl who sat a table away, glancing at him as he continuously pouring shots after shots until she saw the first bottle being emptied. He opened the second and safe to say the last, he chugged the feeling away and the hazy view started to take the worse side of him upon drinking half of the green coloured bottle. He stood up from his seat, only to stagger his way out of the stall and left his belongings there. Seeing that he simply went off unpaid, the girl quickly smacked a handful of cash over at the casher, paying for two.

She scanned her surroundings with sharp eyes as it was relatively late and by late, she meant super late to one point she believed it was almost midnight. Spotting Hyunsik’s figure metres away that appeared to be struggling by the crosswalk, she increased her pace. She had no idea why she was doing it but she could careless because if she did not, the drunken fellow would not notice what could have happened to him.

A car drove towards him in an indefinite speed as if he or she owned the road. Grabbing his shoulder instinctively, she was able to pull him off the dangerous zone. The male stumbled about the place and for him to head home on his own in that state. She cautiously scanned his body before taking out his wallet from his left back pocket and searched of his identification card.

At the end of the night, the girl hailed a taxi which conveniently passed by and with the help of the driver, they sat him on the back seat. She even showed his ID as that was where his address clearly printed on. Paying off the fee, she pursed her lips after realising the amount she spent that night but this Hyunsik’s fellow seemed far more important. So she snuck the wallet back to the visually wasted male’s hand.

“Where have you been, Yeonrin-ah? I thought you said you will be home by 9.” The voice owned by her uncle reached her ears, namely Lee Yeonrin, as soon as she opened the door. She took a seat in front of his uncle who merely eyed on him, waiting for her explanation and heaved a sigh. One of the maids then came to her with a glass of plain water. Once she had it in her hands, she thanked her.

“How about I introduced you to the guy who dated your late cousin?” Her uncle suddenly spoke yet it was not a surprise to her. She heard this question before. He continued, “He’s a nice guy and I know you can take care of him just like how your cousin used to. He might be in his depressed moment right now too since he didn’t even attend the funeral.”

Another sigh came out before Yeonrin shook her head and changed her position to a lying one on the sofa. She was too tired to even think of the offer and to accept it that easily was like taking advantage of that poor guy. Whoever he was, she just hoped he was not out there doing something stupid.

“By the way,” The older male tended to have the habit of speaking things slowly so she had to adjust her head slightly to see his face clearly since he already sat on another empty sofa. “I submitted your resign letter to your boss recently so you don’t have to work anymore. I’m sending you to Italy so you can continue and learn more about those art and stuff that you love so much.” When he was done, the girl’s body sprung up.

“Are you being serious? I don’t have that much money to survive there.” Her eyes blinked repetitively as she could not believe what she gained from her very, genuinely kind uncle. Before she was able to list more cons of the study, the uncle stopped her. “Don’t worry about the money. The salary you received from working as a part-timer? You can keep those in your bank for emergency. I’ll sponsor everything.”

With that, Yeonrin immediately ran to her uncle and gave him a big hug. He could pass being her father at this state but she did not have the guts to say it aloud. After all, to her real father would always be the best in her heart.

“Lim Hyunsik, wake up! Don’t you have a class to attend this morning?” A man in his mid-fifties shouted when he saw his son was still in bed, wrapped in the comfort of his warm blanket. Hyunsik’s head felt heavy from the loudness. Nevertheless, he managed to grab his phone before letting out a gasp. Quickly brushed his teeth and washing up, he simply put on a cap before throwing on a black jacket on his torso as an extra layering for the early spring season weather.

While he was tying his shoes though, his father smacked his head lightly, earning a soft moan from the fellow as he was not expected it to increase the throbbing he had in his head. “Do well in your studies. And be sure not to forget about the blind date that I have set for you.” Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, the male combed his hair with his fingers and went off to the streets.

His class ended for the day and after a battling the light-headedness throughout the morning, Hyunsik chose to go to the stall from last night. It was noon by the time he arrived so he ordered a bowl of soup and gestured for the aunt for a question. He was glad his skateboard remained at the same place since it was pricey and he could not afford a new one. Handing her the amount of money he recalled giving in the past, he was shock when she refused the payment and told him it was already paid.

Taking the chance to know of the girl’s identity, Hyunsik hesitantly asked if he could reach for her and fortunately for him, she might had helped the aunt once before so the girl left her phone number. Thanking the stall owner for her help, he dialled the number that he just received. It did not take long for the other to pick the call up.

“Hello. Are you the person who paid for my drinks last night?”

“Oh, yes I am. May I know why and how do you even have my number?”

“Meet me tonight in front of the subway entrance near the coffee shop by 9 pm.” Hyunsik instantly hanged the call, cutting the conversation without the recipient even know in detail where his precise location.

The girl on the other side stared at her phone in confusion before shrugging and continued with her work at the famous Japanese retail shop. She somewhat got an idea, vaguely of where the place might be since there was only one coffee shop in her mind that opened near a subway station. With her shift ending at eight, she grabbed her bag from her locker and made her way to the so-called subway entrance in a fast pace.

She looked around the entrance area which was still bustling with users although it was already late evening. Well, the city never seemed to have a break in the first place but from the number of people, it was rather hard to find the fellow from yesterday. As if their meeting was well-planned, Hyunsik turned around only to see a female figure looking like she was searching from someone. Walking towards her without doubt, he tapped her shoulders, gaining her full attention once she spun around.

“Is it you? Follow me.” He said at ease after seeing she bobbed her head. Again, he did not say much other than leading the way as the girl trailed from behind. The two of them entered the mentioned shop and the fragrant smell of coffee lingered in the place was lessening the tension he had in the back of his mind. The worker behind the counter then asked for their order when it was their turn. She giddy clapped her hands, excited as she thought he would treat her.

“Give me the unicorn frappe. Wait, no. It’s too sour for me. Can I get the chocolate chip frappe instead?” She pointed but what she did not expect was Hyunsik glaring at her before sighing. “Are you kidding me? Two iced Americano, please.” He suddenly ordered and left but not without paying for his. Meaning he was not treating her after all.

Both of them took their seats facing each other at the corner of the coffee shop before the male sipped his drink and asked for her name. If he was planning to repay her, the least he should do was at least, knowing her name. Once he got it, he spoke, “Tell me, Yeonrin-ah, what did happen to me last night?” He saw her fixing her position and began to tell him everything – from A to Z. “I’m sorry, Hyunsik-ssi but we just met. You shouldn’t be speaking so informally to me and that fast too. I know we are of the same age but-”

Hyunsik smirked as if he just heard something that should not been told to him and folded his arms close to his body. “How do you know my name and age?” Yeonrin startled by his questioned before her brows furrowed. “Didn’t I tell you that I took out your ID and showed it to the taxi driver so he can send you home? Of course I bound to see it in a glance.”

The lad bobbed his head and grabbed his skateboard which he brought along against the window. Telling her to follow him once again, they headed to the skate park. Though the weather was rather chill at night yet there were quite a number of people seemingly around their age skateboarding freely. When those humans saw Hyunsik entered the area, most of them stopped and chanted his name. A smirk made its way on his lips as he waved to his so-called fans.

“Skateboarding is my favourite past-time activity by the way.” She shook her head in slight grimace and when her gaze was torn off his, she heaved a sigh. Hyunsik put down his skateboard soon after and started to show Yeonrin some of the skills he mastered. Surely enough, the girl witnessed it in awe.

Days passed by swiftly as Hyunsik woke up without his father’s shouting although he did not have any class on that exact day. He already made plans so he got ready before leaving the house to meet Yeonrin. Merely exchanging a few conversations through texts, they slowly built a trustworthy relationship and that only made the girl felt bad of continuing to see it in another light.

Barging into the lecture hall while the lecturer was giving out a talk was Hyunsik himself. All eyes were on him as he casually took an empty seat beside Yeonrin’s. She glanced at him out of legitimate curiosity since she swore he should not be there in the first place. But seconds later, she focused on writing notes again. From the corner of her eyes, she saw he raised his hand and asked the lecturer to have a break which he easily agreed.

“Hey, I don’t have any class today. Additional fun fact, it’s my birthday today so let’s go out!” He informed giddily but she refused doing so since she did not want to miss her last class before leaving for Italy. Pushing his chair back, he went out of the class. That was a cue for her fellow friends to surround her with questions. Some of it would ask who the handsome boy was.

“Yes, he’s h