01 – An Unexpected Encounter

             (for a stranger, he was pretty trustworthy)               

The idea of sitting under the heat for hours didn’t stop her.  Recently, she discovered that her talents could be of use, too. Her mother forbade her to play the instrument she most loved, but when she argued that she could earn money with it, her mother instantly agreed.

So that’s how she came about—taking the daily bus to the center district of their town after her part-time job, just so she could play and receive extra money from spectators who were satisfied with her performance. That’s until someone came there earlier than her and stole her spotlight.

Having to be an hour late than her usual time—to which she blamed her co-workers for—she rushed only to see a large crowd already formed in the spot she once claimed hers. Even she, herself, couldn’t garner such mass of people, so how could this person do so?

Weaving through the crowd while tightly gripping the strap of her guitar case, she stumbled her way through the front only to meet eyes with the beautiful stranger who supposedly claimed her popularity. She was positive she’d seen those intimidating brown orbs before.

His performance ended with a soft strum of his guitar, and everyone clapped and whistled. There were even some screams from girls who became his fans then and there. She couldn’t help but clap along; she had to admit, he sang and played well. Too add up to that, he had the looks, too.

She waited until the crowd dispersed before approaching him. She her teeth in when she saw girls making a line beside him with pens and blank papers ready in their hands.

Annoyingly, she waited for him to finish what she called his ‘fan-meeting’. When she was sure no one would bother him for a picture or autograph, she timidly walked up to him. He was busily arranging his guitar back in its case, so he didn’t look up. But he was aware of her presence.

Before she could say anything else, he spoke up. “I’m sensing that you’re going to interrogate me and ask why I stole your spot.”

There was a sense of arrogance in his voice. She eyed him as he stood straight up and slung the case on his shoulders.

“The people—including me—were expecting something from you today; but you didn’t appear until now.”

She nodded in understanding and bit her lips. “And so that’s why you took my place instead.”

So that’s why she recognized those eyes. He smirked, a dimple appearing on the right side of his cheek. She gulped. She always had a thing for people with cute dimples.

“Hold your hand out,” he commanded, taking something out of his pocket. She hesitated. Strangers should never be trusted. He chuckled at her grimaced expression.

“Don’t worry; I’m not going to do anything out of the ordinary,” he promised. She could tell that he was being sincere, so she caved in and followed his orders.

She blinked once; twice.

In her palms were money—a huge amount of crumpled bills and a few sets of coins. She stood frozen as she eyed the objects, unaware that he started walking away.

Coming back to her sanity, she chased the stranger, constantly calling out ‘hey’ in hopes of catching his attention. He whirled around and halted to a stop.

“Do you know it’s absolutely rude to call someone you don’t know ‘hey’?” was the first thing he said.

She put her left palm out, breathing in for some air before she spoke.

“What’s this for?” she pointed at the money in her hand, as if it was a foreign object.

He cocked his head to the side and knitted his brows.

“I thought you would understand, but I guess not,” he laughed and her heart stopped. “It’s compensation. I see that you need money, and you’re supposed to earn it today, too.”

He suddenly became timidly shy as he rubbed the nape of his neck.

“But then I took your spot, so yeah...You get what I'm saying though, right?”

The corner of her lips couldn’t help but curl upwards.

“For a stranger, you’re pretty trustworthy. Others would’ve taken my spot and will regularly come there and earn for themselves. Although I wouldn’t call it mine either, since I know I'm not the first one to perform  there...” she trailed off, lost in her own thoughts for a while.

“I guess I’ll see you...whenever, then,” he waved.

“Wait, I didn’t quite catch your name,” she always seemed to hold him off.

“Myungsoo.”                                          

“Jieun,” she returned the favour. “Lee Jieun.”

“I’ll be expecting you to come early tomorrow, Jieun.”

Jieun was sure that night would be another sleepless one. 

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