I guess you never know when something extraordinary will happen to you. I sure didn’t.

For me, it was a day like any other. I was pulled from the bliss of sleep by the hellish beeping of my alarm at an ungodly hour, I had to muster up every ounce of willpower not to hit ‘snooze’, and what eventually got me up wasn’t my own conviction, but Hobi’s incessant whining.

“Ugh, Hobi,” I mumbled, sleepily reaching for his soft, furry ears to give them a pet. “Can we wait to run for, like, five minutes?”

Hobi fixed me with a puppy-dog stare, his tail wagging ever so slightly. He sneezed. I was finished.

“Fine.”

``

I jogged my usual route, Dean’s “I’m Not Sorry” pounding in my ears in rhythm with my steps as the sky lightened. This was the best time to run in Los Angeles: no traffic, no blazing heat. It was in these moments that I could really clear my head. For once, I wasn't thinking of him. By the time we reached the park, I was drenched in sweat, focused.

Just a bit further. Pant. Pant.

Just a bit further. Pant.

Just a bit—

“Aaah!”

Without warning, Hobi took off, dragging me for a few feet before the leash was yanked from my hand. Unable to stop the momentum, arms windmilling like a lunatic, I unceremoniously crashed into the fountain.

 Luckily, it wasn’t too deep, but as I pushed myself up, drenched and sputtering obscenities, a concerned face peered down at me.

“Aish, you okay? You took a big fall, there.” A guy looking to be around twenty held out a hand to me, his brown eyes sparkling. There was a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “At first I started laughing ‘cause I thought it was pretty funny, but then I was just like, ‘Oh, , is she alright?’”

I blinked, speechless.

“Well, are you?”

“I… I’m fine.” I hesitantly took his hand, and he easily pulled me up, helping me out of the fountain. His touch was pleasantly warm. “Thank you.” I managed.

“Yikes, you got drenched, kid.”

“Woah, really? I didn’t notice.” I automatically shot back. Whoops, that’s a stranger I just sassed. I glanced away, but the man giggled.

“Haha, what a smart-!” The the giggling escalated into full on peals of laughter as he doubled over, slapping his thighs vigorously. "And here I just helped you out, so cold!"

What an exaggerated reaction. I stared at him in fascination, his broad shoulders stooped and shaking, his leanly muscular arms tense as he held himself up. He's wearing athletic attire, out for a jog like me, maybe?

I continued to watch him as he finally composed himself, cocking his head and looking up at me with an easy grin. To my surprise, he reached a hand toward me and gently moved a wet lock of hair from my face. “Better?” I nodded, smiling slightly. “Let me get you a towel.”

He turned, and we noticed a certain fluffball behind the stranger, his nose buried in the man’s bag. “Ah, Hobi! Get out of there!” I raced over and frantically wrestled him away from the bag, but the slobbery wrappers in his mouth told me it was already too late. “Gaah, Hobi. Bad dog. I am so sorry! I’ll replace whatever he ate.” I apologized.

The man rifled around in his bag, his eyes wide “Waaah, did you feed him before you left?”

“Well, I did, but he just loves to—“

The man cut me off and draped a towel over me, pulling it tight around my shoulders. “Relax, don’t worry. I was just teasing. It’s not a big deal, kay?” He beamed, and the warmth of that smile put the sun to shame. I felt at once calmed and strangely stirred up by it. “Hey, what’s your name?”

The question caught me off guard. “Ah… Annalise.”

“Cute,” He murmured, running a hand through his shiny brown bangs.

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing. And what about your dog, here?”

I chuckled. “That’s Hobi.”

There was that smile again. It captivated me. “I thought so. What a coincidence.”

“Hm?” I quirked an eyebrow, gazing at him in askance.

“My name’s Jung Hoseok,’ he clarified. “A.k.a., Hobi.”
 

[A/N: Hiiiii, everyone! Hope you all are doing well, my life is currently crazy, but who needs actual schoolwork and preparation for finals when you can procrastinate by writing BTS fanfiction? Please let me know if you like this story, I'll definitely be continuing it soon. Also, take the pole below if you've got a minute, just for funzies :) Thank you for reading!]