You hate the subway.

Unfortunately you take it every day. You have to. You work miles away from home and each day you need to travel for an hour to work and from it. Each day you're horribly bored. Each day you really have nothing to do for that one hour, but not today.

Today, you've seen, who could possibly be, one of God's angels on earth, at least in the way the light is falling on his light brown hair, making it shine. He's cute, very cute but he's lost in his own world, his ears plugged with headphones and his perfectly, pink, 'm'-shaped lips mouthing each word. His eyes are closed and oblivious to your searching gaze. The lady on your right has noticed it, though and happens to smile knowingly as you catch her eye. You blush with mortification but it doesn't stop you from sneaking small glances, every now and then (more like each minute), at this beautiful man.

The train stops.

The same lady on your right gets up to alight and you could almost swear she's laughing silently at you. You duck your head once again, but take a peak at him through your hair. His eyes are open now and he's looking in your direction. You lift your head slowly in amazement. Your eyes meet. He notices your gaze. He smiles and you colour violently.

You forget to return the smile. By the time you realize that, he's already turned his head away and you're left cringing with mortification at the thought of him thinking of you as rude. You try to catch his eye again but he's returned to his music. You return your eyes to your lap, dejected. Perhaps he believes you're stuck up and snobbish, or perhaps you're rude or just plain weird. In any case, it's bad news for you.

The train stops again.

Your eyes immediately dart towards him, sending fervent prayers for him to stay and he does. An old lady gets on, with large bags. She looks around for a seat. None are empty and nobody pays her any heed. Before you can do anything, the angel rises from his seat and offers it to her with a smile. You melt, although, in no way, is that smile aimed at you. His smile makes him look even more beautiful, if that is even possible.

You gasp. For more reasons than one. He is walking towards you. You lower your head for a few seconds to calm your erratic heart. When you slowly raise your head. He's standing a little to your left, his eyes are closed again. He's hanging onto the overhead rod and he's bobbing his head, now, to the beats of the music you can't hear. He looks cute, almost like a child and you wonder what his real age is. Surely he's younger than you.

His eyes open slowly and meet yours. He smiles again and thankfully this time you remember to return it, albeit it's very shaky.

The train stops once more.

A lady, with two children, get on. Once more, no one pays them any heed. You mentally glare at your co-passengers and call the lady, sacrificing your seat. She looks at you very gratefully. You don't mind at all. You can now stand next to your angel. You wonder if he's still in university. You're looking at his side profile now, the slant of his shoulder, the curves of his arm, his chest...  you wonder how firm it is. It doesn't take too long for you to find out.

The train halts.

You've been paying him so much of your attention that your grip on the hand rail has loosened. The instant the train halts, intertia sends you stumbling forward, right into this man's chest. One of his arms instinctively wrap around your shoulders. People around you gasp. For you, time freezes.  His chest is very firm. He smells of fresh soaps and deodorant. His voice penetrates your thoughts. He asks if you're alright. You jump back lightly. He looks concerned. You blush a bright red and nod. His voice is soft and sweet.

"Mi-mianhaeyo..." you mumble. He smiles and shakes his head.

"Ani, gwenchanayo." You're almost a puddle now. Your leggs have really turned to jelly.

The train stops yet again.

The person behind you stumbles and pushes you. You, who were facing this beauty of a man crash into him once more- only this time- your lips crash. For a moment, the two of you stay like that and then spring apart while simultaneously exclaiming,

"Mian-!"

"Mian-!"

And then,

"Gwenchana-!"

"Gwenchana-!"

You jerk your head towards your feet. This is not how it is supposed to happen. This is not how it's done. This is not how it is supposed to feel!

Your shoulders start to shake. Your face and collar feel hot. Tears begin to form and he lightly touches your arm.

"Is everything okay?" You sigh. He kissed you. He might as well deal with the consequences.

"That- that was my first kiss..." his mouth forms an 'o' and you don't regret having kissed him, just regret the fact that he's a total stranger. You continue, "I just lost my first kiss to a Uni student!" He looks at you for a second before bursting out with laughter. You glare at him. How dare he laugh at you! Sure, you're twenty four, older than him and have never kissed but that was only because you've never found someone you wanted to. So how dare he!

The train stops at another station.

Some people alight. He leads your fuming self, gently, to an empty spot and sits next to you, still looking vaguely amused. You give him your best glare although you really don't want to. He shakes his head, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have laughed, it's just that- how old do you think I am?"

"Umm... twenty one... twenty two.." you answer, slightly unsure of where this is headed.

"I'm twenty six." Your mouth flies open in shock. He laughs again and you pout. He really should not be allowed to be that beautiful.

But that little exchange get you talking for the rest of the journey. He is easy to talk to. His voice is beautiful. His smile is beautiful. You've never thought of men as beautiful but this one defies that thought completely. Somewhere down the line, you ask him where he's getting off and your pleased to know that your destination is the same.

The train halts. It's your stop.

You step off the train and onto the platform. He is next to you. You're more than dejected at the thought that you may never see your first kiss again. You turn to say goodbye but he gets to it first.

He cups your right cheek and pulls you in untill your lips meet. This kiss is softer, sweeter and you're sorry it's over so soon.

"Hope this makes up for the first one," he whispers, as he slips something into your palms, while pulling away from you. You look at the white card.

Lee Sungmin

Musician

You make up your mind then. This will not be your last kiss, not from him.

When you lift your head, he's standing at a distance. Still smiling brightly, waving at you with both hand.

"Yep, definitely not my last."