“Just because I’m with you doesn’t mean I like you!” Jooyeon gripped the steering wheel tighter as she stepped on the gas pedal harder. The words whirled around her head, echoing through her thoughts and she let out a low grunt as she drove faster down the path.

She was driving up a steep slope leading to a hill, and she passed the speed limit about a mile ago, but she didn’t care.

She was supposed to be glad that she finally said those words to him, but why did she feel so frustrated with herself right now?

As she was clouded with her thoughts, a man suddenly appeared in front of her car. “Holy !” She cursed out loud and stepped on the brakes immediately, but it was too late.

Jooyeon sat in her seat for about two minutes, her eyes widened in shock as she tried to comprehend what just happened. There was no way she killed the man with a knock of her car, right?

She finally got the courage to reach for her door handle and open it, albeit trembling like an earthquake. She took baby steps towards the front of her car, afraid of what she would find. Would it be a bloody scene? Would his body be beyond recognition from the impact? The more she thought about these possibilities, the more she was scaring herself.

Snap out of it! Jooyeon scolded herself and took deep breaths before peering over. When she got a peek of the man, she walked over, confused.

“Are you okay?” She was surprised to see the man grabbing his shoulder and lying on the blood-free concrete floor. From what it seemed like, it did not even look like a freak car accident at all.

“Do I look okay?” He groaned and tried to sit up. “Are you just gonna stand there after knocking me over?” Jooyeon snapped out of her thoughts and went over to help him up, confusion still all over her face.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jooyeon asked again. “No internal bleeding? No external bleeding? No pain?”

He shot her a glare and faced her properly. “Look, lady,” his injured shoulder laid limply by his side while his right hand gestured himself from head to toe and stopping at his injured arm. “Does this,” he swung the injured arm lightly and it swayed like a swing. “Or this,” he pointed to his face, which contorted into pain, making Jooyeon step back instinctively. “Look like I’m fine or not in pain?”

Jooyeon cleared and bowed lightly. “I’m really sorry for that. But for the record, you shouldn’t dash out onto the road like that; do you know how dangerous that is?” She frowned, upset that he almost made her a murderer.

“Oh, so now it’s my fault? I’m the injured one here!”

Jooyeon breathed in and counted to ten. “Okay, fine. I’m sorry, alright? Let’s get you to the hospital to get it treated.” She headed back to her car but he held her back.

“Hey, hey! No need for the hospital,” He bit his lip lightly and cleared his throat.

Jooyeon sensed his fear of the hospital – since she, too, was afraid of it – and she complied. “Alright. But we can’t leave that,” she pointed to his limp arm. “Untreated. Does your house have a first-aid kit?”

“I… don’t have a home.” His voice came out as a whisper so soft that it sounded like the wind. Jooyeon felt her heart break for this poor man. She had so many questions for him, but instead she walked him over to the passenger seat.

He looked up at her, confused. “Since you don’t have a home, you can stay at mine until you recovered, then you can go back to where ever you came from. Where did you live before, anyway?” She asked casually as she strapped in the seat belt for him.

“I choose not to answer that,” he looked away and Jooyeon just sighed and shrugged.

“Fine, it’s your secret anyway,” She said, making her way back to the driver’s seat and drove away.

She unlocked the door to her penthouse and wasn’t surprised to find it in a mess. At least he’s still smart enough to move out. She took off her shoes and walked towards the island counter in the kitchen. “Sorry for the mess,” She placed her bag there and opened a cupboard, taking out the first-aid kit. “Make yourself comfortable on the couch, I’ll be right over.”

He looked around in awe and made his way past scattered newspapers and shards of glass to the couch. He stared at the hallway Jooyeon disappeared into and wondered how old was she exactly, and what background was she from. Definitely better than him, if she lived in such a place.

When Jooyeon came back, she flopped down next to his injured arm and began cleaning the small scratches. “Hey, I don’t think I caught your name yet,” She said, twisting his arm lightly to clean the other side.

“Me neither,” He shrugged lightly before a smirk came on his face. “How about 20 questions?”

Jooyeon didn’t see why not, so she agreed. “I’ll go first: name?”

“Oh Sehun,” He said. “Name?”

“Song Jooyeon. Age?”

“21. Age?”

“20. What were you doing on the mountains so late?”

“I was just… looking for something,” he cleared his throat. “You’re younger than me?”

“Why, do I not look 20?” She raised an eyebrow and he looked away.

“N-no,” he stammered. “Okay fine, just a little bit. What were you doing on the mountains anyway?”

“Clearing my mind,” She unconsciously gripped on his arm too hard and he winced. “Oh, sorry. So did you find what you wanted to find?”

“I guess, a part of it, at least.” He felt around his pocket and was relieved to know it was still there. “So you’re a rich kid, huh?”

“I prefer not to use that term; I worked for my money, from the bottom all the way to the top.”

The night continued with them getting to know each other more, and before they knew it, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Jooyeon slowly blinked as she took in her surroundings. She sat up straight and noticed Sehun still asleep next to her on the couch as she tried to remember yesterday’s events. She sighed and washed up before making breakfast.

The smell of bacon and eggs whiffed past Sehun’s nose and he scrunched his nose before opening his eyes. He saw Jooyeon moving around the kitchen gracefully, with no expression as she cooked. Sehun wanted to hug her back at that moment, but the thought exited his head as soon as it came in as Jooyeon caught his stare and raised an eyebrow. “Are you waiting for me to serve you or are you not going to eat?”

He rolled his eyes at her remark and washed up before settling down at the island counter opposite Jooyeon. He had to admit, for a rich girl, her cooking was way off the charts.

After eating, Jooyeon changed the dressing for Sehun’s wounds. “Hey, I’m bored.” He said and she looked up at him.

“And what do you want me to do about it?”

“Let’s go out, huh?” He grinned, and Jooyeon thought it made him look more handsome than usual. Just a little bit.

“And why should we?”

“Because I’ve never really walked on the streets of Seoul for a long time; things probably changed by now, and I want to see them.”

Jooyeon looked at the man skeptically. She was actually looking forward to just lazing around her penthouse with her book, but his puppy eyes won her over and before she knew it, she was already driving towards downtown Seoul, with an excited Sehun jumping about in the passenger seat.

She parked by the street of Myungdong and got off as Sehun tagged behind her, staring in awe the shops and people around them.

Sehun dragged Jooyeon into a bubbletea shop and ordered Taro milk tea before pointing to Jooyeon. “She’s paying,” He told the cashier and rushed in to find an empty seat before she could even protest.

“Aish, that kid,” She huffed but paid for the orders nonetheless.

“That’s pretty smart of you,” she placed the cup of bubbletea in front of Sehun and knocked his head with her knuckles.

“Aye, of course. I’m Oh Sehun,” He grinned and took a sip of his drink. “I haven’t had one of these in ages,” He sighed in satisfaction and Jooyeon watched him in amusement.

“Hey,” Sehun started as he chewed on the tapioca balls. “Do you have a bucket list?”

“A bucket list?” Jooyeon echoed.

“Yeah, you know,” Sehun swallowed. “Like a list of things to do before you die.”

“Oh,” Jooyeon drank a sip of her drink. “I have tons. Learning how to cycle; how to ice-skate; sky-diving; bungee-jumping; a kiss in the rain,” Falling in love, Jooyeon said silently in her head. She cleared . “What about you?”

“Me? Fulfilling your bucket list,” He grinned. “How about this? For the next two days, including today, we shall not be Song Jooyeon the Rich and Oh Sehun the Unknown. From now on, we shall just be Song Jooyeon and Oh Sehun, and let’s try and fulfill whatever that’s possible in your bucket list during this period of time, just for the heck of it.” Sehun shrugged and looked at Jooyeon with anticipating eyes. If it were the usual her, she would have called him crazy and left him there, but somehow, Jooyeon felt a connection with him when she brought him home yesterday, and she found herself agreeing to his plans.

It’s just for two days anyway, how bad could it be?

They headed towards the nearby park and rented a bike so Sehun could teach Jooyeon how to properly operate it. “You just grip onto the handles, and look straight,” He pointed into the distance. “And if you feel like falling, just twist the handles the other way. Example, if it’s leaning towards the left, turn right. Leaning right, turn-“

“Turn left, I know,” She rolled her eyes. “We’ve been through this a dozen times already, can I at least try now?”

“Alright,” Sehun held up his hands. “It’s your call, I’ll be behind you to catch you so don’t worry.” Jooyeon felt fuzzy from his words and tried to steady herself before pedaling.

“Woah, woah!” She twisted left and right as Sehun steadied her bike from the back.

“You’re getting the hang of it!” He encouraged and she felt a new sense of thrill she had never experienced before.

Slowly, Sehun let go of her bike and Jooyeon was pedaling all by herself. He stood there watching proudly as Jooyeon let out a laughter that sounded like music to his ears. “I’m doing it! Sehun, I’m doing it!” She turned back to look at him, only to lose her balance and fall onto the wet grass.

Sehun panicked and ran over in a blink of an eye, parking the bike next to a tree first before helping Jooyeon up. “Yah, did you hurt your head while falling?” He asked when Jooyeon was still giggling as they walked to a nearby bench to sit down.

“It was awesome!” She exclaimed with a grin, despite the scratches on her hands and knees.

Sehun just chuckled and shook his head. “You’re unbelievable,” He said. “I’m going to get some ointment for your bruises, just stay here and don’t move.”

Jooyeon pouted as Sehun ran off and checked herself for more bruises. It started to hurt now that her excitement had died down.

“Alright,” Sehun panted as he crouched down in front of Jooyeon. “Give me your leg.”

She complied and winced when the antiseptic touched her wound. Sehun blew on her wound and looked up. “Does it feel better?”

She blushed at the eye contact and nodded. After all her wounds were treated, he looked at her from head to toe. “I guess we can’t do ice-skating or anything else today,” He sighed. “How about dinner? It’s getting late already.”

Jooyeon’s stomach grumbled in response and she smiled sheepishly. “I think my stomach agrees,” She laughed as Sehun shook his head.

Let’s go,” He stood up. As Jooyeon tried to stand up, her legs gave way and she almost fell on the floor again, if not for Sehun’s hold on her. “Guess you’re not walking anymore, either,” Sehun blew an air and crouched down in front of Jooyeon. “Hop on,” He said.

She stared at his back confusedly and he turned back. “Well?” He raised an eyebrow. When he saw that she wasn’t moving at all, he grabbed her hands and draped them around his shoulders as he lifted her up effortlessly, grabbing her legs for support.

She gasped, startled. “P-put me down!”

“If I put you down, do you think you can walk?” His question rendered her speechless. “Thought so,” He smirked and walked to an open eatery down the road.

“Thanks for crossing off one more thing on my list,” She mumbled against his shoulders and wrapped her arms tighter around him. “Giving me a piggy back ride.”

“Your dad never gave you one before?” He blurted. When she stayed silent for a little too long, he regretted asking such a sensitive question. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to-“

“My parents were never around when I was young,” She faced the side, her cheek resting on his shoulders comfortably. “They were running around everywhere every time, using the excuse of making more money to support me. But I guess they never thought that what I needed the most was them.”

Sehun listened silently and slowed down his pace. “No siblings?”

“None,” Jooyeon sighed. “I was an only child, so I spent my childhood with my helpers and my toys. I was home-schooled till high school, so I never made any friends. After that, my dad wanted me to take over the company, but I refused to, not without working hard for the position, so I started as a clerk, and made sure everyone knew I was capable of running the business, not just because I was the chairman’s daughter.” She let out a long sigh and chuckled. “Sorry, my story bored you, huh? Oh,” She noticed the eatery. “We’re here. You can put me down now.”

She tried her best to not show signs of crying, but her red eyes and sniffling nose gave her away. Sehun put her down and gave her a hug, startling her.

“Who says you don’t have friends? I’m one, aren’t I?” He pulled back and showed his pearly whites. Jooyeon softened and smiled back.

“Yeah, I guess you are.”

They took a stroll around the park after dinner, with Sehun piggy backing Jooyeon. “Aren’t you tired of carrying me?”

“Yeah, but I can’t possibly throw you here, can I? After all, you’re my ride home.” He laughed as she slapped his shoulders playfully and broke out in a grin.

“Why are you fulfilling my bucket list anyway?” She asked. “It’s so random. Besides, we barely know each other.”

“Just because,” He shrugged. “Hence the getting-to-know-each-other-in-48-hours thing.” She kept quiet after his sentence, because she wanted to know more about him, too, despite meeting him in a freak accident just the day before.

As they were bickering why the sky was blue, a banner caught Jooyeon’s eyes. “Oh! They’re having a firework show tomorrow down at the beach! Let’s go there tomorrow!” She pointed excitedly and Sehun winced as she kept hitting his shoulders.

“Ow, ow! Okay, we’ll go! No need to get violent!”

“Assa!” She hugged his shoulders tighter and the day ended with them arguing about which breed of dogs were cuter.

Jooyeon jolted up on her bed as thunder roared. A flash of lightning sliced through the darkness, and she let out a yelp before covering her ears. She wanted to find him out of instinct, since he was always there in the penthouse, but she drove him away with her words two days ago.

She let out a scream unintentionally as the thunder rolled loudly and Sehun barged into her room. “What’s wrong?” He asked groggily, his left hand holding the door knob while his right was holding a frying pan. If it weren’t for the fear taking over Jooyeon right now, she would’ve laughed at this.

Jooyeon stared at Sehun and jumped as a flash of lightning lighted the room again, letting out a whimper. Sehun placed down the pan and climbed on her bed, cradling her small frame as she soaked his shirt with her tears. “Shh, it’s okay. How about I tell you stories?” He her hair lightly as he tried to calm her down.

“What kind of stories?” She mumbled between sniffles.

“Hmm…” He pondered for a while. “Would you like to hear jokes or stories about myself? Let’s start with jokes, shall we?”

“No,” She said, her voice steadier than before now that Sehun was there. “I want to hear your stories; since I told you mine earlier.”

“Really? They aren’t much though,” He said. “But alright, if that’s what you want.” He took a breath before continuing. “Where shall I start?

“I… have an older brother, and we only had each other since our parents passed away. I was 5 that time, and I basically spent my childhood in the orphanage.

“My brother and I planned to run away from the orphanage when I was 15 and he was 18, but only he succeeded while I was caught. I waited for him to come back and get me, but he never came.” Tears were running down Sehun’s cheeks by now, but he continued.

“I tried running away from the orphanage again when I was 18 to search for my brother, but I couldn’t find him at all. I heard there was a shrine up the hill, so I went there to seek refuge and stayed there for the past few years.” He looked down, only to find Jooyeon sleeping soundly in his arms. Why am I telling you so much about myself when I’m leaving you anyway? He softened and wiped away the tear stains on her cheeks and laid her down. When he tried to leave, Jooyeon gripped onto his hand tightly and whimpered. “Don’t go…”

Sehun her hair. “Shh, I’m not going anywhere.” Maybe, just for tonight.

Sunlight shone in from Jooyeon’s window and she squinted her eyes. Her eyes immediately shot open when Sehun’s face was the first thing she saw, sleeping softly at a close proximity.

She felt strangely calm with him by her side, and she traced his nose bridge with her finger down to his lips and stopped. I wonder…

“Don’t you know it’s rude to touch someone’s face when they’re sleeping?” Jooyeon retracted her hand immediately and her face flushed a deep shade of pink. Sehun laughed and raised his hands to rub his eyes.

Jooyeon cleared , getting Sehun’s attention and she pointed at his hand shyly. When he looked down, he saw that he was still holding onto Jooyeon’s hand and he let go instantly, flushing as well. “I’ll, uh, go wash up,” He rolled out of the bed and ran towards the bathroom.

Jooyeon felt a sense of emptiness the moment he let go of her hand. She remembered everything from the previous night, and she was really thankful for Sehun being there for her, although she admitted to herself that asking Sehun to stay with her for the night was a tad selfish on her part.

Jooyeon was adamant to learn ice-skating that day, and Sehun had no choice but to comply after she assured him that her bruises were healing and fine.

Jooyeon thought ice-skating would be easy, but once she stepped on the ice, she had never been so wrong in her life.

Sehun grabbed her hands and skated backwards, showing her how to skate. “Just bend your ankles and knees inwards, that’s it,” he grinned as Jooyeon followed his movements. “And just move your feet normally, like how you slide around at home with your socks.”

Jooyeon looked up with a weird expression and Sehun shrugged. “What? Don’t tell me you don’t do that.” He pulled her along with him for a distance before letting go, making Jooyeon panic.

“Wait, where are you going?!” She stared at her own feet as she slid along the ice, afraid to look up.

“Don’t worry, I’m here to catch you, just look up,” He coaxed and she finally took a deep breath and faced the front. “Great! Now just move your feet like earlier,” He motioned her to follow him and soon, she was skating by herself.

“Hey, look Sehun! I’m doing it!” She beamed and Sehun couldn’t help but feel proud again of her achievements. That’s my girl.

Jooyeon was too caught up in the excitement that she didn’t see the man skating at an alarming speed towards her. “Look out!” Sehun’s eyes widened as the man missed her just barely and reached out in time to catch her fall. “Told you I’d catch you,” He smirked as Jooyeon looked up. In that few seconds of eye contact, Jooyeon felt her heart beating at an inhuman speed, and she caught herself as he straightened her.

“T-thanks,” She coughed and skated away.

“Hey, wait up!” Sehun laughed and followed after her.

They wandered around the streets of Myungdong after lunch and Jooyeon pointed at every cute trinket she saw; it had been a while since she had the luxury to just screw everything and enjoy herself for once.

Rain poured down suddenly – thankfully not a thunderstorm, just a light shower – and Sehun pulled Jooyeon towards shelter, only for her to pull him back. “Yah, do you want to get wet?”

“Why not?” She shrugged and giggled. It had been a while since she did something out of the norm anyway. He shook his head and followed her as she walked down the street normally while the others scrambled to find shelter.

Jooyeon held out her palm, catching the raindrops and Sehun just smiled at her small actions. Was this really the girl that was hard-headed enough to climb her way up the company just to prove she was capable instead of just taking the easy way out?

As Sehun was lost in his thoughts, Jooyeon slipped and he held her waist just in time. “Were you always this clumsy?” He raised an eyebrow with a smile as he straightened her, his arms still around her waist.

“Maybe,” She laughed. “But you’re there to catch my fall, right? You promised.”

“Yeah,” he pulled her closer and glanced down at her lips. “I did. But will you do the same for me? Catch me when I fall?”

Jooyeon stared into his eyes and found herself going breathless from the small space between them. “Depends on how you fall,” Her words came out as a whisper, and they fell on his lips.

“What if I fell in love?” He looked into her eyes, and her eyes widened at the confession. “I think I fell,” He moved closer. “For you.” And with that, his lips landed on hers.

She closed her eyes and kissed him back, their lips moving together in harmony, like they were made to fit each other.

That’s two more things off my list; I think I fell for you, too.

That night, as promised, they went to the beach and found a nice spot before sitting down. Sehun glanced down at their intertwined hands and smiled at Jooyeon, but once he saw her smile, the sad reality crashed down on him suddenly, and he knew better than anyone what was going to happen.

The fireworks started at 9pm on the dot, and Jooyeon stared in awe at the colors exploding in the sky. “You know,” She began. “You crossed out so many things on my bucket list today that I lost count. But I’m really happy that I got to meet you through that freak accident.” She smiled shyly and Sehun chuckled half-heartedly.

“Yeah, me too.” Was all he could muster at the moment.

The fireworks ended an hour later, but they stayed for a while more before leaving. As they headed back to the car, Sehun stopped Jooyeon before they crossed the street.

“I…” He took out a necklace from his pocket and clasped it around her neck. “Want you to have this.”

Jooyeon looked down at the necklace and furrowed her eyebrows. “What’s this for?”

“This was the thing I was looking for in the mountains. It was a gift from my brother, but I want you to have it,” Sehun choked back on his tears. “Just because.” He shrugged with a smile before dashing across the road.

An oncoming truck blared his horn at Sehun, but it was too late.

Jooyeon witnessed the horrific scene in front of her as the truck drove away without stopping. She ran towards Sehun, who was lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

“Sehun!” She cradled his head gently, fearing she might hurt him unintentionally. “Sehun, hang in there, I’ll call an ambulance, okay?” She cried and searched for her phone, but he stopped her.

“It’s no use. It was meant to be this way anyway,” He forced a smile and caressed her cheeks, wiping the tears away. “The past two days were really fun, and I enjoyed every second with you. And remember me, because nobody loves you more than me.”

Jooyeon couldn’t get any coherent words out because all she could do now was cry. They just found each other, were they going to separate so soon?

She shook her head at his words. “You will get through this, I know you will.” She mumbled more to herself than to him, and he smiled.

“Jooyeon, it’s time to wake up now. I love you, remember that.” Sehun’s voice faded into the distance as Jooyeon kept crying his name.

“Sehun!” Jooyeon’s eyes flew open and her heart rate shot up as she tried to catch her breath.

“Jooyeon! You’re awake!” A man who was next to her rushed out the room. Wait, where am I…

She gasped for air as she looked around. Am I in the hospital? But… how…?

The man came back with another guy in a white coat, and judging from the stethoscope hanging from his neck, he should be a doctor.

The doctor checked Jooyeon’s eyes with a small torchlight, which blinded her momentarily. “She seems to be fine,” He told the man and turned back to her. “Do you remember who you are?” Jooyeon nodded and said her name.

“There’s no sign of amnesia just yet, but we’ll run a few more tests before she can be discharged. For now, just let her rest more.” He smiled and bowed before leaving the room.

“Jingook,” Jooyeon’s voice made the said man turn his head. “Where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital, silly.” Jingook her hair and sat down on a chair. “That day after our argument, you got into a car accident on the road up the hill, and you’ve been in a coma ever since.”

Woah, hold up… “Did you just say… I was in a coma due to a car accident?”

Jingook nodded. “Since when?” Jooyeon asked.

“Since,” Jingook counted the days. “Friday night? They found you in the middle of the night when they saw lights coming from the hill, which turned out to be one of your headlights.”

“But that’s impossible…” She mumbled. How is it possible that she was in a coma when she was having so much fun with Sehun for the past two days?

Sehun.

“Sehun!” Jooyeon exclaimed, shocking Jingook for a while.

“Who?”

“Sehun. Oh Sehun. Was he found with me when the accident happened?”

“No…” Jingook trailed away, finding her questions to be out of the norm. “You were found alone. Are you sure you’re fine? Maybe I should get the doctor again.”

“No, no.” Jooyeon stopped him. “It’s fine.” She frowned. Was it all a dream then? But it felt so real…

She felt her neck and she found a necklace around it. The necklace that Sehun gave her. So he was real! But who was he? Jooyeon sighed and reached for her phone. It was time to put her money to good use.

Two years passed since the accident, and despite getting a private investigator to look up on Oh Sehun, the search returned zero results of such a person’s existence. But Jooyeon could never forget the man who fulfilled her bucket list; who taught her how to have fun; who made her fall in love.

She held the pendant of the necklace tightly around her hands and sighed. Maybe it was really in her dreams. But was it even possible to fall in love with a man in your dreams whom you’ve never met in real life before?

Jooyeon parked her car outside her company and stepped out, smoothing her coat before stepping in. As she was lost in her thoughts about Sehun, a delivery man knocked into her, earning gasps from everyone around them as the person he bumped into wasn’t just anyone, it was Song Jooyeon, the CEO of the company.

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry!” The man bowed and Jooyeon just shook her head.

“It’s fine, I’m not hurt anyway,” He looked up and smiled, glad that she was being gracious rather than being snobby like the other higher-ups. Jooyeon stared at his features and did a double take. Was it possible that he was the person she had been looking for?

“Wait,” She stopped him as he was about to leave. “Is your name Oh Sehun?”

~~~~~

okay this didn't turn out the way i hoped it would bc it sorta spun out of control in the middle and foihefqw okay but i hope you enjoyed it! ((i think; and keyword is hope)) 

I didn't check through much so pardon any mistakes~

if it's confusing feel free to ask me anything regarding this <: 

((my attempt on angst has failed OTL))