and the rest is history

Myungsoo never meant to stalk her. Well, not stalk her really, because that would make it seem intentional. It just so happened that he lived in that direction and she was walking in front if him the whole way and--

"Hey, creeper, can you stop following me?" an annoyed voice interrupted Myungsoo's thoughts. "I already asked you nicely. Do you want me to call the police on you?"

He sighed. "I already told you, I live this way. Not my fault you're walking the same way."

She scoffed. "Like I haven't heard that before."

"You know what, just let me walk in front of you, okay?" Myungsoo said in exasperation. He stomped forward, glaring at her as he passed by (and forcing himself not to notice how pretty she was because she was not, nuh-uh, no way, no how.)

"Jeez. Paranoid much?" he muttered as he continued forward, trying not to glance back to see if she was still behind him.

"Yes I am, thank you very much, because it's nine o'clock at night and I'm an girl walking alone in the dark!" she shouted at him.

"Well, I would you home if you didn't call me a stalker!" he called back over his shoulder.

"I don't need you to!" she retorted angrily before stalking past him.

"Hey! I don't need you calling me out again for stalking you!" Myungsoo sped past her into the lead again.

"Aha! So you admit you were stalking me!" She zoomed to the front again.

He rolled his eyes though she couldn't see it and huffed, "No! Don't twist my words!"

They continued spouting nonsense at each other as they raced forward, and before long they had reached Myungsoo's neighborhood.

"Do you live here?" he yelped in surprise as he realized where they were.

She glanced around as well. "Not that it's any of your business but no, I'm visiting my friend who lives here."

"Well, I live this way so...bye." Myungsoo quickly veered around the corner and sighed in relief, though he had to admit that was the most interesting walk home he had ever experienced.

"Are you kidding me?" he heard her mutter behind him and spun around to find that she was trudging along behind him, glaring at his back. Her eyes widened when she saw him looking but she hardened her gaze (though she couldn't actually see him that well).

"Hey! You're stalking me!" he hisses.

"My friend lives here!" she tossed back.

They turned another corner in tense silence. When Myungsoo turned and walked up the steps to his house, he was shocked to find the girl doing the same next door.

"What are the chances," he mumbled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief and amusement. As he unlocked his front door and stepped in to the sounds of girlish giggles and indignant storytelling, he smiled, the girl's wide-eyed gaze floating in the back of his mind.

Suzy prided herself on her moral values. She liked to think she was more honest than the average person, that she was more in touch with her conscience. So she wasn't sure why she was hesitating so much as she stared down at the sleeping boy.

The bus was nearing its last stop and every passenger was required to get off, but this guy was dead to the world. He was completely conked out, snoring softly, eyelashes fluttering. It was kind of cute actually; he was kind of cute actually, Suzy had no problem admitting. No, what was nagging her was how familiar he looked to her, but she just couldn't place him. Where had she seen him before? Had she really seen him before? Maybe she was going crazy.

But back to the issue at hand: to wake or not to wake, that is the question. She should; she figured her conscience would guilt-trip her into eternity if she left without a word, especially if she actually knew him. But at the same time, what if she didn't know him? What if he got angry at her for not minding her own business? What if he hurt her?

Suzy shook her head at her escalating thoughts. Maybe she was paranoid. Her mind flashed back to the stalker-who-was-not-a-stalker guy. She felt a little guilty for lashing out at him based on her admittedly misguided assumption, but he was the one who had been acting suspiciously! Still, she would apologize if she got the chance.

Nodding her head determinedly, she shoved away her paranoia and leaned forward to wake the slumbering man.

"Excuse me," she whispered, but of course he didn't stir. She rolled her eyes at herself and said a little louder, "Excuse me? Mister? Hello? You need to wake up now."

He kept on snoring.

She paused, glancing around and smiling innocently at everyone who was staring curiously, and then cautiously reached out and poked the guy.

"Hey. Mister. Please wake up. Wake up, wake up, wake--whoa!"

Suzy had only a fraction of a second to regret before she found her eyes, wide with fear, staring into his dark eyes from barely two inches away.

His face was unreadable for a tense moment before softening into a surprised but amused half-smile. “Oh. It’s you again.”

Suzy almost shivered at the sound of his deep voice, husky with sleep, strongly familiar. “A-again?”

He raised an eyebrow as he released her and she scrambled back quickly. He stretched and yawned before sitting up and blinking at her through half-lidded eyes, a lazy grin spread across his lips. “What, you don’t remember? After accusing me of being a stalker, you just forgot me?”

She gasped as the bell went off in her brain. “Oh, you! I knew you looked familiar!” She smacked her forehead.

He chuckled. “So you didn’t forget.”

“How could I?” She glared but then sighed. “I am sorry. In hindsight, I was a little…rash.”

“A little?”

She stared at him flatly. “Don’t push it.”

“So—”

“Hey, lovebirds! Get off my bus!” the driver yelled at them, harshly honking the horn. “Hurry up, I gotta move!”

“Oh! Sorry, sorry!” Suzy squeaked and scurried off the bus, blushing hotly. How had she not realized that the bus had stopped and all the passengers had gotten off? She always became an idiot around him.

The familiar stranger leisurely followed her off the bus, easily catching up to her with his long strides.

“Thanks for waking me up,” he spoke up after a period of thick silence. He glanced at her and smiled. “I haven’t gotten much sleep lately so I guess I crashed.”

She shrugged. “No big deal. I would’ve done it for anyone.”

“Really?”

“Mm-hm.”

“So what are you doing here again? Visiting your friend again?” he asked, abruptly changing the topic.

“Uh, yeah,” she answered awkwardly. “I might move in with her.”

“Really?” The sudden interest in his voice made her look at him and he was smirking at her. “If you do, then we’ll see each other more often.”

“Nothing is set in stone yet,” she muttered, unsure what to make of his words. Was he trying to imply something or not? She didn’t know, but for some reason, the idea of him wanting to spend time with her made her shy.

Oh, who was she kidding? She knew the reason.

They made halting small talk while they walked until they finally reached their respective destinations.

“See you around,” he said with a smile before disappearing inside.

Suzy waved even though he couldn’t see her anymore. And then she remembered, to her disappointment, that she forgot to ask for his name.

“Is that the last of it?” Jieun asked, wiping imaginary sweat off her brow.

“I think so,” Suzy nodded.

Jieun frowned. “You…didn’t bring that much stuff.”

Suzy shrugged. “I don’t have that much. You know how unsentimental I am when it comes to inanimate objects.”

“Yeah,” Jieun sighed, “I know. I still can’t believe you tossed Mr. Blubbles away like he was trash.”

“That was five years ago! And it was falling apart!” Suzy defended for the nth time.

“His name is Mr. Blubbles, not it! Or was. Or…whatever! I still haven’t forgive you for that!” Jieun stuck her tongue out childishly.

Suzy rolled her eyes and bent down to pick up a box. “It’s not attractive to hold grudges, Jieunnie.”

Jieun pouted. “Not like I have anyone I want to impress anyway.”

“Oh really? What happened to Wooyoung?” Suzy cocked an eyebrow and smiled teasingly as Jieun sputtered incoherently.

“I—that’s not—he’s—we’re—I don’t—”

“Need any help?” a male voice cut in.

Jieun whirled around and Suzy squealed as she almost tripped and dropped the box on her toes.

“Oh! Myungsoo, hi!” Jieun greeted with a bright smile.

Suzy carefully set down the box and opened it to make sure nothing broke. “A little warning would have been nice!” Satisfied, she closed the box and stood to face the newcomer.

And promptly gasped.

“O-oh,” she stuttered, blushing pink. “H-hi.”

Jieun looked at her friend strangely. “Suzy, this is my neighbor, Myungsoo. Myungsoo, this is my best friend, Suzy. She’s moving in with me. Have you two met?”

“Not officially,” replied Myungsoo with a small grin. He stepped closer to Suzy and stuck out his hand. “Hi, Suzy. Nice to finally meet you.”

Smiling softly, she grasped his large hand and shook it firmly. “Hi, Myungsoo. Nice to meet you too.”