When Jieun woke up, she heard several clicks and some kind of pen tapping against a tablet. She slowly moved her head around, trying to identify the source. Her eyes followed a trail of dim light that led to a well-lit lamp. She saw Kiha wearing thick-rimmed glasses, boring his eyes into the computer screen as he started to fill in the colors of an empty sketch.

As she rose from the floor and looked around, Kiha glanced behind his shoulders, catching her in the act. He turned in his swivel chair and took off his glasses.

"Good morning!" he said in a rather cheery tone. "Welcome to the year of 2100, where mankind has yet to invent flying cars and another place we can call home."

"Why am I here?" Jieun asked softly, putting her hand on her forehead.

"You were one of the few people who were chosen to survive what we know as the 'Great Apocalypse,' a time where a terrible plague has—"

The door opened. Jungkook poked his head inside the room. When he saw Jieun sitting up, he let out a small sigh of relief.

"What's going on?" Jungkook asked. "Haven't you sent her home yet?"

Jieun rubbed her eyes. "Home…?"

"It's the year 2100," Kiha started again, "where we are still trying to figure out how to make cars fly and—"

"Uncle Kiha, enough with your stories," Jungkook said. "Why isn't she going home?"

"Because it's been several years, and she probably forgot how to walk—"

"Uncle Kiha."

"Okay, okay! Fine! I'll stop!" Kiha exclaimed. He rolled his eyes before turning around to do his work. "Geez, why can't I have a little fun around here?"

Jungkook shook his head and looked at Jieun. "You. Get out."

Jieun rubbed her head. "Hold up, I'm still trying to understand what's going on. Why am I here?"

"You fainted. Now out."

"What happened? Why—" Jieun gasped as she started to remember what had happened. She turned dreadfully pale and she looked at Jungkook with worrisome eyes. "There was Chanyeol."

"What?"

"Park Chanyeol. He was here."

"Yeah, and you just chased him away, so thanks a lot—"

"Why was he here?" Jieun asked, frowning. "Why in the world is he here?"

"Because he works around here, duh. Didn't you meet him at school?" Jungkook asked. This time, he walked towards her and motioned her to get up. She did as she was told, but Jungkook grabbed her by her arm and dragged her out of the room.

"What do you mean by 'at school'?" Jieun asked, not minding that she was being kicked out. She had questions, and all she wanted was for them to be answered.

Jungkook gave her a brief look before pushing her out of his house. "What else do you think I mean by that?"

"But is he a teacher at our school?" Her eyes widened. "Why would he be at our school? Is he tormenting you guys?"

Jungkook scowled at her. "Geez, you know how to talk trash behind a person you just met."

"Is he?" Jieun asked, ignoring his comment.

Right before he closed the door on her, he looked at her straight in the eyes. "He's the school's janitor, duh. Like I said, haven't you met him?"

~ ~ ~

"Oh my gosh. You really exist."

Jieun stared down at Chanyeol, who was in his janitor's uniform, shoving down a spoonful of rice. His eyes widened and he choked on some rice. Jieun flinched and backed away while Chanyeol quickly reached for his water bottle. She had expected him to drink some water, but clearly he had another idea in mind.

He swiftly gathered his lunch and his bottle of water, then started to make a run for it. Jieun, surprised, found herself chasing after him. She wasn't sure what she was going to do when she talked to him, but all she wanted to do was to meet him properly. She was still dead-scared over his presence, but there was something different about him, which was enough for her to gather up some courage to run after him.

However, there was no way that she could keep up. When she turned around at the corner, he was gone. She panted hard, catching for breath, searching for any presence of where Chanyeol could've gone.

"Wow. That was the first time I saw the school's janitor run like that."

Jieun whirled around, then gasped when she saw Kiha standing behind her. She quickly bowed at him.

"H-Hello!" she greeted him, gasping for air.

"What could you possibly have done to make him run off like that?" Kiha muttered, rubbing his chin.

"W-What are you doing on school campus?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

"That's a very good question." Kiha took out his camera. "I'm here to take pictures of the school campus."

Jieun blinked her eyes. "Um, I don't think you're allowed to do that, especially when it's during the day, where the students are actually learning…"

"I got permission," Kiha said, raising a signed letter. "Also, it's lunch time. I'm taking pictures of the school when class starts, and I'm not going into any of the classrooms for pictures." He gave her a sheepish grin. "Jungkook got mad when I tried to take pictures of him in class. He says that I'm embarrassing, but let's be honest, when am I ever embarrassing?"

Jieun didn't dare to answer his question. Kiha tuned a whistle and began to walk past her. He paused when he noticed that she didn't follow.

"Aren't you tagging along with me?" Kiha asked.

"Uh, I don't really think I should be walking around right now."

"You have half an hour of lunch left. You'll be fine. Come along!" Kiha exclaimed. He started walking, and Jieun found herself naturally walking besides him. 

It was surprisingly easy for Jieun to adjust herself to Kiha's peculiar personality. From the few minutes she was with Kiha, she learned a lot about him. He was spontaneous, making it difficult for her to predict his moves. She was never sure whether he would want to go up the stairs or if he just wanted to walk in circles. She'd listen to him go on and on about something random, and she would find herself responding to his questions and remarks.

It seemed like Kiha started notice that Jieun was warming up to him. Before speaking again, he gave her a gentle look that warned her to brace herself. Her face scrunched up a little, not liking how the mood became light-hearted to something ominous.

"Did something happen between you and Chanyeol?" Kiha asked her. He spoke in a soft and careful voice, making sure that he didn't say anything to tick her off.

"It's not very important," Jieun murmured, looking away. "It should be all in the past."

Kiha slowly nodded his head. "I see. Well, I don't know how you know Chanyeol from before, but I'd like to start off that he's a great guy."

Jieun looked up at him with wide and terrified eyes. "He's a great guy? Park Chanyeol?"

"Yep," Kiha said, nodding his head again. "You'll see him around this neighborhood quite often."

"Unbelievable," she muttered, turning pale.

Kiha paused before speaking again. "I don't know what your relationship with Chanyeol is, and why you guys look so scared when you run into each other, but I don't think Chanyeol is the same guy you're used to."

Jieun opened , but she closed it after she thought about Kiha's words. He did have a valid point. Chanyeol definitely wasn't the same guy she knew. At least, on the surface, it didn't seem like he was the same guy. 

"I'm not telling you that you should be friends with him or anything, but I want you to understand his situation a bit. He's working as a janitor at this school in the day and depends on the rest of his income from his night job, which is to come to my house and pick up the deadlines. He doesn't get a lot of sleep and a lot of money."

"So you want me to pity him?" Jieun asked, scowling.

"No, never that!" Kiha took a deep breath. "I'm asking you to be kind to him. He lives in a very difficult circumstance, so his only source of happiness is when he talks to people."

"Chanyeol is always liked by people. I don't see the problem there," she said.

"Oh, good! So you know that he's a likeable person!" he exclaimed. He grinned at her. "Well, that makes things a lot easier. Jieun, how would you like to have dinner at our house again?"

"I'd hate to intrude…"

"Isn't it lonely to eat by yourself at that house?" Kiha pointed out. "It's always best to come home and eat dinner with the family. You get that warm and fuzzy feeling." He stopped himself for a moment. "I think sushi sounds good. Do you like sushi?" Jieun nodded. "Good. We'll have sushi for dinner. Come around eight. Jungkook will be home by seven, so don't think that nobody's home. You're free to go inside and wait at our house. I'll probably come back with the sushi around eight."

"Does Jungkook know that I'm invited?" she asked him.

"Nope! That's the fun part about surprises, right?"

"I don't think your nephew would appreciate that…"

"You're just talking nonsense now. This is Jungkook we're talking about! When is he ever disappointed with my choices?"

Jieun opened , but she closed it again.

"Oh, and I forgot one thing," Kiha said. He turned to Jieun just before the bell started ringing. "Chanyeol's invited, too."

Jieun dropped her jaws and widened her eyes. "C-Chanyeol's coming for dinner?"

"Yep! Make sure you don't faint like before." Kiha smiled and waved at her. "See you tonight! Oh, and if you're not at our house by eight, I'll take the initiative to go to your house and bring you myself."

Jieun looked around. She was in a mental panic. She looked back up at Kiha to reject his dinner offer until she realized that the halls were flooded with students trying to get back to their class. When she looked up, she saw Kiha getting further and further away, waving his hand in the air like a child. 

She suddenly bumped into someone and was about to fall until someone else grabbed her by the arms. She caught her balance and looked up, only to see that it was Jungkook giving her a frown.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Y-Your uncle," Jieun said, pointing at the end of the hall.

Jungkook turned, but didn't see his uncle. "I don't see Uncle Kiha, and I don't think you should be looking for him as well."

"But we need to have a serious talk—"

"Aren't you a teacher? Don't you have a class to teach? That's more important than flirting with my uncle, isn't it?" Jungkook asked.

Jieun stared at him in disbelief. "But I'm not flirting with your uncle—"

"Blah, blah, blah. That's what they all say, but that's not what happens," Jungkook mumbled. He gently pushed her to head to class and walked away, shoving his hands in his pockets and joining his friends.

Jieun blinked her eyes, then looked back in hopes of spotting Kiha. When she realized that he was gone from her sight, she heaved a loud sigh and dragged her feet back to class.

This is definitely one dinner that I don't want to go to, she thought, disappointed in the inside.