It was on the weekend after a couple of weeks from that accident. The accident where I was saved by a mysterious man with a husky voice. The same voice which now resonated in my ears as I took orders from the customers in the café that I work in.

The owner of the voice was facing his group of friends, his back to me. The voice that was so familiar yet so distant. The voice that sent a shiver down my spine each time I heard it.

Yet I had no reason to approach the table. They had a different waiter, and I had said my thanks for saving me towards that male.

Of course, there was always the possibility that I simply made a mistake in recognizing the voice. The male from that night seemed distant to other people apart from himself. He gave off the aura of a leader that had other people as his minions. On the other hand, the man sitting with his back to me seemed overly friendly, with a genuinely amused voice at whatever joke his friend had just made.

Shaking my head in my own denial, I turned back to face the counter, trying to ignore the familiar voice. What was the point in speaking with him, anyway? I had said everything I wanted to on that night, and that was the end of our relations. However, my own heart was telling me to turn around and wander closer. Closer, so that I could take his face into my memory. Remember every feature that he had and savour it in my mind just as I did with his voice.

And again, I shook my head, a small smile gracing my face as I realized what I was thinking about. This was what I was doing for the past weeks. Thinking about him. A man whose face I had not even seen, yet he left a bigger impact on me than all of my friends whom I knew combined.

This was ridiculously unusual. People were not supposed to get curious about random passer-bys. Be I a normal human being, which apparently, by the people who knew me, I was not, I would have forgotten about the incident all together. Instead, it had dwelled in my mind for days, and now that I quite possibly had an opportunity to see his face, my mind screamed at me to do so.

"Excuse me...?" a soft voice had trailed off, waving a hand in front of my face. "Can I order...?" the voice came again and I had to shake my head to get the thoughts out of my preoccupied mind.

"Yes, sorry." I chuckled and sent the man a soft smile. "What would you want?" I asked him and took a double-take when my eyes had landed on the male's figure.

A perfectly symmetrical nose and dark brown eyes, combined with the pink, plump lips that had a small smile which showed off the white, pearly teeth behind them certainly did create a sudden feeling of nervousness in my stomach. The man's hair was swept up, showing off his perfect-like face that was directly facing me. He wasn't too tall either; definitely shorter than the mysterious man, anyway, but it seemed that he was taller than me all-the-same.

"I would want another cup of coffee and three cokes, please." he smiled sheepishly and I nodded in understanding.

Of course he also had to have a soft, soothing voice that I would not decline to hear in my moments of down-fall. He was handsome, had a great voice, and most likely a great personality. How such people existed on the land of living was beyond me.

"I will get it in a minute, sir." I answered softly and bowed my head as he turned around and walked back to his friends. The same table that had the owner of the husky voice behind it.

"EunYoung, your table would want a coffee and three cokes." I called the younger waiter that was currently working in the café as a part-timer.

With a cheerful nod and an excited hum she scurried into the kitchen that was behind me and started to prepare the easy order. It seemed she had caught a liking to the group of five males, and she was not even trying to hide it.

I observed her practically dancing figure around the kitchen. Her dyed, blonde hair was swaying in every direction as she swirled around the small space, making the requested coffee. Brown eyes held a sparkle of admiration and cheeks held a colour of crimson as she passed by me, a tray in hand and a big smile on her face.

It seemed like she had fallen in love from only the look at the handsome men, and now she was chasing her own delusional thoughts. I released a big sigh and shook my head while facing the counter that was adorned by different bottles of drinks from the menu. "Kids these days fall in love so fast..." I mumbled with a small, cheeky smile.

I was one to speak, though. It was hypocritical of me to say that, as I, myself, had harboured a strong feeling of affection towards a man with a yet unseen face.

"Areum, they are so cool." EunYoung breathed out dreamily when she reached the counter after giving away the order. "They're all so handsome and dreamy..." she sat on one of the stools and rested her cheek on her hand, staring off into the space. "How nice would it be if I had a boyfriend this good looking."

I laughed at her childish thoughts and ruffled her hair. "I don't mean to burst your bubble, but your table just got occupied by some students. And are they wearing your school uniform?" I inquired from a small observation.

She whipped her head towards the table now occupied by the two young boys and hissed. "Ah... Those guys..." she mumbled with dissatisfaction. "Remember when I told you that there was a guy following me around the school all the time?" she asked with narrowed eyes, still observing the two young males, her eyes creeping more towards the taller of the two. "Well, he's one of them." she huffed while pointing at the mentioned male with her chin.

"Go and take your orders, EunYoung." I murmured while urging her to continue on with her work. And with a heavy sigh, she did as she was asked.

From the way the taller boy looked at my co-worker, it was fairly easy to assume that he felt a certain way about her. His eyes looked at her with adoration and fascination. He was fascinated by everything she did and it was amusing to observe the inexperienced couple. "So cute." I chuckled again and proceeded to work on cleaning the counter.

The bell above the door rang, signifying that there were new customers, and seeing that all of EunYoung's tables were already occupied, I knew that only I could be their waiter.

To my surprise, however, the rowdy crowd stepped closer towards the group of five males that were still sitting and joyfully enjoying their stay.

What seemed to be an unpleasant encounter between the groups soon escalated into hateful words being exchanged between them. Not another second passed as the new group's leader, as it seemed, had raised his fist above his head and aimed at the gentle male that asked me for his order.

Without wasting any more time, I slapped my hand on the counter and successfully brought the attention of the new group's, and some people around the café, attention. It wasn't anything unusual to happen in this café, and the solution was always the same. We, the workers, had to drive the rowdy ones out in order to keep the place in good shape.

"If you want to fight then do just that, but please step outside and don't cause anymore ruckus indoors." I asked with a smile on my face, my eyebrow twitching from the sliver of annoyance that I was beginning to feel as the leader stared at me with dumbfounded eyes. "Well?" I urged him, but then noticed how the owner of the husky voice stood up.

"We're going out, now. Thank you for your hospitality... Areum." he proclaimed and started to walk out, a slight shake evident in his shoulders as he laughed. "SeungHoon, pay the bill. I'll return it later." he also instructed while near the doors.

"Glad that you liked the services, Mino." I answered to his compliment with a cheeky smile and returned to cleaning the counter.

EunYoung that now stood beside me cast me a bewildered look. `You know him?` she mouthed as she stared after the departing figures. To answer her question without mentioning the things that she did not need know I simply nodded my head. "Awesome..." she breathed.

A man with a hat on top of his head sneakily made his way to the counter, a huge smile on his face made his eyes transform into small crescents for a moment. Light, soft hair peeked out from under his hat as he started to browse through his wallet. "How much would it be, miss?" he spoke with an amused voice, bouncing on the place where he stood. His voice was smooth, not as soft as the first male's, though. His voice gave off a feeling of a jokester, a person that could make you smile in any situation without much of a bother.

And amusingly enough, his small nose scrunched up after he heard the amount of money he had to pay up. "Ah... That's quite a lot." he murmured and reached his hand towards me, the money in his palm.

I bowed my head at him, taking the money and placing them to safety. "Thank you for stopping by and I hope to see you again, soon." I cheerfully said with a big, soft smile. In response, he laughed and bowed his head also.

"We certainly will. This place serves delicious food, miss." he said, and turning around on the heels of his shoes, he sprinted out of the café, softly closing the door behind himself.

"Ah... They're nice people." I whispered, scratching the side of my head.

"I wonder what all the trouble is about, though." EunYoung worried with a down-cast face. "I hope they will be okay after this."

"I'm not surprised at what happened. It's just like Mino." I sighed and set my destination to the table that was occupied by the mentioned male just seconds ago.

EunYoung, however, never left my side and cocked her head in question to my statement. "What do you mean? And where did you even meet such a handsome person? You don't usually meet them in random alleyways, and knowing how you like simplicity, you didn't meet him in a fancy restaurant, either."

My hand stopped whatever cleaning motions it was doing and I couldn't help but crack up with laughter. "You're right; you don't meet such people in random alleyways." I mused and she hummed in confusion. "And the irony... I haven't yet seen his face." I added to my previous statement, which made EunYoung even more confused.

"So you know his name... But haven't seen his face?" she asked in wonder, her arms crossed over her chest.

I shook my head and pointed at the occupied tables that were her's to take care off. "Go and work, EunYoung, or I will ask the manager to not pay you any money for today." I insisted and turned back to face my current mission of cleaning the table.

She guffawed at my commanding words but after a couple of seconds she realized that I meant what I said, so with an exasperated sigh EunYoung went on ahead to serve her tables.

The walk home was not pleasant to say the least. It was cold, and the snow had started to cloud my vision as soon as I was half-way to my apartment.

A quiet sigh left my lips as I passed a flickering street-lamp. The memories of the accident a couple of weeks ago passed in front of my eyes and a small unpleasant shiver ran down my spine. Sure, the notion was unpleasant, but what sent me into an even bigger fright was the fact that there was a loud moan coming off from the direction of an alley. Not a pleasurable moan, either. It was a pained and strained one.

My steps faltered as I took a quick glance at the darkness emitted by the alleyway, and I started to hesitate whether I should go in and help whoever needed it, or just continue on with my business.

I closed my eyes and squished my hands into tight fists as I took a faltering step towards the alleyway. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." the same low voice instructed. The sound came from behind me and it made my brows meet in the middle.

"You sneaked up on me again..." I murmured, displeased by the male's actions. "Can you not just walk up to me like a normal person would?"

He kept quiet for a second, humming in thought. "I don't think so." he finally cheered and grabbing my shoulder he spun me around to lead me away. "Now let's go. I'm going to treat you to some dumplings again." he informed in a kind of way that meant that I had no say in his decision.

"But that person..." I trailed off, casting a desperate look over my shoulder. "He sounded as if he was in a lot of pain..."

Mino sighed and grabbed my other shoulder to spin me around and face him. "Did you not learn your mistake from the last time, Areum?" he asked with a serious face, his dark eyes zeroing in on me.

My breath hitched in my throat and my eyes were wide open as his features slowly engraved themselves into my memory.

Dark hair that were messily sprawled over his forehead, black glasses over the bridge of his slim nose and dark eyebrows that accented his fierce eyes. To add to his intimidating face was his tall stature as he loomed over me, his grip tightening over my shoulders. "Well?" he asked with a serious voice.

I lowered my head and nodded slowly. "I understand. Let's go." I murmured and started to lead the way to the small shop of dumplings where I already made myself a usual customer. "You will pay this time, too. Please look forward to that." I said with a neutral voice.

Beside me, Mino kept quiet, observing my every step. "Are you angry at me because I did not let you to help out a possible enemy?" he asked, sounding more confused than ever.

I shook my head slowly and stared at the ground. "I'm not mad. I'm grateful, actually." I informed him, faltering in neither my steps nor words. "Though I am also annoyed." was the addition to my statement and I heard him gasp in exasperation. "Not at you, though!" I yelled out while waving my hands around, now staring into his dark eyes that were lit with amusement.

"Then at who?"

"At myself." I firmly said and it was clear that he hadn't a notion of what I was trying to say. "You saved me so many times already... I am annoyed that I'm bothering a stranger." again, my eyes were down-cast as he stopped in his steps.

"Don't call me that, Areum. We even know each other's names. That's not strangers. I would actually call us friends. Look, I'm even treating you to dumplings." he called out animatedly, waving his hands around himself.

I turned my head to the side and noticed the small shop that I came to love so much. "Let's step inside, it's getting cold." I encouraged and was first to step into the warm place. Soon after, I heard Mino's steps behind me as he followed, and I had to cover my lips with the hand to hide my small smile.

"Oh... Areum..." the old lady at the counter cheered. "And Mino, too..." she was surprised, but it was covered with a small smile of understanding. "What could I get for you two?" she inquired.

And as if instinctively I answered, "The usual."

To my surprise, my voice was almost over-shadowed by a husky masculine voice coming from the seat in front of me. With curious eyes I stared at Mino as he stared at me with the same shocked eyes as me. "I'll bring them up in a bit." the old lady excused herself and stepped into the back area of the shop to get to work.

"So you became a regular here?" Mino asked crossing his legs comfortably to lean onto the wall behind him. "Interesting..."

"You seem quite familiar yourself." I observed his actions, as if this place was his second home. He nodded his head in agreement and the silence fell over us after this.

It was awkward while we waited for the lady to finish our order, but I had nothing to say, and couldn't come up with anything creative to speak of. In Mino's case, the scenario seemed to be similar as his face held a troubled face.

"Your order, kids." the old lady announced while placing the rice dumplings with oolong tea in front of Mino and I.

I stared at the food before thanking her with a small, grateful bow.

"You shouldn't feel annoyed about me helping you." Mino suddenly said when the lady stepped back to stand behind the counter where she originally stood. "It was my own choice to help you, and I do not regret taking it. Meeting you was fun. Your reactions are funny to observe."

My eyes narrowed as I took an angry bite from the poor dumpling. "Because it's very amusing to watch a person being chased by a psychopath and not help out the one in need." I murmured with a huff and cast my eyes away, puffing my cheeks while slowly munching on the food.

Mino chuckled as he leaned over the table. He took my chin into his hands and tilted my face so he could see my cheek. "When you're angry, at least try not to look cute, because your threatening tone instantly disappears when you have caramel sauce on your cheek." he informed and with the other hand's thumb he gently swiped over my cheek. "There, all better." he said, as if proud of his work.

The hold on my chin, however, was never released as he continued to stare into my eyes. "You know... My co-worker said that you don't meet good people in random alleys." I whispered staring into his endless eyes that seemed to draw me in.

He chuckled with a low tone, blinking a couple of times. "Your eyes are pretty." he complimented, moving his own orbs down my face while momentarily freezing on my lips. "And it turns out you can meet all sorts of people in the alleys, doesn't it?"

I smiled and nodded my head weakly. "Seems you're right." was my low whisper, almost breathless from the pressure that Mino put on my shoulder with his deep stare.

Slowly getting my chin away from Mino's grasp I sat back down into my seat. He looked confused for a second before shaking his head and sitting back down, only to lean against the wall later. He laughed while trying to cover his mouth. "You're interesting."

My gaze flittered to his slouched figure. "If you won't eat your dumplings, I'll help you by eating them myself." I threatened with a sharp gaze, slowly dropping my eyes to the delicious looking food.

Startled, Mino left his slouching stance and pounded on the dumplings like a wild animal. "Mine..." he sang with a mouth full of food, spitting bits and pieces everywhere.

I threw him a small glare after avoiding a bigger piece of rice, and this made him shut his mouth and chew thoroughly. "Better." I approved and nodded my head, taking a sip of the bitter tea.

"You know..." Mino suddenly whispered, his voice sounding clearer now that his mouth was empty of food. "I thought about this for quite a while now..."

"What is it?" I urged him while getting the last bite of dumpling into my mouth.

"Let's go on a date." he drawled out bluntly and stared at me with a neutral expression.

Suddenly, I felt my dumpling getting stuck in my throat, and I felt myself coughing in exasperation to his words. "W-what?!" I yelled out in shock, staring into his, by now amused eyes as he rested his cheek into his palm.

"I said... Let's go on a date." he repeated and the next breath that came out of my mouth was a shaky one.

I shook my head. "You're not wise, Mino. Definitely not. Do you even know anything about me? Heck! Even I don't know a thing about you."

"But that's what dates are for. To get to know the person better, aren't they?" he asked with a small smirk upon his lips, cheek still in his palm.

I nodded my head. "Well, yeah... But..." I was lost for words as I once more stared into his serious eyes.

"Then it's decided. I'm taking you out tomorrow, please don't plan anything." he proclaimed and stood up from his place on the ground. "I'll wait for you here at five in the afternoon. Please don't be late." he teased in a sing-song voice and when he walked closer to the old lady that was behind the counter the whole time, he gave her a couple of bills for our food. "It tasted just as good as always." he thanked her.

When near the doors of the entrance, he sent me a wink, and after that he was gone like the last ray of sunshine.

I heavily slumped back into the ground and buried my face into my palms. "Is he always like this?" I asked, though did not expected to hear an answer.

"This is the first time that I saw him act like this." the old lady provided the information with an all-knowing smile that sent a shiver down my spine. She knew more than she let the others see. "This kid has always been a serious guy. When it comes to matters such as love-life, I think he is serious, also. To your knowledge, never has he brought a girl here and treated her to dumplings twice.

You're special to him, Areum."