Seongbuk-gu, 9:14 PM

Jihye sat at her table inside her regular cafe, latte cupped in both her hands to keep her fingers warm as she stared out the large windows and across the street. He was there again. This was the fourth day now that he had spent huddled up against the brick wall opposite Tous les Jours, today visibly more dishevelled under the harsh white light of the street lamp he sat beside. The boy had his head tucked between his knees, his posture showed fatigue and even without seeing his face she could tell there was little feeling left in him. On each of the three days before, the boy had asked for spare change from passers-by, but today it seemed he had run out of drive. She frowned at the thought.

Jihye hadn't noticed how long she had been watching the poor boy until her lips stopped sipping hot coffee and instead reached nothing. She placed the empty cup down and picked up her handbag. Adjusting her skirt and suit jacket she took a step towards the door, prepared to leave, when she took another glance at the boy. His head was still down but she could see him shuddering even from across the road, his body jerked when he seemed to sneeze. Jihye sighed and headed back to the counter.

She emerged from the store two minutes later with her wallet in one hand and a warm, brown paper bag in the other. She slid her wallet back into her handbag as she crossed the street. She hadn't been this close to the boy before and from here, only a few meters away from him, she could see how frail he really was. Only now did she notice that the grey jacket he had on was in fact a blazer, and that he was wearing matching cream coloured trousers and black shoes. She figured the boy was young but she hadn't thought he would be a high schooler. Her brows furrowed in concern as she approached him. What was a school kid doing freezing on the streets?

Tentatively she crouched down next to him, but still making sure to maintain a distance. He hadn't noticed her yet so she took a moment to check if he was awake or not, and judging by the irregular sighs she heard, he was. Jihye took a breath.

"Hey." The boy didn't look up.

"Hey." She tried again, louder, and this time he looked up. It took him a moment to register that someone was speaking to him, and a look of surprise and confusion washed over his face. Jihye lifted the paper bag up and offered it to him. "For you," she said.

The boy's eyes moved between her and the bag, his distrust was obvious but it didn't offend Jihye in the least. He lifted his head as if to see inside.

"It's bread," she clarified, "and a sandwich." The boy seemed pleased at the prospect of warm food, his expression quickly lighting up as his hands reached out to accept the bag. Jihye smiled as he hastily took it from her grasp. He wasted no time in pulling the warm bun out of the bag and unceremoniously biting into it. He chewed no more than twice before swallowing and taking his next bite. Jihye wondered when the last time he ate was and whether eating so quickly would make him sick but since the boy looked more than content with his meal she stood up.

Once more she was about to leave but as she pulled her jacket closer to her body she realised just how cold it was. The warmth from the bread wouldn't last long and soon the boy would be back to shivering. And while Jihye was not yet prepared to let the young stranger into her home, she at least wanted to offer him a better place to stay, namely the narrow passage between her house and her neighbour's.

"Um," she started. The boy glanced up from his meal, still chewing. "It's going to get colder tonight," she checked to see if he was still listening, "I know where to find a hot air vent nearby, if you don't mind walking for a bit." She watched as the boy mulled her suggestion over, surveying his blazer and the dissipating warmth of the bread in his hands. He swallowed his last bite and then for the first time, spoke.

"I don't mind." He sounded meek and gravelly, no doubt because he was dehydrated. Jihye reached for her bag and pulled out her water bottle before handing it to him. He gave a small smile in thanks and took a long sip, coughing a bit as the liquid went down. He stood up slowly, taking care to move his limbs carefully as he'd been sitting still for hours on end. Once up, he handed back her bottle and it was only now that Jihye noticed that he carried a small drawstring bag with him.

Jihye took a few steps in the direction of her home, turning around to check he was following, before continuing down the cold street.

 

Some fifteen minutes of dimly lit alleyways later, Jihye had led the boy to the front of her house, the walk taking a bit longer than usual with the exhausted child trailing behind her. She gestured to the small space- a narrow strip of gritty concrete and brick with an unpleasant smell, but nonetheless warmed by the air vent and shielded from wind and rain thanks to the eaves of her roof.

"It's not much but it's warm and dry," she said. Jihye once again observed the boy for his reaction and was pleased to see that he seemed relieved at the prospect of not spending another night on the roadside. The boy approached the space and his shoulders relaxed when he felt the warm air hitting his leg.

"This is much better. Thank you very much, ma'am." His eyes were trained on the vent, but Jihye felt the sincerity in his small voice.

"I hope you can rest a bit better here," she said with a smile.

"I'm sure I will." The boy turned to her and bowed deeply. "Thank you again."

"Glad to have helped, goodnight." The boy returned the sentiment with another short bow before Jihye turned the corner to her front door.

She slipped her shoes off and set her bag on top of the coffee table in the middle of her small living room, switching on the lights as she walked through her short entryway. She placed her suit jacket over the back of her couch and fixed herself a small meal of leftover side dishes and day-old rice while she revised the drafts she brought home. Today's consisted of two marital settlement agreements, both of which were covered in post-it notes and red lines. She was glad for the coffee she had earlier as she spooned the mixture of stale rice and vegetables into with one hand and added more notes to her documents with the other.

 

An hour later her dishes were washed and Jihye was seated at her desk typing up the amendments she'd made.

Two hours later and she was working on final drafts.

After three hours Jihye had saved all her files, closed her laptop and gotten ready for bed. But while she was ready to close her eyes immediately, she couldn't help but spare a moment to think about the young boy resting on the other side of her bedroom's back wall.

 

When Jihye left for work the next morning she found the small space behind her home empty. Slightly disappointed, she tucked the small convenience store kimbap roll into her bag and made her way to the coffee shop for her morning latte.

To her surprise the boy wasn't in his usual spot across from Tous les Jours either. Jihye wondered if he had returned to wherever his home was or if he had gone to school as she sipped her coffee on the way to the station. On the train, she couldn't help but wonder what caused him to leave home in the first place.

 

Joong-gu, 7:53 AM

Jihye stood in the elevator watching the floor numbers increase, tapping her foot impatiently. Nine. She fixed her hair in the mirrored walls. Ten. Then checked her jacket as a few people got off. Eleven. The elevator doors opened with a ding and Jihye stepped off onto to a moderately sized office floor. Some twenty desks sat in neat rows in the open space, a number of meeting rooms and private offices creating the circumference of the firm.

Jihye made a bee-line for her desk, briefly greeting colleagues as they scurried past her. The office was already in a clamour as everyone prepared for their 9AM meetings and consultations, the whir of the printers and coffee machines aiding the noise. Jihye quickly sat at her desk and took out her laptop, fingers speedily working to send the final drafts of her documents off to the printer.

Soon, she too was scurrying around the print room assembling her settlements, stapling and sorting the sheets of paper into plastic sleeves. She checked her watch. 8:09 AM. With the final documents ready she left the room with two copies of each in her hands.

Jihye was heading back to her desk to await their collection when her path was interrupted by a tall figure in a dress shirt.

"Good morning Jihye." Jihye looked up to the source of the voice, her mentor Kim Joonmyun.

"Oh! Good morning Sunbaenim," she greeted him back with a smile.

"Did you finish the drafts for today's consultations?"

"Right here." She handed two of her four folders to him. He looked them over quickly as Jihye waited anxiously for his reaction. Joonmyun was only in his third year of practice but the firm had made him a partner just a few months ago, which was unheard of in the industry. There was no doubt that he was a skilled attorney and Jihye found herself constantly concerned that he would think her work was not up to par, as anyone who could make partnership so quickly must have incredibly high standards. So Jihye stood with her lips pursed instinctively in anticipation, recalling all the unsurely phrased clauses and remembering typos that she never made until he interrupted her train of thought.

"Looks great, I'll read them over and let you know if they need any more changes. Thanks a bunch, Jihye," he said with a smile. He patted her on the shoulder before walking off to his own desk. Jihye sighed with relief and sat back at her desk with a gratified smile as she went about her other tasks.

Glad to find that Joonmyun had not returned to point out errors in her work, Jihye had set to work on another draft when a while later she was disrupted by a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Joonmyun again, this time with his suit jacket on.

"Ten o'clock clients will be here soon, get ready," he reminded.

"Yes sir, I'll show them in."

"I'll wait in Room Three, then." Joonmyun walked off to set up the meeting space.

Shortly afterwards the elevators opened to reveal two people, both in their thirties, who stood with a considerable distance between them. The receptionist welcomed them as Jihye approached the couple with her files in hand.

"Hello again Mr. Lee, Ms. Kang," Jihye greeted them both with handshakes. "If you'll follow me this way, Attorney Kim is waiting for us inside."

 

Jihye listened attentively as Joonmyun explained the changes to the couple's divorce settlement. Although she was caught between paying attention to the case itself and to Joonmyun, who within the short span of time had perfectly acquainted himself with all the new details and patiently answered all the couple's questions. She would've stared for longer if he didn't turn to her.

"Ms. Shin?" Jihye straightened up immediately at the sound of her name.

"Yes?" she said, a little too loud.

"Could you get Ms. Kang some more water, please?" He gestured to her empty glass with a polite smile, although something in his eyes seemed somewhat playful.

"Of course." Jihye took the glass from Ms. Kang and left the small room. With her free hand, she patted her cheek to keep herself from zoning out again, unknowingly brightening the blush that already washed over her cheeks.

 

"Good work today, Jihye." Joonmyun offered another smile to Jihye who stood at her desk packing her things away.

"You too, Sunbaenim," she said back. "Although it's a shame Mr. Jang’s case couldn't be settled today."

Joonmyun nodded with a pout- Jihye almost gushed at the sight. "At least that one couple can get on with their lives now." He paused for a short moment before correcting himself, "ex-couple, I should say."

Jihye chuckled in response, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder. She checked her watch. 6:09 PM. Thankfully her boss liked to leave work on time just as much as she did so she rarely ever had to wait for him to leave first.

"I'll be leaving then, my train will be here soon," Jihye said as she bowed goodbye.

"Would you like a lift home?"

"Sorry?" Jihye took a second to register what he said. "Oh, no, I'm fine," she declined.

"Are you sure? I don't mind."

"I'm sure, I like the train," she said with a small laugh.

"Let me take you to the station then, at least." Jihye opened again to kindly decline but Joonmyun cut her off with a "please?" He was pouting again but this time with big eyes to match, how could she resist when he looked at her like that?

"Very well then," she said reluctantly. Joonmyun grinned and made his way to the elevator and pressed the call button.

"You know, if you handle more cases like you did this morning's then you'll be a partner yourself in no time." The elevator opened with a ding and Joonmyun gestured for her to enter first.

"But I only handled some of the paperwork, the clients were far more impressed with you, Sunbaenim." At the moment all Jihye could do was paperwork, she had no real experience with clients so when her boss had told Joonmyun, who was exceptionally skilled, to advise her she made every effort to learn from him.

"Not at all Jihye, I may have been the one talking, but you're the one who wrote out the settlement. The clients were happy because you were able to sort everything out," he pointed out. Jihye's chest warmed at the small sensation of pride that came from Joonmyun's compliment, for a while she had thought she would disappoint him. The elevator reached the parking lot and once again Joonmyun stood back as he allowed Jihye to go ahead before leading them to his car.

Jihye reached for the door but Joonmyun stuck his hand out first and grabbed the handle, opening it for her with yet another of his handsome smiles that warmed Jihye's face. She nodded her head in thanks and sat inside, fastening her belt. Joonmyun was always a gentleman, and even though it was in his nature to be friendly to everyone, she couldn't help but feel a little excited by his actions. She had only been in Joonmyun's car a few times for business, and while the drive to the station was only about two minutes, she couldn't help but blush at the thought of going somewhere other than a courthouse with him.

A moment later he sat down beside her and buckled his belt before starting the car and rolling them out of the parking lot. His car radio filled the small space with soft jazz, Jihye tapping her foot as they drove.

"But really Jihye, both of those settlements were very well done." He slowed at a traffic light "I think you'll be ready to lead a case soon." Joonmyun had his eyes on the road as he accelerated through the intersection.

"Do you really think so, Sunbaenim?" Jihye could barely keep an apprehensive bite from accompanying her question, sure that he was only paying lip service.

"Of course, you just need to pay more attention during consultations," he joked. Jihye laughed but her face turned red as she remembered the look he gave her earlier in the day, realising that he had indeed caught her staring. She couldn't have been more thankful as Joonmyun pulled over next to the station before he could say anything further. She unbuckled her seat belt and slipped out of her seat.

"Thank you Sunbaenim, drive safely!" Jihye bowed in thanks.

"Will do, you get home safe too, Jihye." Jihye closed the car door and waved back at Joonmyun who waved while pulling away from the curb.

 

Once Jihye had reached Tous les Jours again she found herself once more staring out the window. The spot next to the street lamp was still empty, oddly Jihye couldn't stop the worry from rising in her mind. She should have stopped at the kimbap that she failed to give the boy and instead ended up eating for lunch, but she had bought another bun and sandwich. She stared at the brown paper bag and wondered if they would go to waste.

Coming up the small hill that her house sat along, Jihye was pleasantly surprised to find the boy cuddled under his blazer next to the air vent again. She approached him slowly, being careful not to startle him.

"Hello?" The boy looked up straight away this time and nodded in greeting when he recognised her. "Have you had anything to eat today?" she asked. The boy shook his head.

"Here." Jihye handed him the paper bag. He accepted the bag with another bow of his head and a grateful smile.

"Thank you very much."

"Eat quickly, it'll get cold," Jihye warned.

"Yes ma'am." He dug into the bag and started at the warm bun with enthusiasm. A smile stretched across Jihye's face as he ate. She stepped away and turned the corner before heading inside.