The next morning, they met just as the sun had risen, the morning already starting to get warm as spring slowly turned into summer. Eun Ji jogged up to Hoseok who had arrived just before her. “Hey!” she called as she stopped beside him. “Did you wait long?” she asked as she quickly tied her hair up into a ponytail. He shook his head, a small smile on his face. “No, I just got here.” He said before yawning loudly. She giggled at his action, “Not used to being up so early?” she asked as she started to stretch, Hoseok soon copying her actions. “Not really.” He admitted with a chuckle.

Once they finished stretching, they set off at a comfortable jog. Hoseok admitted to her that he used to be interested in dancing, but it had been over a year since he had last danced so he was feeling a little out of shape. Eun Ji worked out that he had stopped dancing around the time his ex-girlfriend had passed away. She didn’t mention her revelation, the thought of bringing up his ex made her feel a little jealous. She knew it was ridiculous to feel that way, but that didn’t stop an uncomfortable feeling forming in her chest whenever she thought of Hoseok and his ex.

They increased their speed and made it around the park twice before they both collapsed, matching grins on their faces. They both looked up at the blue sky as they pulled much needed oxygen back into their lungs. “This feels great.” Hoseok said once he finally regained his breath. Eun Ji turned her head to look at him, his hair sticking to his sweaty face, his lips turned up in a smile as he looked up at the sky. “Yeah, it’s great.” She said, her words not entirely about the run.

She pushed herself up so that she wouldn’t be caught staring, “I’m gonna go grab us a couple of drinks.” She said as she stood up and headed towards a small food cart not far from them. Hoseok sat up as he watched her go. A smile subconsciously appeared on his face as he watched her chat with the ahjumma at the cart, it seemed like they knew each other. He figured she probably bought drinks from her every morning. She quickly returned and handed him a bottle of water which he accepted gratefully. “So do you think you’re up for this every morning?” she asked, praying her tone wasn’t too hopeful. He nodded without hesitation. “Yeah, if you don’t mind me tagging along.” He said with a smile. “Of course not.” She replied as she shot him a matching grin.

From that day onwards, they met at the park every morning to go for a run before she went to university and he went to work. Spring quickly gave way to summer and even with the blinding heat that accompanied the change in seasons, they still persisted in running every morning. Hoseok had quickly regained his athletic ability, soon becoming the one who was pushing Eun Ji to run that little bit faster and that little bit longer instead of her being the one pushing him.

One day in the middle of summer, they were out at the weekend, deciding to run a little later than normal because of her late shift at the bar the night before. She jogged up to him, waving as she yawned loudly. “Morning.” She said sleepily. Hoseok ruffled her hair affectionately, “Aigo, you’re so cute.” He teased. She pushed his hand away, pouting at him for messing up her hair. “Shut up.” She mumbled as she quickly retied her hair. “Late night?” he asked as they began warming up, waving to the ahjumma with the food cart as she walked passed them. “Yeah, someone was celebrating their birthday and they didn’t leave until after three am. Then we still had all the cleaning to do, it was brutal.”

“We could have cancelled you know; it sounds like you need the rest.” He said as they set off at a light jog. “And have you tease me for being lazy? Not happening.” She said with a grin. Hoseok kept his speed slow, noticing that she was lagging behind despite her protests that she wasn’t tired. She was silently grateful that he wasn’t running at his normal speed. They laughed and joked as they ran, by the second time around, their pace had slowed to a walk as they chatted.

Hoseok burst out laughing as she told him a story about Namjoon from the night before. “He did not!” he said in-between laughs. “He did! It was so funny. He was trying to show off with the drink mixer again and it opened when he threw it up! He soaked the poor girl head to toe.” She said as she clutched her stomach from laughing so much. She was so busy laughing that she didn’t notice the exposed root in her path. She tripped over it and landed on her hands and knees on the ground. Hoseok immediately stopped laughing and crouched down beside her, “Hey, are you ok?” he asked as she sat properly on the ground, wiping the dirt from her hands.

“Yeah, I’m ok.” She said, noticing a couple of small scrapes on her hands before wiping the dirt from her knees. “You sure? Nothing broken? No injuries?” he asked as he checked her over for any injuries. She gave him a reassuring smile, “I’m ok, Hoseok.” He rolled his eyes at her, “You’re so clumsy.” He muttered as he stood up and offered her his hand. She took his hand and as he pulled her up she felt a pain shoot through her right ankle. She hissed in pain as her ankle wouldn’t support her weight. She collapsed into a heap, her hand still in Hoseok's. “You said you weren’t injured!” he said worriedly as he once again crouched down beside her.

His hand ghosted over her injured ankle and she hissed in pain, biting her bottom lip to stop the curse words she was dying to say from slipping out. “You can’t walk with this ankle.” He said more to himself than to her. He turned around, putting his back to her. He looked over his shoulder at her. “Climb on, I’ll take you home.” She looked up at him in shock. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just have a quick rest then I should be able to get home.” She said, the thought of Hoseok carrying her making her nervous.

Hoseok sighed as he turned to her, “Don’t worry, I can carry you no problem if that’s what you're worrying about. Come on.” He said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. She awkwardly scooted closer to him and he firmly grabbed her thighs and swiftly stood up. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, taking care not to choke him. He adjusted his grip on her thighs before he started walking. When they reached the exit of the park she cleared . “Hoseok, put me down, you must be tired.” She said, noticing the sweat forming on his face. He ignored her and started walking in the direction of her apartment. “Hoseok you can’t carry me all the way home!” she exclaimed.

“Can and will.” He replied, looking back at her as best he could, a grin on his face. She tried to protest again but he loosened his grip, pretending to drop her, making her wrap her legs and arms tighter around him. He chuckled at her while she pouted at him, even though he couldn’t see her. “Mean.” She muttered. Hoseok chuckled as he walked with her on his back, ignoring the stares from the people around them. When they reached her building, he took her right up to the elevator before gently letting her down.

Her watch snagged on his necklace as she tried to pull her arm away. “Oh!” she exclaimed as she gently untangled her watch from the delicate chain. She noticed the ring attached to the chain. It took her a few seconds to realise that it was a girls ring and who it must have belonged to. She froze, her eyes glued to the ring. “Eun Ji?” she jumped at the sound of her name. “Huh?” she said, looking up at Hoseok who was giving her a worried look. “I asked if you were ok, but you don’t look so good.” He said as he reached out and pressed his hand against her forehead. “I don’t think you have a fever.” He mumbled.

“I’m fine. Just tired.” She lied, stumbling back a step. The elevator arrived and Hoseok helped her in. “Why don’t you come up? The least I can do is offer you a drink after you carried me all this way.” Hoseok gave her a bright smile as he joined her in the elevator. They went up to her apartment and he helped her to the couch. “Stay here.” He commanded as he rushed into her kitchen to find something cold to put on her ankle.

He reappeared a few minutes later with a small towel with ice cubes wrapped up in it. He helped her prop her foot up and put the makeshift icepack on her ankle. “It’s pretty swollen, should I take you to hospital?” he asked as he inspected her ankle. She shook her head, “It’s just a sprain, I’ll be ok.” She said giving him a weak smile, her gaze focused on the ring which he hadn’t tucked back into his t-shirt. Hoseok gave her a worried look, “Are you sure you’re feeling ok?” he asked worriedly. She nodded, forcing a smile onto her face. She wasn’t even sure why seeing the necklace and the ring had shaken her so much. She was well aware of the fact that Hoseok was not over his ex. So it was only natural that he had a memento of their relationship. Plus, it wasn’t like they were dating or anything.

“Do you need me to get you anything?” he asked, breaking her train of thought. “No, I’m good. Thanks for bringing me home. I’m not sure I would have made it without you.” She said, hoping she was succeeding in keeping her tone light. Hoseok grinned at her. “Do you want me to stay and look after you?” he offered but she shook her head. “I’ll be fine, besides you're meant to be meeting Yoongi, right? I've got leftovers in the fridge and if worse comes to worst, there’s a great place not far from here that delivers chicken.” He laughed at her. “Good to know you won't starve.” He teased. “If you need anything, just call, ok?” she nodded and thanked him again. He grabbed a bottle of water from her fridge before he left, making sure to give her one as well.

When she heard her apartment door close she sank back against the cushions behind her and sighed loudly, her thoughts once again returning to the ring around Hoseok's neck. No matter how many times she told herself to stop thinking about it, she just couldn’t shake it from her mind. She knew it was wrong of her to be so worked up over a ring, but the fact that it was obviously his ex-girlfriends and the fact that he was still wearing it after all this time affected her more than she would have liked.

She was still trying to figure out exactly what Hoseok meant to her. She had been curious about him when they had first met, and the more she got to know him, the more she enjoyed spending time with him. There was no doubting how attractive he was. Even when they had first met and he was pale, tired, and too skinny he was still good looking. But now that he had stopped drinking himself half to death and was getting some proper rest and food, it was undeniable how attractive she found him. He was also really kind, funny, caring…She shook her head in an attempt to rid herself of those types of thoughts.

“In the end it doesn’t matter how I feel about him. He's still not over his last relationship and I have no right to push him to get over her.” She pulled her knees against her chest, ignoring the shooting pain from her ankle as it protested against the new position, the makeshift icepack falling to the floor, the ice cubes scattering across the floor. She hugged her knees, letting her head rest against her arms. She let out a deep sigh, “What have I gotten myself into?”