After a moment of hesitation, "Right."

Sana's lips stretched into a wide smile, "The world sure is small, I can hardly believe I'm seeing you here." She then remembered what led to their encounter. She twisted her hands together and gestured at the spilt drink in front of them, "We always seem to meet when there's a mess huh." Sana pulled out the towel she kept in her apron's pocket and began cleaning the tabletop. She could sense him watching her. She paused and met his eyes. He raised his eyebrows questioningly. 

"Are you not going to say anything?"

"What am I supposed to say?" he asked in a deep, velvety voice. Sana scrunched up her nose; this person was starting to confuse her. 

"An introduction would be nice. For example, my name is Sana," she motioned to her employee name tag, "I work here, my first day actually. I'm usually not this clumsy. My parents own this place. What's your name?"

"Why do you want to know?" he tucked his hands in the pockets of his black jacket. Sana couldn't help feeling amused, "Um, because we've met twice. And you helped me for no reason, so I must assume you're a kind person. It's alright if you don't want to. I can remember you as the drunk guy with the camera in Osaka."

By now, 'Sana' had swept up all signs of the spilled beverage. Although he never gave it much thought before, Taehyung realized now by her name that she must be Japanese. His curious side wondered what she was doing in Seoul, but he brushed it aside. Sana picked up the abandoned cup and walked towards the nearest trashcan. Taehyung felt very out-of-place. He was having a conversation with a stranger- technically they weren't strangers anymore -in a bustling cafe early in the morning. He pictured where he would have been right now if he never made the stupid decision of walking over to give that lady the cappuccino. The cappuccino. Right, he would be back with Yoongi by now, having a normal Taehyung Morning. He blamed everything on the lady's annoying pink lipstick and the way her lips seemed so accustomed to throwing insults at people. Taehyung sighed and took deliberate steps to follow Sana over to the trashcan. She disposed of the cup and turned around to face him. 

"Kim...Taehyung," he said the last word hastily. When he woke up this morning, Taehyung did not plan to introduce himself to a random person. But it bothered him a bit that said random person's impression of him was 'drunk guy with the camera.' 

"And I didn't help you for no reason. You've helped me before. Now we're even," he added calmly.

"Human kindness shouldn't be counted like cash you know," she smiled and stuck out her hand, "So thanks anyway, Taehyung." He thought briefly about how sweet his name sounded in her voice. He mentally noted that she smiled way too much. Taehyung glanced down at her small outstretched hand for a second before saying, "I better get going."

It had been weeks since his last encounter with the grey-haired girl, and Taehyung's mind was now preoccupied with something much more important- his car. He knew full-well that it was aged, but he was not ready to say goodbye, and its malfunctioning incidents have been occurring more often than he liked to admit. Taehyung finally caved on the last week of February and stopped by an auto repair shop. After five minutes of waiting and twirling his keys around, Taehyung was startled by booming laughter. 

"Morning! My apologies for making you wait," the voice's owner said as he walked towards him. He wore a faded cap on top of his shaggy black hair and a t-shirt smeared with grease. The dull clothing had no effect on his radiant grin, however, the man's smile could light up an entire dark arena. A moment of awkward silence passed before Taehyung remembered to say the basic greetings and explain his car's problems. He was invited to take a seat on a dusty couch as the man examined his car's engine, all the while chattering about irrelevant topics Taehyung didn't bother to listen to.

He must've noticed Taehyung's silence, for he then said, "Sorry if I'm being a bit chatty. It's kinda exciting you know?"

"What is?" Taehyung asked to be polite.

"Having a customer!" he laughed timidly, "It's been dry out here for quite a while now."

Taehyung stopped whirling his keys. He wanted to say something comforting, maybe a 'I'm sorry to hear that.' The man saved him from the awkwardness by continuing to ramble on, "It's just me and my grandparents. My grandma wants to give this place up and move to Gwangju, but my grandpa's darn stubborn on keeping it. It's his dream. So here I am, been here for a good five years now."

Taehyung looked up and gave him a meek smile. 

"Hey I'm not that old yet, only 23," he beamed, "Oh! Totally forgot, call me Hoseok."

He then straightened up and closed the engine hood, "Your car's rusty alright, but nothing I can't fix. I can get it back to you in a day or two. Need a ride home?" 

Taehyung stood up and shook his head, "I can walk home."

When her mom finished the grocery list, Sana immediately sprang up and volunteered to go instead. It was a lovely day outside and she was sick of studying in her room. Sana had been taking completing her college courses online and this was her final year. She had simple dreams; major in business, take over her parents' coffee shop, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after. Sana sighed as she shifted the plastic bags in her hands to relieve the weight. It all seemed to simple, but reality was a stark contrast.

With her head hanging low, Sana bumped into someone in front of her. She let out a small gasp at the collision and immediately bowed to apologize. When she looked up, she was met with a familiar set of eyes, slightly hidden from the messy array of bangs. 

"Kim Taehyung!" Sana spurted out as she unconsciously took a step back. The young man looked like he could murder her on the spot. He must really hate human interaction, she thought. To her surprise, his gaze softened when he recognized the clumsy girl and, without a word, he turned around to continue walking. Sana hesitated for a second before tracing his footsteps. She mustered up the courage to start a conversation, for they seemed to be heading in the same direction anyway and she could use a new friend in Seoul. 

"Heading somewhere?"

"Home."

Sana smiled. They had only conversed a few times, but it felt like he was an old acquaintance she had not met in a while. She was not upset at his short, one-worded answers, but felt rather the opposite. 

"I'm heading home too. It still feels weird to call it home, I'm so used to my lonely apartment in Osaka," she didn't expect him to reply and would have been content if he just listened. After a short pause, however, Taehyung asked, "You lived alone in Osaka? Why the sudden move to Korea?"

The evening was warm for February and the sun was just beginning to set. Taehyung dug his hands into his sweater's pockets. Without realizing it, his steps were slowing down. He justified it with the fact that he dreaded reaching home. It was much more peaceful to walk the nearly-empty streets and pretend everything was alright. Taehyung would have been perfectly fine walking alone, but there was a certain Sana walking right behind him right now, and his stupid brain decided it was a good idea to continue her small talk. 

"You lived alone in Osaka? Why the sudden move to Korea?" he couldn't deny that he was somewhat curious. It was weird to meet a stranger in a foreign country and then reunite with said stranger back at home. 

He heard a nervous chuckle before she said, "It's kind of a long story." They were now at an intersection waiting for the signal to cross, which gave Sana a chance to catch up to him. Taehyung couldn't help noticing that she had smoothly changed the subject to the dinner her mom promised to make once she brought the groceries home. He took a quick glance at the girl beside him, noting that she was shorter up close and that her silver hair looked more like warm-gray in the fading sunlight. It reminded him of coffee and he almost asked why she chose to dye it that color, but didn't want to interrupt her enthusiastic description of her mom's cooking skills. 

Instead of toning her out, Taehyung found himself devouring every detail. There was a heavy feeling in his chest as he imagined a family meal, with delicious scents mingling with light laughter. He mentally scolded his imagination for being naive. He had not experienced such a meal in a long time, and would probably never experience one in the future anyway. 

When the crosswalk light flashed green, Sana began walking first. Swinging her grocery bags, she took big, measured steps so that her soles never touched the painted lines of the crosswalk. In an instant, Taehyung's mind flooded with unwanted memories. 

"That's so childish," Taehyung chastised the younger companion as he took deliberate steps to make sure his favorite Timberland boots didn't touch the painted lines on the concrete. 

"Aish, I know. But I always cross like this, it's a habit," the latter answered light-heartedly, "Hyung! At the next intersection, let's race across like this. Loser treats the winner to icecream." 

"No thanks, I'm not down to look like an idiot with you," Taehyung said, grinning.

"I see you smiling that rectangular smile. Come on, I know you want icecream too." 

Taehyung often hated the boy's ideas, but he somehow always gave in, and this time was no exception. Drivers waiting for the green light in their cars at the next intersection would shake their heads and question why two teenage boys were speedily hopping across the street that way. They didn't know Taehyung obviously lost and had to purchase two cones of chocolate icecream. They didn't know Taehyung didn't mind it at all, for nothing made him happier than to see those eyes crease and that bunny smile. 

Welcome Jhope! I finished all my AP exams so I have more time to write now, yay. Note: Taehyung records his radio thing daily, every night at 11. I decided not to include one in this chapter because we're in the middle of something and the next chapter will be a continuation of the day. Another note: Taehyung and Sana did not move back to Seoul at the same time. Their encounter at Osaka was in December and about two months passed before their next encounter at the coffee shop. Also some weeks passed between the coffee shop and Taehyung's visit to the auto repair + the walk home, so now it's late February. Hope yall like the update and leave comments about literally anything :)