Taehyung jerked back to the present when he heard a loud honking sound. A hand grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the sidewalk.

"Taehyung?" Sana questioned, clearly unsure as to why he suddenly stopped in the middle of the crosswalk. He quickly freed his arm from her grasp and mumbled a quiet, "Sorry about that."

It was only two more minutes of walking until they reached Sana's apartment complex. She turned to her new friend, if she could even consider him one, and said her goodbyes. She waited for him to leave first, before quickly realizing that his own apartment complex was directly across from hers. Taehyung's building was bigger, newer, and obviously more costly. Sana watched him walk briskly towards the entrance of his building and, right as he reached the automatic sliding doors, she called out his name. 

Sana really could not pinpoint what prompted her to do so. She thought about his black clothing, his shaggy hair, and his lips. Those lips always seemed to be pressed into a thin line. Sana believed that a smile is the best accessory anyone can wear, and it was no different for Taehyung. She knew it was none of her business, but Sana thought it would be nice to see Taehyung smile. She shrugged to herself; one attempt would not hurt. 

Taehyung turned around and raised one of his eyebrow at her. 

"Would you like to join us for dinner?" Sana asked timidly. 

"No I'd rather not," he replied, then added, "But thank you for the offer."

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You're ing brilliant, Kim Taehyung. Taehyung was very close to slamming his head right onto the dining table. He stared down at his feet to avoid the many stares directed his way and somehow felt worse. His stupid feet would not obey when he willed them to take him straight through those automatic sliding doors, straight to his own apartment, and straight to bed. Instead, he had given in to Sana's pleadings and ended up seated at her dining table. Declining her after she had tried so hard to convince him would be rude. Taehyung didn't want to appear rude. 

He finally had the courage to glance up at the people seated around him and was once again taken aback. There was a middle-aged woman who had introduced herself as Sana's mom, or Mrs. Park. She was now gazing at him intently, and Taehyung couldn't figure out if she loved him or wanted to kill him. Next to her was Mr. Park, whose smiling eyes were apparent even through his round glasses. Directly across from Taehyung was a young man with handsome features who cheerily identified himself as Sana's favorite big brother. Sana had playfully smacked him, "Jimin, you're my only big brother!" 

There was also Jimin's girlfriend, whose name Taehyung didn't bother remembering, a hulky cousin named Jin, and a Samoyed puppy circling everyone's feet under the table. 

Sana finally spoke up, "Let's eat. And stop staring at Taehyung you guys are making him uncomfortable."

Jin rushingly finished chewing his food and smirked at Sana, "We can't help it squirrel, it's the first time you brought a guy home." 

Taehyung glanced at Sana, just in time to see her choke on her water. Mr. Park passed her a napkin before coming to his daughter's defense, "She already explained that he helped her out and he happens to live right by us. Dinner is just a small courtesy." 

Jin pouted like a child, then suddenly slammed his fork down, "Since we're talking about dinner, I've got a great pun." Taehyung looked on confusingly as the entire table groaned in protest. Jin didn't mind, as if he was used to this reaction, and continued.

"What do you call a fake noodle?" 

An impasta, Taehyung answered mentally. 

"An impasta! Impasta! Get it?" Jin laughed maniacally. Despite the terrible pun, his laugh was enough to set everyone off. Soon, they were all chuckling and talking. No one minded that they were talking over each other. Jimin began bickering with Jin. His girlfriend was conversing with Mrs. Park. It was all too hectic compared to Taehyung's version of dinner, which usually included him, Chinese takeout, and the television. His observations were interrupted by Sana's small voice, "Is the food okay? Jin's the chef of the house."

Taehyung answered honestly, "He's a great chef then." 

"Sorry about them. They're always like this."

"I don't mind." Taehyung was glad the spotlight on him was off for now and concentrated on his food. He should've known his luck never lasted. Mrs. Park had said something and was looking at him expectantly. Crap, she was addressing me. Seeing his dumbfounded look, the woman patiently repeated herself.

"If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living? Or maybe you're still studying?"

"I'm a...delivery guy, of sorts," Taehyung mumbled, "I run errands for a photo studio." 

"You look pretty young, but working full time already?"

There it was. The storm he had been dreading had arrived to dampen his mood. Taehyung could only manage a small nod. For some reason, Jimin was the first to sense his discomfort and quickly swerve the conversation to another topic. Taehyung tuned out all the clankings of forks and the voices of a happy family. He didn't blame Mrs. Park at all. She couldn't have known that she had touched on a sensitive issue. Taehyung mostly blamed himself. He was dumb for trying to feel comfortable here. He clearly didn't belong here. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sana was not surprised when Taehyung declined dessert and briskly left, claiming that his mother was probably worried sick and expecting him home. Her mother was always a curious woman, sometimes too curious for her own good. When the meal came to an end, Sana volunteered to do the dishes and Jimin, being his kind-hearted self, joined her after bidding his girlfriend goodbye. 

Sana picked up a teasing tone, "How are things with Mina? Have you guys picked a wedding date yet?"

Jimin chuckled lightly but gave no other verbal response. Sana was confused. Despite not being blood-related, she had spent a majority of her life with Jimin and knew him well enough to realize that something was wrong. 

"Spit it out."

"What do you mean?" Jimin picked up his scrubbing pace. 

"Sir, that plate is squeaky clean but your conscience isn't. Since when did you start keeping secrets from your favorite little sister?" Sana kept her tone light to avoid pressuring him. 

"You got me squirrel," Jimin sheepishly admitted, "I'm in a sticky situation right now. And before your thoughts get wild, I really love her...but..."

Sana nudged his shoulder reassuringly with her own, "Tell me when you're ready. There's no rush at all."

Jimin flashed her his signature eye-smile to show his appreciation. The rest of the dishes were cleaned over topics ranging from rude customers to insoles. Sana initially intended to get a good night's sleep that day but her awaiting pile of homework had other plans for her. She underestimated her procrastinating abilities and ended up barely finishing the assignments at 4:00 in the morning. She felt like her eyes had closed for only five minutes when her alarm rang. Head pounding and eyes blurring, Sana instinctively reached for her phone. Right beneath the time stamp of 7:30 AM were 5 missed calls and 30 text messages from Myoui Mina. Quickly scanning the texts gave Sana a gist of her own sticky situation:

"Sanaaaa, your blind date is todayyyy"

"Don't tell me you're still asleep" 

"WAKE UP!!!"

"IF YOU DON'T REPLY I SWEAR I'LL COME WAKE YOU UP MYSELF"

Oh God, why don't you have mercy on me? I've been single my whole life and now I'm going to show up crusty and very very late to my first blind date. Sana shot out of bed and got ready in record time. That morning, Korea's punctual subway system somehow seemed too slow.

If dates are this stressful why should I even bother. Sana mentally chuckled remembering how this all started. Mina made the mistake of bringing up a new dating app during dinner once. Her parents, after taking one quick glance at their pathetically single daughter, both jumped onto the idea and offered all kinds of encouragement. To add fuel to the fire, Jimin and Jin, being the brats that they were, volunteered to make her account for her. After only half an hour, Minatozaki Sana, age: 21, hobbies: breathing and walking, was ready to meet single men. Everything was done, of course, without her permission. Sana could only groan and try not to tear all her hair out. She was always content as long as her family was happy. But now, sitting across from a greasy man and trying her best to look awake, Sana was regretting it. 

Don't judge by appearance, don't judge by appearance, she chanted to herself. After smiley introductions and drink orders, "John" began interrogating her. He sat cross-legged and leaned all the way back in his chair, hands reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. Sana easily caught him scanning her up and down and stopped herself from sighing. 

"So, were you in a rush today or do you usually not wear makeup? And do you normally dress like this on dates?" He laughed, "Sorry if I sound intrusive. I'm interested in style."

Sana decided that honesty was the best approach and prayed that this would be over soon, "The truth is, I forgot about this date and overslept."

John stared at her for a solid second before bursting into laughter. After calming down and blowing out a puft of smoke, he said with a knowing smirk, "Let's cut the small talk to get to what we really want. I have the money and you have a body. What's your fee?"

It took only a short moment for Sana to get over her disbelief. She disregarded the waiter who had just walked over with their drinks, stood up, and headed for the exit. Before stepping out of the suffocating place, she turned around and addressed her date, "This is a non smoking zone, John." Sana noticed the appreciative nod from the waiter before walking out. 

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Taehyung lightly tapped both of his cheeks with his palms to wake himself up. He picked up his pace after glancing at the decreasing seconds on the crosswalk light. The hand indicating pedestrians to wait flashed red just as he reached the curb. Before he could take another step, however, a voice called out, "Excuse me! Your backpack is open!" 

No way. Is my head playing tricks on me? Why do I keep hearing that voice everywhere these days? Taehyung slowly turned his head around and sure enough, there she stood. They were separated by a crosswalk. Still, that ash brown hair pulled up in a ponytail and that bright smile were unmistakably Sana. She brightened up immediately when he turned around, seemingly just as surprised to see him there. She excitedly waved one hand before having second thoughts and bowing in greeting instead. Taehyung turned away so she couldn't see him smirk at how ridiculous she looked. 

Taehyung startled when he realized he was faced with the same question. They were not exactly friends, at least he hoped not. But they were definitely not strangers. He wondered if it would be rude for him to start walking away right now. Fortunately for Taehyung, he didn't have to make a decision at all, for the light had changed colors again and Sana had quickly crossed in the time he spent standing there awkwardly. 

"Wow, what a coincidence! You will not believe what just happened to me. Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself. Where are you headed?" her voice resembled birds chirping, and it did a fine job of waking him up. Taehyung cautiously began walking and Sana fell in step with him. She makes it seem so easy and natural. 

"Uh, I'm picking up my car from the mechanic."

"I still haven't gotten a license," Sana slumped her shoulders, as if disappointed at her own incompetence. 

What kind of functioning adult doesn't have a license?

"I know what you're going to say. What kind of person doesn't have a license at 21 right?" Sana snickered at herself, "Trust me, my parents tell me everyday." My family this, my parents that. Must be nice to be so close-knit. Taehyung directed his gaze at his shoes. 

"Oh silly me. I didn't even ask if you minded some company. Do you mind? I don't have work today. I'll just walk with you to the mechanic." 

Taehyung made the mistake of looking up from his shoes and into her eyes. He was practically digging his own grave. 

"I don't mind," Taehyung said to his shoes. He silently admitted to himself that she didn't need to ask. Her steps matched his so perfectly and her voice melted in his ears. Sana began narrating the "craziest experience" from that morning, which included the "biggest waste of time," the "sickest, most disgusting date," and a "sweet new waiter friend" she made. 

Does she ever stop talking? Since when was I okay with letting someone invade my personal space? Taehyung was certainly nervous when he realized that it started with meeting her. He made up his mind to take a step away from friendship and a step closer to acquainted strangers with this breathing, walking radio. 

"Your backpack is still open, Taehyung."