"CRASH!"

The sound of a glass shattering could be heard beyond the non-soundproof wall that separated her bedroom and the living room. The wall didn't serve a good purpose for Hayoung who was in her dreamland earlier. She heard it, and had grown accustomed to it. Mr. Lee would be back home drunk in the morning if he wasn't gambling at night. She blamed entirely on his existence for causing her mother's death. Her mother would not be trying to escape from this life and got into a tragic accident if it wasn't for his stubbornness not to turn over a new leaf. Despite his continuous loss in gambling, he was still persistent and alcohol was something he couldn't live without. No matter how much Hayoung despised Mr. Lee, he was still her biological father after all.

After getting dressed for her part-time job in the convenience store a few hundred metres away from her home, she went to clear the glass shards and dragged Mr. Lee who was lying on the floor to the couch shortly after. Thank goodness Mr. Lee was unconscious, she thought. She rather handled him when he was knocked out than when he was still tipsy because he would just whack her body with his leather belt. It was more painful when he lost his stakes as he would vent his anger on her non-stop, regardless of how loud she cried.

At least she wasn't alone. She still has her brother Howon, or Hoya which he preferred to be called. He knew she was suffering, yet he couldn't do anything to stop the torturing. He didn't dare to call the police because not only will he invite unwanted attention, he was afraid that he will be shunned from the society if they knew that he was brought up in such a broken family. For now, he decided that keeping mum would be the appropriate solution and giving Mr. Lee money for his gambling activities so that Hayoung would not be harmed.

Despite already having Hoya contributing to the family's finances by working as a deliveryman in McDonalds', Hayoung got herself a job in order not to be too dependent on him. Hoya didn't object though, because he was aware that this could be another way for her to escape from that dungeon.

When Hayoung arrived at her workplace, she was surprised to see the convenience store closed. She soon ran towards her employer who was standing in front of the shop.

"Boss! What happened?"

"Oh, Hayoung-ah! I forgot to inform you that the shop will be undergoing some renovation works for a few months, but don't worry. If you still want to work here, then I'll inform you when the shop is ready for business. For now, here's your salary for this month." Mr. Park gave her a white envelope containing cash.

"Okay Boss! Don't forget to call me when it's ready!" Hayoung shouted as Mr. Park walked in the opposite direction, bidding farewell at the same time.

"Thank God you're having a day off from your work, Woohyun. It's really hard for me to spend with my oh-so-busy son so why are you rushing for breakfast?" Mrs. Nam was setting the table for her husband who was currently taking a shower while Woohyun was eating his bread in a hurry as he checked his phone for any notifications.

"I just want to spend more time outside. It's been so long since I last had a proper break so I want to use this chance to cycle." Mrs. Nam soon occupied the seat in front of him when she had finished her work.

"Woohyun-ah, you're not young anymore. You should use this time to find someone to get married, not enjoying the bachelor's life." This was one of the reasons why Woohyun decided to wolf down his meal. He wanted to avoid his mother talking about marriage because he simply found the subject boring.

"Maybe next time, Mom. I got to go, Sunggyu's already waiting for me." After finishing his meal, he kissed Mrs. Nam on the cheek before getting on his bike. The last sentence was a lie though, as Sunggyu would rather lay on his bed if he wasn't working.

Donning on a sky blue shirt together with a pair of white shorts, Woohyun felt at ease as he cycled his way to the park in this perfect weather. It's been quite a while since he indulged himself in the comfort of nature when most of the time, he would be rushing to his car to get to his workplace and occasionally got caught in a massive traffic jam.

He was enjoying the breeze as he pedalled his vehicle when suddenly, a young boy appeared a few metres in front of him to retrieve his ball that was rolling on the bicycle pavement. The abrupt movement had caused Woohyun to steer immediately, resulting him to lose his balance and eventually bumped his bike on a tree as he fell down. This wasn't what he was looking forward for the day.

"Are you alright?" He didn't notice there was a person beside him until she voiced out her concern as her attention was diverted away from her book. The lady helped him in removing the bicycle which was hovering over his body away and letting it lean on the tree. Woohyun was still grunting in pain as he tried to sit up.

"Gosh! How did you managed to land yourself in such a situation?" The lady was genuinely concerned as she took a look at the bruises on his legs before rummaging her bag for an ointment and a cotton bud. Even though he didn't request for first aid, she had already been concentrating on putting the medicine over the wounds. He somewhat felt exposed since he was wearing shorts and the young lady was gazing at his legs as she silently applied the ointment.

"Well, there's a boy who appeared unexpectedly in front of me so I had to steer in order to prevent him from getting hurt." Trying to break the silent atmosphere between them, he replied to her question.

"But you're the one getting hurt." She had already finished tending to his injuries as they kept an eye contact.

"Thanks anyway. I'm Nam Woohyun by the way." Reaching his right hand out for a handshake, he introduced himself.

"Lee Hayoung." She reciprocated the handshake before she checked on her wrist watch. "I need to go now, so see you soon?" Her tone was raised at the end of the sentence which sounded more like a question, when actually she was unsure whether she would be meeting this guy again.

Despite having a damaged bicycle and an injured leg, his lips curved a smile as he felt even more intrigued by the beautiful stranger he had just encountered.