Jiyeon wanted to curse every time she glanced out the window. It was pouring rain like it was a hurricane, and the power was certain to go out at any moment. Families were taking refuge in the café, taking far too long to leave, but she didn’t blame them. No one wanted to travel in this kind of weather. On the plus side, these people did pay for more drinks and food, so at least she was getting a bigger tip.

The only concern she had about this storm was her older brother. Jihoon oppa had to head to work in an hour, but he was undoubtedly going to check on her on his way, which meant he was leaving now, which meant that he was going to walk in the rain, which meant he wasn’t going to be in a good mood for work, which meant... a lot of bad things. The last thing either of them could want is to get fired, and Jihoon oppa in a bad mood on the wrong day could spell trouble for both of them.

“Jiyeon-ah?” She turned sharply at the familiar voice to find Kim Mingyu, one of the chefs, behind the counter full of several dishes. “Are you going to take this out?”

“Oh, uh, yes, sorry,” she blabbered, quickly getting a tray and putting all the dishes on it before walking out of the kitchen to give the right tables their food. As she was walking, she saw a drenched, bright pink head of hair.

“Jihoon oppa!” She called, “give me a moment!” She quickly served the food, smiling whenever someone thanked her, before carting the tray away. She cleaned her hands and made her way back to her older brother. “You don't need to check on me every time it storms, oppa,” she said, wiping her hands on her pants.

“Yes, I do,” Jihoon snorted, beginning to walk, intending to meet her halfway.

Just then, she spotted a puddle of water that hadn’t been mopped up yet. “Jih--” she called out, but before she could fully warn her brother, he slipped on the errant puddle, falling backwards. It was like slow motion, watching her older brother falling down, feet in the air, arms unable to catch him, a mixture of fright and pissed off on his face and then...

A pair of different arms wrapped around Jihoon’s waist, holding him firmly and keeping him from slamming his body on the hard floor.

“Oppa!” Jiyeon yelled, running to her brother’s side (avoiding the puddle that got said brother in this situation in the first place.) “Are you okay?”

Jihoon didn't answer her, instead turning to the guy above him, still holding him off the ground like the two of them were doing the finishing pose of a couple dance. Jiyeon instantly noted that he was handsome, with slanted, cat-like eyes and a honey tone to his skin—or rather, to all of him. He just embodied honey: sweet, golden, soft, and relaxed. If honey was a person, it was this man.

Her brother, though, seemed to think he was too sticky, and he swatted at the man’s arms. “Let go of me!”

The man didn't do as he said, instead pulling him upward to that he was standing instead of just dropping him on the wet floor. He pulled too hard, though, and Jihoon fell right onto the man’s chest.

Jiyeon winced.

“Sorry about that,” the man said, stepping back and dropping his arms. The man’s voice was also like honey; it was smooth and melodic and... beautiful. Jiyeon wanted to wrap herself in his voice and sleep like a baby. Then the man smiled, and it was warm enough to dry the drenched man that was her brother.

Jihoon didn't say anything, but his eyes had a dangerous glint to them, and the smile on his face was not a genuine smile.

Jiyeon winced again. This was not going to end well.

“Are you kidding me? Do you know how embarrassing it is to be caught by a guy in the middle of a crowded café? Why didn't you just let me fall like a normal person instead of being the damn prince and saving the stupid princess from a fall?” Jihoon was seething, bright red as he yelled at the man.

Taken back, the man couldn't help but stammer, “I-I didn't want you to get hurt.”

“Did you think I needed to be protected because I was small, a-and cute? Well, let me explain one thing to you: I. Am. A. Grown. Man. I don't need to be protected or sheltered or saved, and I will not tolerate being treated like I'm weak,” her brother growled.

“Enough, oppa!” Jiyeon interrupted, stepping in front of her brother and blocking part of his view of the honey man (she was shorter than her brother, and the man was taller than them both, so there wasn't much she could do in that aspect) to get his attention. “You have a job to get to. I am fine, I will be fine, and I can walk home in the rain. I'll see you tonight, okay? Go.”

Her brother looked like he wanted to protest, but he took one look at the clock on the wall and bolted out of the café, gaining the attention of the customers who hadn't already been watching the spectacle.

Jiyeon sighed, rubbing her face with her hands, before turning to the man and bowing. “I'm sorry about my brother,” she said solemnly. “He doesn't mean it. He just doesn't like being treated like a weakling.”

“It's alright,” he said. “I just wasn't thinking of him as a princess, anyway. I just try to help wherever I can.”

“Well, thank you...” Jiyeon trailed off, not knowing the man's name.

“Jisoo,” he supplied, “Hong Jisoo.”

“Jisoo-sshi, thank you,” she repeated, bowing again. “My brother is not the most understanding man. He works hard and is polite, but he is quick to anger. Thank you for being understanding.”

“It's really okay,” Jisoo assured her. “Don't worry about it.”

“If there's anything I can do, please let me know,” she insisted one last time before returning to work.

When she finished her shift, Jiyeon was surprised to see Jisoo still there, at a table. There wasn't any food in front of him, but his hands were folded in front of him, like he was waiting for something.

“Jisoo-sshi, are you still waiting for your food?” She asked, making some mental calculations. It had been about three hours since she'd talked to the man who embodied honey, and it was possible he had already been there for a while. The storm had passed, so anyone who had taken refuge, like Jisoo, had already left, and the café wasn't that terrible, so why was he still here?

“I have decided what you can do for me,” he said. “Can you allow me to walk you home?”

Jiyeon stopped cold. This guy was unreal. Was he really a gentleman? Or was he trying to attack or kidnap her? Why would his gift be a task? What was his motive? There were too many questions running around in her head, and Jisoo was expecting an answer.

Finally, she decided on, “Are you real?” As soon as the words were out of , she regretted them, but she really couldn't do much about it.

Now it was his turn to be shocked. “What? I-I'm pretty sure I'm real, why do you ask?”

“Then are you a kidnapper?” She asked.

“Wha-What? No!” He insisted. “Why are you asking me this?”

“Because there's no way a random stranger who got yelled at for being a gentleman in the middle of a café would ask as an apology to walk the yeller’s sister home,” Jiyeon replied, still in shock. “There's just no way.”

“Well, then I am one of a kind,” Jisoo smiled again, and Jiyeon was almost tempted to lean back; she was so confused by the genuinity and gentleness of this smile that she didn't know how to react. He wasn’t even leaning forward, but his smile was just so powerful it caught her off guard.

It was probably a bad idea and her brother was going to kill her for it later, but she nodded. “If you really want to, go ahead.”

“Great!” Jisoo smiled even wider, if that was possible, and got up. “Let’s go, then.”

“Okay,” still a little dazed, Jiyeon let him open the door for her, and the two headed for the officetel.

“Do you know your name is kind of feminine?” Jiyeon asked as they walked. “Jisoo. It’s a uni name, but there are more females with the name Jisoo than males.”

“Yeah,” Jisoo chuckled, running the back of his neck. “I'm from the US, actually. Everyone there called me by my American name, Joshua. You can call me that if it makes you uncomfortable to call me Jisoo.”

“Joshua,” Jiyeon repeated, trying out the name. “It sounds... nice.”

“Thank you,” he replied. “So... what does your brother do? Y-you said he has work.” He sounded hesitant to mention him, considering he was the reason Jisoo was walking her home anyway.

She decided to oblige him anyway. “He's a DJ at a club.”

“That's so cool!” Jisoo said enthusiastically. “What club?”

“Um...” she had to remember which club he worked at. “I think it's called BoomBoom? HIGHLIGHT? Something like that. I don't remember.”

“Okay,” he laughed. “Don't worry, I'm not a club person, so I won’t go stalk him. Too many people doing weird things. Honestly, I didn't think your brother was the kind of person to work at a club.”

“He isn't,” Jiyeon admitted, “but he has a passion for music, and DJ is as close as he can get to being in the music industry without a degree.”

“Is your brother studying music in university?”

“Yeah,” Jiyeon said as their apartment building came into view. “There’s our apartment, Joshua-sshi,” she said, pointing.

Still, Joshua walked with her all the way up to the gate. “What apartment number are you?” He asked, looking at all the windows.

Jiyeon couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re being very forward for having just met me and my brother today, Joshua-sshi,” she pointed out.

“I’m just curious,” he assured her. “Have you ever felt like someone was meant to be someone in your life?” Confused, she shook her head no. “That's what I feel like right now. I feel like you and your brother are meant to be in my life. I wouldn’t be this pushy normally, but there’s just... I had a gut feeling that if I didn’t try to befriend you two, I would regret it.” There was so much genuinity to his voice, and so much truth in his face that once again, the girl was taken back.

“That sounds very... honest, and, maybe even, um, spiritual,” Jiyeon stammered, thinking back on their chance encounter. She had instantly liked him, which was a major warning sign: she never liked someone right off the bat. The warm feeling that he emanated seemed to pierce through her and settle within her, even when he wasn’t around. It was strange and creepy, and Jiyeon had considered that something was wrong with her, but it had had something to do with the man in front of her. Still, this man needed a warning. “I guess... that's what I felt with you, Joshua-sshi. I don't let just anyone walk me home. But... I don’t advise you to get close to us. My brother and I... have been through a lot. If you try to get close to me, Jihoon-oppa won’t be welcoming.”

“Then I’ll try harder to prove I’m not going to hurt either you or him.” The resolution in his voice was shocking.

All the people in Jiyeon and Jihoon’s life were meaningless. It wasn’t that they were disposable or worthless in general, it was just that the two didn’t hold them dear. They simply had no importance in their life. No one bothered to befriend either of them. For some to say his intentions to do so as bluntly as Joshua had was like being electrocuted. For the first time, Jiyeon felt wanted by someone other than her brother. She could immediately feel less lonely, less isolated from the world.

She must have been standing there a little too long, as she jerked back into reality when Joshua waved his hand in front of her. “Jiyeon-sshi? Are you okay?”

“Augh!” She gasped, jumping backwards. “I-uh-I mean, I’m fine, Joshua-sshi. I just... you can’t possibly be real. And if you are, then I don’t know why you want to associate with either me or my brother.”

“Everyone deserves something good,” he reasoned. “Even if it’s just me.”

Jiyeon was sold. Call her young, call her naïve, but she just knew that Joshua-sshi was a genuinely good person, the kind of person she needed in her life. “Our apartment number is 517,” she answered finally, “Joshua-oppa.”

Not missing the change in honorifics, Joshua wrapped an arm around her briefly and gave her a warm smile before pulling away. Surprisingly, she hadn’t resisted the hug nor the strange, creepy warmth that came full force when he hugged her. “Well, we’ve been standing in front of your building for a little too long, so I’ll be on my way. Do you have a Kakao or a LINE?”

“I have a Kakao,” Jiyeon began hesitantly, “but neither Jihoon or I have phones. We share a computer at home.” A computer that had cost them the entire summer of one meager meal a day to afford, simply because it had to be powerful enough for Jihoon’s composing software. Jihoon and Jiyeon had separate Kakao accounts, in case one had to contact the other at home.

Joshua smiled. “Well, then I’ll message you if I want to hangout with you and your brother. I'll even pick you two up like a true gentleman.”

“Okay, then,” she beamed at the man. She turned to head inside, but thought of something and turned back around. “I'm glad you caught Jihoon today.”

“It was like one of those things you see in the movie,” he said. “A meet cute.”

She scoffed. “You consider my brother yelling at you for being a gentleman a meet cute? That's not a meet cute: that's a meet scary.”

He shrugged. “Beauty's in the eye of the beholder. I think it was cute, even if I wouldn't say it to your brother’s face.”

She laughed. “I'll see you later, Joshua-oppa.”

With that, she disappeared into the building.