From Monday through Friday, Jisoo waited for the train after spending 8 hours of her day answering customer complaints through email. It wasn't the most exciting routine in the world, but nonetheless, it was a routine she had grown used to. 

The worst part of it, though, was that she left her job at 10pm. That meant she had to wait way too long for the sparse night trains, and there wasn't a day when she wasn't asked for money. It made her uncomfortable to think of how they might be using it for drugs or alcohol, but at the same time she didn't like thinking she misjudged someone who was genuinely hungry. 

She tapped her feet on the ground to the rhythm of the music on her ears while she read a book, as she huffed hot air that turned white in the cold winter night air. Then, some movement from the corner of her eyes caught her attention. She raised her head to find a young girl, squatting in front a guy sitting in the same bench. Jisoo stared at her for a couple seconds and at the cute dog the girl had with her, until she met Jisoo's eyes and waved her hand with a smile. Jisoo smiled back awkwardly as a natural reaction and drove her attention back to her book.  

The girl was abnormally pretty and her smile was somehow warm. Jisoo wanted to look at her again, but she kept her head in place, trying to focus on her book even though she knew whatever the girl was asking him, she would ask her too. A few seconds later, as expected, the girl squatted in front of her, waving at her with the same smile. Jisoo took her earphones off and stared. 

“Hi! I’m sorry to bother, I just wanted to ask if, by any chance, you have some spare change. I used the money I had to feed Kuma and haven’t eaten anything yet.” She smiled, patting her dog's ears. 

“I-I'm sorry, I don’t have any cash on me.” Jisoo answered. 

“I see. That's okay! Have a good evening.”  

“You t-too.” 

The girl stood up and walked away, trying her luck with other people. 

Jisoo truly didn't have any change on her that day, but she regretted it. Watching that girl ask every single person for money, she could tell that girl was different from most beggars. She didn't demand money or bully people into giving it to her. She asked politely and immediately took no for an answer. Her dog was the cutest thing in the world, and Jisoo's heart twisted when she thought of how the girl thought about feeding the dog rather than feeding herself. If that was really the truth, at least.  

But something about the girl's smile told Jisoo she had been honest. 

---  

Needless to say, Jisoo expected the girl to appear again the next day. Much to her disappointment, she didn’t. Jisoo had even remembered to bring some change this time. 

Fast forward to Friday and thus far, no sign of her. Jisoo had sort of taken it off her mind and thought of how it could in fact be a good sign that she didn’t show up again. 

Jisoo sat in the usual bench, finishing the book she had been reading for the past two weeks, when she heard a bark. It could really have been any dog, but it was the girl with the dog... Kuma, was it?  

After talking to the people in her way, the girl finally turned to Jisoo. 

“Hello! I know I've asked you before, but do you happen to have some change on you this time?” The girl said with her gummy smile. She wore a grey beanie, making her even more adorable. 

“H-Hi, I remember you.” Jisoo answered, looking down and smiling as the girl's dog sniffed her shoes.  

“Kuma!” The girl gently pulled on the leash, making the dog back away with a cute whine.  

“That’s okay!” Jisoo smiled. “Can I pet him?” 

“Of course, he’s really friendly.” 

Jisoo extended her hand, waiting for him to approach and smell her. After a few sniffs, Jisoo patted his head, gently his soft fur and ears. When Jisoo looked up again, she found the girl grinning at her.  

“Are you hungry?” Jisoo asked out of the blue. 

The girl gave her a small smile as her cheeks reddened a bit. 

“How about a hot dog? There's a stand on the bottom floor, and I always go there when I don't have anything for dinner at home.” 

“That sounds great. Thank you.”  

Jisoo smiled back and stood up, grabbing her backpack. 

“Oh, your book!” The girl said as she looked back. 

Jisoo turned and her book was in the bench she was sitting on.  

“Jesus,” She rushed back to grab her book. “Thank you so much. I’m such a mess...” Jisoo mumbled, holding the book against her heart like it was her most valuable treasure. 

“It’s okay, I’m glad I noticed! What are you reading?” 

With a proud smile, Jisoo turned the book to the girl.

“Oh my god, ‘Through Fire and Flames’!” She gasped.

“You know it?” Jisoo gasped along. 

“Yes! It’s my favorite book of all time. A truly inspiring story... It helped me a lot in difficult moments. It still does, actually. I always have it with me.” The girl explained. “Have you finished it?” 

“Not yet, I have like fifty pages left, but I'm loving it. Don't spoil the ending for me, then.” Jisoo was trying to talk like a normal person, and not sounding too excited, or else she would make a fool of herself. 

“Don't worry, I'll let you find out for yourself. But yeah, the author really has a way to put her emotions into words, and reading about her courage and persistence really keeps me going when I'm down.” 

Jisoo nodded. She wanted to ask about what difficult moments was the girl talking about, but that would be disrespectful. If she needed to ask people for money, it was because her situation was not good, to say the least.   

They walked down the stairs in silence. As they reached the main floor, Jisoo told the girl she could sit while she got the food for them. Kuma was hungry too, for sure, so Jisoo asked the girl if it was okay for him to eat hot dogs so she could get one for him, too. After a couple minutes, she came back carrying three hot dogs and two cans of coke with much difficulty. When the girl noticed, she ran to help her. 

“I hope you like coke, I didn’t even ask, I’m sorry.” Jisoo said, feeling embarrassed. 

“You kidding, I love it! Thank you so much, really. I haven't had it in ages.” She answered with her eyes shining, grabbing her drink and taking a large sip. 

“Oh, I’m glad. And this one is for you, little one!” She said as she gave the dog his food. The dog barked back as she fed him before she ate her own food.  

Jisoo found herself staring at her. 

“Are you not going to eat?” She asked Jisoo. 

“I-I will! I was waiting for you.” 

“You didn’t need to!”  

“That’s okay. I always eat alone, so I’m happy to have company today.”  

The girl frowned as she munched on her food. 

“Why do you always eat alone?”  

“I live alone. Well I have Dalgom waiting for me at home, so I’m not totally alone.”  

“Dalgom?” 

“Oh, my dog.” 

“You have a dog too?” She sounded excited. 

Jisoo nodded and took her phone from her pocket. After a few taps, she turned the phone to the girl. 

“Isn’t he adorable?” Jisoo asked, like a proud mother talking about her son. 

“Omo... You’re adorable. He’s adorable. That’s just adorable, really.”  She spoke fast.  

“I feel bad for him. He spends most of the day alone at home while I’m at work.” Jisoo pouted. 

“I’m sure you make it up to him when you’re with him.” The girl gave her a warm smile. 

Jisoo felt suddenly sad. She was complaining about her dog spending the day at home, but what if the girl didn’t even have a home to sleep at night?  

“Is everything alright?” She asked when she noticed the frown on Jisoo's face. 

“Oh, yeah, I’m sorry, I spaced out.” Jisoo forced a smile. 

As they finished their food, a female voice announced the arrival of Jisoo's train. 

“I need to go, my train is arriving.” Jisoo got up. 

“Oh, yeah. I'm going back up too. Is it okay if I go up with you?”  

Jisoo could have said no, but one more minute in her company would be great. 

“Well, it was nice talking to you. Good luck to you and your little Kuma.” Jisoo said before stepping inside the train. 

The corner of the girl’s lips curled up. 

“Thank you so much for what you've done for us today. Is there any way I can possibly make it up to you?" She said, bowing to her. 

"Don't worry about it, it's nothing. I got to see you smile and your dog eating happily, so that's enough for me." 

"Oh." The girl blushed and scratched the back of her head. "I guess then... Enjoy your weekend.” 

“You too.” Jisoo smiled at her and turned her back to step inside the train. 

“Oh, and by the way, I’m Jennie.”  

Jisoo froze and looked back. There she stood, smiling so widely at her. Jennie. 

“I-I’m Jisoo!”  

The door closed and the train started moving, but that didn’t stop them from staring at each other until they were out of sight. 

---

A/N: First chapter is up! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and please, let me know your opinion ^-^