In-ah's POV 

“In-ah! Wake up or else you’ll be late for work! You don’t want to miss the bus!” my mom called out as she was about to leave for work.

Blearily checking the time, I realized that I’d slept through my alarm set at 6 because the numbers now read 7:15 AM. I should not have stayed up late last night, watching the new episode of the drama. Even though the bus station was only a few minutes away, I got into the habit of setting my alarm an hour before to deal with my sluggishness in the morning. But now was not the case! I jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom to get ready. When choosing my outfit, though, I was careful because I had a meeting first thing before work. My makeup could be put off until later, since I needed to head to the bus stop right away to catch the ride at 7:40. I sped out the front door, blurting out my goodbyes to my dad and sister when I passed by.

Fortunately, I had money on my card for transportation to and from downtown. It was a pain taking the bus every day and getting charged for it, but I was currently saving up money to get my own car, hopefully soon. The bus arrived and I shuffled on board. However, I noticed that there wasn’t as many people as usual, which was weird. Guess since it was almost the weekend, “workitis” was probably kicking in.

When taking the bus, I always preferred to sit in the very back, so that way I could avoid socializing before having my daily dose of coffee. Honestly, no one should be that energetic in the morning to make niceties. What I considered nice was being able to sit alone, enjoying my music and gazing out the window. Sometimes, depending how tired I was, I would catch some zzz’s.

“Hello, how are you doing this fine morning?” asked a tall guy. To me, he looked close to my age, mid-twenties. I was secretly hoping that he would not take the seat next to me, but nope, he had to do just that, with a smile of all things. How can he be so cheerful so early in the day? Must be a condition.

He stuck out his hand towards me when he caught my eye. “My name’s Josh, by the way.”

I shook his hand politely and gave him a small smile. “Hi, my name is In-ah, and I’m doing okay,” I replied. “It’s just too early for conversation. Need some coffee first.”

Something about my response made him stare at me as if I was weird. He immediately moved to sit in front of me, where he started talking to the neighboring woman. Alright, then. At least they could be nice and lively together. I didn’t want to be a part of it.

Finally alone, I decided to do the finishing touches on my makeup while listening to GOT7, the music blasting through my earphones. This music selection might seem normal since I'm Korean, but the thing was, I’m not into K-Pop or Korean dramas. I was introduced to K-Pop through some of my friends back in college, and truthfully, it helped me get through my rough undergraduate years as a stress reliever. Once I did delve into the world of K-Pop, I discovered a lot of groups and became a fan to many of them, but it just so happened that I favored GOT7 more. For some reason, I found motivation from their music, which comforted me whenever I was sad or stressed. GOT7 even had funny videos that never failed to make me laugh. See? Stress reliever.

“Next stop, St. Joseph Parkway!” the bus driver announced. Hearing this, I pressed the stop button so that I could get off.

“Have a good day, miss,” the bus driver told me cordially as I walked over to the opened doors.

“You too, sir. Have a safe drive,” I returned.

Checking my watch, I saw that it was close to eight o' clock, so I had time to spare until my 9:30 lab. This was great news to me for three reasons: 1) my meeting was at 10:00, 2) the train runs every five minutes, and 3) it was a simple 10-minute ride to MD Anderson. This meant I could relax and get some work done at a nearby Starbucks. Thank God there was one close to the lab. I seriously can't survive without my daily caffeine boost. Usually, I would make my own coffee and bring it with me in a tumblr, but since I was running late, I would have to make do elsewhere.

Entering the cafe, I immediately got in line, joining the people who needed their all-cure to function normally, just like me. When it was my turn, I ordered one of the best sellers, a hot caramel macchiato, size grande. I liked it cold most of the time, but today I was craving it hot.

The cashier said, "That will be $5.79, miss. Would you like anything else?"

"No, thank you. Just the coffee."

"Alright, and your name?"

"Choi In-ah," I supplied.

The cashier complimented on how pretty my name was, and later on, the barista who whipped up my drink hollered my name tentatively.

"One hot grande caramel macchiato for...In-ah?"

"Yes, that's me. Thank you." I accepted my drink with a smile.

Just as I was heading towards the closest table by the entrance, a man glued to his phone bumped into me. Granted, for my part, I did see him and tried to sidestep him, but he was too preoccupied and got in the way regardless. Our collision caused my coffee to spill, the beverage soaking his shirt and my blazer.

"What the hell is this?!" he yelled. He pointed a finger directly at my face, not caring for personal space. I pushed it aside, gearing up to reason with him.

"You're at fault here," I told him in a measured tone. "You were too busy looking at your phone and not where you were walking. Despite how I said excuse me and tried to walk around you, you still crashed into me."

Before I could demand an apology and thus apologize in return, the man blew up, cussing at me and gesturing at me rudely. "Who cares about that?! Look at this! Your coffee ruined my shirt! I wore this shirt for my meeting soon! Now it's messed up and it's all YOUR fault. What? You're dressed up for work, too? That's stupid. You women are so incompetent and weak. We don't need working women in this society."

The crowd around us stared at the fuming man with a nasty look.

"Hold on, mister," interjected a guy somewhere behind me. "We all saw what really happened, and it's not her fault at all. You, sir, need to say sorry. You should've paid attention where you were walking, not your phone."

Wait a second, who is this guy? I thought, puzzled. His voice sounds...familiar.

"Yeah, and have some manners," added another guy. "No man should curse at a woman like that. Hurry up and say you're sorry and pay her back for the coffee. If you don't, something might happen, and you won't like it."

That's strange. This voice sounded familiar, too, but I couldn't pinpoint where.

The angry man shut his mouth upon realizing that people were supporting me instead of him. After giving me money and apologizing, he sullenly left the store.

Just then, my phone started ringing with my favorite ringtone, Save You by GOT7.

"Yes, Sasha, everything for the meeting is set. I know what to present. Okay, I'll see you soon. Bye." Sighing, I hung up and turned around to thank the guys who backed me up.

But the moment I saw them, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

Wait, or maybe I was imagining things. Was I still asleep?

Because it's not like I had dreams of meeting GOT7 before!

No wonder the voices I heard were so familiar!

Just in case, though, I pinched my cheek to double-check if I was really conscious and then awkwardly lowered my hand.

Because, first off, that pinch did nothing.

And secondly, seven pair of eyes were staring at me intently.

Hello, Universe, care to tell me what's going on?