The next day, Jiwoo is outside walking around. She bought herself a bag of popsicles, so she is eating the popsicle and enjoying the weather. When she is about a block away from her house, she sees a man sitting on the side of the road. Jiwoo stares at his side profile, but it’s hard to identify the man because his head is down, he is wearing black clothing, and he is wearing a black hat.

“That reminds me of Taeyang,” Jiwoo tells herself. “He’s always wearing a hat and black clothing and his head is always down.”

He slowly raises his head.

“Taeyang,” Jiwoo asks.

The man turns his head. 

“What are you doing here,” Jiwoo asks.

Taeyang doesn’t say anything. He hangs his head again.

Jiwoo approaches him and sits down next to him. “Is something wrong,” she asks him. “You look down.”

“I,” Taeyang hesitates to continue.

“What is it?”

He doesn’t say anything

“It’s okay,” Jiwoo says. “You can tell me.”

“I’ve been kicked out of the house,” he says.

“What,” Jiwoo asks surprised. “Why?”

“It just turned out like that.”

“Why? Did something happen?”

Taeyang closes his eyes. He looks so distressed.

“Let’s go talk to your parents,” Jiwoo suggests. “Maybe there is a misunderstanding.”

“No,” Taeyang says. “They didn’t misunderstand anything. This is the life that I’m living. I’m doing this for them.”

“What do you mean? What kind of parents would kick out their own children out of the house? Let’s go talk to them.”

Taeyang shakes his head.

“Do you at least have a place to stay,” Jiwoo asks.

He shakes his head again.

"Should I get a hotel room for you," she asks.

"Don't waste your money on that," Taeyang says.

"Then how about the sauna?"

Taeyang shakes his head. 

"Where are you going to stay tonight," Jiwoo asks.

"I have no money," Taeyang says. "I'll just sleep here if I have too."

"No," Jiwoo protests. "It's going to be hot tonight. Want to stay at my place?"

"What?"

"It's okay. I don't mind. Just until you find a place, or your family resolves this problem."

"I shouldn't. Fingers will start coming your way."

"That doesn't matter. I'm trying to be a good friend. Let's go."

"I'll pay for rent."

"You said you don't have money. Everything will be free even food. Let's go." She stands up.

Taeyang stands up after her. His head is still hung low.

They enter Jiwoo's house. "The house is small," Jiwoo says. "I only have one bedroom, but you can take the bed. I can sleep on the couch."

"No," Taeyang says. "I can take the couch. I shouldn't take your bed. I'm grateful enough that you're letting me stay here."

"Okay. If the couch is too crowded, I can make a bed on the ground for you."

"Anything is fine."

Jiwoo walks into the kitchen.

Taeyang is lurking around not knowing what to do.

"You can sit on the couch," Jiwoo says. "Make yourself at home."

Taeyang sits down on the couch. 

Jiwoo is washing her hands in the kitchen sink.

"Do you want anything to drink," Jiwoo asks.

"No, thank you," Taeyang says.

He takes his hat off. Taeyang looks around.

Jiwoo goes into her fridge and grabs some fruit before she starts cutting them.

"If you want to watch tv," Jiwoo says. "The remote control is always on the coffee table in front of you. Go ahead and put something on."

"Okay," Taeyang says, but he doesn't put anything on.

It's so quiet in the room. 

Jiwoo quickly finishes cutting the fruits and sets them on a plate. She serves them to Taeyang.

"Thank you," Taeyang says.

"You're welcome," Jiwoo replies. "Are you hungry? Did you have dinner yet?"

"I'm okay. Thank you."

"Yeah? I haven't had dinner yet, so I'm hungry." She heads back to the kitchen and starts cooking.

Taeyang stares at the plate of fruit. A silver fork is sitting there waiting for him to pick it up, but Taeyang doesn’t pick up the fork. He just stares at the plate.

Jiwoo sets the table for two.

“Taeyang,” Jiwoo calls. “Come have dinner.”

He joins her at the table. 

“It’s not much,” Jiwoo says. “I hope you like it.” She waits for Taeyang to take the first bite.

Taeyang picks up the spoon and takes a sip from the soup. “It’s fine,” he says.

Jiwoo smiles. “It’s not as good as the pasta from yesterday,” Jiwoo says. She starts to eat.

Taeyang pokes at his plate.

“What’s wrong,” Jiwoo asks. “Are you not hungry? Is your family issue bothering you?”

“I just don’t have much of an appetite,” Taeyang replies.

“How long do you think your family issue will last?”

“From past experience,” Taeyang says. “Very long. I’ll make sure to move out as quickly as possible.”

“But you don’t have money to rent or buy anything.”

“I’ll try to get a job.”

“You don’t have one now?”

Taeyang shakes his head. “With my past, no one wants to hire me.”

“I’ll help you find one,” she says.

“You don’t have to go through the trouble.”

“Don’t be silly. We can start looking tomorrow.”

Taeyang nods his head.

After dinner, Jiwoo sets up the bed on the ground for Taeyang. She’s moved the coffee table to the side of the living room. After she is done, Taeyang climbs in.

“I’m sorry I can’t give you a better bed,” Jiwoo says. She is standing beside his bed.

“It’s okay,” Taeyang says. “This is great. Thank you.”

She stares at his clothes. Taeyang is still wearing the same black clothes he wore earlier.

“Did you not bring anything out with you,” Jiwoo asks. “No toothbrush? No clothes?”

Taeyang shakes his head. “This is all I brought with me,” he says. 

Jiwoo nods her head. “Okay. Goodnight.” She walks into her room and closes the door behind her. 

The next day, Jiwoo and Taeyang are sitting on her couch together. Her laptop is in her lap as they search for jobs for him.

“This one doesn’t seem bad,” Jiwoo says. “A waiter?”

Taeyang grimaces.

“How about a dishwasher,” Jiwoo suggests. “You won’t see a lot of people since you’ll be in the back.”

“I’m not sure,” Taeyang replies.

They look some more. As they look, Jiwoo takes secret glances at Taeyang. She can’t help but smile when she sees his handsome face.

After a few hours, the two of them are tired.

Jiwoo closes the laptop.

“We can look some more tomorrow,” she says. “For now, let’s go.” Jiwoo stands up.

“To where,” Taeyang asks.

“Shopping.”

“Shopping?”

“You need clothes don’t you,” Jiwoo asks. “And a toothbrush. Let’s go get you some clothes and a toothbrush.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not going to wear that one outfit are you? And you’re not going to brush your teeth?”

“You’re right,” Taeyang says after some thinking. 

“Let’s go,” Jiwoo says happily.

They enter a shop. “Pick whatever you want,” Jiwoo says. “I’m buying.”

“I don’t know,” Taeyang says. “There’s so much to choose from.”

“You don’t shop?”

“Not really.”

“You seem like you do. The other day when we went to eat pasta, you were wearing very nice clothes.”

“My mom picked that out for me.”

Jiwoo nods her head. She starts roaming the racks. Taeyang is following her. Jiwoo pulls out a white buttoned up shirt. She puts it up against Taeyang.

“I think this will look good on you,” Jiwoo says.

“You think so,” Taeyang asks.

Jiwoo nods her head. “What’s your size?” She removes the shirt and starts looking through the racks again.

“Large,” Taeyang replies.

Jiwoo pulls out a t-shirt. After picking out a few more shirts and pants, she makes Taeyang go into the fitting room. Jiwoo is sitting on a chair waiting for Taeyang to come out. She scrolls through her phone as she waits.

Taeyang walks out of the fitting room. He is wearing the white buttoned up shirt and the blue skinny jeans Jiwoo picked out.

Jiwoo raises her head. “Woah,” she tells herself.

“How is it,” Taeyang asks.

“It’s great,” Jiwoo says. “It’s perfect.”

Jiwoo pays for the clothes.

They walk into another shop. Jiwoo buys him a set of pajamas and a toothbrush.

“You’ll probably need some shampoo too,” Jiwoo says.

“It’s okay,” Taeyang says. “I’ll just use yours.”

“Are you sure? Mine is feminine products.”

“I’ll make sure to repay you," Taeyang says after some thought.

“You don’t have to.” After buying him some shampoo, Jiwoo drives them to a restaurant. “I don’t have food at home right now,” Jiwoo says. “Plus it’s late. If I make dinner, we won’t be able to sleep until midnight.”

“You’ve already spent too much money on me,” Taeyang says.

“This is my repayment from our last dinner. Let’s go.”

After dinner, Jiwoo pays for dinner and drives the two of them home.

“Want to shower first,” Jiwoo asks Taeyang.

“You go ahead,” Taeyang replies.

“Are you sure? I’m going to take a while.”

“It’s okay. I can wait.”

“Okay. Watch some tv if you get bored.”

Taeyang nods his head.

[A few days later]

Jiwoo is outside grocery shopping. Before that, Taeyang asked if he could go with her, but she told him to stay home. Taeyang watched her go. Jiwoo thought she was alone, but little did she know, he followed her. 

Taeyang makes sure she can’t see him. He watches her buy groceries and snacks. She even buys some canned beers. He follows her home, but he makes sure he is home first, so she doesn’t suspect him.

Jiwoo walks into the house. She sees Taeyang sitting on the couch. He’s flipping through the television.

“I’m back,” Jiwoo says. “Are you hungry?”

“Not really,” Taeyang replies.

Jiwoo puts the bags on the dining table. “I did a really good job at picking out clothes for you,” Jiwoo says. She is looking at him.

Taeyang looks down at his clothes. The white buttoned up shirt and jeans Jiwoo bought him. 

Jiwoo starts making dinner. She sets the table after she finishes cooking. 

“Taeyang,” Jiwoo calls. “Dinner is ready.”

He joins her at the table. “Thank you,” Taeyang says. “For dinner.”

“No problem,” Jiwoo replies. “Eat up.”

Taeyang takes the first bite. 

Jiwoo also starts eating. 

After dinner, Jiwoo cleans up the kitchen before she grabs the snacks and canned beers. She heads out to her backdoor and sits on the patio. Jiwoo opens a canned beer and starts drinking it. She sighs and looks out into the view.

Taeyang comes out from the bathroom. He looks around for Jiwoo. She’s usually on the couch watching tv, but today, she isn’t. He walks to the back door and looks outside the screen door. He sees Jiwoo sitting on the steps. Taeyang opens the door and closes the door behind him. He joins her on the patio.

“What are you doing,” Taeyang asks.

“Hey,” Jiwoo says. “Just drinking. Want one?”

“Sure,” Taeyang replies.

Jiwoo hands him a can.

“I have some snacks too,” Jiwoo says. She pushes the snacks toward him.

“Thank you,” Taeyang replies. He drinks the beer.

Jiwoo takes a sip too.

“Why are you drinking,” Taeyang asks. “Is something bothering you?”

“No,” Jiwoo replies. “I just occasionally drink.”

Taeyang nods his head.

“Are you a good drinker,” Jiwoo asks Taeyang.

“Not as good as Minhyuk,” Taeyang replies.

“How many cans can he take?”

“A lot.”

“And you?”

“My limit is three.”

“Mine is two.”

“How many cans did you buy?”

“Four.”

“Were you planning to drink all of it?”

“Of course not,” Jiwoo chuckles. “I bought two extra for you. I usually buy two. I drink one and a half and dump the rest. I eat a lot of snacks too when I’m drinking.”

“I see,” Taeyang says. He looks down at the four bags of chips.

Jiwoo takes a big sip of her beer. “Taeyang,” Jiwoo says after swallowing the beer in . “I understand your situation. I understand that having people point their fingers at you is uncomfortable, so you want to avoid them. You wear a hat so people won’t recognize you, and your head is always down, but you know what?” Jiwoo pauses. “You shouldn’t hide your face. You have such a wonderful handsome face. Why do you want to hide it? You should raise your head high and prove to people that you’ve changed.” She leans over to Taeyang and puts her index finger under his chin. Jiwoo raises his head.

Taeyang’s eyes widen in shock.

“‘I’m Yoo Taeyang’,” Jiwoo lowers her voice. “‘I’m actually a very nice person. Give me a chance’.” She removes her finger.

Taeyang lowers his head a little.

“I know you’re a good person,” Jiwoo says in her normal voice. “You’re not as bad as what people think you are.”

Taeyang smiles.

Jiwoo smiles back. “See,” she says. “You have such a wonderful smile too. Don’t hide that. Show people that you are kind because you really are.” She pushes the bag of chips toward him. “Want some chips?”

“Thank you,” he says.

She nods her head. Jiwoo takes one and eats it. Then, she takes a sip from her beer.