Dahyun made sure to leave the house at least an hour earlier than she did the day before but as she was going down the stairs, she encountered a male in a high school uniform. Unlike all others living in that apartment, he met her gaze, gave her a smile, and bowed his head down in greeting.

She was taken aback by the warm gesture, but then she found herself beaming as she greeted, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” he replied, “You must be the new neighbor.”

“Yes. I’m Kim Dahyun,” she introduced herself.

“I’m Hwang Hyunjin,” he replied, “Your rice cakes are delicious.”

Dahyun genuinely beamed, feeling relieved that in the end, she didn’t really lie to her mother; her statement was a mere prediction that had now become the truth.

“Thank you,” she grinned.

But as he came closer, Dahyun notice the cut on his lip. The smile on her face slowly vanished as she remarked, “You’re hurt.”

Hyunjin let out an empty chuckle before saying, “This is fine. I’ve been through worse.”

He bowed one more time towards Dahyun before taking his leave, hurrying down the stairs, probably avoiding delving more into the topic that Dahyun chose.

Dahyun furrowed her brows as she asked herself, “How is that information supposed to make the situation better?”

She took a deep breath before proceeding on walking to the bus stop. But as she was too engrossed on thinking about the reason behind the wound on Hyunjin’s lip, it took her awhile before realizing that she had left her ID pictures. It was the sole thing which her professors had specifically asked them to bring for their class cards.

Dahyun groaned before running back to her unit, huffing as she had to conquer three floors again. She was already scolding herself for her oversight as it had eaten the precious time she was allotting for buffer in case she gets lost again.

She had a sullen expression on her face as she opened the door to leave for the second time that morning.

Taehyung, on the other hand, was surprised when Dahyun’s door opened at the exact same time that he passed by.

“Oh!” Dahyun exclaimed, a bright smile already started stretching her lips as she saw Taehyung, “Mister Kim!”

Taehyung sleepily looked at her before stating, “Where does all your energy come from? It’s still early.”

She tailed behind him while they went down the stairs. She asked him, “Where are you headed?”

“To work.”

“By any chance, are you going to the bus stop too?”

“If I am, then what is it to you?” Taehyung spared her a glance.

“Can I walk with you?” Dahyun asked in a way that her voice sounded softer.

Taehyung smirked before teasing her, “Why? Afraid to get lost again, kid?”

Dahyun rolled her eyes at him before pouting her lips in annoyance.

Taehyung chuckled at the way she made face like a child throwing tantrum. He checked his watch and noted that it was just eight in the morning. He asked her, “Are your classes really this early?”

“My first class is still at ten,” Dahyun replied, “But I don’t want to be late again since I have to practice getting used to the bus stops here.”

“You got lost more than once yesterday?” Taehyung furrowed his brows.

Dahyun bowed her head down and told him, “I really tried to pay my full attention, I swear, but somehow, I ended up going down the wrong bus stop, and taking a taxi to go to school.”

She heaved a sigh as she added, “But if I take a taxi every day, I will go broke sooner or later so I am training myself to commute by leaving home early.”

“Even a kid’s better than you,” Taehyung remarked.

“That kid whose better than me surely grew up in this city,” Dahyun retorted before flashing him a smile, “But if I walk with you every day, I’m sure I will eliminate the chances of getting lost on my way to the bus stop.”

“Who says that I will allow you to walk with me every day?” Taehyung gave her a teasing smirk, “Are you even sure that I am going to the bus stop right now?”

Dahyun’s countenance shifted into one of disbelief and Taehyung could not stop himself from laughing as Dahyun whined, “Mister Kiiiim!”

Taehyung neither affirmed nor denied that he was going to the bus stop despite how many times Dahyun tried to elicit more information from him. Nevertheless, Dahyun followed him nonetheless as she could not entertain the idea that the man who generously gave her charming smiles that morning would betray her.

As they walked, Taehyung told her about the buildings and stores she could use as landmarks. Dahyun found herself intently listening, not just to learn, but also to enjoy the unique sound of his voice.

“And right next to the bus stop is a convenience store,” Taehyung said as he pointed at a direction, and Dahyun widened her eyes upon realizing that he indeed took her to her destination.

She gave him a big grin as she enthusiastically said, “We’re here!”

But Dahyun’s voice was too loud in that early morning that she caught the attention of the other people in the bus stop. They gave her judging glances and she bowed and apologized in turn, while Taehyung was trying hard to contain his smile.

“Hand,” Taehyung told her.

“What?” Dahyun blurted.

“Give me your hand,” Taehyung repeated.

Dahyun then raised her hand, in a way that she waited for a high-five. But then, Taehyung took her hand, holding it lower in such a way that her palm was facing up. Dahyun watched as he got a pen in his pocket and started drawing a long line before listing down the bus stations on her palm.

He recited the stations one by one, telling her some clues to know if she was already on those specific stations.

But instead of listening, Dahyun merely observed everything. She took note of how he wrote in small yet clear letters. She tried to calculate the difference in their heights. She noticed how his hand was too large compared to hers. Then she found her gaze tracing every feature of his face – his deep eyes, his sharp nose, and his pink lips. She even found a small mole on his nose and she also realized that he had a double eyelid in his left eye but none on the other.

Dahyun only snapped out of her trance when Taehyung met her gaze.

“Were you listening?” Taehyung asked.

“Of course,” Dahyun lied.

She will never let him know how his looks were too good, it had distracted her the entire time.

They never had an agreement, but somehow, Taehyung found himself being accompanied by Dahyun in his daily routine of going to and coming from the bus stop. It had been more than a week of constantly having Dahyun by his side in his otherwise humdrum days.

Dahyun would almost talk the entire time that they walked, with him just giving the most minimal input he could. She never demanded for him to share stories of his own. Instead, she let him read her like an open book without waiting for anything in return.

Through her stories, Taehyung learned that Dahyun had made some university friends.

Chaeyoung was the only person in their group as small as, if not, smaller than Dahyun. Dahyun loved the way Chaeyoung carried herself with confidence; she expressed her thoughts as freely as she could. Chaeyoung disliked mushy and cheesy words or actions yet she was the one who was always checking up on Dahyun.

Then, there’s Tzuyu who grew up in Taiwan; Dahyun found some solace in Tzuyu’s presence because they both share the same struggles in trying to fit in a place they barely know. Dahyun took care of Tzuyu the most in their group, because despite being in Korea for years, the latter was still trying to cope with the culture an