"That's the last box, Ma'am."  A worker said, placing a box in the woman's new apartment.


She smiled and bowed.  "Thank you,"  She handed him some money, "take care."

He left the apartment and the woman looked around with a small sigh.  Twenty year-old Hanna Cho has just moved to Seoul from a little town in Iksan.  She cracked her neck and opened each box.  She doesn't have too many possessions; however, there's still an afternoon of work to do.

She takes out her clothes first and puts them on the hangers in her closet.  She took out the decorations she was gifted and put them on her dresser.  She put her little penguin plushy on her bed.  She pursed her lips when she noticed one of the eyes is starting to get loose. 

She sighed and took care of the rest.  Being close to evening, she goes out of the apartment and puts the broken-down boxes in the recycling unit outside.  She then makes it into the plaza where there are a few restaurants.  She picks a noodle shop and eats there.  Coming back to her apartment, she finishes her first day with a shower and a restful night.


***

A week passes by and a young man looks at his dog's food supply.  He laughs and looks back at his papillon.  His brown hair stuck out and his teeth formed a smile as his eyes look innocent.  He laughed once more and picked the boy up.

"Is my little Yonggi still hungry?  Let's go get some food."  He kissed the dog on his head before putting him back on the floor. 

He picked up his leash and connected it to the little collar around Yonggi's neck.  The leash was mostly for show.  The dog walked him and he always lets Yonggi walk wherever.  The little creature is too smart to get into trouble.  He's against the way owners keep a tight handle on their animals, even if they know the animals won't run away or get into trouble.

He seats the dog in the little cage in his car.  "I'll take you out right once we get there, I promise."  He smiled sweetly at the dog, making the dog stop trying to get out.

He sighed and the engine.  It really is like they can understand.  He looked through his rearview mirror periodically to check the traffic and sneak a peak at the dog who's looking at him through the cage door. 

Parking, he takes the dog out and lets him guide him into the familiar pet store.  He looks around and sees the manager talking to a girl he's never seen before.  She looked like she was new in learning how the store operates. 

"Pick what you want."  He whispered to the dog. 

Yonggi displayed his hair fabulously as he skipped along the familiar aisle of dog food. He stopped and pawed the one that had his relative's face on it.  He chuckled and picked the bag up.  "What do you think?  One or two?"  He asked the dog who pawed the next bag.  "Two it is."  He picked the next bag up with a grunt.

"You need your nails trimmed too, don't you?"  He noticed.  "Okay, let's go put these at the register quickly and then get to that."


He put the bags at the empty register.  He looked around and shrugged.  Yonggi walked him to the grooming station and saw the girl from earlier looking around in the place.

"Excuse me,"  He gained her attention, "I need my dog's nails trimmed please."  He requested, picking the dog up.

"Oh, he's so cute~"  She cooed, guiding Yonggi to the table with the man still holding him.  She looked up at him and blushed a bit.  "What's his name?"  She asked.

"His name is Yonggi."  He replied.


She back Yonggi's hair.  "Hello, Yonggi.  I'm Hanna."  She introduced herself.  "Let me see your paw."  She held out her hand.

Yonggi smiled and put his paw on her hand.  "What's your daddy's name?"  She looked up at the male.

"I'm Kihyun."  He introduced himself.


She bowed.  "Nice to meet you,"  She said calmly, putting her other hand out.

He mimicked the dog and put his hand on her hand.  She laughed.  "Okay,"  She shook the loose fist before opening drawer in the table, "let's get you trimmed."  She said.


Kihyun watched her examine the nails and decide on the perfect spot.  She clipped the nails carefully.  This process repeated on the other three paws until the dog was perfectly trimmed. 

"Yonggi acted so well, how long have you had him for?"  She asked, the happy dog.

"He's just about to turn two years old.  My friend was breeding them and I couldn't say no when that one opened its eyes and looked at me."  He laughed.  "I'm weak to eyes, I guess."


The two make silent eye contact for a moment.  They both blush and look away.  "Anywhom.. here's the payment."  He took the bills out of his wallet.

"Thank you."  She bowed.  "I'm new to this town, I moved in a couple days ago."  She started up. 


Kihyun smiled and nodded.  "I figured you were new, I haven't seen you around before."  He chuckled.  "We're all a family here, so hopefully we can see each other often."  He said.

A warm feeling came to Hanna's chest.  "Maybe.. we could get some lunch sometime soon?"  She offered.

"That would be great.  Let me give you my card real quick."  He took his wallet out once more and took a business card from it. 


She looked down at the card.  "You're a photographer?"  She looked up at him. 

He nodded.  "Yes.. Oh, you have more customers.  Let's meet at the cafe across the road on Sunday."  He suggested.  "Text me and let me know if that's not the best for you."  He waved while getting walked to the registers by Yonggi.


She put the business card in her pocket while another customer comes up with their cat.  She cleans off the counter and lets the cat go on the counter where Yonggi was.  She inwardly sighed as she was told what she needed to do.


***

The weekend comes up and Hanna picks her purse up, puts it on her shoulder, and walks out of the aparmtent.  She took her phone out, seeing the text from yesterday afternoon saying that they would meet up at the cafe across from the pet store.  She casually walked on the sidewalk.

Remembering his smile, she blushed.  Ayy, he's not even a friend yet.  She scolded herself.  Seeing him through the glass, she straightened her little sweater before walking into the building.

"Hanna,"  He stood up and greeted, "please, sit."  He showed the chair.

She bowed and sat across from him.  The waitress brought over a couple cups of coffee and a small plate of muffins.  "I didn't know what all you liked, but I figure you can't go wrong with a classic cup of coffee and blueberry muffins."  He chuckled.

She laughed.  "That's true."  She picked up what she liked to put in her coffee and took a sip.  "So photography, how did you get into that?"  She asked, crossing her leg.


He hummed while putting his cup down and swallowing his coffee.  "Kids in high school used to call me a photographer."  He started.  "I would always snap pictures of my friends having fun, the teachers and staff doing their thing, and of course selfies were included." 

They laugh for a moment.  "So when it came time for the entrance exam season, I didn't really want to do math and grammar courses.  I wanted to do something I have fun doing."  He continued.  "So my parents encouraged me to go the photography route since I loved doing that."  He said with a warm smile.


She copied that smile while getting a fork of the muffin.  "Wow, they supported you even though it wasn't the education path.."  She muttered.

"Yeah.. They told me that they wanted me to be happy with what I want to do.  They still had me get a job to help pay for the classes though."  He laughed as he nervously rubbed his thighs.


She chuckled.  "Now they sound like parents."  She commented before sipping on the coffee.


He cleared his throat after a moment.  "So where are you from?"  He asked.

"Iksan."  She replied.

"Iksan?  What are you doing here in Seoul?"  He gave a chuckle.  "Aren't there pet stores down there too?"  He asked, picking his cup up.

He paused when he didn't get a response.  He put his cup back down when he saw the glassy look in her eyes.  "Hanna?"  He reached across the table to hold her hand.  "Is there something wrong?"  He asked.

She looked at his concerned eyes and faked a smile.  "No, nothing's wrong.."  She laughed awkwardly.  "I just.. wanted to get some new air."  She said.


He nodded and sat back in his chair.  "Well.. I'm glad you're here.  Sometimes it gets a little lonely with only Yonggi to hang out with."  He said, thumbing the rim of his coffee cup.

She pursed her lips and looked at his expression.  "What movies do you like?"  He asked.  She was surprised when he changed the subject quickly.  Thank you for not questioning further..  She smiled as they continue on.



They learn many things about each other over the next few months.  How Hanna likes to cook and how Kihyun likes to clean.  It's perfect for the duo when they want to have a meal at each other's apartments.  They visit each other regularly, playing with Yonggi is one of the attractions for Hanna.

"Open wide, Yonggi-ah~"  She motioned as the dog sits on the counter in the pet store.

The dog obeys and lets the small file do its work in his mouth.  "Now don't bite Kihyunnie's coat rack again.  I don't want you chipping your tooth."  She whipsered, kissing the familiar dog's head. 


Kihyun smiles while watching her give affection to his dog.  The creature gives her happy eyes and a big smile while getting his brown and white hair .  He yipped happily when she started scratching his neck lightly, getting that one itch scratched.

"Okay, Yonggi, you need to go home with Kihyun."  She gave a treat to the dog.

Kihyun looked around and noticed that no one was waiting for their pet to get groomed.  "So Hanna.."  He started up as he noticed her still loving on the dog.  "I was wondering.."

She looked up from the dog to look into Kihyun's eyes.  Blush was both evident on their features.  "I uh.."  He laughed.  "I've never really done this before, sorry."  He scratched his neck.

"Done what?"  She asked, clueless as to what he's leading up to.

"Would you perhaps want to date me?"  He asked, putting his hands together at his waist, smiling with hope in his eyes.


She looked down at Yonggi and giggled.  "Can I be honest?"  She covered her face a bit.  "I felt like the last few times of coming over were dates." 

He was shocked.  "R-really?"

She nodded.  "I would love to get serious with you, Kihyun.  As long as it actually is serious."  She answered.  "Some men in my life have been shallow." 

He waved his hands.  "No, of course!  I would like to date you in the plans for marriage."  He said.  Once he realized what he said, he got even more nervous.  "I mean-"

"I'd like that, Kihyun."  She said, putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.  "Just don't abandon me."  She said, a little undertone of begging was detected.

"Who abandoned you?"  He asked.


She looked down at the dog with furrowed eyebrows.  He cleared his throat audibly.   "I'll see you tomorrow, if that's okay.  I'd like to have Sunday lunch with you."  He requested.

"Sure, thank you."  She bowed. 

He leaned toward her and put his lips on her forehead for a kiss.  He then left the store with Yonggi walking him out.  She watched his back and sighed in relief.  It must be taking a lot out of him not to ask..  She frowned in guilt, but smiled in love.



***

A few months pass like this.  Hanna would get a good morning message from her boyfriend and a stay safe message too.  Being that Hanna chose a store to work at that's farther away, more driving means more room for accidents.  Hanna wasn't too afraid though.  She's seen her fair share of accidents, and has been in worse situations than being stuck on the side of the road and walking home.

The afternoon was upon the town, and the sun started to be covered up by clouds.  Hanna peaked out of the window to see it start sprinkling.  She pursed her lips as she took her phone out to see the weather forecast.  She sighed and put her phone in her locker after turning it off. 

Continuing work, she forgets about the rain until it beats down on the roof at the end of her shift.  She hears loud thunder and sees flashes of lightning fill the sky.  Turning on her phone, she sees a text from Kihyun.


Kihyun (12:45pm)
Hey Hanna, I notice that
it's supposed to be rainy
tonight.  I want to drive
you home since it's gonna
be pretty bad. :)

Hanna sighed and kindly rejected his offer.  He kept sending texts insisting to let him and that Yonggi wants her over.  She caved in when the man sent a picture of the scared dog.

Hanna (6:34pm)
Fine, but only because
Yonggi needs cuddles.


Kihyun smiled in success.  He picked his jacket up from the entry way and put his shoes on.  "I'll be back soon, Yonggi.  You be good."  He blew a kiss to the dog who raised his little ear playfully.


He exited the apartment and opened his umbrella as he rushes to his car.  He started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.  Driving cautiously, he made it to the pet store where she's standing under the overhang.  He put his hazard lights on before exiting the vehicle with his umbrella open once more.

He walked up to her and went under the roof too.  "Hey,"  He greeted her.

"Hey.."  She said shyly.  "You really don't have to-"

"I have to."  Kihyun put his arm around her waist and brought her closer to him softly.  "I hate thinking about you being scared all night."  He said with worried eyes.


She looked into those eyes with surprise.  "What-"

"Every night it rains, you text me all night.  I don't want you to be alone tonight.  So please let me drive you to my place.  Yonggi will keep you company too."  He said with an assuring smile.  "He's afraid of the rain too."

Hanna looked down at the wet pavement and then to Kihyun's running vehicle.  "Alright.. but Yonggi better be there.  I don't want him thinking we're up to no good.."  She caved in.

He chuckled.  "Nothing like that, just two people comforting each other in the rain."  He assured.  "I'll make you dinner too."  He guided her to the passenger door.


Sitting down inside, she watches him go to the other side.  She buckled herself in and watched the scenery pass by.  "Do you like chicken?"  He asked.

"Yes,"  She replied softly, "how about you?"

Kihyun laughed.  "Definitely."




Kihyun opened the door and she walked inside.  She looked around at the small place, seeing the kennel across from the kitchen first.  While taking her shoes off, she looks at the dark hallway wehere there are three doors. 

"It's a little plain, but Yonggi and I are cozy."  He commented, going to the kitchen.  "Maybe one day I'll upgrade."  He laughed, opening the freezer to take out a bag of chicken.


She walked up to Yonggi and let him out.  The whimpering dog pushed his face into Hanna's chest, trembling at the next flash of lightning.  She sat down and held the dog close to her.  "I'm scared too.."  Hanna whispered, Yonggi's back.


Kihyun looked their way silently, watching the two shake together when more lighting and thunder comes by.  He inwardly sighs and sets the timer once the oven is preheated.  He takes off his jacket and then goes into the cabinet to get some dog food out.  He brings the food bowl over to where the two are sitting and placed it on the wooden floor.

"Yonggi, dinner time."  He called out, sitting down next to them.


Those big eyes come out of Hanna's neck and look down at the food before Kihyun.  "It's okay, Boy.  Come and eat."  He patted the floor with a smile.

Hanna let the dog down and the puff ball slowly walked to the dish to eat.  Kihyun looked up from the dog to Hanna.  "The chicken will be a little while."  He said, moving to be closer to her.

She nodded and watched as he put his arm around her.  "It's okay, Hanna.  It's okay to be scared of a storm."  He said.


She sighed and leaned into his hold, closing her eyes at his warmth.  She slowly drifted off to sleep...



"Where are they?  They're supposed to be here.."  A little girl muttered as she stayed put outside a convenience store, just like her mother told her to do.


She looked around and saw families coming and going; the parents held their childrens' hands with smiles.  They also came out together, still having fun.  Hours pass by and the clouds roll in.  The convenience store closes and the rain droplets fall.  The drops go down her face slowly and the wind starts picking up.

"Mom..?"  She started crying as her legs started shaking in the cold.  "Why isn't she here?"  She sat down against the store's wall, watching cars pass by.

Lightning lit the sky and thunder shook the ground.  She put her face in her knees as her shoulders trembled.  "Mom!!"  She screamed out when an hour passes from this.

"Mommy.."  She fell on her side, crying as the rain drenches her even more.  There is no roof to be under; there is no umbrella accidentally left.  All she could do is be an obedient girl and stay where her mother told her to.


Hanna's eyes bolted open and she sat up straight.  Kihyun gasped in shock at the sudden movement.  Looking at her, he sees tears dropping from her chin. 

"Hanna, are you okay?"  He asked worriedly, wiping the tears with a napkin he brought over.

"I.."


"Come here,"  He put his arms around her, "please don't cry.. What happened?  Did you have a bad dream?"  He asked.


The hug only made her cry more.  "Kihyun.. I'm not worth that much to you, am I?"  She asked, hooking her arms around him.

"What do you mean?  You're my girlfriend, of course you're worth everything to me."  He assured, kissing her cheek.


She laughed pathetically.  "You-you don't.."


He pulled away from her to look into her eyes.  "Hanna, why would I lie to you?  Why would I play your feelings?"  He asked seriously.

"I'm sorry, Kihyun.."  She apologized.


He shook his head and put some hair behind her ear.  "No, I'm sorry.  I must have done something to make it seem like I don't like you.  I'm sorry, Hanna.  I didn't mean to."  He said with raised eyebrows.


She smiled a bit and looked down.  "You.. didn't do anything wrong, it's me.."  She whispered.


He grumbled when the timer went off.  He got up just to turn it off and take the chicken out.  He came back without the food and helped her up to sit down on the couch.  "What's wrong then?"  He asked with concern.


"I'm.. afraid you'll leave me.."  She admitted with a sigh.


He lifted her chin and put a soft kiss on her lips.  "I would never ever leave you, Hanna."  He whispered, putting their lips together once more.

She closed her eyes at the soft hand that went from her chin to her neck, his thumb rubbing soothingly behind her ear.  A moment passes and he slowly pulls away from her.  "Kihyun.."  She looked into his eyes.

"Please trust me, Hanna.  I've fallen too hard for you to leave."  He assured, holding her hands with a big smile.

She nodded slowly.  "Thank you.."


Kihyun looked out of the window to see it slowly calming down outside.  "I'm going to get the chicken,"  He said, "be right back."  He kissed the top of her head before sprinting to the oven.


He let out a cute whimper as he brought the hot plates over to them.  "Hot-hot-hot!"  He put the bowls on the coffee table before falling back on the couch.

Hanna chuckled and sat next to him, pushing her body against his with Yonggi joining them.  "I recorded some cartoons if you're interested."  Kihyun switched on the TV.

She nodded and picked her fork up to munch on the hot chicken.  Chicken, cartoons, Yonggi, and Kihyun—a perfect night to forget about that awful day..