It's never too late to fall in love

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Yeori walked briskly, bundled up in her coat, a scarf wrapped around her head. Her midnight black locks billowed behind her as she walked down the dark alley in a hurry. The combination of stiff breeze and light rain was hovering right on the edge of discomfort. It was so cold that it became uncomfortable for her. It was right on the brink of spring, but not that far removed from winter it seemed. Her body was merely chilled, but her tight jeans did nothing to keep out the cold from eating her insides. When it started raining, she almost gave it all up and considered starting looking for a shop or a cafe for a hiding, at least until the weather calms down.

Teeth chattering, she adjusted the scarf around her head and tried to rush down the pavement. The only thing in her possession was a brand new copy of Learning the Tenor Clef written by Pat Legg and Alan Gout. The book looked promising because it begins at a more elementary level than Rick Mooney's book, which may be more appropriate for some students who wanted to learn a perfect way to play Cello. She appreciated that it has solo pieces with piano accompaniment for each key, implementing the notes learned in tenor clef. She had gotten used to the fact that her professor always had a pop quiz on the first Monday after the first week. It wasn't urgent and she could have just waited until tomorrow since she still has time, but it took her quite some time to find the book she wanted so she found herself wandering in this dangerous part of town. Though, she wasn't counting on the wind picking up, and the subsequent drop in temperature forced the young music major to seek shelter.

However, before she could make it out of the alley, someone's silhouette appeared in front of her completely blocking her way. She tightened her grip around the strap of her bag before stepping to the side in attempt to avoid walking straight into the stranger. Her heart dropped to her knees when she stranger was back to block her way again, but this time around, he reached out to grab her arm to force her to stop in her tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She almost leapt out of her skin when she heard the stranger's dark tone, finally looking up to make eye contact with him.

"What's a girl like you doing around here at this late hour?" The stranger continued with a disgusting smirk, tightening his grip around her arm when she tried to free herself from him.

"Let me go," she mumbled in a shaky tone, looking around in panic for a possible escape.

"Or else what?" The stranger chuckled darkly, dragging her around with him. "You're going to scream? Who the will hear you even if you scream, gorgeous?"

"Stop!" She screamed when he pushed her against the nearest wall. "Get off me!"

"You better shut up and let me have some fun," the stranger trapped her between his body and the cold wall behind her, hovering over her with his disgusting breath hitting her face.

"LET ME GO-"

The stranger clasped a hand around to muffle her scream. "I said shut the up while I'm being nice, b*tch!"

Yeori dropped the book she had in hand onto the wet ground and attempted to push him away when he pressed his entire weight against her, stepping over her new book while struggling to keep her from moving.

"Stop ing moving and give up already!"

Yeori kept releasing muffled screams against his hand, feeling tears form in her eyes and breath stuck in the back of .

She had never been around this area before, but she never thought she'll end up in such a situation just because she wanted to buy an available book nearby.

Her vision started to blur as she was running out of breath when he pressed his arm down her jaw to keep her in place.

She could feel his free hand sneaking down in attempt to open her coat.

Her legs shook violently, feeling herself running out of energy to fight against him.

She was about to lose hope when the weight of the stranger was suddenly removed from her, causing her to almost lose balance and stumble to the ground.

"You piece of ."

She heard another voice joining the scene causing her to panic even more as she panted hard and started looking around in search for her book. She heard the first stranger groan after what sounded like a punch, realizing that someone must have caught him in the act and decided to stop him before he could hurt her.

"You're at it again, huh?" The newcomer's voice echoed again making her snap out of her daze.

She bent over to pick up her book before pausing to steal a glance at what's happening to the stranger who tried to harass her. She watched him with wide eyes as he stumbled to the ground with another groan, feeling breath catch in when her eyes landed on the man who saved her when he stepped over and she was finally able to make out his silhouette half in shadow, half in light. The drizzle has already stopped but she couldn't miss the sight of her savior's dark, wet locks falling over his forehead as he stared down at the stranger rolling onto the ground nonstop.

"Junmyeon!" The stranger laying on the ground shouted. "What the is wrong with you, man?!"

Yeori clenched her book to her chest, watching the way the man named Junmyeon scoffed and pushed his wet locks back while shaking his head slowly.

"I think you ing broke my jaw, bastard!" The stranger shouted again before trying to stand up. "I was just trying to scare her!"

"Get the out of here, Jin."

Yeori's heart throbbed out of her ribcage when Jin rubbed his chin and sent her a quick glare before cursing under his breath and walking away. She was left standing awkwardly next to the wall where she was pinned before, waiting for the man who saved her to make a move. She didn't want to leave before at least thanking him because God only knows what could have happened to her if it wasn't for him. He seemed to know the stranger who harassed her somehow, but she wasn't sure if he was someone like him or if he genuinely saved her to set her free.

She was brought out of her thoughts when he moved around, allowing her to get a better look at his sweatpants and leather jacket.

"Are you okay?" He finally managed to ask, shifting his attention to her.

She swallowed her dry throat. "Y-Yeah."

Junmyeon nodded carefully but before he could ask her another question, she quickly said.

"Thank you... for... saving me."

Junmyeon paused, eyeing her from head to toe before nodding. "I've never seen you around before."

His sudden words seemed to take her by surprise. "I've never been... around here before, actually."

"I figured," he sighed deeply before looking around. "It's such a dangerous area. Worse things could have happened."

Yeori felt chills run down her spine, clenching her grip around her book.

"Do you reckon you could get out of here on your own?" He asked after a moment or two, seeing that she didn't budge.

Yeori's eyes darted around. "I'm not really... sure?"

Junmyeon kept staring at her, saying again, "I figured."

She pressed her lips together, thinking whether to ask him to show her the way out or just try to find it on her own. Although, she wasn't sure she could make it out of this side of town in one piece, let alone at this very late hour. Maybe even if she was lucky enough, she won't stumble upon another freak.

"Come on, let's get you off to the main street."

Her eyes widened when Junmyeon suddenly offered, making her glance over at him in surprise quite not expecting him to read her mind.

"Follow me," he nodded at her and started walking ahead, expecting her to follow right behind him.

It took Yeori a few seconds to catch up with him, adjusting her bag strap over her shoulder while walking alongside him.

"Thank you once again," she mumbled under her breath, knowing fully that despite him hearing her perfectly fine, he wasn't going to say anything back.

He seemed like he knew the area quite well as he walked around with the confidence of knowing the way out without trouble. She was still terrified out of her mind, stealing glances behind her shoulder every now and then in the fear of being followed by a freak again. The dark alleys they went past seemed scaring enough to send goosebumps down her skin, imagining what she could have done on her own if it wasn't for Junmyeon who was kind enough to consider not just showing her the way out, but also accompanying her as if he could sense her extreme fear.

"Next time, try not to wander alone in this area."

His deep voice cut her train of thoughts off, making her nod in agreement before checking her wristwatch.

It was almost ten.

She couldn't believe that she was still not home at such an hour.

It was only a matter of time until her parents notice her missing and decide to call to check her whereabouts.

"Here you go," Junmyeon said before pausing in his tracks.

Yeori glanced around after coming to a slow halt, realizing that they were finally out the main street where she could spot more people, the lights coming from cafes and restaurants and of course, the cars passing by.

"You're on your own," he pointed out before spinning on his heels to go back into where they left a few minutes ago.

"Oh, wait!"

He turned around to face her with a questioning look as soon as she stopped him, earning an awkward look from her.

"Do you want to grab a drink?" She asked and bit her lower lip when she noticed the way his face fell.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean..." her voice trailed off, feeling her face heating up. "I didn't get to... thank you properly for what you've done."

"It's okay," he waved it off, burying his hands into his leather jacket. "You really don't have to."

"But I insist," she pulled a smile and kept a soft tone, nodding at the nearest cafe. "Let me buy you a drink so we can be even."

Junmyeon thought for a second before finally accepting her offer.

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They sat across from each other once they hit a random cafe across the street, finally getting the chance to see each other in the light properly. Yeori took her scarf off after putting her book on top of the table, combing her midnight black hair to relative straightness with her fingers while smiling at Junmyeon. She hung her scarf on the chair behind her and watched as he put his grey gym bag on the floor next to the wooden table before leaning back against his chair. It wasn't until then that she realized that he must have been in the gym before finding her.

For a moment, Junmyeon felt strangely caught as if being there and doing that at such an hour was obscene but then again, lack of sleep was wrecking havoc with his mind it seems as he smiled back faintly and waited for her to speak first.

"So," she cleared . "A drink?"

He his lips, eyes darting around. "I don't drink."

She blinked, wondering whether he was being serious or if he was just being shy and hesitant.

"How about coffee?" She suggested instead, raising an eyebrow.

Junmyeon was back to look at her. "I'm not really fan of caffeine either."

Yeori's jaw dropped, scanning his expression. "Why is it so hard to buy you a drink?"

That seemed to make Junmyeon break into a good laugh, running a hand through his hair when he spotted the look she gave him.

"I'll take anything that doesn't contain alcohol, caffeine or gas," he told her with a little shrug, making it clear to her that he wasn't drinking anything that didn't sound healthy to him.

She just shook her head and was back to scan the menu for something that might grasp her interest but could be healthy enough for him to drink. While she's at that, he took the chance to stare at her beautiful details that he's definitely missed back when they were in the dark alley. His first thought was that it seemed pixyish, the look of a fairy tale creature who had just escaped from the pages of a child's fantasy book. Her lithe form and face perfectly symmetrical, so flawless to the point it seemed formed out of porcelain. She had the appearance of a true living work of art that he had a hard time looking away from her by the time she was done picking something for them to drink.

"Well, we'll go for two cups of Ginseng tea to warm up in this cold weather."

Her soft voice brought him back to reality and he found himself nodding slowly before his eyes landed on the book she placed previously onto the table ahead of her. He couldn't resist the urge to reach out to hold it, bringing it close to him to take a better look at it.

"Your name is Junmyeon, right?" She concluded from what she heard the freak who crossed her way call him previously.

When she actually spoke his name, he did something of a double take before recalling she must have heard Jin calling his name a few minutes ago. He usually keeps to himself, not aiming to socialize or be known by those whom he just met. Mostly because everyone tended to look down upon him and his fellow boxers friends as being low-lifes and scum for making their living with blood on their knuckles.

"Yeah," he breathed out with another nod. "It's Kim Junmyeon."

She smiled and tilted her head to the side. "I'm Do Yeori, by the way."

He shifted his attention to her when he read the title of the book, revealing a surprisingly warm smile.

"You play cello," he pointed out, trying to hide his mild surprise.

"I'm majoring in Music Therapy," she informed briefly, eyes landing on the book he returned to her.

Junmyeon seemed to pause for a second. "Is that a thing?"

Yeori couldn't help but chuckle. "I know it sounds weird and most people don't know that such a music major actually exist."

The waiter came in with their order, interrupting their conversation halfway as each one of them took their tea from him with a little nod and a faint "thanks" before going back to their topic once the waiter walked away.

"What about you?" She ped her coat before taking a sip of her warm tea. "What do you study?"

Junmyeon wrapped both of his hands around his cup of tea. "I dropped out of high school ages ago."

"Oh," that seemed to take her by surprise, looking down at his bandaged knuckles.

He noticed that right away. "I'm a boxer, in case you're wondering."

Her eyes widened, never expecting that.

"It bothers me when people stare at my bruised knuckles so I just hide them instead," he confessed and took a sip from his tea.

Yeori nodded. "Understandable."

They sipped on their tea for a few moments, just enjoying the comfortable silence that fell between them before Junmyeon felt like speaking again.

"What brought you to this part of town at this late hour?"

Yeori sighed before nodding at her book. "I was told that there's a library that sells this book in this area since I couldn't find it anywhere else."

Junmyeon was back to stare at the book.

"Or else it wouldn't have even crossed my mind to come around," she continued before shaking her head. "I'd be a liar if I say that I knew beforehand that this part of town existed."

Junmyeon scoffed. "Where do you live?"

"Near Han river," she replied right away, making him raise an eyebrow.

He was right when he thought she was one of those rich girls living in one of the luxurious neighborhoods on the other side of town.

"What about you?" She asked back, getting suddenly