(Listen to 진심(All My Heart) by Super Junior : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy7hnf-IcNg)

My body slapped itself on wet tar and I heard something crack under my head. At the time I was too shocked to assume anything, but that sound did anything but make me feel better. Unable to comprehend my state, I wondered if I looked like a mangled piece of skin. The raindrops brought me back to reality.

“Ai..goo..” I coughed and slowly lifted myself off. Suddenly, something pulled me back. I gasped but was brought in for another shock when the truth of the situation re-assembled before me.

I glanced to my left and saw the man from before, lying next to me. His eyes were staring up at the sky and his chest was heaving at a regular pace. He let out a sigh and looked up at me, giving out a small laugh. “Sit back,” he said, his voice dry and exhausted. “I’ll get your shoes.”

“Its alright,” I said and perched myself on my toes. “I don’t think I need them anymore.”

“Are you sure? I don’t have a car and you can’t just walk around like that.”

Almost as if on cue, a black sedan rushed past, crushing the proud pair in the middle of the road.

“Aiishh… those idiots left without an apology,” the man muttered. As we crossed the now empty intersection, I couldn’t help but wonder how I had managed to be saved. Struck by my selfishness, I apologized to the man.

“For what?” he blinked at me. Furrowing my eyebrows, I said, “I still haven’t thanked you for saving my life.”

The man blinked again. Finally he nodded and while looking straight ahead, said, “Yeah, you owe me quite a lot.”

“Eh?”

“Just kidding.” The man grinned and went back to looking down at his feet. His gaze shifted to mine and I continued walking, hoping that he would ignore it the way I was.

“Hold it.” The man lifted his umbrella over my head and I did as told. He swiftly took his coat back and placed it on the ground.

“Would you by any chance have some rubber bands or something?” he asked. I nodded and handed him my purse, giving him permission to look for whatever was needed. He looked up at me with a blank face, then returned to work.

I watched as the man took out all four scrunchies and carefully, placed them next to the bouquet of flowers. I squealed in shock as the man started tearing off his coat-sleeves.

“Excuse me, but…” The man continued, this time comparing his palm to my feet. He folded one end of each sleeve and tied them up with two scrunchies. Few minutes later, after more tearing and tying, I was staring at a pair of black socks.

“Custom-made boots ,” the man said while slipping my feet into both of them. I stomped my feet on the ground and was surprised at its thickness.

I laughed in wonder and looked up. Our eyes met and I felt a rush of warmth fill up my heart. The man grinned and picked up his belongings. “Where were you running off to earlier?” he asked.

Heaving a sigh, I said, “I was supposed to be at Everest Café half an-hour back.” The man nodded and looked at my attire. I followed his gaze and panicked. “Do I look bad?”

The man snorted. “No way.” Another rush of warmth. “Let’s walk, you were almost there.”

Generally, when you meet people like that, you feel like there’s something more to it. In dramas and novels, if someone saves your life, there’s a reason why they were there at that point of time. The meeting was fated. It was written. Destiny.

But regardless of all those expectations, there was a quiet understanding that had passed between the two individuals that night. The man had saved the woman’s life. The woman was grateful. And yet, the predictably awkward goodbye had felt incomplete.

“I don’t know if I should be saying this but…” For the first time that night, the man looked nervous. He took out his hand and said, “It was really nice meeting you.”

I shook his hand, only to pull back when the man flinched. “Sorry!” I cried out. “Nah, its okay,” he said and chuckled.

“But it looks broken….”

“Trust me,” he said and smiled. “If it hadn’t been this, it would have been your head. By the way I’m Woohyun.”

 “Saya.” I smiled back, ashamed at the new piece of information he had just given me. Woohyun nodded to himself and puffed up his cheeks.

“Anything else?” I asked. Deep inside, I wanted to know more about him. Like who were the bouquet of flowers for, where he lived, did he also want to meet up some other time…

Woohyun narrowed his eyes, as if I had the answer in hand. After a pause, he shrugged, “Nothing,” and his heel, before turning again. “My umbrella….”

“Aah..” I returned it, only to find out that it wasn’t raining anymore. I threw him a polite smile, an action that seemed all too formal. He walked back while facing me, waving his umbrella at me. I waved back.

After he crossed the road, I turned to enter the restaurant when suddenly, “SAYA!”

I spun around and saw Woohyun grinning at me. “Thanks! The strawberry’s my favourite!” For a moment, I felt like pretending I didn’t know him. He pointed something towards me and it was then that I understood.

Back when I had lent Woohyun my purse, I had handed over something else too.

Out of all the things in the world, it had to be the lollipop.