I leaned against the back of the couch, injured ankle propped up on a pile of pillows while I had the other up so that I could rest my notepad on it. I tapped my pen to my bottom lip before sighing in frustration. “Why can’t I figure this part out?!” I threw the pen across the room and dropped the notebook on the floor.

I grabbed my iPod and searched through the music library before tossing it to the floor, too. My thoughts were running wild, and I couldn’t focus on anything I tried to do. I glanced at my laptop from the corner of my eye before staring out the window at the bleary day. Rain pounded against the pane, making an almost musical melody, and inspiration suddenly rushed through me.

I swung myself off the couch before hobbling towards my pen and hurrying back to the couch. I quickly readjusted myself before grabbing the notebook and flipping to a clean score sheet. The notes suddenly came to me, and I jotted them down, time and the outside world temporarily disappearing as I wrote.

There was a sudden, crisp knock on my door, and I jolted, making a mark halfway across the page. Growling, I tossed everything to the floor and grabbed my crutches. I maneuvered my way to the door, and harshly greeted, “What do you want?!”

Looking up, my eyes took in expensive shoes I couldn’t describe, black skinny jeans, a green logo T-shirt, and a black sports jacket. I cleared my throat nervously before looking at his face. My eyes widened as I noticed his chocolate brown eyes and angular cheekbones. “Uh… Mianhae. I was caught up in my work, and didn’t want to be disturbed.”

He nodded slightly. “It’s no problem… Um. Can I come in?” I suddenly realized he was standing in the pouring rain with very little shelter.

“Mianhae!”I bowed and quickly moved to the side for him to come inside, closing the door after him. “Can I get you a hot chocolate? Or maybe something hot to eat?”

He slipped his jacket off and put it on the empty coat hanger by the door. “Anything sounds good.”

I shuffled to the kitchen with him slowly following behind. I peered through my cupboards, trying to avoid letting him see how little there was. “Does stew sound good?”

“Sounds perfect.” I started collecting ingredients and tossing them on the countertop. “How spicy do you make it?”

I glanced at him, and he seemed to be a little nervous about my answer. “I don’t add much spice. It upsets my stomach if I eat too much.” I chuckled nervously. “I can leave it out if you want to add some though.”

“No, no! That’s alright! Cook it how you like it.” He grinned at me with squinty eyes, and I giggled. “What?”

I glanced to the counter quickly, a blush spreading across my cheeks. “N-nothing.” I began cooking the soup before turning around, leaning against the nearby countertop. “How do you even know where I live?”

“I wanted to make sure that you were doing alright, considering your ankle and everything, so I went by the restaurant. Your boss told me that you’d been fired, and I, ahh, convinced her to tell me where you lived.” He cleared his throat and glanced back up at me. “Why didn’t you mention that you had been fired? The situation was a complete accident and we could have cleared it up last night. Your boss didn’t want to listen to me this morning when I told her it was a complete accident, so I couldn’t convince her to give you your job back. Mianhae.”

I laughed at the disappointed look on his face. “That’s not a problem, Shim-sshi. I hated working at the restaurant anyways. Everyone there hated me and always tried to make fun of me in some way or another, so it’s not really a loss.” I checked the soup so that he wouldn’t notice the worried look on my face. The paycheck is a completely different matter.

“Sooyun-sshi?” I glanced back at him, reaching to turn the burner down. “Can you do me a favor?” I nodded, apprehensive as to what he was requesting. “Would you please stop calling me Shim-sshi? It makes me feel old.”

I laughed. “I guess that wouldn’t be a problem, Changmin-sshi.” I began to hobble to the cupboard with the bowls, but he put a hand on the counter, his arm stretching in front of me and stopping me from moving.

“Which cupboard are the bowls in? You shouldn’t be moving around too much.” I pointed and he retrieved them, quickly returning with the bowls.

I stirred the soup slowly, cautious of its sloshing near the rim of the pot. “Why are you so curious of my well-being anyways? I realize that you must think I’m horribly clumsy, but yesterday was just an off day for me.” I ignored his light chuckle and continued stirring the soup.





As we finished eating in silence, I glanced at him cautiously and noticed him staring at me. He quickly looked away before clearing his throat lightly. “I was wondering if you might want to do something tonight?”

I frowned, looking at the table before standing. “Mianhae, but I have work.” I grabbed my crutches before carefully balancing the bowl in my hand as I tried to maneuver my way back to the kitchen. He stopped me before I could pass him, and gently pried the bowl from my hand.

“You were fired from your job at the restaurant, but you have another job?” His brows were furrowed, and his gaze was intense. “Just how many jobs do you have, Sooyun-sshi?”

I gulped and turned away from him, but he grasped my arm and pulled me back around to face him.

“Why do you have so many jobs? Won’t your family help you even a little? I mean… If your bills are that expensive, isn’t there something else you could do?”

“Ani. My parents are extremely strict, and they won’t really help me out… I chose a career that they disagreed with, and they told me they would no longer support me unless I came to them with the understanding that they would get to make some larger decisions in my life for me.”

“What kind of decisions?” He looked furious, but was making a good attempt to restrain himself.

“If I want their help, I would have to work at the family company and agree to the arranged marriage they set up for me.” I looked at the clock and gasped at the time. “I have to get ready for work!” I turned to leave before realizing he was still standing there. “Umm… Could you please show yourself to the door? I’m really sorry about this. I normally don’t lose track of time this way.”

Changmin laughed. “If it’s alright with you, I would prefer to wait for you.”

I blinked. “Why would you want to do that?”

His hand touched my cheek, and he leaned his forehead against mine. “For some unknown reason, I can’t get you off of my mind, and I want to learn everything I possibly can about you.”





A/N: I know I said I would get this out a week ago, and I am soooo~ sorry! *bows a million times*

I'm currently trying to figure out different things for them to do throughout their budding relationship, so if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them! ~^^~ If you don't have any suggestions by the next chapter, I might just skip a few months to speed the storyline a bit. Trying to figure out different things for them to get to know one another is really slowing down my writing process.

On the other hand, I have the next chapter completely planned, but it won't be up until Wednesday at the earliest because I have my college orientation until then. Once again, I AM SOOOO~ SORRY! *bows and cries at being a failed author when it comes to steady updates*