- - - 

Soonyoung stared at the mirror in front of him in a daze. He had been doing that for the past minute, thinking of the girl he meets every Saturday night. He never got her name, heck he didn't even know who she was. What she was like, if she had any pets, what kind of music she listened to. Even her age was a mystery to him, even though she looked the same age as him. His heart would start beating really rapidly whenever he thought of her, or whenever he saw her. Why was he even thinking about her, a stranger? 

"Hey Soonyoung you've been stuck there for the past ten minutes! What are you doing in there!?" he heard his roommate shout from the room, which made the named boy blink back to reality. He stared at he toothbrush in his hand and scratched the back of his neck. For the past ten minutes he had been staring at himself, not even brushing yet. "Yeah, uh, another minute!" He hollered back and took a quick brush and rinse before exiting the bathroom. 

Seokmin, one of his dorm mates, got up from his bed when he heard the bathroom door open, and muttered a 'finally' before smacking Soonyoung lightly on the head. 

He glanced up at the wall clock. It was already one in the morning. Thank the heavens the next day was a Sunday. 

He plopped on to his bed and grabbed his phone on the study table nearby and started watching dance on Youtube. But after a while of lying down, his mind wandered yet again to the mysterious bus stop girl. That was what he has been calling her since he didn't know her name. 

"Hey Wonwoo." 

"Hm?" The said boy responded, his unwavering eyes on the book he was reading. He was another of Soonyoung's dorm mates in college, and the they've been rooming together for the past 3 months. 

"Do you think that it's possible for strangers to become friends?" The boy asked, turning to his side to face Wonwoo. 

"Yep." 

His eyes brightened, "Really?" 

"Well, we used to be strangers. Now we're friends." Wonwoo stated as a matter of fact. 

The former's shoulders deflated. For a moment he thought that there was hope in befriending the bus stop girl. I mean, they exchanged gestures before, so they were already kind of acquaintances, right? 

The boy with the book glanced up at the gloom boy opposite of him, but he went back to his book shortly after that. 

"But what if... it's a stranger you see, let's say at a cafe. And you don't know this person at all. And you'd want to be friends with her." Soonyoung stared at the white ceiling for a moment. "-or him." He quickly added. "Would it be possible to befriend this person? Like-" 

"No." Wonwoo flatly answered. 

Soonyoung stopped his 'hand dances' with his mouth agape, and stared at the former. 

"You're no fun," he pouted. 

"You're just talking to the wrong person," The roommate shrugged. 

Soonyoung huffed. I shouldn't have asked you in the first place, he thought to himself and turned his back to the boy. 

Wonwoo noticed the boy sulking and sighed, closing his book. "I'm all ears." 

Soonyoung turned back and sat up. "Well..." he started. "I've been seeing this girl every Saturday night-" 

"You're seeing someone and you never told me?" Wonwoo asked, pretending to be hurt. 

"Yah-" The former looked around for anything to throw at the guy, but found nothing and sighed. He continued talking anyway. 

"When I mean seeing, I literally mean just seeing her. We look at each other, and then one of us leaves when our buses come." 

Wonwoo tapped a finger on his chin, his elbow resting on his knee. "And?" He didn't really know where Soonyoung was going with this. 

"And.. I don't know. It's weird. We see each other every Saturday night-" 

"Like just now?" the twenty-year old interrupted. 

"-Like just now, and- could you stop interrupting?" He gave Wonwoo a look, making the latter grin. 

"So anyway, we didn't talk or anything. But we waved at each other when she left," Soonyoung smiled, thinking about what happened. 

"And?" 

Soonyoung stared at Wonwoo. And? And what? He thought to himself. 

"You like her?" Wonwoo teased, making Soonyoung speechless. "I-I- w-what? I don't even know her!" 

"Then why were you smiling?" He asked, pursing his lips to prevent himself from laughing. 

"I-I just thought it was possible to become friends. Besides, she looks like she's around our age. Like a college student or something," Soonyoung briefly stated, hiding the embarrassment. 

"How long has this been going on for?" 

Soonyoung bit the bottom of his lip, and started counting his fingers. "Around two months?" 

"Maybe you should start a conversation with her the next time you meet," Wonwoo suggested, lying back on his bed. "Ask her for the time or something. That's what you always ask for right? Since you never have a watch on." 

Soonyoung took his suggestion into consideration. It's a good idea, he thought to himself. He was a dancer after all, which meant that whenever he danced he would take the watch. So he concluded that if he did wear one, it would either go missing or he would always leave it at home. "Smart right?" Wonwoo smirked, feeling accomplished. 

"Yeah. Only this once though." Soonyoung said, making the other boy change his smirk into a frown. "Whatever." 

"I'll try that next week," Soonyoung nodded to himself and lied back on his bed, getting ready to sleep. 

A few moments later, Mingyu, another who shared the dorm,  entered the room with his wet hair, holding a thick book, feeling jittery and excited. "Hey guys! My yearbook from last year just came in the mail! Any of you-" 

"No." The two boys lying down replied in sync. 

The tall boy frowned. "You're missing out then. There are a lot of pretty girls in here..." he trailed off as he climbed up to his bed above Wonwoo's. 

Soonyoung went back to thinking while getting ready to sleep, hoping that he'll get another shot to know the mysterious girl's name. 

 

- - - 

Hello Doyeon. Would you mind if you came for work today? We're short-handed especially since today's a public holiday. Reply ASAP. Thank you. 

Doyeon read the text as she finished the biscuit in her hand, brushing off the crumbs on her shirt. She pursed her lips together as she debated whether or not she should show up. On a beautiful Sunday like this, she didn't really feel like working. Not that she hated it, in fact she enjoyed working. It was just the laziness that took over. Usually on days like these, she'd be taking a jog or doing the laundry, but this time she felt pretty lazy and stayed home the whole morning. 

Now her managed had messaged, asking her to go to work. She didn't mind though. At least she'd have something to do, plus earn double. The girl shrugged and replied her manager with an 'OK' and started getting ready for work. She changed from her big pink shirt to a white crop top and highwaisted jeans, together with an army oversized jacket. Her job was all about dressing nice to promote fashion, since she did work at H&M, one of the most popular retail stores in Myungdong. She did her makeup nicely, and put on her white converse, heading out of her apartment. 

 

"Good afternoon Doyeon!" he co-workers greeted her as she entered the store that took up a whole building of four floors. She bowed and smiled and greeted them back, mainly because she was the youngest worker there. She went into the worker's room behind the first floor counter, closed the door behind her and plopped on to the leather couch, sinking down. She glanced at her watch; she still had 10 minutes before her working hours started. Taking out her phone from her back pocket, she started scrolling through her blog, reading her past posts. 

5 minutes past, and she was still scrolling through her blog. A certain blog post caught her eye, since she had forgotten about it. It was posted exactly a month ago, about a particular boy she had nicknamed, "the kiddo". Her eyebrow raised and she sat up. She had forgotten about this boy for awhile, mainly because she didn't really think about him unless they met — which were only on those rare saturday nights. She'd remember him whenever she went to that bus stop, but he'd immediately disappear from her thoughts once she reached home. She remembered his small eyes and chubby cheeks. He was really cute, like a kid, but his body told her otherwise. He had a lean figure with a bit of muscles, and he would always be sweating whenever she saw him. She never really gave it much thought, but now remembering him it was as if the curiosity decided to climb back up again. 

A message popped up on her phone screen, startling her. It was a random message from an unknown number asking her for a sponsorship. That was when she realised the time, and her 10 minutes were up. She ignored the message and stuffed her phone back into her pocket, putting on her nametag and made her way out of the room to start working. 

 

Usually when she worked, she'd notice the stares from people, especially from men. She was pretty after all, not to mention a freelancing model. Except she only did that if she didn't have anything better to do, which was almost never. 

"How many pieces?" Doyeon asked the boy in front of her. 

"U-uhm.. one," the boy stuttered. 

She gave him a tag with the said number on it. "All the way at the corner," she said, smiling. The boy nodded in nervousness and scrambled away.

After an hour or two at the fitting room area, one of her co-workers approached her. 

"Doyeon ah, how about you take my job at the cashier? It seems as if the guys are trying on clothes just for you to talk to them," her co-worker teased. 

The girl half-glared at him, "I bet girls were purposely queuing in your lane too, Seungjun. I mean-" She looked around the level, which mind you were purely men's, and spotted a lot of bimbotic girls at the cashier. "-why are there girls in the men's level?" 

Seungjun didn't reply her question, rather he took note of how she didn't call him 'oppa'. 

"No oppa?" He pouted, disappointed. Doyeon nudged his forehead and gave him a judging look, which was returned with a grin. 

Doyeon listened to Seungjun's words anyway and left the area to her friend, proceeding to the cashier at the other side of the level. 

"How many?" Seungjun monotonously asked the tall boy in front of him. 

"Huh? Oh, three." The tall boy at the front of the queue replied, who was observing the conversation between the two. 

 

Meanwhile, a familiar boy entered the building. He was told by Mingyu to meet him at the famous H&M to get their dance recital clothes, or rather costumes. Soonyoung rarely went shopping though, and when he did, he mostly did it at Dongdaemun instead of Myungdong. He was greeted by the latest song of the boy group, NCT U's "Without You" together with a very crisp aesthetic. 

Soonyoung checked the time on his phone. 3.14pm. Well, he was 14 minutes late, which meant that Mingyu might have already gotten his outfit. The latter waited for no one anyway. He looked at the directory, showing that the men's were at the 4th level. He took elevators up, and immediately spotted Mingyu walking out of the fitting room area with a satisfied smile on his face. 

He called out to the boy, making him look up and immediately having eye contact with his friend. 

"Hyung!" Mingyu jogged over and showed Soonyoung the shirt and bomber jacket needed for the recital. "Is this okay?" 

Soonyoung examined the two pieces of clothing, imagining it on stage. After awhile he nodded, "Yup. Take a picture and send it to Hyerim-noona before buying it." Hyerim was their outfit coordinator for the performance. She had given them specific instructions of having cobalt blue and white items. Mingyu had found his, Seokmin said that he was borrowing, Wonwoo already had what he needed, and Soonyoung was lacking white pants and a bandana. Hyerim had specifically told him to get one since he perspired a lot on stage, probably also because he danced the hardest. 

Soonyoung told Mingyu to pay while he went looking for his white pants and for the correct size. Once he had found the pants, he looked up at the fitting room sign, then at the cashier sign. Then back at the fitting room. Should I fit this? He thought to himself. Heh, nevermind. 

He walked over to the cashier, with Mingyu walking over to him halfway, having already paid. 

"Soonyoung-ah, don't you notice that the people working here are really good looking?" Mingyu said as if he was really amazed.

"Should we join them?" The named boy joked in response. 

"No, I'm serious. Did you not see the guy in the fitting room? He's so tall!! If I didn't know he could be an idol!" Mingyu pointed to at the staff at the fitting room, who was indeed very handsome. And a giant. But the thing that disturbed Soonyoung more was, why was Mingyu looking at guys?

"Uh.. righ-"

"The cashier too hyung! She looks really... hot." Mingyu leaned in to whisper the last part and when he pulled back he wriggled his eyebrows at his friend. 

Soonyoung let out a sarcastic 'ha ha' and continued counting the money in his wallet. He was never really interested in girls. He was, just that he has never really found someone who strike out to him. Except that one person.

"Maybe you should get her number," he stated just for the sake of an answer.

"Maybe you should get her number." The tall boy teased, surprisingly enthusiastic about these good looking staff.

"Why would I even d-" 

"Hello, next customer!" Soonyoung turned back to the front, only to be greeted by a very familiar face. 

 

The girl looked up from the cash register with a smile she showed to every customer, only changing it to a small gape seconds after processing the face in front of her. 

Soonyoung stared at her for a few seconds and blinked.

"Oh."

What was I supposed to do again?

"Uhm."

Oh right. Pants.

"Here."  

He managed to force the monosyllabic words out, handing her the pair of white pants, at the same time trying to avoid her gaze. Little did he know that the girl in front of him was doing the same. 

Doyeon kept her eyes at the cash register as she felt her cheeks burning up. It was a weird feeling. She could feel the awkwardness in the air as only the background music played. "Cash or card?"

Soonyoung handed her the money while clearing his throat, and the girl accepted it with her two hands. She keyed in the amount and handed him the change while she folded the piece of clothing.

Mingyu on the other hand was staring at the two, unable to process what was going on. It had become so awkward all of a sudden. He squinted his eyes as he noticed his roommates ears turning slightly pink. 

Doyeon packed the pair of pants into a bag but before she could hand it to him, she heard her name being called by Seungjun, asking her to check the price of a shirt. She suddenly felt better and relief washed over her since the awkwardness was making it hard to breathe. 

Soonyoung stared at the two in front of him. Mingyu was right. This store was full of goodlooking workers. Or maybe it was just these two. But he furrowed his eyebrows and suddenly he felt a tinge, a small tinge, of maybe sadness inside. She has a boyfriend? He thought to himself, staring back and forth at the two.

"Here, thank you for your purchase!" she said to the familiar face with a friendly smile still avoiding eye contact, with Soonyoung only responding with a nod. Since he was still standing there, Mingyu had to grab him by the shoulders and push him out of the queue. 

"Yet another of Ahn Doyeon's victims eh?" Seungjun muttered, chuckling. "He wasn't that bad looking either." 

"More like we were surprised to see each other," she mumbled, her gaze still lingering on the back view of the boy. A smile crept up to her face. She could feel her heart beating when she scanned the price tag of his item, and her hands were slightly trembling when she received the money from him. Once again she didn't get his name? Did she need to get his name? But she knew that it wouldn't be their last time meeting. She had forgotten about him since their last encounter. Three weeks ago to be exact. Now that she'd seen him again, she felt her curiosity building up once more. 

 

 

"Pretty right?" Mingyu grinned with a knowing look. 

But the boy was still stunned. The person he had been so curious about had been right in front of him. Heck, they even had a proper conversation. It was life changing — at least to him. He had actually forgotten about her since the last time, but now that he knew where she worked at, he might even have a chance of being more than just a stranger to her. 

 

 

---

{a/n}: hello! i'm back with this after two years HAHAHHAHAHA. i suddenly had some inspiration and the first person that came into my mind was kwon hoshi. so i decided to dedicate this to him since he has been working so hard for the team :') i bet he's actually really stressed right now, so lets all give seventeen our love and support!!! do leave a comment on how this was, who you'd want to see and maybe how you want it to progress! thank you! <3