“Oof! Watch that!” an angry woman hissed at me.

“Sorry!” I quickly said. I tried to put my guitar case as close to my body as I can.

For some reason, the bus that I’d just gotten on was so FULL that I had to squeeze myself in, along with my backpack and guitar case. Which of course, made the already-uncomfortable people crammed inside feeling even worse.

Suddenly I felt my guitar case being yanked out of my hands. “Hey–!”

“I’ll hold it for you,” said a boy, who towered over me, with a deep voice. Well, not as deep as Soo Hyuk’s earlier, but still quite baritone-ish for a teenager. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes that looked like they belonged in an action manhwa. Direct, forward and sharp. His smile, however, made his face look kinder and more playful. A harmony of warring elements all bestowed in one face. Heh, too many pretty boys I’m seeing today.

“Thanks,” I muttered. Thanks to the helpful boy, I finally had more space around myself.

“What model is it?” he asked.

“Huh?”

His lips stretched to a smirk-like grin. “Your guitar. What model is it?”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Yamaha F310.”

“Acoustic?” he asked.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Nice,” he commented, “The sound quality must be pretty good, with any strings you use.”

Omagad! He talks music! Okay, breathe Kim Sun, breathe! “You play…?”

He nodded. “I play electric guitar though, but that’s only with my band.”

“Wow…” I tried not to gape at him. “I’ve always wanted to try electric guitars, but I haven’t even brushed up on my acoustic.”

He smiled reassuringly at me. “You can always try harder. If you want me to show you how to play, I’ll do it anytime.”

Just then, I realized something and threw my head back to laugh out loud. “I can’t believe you just offered a total stranger some guitar lessons!”

He just realized it too, his cheeks turning a little pink. “My bad.”

“It’s fine. I’m Kim Sun, by the way. Just call me Sun-ah,” I held out my free hand.

He shook it. “Bang Sung Joon. Call me Sung Joon, or just Joon, if you want.”

I scrunched up my nose. “Nah, I think I’ll just call you Sung Joon.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because my eldest brother’s called Joon too,” I looked at him pointedly.

“Ahh… Okay then, Sun-ah. Wait, how old are you? You sound so sure that I’m not older than you,” he stated, narrowing his eyes playfully at me.

“Oh please, even if you were older than me, I don’t think I would’ve called you ‘Oppa’ or anything. If you could speak comfortably with me, then why can’t I do the same, hmm?” I tested him. If my first impressions of him were right, he could not be much older than me. A year older, at most! However, upon studying his whole demeanour, his character, dress-up and just basically his face,… he just had to be around my age!

Sung Joon let out a throaty laugh. “Fair enough, Sun-ah. Fine, I don’t think you’re older than me too. I’m 17, you?”

“Me too!” I exclaimed.

He held out his hand for a high five and, somehow naturally I high fived with him. “Wah, it feels like we’ve got the perfect chemistry or something, huh?” he said thoughtfully, his playful grin getting more and more evident on his face.

“Don’t know, but it’d be fun to have you as a friend,” I said, and offered a smile his way.

He nodded right back at me. “Nice to meet you, new friend on the bus.”

I laughed. He even makes lame jokes as I do! “You too, annoying new friend.”

He protested. “Annoying? Yah, I’m holding your guitar right now!”

Dramatically, I reached for my guitar. “NoooOoooOoo~ I’ll do anything, but please spare my guitar!” I wailed to him dramatically, making sure that my face looked desperate to save my supposedl