2 Encounter

Z's POV

I felt the cold breeze as I stepped out of my apartment. I hugged myself while walking to the bus stop. I sat down and looked at my watch, it's already past 8 in the morning. It only means that I'm late for my work again, this is my 4th time for this month. My boss will scold me, that's for sure. I sighed, "I'm screwed again."

The sky still looks gloomy, it's also the reason why I didn't even notice awhile ago that it's already morning. I feel like it'll snow later. I took my phone out and saw a message. It's from my coworker slash my best friend, Kim Yemiko.

Yem: Z! Where the hell are you? You're late again. Our boss is already mad, she's scolding me. Come here quickly.

I rolled my eyes. I need to prepare my explanation later. Or else, she wouldn't let me out of our office alive.

As I was about to take a cab, a bus came. I went inside the bus and tapped my card. I told the driver where I am going, just in case because I usually get sleepy.

There's only a few people inside, I sat down on a seat beside the window. I placed my bag on my lap. Then, I put on my earphones and played some music because it'll be a 15-minute ride.

I woke up because someone poked my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see a guy beside me. I looked at him, confused. He just looked at me too. He looks like a criminal with that all black outfit with mask and cap.

"What is it, mister?" I asked the stranger, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, the bus has stopped and the driver gestured at me to wake you up. This must be your destination." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. It seems like he's forced to do this and isn't very happy about it.

My eyes widened, I immediately looked at my watch and it's already 8:30. I hurriedly got up from my seat.

"Can you please move?" I told him. He didn't say anything, he just moved. I thanked him and he just ignored me. Attitude!

I got out from the bus and headed towards our office. I don't have time to waste for that kind of guy. My already bad day only became worse because of that jerk.

I walked inside our office just to see our boss standing with her hands on her hips while glaring at me. I also saw Yemiko, I apologetically looked at her. She just pouted.

"Good morning, Miss." I greeted her. I tried to smile but failed.

"What do you think is good in the morning?" She snapped at me.

"U-uhm. Well. It's good to see you, Miss. You're looking great today!" I tried complimenting Miss Nam.

"Try harder, Ms. Park. Why are you late? Again!" She yelled at me, emphasizing the word 'again'.

I cringed at her squeaky voice. "Miss, I'm sorry. I swear, this will be my last time. I really really mean it." I pleaded to her.

"Gosh! You've been telling me that for how many times now!" She's really heartless.

"Miss, please forgive me. I'll try my best to do my job very well." She sighed, looking like she can't do anything about it. I smiled to myself.

"Fine! But if you ever be late again, you won't be able to have your day offs for a month." I gagged at her. She's really serious this time.

"Miss! That's too much." I complained but she just ignored me and left me there sulking.

I walked towards my cubicle, which is beside Yemiko's.

"Z, are you okay?" She rubbed my back, comforting me.

"I need those day offs, I'll go home within those days." I sadly thought of my family. I misses them so much.

"It'll be fine. Just come to work on time. Try to wake up earlier, okay?" I just nodded at her.

I started my work, files had been piling up on my desk. I'm a researcher from a small company. I've been working here for a year now and seems like my boss isn't still used to me. Unlike my coworkers who are already used to my never ending quarrel with Miss Nam, they just ignore and act like nothing's happening.

I groaned when lunch time came. I'm still halfway of my work but I'm already mad hungry since I didn't eat anything this morning.

"Yem, let's go eat!" I stood up from my seat.

"What shall we eat today?" She asked me as we walked outside our office.

"Hm. How about some kimchi stew?" I asked her and she agreed.

We went to a restaurant and ordered our food.

"So, why don't you just move to my apartment? I told you, you'll be able to save more money since we'll share for the payment and you won't need to commute anymore because my apartment is just near our office. Plus! I can also wake you up, so you won't be late anymore."

I looked at her, thinking about her offer. It sounds appealing. "Well, it doesn't sound bad. I'll think about it more. Besides, I also need to talk to my parents about that."

"Oh, sure. Just tell me." Our orders came and we started eating our food.

"OMG! They're really handsome!"

I heard girls giggling about something. I looked to where the noise is coming from and saw some high school girls gawking at the small tv screen inside the resto. I moved my eyes to the screen, I saw 7 guys dancing and singing. Well, they all look really good. Maybe they are idols.

"Hey, Z. You okay?" Yem waved her hand infront of me.

I blinked, "Yeah. I'm just wondering what do these girls saw on those guys. They're just pretty faces. Well, they can sing and dance. But nothing's special. Really." I continued eating. But Yem laughed at me which made me looked at her. "What's funny?"

"You really don't know them? Come on, Z. You're not that old to speak that way. You sound like a grandma." I glared at her.

"So, what if I don't know them? Does it change a thing?" I stuffed my mouth with some kimchi.

"They're BTS! Oh, gosh! Z, you're really not updated? They are like superstars! Every girl's dream, you can say." She looked excited telling me these things.

I snorted, "Don't tell me, you're a fan?"

She happily clapped her hands. "Of course! Who wouldn't?"

I pointed at myself and she frowns at me. "Yeah. Knowing you? You won't waste your time on such things."

I just shrugged. We finished our food and went back to our office.

I concentrated back again on working. I even overtimed because office hours aren't enough. I don't want to leave these files undone so I tried finishing them all. Yem leave early because she's already done.

I stretched my arms and laid my back on my chair after I finished my work. I feel so tired and hungry. I looked at my watch, it's 7:30 in the evening. Maybe it's already dark outside. I grabbed my bag and went out of our office. I bid goodbye to the guard on duty and walked towards the bus stop. I waited for a bus to arrive.

I'm scrolling through my phone when I heard a song playing from a distance.

"Don't worry love

Because all of this is not coincidence

We're completely different baby

Because we've found our destiny~"

I turned to where it is coming from and saw a bunch of people circling a group which is dancing to a song. Maybe it's what they call kpop in public wherein people will dance to a kpop song in public. Yes, I know that. I'm not that ignorant, it's just that I don't really care at all.

I turned my attention back to my phone and messaged my mom that I'll call her when I got home.

Soon, a bus arrived and I got in. I suddenly remembered the guy this morning. Ugh. He's aura is speaking out arrogance.

When the bus stopped, I went out and headed to a convenience store near my apartment. I bought some food like cup noodles since I don't have time to cook for my dinner. As I stepped outside the store, it's already snowing. Just what I expected, my feeling is right.

Tonight will be a cold night. I ran towards my apartment and went inside. I immediately turned on my heater.

"Ahh! It's too cold outside!" I slumped my body on the small couch on my living room. I'm already sleepy but I still need to call my mom.

I placed my groceries on the dining table and headed towards my room. I decided to have a hot shower first.

Once I'm done, I changed into my pajamas and went to the dining area. I called my mom while I wait for my cup noodles to be ready to eat.

"Hey mom! How are you there? I miss you!" I heard some barking on the background.

"We're good. We misses you too. Even Haru misses you. Can you hear him?" Haru is my pet dog, he's a siberian husky. My dad gave him to me as my 18th birthday gift. He's been with us for 4 years now.

"Yes, mom. I wanna go home now." I told her, I don't want to cry so I hold my tears.

"Zaina, I know that it's hard but I want you to be strong. You'll be fine, okay? We're just here for you, baby." Mom comforted me.

"Anyway, mom. There's something I want to discuss with you." I almost forgot about it.

"What is it?"

"I'm thinking of moving into Yem's apartment. She's offering this to me almost everytime but I always forgot to tell you." I informed her.

"It's up to you if you want to go there. But I also think it's a good idea since it's really hard to be alone. You won't feel lonely when you're with your friend. We're okay with what you want. You're an adult now, Zaina. I trust your decisions." The tears that I'm holding suddenly escaped from my eyes.

"Thank you, mom." I sobbed.

"You know mommy doesn't like you crying, right? Please. Even if you're already grown up, you'll still be my baby." I smiled at what she said.

"Yes, mom."

"Oh. I still need to feed your little brother. You must eat well, okay? Sleep early. Rest well. Just call me whenever you want. We love you. Bye."

"Okay, mom. I will. I love you too! Bye." I ended the call.

I finished my food and put my trash inside the bin. I headed towards the living area.

I have decided, I will move out of this place. I need to tell Yem first, so we can decide when I'll move.

I sat down on the couch and looked around my apartment. I'm gonna miss this place. I've been living here for a year now.

I yawned which is a sign that I'm already sleepy. I headed towards my room and lied on my bed. I covered my whole body with my blanket. I grabbed my phone on the table near my bed and set the alarm. I need to be on time or else, I'll be having no day offs. I immediately drifted to sleep.

---

I woke up to a loud noise, which is my alarm. I looked at the time, it's 6 in the morning. Even if I still feel sleepy, I went out of my bed and start preparing for my work.

I only ate bread for breakfast and I also had coffee to energize me.

I took a bath and changed into my work clothes with my long coat. Since it snowed last night, it would still be cold outside.

I looked at myself in my whole body mirror. When I'm satisfied, I grabbed my bag and went out of my apartment.

I headed again to the bus stop. I looked at my watch, it says 7:08 and my work starts at 7:30. I feel good about this, I'll be on time today. I smiled at myself.

The bus came and I went inside. As I was tapping my card, the driver talked to me.

"Oh, it's you. The girl who slept yesterday and almost missed her destination." He's smiling at me. Embarrassed, I just nodded and went to a seat beside the window again. I managed to stay awake the whole ride. When the bus stops, I immediately went out.

I'm now heading to our office when someone shouted.

"Hey! Watch out!"

I didn't saw the car that's fast approaching me. I panicked and just closed my eyes, waiting for the impact but it didn't come. I slowly opened my eyes but my vision is blurred. It all happened so fast. Someone carried me and everything went black.

The smell of hospital woke me up and I immediately opened my eyes. Where am I?

Then I remembered, I was heading to our office when something happened.

I quickly sat up and the nurse seems to be shocked by my sudden movement.

"You're already awake, miss! I'll just call the doctor." She rushed outside the emergency room. Then, she came back together with a doctor.

"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked me as he examined my bruises that I didn't even notice until he checked them.

"Uhm. I'm a bit dizzy." I told him.

"Hmm. It might be the effect of the painkillers. You should be fine with the medicines I'll prescribed you to take when you got discharged." I thought of my hospital bills.

"H-how much is my bill?" I don't have lots of money with me. I might call Yem to pick me up here. I looked for my bag, my phone is inside it. I saw it on the table beside the bed.

"Your bills are already paid. Someone paid it." I looked up at the doctor when he said that.

"Who?" I asked him.

He just shook his head. "I'm sorry, but he didn't tell us his name. Even if it's in our protocol to have his details as the payer, he just gave us some money and left immediately."

"Is that person also the one who brought me here?"

It's the nurse who answered me, "Yes, ma'am. He's the one who brought you here and paid for all of your bills. You don't know him?" I furrowed my brows and shook my head 'no'.

He? Him? So it's a guy?

I tried remembering but it's still blurry. Though I can perceive that the person really seems like a guy.

"Do you know what he looks like?" I asked the nurse, I'm a bit curious about this guy.

"I didn't see his face, ma'am. He's wearing a mask. But he seems like a good looking man." The nurse smiled at me.

"Uh. Okay. So can I be discharged now?" I still have work! I looked at my watch and it's already 8:45 am.

"You can but you still need to rest." The doctor told me.

"I'm okay now. I'll just have your prescription." He then quickly wrote the medicines I still need to take and handed it to me while I got up from the bed and fixed my things.

"Thank you very much for treating me." I bowed to them and went out of the hospital.

Even if my body aches, I still managed to get into our office.

As usual, our boss is already standing and waiting for me. She's ready to yell at me when she noticed my appearance.

"What the hell happened to you?" She approached me.

Yem also stood up and went to me. "Z! Why do you have bruises?" She looked concerned.

"I almost got hit by a car while I'm heading here. But fortunately, someone helped me." I explained to them.

Miss Nam cleared her throat. We looked at her. "You can go home for now, since you looked like you can't work today. I was about to cancel all your day offs but seems like today is already a bad day for you." With that, she left us.

Yem led me to a seat. "Are you okay?" She asked me while checking out my bruises.

"I'm fine. These are just bruises. They'll heal soon."

"Yah! You're just saying it like it's not a big deal when it is." She glared at me.

"I just need to rest. That's it." I assured her.

"Anyway, who helped you?" She curiously asked.

"I don't know. The nurse told me it's a guy but they didn't get his name." I answered.

Her eyes widened. "OMG! That's so sweet!"

I looked at her with disbelief, "Are you crazy? That's what you even think about?" She just pouted.

"Oh, I remembered something. Yem, I'll move into your apartment. I already talked to my mom." I informed her and she looks so happy.

"Really?! Omo! I'll ask some people to get all your things. You're moving today!"

My eyes widened, "What do you mean now?! I didn't even pack up my things yet!" I whisper yelled at her.

"Did you even hear me? I will send some people to get your things. If you're worried with your personal things, don't worry. I'll be the one to get them. Just stay in my apartment and I'll do the rest. I'll also asked Miss Nam to let me have my off today. Even your landlady, I'll talked to her. Just leave it to me." She guaranteed.

I smiled at her. "What did I do to deserve a best friend like you?"

"You must be lucky!" She laughed at me while I playfully rolled my eyes.

"Oh, another thing. Yem, the doctor told me I need this medicines. Will you get them for me? I'll pay for it!" I sheepishly asked her while handing her the prescription. I know it's too much but I can't even move properly since my body is in pain.

"No problem, Z. This is the least thing I can do since you're hurt. I'll take care of you."

Miss Nam permitted Yem to take her off today that's why we headed to her apartment. She suggested that we should take a cab but I insisted to walk since it's just near. She supported me while we're walking to her apartment.

We reached her unit and we went inside. She lets me sit down on her couch and went to her kitchen to hand me some water.

She called for the people that will get my things while we're resting. We had our lunch delivered since we don't have enough time because she still needs to get my things. Before she went out, she first instructed me what to do when I need some help. I nodded and then, she left.

Ugh. I thought today will be a nice day.