Chapter 1

The alarm blaring loudly echoed through the small apartment. Movement could be seen from the bed, deep within the covers. A figure sat up, eyes squinting to adjust to the lighting.

"Where's my phone..."

With a groan, she reached her hand out - searching for her phone to shut the damn alarm off. She rubbed her eyes to get a better look at the time. Her eyes widened before she jumped out of her bed.

"Shit, is that the time?"

Her head, now fully realising just what time it was, starts to panic. The woman takes off the covers from her figure and she races into the bathroom - showering was not an option given the time restrictions.

Her next actions are done rather aggressively and in a quick manner. Splash, splash, splash - the water gets on her face and she wipes it off. She spends barely a minute to brush her teeth before she does a quick breath check and shrugs it off, a mint would cover it up.

Getting dressed isn't any better either. She grabs whatever her hands can reach, does a sniff test before she puts it on. Phone, wallet, identification card, hair tie, mints - she's grabbing things as she gets to the door and does it hit her.

"My keys!" She slaps her hand on her forehead, running back to the bedside table and forcefully swipes the keys from the surface. The door closes with a firm 'click' and she locks it before shoving said keys into her bag. She needs to run if she wants to make it to the bus on time.

Not that she wasn't already late but speed was necessary now. Her hand takes a firm grip on the handrail before she jumps down a notable amount of stairs. She does this until she finally reached the ground floor and nearly trips in the middle of her run to catch the said bus.

"Late again, Haeun?" the bus driver smiles at her just as she's the last one to get on. It's not the first time the woman was rushing and it certainly wasn't going to be the last time either. All she does is smile at him, taking a breather as she sits down on an empty seat.

"Good morning!" The short-haired woman greeted her fellow co-workers before setting her station up. She's rolling up her sleeves, clipping her hair back so it doesn't get in the way of her job. Her eyes lit up when she sees a fellow co-worker and close friends of hers, "Hi, Jihyun - morning."

"You're late, Haeun. Not that it's anything new but you should really fix that punctuality of yours," Jihyun commented as she snipped off a customer's hair. "There's a customer waiting in front. All yours."

Haeun rolls her eyes at Jihyun's comment, "Remind me who was the one, exactly, who got a notice from the boss for her tardiness?"

Jihyun answers back by 'accidentally' bumping her hips against Haeun followed by sticking out her tongue at Haeun. Haeun's about to get back at her but a stern cough from their boss makes Haeun let the matter go - for the moment.

Work at the salon isn't anything particularly hard for her - it's not what she wants to do but hey, rent can't get paid by itself. She's a fast learner and a hard worker, a reason why she was able to land a job at the salon despite being fresh off from the hairdressing workshops. It's not that hard of work, as long as you give the customers what they wanted and not mess up, you'll save yourself a scolding from the boss.

Customers come and go from the salon - male, female, adults, kids, teenagers and old people. Some of them talk a lot but most of them are quiet as Haeun works her scissors and skills on styling their hair to their preferred image. Haeun goes through metres and metres of hair in a single day, smells the scent of hair dye and sweeps away all unneeded hair from the floors of the salon and throws them into the trash.

When there's no customer, Haeun finds herself just silently sitting down on the couch. Jihyun knows what she's doing so she leaves her alone, alone with her thoughts.

"This isn't what I want to do," Haeun thinks, "...This wasn't where I used to be."

It's been a long time since she started working at the salon but time couldn't help her get used to the new environment, the new surroundings and definitely the new people. However, as much as she doesn't like this - it's all she can do for now.

"Haeun, another customer!" another co-worker yells and Haeun jumps back to her feet.

There was no use in dwelling about the past any longer.

"Haeun~"

Jihyun held onto Haeun's arm. Both of their shifts had just ended and they were about to head home.

"Let's go shopping! You know that sweet new store that just opened a couple weeks ago? I've been dying to go! Your shift at the bar doesn't start until a few hours, right?"

Being Jihyun's co-worker and close friend, Haeun was full aware that Jihyun was a shopaholic. Jihyun loved fashion and she certainly knew what style fitted her best - she always looked glamorous, pulling off pieces Haeun would never dare to try. So, when Jihyun says there's a store she wants to visit - she means spending hours and hours trying on different pieces of clothing. Unfortunately, Haeun didn't have the time right now.

"I can't, Jihyun," Haeun sighed and gave her an apologetic look. "Shift starts early tonight and I need all the rest I can get. The bar's finally gaining popularity."

Jihyun pouted and gave her friend a hug. "You work so hard, Haeun. Text me when you come home, alright?" Haeun nodded at her friend's request before Jihyun got into her car while Haeun headed to the bus stop.

Her phone began to ring as she waited for the bus to arrive - the bus to her next part-time job. She smiled once she saw the who the caller was.

"Hi, mom. I'm waiting for the bus at the moment. Did you need anything?"

"No, just wanted to check up on you. It's been so long since our last call."

"Mom, that was 4 days ago," Haeun chuckled. She glanced at the time and looked around, seemed like the bus would be running a bit later than usual. "I'm fine, I swear. I'm not sick. Is it about Hyun and Min? Do they need more money? I could send some by the end of this week-"

"No, no... Not money, Haeun," her mother sighed. "I just...We all just miss you back here. It's been a long time, Haeun. Don't you want to come home?"

The bus arrived and Haeun lined up to get on.

"Maybe when things settle down. It's just still really really hectic around here."

"I understand, sweetie. Ah! Your blind date the other day! How did it go?" her mother sounded very excited.

Haeun's face cringed at the thought of it. "Eh... Honestly, not a big fan. He was sweet and not that bad looking but-"

"But you won't be seeing him for a second date."

She sat down on the seat near the window, her eyes looking outside.

"Mom, I don't think I'm ready for any relationships right now."

"It's been 2 years, Haeun. You need to move on from him. He's not the only guy out there for you."

"And I keep telling you, it's not about him," Haeun rubbed her temples, she wasn't in the mood to bicker with her mother over this matter. This was how most of their phone calls ended - with her mother asking if Haeun had finally found someone new in her life and how Haeun would always say she didn't have time. "Mom, I'm going to hang up. My...My shift is starting. Tell the boys I said hi. I love you, we'll talk again soon."

"Stay safe, sweetie. I love you too."

The clock showed it was nearly 2 in the morning. Haeun dragged her sore feet up the stairs, even turning the keyhole was already tiring for her. As the bar became busier and packed with more people each night, Haeun was coming home later than usual. All she wanted to do now was go to sleep until her alarm would jolt her awake once again. But with the makeup on her face, she had one more task at hand.

"Finally, my bed!" Haeun jumped onto her bed immediately after she finished washing up. She was dressed in her comfortable oversized sweater and was definitely ready for some shut-eye. She knew it wouldn't take long before she would fall asleep considering how tired she was.

But then, the knocking came.

Haeun sat up from her bed and glared at the door. No way was she expecting anyone at this hour and she wasn't going to leave her comfortable bed for some stupid knocking on the door. So, she pulled her covers up over her head and hoped whoever it was would go away.

But the knocking came back, becoming more frantic.

Now, Haeun was becoming more and more annoyed over the sound of the stupid knocking on the wooden door. She was sleepy and hungry and both were already making her annoyed, so this person was fueling her frustration. Haeun grabbed her phone, dialled the police and armed herself with a frying pan - she was ready to knock the living daylights out of the person stopping her from getting her much-needed beauty sleep.

"Who is it?" Haeun asked.

She could hear someone trying to answer but the heavy rain outside wasn't doing many favours. She cursed under her breath, wondering why she hadn't installed a peephole. Taking a deep breath, she slowly unlocked the door and began to open the door. She opened just enough for her to see who it was on the other side.

Haeun's eyes widened to the size of the moon as she saw the person on the other side, dripping wet from the rain. The frying pan fell onto the floor and she took a step back. She blinked her eyes a couple of time to make sure what she was seeing was real.

"L-Lucas?"

"Haeun..." the man was shivering from the cold emitting from his wet clothes. His eyes rolled back to the back of his head before his knees went weak and his body began to lean forward.

"Lucas? Lucas!"

That was all he heard before his vision went black and all he heard was nothing.