Haneul's POV

It was now thirty-five minutes past eight in the morning and I was somehow running a little late for the bus.

I guess it took me a while to pick something more suitable than the faded pair of jeans and lilac t-shirt I was wearing a bit earlier.

As I made my way to the bus stop down the pedestrian crossing, a tall, blond, and rather well dressed man accidentally bumped into me, dropping my purse into a muddy puddle nearby. However, the man had caught me before I followed my handbag in the mud.

Startled by the sudden movement, I yelped and mumbled in exasperation. But before I could reach for my purse, the man turns me toward him and checks to see if I am alright.

Surprised by this gesture, I looked up at the stranger, accidentally locking eyes with him.

'Wa! (Wow).' I thought silently to myself.

I usually do not like making eye contact with people because it makes me feel uneasy; however, with this person, I had somehow felt at ease.
Standing there, the autumn breeze blowing his blond fringe over his eyes, I felt compelled to stare at him a little more.

'He is the definition of handsome.' I silently thought to myself.

I wasn't sure how long we stood like that, my arms vulnerably pressed against the front of his white shirt, staring into his beautiful, soft brown eyes.

I heard my phone buzz in the purse still lying in the puddle and I quickly straightened from the position he held me at, mumbling a few choice words to myself about looking around me before I walked into more strangers.

The man smiled sheepishly at me, then said:
"Joesonghamnida (I'm sorry - formal). I didn't see where I stepped. You're so beautiful, I couldn't help looking at you as I crossed the road."

He smiled at me, then rushed to pick up my now muddy purse off the ground and began to wipe it off with his handkerchief.

'Huh! What a sweet talker!' I scoffed. But I soon began to feel bad as he used his handkerchief to wipe the muddy water off my handbag.

'But... he is cleaning up my bag.' I sighed resignedly, making a mental note to thank him when I regained the ability to speak in front of him!

He had a soft, yet deep, melodic voice that made you weak in the knees.

Realising I still had somewhere to go, I quickly moved to take my purse from him, simultaneously, and yet unknowingly, grabbing his phone from his hand.

"Gwaenchanh-ayo. (It's okay - polite). I am late for a meeting and I cannot delay any longer. Thank you for taking the trouble to help me sir, but I must be on my way."

But the man had followed me to the bus stop, checking to see if I still needed any assistance, despite me assuring him that I am fine as I rushed off onto the bus which arrived in the nick of time. I thanked my lucky stars that I at least hadn't missed the bus.
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Narrator

Haneul didn't see the broad smile he had on his face, nor did she notice that she had grabbed the stranger's phone along with her purse.

The man shook his head and walked back to his black Hyundai parked at the curb near the bus stop not too far from the spot he bumped into her.

~~~♡♡♡~~~

Haneul's POV
On the bus

A cellphone rings, it was the irritating 'telephonic ring' or standard ringtone most phones came with; and I looked up from my novel at the other passengers, wondering why no one was taking the call.

The woman next to me, however, looked at me irritatedly, as if to say 'Hey girl, take the damn call already.'

It was only then that I had noticed a foreign looking phone in the grasp of my hand, ringing with a call from a 'Mr. Park'.

On the Samsung smartphone, I recognised the number, which was displayed beneath the name of the caller as well.

It was my Appa!

Hastily, I answered the phone, fumbling to find the answer button on this new modelled phone.

"Yeoboseyo (hello)? Mr. Park?"

Not hearing me, Mr. Park answered:
"Yeoboseyo? Jimin, my dear nephew, what happened to your voice? Have you left for the office yet? My daughter will be here any minute now and I need those documents you have urgently."

"Appa? Who's Jimin? I'm almost at your office building. The bus is approaching the stop near your office."

"Haneul!!! How on Earth did you get a hold of Jimin's phone? He's running a little late for the office this morning and he was supposed to bring me some important files."

"Uhhh... That is a very good question, Appa. I think I may have accidentally taken this phone from the man that bumped into me near the bus stop. He dropped my bag and offered to wipe it for me, but I was rushing for the bus and I grabbed my bag from him in a hurry, I guess I grabbed his phone too. I hope he will be at your office now? Maybe I can apologise and return his phone."

"Arrasso (Ahh, I see). Well, then I'll speak to you when you get here. And yes, Jimin should arrive around the same time as you."

He chuckled to himself and ended the call.

~~~♡♡♡~~~

Moments later...
Appa's office

I entered through the front doors, wondering to myself why this building was so large and bustling with so many people. I reached the reception desk on the ground floor and spoke to the receptionist.

"Ne, Mr. Kim will call you back as soon as possible sir." She puts the receiver down and looks back at her laptop.
"Hi Maya. I'm here to see Mr. Park Jong-dae."

The receptionist looked at me for a second before breaking into the biggest of smiles.

"Sengil Chukahhaeyo (Happy Birthday) Haneul! Why don't you just say you're here to see your Appa!" She joked as she walked around the desk to hug me.

I shook my head laughing as I hugged her in return.

Maya is probably the closest thing I still have to a friend. She attended the same school as I did; and she always checks in on me, even though all I ever do is seek solitude.

She quickly walked back to her desk and checked my Appa's availability on her laptop and looked back to face me, smiling.

"Okay, I see he's freed up the rest of his day just to spend time with you on your birthday." She smiled broadly at me.

Just then, a familiar voice spoke behind me.

"It's the beautiful girl's birthday?" He says to me, wide eyed.

I might have imagined it, but he looked a little guilty.

"Sengil Chukahhaeyo (Happy Birthday!)" He says, then adds:
"How about I take you to get a new handbag, since I ruined this one?"

"Aniyo (No). Gwaenchanh-ayo (It's okay)." I say to Jimin.

I realised that I was still holding his phone.

"Jimin-ssi, please take your phone... I'm sorry I accidentally grabbed it when I saw the bus approaching the stop." I say as I bow my head in greeting when he takes it back, walking off towards the lifts before he can say anything else to me.

In all honesty, I just wanted to run off to my Appa to get the paperwork out the way, then I could shrivel up in my bed and die of shame once I got home.

As I entered the lift I saw Jimin's reflection behind mine in the lift's mirror-lined interior.

'Why was he following me?

And why does he think I am beautiful?'

I usually wore either old baggy jeans or denim skirts or dresses and floral shirts when I wasn't dressed in the beige and emerald green uniform I usually wore for work.

Moreover, my fashion sense definitely needed an upgrade - which I could not afford since I was saving up for a car.

Jimin's looks were as good as a Korean idol (celebrity), if not better, he dressed like the Goblin's Kim Shin! Standing there, all regal and gorgeous.

Next to him, I felt small, peasant-like and helpless.

My heart thudded in my chest and I just wished that I were invisible, because I was sure that my face resembled a tomato at this point.

I quickly moved over to the corner of the lift and accidentally hit the wrong floor's button in my rush to avoid him. I silently prayed the lift would stop opening at every floor and hurry up already!
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~~~♡♡♡~~~

The doors had finally opened only for me to realise that it had stopped on the 7th floor instead of the 11th and to my great annoyance, Jimin was standing in front of me, grinning to himself like it was his birthday instead.

I felt myself squirming inwardly as he stayed in the lift with me, casually brushing his shoulder past mine to accommodate a few more people in the lift. He'd referred to them as the 'brothers Kim' - or whatever that meant. The three men smiled at me, I smiled back politely and looked away.

If possible, I squirmed even more and felt my face getting hotter.

They were also very dashing.

I now am definitely sure that he noticed me squirming at the contact since he chuckled softly to himself as he pressed the correct floor number and directed me to my Appa's office.

I swear he'd done all of this on purpose!

'This is going to be a long day...' I dramatically sighed to myself.
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~~~♡♡♡~~~

A/n: YAY! We get to meet Jimin!

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