Suho studied the girl carefully, but she was completely focused on her phone and didn't notice him.
Should I call out to her?
Deciding it was a bad idea — they weren't exactly acquainted, after all — Choi decided to just go over instead. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he slowly walked forward. When there were only about three meters left between them, Jia must have sensed someone behind her because she turned around. Suho stopped, catching a flicker of panic in her eyes. He hadn't scared her, had he?
"Freshman? Everyone already left for the noraebang," Suho blurted out, the first thing that came to mind. "That way," he added, pointing down the sidewalk, already feeling pretty stupid.
It was obvious she wasn't lost. There was no way they'd just forget her in the parking lot.
"Hello, sunbae," she said in a quiet voice, giving him a small bow. "I didn't go with the others."
Suho got the feeling something was bothering her. Jia looked down at her phone again and bit her lip.
"I called a taxi, but it's taking forever," she explained. "And then the timer just… stopped. I can't even request a new one," her voice got quieter toward the end, her brow furrowing.
"Let me take a look," Suho offered. His bad mood was slowly fading.
She stepped closer and handed him her phone.
"O-kay," Suho said in a low voice, scanning the taxi app. He could feel Jia watching him curiously.
"Here, you have to cancel the ride completely. You need to tap confirm twice," he turned the screen toward her. "Try ordering again now."
Jia took her phone back, and they stood in silence for a couple of minutes while she put in a new request.
The wind was cooling his cheeks, still warm from the alcohol. Suho stayed still, watching her hair sway, watching her furrow her brow as she stared at her phone.
Up close, Yoon Jia's beauty felt different than in pictures. It was warm. Mesmerizing. No photo could ever capture something like this.
Suho was completely captivated. For a moment, even the pain seemed to fade, letting him secretly admire the person in front of him.
"It worked!" Jia exclaimed happily, looking up at Suho with shining eyes.
Choi felt his lips curve into a smile, completely beyond his control.
"Nice," he said, still smiling. "How long until it gets here?"
"Mmm… five minutes." All trace of her earlier sadness was gone.
"I'll wait with you. Just in case," Suho said before he even thought about it.
Jia blinked in surprise, then nodded and glanced around.
"Then… maybe we should sit? Over there."
Suho agreed, ignoring the fact that he'd probably struggle to get up later. They made their way slowly to a bench and sat down next to each other.
"Are you waiting for a taxi too, sunbae?" she asked, tucking her phone into her pocket.
Suho nodded, trying to calm the pain with slow, steady breaths.
"You…"
"No, you go…"
They both stopped at the same time, each waiting for the other to speak. Suho smiled and gestured for her to go ahead.
"Sunbae, what's your name?" Jia smiled back, looking him straight in the eye.
Suho felt his heart skip. He pulled himself together and answered in a steady voice:
"Choi Suho. And you?"
"I'm Yoon Jia."
They both fell silent again. The fact that they already knew each other's names and were only introducing themselves out of some sense of formality hung unspoken in the air.
Jia chuckled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Did you enjoy the party?" Suho asked.
He had no idea what to say. He'd never… tried to make someone like him before.
"Noisy. Chaotic," Jia said, drawing out the words. "I tried to remember everyone's names, but I feel like it's all already jumbled up in my head." She exhaled, then seemed to catch herself. "It was fun… Yeah."
Suho chuckled, looking down at his hands clasped together on his knees.
"I know what you mean. You'll remember everyone eventually."
Jia nodded.
"What about you? Did you have fun?"
Suho thought for a moment.
"It got interesting toward the end," he said, glancing at Jia, whose cheeks had taken on a light flush.
"Saerin definitely had too much soju."
"It's okay."
"No. It's not okay to talk about people right in front of them!" Jia waved her hands and shook her head.
Only now did Suho realize she was a little drunk. Maybe that's why she was defending him — even though practically everyone had been gossiping about her all night. And something told him Jia had heard at least half of it.
"Don't worry about it. People forget about boundaries sometimes," Suho said calmly, his voice steady as he studied her.
Jia didn't seem too drunk, but her eyes were slowly getting heavy, and the flush on her cheeks was deepening. She was fidgeting with the fabric of her jacket, swaying slightly back and forth.
"Yeah," she breathed out, a sad smile on her lips. "I knew it'd be like this, but I still wanted to come. Manager Soo said I didn't have to, but…" Jia started swaying more, and Suho put his arm out behind her so she wouldn't accidentally tip off the bench. "I was curious," she whispered, barely audible, like she was letting him in on a secret.
Suho knew she was getting sleepy. There's no way she'd be this honest with a stranger if she were sober. He carefully placed his hand on her shoulder, gently steadying her.
They sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Jia stared at the pebbles beneath her feet, while Suho tried to ignore the warmth spreading through his palm. A few minutes later, Jia's phone buzzed, and she got up clumsily, taking that warmth with her.
She turned back to Suho and smiled, looking down at him. In the glow of the streetlights, her features were even more stunning.
Suho couldn't take his eyes off her.
"Thank you, Suho-ssi!" Jia tilted her head, her smile widening. "You're not nearly as scary as people said," she added with a small giggle.
Then, before Choi could even react, she turned and ran toward the taxi that had just pulled up at the curb.
Suho's mouth opened and closed as he watched her practically leap into the car.
"You're not nearly as scary as people said" — the words hung in the air.
Still flustered, it took him a moment to remember that his own taxi had actually been waiting for him at the other end of the parking lot for over ten minutes. He watched the car with Jia inside pull smoothly onto the road and disappear into the stream of lights. The wind cooled his face and his body. The pain in his knee was starting to come back as he tried to stand.
It took him two tries.
Over and over, the words Jia had thrown out before leaving echoed in his head. Was he dreaming? Was he still in the hospital, his fevered mind playing tricks on him?
On his way to the car, Suho tried to process everything that had just happened. Pushing through the pain, he got into the backseat and paid an extra fifty thousand won for the wait.
The business-class taxi lulled him with its warm, quiet atmosphere. A soft melody played faintly in the background, and Suho leaned his head back, closing his eyes.
When he'd left for the party earlier that day, he hadn't known what to expect. The evening had threatened to be unbearably lonely. It was the first time he'd seen everyone since the accident, and he could feel the curious stares. Only now, it wasn't admiration from his fellow students — it was pity. The guys on the team had tried to support him throughout the night, but the way they tiptoed around him only made the distance between them feel even greater.
And yet, right now, Suho didn't feel sad. For some reason, his heart felt light, and he was already looking forward to the next day. To signing up for a new round of rehab. To inviting Yoon Jia to that restaurant with the best view of the city.
On the edge of sleep, Suho didn't think about the fact that they hadn't exchanged numbers. Didn't think about how they were still basically strangers, or how Jia came from a completely different world. Instead, he pictured them sitting together at that famous spot on the eightieth floor. Jia smiling at him, her slender fingers wrapped around a glass of wine. Even in her black tracksuit, she looked like she'd stepped off the cover of a magazine. They ate. They laughed. The conversation flowed easily, like they'd known each other forever.
Suho smiled, eyes still closed, so deep in his pleasant daydream that he no longer felt the pain.