Chapter One — When Our Eyes First Met

The rain had been falling since morning, turning the streets of Seoul into a shimmering mirror of neon lights and quiet emotions. Im Sol stood under the bus stop, hugging her sketchbook to her chest, trying not to let the cold seep into her bones. She had been waiting for a bus that was always late, just like most things in her life.

That was when she noticed him.

Ryu Sun-jae stood a little away from her, tall, messy-haired, wearing a black hoodie with earphones plugged in. He wasn’t looking at his phone like everyone else. He was watching the rain as if it were telling him a story only he could hear. There was something soft about him, something lonely, something that made her look twice without knowing why.

Their eyes met by accident.

For a split second, the world felt strangely quiet.

Sun-jae blinked first, awkwardly looking away. Sol felt her cheeks warm, embarrassed at being caught staring. She quickly pretended to adjust her bag, but her heart was already beating faster than before.

The bus arrived with a loud hiss of air, breaking the moment. They both stepped in, standing close because the bus was crowded. Sol could smell the faint scent of soap and rain on him. It was oddly comforting.

She opened her sketchbook, trying to distract herself. She always drew when she was nervous. Lines formed under her pencil without her realizing it — soft curves, thoughtful eyes, a familiar silhouette. When she finally looked down, she froze.

She had drawn him.

Before she could close the book, Sun-jae glanced over and noticed.

“Oh… is that me?” he asked, not offended, just curious.

Sol panicked. “I—I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to. I just draw people sometimes. I can erase it!”

“No,” he said quickly. “It’s actually… kind of nice.”

She looked at him, surprised. “You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be?” He smiled, and it was warm in a way that felt almost dangerous. “You made me look better than I do.”

She laughed softly. “That’s impossible.”

They stood there, smiling at each other like two people who had just stumbled into something gentle and unexpected.

“I’m Sun-jae,” he said.

“Sol.”

They talked for the rest of the ride — about nothing important and everything that somehow felt important. He told her he was a singer, still trying to find his place in the industry. She told him she loved art and dreamed of creating stories that made people feel less alone.

“Do you ever feel like you’re running, but you don’t know what you’re running toward?” he asked suddenly.

Sol nodded. “All the time.”

He looked relieved, like he had just found someone who understood him.

When her stop came, Sol felt a small ache in her chest. She didn’t want the conversation to end. But she stood up anyway.

“Maybe I’ll see you again,” she said, unsure.

“I hope so,” Sun-jae replied. “I’d like that.”

As she stepped off the bus, rain falling softly around her, Sol didn’t know it yet — but that ordinary, rainy day had just become the beginning of something that would quietly change both of their lives.

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