sThe bright, harsh afternoon sun beat down mercilessly against the quiet, dusty street corner located just outside the towering main high school gates. Groups of local students dressed in neat, pressed school uniforms walked past the stone pillars, laughing loudly, sharing traditional street snacks, and heading toward the transit lines. The vibrant afternoon world was completely full of life, but at the corner of the weathered red brick wall, the atmosphere was thick and exceptionally heavy.Kim Seo-ah and Ma Ha-rin were leaning their weight against the rough red bricks, looking thoroughly, entirely exhausted. Ha-rin's white uniform collar was slightly damp with sweat from the sweltering heat. She shifted the strap of her heavy school bag from her right shoulder to her left with a loud, highly dramatic groan, lifting her wrist to check the clock layout for the tenth time that hour."Kim Seo-ah... seriously, look at the time!" Ha-rin groaned in deep frustration, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "How much longer do we mandatory have to stand here waiting in this brutal heat? I am absolutely hollowed out and exhausted! My feet are literally killing me on this pavement [4]."Seo-ah didn't turn her head. Her wide eyes were hyper-focused, scanning every single face walking down the asphalt street. She clutched the canvas straps of her school bag tightly against her chest, her knuckles turning white under the pressure as she spoke in an anxious, pleading voice. "Just... just a little bit more, Ha-rin. Please, I beg you, stay with my build for just five more minutes today [4]?""Kim Seo-ah, listen to my words carefully!" Ha-rin let out a massive, breathing-heavy sigh, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "We have been standing at this exact same spot, at this exact same hour, for the past five days straight! And have that mysterious playground boy or his annoying little sidekick shown up even once? No! Not even their shadows have crossed our path! I really don't think those brothers are ever coming back here to this street. If he actually wanted to meet your face or come to this neighborhood block, he would have been here by now [4]."Hearing her words, Seo-ah's shoulders slumped instantly against the rough brick wall. The hopeful, radiant light in her eyes dimmed to absolute darkness, replaced by a sudden, deep look of profound sadness. Her voice dropped to a vulnerable, trembling whisper. "Do you... do you really think he won't come back at all, Ha-rin? Did he just completely disappear from our lives [4]?"Seeing her friend's heartbroken expression, Ha-rin's angry, frustrated tone softened completely. She stepped a fraction closer on the sidewalk, placing a warm, deeply comforting hand on Seo-ah's slumped shoulder. "Look, Kim Seo-ah... please don't take this the wrong way. But you really should have explicitly told him what was in your heart much earlier. You had so many perfect chances back in the playground days! Now, look what happened. You delayed it, you pushed him away, and now it's just too late. Maybe... maybe after how coldly and stubbornly you treated his advances, he doesn't even want to be friends with you anymore [4].""I know..." Seo-ah whispered, biting her lower lip hard as her eyes pooled with unshed tears, staring down blindly at her scuffed school shoes. "I know it feels like it's entirely too late now. I know for a fact I made a massive mistake. But in the beginning, I really didn't like his behavior at all! I thought his face was just annoying and pestering. But then, slowly... over time... the way he would always follow my steps from a distance, the way he would secretly protect my dignity and help my build whenever I was in trouble... I don't know when the frequency changed, but I actually started to deeply like it. I started to look forward to seeing his face every single afternoon. I wanted to stand firmly in front of him and finally tell him everything that is locked in my heart! But now... look, let's do one thing. Let's not just stand here idle. Let's go out and search for him right now [4]!"Ha-rin stared at her roommate in absolute, deadpan disbelief. "Search for him [4]?! But Kim Seo-ah, how on earth are we supposed to find his location? Just think about it logically! We don't even know his real, legal name. We don't know his residential address. We don't even know which high school he went to [4]!""He used to come to this exact street every single day, Ha-rin!" Seo-ah wiped a stray tear from her cheek quickly, a sudden wave of stubborn, fiery determination taking over her features. "That explicitly means he must live or hang out somewhere very close by. Come on, let's just go look around the neighborhood blocks. Please, just follow me [4]!"A fast-paced, emotional montage began across the canvas of her thoughts. The memory showed Kim Seo-ah and Ma Ha-rin walking tirelessly through the narrow, twisting alleys of the old district, looking into crowded local cafes, searching through public parks, and standing by busy intersections as the afternoon sun slowly dipped below the horizon, painting the city sky in deep shades of orange and purple. They asked a few neighborhood shopkeepers, but no one recognized the description of the two brothers. Every single day ended the exact same way: completely empty-handed, leaving them under a heavy cloud of disappointment.The dream montage ended with Kim Seo-ah walking through her front door at dusk. Her face was pale, her eyes were completely hollow, and her heart was heavy with a profound, crushing sense of regret and disappointment. She flung her school bag onto the entryway floor, collapsing heavily onto her bed in the dark room, staring blankly at the ceiling with a heavy, broken sigh [4]...[Scene: PRESENT – INT. Public Bus – Night Continuous]Suddenly, the high school memory shattered into a million pieces.The harsh, mechanical sound of the bus gears shifting and a sudden, sharp jolt of the heavy vehicle brought Kim Seo-ah snapping instantly back into reality. She stirred uncomfortably in her sleep, her body swaying slightly with the sudden movement of the public transit bus. Even in her deep, exhausted slumber, her arms remained tightly, defensively locked around the beautiful, fragrant bouquet of flowers pressed firmly against her winter jacket.As her subconscious mind drifted away from the old high school memory, her thoughts immediately shifted gears. Her mind was filled entirely with the raw conversation from the previous night with Dr. Hyun-woo—the weight of his intense bedroom confession and the breathless sensation of his lips against hers echoing through her chest.[Scene: PRESENT – INT. Daehan University Hospital / EXT. City Streets – Night Continuous]Meanwhile, miles away across the city lines at the International Daehan University Hospital, the heavy iron door of the staff locker room clicked open. Dr. Choi Hyun-woo walked out onto the floor, dressed in his civilian clothes. He looked physically drained, pale, and entirely exhausted, his posture completely slumped after surviving a grueling, high-stakes five-hour surgical shift. He slowly packed his personal belongings into his leather bag, his mind completely preoccupied with her face.He walked out into the hospital parking lot, got into his sleek, luxury sedan car, and started the powerful engine. As he drove out past the security gates into the cool night air, the city streets of Seoul were beautifully, magnificently illuminated by thousands of twinkling golden lights and vibrant neon signs. It was a gorgeous, pristine night, but Dr. Hyun-woo looked incredibly lonely and hollow behind the wheel. His dark eyes drifted sadly to the passing scenery."The city looks so beautiful and peaceful tonight..." Hyun-woo let out a deep, heavy sigh from the very bottom of his heart, speaking softly to the empty car interior. "I wish... I really wish Kim Seo-ah was here with me right now. If only I could see her face just once today, all my physical exhaustion would completely disappear [4]."Just as the words left his lips, he pulled his luxury vehicle up to a major traffic intersection. At that exact microsecond, a large public transit bus roared past his lane, pulling slightly ahead of his car. Dr. Hyun-woo idly glanced out of his side window, looking up at the illuminated windows of the passenger bus.Suddenly, his entire body froze completely like an absolute statue. His eyes widened in absolute, paralyzing shock, and his heart violently skipped a beat against his ribs. Through the glass window pane of the moving bus, his sharp vision took in a familiar face leaning softly against the frame. It was Kim Seo-ah, fast asleep."Wait..." Hyun-woo's breath hitched sharply in his throat, his dark eyes gleaming with a mixture of sheer disbelief and pure, unfiltered joy. "Is that... is that Kim Seo-ah [4]?! Yes, it is absolutely her! She is resting on that bus [4]!"An instant surge of heavy adrenaline rushed through his veins. Dr. Hyun-woo didn't waste a single fraction of a second. He firmly gripped the leather steering wheel, hit the accelerator pedal, and expertly maneuvered his car through the traffic lanes, trailing the heavy bus from a safe distance. He looked ahead through the windshield and noticed the glowing neon sign of the next upcoming bus stop shelter.'Thank goodness I spotted her!' Hyun-woo thought to himself in a pure panic, his heart racing. 'I mandatory need to reach the next stop coordinates before the bus leaves the curb [4]!'He accelerated smoothly, overtaking the bus and pulling his luxury sedan car into a vacant parking spot just a few meters ahead of the brightly lit bus shelter. He killed the engine, threw the door open wide, and stepped out onto the pavement just as the heavy air brakes of the public bus screeched to a halt beside the curb.With a racing heart and absolute determination, Dr. Hyun-woo swiftly walked up the steps and boarded the bus. He frantically tapped his transit card against the digital scanner—beep!His intense eyes immediately scanned the rows of dimly lit passenger seats. He stopped dead in his tracks. There she was—resting peacefully near the middle window pane, clutching his flowers.Moving with light, completely silent footsteps, he slipped down the center aisle, holding his breath so he wouldn't disturb the quiet, dark atmosphere of the vehicle [4]...
As Dr. Choi Hyun-woo drew closer, his eyes fell directly upon her lap. His jaw softened instantly, and an incredibly tender, breathtaking smile spread across his entire face, cutting through all the cold exhaustions of his five-hour shift. There, clutched tightly in Kim Seo-ah's hands, resting securely against her jacket, was the exact premium bouquet of flowers he had sent to her architecture office floor first thing in the morning. He stepped forward completely undetected through the dimly lit aisle and took his seat directly behind her.'Look how beautifully she is holding this bouquet,' Hyun-woo thought to himself, a massive wave of profound relief and intense happiness washing over his chest. 'I honestly thought you'd throw it straight into the trash terminal after last night's intense conversation inside the bedroom... and she looks so exceptionally cute sleeping like that.'Leaning forward slightly against the back of her headboard, he whispered softly and emotionally to the back of her head, his voice barely carrying over the steady hum of the bus engine. "Kim Seo-ah... I'm really, deeply sorry. What I did yesterday must have made you very upset, angry, and sad, right?"Just then, suddenly, a huge and dangerous speed breaker appeared on the dark road ahead, and the public transit bus received a very strong, violent jolt. Seo-ah, who was leaning heavily on the glass pane, completely lost her balance in her deep sleep and her body swayed out of alignment. She was about to hit her forehead hard against the rigid steel frame of the window.Before her head could crash violently against the glass and the iron frame, Doctor Hyun-woo reached out with lightning speed, placing his open palm directly between her forehead and the window pane. With a soft slap of skin against the frame, Seo-ah's head landed gently on the back of Doctor Hyun-woo's hand. She didn't get hurt at all.Hyun-woo breathed a huge, shaky sigh of relief, his heart starting to beat faster and faster against his ribs as he stared down at her sleeping form. He leaned down slightly, speaking softly near her ear in a low whisper. "Kim... the stop has come."He slowly and meticulously removed his hand from her side, keeping his movements perfectly quiet so that her waking thoughts wouldn't hear or trace his presence. Turning to his side, he politely asked a female passenger sitting on the nearby seat across the aisle to wake her up properly."Excuse me, Ma'am," Hyun-woo requested in a polite whisper. "Could you please wake her up? Her destination is here."The female passenger nodded kindly, reaching across the space to gently shake Seo-ah's shoulder. Kim Seo-ah woke up in a sudden start, stirring uncomfortably as she opened her blurry eyes to take in the bright bus shelter outside. When the woman kindly informed her that her stop had finally arrived, Seo-ah sat up in a hurry."Oh! Thank you so much, Ma'am! Thank you!" Seo-ah gasped, offering a bright, grateful smile to the passenger.She quickly clutched the massive bouquet tightly against her chest, adjusted her winter jacket handles, and turned quickly toward the aisle to exit. The exact microsecond she turned her frame around, Dr. Hyun-woo immediately spun his entire face completely toward his own window pane and covered his mouth with his hand, ensuring with absolute certainty that Seo-ah did not see his eyes or recognize his face inside the dark vehicle.Seo-ah stepped off the heavy bus platform and safely made her way onto the sidewalk of the street. The moment her boots touched the pavement outside, Dr. Hyun-woo slowly turned his face back around toward the aisle, offering a warm smile to the lady."Thank you so much for the assistance, Ma'am," Dr. Hyun-woo said softly."It's okay," the female passenger replied with a warm smile.Hyun-woo quickly moved closer to the glass window pane, watching Kim Seo-ah walk away through the bus glass as the vehicle prepared to pull back into the traffic lane. As he watched her departing figure walk down the street under the neon signs, a look of deep, unyielding joy and fiery hope settled upon his handsome face—for she had not abandoned or thrown away his flowers.'She didn't throw away the bouquet...' Hyun-woo thought to himself with immense, pure happiness, his dark eyes gleaming with determination under the interior lights. 'That explicitly means she definitely holds some warm feelings for my build in her heart, even today. I won't give up on us, Kim Seo-ah.'