Arya was knocking on the door relentlessly in the middle of the night.
She didn't expect the door to be opened as she knew the occupant of the room actually can see her through the peephole.
And to be honest, he didn't like her. And if possible, he didn't like to have any sort of involvement with her.

But that wasn't possible cause earlier that day, they fought.
Not fight actually, a disagreement.

He was always unapologetically harsh towards her method of working. Never approved her "result matters most" strategy rather following rules and making everything right as she goes.

He was on the other hand, Perfect.

She was hundred percent sure that the occupant of the room will just go back to sleep seeing her outside of the door.

But surprising her a little, Jin opened the door and looked at her,
"Something happened?"

Arya awkwardly smiled and brought her hand from her side with a few beer cans in a bag, "I came to make up."

She thought Jin would be surprised.
But the boy was indifferent as always.

He looked at her hand for a few seconds and nodded a little, "I don't drink."

"My bad!" Arya smiled a little and stepped back, "sorry for the disturbance, go back to sleep."

"Arya..."

"Goodnight, Jin! Sorry, I woke you up!" Arya waved at him and turned back.

Bummer! She should have known he wouldn't drink.
The problem with her was, she never could see Jin in eyes different from hers.

No matter how strict he was, how sturdy he was, no matter how much the coursemates bad-mouthed him or worshiped him, he was, at the end of the day- a human.

And a human needed interactions. A friend, or foe. Whatever Jin preferred.

They both were in the special base camp in Busan.
All of their coursemates went for the vacation after long terms.
And like math constant, she and Jin both stayed back.
They had a few coursemates accompany them this time for a frogman course.

They dived under the ocean the whole day.
Dehydration and tiredness were so prominent that it was normal that they were supposed to sleep through the night.

But here she was- wandering along the dormitory area.
This base wasn't as strict as the Academy. So she was free to roam, even she could go out of the base if she wanted.
Additional courses gave her this freedom.

If it was in the academy, she wouldn't have the access to boy's dorm even.

She picked up one of the beer cans and chucked it.

Why did she come here even?
This Straight face boy was definitely not friendly.
Probably she should have gone to her other mates. That would make more sense in the middle of the night.

Sensing someone's rushed footstep from behind, Arya looked back.
To her utter surprise, Jin was there.

He was in a full tracksuit and trainer.
He came straight beside her and walked with her without any words.

"I said you should go back to sleep." Arya frowned a little. But she didn't try to hide her smile too, "Why have you come?"

Jin just shoved his hands in his pocket and didn't say anything.

"Thank you for accompanying me." Arya said in gratefulness.

She actually never could understand this boy. When she becomes sure that this proper boy will be her death with his enormous principles and strictness, he somehow ends up doing something that would straight up make her forgive him or worse, again run after him in admiration.

"Sorry I ended up at your door at this hour of the night," Arya said.

Jin looked at her thinking something deeply. Arya never was this quiet or apologetic.
She never looked back to whatever she has done or whatever weird remarks she made. She was always famous for her thick skin and impulsive yet mischievous personality. It was never in her character to reflect on her actions, especially around Jin.

The more Jin tried to persuade her about her method of works or just in disapproval of her quirky personality, she always ended up making fun of him with a wide grin, not simply listening to him once.

"You don't have to come with me." Arya again disagreed about him tagging along.

"I am hungry." Jin quietly remarked making Arya shut her mouth.

They both walked for a distance.

"The cafeteria is that way." Arya indicated Jin towards a direction.

"I know," Jin replied but didn't show any sign to go that direction.

"Hey, Jin!" Arya suddenly smiled, "you want some late-night snack?"

"..."

"Let's go outside." Arya smiled, "The street has some excellent pochas. I got these beers from one of those. What do you say? Wanna come?"

Jin nodded without any words.

Arya grinned, "let's get wasted tonight. We have two days break anyways."

"I am not allowed to drink."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Arya scolded him mildly, "allow yourself to have fun sometimes. It won't make you bad of a person!"

Jin didn't say anything.

Ten minutes after, they both were inside a pocha. The temporary street stall was covered in plastic sheets to protect the customers from the chilly wind and fog that came from the sea.

Jin was sitting a little uncomfortably on the plastic stool, curiously looking around and taking everything in.

"What do you want?" Arya asked him, "Order anything, it's my treat."

Jin hesitated a little.

"What?"

"What do they have?"

"You don't know?" Arya was a little surprised, "they have everything! Whatever you want."

"What do I want?" Jin seemed to be immersed in deep thought.

Arya looked at the face for some time and suddenly a feeling got her, "don't say..."

Jin looked at her.

"Don't say it's your first time on a pocha?" Disbelief was lacing her voice.

Jin's ear turned a bit pink and he slowly nodded.

"Are you an alien?" Arya poked his hand as if to be sure, "Where have you been living all your life? A palace?"

Jin didn't answer but it seemed that he was a little embarrassed for him never going to a pocha.

"You said you are hungry, what do you usually have for your late-night snacks?" Arya asked so that she can pick something similar for him as well.

"I never have late-night snacks." Jin's answer was blunt.

"Never? As like "never" never?" Arya wasn't believing him.

"Bad for health." Jin disagreed in a small voice.

"Ughhh..." Arya thumped her head on the table making other customers look in her direction, "What are you, Kim Seokjin? A robot?"

"Alien, robot- make up your mind." Jin brushed off the remark.

Arya just groaned in response and looked at him with wide eyes the next moment, "Did you just make a joke?"

Jin shrugged a little and looked away.

"God! My ears have been blessed!" Arya laughed, "I'll go and get you something new, ok? Don't run away!"

Jin nodded like the obedient boy he was.

Arya was looking at Jin. She felt pity for that pretty face which was now covered with thin layers of sweat. His eyes were watery, and his lips were ever so red and plump.
He was looking like a grumpy, pouty little school kid who was just caught red-handed while sneaking out of the class.
Spicy food definately wasn't his forte.

Arya felt pity.
If only their coursemates just saw them now!
Would they believe The great Kim Seokjin was accompanying her at the late night on a roadside pocha, and tearing up over extra spicy tteokbokki?

"You want some Soju?" Arya asked him,"It would help you cool down your palate."
On her part, she already finished two bottles of soju.

"I never drank alcohol," Jin said quietly.

"No wonder." Arya rolled her eyes,
"There is the first time for everything, you know?"

Jin was silent.

Seeing him debating over his proper self, Arya just poured some soju on the glass and placed it in front of him,
"Stop going back and forth. Let me teach you how to drink."

Jin was silent.

Arya pour one glass for her also and raised it, "Take it."

Jin obliged without any resistance.

"To us." Arya toasted and waited for Jin to finish.

Jin hesitated a moment and then emptied the glass in one go.

"How is it?" Arya eagerly leaned towards him.

"Strange." Jin quietly remarked.

Arya laughed, "Want some more?"

Jin nodded left to right but Arya poured him anyway.

Jin didn't show any sign to take it, and Arya didn't wait to pour for herself. She drank up straight from the bottle.

When she finished, she looked at Jin who was looking at her with slight concern, "you ok?"

Arya smiled and put up an "Ok" sign and opened another soju bottle.

Jin suddenly grabbed her wrist gently and made her stop, "Arya, look at me."

Arya avoided his gaze, "I am ok, Jin!"

"Then look at me."

Arya looked at him, Her eyes were sad. Just sad.
Jin was a little alert. This girl was never sad.

"What happened?"

"Nothing." Arya put down her head on the table and closed her eyes.

Jin quietly cleared the bill and tapped her shoulder, "get up, let's go for a walk."

Arya stirred up and got up and followed Jin outside.

"You know, I appreciate you coming with me tonight." Arya smiled, a little tipsy. "You are always so cold towards me, but I didn't know to whom else I could have gone. Perhaps it was a bad idea."

"Wanna talk about it?" Jin asked gently.

"Nothing serious." Arya waved him off, "I was just feeling lonely. And oh, my father died in this day years back."

Jin stopped in his track.

"It's nothing." Arya grabbed him by his elbow and walked casually, "I even don't remember his face now. But still, I feel bad on this day. So had to go and bring you here to make you hear a pathetic sob story."

"My condolences." Jin's voice was gentle.

"My mother reached me out," Arya said suddenly, smiling a little.

"Good for you."

"Yes." Arya agreed, "She wants me to go to her. We'll live as a family once again, me, mom, and my sister."

"That is a good thing. Why are you not happy?" Jin inquired.

"I don't know." Arya shrugged a little,
"I have come so close to my dream, Jin. You know I worked for it a lot. Suddenly leaving everything behind- I don't know."

"What will you do?" Jin asked sincerely.

"I don't know." Arya nodded unsurely, "It's a conflicting choice. That's why I needed to clear my head." she looked at Jin again, "to be honest, I didn't know I'd end up on your doorstep like that and most surely I didn't expect you actually would come with me. So thank you."

"You looked distressed," Jin said in short.

"You are quite tolerant today too." Arya chuckled suddenly, "You are definitely talking, you did let me touch you without lecturing how do you hate someone touching you, accompanying me though it is your most favorite dialogue that you don't need friends, you even drank, and most importantly, you didn't lecture me about your name being Seokjin, not Jin for even once!" She grinned and patted Jin's shoulder, "should I assume you started to get used to my nonsenses?"

Jin didn't answer rather he reached for the soju bottle in Arya's hand.

With her grinning face in front, Jin drank up the little soju left in the bottle and shut up for good.

Little did Arya knew, he was dead drunk just by the three shots of soju at best.

It was her first experience of a straight-faced- normal-looking drunk Jin.
Though that is another story to tell.

Arya was still looking at Jin.
He was already deep in his slumber.
Her one hand was already captured by him, so she was practically made to stay beside his bed. She was waiting for him to be in deep sleep so that she could sneak out not waking him up.
She has the experience, waking up Jin would be another big hassle that she didn't want to face for the rest of the night.

Remembering the night of probably a decade ago, the day Jin first drank and made quite a show the whole night- Arya felt soft.
They were not the same persons anymore.

She has become someone with a much darker history, her younger self would probably now tremble in fear seeing what she has become today.
A person with a bloody record and a history of burning betrayals.

And Jin?
He has changed to the person she still is very much unaware of.
A person whom she never quite understood.

He has become the hard cold person he used to be but upgraded with a hint of warmth in him.
The perfect man.

He always treated her so coldly in their early days that it seems quite heartwarming to see him like that. He has shown nothing but genuine concern and care since the day she met him again, but knowing him all along, she just questioned his motive till this day.
How could she believe that he cared after all the rivalry they got through and with that cold history between them?

"You know, Jin? I am quite disappointed." Arya mumbled freeing her hand from Jin's grasp, "you had soju stored in your celler. Does that mean you drink every now and often behind everyone's back?"

Jin was still asleep peacefully.

Arya brought back her hand and traced one finger to remove the hairs on his forehead, "I always thought that you only get drunk with me. That you drink soju only with me."

She removed her hands from his face, "Weird, no? But why I didn't feel so great? Is it normal to be disappointed in such trivial matter?"

Jin wasn't awake to answer her that too.

Arya traced her thumb around his cheek mindlessly, "Jin? Do you know? It will be really hard leaving you?"

Arya smiled at herself. Dying was never her option to think about often. She was a coward in this matter. But she really thought spending the rest of the time with people she knew would make her rest of the days more meaningful. Turned out, it just made things harder.

Jin made it harder.

Thinking about leaving made her heartache in the middle of this night suddenly. Not in the thought of dying, but in the thought of not seeing this man ever again after some days.

Her fingers traced on his lips for a tiny second, "Probably I'll never be able to see you smile. Unfortunate."

Her opposite hand came up and with a mischievous grin, both of her indexes reached both corners of Jin's lips and mildly pushed them upwards in an attempt to make a smile on his face.

She looked at his made-up smiley face for a few seconds and released her hands and sighed a little, "you are a dangerous man, Jin!"

Jin stirred up in his sleep a little and mumbled something.

Arya moved her ear near him to hear it clearly, but he was again, out.

Arya chuckled a little and looked at him.

Suddenly she became aware of the proximity of his face and she took all the beauty offered to her in without any guilt.
He was a piece of art.
The most beautiful art she has ever seen.

Looking at him contentedly, she had this sudden urge in her to touch those lips like nothing else, and surrendering to some ungodly pull on her heart, she finally lowered her head and kissed him.

She wasn't done with just a small peck and mere touch.
She kissed him again and with an unconscious tremble on Jin's lips, all of a sudden Arya landed on reality.

She snapped out of her daze and sat straight up.

The feeling of guilt and wrongdoing washed over her.
Did she just take advantage of him?
What would happen if Jin knew?

Did she just taint the pure boy with the perfect image he had for so long?

What the hell she just did?
Why?