"There is no such thing as an accident, it is just fate being misnamed and misunderstood..."

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Hongjoong POV:

I was taking a walk toward my grandmother's coffee shop to pick her up from work when out of nowhere, it started to rain. With the feeling of drizzles hitting my head, I opened my umbrella and continued my stroll. However, the drizzles turned into a quick downpour without haste, making me internally curse myself for deciding to walk instead of not driving to the shop. With the way this storm seemed to be going, I knew it would be awhile before it would clear up or at least ease up enough for an easy walk back home.

With my eyes focus on my steps as I trekked through the pools of water beneath my feet, I felt a sudden body collide against me, the sound of a soft a thud and a quick splash being heard as a result. Looking at the person, I noticed a male with long black hair with blonde highlights that covered his forehead , completely soaked due to not having any sort of protection against the storm. He also had a piercing underneath his right eye, as well as a large dark spot on his white, well now semi-cream wet shirt that clung tightly to his body. Part of me wanted to scold him for hitting me, but another part of me could see that he looked to have been having the worst possible day of his life.

He was beautiful, yet he seemed so broken...

So, to somewhat lighten whatever mood he could possibly be in, I held out my hand toward him with a smile. "Are you alright? You shouldn't run in the rain like that..."

I watched as he refused to take my hand as he stood up on his own and quickly bowed to me, gracing me with a rushed apology before continuing his way toward his destination. However, in the split second he spoke, the softness of his voice fluttered in my ears against the harshness of the rain, a sound so broken and vulnerable that one couldn't help but feel it deep within their core. I turned to watch him for a moment, noticing that he was running toward the direction of a black luxurious car underneath an awning.

A chuckle escaped my lips as I focused my attention back on my walk towards the shop. "He must be crazy to be running in a storm like this...does he have a death wish or something?"

The shop wasn't too far from me, and with each step I took to close the distance, my mind wandered to the mysterious male who I crossed paths with. Where was he coming from, or rather, who was waiting for him in that car?

Shaking my head, I pushed the thoughts behind as I finally made it to the doors, being sure to shut and shake my umbrella off before opening and stepping in, the sound of the familiar bell ringing above marking my arrival. The shop was now empty, which was to be expected due to the storm.

Last thing people would want to be is stuck inside while it's pouring...

"Halmeoni, I'm here." I yelled.

"Mrs. Kim is in the back room." One of the workers said with a smile. He had mostly black hair on top of his head, but peeking blonde strands underneath, creating almost an oreo-like appearance.

I nodded silently, placing my umbrella by the door before walking towards the room. As I made my way over, I noticed the young male behind the counter cleaning what seemed to be a large spill on the floor. With a curious raise in brow, I spoke up in concern. "What happened here...?"

The male smiled, but I could tell it didn't reach his eyes as he answered quietly. "Just an accident, that's all. Nothing to worry about."

Part of me wanted to question further, but another part of me picked up on the male's body cues suggesting not wanting to answer anything further. Giving him a simple nod, I granted him a smile. "Well, thank you for taking care of it....Wooyoung?"

"Yes, that's me." Wooyoung smiled back, focusing his attention back on the floor. "Nice to meet you....?"

"Hongjoong, and I'm assuming you're younger than me."

"What makes you say that?" He asked with a skeptical eyebrow raise.

I smirked, crossing my arms over my chest confidently. "Just a hunch."

Wooyoung scoffed, rolling his eyes playfully. "I highly doubt that. I'm 24."

"I'm 25."

"Dammit!" Wooyoung cursed, giggling to himself. "Fine, it's Hongjoong-hyung then."

I chuckled. "Much better, but I'm not one to really follow honorifics. As long as we mutually respect each other, that's all that matters."

"I'll just stick to calling you hyung, it's easier for me."

Halmeoni walked out of the back room shaking her head in playful disbelief. "Joong, why are you bothering my worker? Wooyoung, don't let him get to you."

I gasped, placing a hand on my chest in mock hurt. "You're supposed to be my grandmother...therefore on my side?"

Wooyoung giggled, turning to her with a smile. "He's not bothering me, Mrs. Kim. I promise."

She smiled at him before turning to me. "I'll be ready to go in a few minutes, so take a seat. This storm doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, so we might as well wait for it to lighten up."

"Yes ma'am."

Looking for a nearby booth, I took my seat and pulled out my phone to continue working on lyrics for one of the songs I was composing. The tone of the song was a love song, and it was one where I needed to get out and sell to the record label for another decent paycheck. Making music was something I found to be very satisfying, despite the hard moments of struggling to find inspiration.

Opening up my notes, I found myself hovering over the keyboard, my mind still trying to think of words to write. The music itself was complete, but the words were failing to convey the feeling I was truly looking for. The deadline to turn in the song was by Friday, and I had nothing to showcase regarding lyrics.

However, my mind suddenly went back to the male I encountered in the rain. Although the encounter being quick and brief, I had a clear visual of his face amidst the raging storm. He was someone so ethereal to see, someone so unique that it felt unreal to bear witness. His voice was soft, despite the brokenness that laced his few words of apologies. The sound stuck with me, and I wished I could have at least learned something else other than a rushed 'sorry'.

Wooyoung came over and placed a cup of coffee in front of me. "Here. You were out there in the storm, so you should drink something warm."

Glancing at him, I smirked. "Already trying to kiss up to your hyung, huh?"

"I'll take it back."

"No, no! I need it. Thank you." I smiled, taking a sip in appreciation.

Wooyoung smirked. "You're welcome, hyung," he paused, looking at my phone. "Are you working on something?"

I scoffed, shutting off my phone. "I was, but I'll just work on it tomorrow since I can't think of anything right now... By the way, did you work alone tonight? It's usually two people during the night shift."

"Actually, no." Wooyoung sighed, taking a seat across from me. "One of my coworkers had an unexpected situation before you came here. Mrs Kim let him go after seeing it."

"An unexpected situation?"

He nodded, pointing to behind the counter. "Remember the spill I was cleaning? That was the accident, or more like the incident. He had a customer throw coffee on his shirt for no reason."

Coffee on his shirt...? Was that...?

Leaning back in the booth seat, I raised an eyebrow. "How long ago did this happen?"

"About 10 minutes ago I think? He left out of here in a hurry...I felt so bad." He said quietly, looking at his fingers in front of him. "It was my first day working here and I was right behind him when I saw everything happen."

It couldn't be him...

Taking another sip, I masked my voice as I asked the one question that was pressing in my mind. "What was his name? Maybe I know him?"

This seemed to brighten up the male's mood as a proud smile grew on his face. "Seonghwa-hyung! Well I call him Hwa-hyung, but that's his name! He's very nice and we're friends!"

I chuckled, enjoying the sudden switch in mood from the male as I leisurely drank my coffee. My mind was now stuck on the new revelation placed upon me, but I knew I needed to find out more as my curiosity was growing more towards the mystery person.

Seonghwa...that's his name...