사랑은 천천히 온다 (Love Comes Slowly)
It was the kind of rain that made Seoul look quiet.
Hyungwon sat by the window of the almost-empty bus, chin resting on her hand, earphones in but no music playing. Just the soft hum of tires and the drizzle tapping against glass. Her book lay forgotten on her lap.
The bus stopped. Someone got on.
A man in a dark coat, hair damp, searching for a seat. He glanced around and - without thinking too long - sat beside her.
Their eyes met. Briefly.
He nodded, polite.
She looked away, heart skipping once, maybe twice. His perfume was warm - like cedar and rain. She didn't say anything. Neither did he.
But as the bus moved again, and the city blurred past them, she felt it -
A shift in the air.
A quiet kind of beginning.