1. Lonely snowfall

Yeon-ji gazed out the window before putting on a thick jacket and a scarf. "I'm going to the convenience store," she told her parents as she stepped out. Her breath formed clouds in the cold air as she walked. Snow was falling gently, typical for the second week of December, and everyone around her was bundled up in warm clothes. People moved in groups or pairs, exuding a sense of happiness and camaraderie, but Yeon-ji felt none of that. She felt lonely and out of place.

She entered the store and picked up a cup of noodles and some snacks. After pouring hot water into the noodles, she took a seat to wait for them to cook. Her attention was drawn to the person next to her, dressed entirely in black and wearing a black mask. Something about him seemed familiar, and she quickly realized he resembled her favorite K-pop idol, Dae-hyun(Lee Kang-dae's stage name). Despite most of his face being covered, his eyes were strikingly beautiful, yet they carried a hint of sadness and loneliness.

Yeon-ji realized she had been staring and quickly looked away, feeling self-conscious. The man looked towards her, and she avoided eye contact, not wanting to make the situation awkward. As she stared in the opposite direction, she could sense his gaze still on her. Embarrassed, she thought, "Kim Yeon-ji, you fool! Why did you stare? You should be more careful!"

She heard the chair next to her move as the man stood up. Turning towards him, she found him looking directly into her eyes. Normally, she would have screamed in shock, as she was easily frightened, but strangely, this time she only flinched before freezing in place.

When she made eye contact with the man, she recognized those eyes. "Those are Dae-hyun's eyes. I can never mistake those eyes. Or am I mistaken? Have I been thinking about Dae-hyun so much lately that you're hallucinating?" She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts.

Yeon-ji had been worried about Dae-hyun a lot these days due to a scandal accusing him of being a bully. This caused chaos for him. He received so much hatred without any evidence to support the scandal. Eventually, it was revealed that his company, X, had falsely accused him to gain attention for their struggling idol group, which fueled even more hatred towards him, as people then accused him of seeking attention. As a result, Dae-hyun left his group and retired as an idol. This revelation made Yeon-ji very angry and sad for weeks, which contributed to her mood today.

Thinking about Dae-hyun, Yeon-ji reflexively asked the man, "Are you okay?" Both the man and Yeon-ji were surprised by her question. "Ahhh! What did I just say? Who am I to ask him if he's okay, and why did I ask him that of all questions! He might think I'm weird. I wish I could hide somewhere."

As Yeon-ji was flustered by her own question, the man was also taken aback at first, but his eyes curled up, indicating a smile. "Thank you for your concern," he said, and Yeon-ji froze. He bowed and left the store. Yeon-ji stood there for a while, then snapped back to attention and ran out of the store. Outside, she looked around for the man. "He couldn't have gone far. He just left a few moments ago. It was him. It was Dae-hyun! I wasn't mistaken; it was definitely his voice!" She spotted him at the end of the road, waiting to cross.

She quickened her steps towards him. When she was almost there, he suddenly started walking across the road despite the light still being red. At the sight, her mind went blank, and she ran towards him, shouting his name. "Dae-hyun! Dae-hyun!" The man turned around to find Yeon-ji holding his hand. He was flustered, but as soon as Yeon-ji grabbed his hand, they were both hit by a car.

Bang!! A stream of crimson blood flowed down the road. A crowd of people gathered at the edge, murmuring as they watched two figures lying on the pavement after the accident. Yeon-ji, with only a sliver of consciousness and blurry vision, caught sight of a man covered in blood, lying just a few inches away from her. His mask was gone, and she recognized his face immediately. Tears, mingled with blood, streamed down her cheeks as she called out his name, "Dae-hyun! Dae-hyun!" But her voice was drowned out by the wail of sirens.

Desperately, she reached for his hand, trying to shake him awake, but she had hardly any strength left and struggled to stay conscious herself. In a helpless and confused whisper, she asked, "How did things end this way?" before fainting.

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