Unfortunately, I Need You

4

The next day, Sana ordered a night train ticket from Tokyo to her hometown, Osaka—the familiar city where her parents’ home awaited.

She had finally cleared her schedule for the rest of the year and wanted to spend the last remaining days wrapped in the comfort of her childhood memories, free from the constant buzz of her public life.

As night fell, she made her way to the station, blending into the shadows to avoid drawing attention. After redeeming her ticket, she found an empty bench and settled in, savoring the quiet solitude. Finally, a moment to herself.

Or so she thought.

Without warning, someone slid into the seat beside her, disrupting the peaceful aura she’d managed to carve out in the chaos of the station. The unmistakable scent of cologne filled her nostrils, one she had come to associate with irritation and exasperation.

She clenched her jaw before reluctantly opening her eyes, only to be met with the smug face of Mingi, who watched her intently, his chin propped on his palms.

“Good evening, princess,” He drawled, a smirk playing at his lips.

Sana let out an exasperated sigh. “Goodness gracious, Mingi. Didn’t I chase you back to Korea already? What are you still doing here?”

With a look of feigned hurt, Mingi placed a hand on his chest. “Now, now, surely I wouldn’t leave someone I like to travel back to Osaka alone. You need a man to protect you from... unwanted events. And that man can be me.” He flashed her a confident smile, as if his offer were some grand gesture.

“Or maybe… not,” She retorted, leaning back with a look that clearly signaled her disinterest.

Mingi, unfazed, continued his monologue, his voice taking on a grand, exaggerated tone as he extolled his virtues. Whether he was trying to charm her or simply basking in his own ego, Sana couldn’t tell—and she didn’t care. She rolled her eyes and tried her best to tune him out, her patience thinning by the second.

Finally, she heard the announcement of her train arriving in a few more minutes. She got up on her legs, ready to leave this place and find some solace in her train ride later.

But Mingi just had to be following her around.

There weren't many people around. It was after midnight, and everywhere were pilling up with the snow. Sana was fast in her pace, determined to leave Mingi. She'd yell at him right now but it is the public space. Plus, she's too tired for that.

Just when she thought her night couldn't get any worse, she bumped into someone, very hard, when she was crossing one of the roads at the station. And to make it twice times worse, it was actually a man she hated the most, the second on the list after Son Mingi.

The university guy with such audacity: Kim Jungwon

...

Jungwon had volunteered to drop off one of his friends at the train station, his status as the “single friend with a car” securing his role as the designated chauffeur for the night.

Being in a foreign country, he didn’t know many people, and his social life here in Japan was pretty much nonexistent.

As he walked back through the dimly lit station toward his parked car, he plugged in his earphones, hoping some music might distract him from the eerie silence of the empty platform.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice someone crossing his path until he accidentally bumped into them. The collision wasn’t hard, but it was enough to jolt them both, and instinctively, he muttered, “Sorry,” before even glancing up.