The rain poured down from the sky as you rushed out of the cab and into your apartment building. Clothes were soaking wet from having no umbrella and no shelter as you shook drops of water from your body, trembling cold and skin icy.
"Shit," you cursed, hearing a loud crack of lightning right outside to light the bottom floor of the building. You ran your fingers through your drenched hair before heading upstairs, holding on to the railing as you walked and not paying attention to anything other than your phone, reading all the missed texts from your boyfriend.
Until you felt something hit your knee, looking up to see you were on the fourth floor where you lived, and also seeing how you almost crashed completely into someone that was sitting on the steps.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" You blushed, stepping to the other side of the staircase and peeking down to catch the person's eyes and show you were truly sorry. He didn't reply. He didn't even glance up at you, but you could see his expression was grim and a few strands of wet hair were poking out from the hood of his dingy sweatshirt. He must have come in from the rain like you, but you don't remember ever seeing him around there before.
Instead of bothering the silent boy any longer, you made your way past him, walking down a few doors until you made it to your apartment on the right. As you pushed the key into the lock after digging it from your bag for a few seconds and twisted it to the right, you looked back at the boy, with his shoulders slumped and head still hanging particularly low. He seemed down in the dumps, and your first instinct was to ask him if he was okay, but if he had no reaction to your apology, he certainly wouldn't want to talk about his problems. Right?
Still, you couldn't shake the feeling, and before you knew it you were shutting and locking your door again to walk back towards him.
"Hey," you said, stepping in front of him like before. "Are you alright?" No answer. Not even a look, glance, side eye, anything. You hesitated a moment, then introduced yourself with your name, thinking that might get a response, but nothing.
Sighing, you walked back up the stairs and took a few steps towards your apartment, then stopped again.
"Do you live here? I've never seen you here before." He didn't budge, and you gave up. You had a way too stressful day at work to be dealing with some bratty kid.
At least, that's what you told yourself, but as you made your way into your apartment to take off your shoes and jacket, getting a little more comfortable before you made yourself dinner, you realized you couldn't stop thinking about him.
"And he didn't say anything at all?" The next morning you were having breakfast with your boyfriend, Desmond, at a diner downtown. You loved having any meal there, because for a living in such a big city for so many years, it could still remind of you home.
"Yeah, it was odd. There was obviously something wrong with him, but he didn't want to talk to me."
"Maybe he can't talk." You shrugged at his suggestion, stuffing the last bite of food in your mouth.
"Maybe..." You took a sip of your coffee, then threw a few bills down on the table after fetching them from your bag. "I gotta run. Sorry to make this so short."
"Ah, I can pay. It's my turn, remember?" He flashed you a smile, baring his pearly whites.
"I know, but I feel bad for being in such a rush." You stood from the table, leaning down to brush his curly hair from his face and give him a peck kiss against his lips. "I'll see you later.
"You bet you will." He winked, and you were out of the diner in a flash, hoping not to be late to work, again. It seemed like someone in such a job, working at a high end magazine company, your life would be more organized, but you were so far from it.
Not to mention, completely distracted. You almost didn't hear Rhonda the receptionist, with her bright red hair and nails to match, wave and say hello as you rushed into your building, but you quickly turned and showed her a polite smile before hopping onto the elevators.
And all day at work you couldn't shake the feeling of the boy on the stairs. You were so curious, and the more you thought of him, the more you worried. If he had just spoken to you, or told you his name, you knew it wouldn't affect you so much.
But he didn't, and as you tried to concentrate on your project for the fashion article you were trying to get out in the next month's issue, your thoughts kept going back to him. His blank stare flashed in your mind, and his wet hair, with his lifeless eyes and pouty lips. You just hoped he wouldn't be there again this afternoon.
The rain was drizzling down as you made your way home, this time making sure to have an umbrella and taking a long stroll through the park until you were at your apartment. You were more relaxed, deciding there was no use in worrying over things you couldn't help, which allowed you to get your job done effortlessly as usual.
You walked inside the building, not in any rush that day, folding the umbrella a few seconds later before casually walking up the steps to your apartment. You had no texts to read this time, due to Desmond being busy with his own job, so you were fully focused when you turned the corner, nearly on the fourth floor, to spot the same dingy sweatshirt and wet hair sticking out from the hood as the day before.
You paused a moment, realizing you had forgotten about the boy until now, and your heart beat a few beats too quick as you slowly made your way past him.
But you stopped upon hearing his voice echo all the way down the hall. "Jungkook." Your eyes widened. Was he talking to you?
"Pardon?" You slowly twisted around to look.
"My name is Jungkook." He pulled the hood from his head, now standing and turning to look at you, and you were nearly caught off guard from how tall and broad he was. It definitely made a difference when he wasn't brooding on the steps. "I just thought you wanted to know."
"Oh." You nodded, flashing a nervous smile. "It's nice to meet you, Jungkook."
"You too." He grinned, and your heart nearly melted from his shy expression, until he straightened up and his face turned to stone again.
"Do you live here?" You took a step toward him, and he took a step back, cautious of your approach.
"Around here."
"Oh, okay." You dug in your bag for you keys, before looking back up at him. His eyes were fixed on you the whole time, causing you to become uncomfortable, even if you told yourself it was silly. He was just a kid. A very large kid. "Well, make sure to stay out of the rain. You don't wanna get sick or anything."
"I'll try", he chuckled, and his voice became a little deeper and his smile returned for a moment.
"I'll see you later." With that, he was hopping down the stairs with his wet sneakers squeaking along the way and you were watching him leave, more curious and confused than ever before.
