Coupled Up

Part 1

It was 7 o'clock in the morning and the sound of the phone alarm ringing was the only thing that could be heard in the bedroom of my apartment.

"Ugh just five more minutes~" I whined with my eyes still closed as I was rummaging with my hand all over the night stand to find my phone so I could get rid of the annoying buzzing sound.

After I turned off the alarm I turned my body to the other side of the bed, not realising that by rummaging around with my hand I pushed my phone to the very edge of the night stand that it ended up falling down on the floor. But it didn't bother me. As long as I could prolong my sleep even for just a few minutes.
And what was supposed to be just a few more minutes of dozing, turned into a half an hour of sleeping as if the alarm hadn't gone off at all.
I probably wouldn't have even woken up if it wasn't for the loud siren of the ambulance that rushed through the neighbourhood and made my body flinch in shock.
As I got up from the bed, I wiped the drool off my chin and picked up my phone that was lying on the floor.

"OH SHIT!" I cursed out loud upon seeing the time on the screen and realised I'm already late to work.

I quickly ran to the bathroom to do my morning routine while thinking of ways to apologise to my boss for being late.
I haven't found myself in such situation that often but I guess today wasn't my day. And it really wasn't.
Being focused on getting ready within a much shorter time frame than usual, I hadn't checked what was the time like outside so when I got out of my apartment building, I was welcomed with a heavy rain.

"I should... but I can't... ugh forget it!" I sighed in frustration after walking back and forth thinking if I should go back to my apartment to take an umbrella or not.
But because my apartment was located at the last floor of the building, I gave up from that thought and used my coat as a protection until I reach my car.

"Calm yourself Y/N, you just need your morning dose of caffeine." I told myself as I started the car and headed to the local coffee shop.

"Rough morning huh?" Haewon, the barista, who's also a friend of mine, chuckled as she saw me walking up to the counter in a hasty manner.

"Don't ask. I'll just have my usual." I breathed out and turned my head to the big glass windows, watching the drops of rain becoming even heavier.

"It doesn't seem like it's going to end soon." Haewon sighed as she handed me the coffee.

"The worst part is that I've forgotten to bring an umbrella. Out of all days, I forgot to take it with me today, when it's the biggest storm outside!" I complained.

"I can lend you mine." a male voice spoke from behind me, making my body flinch.

"Yoongi! You came later than usual today!" Haewon said through a giggle as the man walked up to the counter and was now standing next to me.

"I guess this storm made me a bit sleepier than usual." the man chuckled as he ran his fingers through his black and slightly messy hair.

"You two know each other?" I looked at Haewon with my brows furrowed in confusion.

"He's a regular too." she said smiling.

"Really? How come I haven't seen you before?" I then turned to him who also turned his body towards me before speaking up.

"I'm always sitting at that corner over there so it's kinda hard to notice me." he said, the tone of his voice low and slightly husky.

"So... do you want the umbrella?" he then asked.

"But then you'll get wet-"

"Don't worry about me. It would be a shame for your outfit to get all wet. It looks really good on you." he said and looked into my eyes, making my cheeks turn red because this definitely wasn't one of my best-dressed days.

"Thanks." I responded and took the umbrella that he handed to me.

"Good luck on work today!" Haewon waved at me as I made my way to door.

After 30 minutes of driving, I finally arrived to the office and was greeted by Seojun, the CEO of the publishing company I work for.

"There you are! I didn't see you in your office so I began to worry as to what happened!" he said in a worried tone.

"I apologise for running late sir." I bowed down my head, nervously biting my lip while anticipating his reaction.
He hates when people are running late to work.

"Don't worry about it! It happens to everyone!"
he patted my shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

"Thank you sir." I bowed once again, a sigh of relief leaving my lips.

"I sent you an email for today's briefing so please check it out as soon as possible. I'll see you later Y/N." he said and walked off to his office.

As I got inside my office, I sat down at the desk and turned on the computer to see where I left off yesterday.
While I was scrolling through a document, I suddenly heard a loud murmur outside my office, making my eyes look up from the computer screen to see a great number of my work colleagues gathered around the TV.

"Why's everyone here? What's happening?" I asked with a puzzled face expression.

"A prize contest has just been announced! You can win a two-week trip to Hawaii!" one of my female coworkers jumped in excitement.

"Hawaii?" my eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah! You have to write a story about how you and your partner met and the most touching one will be awarded with a luxurious trip!" she said.

"Well I guess I can't participate then." I sighed and made my way back to my office.

"Single lives matter too." I chuckled to myself.

I wasn't that hyped about the prize contest, because what are the odds of winning even if I had a significant other and could participate?
But then again, the thought of going somewhere for two weeks just to relax and enjoy my time away from everyday responsibilities seemed so appealing.

And then it happened... a crazy and completely insane, yet quite an ingenious idea came to my mind.