“Sooo… basically neither of us knows how to drive?” Seungcheol leaned against his uncle’s old pickup truck, jingling the keys in his hand.  

 

“Well…” Halla started, nervously biting the bottom of her lip.  She wasn’t sure if she was going to regret saying what she was thinking.

 

Why is my boss so crazy?  

 

Mr. Choi had just given Seungcheol and Halla the keys to his truck, asking them to go buy melons from the market.  Not just any melons, but rare, expensive melons that could only be found in Incheon— which was almost an hour drive away.  Instead of going on the long drive himself, Mr. Choi decided that it would be better for him to “hold down the fort” while he sent his employees on a wild hunt.  For melons.

 

“Well what?” Seungcheol asked, waiting for a response from Halla who was still contemplating her dilemma.

 

“Well… I got my license in California right before coming to Seoul, but I don’t have a Korean license.  So I could drive if I wanted to, as long as we don’t get caught.  Would your uncle be okay with that?  I mean, it is his car.”  Halla knew the answer to her question already, but still held onto a sliver of hope that she’d find an excuse to get out of this mess.

 

“You know him, he’s chill.  He’d be okay with anything.”

 

Halla cursed herself for even asking.

 

“Are you comfortable with driving that far, though?” Seungcheol peered closer to Halla, who was still nervously gnawing at her lip.

 

“It’s a little scary, to be honest.  I haven’t driven since I came here.  If you help navigate me, though, I think I can do it.”

 

“Are you sure?”             

 

“Yeah, it’ll be fine.”

 

Seungcheol just stood there for a good minute, looking at Halla with a doubtful expression.

 

“Are you sure you’re sure?”

 

“Seungcheol!” Halla barked, and Seungcheol jumped.  “Are you afraid to get into a car with me behind the wheel?”

 

“N-no… I mean, I’m just a bit worried, you know, for your sake, since you said you’ve been out of practice.  But I’m okay.  Just maybe, we shouldn't go if you're unsure?”

 

Halla glared at him, then walked over to the driver’s side to open the door.  She took this as a challenge.    

 

“Get in, we’re going,” she said as she entered the car and slammed the door shut.

 

Seungcheol climbed into the passenger's seat obediently, clasping his hands together on top of his lap.  

 

“If I die, I’m suing you.”

 

“How are you going to sue me if you’re dead, idiot?”

 

Halla started the car and began backing out of the driveway.  She accidentally kept pressing against the breaks, making the car jerk violently every other second.  Finally, she was able to get the car out of the driveway and onto the street. 

 

Well, that's a great start. 

  

For the first few minutes of driving, Halla’s eyes were focused on the road.  She was immensely concentrated on making sure that she drove properly and that she was familiar with all the controls.  After some time, her uneasiness subsided as she became more comfortable.  

 

Her thoughts began to drift to things other than just driving.  She suddenly recalled how Seungcheol had told her about his mom a few weeks back.  

 

.  Was I being insensitive for making him get in the car with me?  Halla worried.  Her guilt began accumulating, and she nervously tapped the side of the steering wheel with her index finger.  

 

“I’m an ,” she accidentally let out under her breath.

 

“What?” Seungcheol, who was looking out the window, turned his head to look at her.

 

“I— what?  No I, uh… nothing” Halla stumbled on her words.  “I was just thinking... if you’re really uncomfortable with going on this trip I can turn around and drop you off.  I’ll just use my phone’s GPS to get there.”

 

Seungcheol grinned, and let out a little laugh.

 

“I was joking, Halla, relax.  Well, half-joking.  I’m only scared because it’s you.”

 

“What does that mean?”  

 

“You’re nervous, that’s all.  When the driver is nervous, the passenger is nervous.”

 

“Don’t worry, I feel a lot better now that I’m behind the wheel.  Driving is like riding a bicycle: you never forget how.”

 

“I don’t think that’s true,” Seungcheol laughed.  He did seem a lot more relaxed since he first entered the car, which Halla thought was a good sign.  

 

“So, you don’t have anxiety when you’re in a car?” Halla asked hesitantly, afraid to bring the subject up.      

 

“Nah.  I was a bit hesitant to get into a car after the accident, but I got over it pretty quickly.”

 

“That’s good.”

 

A moment of awkward silence passed.

 

“Can I turn on some music?” Seungcheol asked.

 

“Yeah, go ahead.”

 

Seungcheol turned the radio on, and the sound of upbeat music filled the car.

 

“I love this song!” Seungcheol exclaimed, “Signeul bonae signal bonae.”

 

He sang along with the music with a wide smile, even dancing along.  Halla couldn't help but laugh watching him in the corner of her eye as he excitedly performed every bit of the choreography perfectly.  

 

“I didn't think you would be into this type of music,” Halla smirked.

 

“This isn't the kind of music I would download and listen to on my phone, but everyone enjoys a good bop now and then.”

 

“Then what is?”

 

“I listen to a lot of indie acoustic music, like Standing Egg.  I also really like hip hop; I’ve been trying to listen to more American rap.  Are there any good American rappers you know?”

 

“What, because I'm from LA?” Halla huffed.  

 

“Well kinda, yeah.  Is that offensive?” Seungcheol asked falteringly. 

 

“Nah, I'm just teasing.  Not everyone in California listens to rap, though.  Fortunately for you, I do.  I like Russ and Run The Jewels, you should check them out sometime.”

 

“Any specific songs you’d recommend?.”

 

“I can send you my playlist when we get back.”

 

“Really?  That’d be so cool!”  Seungcheol beamed.  “You know what they say?” he spoke with a mischievous tone in his voice.

 

Halla didn't want to answer, but he continued anyways.

 

“Music is the window to the soul.  I think you just let me into your soul, Halla.”  Seungcheol clicked his tongue and pointed finger guns at her, making an obnoxious facial expression.  

 

“Do you want me to flying kick you out of this car?  Because I will flying kick you out of this car right now.”

 

→

 

Halla and Seungcheol arrived at the market, which was overflowing with customers scrambling around and vendors yelling at every passersby, ensuring that they have the best deals.  Bright flags and hawkers painted the place with color, and narrow walkways were cramped with customers pushing their way past each other.  

 

“It’s crowded today,” Seungcheol muttered as he fanned his face with his hands.  The sheer amount of body temperature for the copious amount of people filled the market with dense, hot air.    

 

Halla stood on the tips of her toes, trying to sight a vendor that sold fruits, particularly melons, but the whole area was so congested and expansive that she couldn’t see anything.  Seungcheol noticed the same thing as well.

 

“Do you think it would be faster to split up?  I can look through this area and you can look through that one,” he pointed at two different sections of the market.  

 

“Sure,” Halla responded a bit dubiously.  She wasn’t sure about separating at such a chaotic place, but she also wanted to minimize the amount of time she had to spend in the sweltering heat.  

 

The two parted ways, making their way deeper into the mass of pandemonium.  

 

Halla constantly bumped into other people, or rather, they were bumping into her.  The old ladies especially tended to aggressively shove others out of the way, sometimes even hitting Halla with their bags of produce so that she would clear their paths.    

 

“I can’t believe I’m going through all this just for some fruit,” she mumbled to herself.

 

Her eyes were constantly scanning the banners on the hawker stands, and she had to keep stretching her necks to see what certain stalls were selling.  A few times she stopped at a vendor who sold melons, but after further speculation, she realized they weren’t the “special” melons Mr. Choi wanted.  

 

After half an hour of tireless pushing and looking at different vendors, Halla neared the end of her section.  She turned out unsuccessful, with nothing to show except for some sweat stains on her shirt.  

 

Halla decided it would be a good time to call Seungcheol, who may have had better luck than her.  She reached for her phone in her pocket, but felt nothing.  

 

Where is it? she thought, with dread beginning to creep into her mind.  

 

She checked her pocket again.  Nothing.  

 

She frantically felt around her other pockets, hoping that her hands would come across the stupid piece of metal that would bring back her peace of mind.  Still, nothing.  

 

Aw, .  I left it in the car she mentally smacked herself on the forehead.  She thought about going back to retrieve it, but remembered she gave the keys to Seungcheol to hold onto.   

 

Everything will be okay, you just have to look for Seungcheol, right?

 

Halla tried to stay positive, but she knew that finding one person in this entire market would be like finding a needle in a haystack.  

 

Regardless, she rushed into Seungcheol’s assigned section in the market and quickly made her way through the crowd, searching every face that came in sight.

 

“Seungcheol!  Seungcheol!” she called out every few minutes, racing through the tight passageways between the columns of vendors.  

 

With every minute, Halla grew more and more distraught.  She felt exhausted rushing through the huge mob of people, and started to burn from the constant yelling and the incredible heat.  Still, she pushed forward, afraid of the thought that she wouldn’t be able to find Seungcheol.

 

Why did I agree to split up?  And why did I have to leave my phone behind?! she scolded herself as she continued searching for Seungcheol.  

 

Eventually, she burned out and gave in to her fatigue.  She stopped near the edge of the market to catch her breath.  Her hands were on her knees and she stoof in a hunched stance, panting.  

 

“You look like you just ran a marathon.”

 

Halla turned around in an instant at the sound of the familiar voice.  She stood in front of a grinning Seungcheol, who was sipping a soda with a silly straw that formed two loops around his eyes to make it seem like he was wearing glasses.

 

“Seungcheol!” she cried, still breathing heavily in an attempt to catch her breath.  “You idiot, I was looking all over for you!  Where were you?!”

 

“I was looking for the melons.  I just finished searching my part of the market.”

 

“Did you find it?”

 

“No, but I picked up some cool things around the place.  Like this!” he said, referring to the straw, as he into it and cola streamed through the transparent tubing and into his mouth.  

 

Halla let out an exasperated sigh.  She couldn’t believe she was searching so desperately for such a nitwit.    

 

“I couldn’t find it either.  So what do we do?” Halla asked.  She hated the idea of driving so far and going through so much stress to come back empty-handed.  

 

“We could look in that area.  We haven’t been there, have we?” Seungcheol pointed towards a small cluster of fruit stands at the end of the market.  Halla shook her head, and they starting walking towards the space.  

 

“Hey,” Seungcheol spoke quietly and glanced at Halla as they were walking.  “Did you seriously look through the whole market for me?”

 

“Yeah,” Halla answered, annoyed.  “I spent twenty-five minutes running around to find your stupid .”

 

Seungcheol let out a slight snort.  

 

“What was that?” Halla grumbled.

 

“Nothing.  It’s just cute to know that you worried about me.”

 

Halla’s cheeks flushed red.

 

“I only worried for you because you’re incompetent.  And I can’t lose my boss’s nephew,” Halla retorted, looking straight ahead and refusing to look at the smug expression she was sure he had on.  

 

“Why didn’t you call me?”

 

“I left my phone in the car…” Halla muttered reluctantly.  

 

“Who’s the incompetent one again?” Seungcheol teased.  “Come on.  You’re smart and all, but I think we both know that I would survive the longest on the streets.  I mean, I got all these sick deals by haggling.”

 

Seungcheol lifted his arms to show off all the bags that hung from his arm.  Halla was sure that those bags were mostly filled with toys and useless trinkets.  She peered into them, shocked to see some fresh produce and other foods among the toys she knew would be in there.    

 

“What’s all this for?” she asked, tugging at the opening of one of the bags to look inside again.  

 

“Some snacks for the kids and ingredients for their meals.”

 

“Kids?”

 

“Oh, my roommates.  I call them my kids sometimes because I’m the oldest.”

 

Halla slightly smiled at the thought.  How cute.  

 

She couldn’t help but imagine Seungcheol grocery shopping and cooking for twelve hungry mouths wearing a “kiss the chef” apron on.  She chuckled a little to herself.  

 

“By the way, I bought this for you,” Seungcheol pulled out a small bottle of melon milk and a straw, handing it to Halla.  

 

Halla took the bottle, a bit surprised.  

 

“For me?”

 

“Yeah.  I thought you might be thirsty.  And I always see you drinking these things when you come into work— which I don’t get, because the banana flavor is better.”  

 

Halla unwrapped the straw from the paper casement, and punched it through the top of the milk.  

 

“Everyone drinks banana milk, it’s overrated,” she rolled her eyes, but smiled.  This was exactly what she needed right now.  She took a sip and savored the sweet taste and the refreshing sensation of cold liquid traveling down her parched throat.

 

“Oh!” Seungcheol stopped in front of a stall.  “Is this it?”

 

He picked up one of the melons at the stall, holding it in front of Halla’s face.  She shrugged.

 

“Excuse me,” she tried getting the merchant’s attention.  “Are these Yubari King Melons?”

 

The merchant nodded.  

 

“They’re usually sixty dollars, but I’ll give you one for fifty five.”

 

Jesus.  That much for melons?  Halla thought Mr. Choi was crazy, but reached into her wallet to hand over the money anyways.  She was just glad the hunt for these devilish fruits was over.

 

“We’ll give you a hundred for two,” Seungcheol spoke firmly, just as Halla was about to give the merchant the bills.  

 

“Sorry, these are special melons.  I can’t give it to you for that low,” the merchant responded.  

 

“Alright, have a nice day,” Seungcheol said as he grabbed Halla’s wrist and turned to leave.

 

“What are you doing?” she growled, trying to release her hand from his grip, but he continued to drag her away from the vendor.  She wasn’t about to give up something that she spent one hour driving and another hour running around a hot market for.

 

“Just trust me,” he whispered in her ear.  

 

“Fine!” they heard the merchant’s voice shout from behind them.  “Two for a hundred it is.”  

 

Seungcheol turned around with a confident grin plastered on his face.  He let of of Halla’s wrist and marched back to the vendor.

 

“Pleasure doing business with you,” he chimed proudly as he the transaction.  He picked up the melons and made his way back to the car with Halla, who, more than she was willing to admit, thought that Seungcheol’s bargaining skills were quite impressive.  

 

→

 

“Turn left here,” Seungcheol instructed Halla.  Halla turned, but she was a bit doubtful about listening to his directions.  Seungcheol had been navigating Halla for the past fifteen minutes, but she saw no familiar roads or sights that indicated that they were on their way back to Seoul.  

 

“Seungcheol,” Halla quickly glanced at Seungcheol who was looking at the map on his phone.

 

“Hm?” he looked up from his phone.

 

“Are you sure we’re going the right way back to Seoul?  I don’t remember going down this street.”

 

“Oh, we’re not going back to Seoul.  Not yet, at least.”

 

“What?”
 

“While we’re here, we can’t not go to the beach.  We’re almost there!”  

 

Just as the words left Seungcheol’s mouth, Halla took a turn around the base of a hill, and the blue, twinkling sea appeared before their eyes.  Halla’s chest filled with excitement just looking at the ocean; she wasn’t aware that there was a beach near Incheon, and she hadn’t seen one since she arrived in Korea.        

 

She drove along the road parallel to the beach and into a parking lot.  She and Seungcheol left the car and made their way towards the beach.

 

The moment Halla felt the soft sand between her toes, she squealed with enthusiasm and sprinted straight towards the water.

 

“Hey, wait up!” Seungcheol called, following behind her.  

 

Halla arrived right at the edge of the water and stopped, taking all her surroundings in.  The cerulean water was calm and the waves softly brushed the sand.  Seagulls soared around the bright sky and deep green mountains stood at the far end of the stretch.  The sun glistened over the ocean, shedding light over the water and making it glisten.  

 

It was a pretty quiet day, with only a few people on the entirety of the beach strolling around.  Halla enjoyed the serenity of the atmosphere.

 

“So, I think I made a pretty good decision today?” Seungcheol appeared besides Halla.

 

“I mean, it wasn’t the worst idea,” Halla grinned.

 

She decided to test the water, taking off her shoes.   

 

Let’s just dip our toes in, she thought hovering her foot above the water.      

 

Seungcheol quickly pushed her forward, and Halla stumbled ankle-deep into the ocean.

 

“Seungcheol!” she screamed, scrambling to get out of the icy water and smacking him on the arm.  “It’s cold!”

 

“What, can’t take it?” he laughed.

 

“Can you?” Halla kicked the water up towards Seungcheol, which splashed all over his body.  He cried out in shock of how frigid the water was, and looked down at his shirt to see it drenched.    

 

“Hey!” he shouted, about to splash her back, but by the time he looked up, he saw her running out of his reach.

 

“You’re gonna get it!” he yelled, running after her.  

 

Seungcheol chased after Halla along the shore, gaining on her within every second.  Halla constantly glanced behind her, and saw that with every glance, Seungcheol seemed to appear closer to her.  

 

“AHH!” she shrieked as Seungcheol finally caught up to her, clasping his arms around her from the back and picking her up.  

 

“Let me go!” she kicked her legs around as they left the ground.  Seungcheol sauntered towards the water.

 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Halla pleaded at a last attempt to get Seungcheol to release her.

 

“I don’t forgive easily,” Seungcheol grinned.  He plopped her into the ocean.  

 

Halla let out an ear-piercing scream as half her body was immersed into the freezing water.  

 

“Oh my god, Cheol!  I can’t believe you did that!” Halla yelled as she splashed Seungcheol.  

 

“Thought you needed to cool off a little!” Seungcheol laughed as he tried shielding his face from all the water Halla was sending his way.

 

After a while, Halla stopped splashing and stood there, swaying her arms back and forth in the water.  She noticed that it wasn’t as cold now that she had gotten used to the temperature for the water.  

 

Seungcheol stood there bracing himself until he realized that Halla had stopped dousing him with water.  He looked up at her, who was calmly wading.

 

“You know,” she spoke calmly, “It’s kind of nice.”

 

“It is?”

 

“Yeah,” she replied as she grabbed his wrist with both of her hands.  “You should join me!” she screamed as she swiftly pulled him deeper into the ocean and dragged him downwards, plunging him under the water.

 

Halla let go immediately after Seungcheol was fully submerged into the water, and he popped back up with a loud gasp.  

 

“Okay, I deserved that,” he coughed as he pushed his wet hair back away from his face.

 

“Yeah, you did,” she laughed.

 

→

 

Halla and Seungcheol sat near the water, their outstretched toes just barely reaching the soft waves.  

 

The two were quite tired from playing at the beach, chasing each other, splashing each other with the cold water, and searching for seashells together.  Now they were just unwinding and relaxing.    

 

It was great, being able to run around and release all of their stress.  Although half the day was spent frantically searching for fifty-dollar melons in a cramped and hot market, the other half was spent simply at ease.  

 

“Ahh… this reminds me of home,” Halla sighed.

 

She closed her eyes to let the cool mist of the ocean kiss her skin.  Halla was filled with a sense of nostalgia just smelling the salt in the air and hearing the waves crash among the shore.  

 

“Do you miss home?” Seungcheol turned his focus from the ocean to Halla.

 

“A little bit.  I miss the beaches and the sun being out all the time, even in the winter.  I also miss American chocolate,” Halla chuckled to herself, suddenly craving a Twix bar.

 

“What about the people?”

 

What about the people?  

 

Halla just stared ahead, not really knowing how to respond.  

 

“Any friends, family back in your hometown that you miss?” Seungcheol probed.

 

“This might sound weird, but I didn’t have many friends before I moved here.  I was always busy with school or stuck at home.  I also don’t exactly scream ‘friendly’, so everyone mostly left me alone.”

 

Halla looked at Seungcheol, who had an expression written with the very thing she was afraid of: pity.  

 

She didn’t need him to pity her.  To be honest, she was doing just fine alone.  She had gotten used to entertaining herself and she didn’t really understand the appeal of constantly being around others.  That was before she met Seungcheol, the other boys, and Suhyun, of course.                

 

On the other hand, Seungcheol was in a complete state of confusion.  He didn’t understand why people wouldn’t approach her, for she had intrigued him the moment he met her.  

 

Sure, she was brash, cold, and annoyingly overly-competitive, but she was also the type of person who could never refuse doing something she was asked of.  She had a good sense of humor, and was admirably ardent.  She was Halla, and Seungcheol couldn’t imagine a world where no one truly knew who that was.

 

“As for family…” Halla spoke quietly, “Well, that’s complicated.  That calls for another time.”

 

Halla got up and brushed the sand off of her clothes.

 

“Come on, we should get going.  If we don’t, it’ll get dark by the time we get back.”

 

“Alright,” Seungcheol said as he stood up and stretched.  “Let’s stop for ice cream on the way back.”

 

“Why do you always insist on getting ice cream whenever we run errands?  You’re such a child.”  

 

"I'm always craving ice cream, I can't help it!"

 

"I don't feel like making another stop, all this driving is making me tired." 

 

“I’ll treat.”

 

“Deal.”