In the Subway

                The light above is casting a deathly gray light on the people inside the station. I looked at the digital clock above. 12:00 am. Clutching at my back pack, I can still feel the pain of my legs, from having to serve drinks and wait on people. Working on a hip hop bar until the wee hours of the day is not my ideal job. But if I have to choose that over starvation I guess there’s no competition.

                I looked around careful not to make eye contact with anyone else. People watching have become my hobby ever since I took on that thankless job. I guess it comes with the territory. There are a few late travelers like me, a handful of lost souls and exasperated psyches. I guess life is not fair for most people. There are teenagers smoking something that looks like cigarette but smells like weed. On the bench a couple sat linked on the hips, she resting her head on his shoulder. Across the platform is an electronic billboard, flashing advertisements. Nothing can be heard but the occasional beeping of some electronic machine that counts down then time before the next train comes. Right now it says that the next train is still five minutes away, however from the other way, a slight vibration can be felt indicating the arrival of the train from the wrong direction.

                “This is gonna be a long wait” I murmured to myself, before I took my mp3 player from my pocket. My musical collection nowadays consists of a few rock and classical music. Having to work on a place where pop music reins the air, it makes you sick and tired after a while of listening to it continuously. Except for DBSK’s songs, that is. I’d never get tired of their music and Yoochun’s voice. If only I can meet him once and hear his voice I think I might make it thru my dull life.

                I walked across the far side of the station and looked across. The train stopped and opens its doors to the other side, blocking the view of the people alighting. The silence inside the station was disrupted by the footfalls of the people trying to leave the station. The train closed its doors and then left the station revealing the other side that was still crowded with a few people. Are they going home or on their way to work already?  Will their family be waiting for them or are they going home to an empty shell?

                A guy coughed beside me, disrupting my inquisitive thoughts. I looked up to see someone wearing a hooded sweatshirt, denim jeans, on his feet were a pair of ragged sneakers. His back was turned towards me so I can’t see his face, but I can tell that he is a tall man. His phone rang but he tried to ignore it, instead he pulled his hood up and turned his face towards the other side of the station. I looked away and tried to follow his lead, stepping near the yellow platform, but the ringing of his phone seems to pull my attention. I looked at him again, and this time I can see his face’s profile.

               His face has a manly playful look, slightly juxtaposed by his intent gaze. As if he is so intent in blocking the world out, or hiding from it.  The noise from his pocket is driving me to edge, so I walked towards him slowly, keeping my head down. When he noticed me, he didn’t speak; instead he stiffened as if afraid of me. I looked up at his face, but he pulled his hood down.

                “If you’re not gonna pick it up, at least shut the ringer off,” I told him emotionless before going back to my former post, looking off across the now deserted platform. Trying to devoid myself of any thoughts, I focus on the beeping noise of the machine above. When will the train come?

                “Sorry,” came his voice not far beside me. I just nodded my head without turning to face him. His voice was a little raw and raspy. I kept looking across training my eyes on the mechanical billboard, watching intently as the last scene of an advertisement flashed a line for the beauty supplement. Then the next ad came on. It was a commercial on a guy talking to his mother on the phone about how hard it is to be in an all-girls school. It was Yoochun’s Tio ad. For a while I was mesmerized, enthralled at his boyish face and his slightly mischievous smile. Then it ended, followed by some advertisement about a kimchi fridge. Mildly interested, I tried to look at the guy again, but his face was the other side waiting for any telltale sign of the train. I shifted my gaze above and the machine flashed that the train will arrive in less than a minute. I changed my stance and prepared myself to listen for the approaching train, and in a matter of seconds it came. First the headlights in front of the first car and then the loud roaring sound as the train sped its way along the tracks. Followed by the force of the wind and then the train came to stop, one of its doors opening right in front of me. The people alighting and those hurrying over to be seated inside came as a whirlwind of force and I found myself pushed aside. I tried to regain my balance, but my pack slipped off my shoulder and its contents spilled on the floor around me. I tried to grab everything, and then I felt someone kneel down beside me, holding out my wallet. I took it from him, thanked him without lifting my gaze and zipped my bag. By the time I looked up the doors are snapping shut, the guy with the hood standing in the middle of the car looking intently at me. I gazed at him and had a good look on his face.

PARK YOOCHUN!