“You surely have changed, Jung.”

I was perplexed by the way he said my last name so easily and casually. Since I hardly built relationships that would allow for that to happen. No one ever calls me by my last name. Other than…

I turn around abruptly and my eyes widen as they roam over his features. There. That scar near his hairline. “Jae…hyun?”

He gives me his signature crooked smile, saluting. “At your service, Princess.”

“I told you never to call me that,” I say, grimacing. 

Jaehyun simply shrugs and takes the now empty seat beside me. Class ended a few minutes ago and the guy who occupied the seat before was already out of the classroom.

 I tear my gaze away from Jaehyun, still in shock that he was here. The last time we saw each other was before my parents passed away. Which explained why he was surprised with my sudden change.

The next class starts after our new teacher introduces himself.  I pay attention despite the itching need to ask Jaehyun why he chose this university. Since we were children, he always talked to me about how he wanted to study abroad to live with his parents there. I took notes, occasionally stealing glances at him. He was looking at me all the time, smiling angelically.

The bell rang. Students filed out of the classroom after they arranged their things but I remained in my seat, watching as Jaehyun packed his things. Had he always been this skinny?

“Why here?” I finally ask. 

“I changed my mind.”

“Okay,” I replied slowly, disbelieving.

This seemed to amuse him. He laughs a little and ruffles my hair. “I’ll see you around.”

I watch as he stands up. I shake my head. He was definitely thinner than before In the past, he was part of the swim club and I was forced to watch him. He wasn’t this thin then… I was probably just overthinking. It’s been a while since I saw him and I can’t actually say we’re friends for us to have catched up with each other through the years. So I convince myself that I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it.

 I leave the classroom last and send a katalk message to my sister, asking for her to pick me up. She answers quickly and says she couldn’t. Something was up, she adds seconds after. I sigh. Public transport was not my thing.

Lazily and quite slowly, I walk towards the bus stop. Ever since my parents died, I didn’t trust any form of public transport. It became an unreasonable phobia that had the ability to make me feel weak and faint, memories of the accident replaying. But I steel myself as this was better than actually walking all the way home.  

While waiting, I watch the flurry of cars drive past me. How did it feel to actually have the ability to end someone’s life with just a simple maneuver of the steering wheel?  I lose myself in studying the carelessness of someone people. They just casually crossed the street. In their minds they must be thinking how easy it was to cheat death.

As I sitt here and thought of one of the many possibilities for my death, an undescriptive black sedan drove to the curb. The vehicle stops in front me and the driver walks out of the car, resting his arms on top of the hood.

“Get in, Jung.”

I stare at Jaehyun then at his car then back to him. I stand there, thinking of whether I trusted him enough not to kill the both of us while driving.  He was smiling that irritating smile of his that sent me over the edge. If I agreed to hitch a ride with him, I might get a headache because of his continuous teasing and talking.

“Okay,” I say quietly. I’ll have time to regret this later.

He flashes me an even bigger smile as he walked to the passenger’s side, opening the door for me. “After you, princess.”

I shake my head and before I hopped on, I kicked him in the shin. “I told you not to call me that.”

He winces in pain and I slip inside, smug smile on my lips. He closes the door and soon was sitting beside me, driving with loud rock music blasting from the speakers. I didn’t mind. This would probably lessen the need to speak.

After a few moments of silence, I turn to look at him. “Do you even know where I live?”

“Hm…I texted noona and asked her.” He says with a nod, not sparing me a glance.

“You text my sister without telling me? Is this why she chose not to pick me up?” I raise a brow. Was this some sort of conspiracy between these two? My sister always liked Jaehyun for some unfathomable reason.

He laughs it off, reaching out to pat me on the head. I slap his hand away immediately, earning me a pout. “I just asked for your address.  She didn’t know I was going to drive you home.”

Of course she didn’t. “You can just drop me off somewhere.” I turn to look at the view outside his tinted windows, watching cars and people instead of him. I still felt slightly awkward with his presence. Mainly because I didn’t know what to say.

“But I miss you.” Even if I couldn’t see him, I could hear the pout in his voice. I shudder.

“Yeah, sure. I missed you too.”

“No really. I…thought I’d never see you again.”

I tear my eyes away from the window to give him a look that said he should stop before he blurts out anything cheesy. But he was too focused on driving. “I missed you,” he says again, voice a whisper.

I say nothing because I didn’t know what to say. I would be lying if I said I missed him.  Something told me that being blunt in this situation was a wrong choice. Ahn Jaehyun has changed. Something was up.

I allow a smile to grace my lips and he turned enough to see me smile at him. He smiled back and his usual self.

My phone vibrated just as the car stopped for a red light. Fishing it out of my pocket, I thought it was probably my sister. If she apologized for handing me over to this maniac beside me, I might forgive her.

But the name and message that flashed on my screen wasn’t from my sister. It was from Amber.

Ddungie

My new seatmate is so shady ><" He might be a psycho. Save me ㅠㅠ 08:30 AM

Llamber = w =

I’m sorry for the late reply ;; I dropped my phone and it’s busted. I’m borrowing a friend’s. I won’t be able to use it for a while.  Why aren’t you on Skype? 05:43 PM

I didn’t know what to say. The anger that somehow bubbled inside of me disappeared and made way for reason. Her phone is ruined, Soojung ah. You can’t be mad for something like that. It’s stupid and unreasonable.

“Boyfriend?” Jaehyun inquired, leaning closer to take a peak.

  “No…” I answered in a low voice, hiding my phone from his prying eyes.

He let out a sigh of relief and rambled on how unladylike I was and how guys would most definitely not fall for someone like me. Aside from my face, nothing was really worth to praise with the way I had changed. His ramblings didn’t make me any feel better. Insecurities piled up and rose to my chest.

Ddungie

I’m with a friend. Talk with you tomorrow. 05:55 PM 1

After that, I turned off my phone, not wanting to wait for a reply. Jaehyun looked at me suspiciously but said nothing. It was quiet all the way until the car stopped in front of my house.

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I was about to go out when Jaehyun held me back, pulling me back to sit down. I stare at him with wide eyes, surprised. He had his head bowed down, shielding his eyes from me.

“Can I do this more often?” He asks, voice uncharacteristically serious.

“What? Irritate me? You’re doing a fairly good job at that already. ” I say, raising a brow.

He shakes his head, releasing me. “I meant driving you around.”

“Uh…whatever?” I reply. It isn't that bad, honestly. He's a decent driver and I would save myself from Jessica's endless interrogations about how school went and if I made any friends. 

He perks up once again, smiling at me. “Great. Have a nice night. Say hi to noona for me.”

I was still staring at his car until it disappears. That was the weirdest conversation we had so far. I walk inside the house and eat leftover food my sister left inside the microwave. Being alone in the house always gives me mixed feelings. I’m alone,  just the way I like it. But it’s lonely.

Eventually, I decide to sleep after writing my story for a bit. My last thoughts were of Amber.

And how I could almost feel our relationship slowly falling apart.

___________________________________________________________________

A/N: How many months has it been since I updated? LOL. I honestly don't recall anymore cries. This has been sitting in my drafts in forever and I just magically found the will to finally finish it and post it. What do you guys think? Got any guesses on what happens next? e u e I'll have it up soon! I feel like writing a lot today. ^^ Please look forward to it!