The silence was peaceful yet deafening at the same time. What a strange juxtaposition that was. I kept my eyes fixed on the side window and my thoughts were occupied by the beautiful landscape outside. The sun was still rising and its leaking rays were creating highlights and shadows on the pastoral imagery in front of me. I had always adored the outskirts of Busan as it reminded me of old Western films set in the countryside.

                I avoided Jong Hyun for a solid ten minutes after the radio broke, and during that time period, waves of guilt engulfed me. But then a voice in the back of my head would always say “You weren’t the only one pressing the button, Gyeo!” and the guilt would instantly disappear, only for it rear its ugly head back out after a few seconds as soon as my eyes landed on Jong Hyun’s sullen expression. From then on, I had my eyes glued on the window as to avoid feeling guilty, whilst the driver had his focus on the seemingly empty road in front of us.

                Out of the blue, Jong Hyun began humming an unfamiliar tune which sparked my attention. I turned to him again, and surprise surprise, another tsunami-like wave of guilt washed over me again.

“Jjong,” I started in a whisper-like manner.

“Hmm?” He gave a brief glance then turned back to the road.

“I’m sorry.” I mumbled almost silently.

“What?” His brows furrowed.

“I’m sorry.” I apologised slightly louder.

“What? I can’t hear you.”

“I am sorry.” I gritted my teeth as I hated to repeat my words.

“You need to speak louder, Kyeo.”

“I’m sorry!” I exclaimed with my brows furrowing. “I’m sorry I broke your stupid radio! I promise I’ll pay for it!”

Jong Hyun made a disapproving ‘tut tut’ noise which tested my patience once more. “Sorry isn’t going to cut it, Kyeo.”

“What do you want me to do then?!” I responded with a glare.

“I thought you were apologising?” Jong Hyun pulled a false shocked look. “Why are you shouting at me?”

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. “Fine... What would you like me to do, Mr. Kim?”

Jong Hyun paused for a couple of seconds to think. Then his eyes brightened with a suspicious tint. “You be my radio.”

I blinked a couple of times before responding: “Huh?! But you said I sound like a dying rat!”

“Just do it.” Jong Hyun replied. “I want you to sing ‘I Saw the Sign’.”

“That’s a stupid song!” I cried. “And it’s too high!”

“Just do it.” He repeated sternly.

I gave him a suspicious look as soon as I noticed him pulling something out of his pocket, but he hid it by the door before I could identify what it was.

“Start singing or I’ll charge you an interest.”

“For what?!”

“Your payment for breaking my radio, stupid.  Now sing!”

I hesitated for a moment, and then cleared my throat. I opened my mouth and I could’ve sworn I hear something shatter.

“I GOT A NEW LIFE, YOU WOULD HARDLY RECOGNIZE, I’M SO GLAD~!”

Jong Hyun burst out in laughter which made me stop singing.

“Hey!” He glared at me. “I didn’t tell you to stop!”

“Then stop laughing at me!” I retorted back.

“I SAW THE SIGN~!” Jong Hyun began singing in that oh-so angelic voice of his (as he describes).

He stopped and said. “Sing with me!”

I looked at him as if he was crazy, but sang with him anyway.

“AND IT OPENED UP MY EYES, I SAW THE SI-~!”

“What the fu-! Jong Hyun, are you recording me?!”

Ah. So that was the suspicious thing he pulled out earlier: his phone. I knew something fishy was going on when he asked me to sing.

He looked down on his phone, pressed his fingers on the touch screen and grinned mischievously. “And, tweet! I just posted your singing on the internet. That should be enough to satisfy me for the whole day.”

I felt the heat on my face rising up as my blood began to boil in anger. Before I knew it, I was clawing Jong Hyun’s face. “YOU ! Gimme your phone!”

“Hey, get off me, you idiot! I’m still driving!”

x x x

“What would you like to order, sir?”

“Uh, gimme the big breakfast and a latte. Oh, and a pitcher of water.

“And you, ma’am?”

“The same order but with a hot chocolate, please.”

                Fourty-five minutes into the journey, Jong Hyun and I decided to stop by a 50’s looking diner on the service station for breakfast. It turned out that he too missed breakfast that morning, which I noticed when I heard not only mine but his stomach rumble. He sat across me with a bored expression on his face and once again, silence deafened both of us.

                A strange thought suddenly popped up in my brain: how did Jong Hyun and I come to this situation? Our distance felt like heaven and earth, him being on the former and I being on the latter. He was always the popular kid whereas I was the girl he was always with but barely anyone acknowledged.  I guess his popularity got into his head. Or maybe I was the one that caused us to drift apart. I admit I was the one that wanted to drift away from him after finding out about his encounter with that eighteen-year old senior. You could say that I may have had a small crush on him... But that was years ago! That feeling was drained out and sun dried! I think?

What? Stop it Gyeo!

“You know,” Jong Hyun began. “I can’t remember the last time we ate together. It must’ve been years ago.”

“That’s what’s been occupying your mind this whole time?” I asked.

He looked at me with one of his eyebrows arched. “Before the end of middle school,” I said as an answer to his question. “That was probably the last time. We had Japanese food in that restaurant that had just opened at that time.”

“You remember, eh?” Jong Hyun chuckled.

“Of course, because that was when...” I stopped before I could finish my answer.

January 28^th 2006 was the last time we had lunch together. I know this because that was the day he told me he lost his ity. That was also the day I wanted to confess to him about my feelings. My weak heart stopped me though, because I felt betrayed that day.

Funny story, don’t you think?

I remember crying my eyes out that night, but then I decided to it up because no man was worth crying. At least, that was what my older sister told me.

“I re-read my old diaries a couple of days ago and I had an entry about that day.” I responded, avoiding Jong Hyun’s questioning eyes.

BANG!

Both of our attention turned to the front door.

“THIS IS A HOLD UP, NOBODY MAKE A MOVE!”

A pair of men wearing black scuba masks appeared unexpectedly, both holding a pistol. The nostalgic atmosphere of the diner instantly changed negatively, and the building was filled with cries of the waitresses and female customers.

I felt a hand pull my arm from under the table. I looked down and saw Jong Hyun who had his index finger close to his lips. I silently followed him under as soon as I noticed the two men looking at a different direction.

“IF ANYONE DOES ANYTHING STUPID, WE’LL SHOOT YOU!”

I felt tears forming in the corner of my eyes as fear took over my body. I began shivering and goose bumps formed on my skin, barely noticing the fact that Jong Hyun had his arm wrapped around me.

One of the men had their gun pointed at the cashier who was taking out all of the money from the register in haste whilst the other was walking in our side of the room.

“Well, well...” The man’s eyes landed on Jong Hyun and I. “Aren’t you a cute thing.”

He crouched down in front of us with his gun still in hand. “I’d like to take you home. Are you available? Oh wait. Does it matter?”

I swallowed the lump in throat as I felt another wave of fear inside me. Jong Hyun’s hold gripped tighter as he muttered between his gritted teeth: “You can’t have her.”

“Huh?” A hint of confusion flashed in the man’s eyes. “Who said I wanted her, sugar.”

Jong Hyun and I instantly looked at each other with wide eyes. The man gave out a sickeningly girlish giggle. “It’s you that I want, pretty boy.”

If the guy wasn’t armed, I would’ve laughed my off.