Minah knew what trouble looked like.

                This old truck looked like trouble.

                Not that Minah cared.

                She had a dream to achieve, with or without her parents blessing. This documentary was going to get done, but now she wasn’t going to be filming life in a dumb old town like this, she was going to film their getaway.

                They were getting out of here. This place they used to call home. They were leaving and taking nothing with them except the necessities and Minah’s camera.

                “We’ll start over somewhere else. Somewhere far away, they won’t catch us. They probably won’t even notice we’ve left.” Jonghyun had promised her the night before. He’d promised her the world and here he was with his chariot to take her away.

                Her parents would be so upset if she knew this is what she had gone to him for.

                Or at least that’s what Minah had imagined their reaction to be.

                Something told her it wouldn’t be like that though. Having parents that cared had never been a description of Minah. She was left to the maids and nannies, raised by people that received a paycheck for keeping her alive. Her parents wouldn’t care, they’d probably never even notice.

                How right Jonghyun had been. How true his words rang through.

                No one would care if two teenagers abandoned the life that they had been thrown into.

                So who was Jonghyun to her? Minah often wondered this, like she was wondering as she climbed into the passenger seat. A friend? An ally?

                A hero?

                He’d rescued her quite often, taking the lonely girl under his wings and giving her the attention she desperately wanted. He taught her how to see the world like he saw it, an adventure not a trap.

                “Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, starting the truck and giving her a smirk at the same time.

                “You’re kind of my hero, I guess.” She answered simply, buckling herself in as they backed out of the driveway of the old, abandoned house they had used as a meet up place for the past ten years of knowing each other. Jonghyun just chuckled, used to hearing her say things like that.

                They drove for hours down the highway, so focused on getting away, not really thinking of where to go. They talked, sang along to the radio, and ate all of the snacks Jonghyun had bought at a gas station. Both were simply content with driving for as long as they needed to, filling the air with a comfortable silence after the radio had gotten boring.

                Minah filmed the changing of scenery as they passed town after town. Occasionally, she turn the camera to Jonghyun when she knew he wasn’t paying attention. He hadn’t wanted to be in the spotlight for her documentary, but it wasn’t like there was much for her to shoot aside from a blur of green every so often.

                “How do you feel at this exact moment, Jonghyun-sshi?” she asked brightly, bringing him out of his reservoir. He slowly glanced over to her and gave her a lazy smile and a thumbs up.

                “Pretty good right now. Freer than I’ve ever felt.” He laughed, running a hand through his hair and turning back to look at the road.

                “What do you plan on doing when we reach our destination?”

                “Living my life the way I want. I’ve always wanted to dance, maybe I can get scouted or something.” Jonghyun shrugged.

                Minah nodded. “You are a pretty great dancer. Totally unbiased opinion, by the way.”

                “Right.”

                Night fell around them, and Minah (who had taken over driving so that Jonghyun could sleep) parked the car in front of a small motel, and went to get a room for the two as Jonghyun continued to rest in the truck with their belongings.

                That night was spent mostly in the room, talking about their plans and where they wanted to end up. It ended with the two in each other’s arms, fast asleep, not worried about a single thing.

                Although they had something to worry about very soon.

                The security in the motel refused to let them pass at first, but parents can only be held back from seeing their child for so long. The room number and room key were passed from the concierge’s hands to the intimidating figures of Minah’s parents in moments. They were on the way now.

                At the same time, Minah found herself waking up to the sunlight shining through the curtains. It was warm and comforting, unlike what was to come. She slipped out of the covers, planning to get their stuff packed up and ready to go, maybe even go see if there was anywhere to get breakfast once Jonghyun was awake. But the sound of the door opening stopped her in her tracks.

                There in the doorway, were the last two people she’d expect to ever see again.

                The parents.

                Luckily, they hadn’t spotted her yet, so she was able to slip back into the bedroom without a sound. She could hear their harsh commands being barked to the poor concierge, and if it wasn’t for the fact that she felt utterly betrayed by the man, she’d feel sorry for him. Being at the receiving end of her parent’s wrath wasn’t something she’d wish on anyone.

                “Jonghyun, wake up.” She whispered urgently, shaking him until she saw his eyes open.

                “Five more minutes.” He mumbled, rolling over and burying his head into the pillow.

                “We don’t have five minutes! My parents found us.” Minah yanked the blankets back, receiving a cry of protest from Jonghyun as he tried to pull them back. “We have to leave, now!”

                Jonghyun recognized the urgency in her voice, layered over terror. It shook and trembled, and when he looked up at her, he saw the little girl he’d first met. Too afraid of her own shadow to risk anything.

                He’d really changed her.

                He let Minah drag him out of the bed and towards the window. They were on the first floor, so escaping would be a piece of cake.

                Just as long as her parents continued searching everywhere but this room.

                He was out the window first, placing their bags on the ground by his feet. He reached up to help Minah down, when he heard it. The shrill voice of her mother, the angry, gruff outcry of her father, and a scream from Minah as she was violently yanked back, off the windowsill, and onto the floor. Jonghyun hadn’t been seen. Her parents didn’t spare to glance his way at all. As if he were invisible. He ducked down and out of the way just in case they decided to look for some odd reason, pressing his back against the wall underneath the window. He could hear everything. They yelled loud enough for the world to hear just how angry and ashamed they were of Minah. It wasn’t like they were concerned for her well-being, all they cared about was their reputation. A reputation that Minah was ruining by running away apparently. Jonghyun genuinely feared for her life.

                Minah didn’t back down, however. If her mom screamed loud, Minah screamed louder. She made herself be heard, if only just for that moment. She fought against her father’s restrictive grasp, clawing at his hands and doing whatever she could to get away. To get free.

                Her parents terrified her to no end, but she was far too tired of letting them have their way.

                “Forget it!” her father yelled over his wife’s hysteric shouts. He threw Minah away from him, shoving her towards the door and farther from the window. “We’ll talk about this once we get home. Now march, young lady.”

                “I’m not a child!” Minah argued, refusing to take a step in the direction her father had pointed. “You can’t keep me locked up anymore! I’m old enough to make my own choices!”

                “You’re young enough to be foolish.” Her father snapped, through gritted teeth. “Now walk on your own, or I’ll drag you to the car myself.”

                Minah knew she had to obey. She knew fighting was worthless at this point. Her father was too furious, too close to losing control to see reason. Not that they’d ever seen it before. She couldn’t give away Jonghyun’s escape. If they couldn’t both get free, at least he could. She shot both her parents an icy glare and stormed out of the room, out of the motel, and into the backseat of her father’s car. Their driver was seated in the driver’s seat, newspaper raised in front of his face.

                “Rather foolish of you, wasn’t that? Did you not expect to get caught running off on your own without anyone knowing a thing?” he muttered, in his rough, blunt voice.

                Minah gave him a smug smile through the rearview mirror. “Well apparently you don’t know anything.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jonghyun sneaking over to the truck that was parked just a few spaces away. They made eye contact and a conversation seemed to pass through them. Minah shook her head, gesturing for him to keep going. Leave her to what was to come.

                She’d find a new way out eventually.