“Hey…Are you okay?”

Ryeowook registered a gentle tugging on his sleeve. Among the clattering of steel wheels, a familiar voice faded in though tinged with worry. He blinked blearily.

“Ryeowook? Are you okay?” Kyuhyun slowly came into focus.

Ryeowook blinked and rubbed his eyes. “I was scared.” And he had a right to be. The roaring darkness had gone on much longer this time, enough to feel like decades to him. He’d scrunched up into ball more out of habit than fear. But of course, there was plenty of fear.

Kyuhyun’s eyebrows were knotted in worry. “You’re afraid of tunnels?”

“Tunnels?” Was that what that was? Ryeowook sniffled. “I guess I am.”

The other man frowned and moved back to his seat. Ryeowook rubbed away the glaze of tears in his eyes, hoping his vision would return to normal.

“I don’t understand,” Kyuhyun said. “You took a train even though you’re afraid of tunnels?”

“No! Well, yes I guess,” he realized. “I did not think it would be…so loud. And cold. And loud.”

“It wasn’t that loud.”

“It was to me,” Ryeowook said, miserable. His ears had always been, as his mom described them, “the most precious one of his senses.” His dad on the other hand referred to them as oversensitive burdens. For his whole life, it had been a matter of avoiding busy streets, shielding his ears in loud rooms, or breaking down whenever his ears couldn’t take the noise anymore. Ryeowook tried his best to explain this to Kyuhyun, but with his head still shaken up, his words came out stuttered and jumbled which only confused the other man even more.

“Stop, stop.” Kyuhyun held out his hands to silence him. “I get it. You’re not into loud noises. They…scare you.” Ryeowook nodded weakly. “But look, this train is on a mountain path. We’ll be going through a lot more tunnels on this trip; some a minute long.”

“Longer? Like, longer than before?” he asked in panic.

“Yes, but,” he tagged before the smaller could freak out, “you can’t have a meltdown like this every time that happens. People will think you have mental issues.”

“But…I cannot control it,” Ryeowook stuttered.

“Sure you can,” Kyuhyun said with confidence. “You know they exist now. You can prepare. And when a tunnel comes, just take a deep breath. Like this.” He inhaled and exhaled deeply, while Ryeowook followed. He supposed that felt a little better.

“See? That’s not so bad now is-” A bright rattling paired with sharp yelling nearly made Ryeowook jump under the bed.

“It’s not a tunnel! It’s not a tunnel.” Kyuhyun pulled a trembling Ryeowook back onto the seat. “It’s just the food cart. Look.” Pushed by a female attendant, the metal cart topped with bright snacks and beverages rolled by their open door. “Ramen, iced tea, pea snacks,” she called. Ryeowook watched it disappear, feeling dumber by the second. “Oh.”

Kyuhyun sighed. “Do want something to drink? Would that make you feel better?”

“Oh!” Ryeowook suddenly brightened. “You want me to buy something from the cart lady?”

“Uh, yeah. You should buy something from her. Face your fear of…loud things.”

That sounded like a good idea. Fright forgotten, Ryeowook sprung up and chased after the lady and her cart of food. She was just turning the car around for another round when he caught up to her.

“Hello miss!” he chirped.

“Oh. Hello sir. Would you like to purchase something today?”

Ryeowook looked down at the top of the little cart. A variety of packaged snacks and bottled drinks stared right back at him. “Um, yes. What would you recommend?” he asked.

The train attendant looked curiously at him. Nobody ever asked for her snack opinions. “Oh, I- I think they’re all delicious.”

 “Well, that does not help me.” Ryeowook pouted.

The cart lady tried again. “My favorite are the seaweed packets. Them, and the ketchup peanuts. Wasabi if you like something spicy. For drinks you could try the coconut milk…” To her slight surprise, as she spoke, Ryeowook gathered each item he heard. “…and some sunflower seeds for when you’re bored.”

Now with arms full, Ryeowook beamed. “You are very nice.”

In the end, it all cost 42 yuan.* As Ryeowook paid for his snacks, a sudden thought occurred to him. “Wait, I forgot to ask my friend if he wanted anything.”

“Is he down there?” she gestured. “I can walk down with you to ask.”

“That would be wonderful!”

She smiled at the child-like response. He was rather…cute, wasn’t he? Just a bit impatient, Ryeowook decided to break open his package of dried seaweed as they walked. The snack was dark green, crinkly like tissue paper, and faintly sticky. It crackled in his mouth.

“Wow! These are good!” Ryeowook proclaimed. The salty flavor dissolved into his tongue. “You have to try one!”

Before Liyin could refuse, he’d held one out right in front of her. She practically walked into the sheet of dried plant. “Oh!” she exclaimed. The seaweed slipped into . “Thank you,” she mumbled. Despite being caught off guard she never lost her smile. Her smile was a little wider than the standard chopstick grin,* but it really made her high cheekbones pop. Even in the polished attendant’s uniform with her hair in a bun, she looked quite stunning. Ryeowook met her eyes. “You,” he said, “are very pretty.”

The oval-faced lady blushed at his compliment. “Why thank you. You’re very sweet.”

“What is your name?” he asked.

“Zhang Liyin. What’s yours?”

“Ryeowook!”

Liyin frowned. “Interesting. That sounds Korean.”

“It is Korean. I’m Korean.”

“Oh? I suppose that explains your accent. You know, if you’re staying for a long time in China, it might be helpful if you choose a Chinese name.”

That was an interesting idea. “A Chinese name. Like what?”

“Like….” She paused and scanned him up and down. “Like Lixu.”

Lixu. Ryeowook repeated the name, rolling the words on his tongue. They sounded nice like the person who chose it. Ryeowook liked Lixu.  

In no time, they reached Cabin 143, though now with its door closed. “Kyuhyun?” Ryeowook asked, peering inside. “Kyuhyun, do you want to buy something from the cart?”

The other looked up from his notebook and shook his head. “I think I’m good. Thanks.”

“Are you sure? The cart lady is so nice.” He pulled the door all the way open to reveal Liyin and his own armful of snacks.

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened. He stood to get a better look all the things he had. “Ryeowook.” He said lowly in Korean, “You didn’t have to buy the whole cart just because the lady is nice.”

“I didn’t buy these because she was nice,” Ryeowook corrected, “I bought these because she said they were good.”

For some reason, Kyuhyun didn’t look convinced. Grabbing Ryeowook by the shoulder, he smiled coolly at Liyin. “Thank you. I think we’ll just share what he bought.”

“Oh, alright then.” She sensed the tension emanating from this man, as did Ryeowook though he had no idea why. Just as Kyuhyun was about to pull the smaller back into the room and slam the door on this saleswoman, a faint rumbling approached the train. Ryeowook froze. Was this the sound of an upcoming tunnel? Ready to fall on the floor and cower breathe, the last thing Ryeowook expected was another train to come by rushing by.

Bright reds and curtained windows flew before the hallway windows. Ryeowook gasped and dropped all he held on the floor. “Wow! Look how fast these guys are going!” Seriously, the other train flew by at like twice the speed of theirs! Mouth gaping, he pulled out of Kyuhyun’s grasp to attach himself to the window. The other two people in the hall stared only at him. Liyin with sweet amusement, and Kyuhyun, well, Kyuhyun stared with one of those looks you have when a grown adult starts bouncing up and down from pure giddiness.

And yes. Ryeowook was now doing that. 

Sat. 3/1/2015

Guess who's a foil to Kyuhyun... *

Alright, too much advanced English for me.

Thank you for reading!