The day exhausts me, irritates me. It is brutal, noisy. I struggle to get out of bed, I dress wearily and, against my inclination, I go out. I find each step, each movement, each gesture, each word, each thought as tiring as if I were lifting a crushing weight.

I swung a leg over my Ducati, putting on my helmet in one swift motion. Switching the ignition and slightly twisting the throttle, my bike came to life. I smiled at the rumbling sound and sped off. Shifting my weight to the right, I let the thrill of being with my two wheeled baby take over.

I bought my Ducati Streetfighter secondhand; I was desperately looking for a means of transport. Buses and trains weren’t my thing, it didn’t do wonders for my claustrophobia or my love for being cramped around like a sardines in a can. A neighbor of mine at the time, found it while cleaning his garage. It needed a serious makeover and new parts but he was willing to cover those expenses since he knew my financial condition.

I was hesitant at first. I could literally die while riding this. The possible causes were a long list but by the time I gave my bike a new coat of red paint, I was in love with it. It was edgy and different. Also, it looked like the love child of a Transformer and a Fighter jet. How cool was that? Something about riding a motorcycle suddenly became appealing to me. After a few lessons, I hit the road. That heart racing, exhilarating became incomparable. For the first time, I felt like I was in control. I felt alive. I felt like I was living.

Even the sound, to me, of a bike is y. There’s a lot of energy, and it gets my heart pumping anytime I start up my bike.

One of the few perks of working the night shift is being able to witness the sunset. It’s a pity; people don’t really pay much attention to it these days. It’s never the same every day. Today, the sky is dark blue accented with hints of pink.

It’s almost dark though by the time I reach. Pushing the doors open, I stroll in, locating Donghae instantly behind the bar. He’s mixing something again. I silently pray that he isn’t going to make me try one of his strange concoctions again. He’s the owner of the bar I work in. And my ex boyfriend.

The crowd starts to fill, and I take my place at the side, where there is a small stage. I carefully place the guitar on my lap and start strumming a few chords. It’s a large crowd, even for a Friday night and I can feel the jitters in the bottom of my stomach.

Regardless, I start singing.

I don’t get paid much but this is definitely more fulfilling then a 9 to 5 desk job. Slogging my guts out for some conglomerate who doesn’t really give over a damn over my well being isn’t for me.

By the third song, I finally feel in my comfort zone. It was then when it caught my eye. Blonde hair. A shade so familiar that I feel complied to search for the owners face. It’s not easy though. Every time I’m about to catch a glimpse, someone cuts off my line of vision.

I decided to give up. What’s the point? I asked myself.

It was past midnight, when a drunk suddenly started shouting. This isn’t something uncommon and I continued singing. I figured I’d provide some nice background music to whatever public service announcement he so desperately needed to make.

No one paid much attention to him. Perhaps that pissed him off. He started marching right up to me. Slurring his words and throwing his hands around while he walked in my direction. I didn’t know what he wanted and his intimidating antics were something that I brushed off easily.

“Get down, . Your whiny voice is giving me a damn headache.”

I ignored him, casually strumming my guitar. The drunkard continued raining his string of derogatory insults and I changed songs midway, “All you are, is mean and a liar and pathetic and alone in life
and mean, and mean, and mean, and mean.” It probably wasn’t the wisest thing to do and definitely pretty childish because his face changed and if it was possible steam could be seen coming out through his ears, but it’d been a waste of such a great opportunity. 

I saw Donghae finally start to come around from behind the bar, with a worried expression on his face, weaving through the crowd with much difficulty. But the drunkard was advancing to me faster and faster.

Now that he was closer, I realized the how disadvantageous I was in my current situation. Even though I was standing on a raised platform, he was still at least two heads taller and extremely burly. The menace written on his face wasn’t a joke either. Donghae wouldn’t be able to help me in time. I decided that now would be a good time to leave. I sped walked to the side and hopped off, but burly had other ideas, he was surprisingly fast for someone so intoxicated, and about three big steps away from me. I got distracted by something blonde in the background and my body instinctively looked out for it instead of trying to find a way out of this mess.

I felt a shadow fall over me, and then I felt something falling on me. Which was weird. Did burly stumble over me? But the impact wasn’t as heavy as expected. I saw stars and heard yelling. And blonde hair. There was blonde hair on my face.

Stunned, I laid on the floor and a full head of golden blonde hair popped up in my line of vision. Long, golden flowing hair. Her face was scrunched up, full of worry. But I couldn’t help staring at her eyes, dark brown orbs that seem to penetrate me.

I found her. The person of my dreams.

And that was how I found myself standing across Goldilocks in the break room, as she ice cream off her spoon like a seven year old. I should have guessed – her height should’ve been a good indicator.

Beside her was an older looking guy, Heechul, who joined me in judging blondie. Goldilocks had noticed the commotion that burly had been causing and alerted Heechul. She’d pushed me aside while Heechul and Donghae wrestled with burly and eventually kicked him out.

“Once again, thank you for what you did. I – I guess I’m indebted to the both of you. I’m Jessica.”

“Don’t mention it; I’m Taeyeon by the way.”

Taeyeon. So that’s her name.

I went home that day with a heavy heart and feeling extremely drained. I crawled into bed that night with a severe backache and a spinning head. I brushed it off, taking some painkillers and turned in.

*