"Hold up, let me get this straight. You think that the school’s biggest nerd who’s known for his straight ‘A’s and roundy glasses-the most hideous glasses ever created may I add, is HOT ?" She suddenly brings her palm to my forehead "No fever.. " she gasps and points her finger at me with wide eyes "who are you and what have you done to my choco-holic friend ?"

I roll my eyes and facepalm myself. Why did I even tell her ?

"No but seriously,it makes no sense" she whines and munches aggressivly on her sandwish.

"neither does your reaction" I sigh tiredly "What’s wrong with having my own preferences ? It’s just a shallow point of view anyway,it’s not like I have a crush on him"

She shakes her head and leans back on her chair.

"Honey,that’s how ‘crushing’ starts.you think of someone,your curiosity arouses,you start having interest in him and poof ! crush certified" she shrugs nonchalantly and sips her coke, giving me one of those ‘It’s the circle of life’ looks.

I snort at her statement rather loudly "Your philosophy is uncalled for sunhyun" I clasp my hands and stand up to throw the contents of my tray in the garbage. Sunhyun gets up too and we both leave the cafeteria.

Okay,so you might be wondering who are we talking about and how the topic started.

The first question I could answer, as for the latter, I myself would like to know.

His name is Taehyung, best known for his ridicoulous looking retainers and messy brown hair, not to mention his outstanding academic skills, we’re in the same class, but our seats are far away. The first time I saw the guy,I thought he was hot. The second time though, the exact same thought came up again, with a noticable addition of fast heartbeats.

No, it’s not love at first time. No, I’m not interested. I just think he’s hot.

But apparently, the whole shcool begs to differ. Not that I care.

I bring out my english text book from my locker and march towards class.

I sit on my assigned seat and wear my earphones, feeling the gentle sound of the piano keys through my skin. I smile contently and open my notebook, doodling random piano notes.

No, I’m not a pianist. I wish I were though. I love the piano and everything related to it, but my dad heavily opposed of me learning it. I didn’t complain however.

Suddenly, I feel the afternoon sun hitting me with its warm rays, making me squirm my eyes. I sigh and put my earphones down, standing up.

I pull the navy curtains, but as I’m about to go back to my seat, I find myself in front of Taehyung’s desk.

Oh, I forgot he sits beside the window. Oh well, doesn’t really matter, I take a quick glance at him and what he’s reading, but at the sight of the book, my eyes widden and my mouth falls open.

That’s..My ultimate favorite novel of all times.I stay still,contemplating whether to start a conversation or not. I love the freaking book, and I would love to talk about it all day long with someone-Sunhyun is an anti-book person,with the exception of comics and vogue magazines,but those do not really count as books, frankly speaking-But I’m afraid of talking to strangers. Sunhyun always said,first impressions matter, but first impressions is what I at. I’m an awkward person, which explains my lack of relations and words.

Before I could budge from my place, Taehyung senses my presence and looks up at me.

I stop breathing for a second, my cheeks gradually turning red.

"Can I help you ?" he asks,his pupils look big through his glasses.I gulp nervously and point at the book.

"N-nice pick.I love the male protagonist ‘hyde’ and his florescent personality" I start, biting my upper lip. He stares at me, blinking from time to time. I’m a sweating nerve wreck right now but I manage to continue because God, I’ve been dying to discuss the book for a long time already and I just want to get it all out . I relax and smile hesitantly, remembering the events occured in the book.

"I talked to him today" I suddenly blurt, but it takes sunhyun a few seconds before she gasps and hits my left arm.

"YOU !" she laughs loudly and ruffles my hair. I tidy my hair and try to hide my smile.

"That’s a huge step you took there ! wow girl ,I’m impressed. Like, I’m disappointed your first ever attempt to socialize was with a dorky looking dude, but hey! it got you to speak ,so it makes up for everything else" she tenderly smiles and locks her arm with mine. A warm feeling engulfs my insides at the sight of her smile. Sunhyun has been a great friend all these past years. If it weren’t for her, I would be a stinging loner, often bullied by Queen Bees. I’m eternally grateful for her existence here, beside me.

Sometimes,I wonder what planet had I saved in my past life to deserve such an amazing soul in my life. I was doubtful at first, I didn’t think I was friend-worthy. I’ve always thought low of myself and I still do, sometimes. So, to say the least,Sunhyun is the second best thing that has ever happened to me. The first being my parents’.

"So ? what did you talk about ? It must’ve been a boring discussion about school-related stuff" she huffs and I chuckle.

"I did most of the talk. No, I was the only one talking actually. I just saw him reading ‘The Passenger’ and that’s when I burst out" I said and she nooded in understanding.

"I remember you making a fuss about that book. Ugh, you pestered me about reading it countless times" she rolls her eyes at the memories and I smirk michiviously.

"It’s seriously worth it Sun! you should really consider taking up reading as a new hobby. It’s fun !" I exclaim enthusiasically and she shoves me aside, her reaction making me laugh hard.

"You and your books. Why am I even friends with a bookworm like you ?" I smile happily and clutch into her arm.

"because you love me~" I reply with my cutesy voice-a horrible sound to the ear, but very effective when annoying your friends.

"You stay 10000km away from me !" she declares and runs away with my bag.

"heeey ! wait up !" I scream joyfully and run after her.

I stare at my clean and seemingly-new copy of ‘The Passenger’ and sigh in contentment.

It’s been minutes since I’ve been hugging the book ,as if afraid to be abruptly taken away from me. Whenever I remember it, I feel tears willing up in my eyes, and a strong nostalgia wave gathers me between its arms, securing me from the present’s worries.

Not for too long though, as I let go of the book and cover my face with my hands, recalling what happened with taehyung.

When I talked about it with Sunhyun, I felt okay but now, as I’m surrounded by the dimness of the night and the four white walls of my room, a hidden feeling of embarassement finally makes its appearance.

How did I even get the guts to talk ? when did I get so bold ? hmm. Must be the power of ‘The Passenger’. I look at the lonely figure of my book and hug it once again, only tighter this time.

It’s weird.It’s insanly weird.

I may have not introduced myself,but if there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I’m the procrastination Queen. Last Minute is my middle name, if you’re wondering, which perfectly explains why I’m sitting at the school library, surrounded by scary looking books and horrifying work sheets. I’ve got a chemistry test plus a maths assignement due tomorrow, and this is my first time ever opening my textbook in a long time. I sigh and stretch my legs and arms tiredly.

I hate last minute cramming, but why am I so good at it?

Now that we’re on this topic, why am I so good at useless stuff to begin with?

I massage my temples and glance at my watch.It’s been three hours since I’ve arrived, and I still feel like I did nothing.

I stare at the empty library and the numerous bookshelves standing tall and proud.

I don’t want to be racist, I love all books, but school related ones are No No.

"back to Maths" I grumply whisper and go back to finishing the work sheets. I scribble the answers roughly and sigh in relief when I make sure they’re correct. I put the pen down and hide those damned sheets. 

Oh well, at least I tried.

"Can I sit here?" a boyish voice startles me and my heartbeats accelerate as I look up.

Taehyung stares at me, waiting for my answer. I hesitantly beckon him to sit in the seat across of me.

I mentally curse myself for my weird behaviour. I could have simply answered ‘sure’ or ‘of course’. Stupid unethical brain cells.

But my self-scolding stops when I see him holding back a smile, perhaps amused by my reaction, and sits comfortably, staring at a white paper filled with handwritten notes.

I try to guess the words written, but fail miserably.

Moments of deadly silence pass, I could actually hear the wind hurling outside.

Well, this is.. awkward. What is he doing here anyway ?

" ‘I’ve always thought the greatest challenge in life was to avoid death. But Here I am, standing in front of the deads, wishing to be part of them. Not that I hate my life, I would just like to taste a bit of difference’ " My eyes widen, my breathing stops, and my little heart seems far out of reach to be saved from a brutal attack.

" ‘I lied about not hating my life. I lied and I’m an honest man. At this point, people would think I’ve reached insanity. But I’m mentally fine, emotionally not, because at this exact moment, I’ve realised, my biggest fear is me’ " I stiffen under the said words, a suffocating feeling gripping my insides.

" ‘I gaze lovingly at the red flowers bouquet neatly arranged in my hands, something I’m not used to doing, and  the fragile petals. My breathing hitches as their gentle touch stirrs something within me. the foreign feeling intensifying with every passing second. I must be insane, I must have gone mad, I must be really out of my mind right now, because I can’t find any cogent explanation as to why I think these flowers look so beautiful. I try to justify my thoughts as wrong, but the tears slowly caressing my cheeks beg to differ. I’m a mad man, a mentally unstable creature, but this feeling is the realest thing I had ever encountered.It’s..It’s..’ "

" ‘Very Beautiful’ " I murmur slowly, my voice raspy from the emotional daze I’m having.

Everything, from the welcoming cover to the aknowledgements written at the end of the book, everything, is utterly breathtaking.

I finally manage to look up at taehyung, his expression seemingly serious, but he soon breaks into a heartfelt smile, his eyes turning into creasent moons.

Either I’m under glee drugs, or his smile is dangerously contagious because I find myself smiling back fevirishly, fully aware of what I’m doing. It’s out of the norm and unusual, yet, I feel no social pressure or uneasiness, rather, it’s comfortable.

" You were right. It’s quite the pick" he brings out the book from his backpack and nods at it "why do you think it’s named ‘The Passenger’ ? " my smile never disappears as I hear the question. I’ve been waiting for someone to ask. For all these years that I’ve treasured this masterpiece, I’ve always dreamt of the day where I would tell my honest thoughts, with no fear of the reactions.

For years, I’ve wanted to be asked about it and every little detail in it.

The day has finally come.

" Besides the fact that he’s a professional photographer who travels around the world, I solemnly believe the novel wasn’t named after this cause. 'Hyde' is a developping character, you see him at the very first chapters taking photos of landscapes, traditional festivals, anything that screams joy and serenity. That’s a huge sign that he was fully content with his life, but as the story evolves, he’s suddenly surrounded by tragic events, completely changing his ideas and thoughts about life. Although it wasn’t mentioned in the previous chapters, it was clearly shown in his discomfort with taking photos representing pain: he abhored the dark side of everything. ‘Feared’ would be the correct term to use in this context. His fears became a reality, and he had no power over them. They kept pushing the old happy thoughts he held so dearly away-" I stop, suddenly realizing what I’m doing.

Too much, I’m talking too much and it has nothing to do with his question. I mentally scold myself for the second time. Stupid. stupid. stupid.

" why did you stop ? It was really interesting" he genuinly asks,eyes gleaming with curiosity, and I’m totally awestruck by his reaction.

He..was listening ? the whole time ? to the whole thing ?

He was..listening ? I..I’m still shocked but I manage to continue somehow

" several years passed, and it still wasn’t enough for Hyde. His dark thoughts innovated into even darker ones. He was confused at his confusion, but there was one thing he was sure of: He feared himself more than anything. By now, you would think he would do something crazy, but he had a job he was strongly attached to, a job he never thought would save him. His love for photography saved him, unconditionally. That was the start of a slow healing process that had gradually finished with a foreign feeling. A feeling stronger than anything he had felt before. A feeling even his old self wouldn’t recognize. The feeling of beauty. And that’s where ‘the passenger’ came from. Hyde’s trip was unpredictable and eventful, but he was a passenger nevertheless, and he had to stick through the whole ride in order to find the beauty of life" I find myself smiling throughout the whole thing, my eyes getting a tad bit watery.

"That was beautiful" he simply says, cracking a small smile.

"eveything about ‘The Passenger’ is beautiful" I state, matter of factly. He shakes his head.

"that’s true, but I was talking about your way of describing the events. It was beautiful. It’s like, you gave it a whole new meaning without changing anything. That’s something only passionate people can do" He leans in , staring knowingly at me.

"However, I also think that, after what he went through, the strangers he met afterwards played a major factor in reforming his fears and thoughts. You know, their words of encouragement and constant complimetnts, it’s not like he’s not used to it, but, perhaps, their anonymity gave it a much deeper meaning to ‘Hyde’. He never knew them, and yet, they appreciated and aknwoledged him" He adds, fiddling with the paper in his hand.

My poor lips are about to crack from smiling too much. I have no idea how to react to this whole thing. It’s one surprise after another.

" yes,you’re right, sometimes strangers’ words work better than comforts from our loved ones" I nod in agreement, still thinking about the idea.

"You sure have a lot to say for someone who stays quiet through the whole lesson" He brings his elbow on the table and rests his head on his hand, smirking at his own remark.

Oh.he noticed ? Stupid.anyone can notice that,I guess.

I purse my lips and shrug awkwardly.

"I..I just don’t like talking in general. Unless it’s something worth it, like ‘the passenger’. I can see myself blabbering about it for the next 100 years, and still have enough stamina to run a 10km marathon" he chuckles lightly and shakes his head in amusement.

I laugh back at my own statement. Why am I so Goddamn embarrassing ?

"You’re funny. You should really talk more often" he looks at me questionally, as if expecting an answer.

"I’ll try" I nod, my smile never, never disappearing. I feel so light and alive at the moment.

I don’t feel like myself anymore, with this rigid emotion contaminating me.

It’s horrifyingly unintelligible, yet, unmistakably righteous.

It’s almost laughable how my worries and fears were proven so wrong in just a few countable minutes

And it’s all thanks to this highly intellectuel stranger-classmate whom I think is Hot.

It feels like a dream. A miracle. ‘The Passenger’s miracle.

He suddenly extends his hand, wearing a polite smile

"I’m Kim Taehyung, it’s a pleasure to finally know you"

At any occasion, such words would sound dull to me, but right now, as I hold his hand, they seem much more meaningful than anything. My heart leaps at the sudden touch reddening my pale cheeks.

A silly grin finds its way to my lips as I remember Sunhyun’s words, and mentally curse her-in case I forgot to do so later.

Her theory was right,

My curiosity is at its peak.

I want to know more about this person.

*******************************

A.N: The book ('the passenger') is not real.I just made it up.

Hope you enjoy!