“The next stop is Yeongdeungpo-gu Office. The next stop is Yeongdeungpo-gu Office. The exit door is to your right.” The reminder blasted from the speakers. I remained seated as I watched the doors to the subway opened. A stream of people exited through the doors, and soon enough, another set of people entered.

Three more stops until mine.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It was my first day of school as a university student, and I was nervous. No, actually, I was shaking in nervousness.

It did not help that I was riding a subway jam-packed with people from different walks of life.

 I do not usually ride the subway, seeing that being around strangers always makes me nervous.

Back in high school, my house was just a few minutes away from my school by foot but it clearly wasn’t the case now that my university is located on the other side of the Han River from where I live. Riding the taxi should be another choice but it was clearly impossible with the extremely high taxi fare that would surely eat up my daily allowance. I had no choice but to ride the subway.

Music always calmed my nerves when around other people.

I opened the bag on my lap and tried to search for my earphones, but it wasn’t there.

The lady sitting on my right side shifted towards me and tried to get more space. In front of me stood a middle-aged man who was staring at the legs of the lady beside me. It didn’t help that she was wearing a really skimpy dress in such a cramped subway.

The man noticed me staring at him and gave me a smirk. I immediately looked away. Is he still looking at me? I gulped. It’s okay, Neera. Just think of other things.

Apparently, thinking of other things did not calm my nervousness either because all I could think of is the freshman talent show. Every year, the music department in the university that I got in requires all their upcoming freshman students to prepare a short presentation, showcasing their talents. According to the senior who showed me around the campus last time, the talent show usually takes up the whole first day of school.

And apparently, for me, that day is today.

 I was so nervous I didn’t realize I was biting my nails. It is not like I haven’t experienced singing in public before. I just haven’t performed alone.

Alone.

Oh my god, what if I mess up? What if my voice cracks and I don’t hit the right notes? They’re all music students so they would probably criticize my voice. What if they don’t like my voice? What if it’s too boring, they start to become sleepy? What if I mess up, embarrass myself, and no one talks to me, and wants to be my friend, and I’ll be a loner all throughout college, and—

“When the heart is always searching, can you ever find a home?”

A smooth, melodic voice snapped me away from my thoughts.

It was coming from the person sitting on my left. I turned my head to his direction and was surprised to see a guy with a small built.

He had platinum blonde hair that was styled into a ponytail. He was hugging a black guitar case close to his body while his eyes were closed, and a pair of earphones was plugged on his ears. Judging by the way his lips moved to form lyrics familiar to me, he wasn’t sleeping.

He was singing my favorite song.

“I’ve been looking for that someone. I’ll never make it on my own.”

His voice wasn’t the best out there, but it made me feel strangely calm. His voice came out smooth and to be honest, it made my heart flutter a little.

 His voice reminded me of peaceful summer mornings, of sleeping in until afternoon without getting scolded by my mother, and of soft warm hugs.

 I stared at him, and realized how serene he looked. Even his face looked calm.

The ponytail boy stopped singing, and all of a sudden, opened his eyes.

Small and dark brown. I bet they disappear into slits when he smiles. 

I was so distracted by how beautiful his eyes were that I didn’t hear the announcement of the next stop from the speakers.

The blonde boy clutched the handle of his guitar and stood up. I realized how short he was. We were probably the same height. Soon, I was greeted by his back.

And that’s when I saw it. The small, black rubber band that was holding his hair together snapped, and fell to the floor.

I immediately bent down to pick it up.

When I looked up, the blonde boy was gone.

And I missed my stop.

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“This y