Title: The Midsummer Train Author's note: Got the idea for this on a short train ride. Let me know what you think!

When Kim Taeyeon had the idea of travelling solo on a cross-country train, she didn’t think that she would have so many unfortunate moments in the beginning. This morning, she forgot to load her luggage in the trunk. Lucky for her, she went an hour early, originally planning to have breakfast at the station. Having to turn around halfway and asking the cabbie to speed up, she had to jog to the awaiting train. Relieved that she got to her seat on time, Taeyeon huffed and reached for her earphones in her left coat pocket and didn’t find them there. Her hands rummaged through the other pockets and still didn’t find that darned earphones. She probably left them in the taxi while rushing to pay for the cab.

  Not fully in her right mind after losing her earphones, the train conductor suddenly came into the cabin to check the tickets. Again, she couldn’t remember where she placed the damn ticket, but she was sure that she had put it in one of her pockets. While muttering under her breath, the woman sat across her pointed out that her ticket is underneath her seat, probably fell there when she was looking for her earphones.   Thanking her cabin neighbor, Taeyeon grabbed the ticket for the conductor, who checked it and quickly made his way to the next cabin. When it was only the two of them, the blonde thanked the woman once again, receiving a kind smile in return.   Well, at least she was fortunate enough to have a nice cabin neighbor. The woman was on her earphones (Taeyeon envied such luxury now that she lost hers), quietly reading something on her tablet. At least she was quiet, just exactly what she needed for this train ride. She needed some silence to think, probably decided on some important things at the end of the ride.   However, another misfortune struck. The train broke down about an hour into the trip.   Taeyeon almost wanted to yank her blonde tresses in frustration. How bad can her day be, really??   #   Taeyeon’s cabin neighbor dozed off when the unfortunate thing happened, waking up confused that the train did not move.   “The train broke down about fifteen minutes ago,” Taeyeon answered her confusion.   “Oh,” the woman responded, still in a daze from her short nap. “Did they say why?”   “Nothing that I know of. You know it’s bad when the conductor comes in and tell you ‘it will take a while’.”   “Did he?”   “Nope, he didn’t, so probably nothing serious.”   The woman smiled curtly. “You seem to know stuff about train rides.”   “I suppose I ride trains just enough to know some things.”   “Lucky me,” the woman answered while stretching in her seat.   Taking a look at the woman, Taeyeon thought she must not be older than 30 years old, judging from the way she dressed; a grey hoodie jacket, v neck white tee tucked into dark blue jeans. Her shoulder-length dark brown hair framed a face only donned a mascara to highlight her eyes and a soft pink lipstick on her full lips.   The kind of woman Taeyeon would be into if she was single. Yet another misfortune, apparently.   “Trust me, I’m not that familiar with trains to tell you anything else, Miss…?”   “Sunny. You can call me Sunny.”   “Oh? Is that your real name?”   “Not really fond of it. My parents have three daughters and as the youngest, I got the short end of the stick in terms of names.”   Sunny added an eye roll, igniting a smile from Taeyeon. Adorable. “Well, you can call me Taeyeon. My close friends call me Taengoo but we’ll see if you can earn that right.”   The two women shook hands in greeting, exchanging smiles.   “Nice meeting you.”   #   Taeyeon and Sunny were lost in a conversation, their gadgets abandoned by their sides. Within thirty minutes, they found out that they were the same age (much to their surprise), love animals and have pets of their own back home, and a job they were proud to have. Their conversation went as smooth as the ride that restarted not long after, as predicted by Taeyeon.   “My whole family is in business, even though we’re not lumped into one industry. It’s not really surprising that I’d get into the business as well.”   “Is it? You don’t exactly look like someone in business, Sunny.”   “Hey, just because I’m not in an office attire doesn’t mean I can’t do a job in business.”   “I’m talking about your appearance in general, not just your outfit.”   “My appearance? What’s wrong with how I look?” Sunny tilted her head to the side in curiosity.   “You don’t look a day over thirty!”   “Says the 35-year-old trapped in a 20-year-old body!”   “I’ve had my share of weight issues in my teenage years, okay? You should’ve seen me with chubby cheeks,” Taeyeon grabbed her phone, looking for an old photo on her social media.   “Let me see!” Sunny scooted beside the other woman when Taeyeon was snickering at the photo she found. The Taeyeon in the photo didn’t look that much different than present Taeyeon, as long as you can see past the chubby cheeks, bunny front teeth, and lack of nose piercing. Sunny chuckled, “I guess you’re not a natural blonde after all.”   “Are you kidding me? Of course this is not my natural hair color!” Taeyeon laughed, softly slapping Sunny’s thigh.   “It looks natural!”   “Your brown hair looks natural too but I don’t need to point that out to you, do I?”   Sunny giggled, not even trying to refute.   “Wow, look how young I was in those chubby cheeks.”   “Is that your parameter for being young? Having chubby cheeks?”   “Oh yeah. If we didn’t talk about our age I’d still be thinking that you’re in your twenties.”   “You’re a dork. I’ve lost some weight, you know? People told me I look good but I didn’t feel the same way. I didn’t like the person I saw in the mirror so I just say to myself, it, I’d rather be a bit chubby than miserable.”   Taeyeon listened to Sunny intently, smiling. “You’re right. You’re happy and that’s all that matters.”   “Exactly,” Sunny nodded, returning the smile. Her focus returned to the pictures in Taeyeon’s phone, recognizing the same people over and over again. “Who are these guys?”   “That would be my stupid older brother and his best friend. The three of us grew up together In Jeonju until I moved to Seoul to pursue my singing career.”   “Do you still keep in contact with him?”   “Yeah, in fact, I… married him three years ago.”   Sunny made an ‘o’ face, not expecting the answer. “But you said you live in Seoul by yourself?”   “I do. He got a promotion as a Regional Manager in Busan, so we live separately.”   Nodding, Sunny made a conclusion. “So that’s why you ride trains often.”   “Not often, only when I have time. I’m taking a break right now so I decided to visit him.”   Taeyeon didn’t know why she felt some kind of heaviness when she said it out loud. Maybe it was a reminder of her true purpose in riding this train that got lost in the conversation. She had spent most of her time learning about Sunny, telling Sunny about herself that she forgot she had a lot to consider before setting foot in Busan.   “It’s weird how we’re so similar and yet so different,” Sunny stated all of a sudden.   “Yeah? How so?” Taeyeon croaked, settling her nerves aside.   “We both work in the entertainment business but you work on stage and I, off stage. We love animals but you have dogs and I have cats. You used to be chubby and lost some weight to feel good about yourself and I did the opposite. We’re both on our way to Busan by ourselves but you’re meeting your loved one while I’m avoiding mine.”   “You’re… avoiding someone?”   “Yeah. This is my break after the longest time, not just from my job but also my family, my cats, and my fiancé.”   “You’re engaged.” It was more of a statement of bewilderment than a conclusion. In Taeyeon’s mind, Sunny was an independent businesswoman who spent her off days taking care of her cats. She just couldn’t picture another person added in this frame.   “It was arranged for the benefits of our companies and our parents, really. He’s probably the only person outside my family who I can somehow trust, so it was a mutual decision between our families to arrange a marriage between us.”   “Do you love him?”   The question came out before Taeyeon could stop herself. It was not like she was looking forward to the answer, either.   “Well that’s a loaded question,” Sunny cackled.