There is not much to say for Moonbyul when it comes to Bucheon. Food specialty? The greatest place to enjoy yourself on a runaway trip? A trip to the
past that she, presumably, didn’t care much about?

 

There is not much to see past the blurred window of the train, any kind of view ruined by light drizzle outside, producing an even foggier quality of the picture of moving scenes. Still no telling which one is foggier, the window of this train or the course of their journey.

 

A tiny groan reaches her senses as she looks at her companion, looking obviously uncomfortable putting her side of the head on the window, getting in and out of the dreamland so many times. Moonbyul reached out her arms to catch her head and carefully tuck it on her shoulder, putting the other girl out of her agony. It seems to be working as Hyejin’s features becoming softer and then still. Even under the black hat there has never been one that can look so innocent while sleeping. She is definitely sure this girl is Simba now. A lion cub.

 

In short, she can’t help but think of why Bucheon is because of the missing link. After all, this is the place where she first met Hyejin.

 

Before either she or her went missing, Moonbyul was still not sure who ditched the other first.

 

--

 

Everything went just as expected. There seems to be no one tailing them as they rush out of the station, jump into a commuter bus and take a ride to the nearest inn they can get. Tailing Hyejin from behind, Moonbyul strolls around to check whether everything is just working and finds out that it is not half bad for what it’s worth. Decent water system, checked. Fuzzy light bulb, tolerated. Door key to the room, checked. Moonbyul checks it several times, twisting and turning the key in the lock ranging from normal to quicker tempo, getting even swifter as she swings the door back and forth in a similar manner. Noticing the pressure of curious stare stabbing her back, she turns and gives a sheepish smile.

 

“When you are running away from someone, the last thing you want is a jammed door.”

 

Hyejin has realized since the day she met that she didn’t know much about this girl. The girl who is too skinny for her own good seemed to be not eating anywhere else besides at the window when she went on her daily visit. The girl with emotions surfaced and escaped just as quickly only if you were attentive enough to even notice. A weird display of fleeting emotions. She is still an enigma that Hyejin cannot fathom.

 

It's a little bit frustrating. Hyejin has always been a good mind-reader but the damn ability didn’t just come and work its magic now. Little bits are obvious to her to a degree but that’s it. Bits and pieces that lead to an incoherent puzzle. A puzzle that has been thrown aside for being too complicated for all ages. Her stare must hold more curiosity to them because the other girl looked even more self-conscious as she continued while motioning to the bathroom. “The hot water has already been prepared. You might want to take a bath or catch a nap first, whatever suits you. I have to go somewhere for a bit. Keep the phone under the pillow and call me if you need anything.”

 

“It doesn’t hurt to take a rest first, Byulyi.”

 

“Just for a while.” It was a smile that looked reassuring. What she was trying to be reassuring for, Hyejin had no idea. “I will pick you up at…” She stole a peek at her watch. “6. I will pick you up at 6. Sleep tight and get all the rest you need.”

 

What Moonbyul said was partially true. Getting out for a while wears Hyejin in a flash. Her consciousness waned beneath the bulky cover and with the comforter spreading warmth and relaxation in the room, she was transferred out of the day in no time.

 

--

 

Sometimes a time will come when one would realize what is wrong and what is the right thing to do for oneself. The acknowledgement of it all may possibly be a task that is refined with age.

 

But looking at the flat, her childhood, now emptied of any tenants and abandoned by its owner, Moonbyul still didn’t know what to feel. Sad, for witnessing yet another memory of her family gone down the drain? Glad, for erasing that part when her father ruined everything in his quest for perfection?

 

Her eyes fixated straight to one of the doors on the second floor.

 

It’s all coming back. The screams, the speeding vehicle, the realization that she was never enough. That no one could ever be enough for her pop.

 

The time taken to acknowledge life, with its cuts and edges, is how it is. But it never came down to that. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to feel. The fact that she can’t acknowledge a thing, it was never calming.

 

--

 

“This is practically trespassing.”

 

“Not when I got this.” A set of rusty keys clinking as Moonbyul twirls it around her index finger, shaking her shoulder left and right in excitement. “The security lent it to me for a while.”

 

Apparently Moonbyul’s idea of a fun trip is to take a walk down the memory lane of their high school. Steps echo as they walk along the hallway, creating a somewhat eerie, looming titillation similar to those cheesy horror B-movies of the past. It is still the same building with mismatched paint on the wall, and the places were exactly as they remember it. Hyejin cannot help but feel nostalgic.

 

“This is our classroom.”

 

Setting her crutch to the side, Hyejin sits and watches in amusement as Moonbyul scribbles on the blackboard furiously, the chalk creates a scratching sound and inadvertently crushes to pieces, so she throws it aside in a comical manner to replace it with another one to go along. The writing was done in no time and Moonby