Driving back to the inn in the terrible storm was not Hyewon's priority the moment she set foot on her car. Her top concern was the girl in the passenger's seat, the girl who was now unconscious, shivering every few seconds caused by being soaked in the rain for too long. Not that Hyewon herself was not shivering, but all she could think of at that moment was this poor girl, and what made her bravely (and stupidly) cross the bridge that was on the verge of crumbling. What her words meant before she fell unconscious, what her eyes conveyed as she stared at those orbs. Hyewon was thinking deeply about all those things until she heard her phone ring. Abruptly answering the call without looking who the caller was and putting it on speaker, a loud voice welcomed her at once.

"What the hell was that, Kang Hyewon?!"

In a surprise, Hyewon sharply stomped on the brakes, almost making the girl on her passenger's seat fall. After a few seconds of buffering, Hyewon finally said a word to the caller, saying hello in a timid voice.

"Why the hell you so polite for? After almost dying?! What goes into your mind, charging into that bridge like a mad person while the damn bridge was crumbling?! Are you ing insane? Did you finally lose it?!" A barrage of questions welcomed her ears. "Oh, it's just you Kkura," Hyewon sighed. "I thought it was my boss calling. But what are you saying? Are you telling me that-"

"You ing moron, you almost died! With a thousand people watching it live!"

Silence ensued; Sakura could be heard inhaling and exhaling loudly while there was the faint voice of Yena trying to calm her down. Hyewon found it weird how their dynamics have somehow exchanged, but did not voice out that thought. The moment Sakura calmed down, Hyewon went on explaining how the whole thing happened. How she was in the midst of the storm minding her own peace until she saw the glimpse of the person, now in her passenger's seat, that stirred up a storm in her thoughts. 

Sakura could be heard sighing, and Yena took the opportunity to say something that astounded the girl driving.

"Dude, you're viral. The whole thing you did, it was caught on cam. I must say netizens were in awe of how brave you saved that person."

As if on cue, the person that was saved stirred up, groggily opening up her eyes, and the girl driving and the girl who just woke up met each other's eyes, instantaneously making Hyewon forget about her call with Sakura and Yena.

The latter's face looked so tired from too much crying and there were traces of dried tears on her cheeks, but her eyes were already b with tears on the verge of falling. Her eyes that spooked Hyewon too much she had to break their stare. She could not contain the pang in her heart looking at those eyes, filled with nothing but suffering. Like a bird trying to escape its cage, like shouting without a sound made, like a stab in the heart with no bleeding. Hyewon could not even utter a word, so she just focused her eyes on the road, barely visible with the torrential rain. Just then, the girl beside her broke the growing silence.

"Is that...a phone? Can I...borrow your phone? Please... I just need to call someone...."

Her voice was hoarse, and she probably took every strength in her frail body to sound as neutral as possible to cover up her emotions but the voice of desperation cannot be unheard. 

"...and I can't believe everything! You must be...Kwangbae, hello? Still there?"

"Gotta call you back later, Yena. Bye."

"What? Wait who was-"

Hyewon quickly ended the call with her right hand before extending it towards the girl beside her. The latter did not hesitate to take it, dialing a number in a flash. The call was not answered, and the girl was panicking. Hyewon wanted to do something, to help her, but she barely knew who the girl was, much less help her in her grievance. But noticing how the girl's breathing was becoming erratic rapidly, and would possibly have a panic attack, Hyewon reached out for her hand, drawing circles on the back of the girl's hand, who looked taken aback. It was the least she can do and she followed up with a small phrase.

"Breathe in and breathe out," she said while also doing it, encouraging the girl to do the same. Thankfully, the girl did the same, and her breathing slowly went back to normal. Seeing how the girl was gradually calming down, she withdrew her hands and she frowned at the sudden loss of warmth, even though both of their hands were cold. Hyewon thought about asking for the girl's name but the latter was already dialing another number, so she just decided against it.

 After a short while, the ringing of the phone resonated in the car, drowning all the other noise outside. Anxious tension was bubbling up in the atmosphere, and Hyewon wished she was anywhere but here, in the presence of a stranger on the verge of breaking down while waiting for her call to be answered. 

Fortunately, the call was picked up and the girl beside her burst out a series of her concerns.

"Chaewon, where is mother? Are you with her? How are you guys? Please tell me you're okay. Please..."

So it was family, Hyewon thought, but quickly shrugged the thought away, deciding that it was invasive of her to listen to someone else's conversation, especially such a sensitive one. But she could not help but glance now and then at the girl, who then started crying again. Tears flowing down her beautiful face, and Hyewon did not notice before how the girl was gorgeous, probably because all she saw was devastation on her face a while ago. 

The girl continued to talk to Chaewon, whoever she was, but mostly asked about her family. The girl also tried her best not to break down in front of Hyewon and must have mustered all her energy into speaking as calmly as possible. But her voice cracked and her resolve wavered upon asking a question.

"Can I please hear her speak? Please?"

The amount of pleases that came out of the girl's mouth was countless already, and every time it somehow adds weight to her heart. Another deadly silence took over, and it was slowly killing Hyewon who was not even a part of the conversation, she wondered how the girl was handling everything. The silence, the tension, the faint sound of the radio -- Hyewon even forgot she had it opened --, all of it too much that the strong pouring of rain against the windshield sounded like ever so distant.

Suddenly, the girl beside her burst out crying, not minding that she was in a stranger's car using a stranger's phone. She just poured out her heart into the open. Hyewon felt a surge of unknown emotions as if leading her to her breakdown. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, hoping it might suppress these emotions threatening to make her tear up. At that moment, she just wanted to stop the car and hug the girl, assuring her that whatever the hell is happening will pass by, that somehow everything will be okay. But she did not. She continued driving, speeding up a little to get over this trip, to get out, to relish herself once more in the falling rain. Because to her, that is better than being stuck with this girl, with whatever she had going on, and Hyewon badly wanted to not care at all, but the moment the call ended and the girl let go of the phone, Hyewon once again reached out for her hand, making her feel some sort of warmth, some sort of comfort that she knew was not possible but she did anyway. And the girl was about to doze off again but tried to speak to the driving girl. 

"I'm Yuri. Thank you..."

Hyewon almost stuttered as she mentioned her name. "I, well, I'm Hyewon. No problem, Yuri."

The girl Yuri just nodded and she fell to sleep again. But even as Yuri fell asleep, Hyewon still held her hand, still drew circles on the back of her hand and Hyewon was thankful she bought an automatic car. Their hands slowly warming up, Hyewon made it her mission to somehow help Yuri. After all, she already had saved her, might as well continue it. 

And it just occurred to her that now she knew the girl's name. 

Yuri.

And she felt a warm feeling deep inside her upon knowing her name. If she felt an awfully familiar feeling, she shrugged it away. She was just both thankful and melancholic to come across this girl that she saved from instant devastation. There was something about Yuri that is both dangerous and solace, but Hyewon could not point it out just yet.

"Yuri."

Hyewon whispered, making her face brighten a little without noticing it. 

Her day would be complicated she reckoned --she found it amusing how it does not bother her that much -- all because of one person. 

Yuri.