It’s the middle of the day that they parted on the road. It’s going to be a four-hour drive. They have already passed six towns from where they had begun. Jihoon looks at his niece, who is sitting in the front seat. He notices she has been wearing a mask for a couple of weeks now. He’s concerned about how she is feeling. “Are you okay?” He asks.

Seulgi is resting her elbow on the armrest on the car door. “Mmm..” She doesn’t have to look at him to know how concerned her uncle is. She’s looking at the outside view. It has been a long time since she got out for a long trip. She holds onto the seat belt tightly, feeling nervous about the ride. “I know this is hard for you…” Jihoon pauses for a while, contemplating the right words to say. He knows it has been tough for her since she is still in the process of recovering from what had happened six months ago. He wanted her to stay with him with his family. Jihoon is her mom’s brother. He cares a lot about her but she isn't in his custody and there is nothing he can do about it. “I hope you’ll reconnect with Byung Wook. I know he isn’t a bad father,” He adds finally.

“I know,” Seulgi knew that. Her parents divorced for some reason and they split custody. She is taken by her mother while Garam, her older brother, is with her father. She doesn't understand why but maybe her mother had reasons for it. She asked her mother about it but her mother would just tell her, “There are some things in life that are better left unknown.” – Seulgi couldn't understand it.

Jihoon is driving at a constant speed. He is connecting his phone to the car’s speaker via Bluetooth, playing his favorite Chicago playlist on Spotify; his eyes are focused on the road. Suddenly, a Toyota Hilux behind them overtakes in a tight spot which makes him step the brakes and slows down his speed. It startles Seulgi and in reflex, she holds the grab handle, trembling. Her heart is pounding heavily, frightened of the situation. Her recollection of the past flashed before her eyes. She remembers the car accident six months ago. It feels like it was just yesterday. She could remember it clearly in her head. She pants from the trauma of it. Jihoon sees how his niece reacted. He squeezes her shaking knees lightly. “Seulgi,” He calls her attention. “It's okay. We're fine, we're fine.”

Seulgi stops trembling when her uncle reassures her that. She looks at her uncle who is so worried about her. She has to get a grip on herself. She doesn’t want him to get worried as he is now. She convinces herself that she can manage herself that she would be alright and she would get over what had happened in the past. There won’t be any good thing from dwelling on it. She has to be strong.

She has to.

“Let’s have a stopover on whichever diner we can see, how about that?” Jihoon asks Seulgi while he’s focusing on driving, looking at the rear mirror and the side mirrors; he’s extra attentive to his surroundings. They pass by a small old gasoline station. It’s unsettling to look at as it’s like in a cliché suspense or horror movie. There are no other shops; it’s the only small establishment around the area. It doesn’t look like it would be a good business base from the location.

“I’m craving for hot wings,” Seulgi replies as she scrunches her nose and adjusts her mask.

A few kilometers by, Jihoon sees a gas station and a diner road sign ahead. “We’re almost there,” he says, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. When they arrive at the place, Jihoon parks the car with the other cars which were already there before them. Seulgi steps out of the car, she stands still, easing her legs that have fallen asleep. She stretches her legs hoping to make them feel better. It was a two-hour drive after all.

“Seulgi are you coming?” Her uncle hollers her as he’s at the diner’s door. “After you,” she replies.

After a few more stretches Seulgi goes inside the diner and looks for her uncle who’s seated in the middle diner booth. She observes her surroundings as she goes inside the diner. There are only four people inside. The diner has retro-looks and it isn't that great of a place. Seulgi adjusts her mask as she passes by the guy who’s wearing a black denim jacket, sitting on the first diner booth. His looks were kind of like a shady person. She avoids any eye contact with him as she walks by; she sits at the diner booth where her uncle is. Jihoon hands her the menu that is almost worn out. Seulgi squints at some words that aren’t even readable.

“Just pick the basics. I’m sure they have it here.”

“I hope they have hot wings.”

“I’m sure they have it,” Jihoon calls the waitress’s attention and attends to their table, she gets out her small notebook in her pocket. “What do you wanna order?”

Seulgi looks at the waitress. “I’d like hot wings, please.”

“We don’t have that on our menu.” The waitress says it like she’s unhappy to serve them.

“Do you have a BLT sandwich?”

“Nope. We’re out of tomatoes.”

“Fried chicken?”

“Out of stock.”

“Umm…” Seulgi tries to read the unreadable menu again and looks at her uncle, wanting him to order first so she could just copy whatever her uncle will have.

Jihoon understood what it meant, so he took the initiative to order. “Miss, what do you recommend?”

“We only serve burgers, fries, nuggets, scrambled eggs, and bacon. They're the only available on the menu.”

“Oh,” Jihoon says as he and Seulgi are looking at each other like they are mentally conveying their opinions of the service. The diner is such a crappy place to dine-in. Not to mention the menu is useless; it’s almost unreadable and most foods on the menu aren’t even available. They are hungry and they have no other choice but to order the foods that are mentioned. “Okay, we’ll have those recommendations, please.”

The waitress noted their orders. “How about drinks?” Her tone is unenthusiastic as ever.

“Water, please,” Seulgi answers.

“I'll have a coffee.”

“Serving time will be fifteen to twenty minutes.” The waitress puts her pen in her pocket and walks away to put tabs on their order.

Seulgi leans back on the seat, observing the place. It has a retro vibe but it’s sloppy. She imagines the place could have been nice if it’s managed well. Not to mention the service was awful. If she could rate it, she would give it a two out of ten. It’s the worst diner she has ever been to. She could also smell a stench; she scrunches her nose and adjusts her mask.

Jihoon looks at his niece with condoling eyes. He feels bad for the kid. At sixteen, she lost her mother in a car accident. They were on a trip together to go to the west. A tragic accident happened on the road. A truck driver was on his way home, drunk. The truck collided with his sister's car with a heavy impact which threw the car off the road and hit a tree. The car was severely damaged. It was bloody. Only Seulgi was able to survive the accident. Her mother was dead on the spot when the medics arrived at the scene. Seulgi received many injuries and she was in a coma for almost a month. Jihoon thought he would also lose her niece on that tragic day. And as for the truck driver, God knows where he has been after he fled from the scene. He hopes he would serve his punishment for his unforgivable action. “Is your sinusitis getting any better?” Jihoon asks in a concerned tone.

“It's the same. My nose is sensitive when I smell something.”

“Don't worry it won't last long. You'll get better soon. Don't forget to take your medication.”

The waitress approaches them to pour them a glass of water and a cup of coffee, then leaves.

“Uncle Jihoon, you don't need to be so worried. I'll be fine living with dad even though he has his new family.”

“I can't help it. I'm just looking out for you. After what happened…” He pauses, almost teary remembering everything.

Seulgi reaches for his hands and squeezes them. “I’ll be fine, uncle. Don't worry about me. I'm a big girl now,” She grins, her eyes turn to crescents. It’s enough for Jihoon to be at ease, knowing that Seulgi will be alright.

Fifteen minutes later their order arrived. They eat their meal and talk about Jihoon's family – Seulgi is close to his daughter and son. He asks her about them, always on Tiktok. She gladly explains how Tiktok works. They also talk about the camping they had last year and they talked about random stuff.

After eating they continue to hit the road, going to Angels Creek. It will be another two-hour drive before they can arrive in her hometown.