I leaned back into my chair, taking a sip of the cola I just bought. Man, the wonders of fast food drive-thru. Undoubtedly humanity's greatest creation, especially for a second rate Uber driver like me. I looked at my wallet, thrown on the passenger seat. Damned thing was almost empty. I've been using my money waaay too much the past few days. I'm too scared to even look at my bank account balance. I'm spending more than what I'm earning. Thank god I have a day job. I my driver's app, looking at my bookings for tonight. And just like the past couple of nights, there was only one booking for tonight. I stared at the screen, my stomach feeling a tad queasy. I hope it's just a simple one trip ride, and not a whole night reservation.

But considering my luck, A new message popped up, giving me a slight distraction. It was from a familiar face, or familiar faces. Nako sending a bombardment of texts and pictures onto a chat room that I was, unfortunately, dragged in to. After my suggestion, the two teenagers ended up going to Lotte world with Nako just this afternoon. I thought providing the contact numbers was enough but they insisted on adding me into their damn group chat. And they just kept sending All. These. Pictures. 

The entire afternoon, they sent pictures of them eating, playing the games and riding rides. They were basically trying to rub it in my face. I opened the message, looking at a bunch of new photos just sent in by Nako. They were having dinner, grilling meat and having fun. Of course the two lovebirds were sitting side by side, arms linked and their smiles basically etched onto their faces. Nako was sitting alone in front of them, her face scrunched up in exaggerated disgust. I mean, I guess I feel sorry for her, being stuck between lovebirds for a whole afternoon. There WAS a reason I didn't want to be chaperoning them to Lotte world, and my day job was NOT the reason. But I couldn't help but smile, watching them having fun. The smiles on Wonyoung and Yujin's faces were as bright and in love as they were yesterday. I'm glad they're finally having a proper, 'supervised' date.

"Good evening"

The back door suddenly opened, and my new passenger entered, dressed in a black dress suit, and a bouquet of flowers in hand. 

I slid my phone back onto the stand, closing the chat message. I looked back, turning to face at the new passenger on the Uber.

 
"Good evening miss...?"

"Sakura. You can just call me Kkura."

"Ah... are you by any chance, Japanese?"

She gave me a slight nod, before putting the bouquet down next to her. Well, what are the chances I'd be taking 2 Japanese passengers in a span of 3 days? 

"That's a beautiful bouquet. Blue hydrangeas? Not something you see too often." 

"Thanks. Its uhhh my partner's favourite." 

"You sound nervous." 

"Well... I haven't seen her in a while. I've been in Japan this whole time and I'm finally meeting her for our 5th anniversary."

"Well that's wonderful. I hope you two have a wonderful time tonight. If you could just pass me your coordinates." 

She handed a piece of paper with the address to me, finally letting me have a proper look at her face. I nearly choked on myself, surprised at who I was looking at. She was... stunning. She was not a normal person. I could tell that this wasn't some normal beauty. She was on a different level. I had to mentally slap myself to focus back on my job. I took the piece of paper and looked at the address. For some reason, it looked familiar to me. It wasn't ringing any major bells and yet, the address just seemed so recognisable. Maybe it's just a recent hotspot and it's now a commonplace. Maybe I drove past it while I was driving my passengers around the past two nights. I turned back to face the road, finally starting the engine up. I turned the GPS on and clocked in the address, only to understand why I recognised the address. 

It's been awhile since I've been there myself, which is why it slipped my mind. 

The drive was quiet, not much to fill up the emptiness in the cab other than the pop songs played by the radio sta-tion. It wasn't necessarily awkward, but this was probably the first time the cab ride didn't involve any form of conversation. The ride itself was going to be long, since the drop off point was somewhere just outside the city outskirts. It was a Tuesday night, so the roads were mildly packed, a staple of the Seoul nightlife. I took a peek at my passenger, glancing up at the rear view mirror. She was just staring out the window, admiring the build-ings as we drove past. Her eyes trailed the light poles as they pass her by, and yet they were unfocused and obscure. It wasn't soulless per say, but it was distant, as though looking far ahead. She wasn't even concerned about the time, nor how long we were taking. She just stared outside, listlessly admiring the view.

"I'm sorry. We might take a while longer. It seems I have to take a different route since there's some work ahead." 

I slowed the car down as I approached a bend, trying to re-calculate the directions for the GPS. I tried to keep attention on both the GPS and her, apologising for the mishap.

"It's fine. I quite enjoy the car ride. Plus, I might need this time to get myself ready, so I appreciate you driving at your own pace." 

I didn't hear a hint of sarcasm, like she was fine with the situation. In fact, she sounded a little relieved that we were going to take some more time. I looked back, a knee jerk reaction I've developed the past two days. She was looking at me, giving me a rather timid smile.

"Feeling nervous huh?"

"Yes well, it's been nearly 3 years since I've met her, so I'm feeling quite a mixture of emotions."

I turned the bend, finally back on track towards our drop off point.

"You seem to be quite fluent in Korean. " 

"Thank you. It took a lot of effort."

"Did your partner teach you?"

"That would be the usual method wouldn't it? But my girlfriend speaks Japanese pretty fluently, even though she's Korean. That's not to say I'm not learning. I had to learn the language by myself the past 3 years while I was in japan."

She sounded more relaxed, finally easing into the atmosphere. She still looked outside the window, but it had a slight spark in it, as though something reignited in her as we speak about her partner. Her smile felt warmer, and it we speak about her partner. Her smile felt warmer, and it soothed me for some reason.

"Sounds like a lot of effort, and dedication."

"Well, when you're in a long distance relationship, you try to do anything and everything to keep it alive, even if it means endlessly repeating the same words over and over again, just so you can impress them when you finally meet."

I detected a hint of wistfulness in her voice, I guess highlighting the pains of a long distance relationship. I suppose I could understand her. I could understand her.

"Must have been hard on you. To be so far apart."

She was quiet, unsure of what to say. I guess I stepped on a landmine. Thankfully, she didn't seem to take in negatively.

"It... was. I suppose she had it hardest. I was too focused on what I wanted to do, that I didn't give much thought about what she felt. I'm sure she was suffering more than I was."

I felt a stab, somehow relating to her words. It was a situation I understood perfectly. Too focused on myself. Too self-centred. Her words somehow placed a slight weight on me, my feet easing off the pedal as my chest tightened up.

"Did you regret it? Leaving her here to pursue your own dreams."

She didn't reply straight away, pondering on what to say. Her head tilted in an angle, letting the streetlight outside hit her side profile and illuminating her face under the night. Her auburn hair glistened under the light, enunciatng her pale white skin.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't. I sometimes wish I hadn't left her here alone, to somehow have managed to convince her back then, or to stay with her here rather than chasing my desires."

"What would she have said?"

A small laugh escape from , as she recalled her partner's words.

"Just go. But make sure you come back one day so we can have that dance you promised."

"Dance?"

"It was a stupid promise we made. We did a lot of stupid things as a couple, but there were three things we prom- ised each other. To get a couple ring, like this one-"

She put her hand up, letting me take a look at the ring on her ring finger. It was a simple ring, no jewel, no decor.

"It has our names carved on the inside, and the number 2- 12. It was our classroom number."

The ring glistened, reflecting only the lights from the light poles outside. It really was a simple silver ring. Nothing fancy. It hardly have any carving on the exterior, so it 
might have seemed cheap to other people, but I could see how much it meant to her.

"And the other promises?"

"Right... Well the ring, and then we promised we'd be each other's dates during graduation, but both of us were sick on that day, so we promised to have our own graduation dance one day, and we'd only do it at one place. That's where the last promise ties in. We kept a small time capsule somewhere in a hill overlooking seoul. We promised we'd dig it out again when the time comes, and we'd have our graduation dance before we dig it out."

"And is today the day?"

She merely looks at me, barely nodding her head as her face turned a slight shade of pink. Even under the dim lights, I could tell the blush on her face. And just that conversation ended, I turned the car in, slowing it down as we slowly approached the drop off point.

"It's been so long since I've last seen her, and I'm not even sure if she'd even remember how I look, how I sound."

"Do you remember?"

"Of course I do. Everything about her. Her voice, her hands, her touch, her kindness. Her face. I remember every single thing. There's no way I can ever forget."

We drove quietly, slowly braking right in front of the entrance.

"Then there's nothing to be afraid of. I'm sure she remembers."

I turned back to look at her, giving her my most reassuring smile. She picked up the bouquet of flowers before turning to look at me. I recognised that look on her face.

"I'll wait. Don't worry. I don't have any other bookings tonight, so you can use me the whole night."

I suppose this is a thing now. She left the cab, climbing up the stairs to the main lobby of the establishment. She held the bouquet close to her, her the establishment. She held the bouquet close to her, her hands shaking and her breath quivering. I exited the cab as well, taking in the place in front of me. A wave of nostalgia swept over me as well. A mixture of emotions I didn't swept over me as well. A mixture of emotions I didn't think I'd have to endure again after so long. Sakura turned around to look at me one last time, as though looking for support.

"Ganbare"

I mouthed the only Japanese words I knew, something  Nako taught me.

I leaned against my cab, a lollipop in my mouth. I stared at the building in front of me, half hesitating to go inside, half insistent on just staying outside for Sakura. I was just about to take a step when I noticed Sakura exiting the building. But she wasn't alone. She had someone in hand. A blonde who had a smile as warm and tender as the sun. She exuded affection like a warm fireplace would during winter. And sakura too had a smile on her face, the widest I'd seen the entire night.

"Chaewon, this is Chaeyeon. She's my girlfriend."

I merely smile and nodded, not exactly sure how to respond. I merely gestured at the cab, ready to send her to wherever they needed to.