It was already more than thirty minutes since they went out from Lotte tower where they had spent their second lunch. Jiyong was behind the wheel, driving his white car out from the town. The girl next to her was anxious, she kept checking her phone and tried to call someone, but it seemed, no one answered.

“Is everything okay?” Jiyong tried to ask her, bravely. Because she looked so much deep in thoughts and he did not want to look so pushy. “I heard you mentioned Ginger on the phone, did not mean to eavesdropping,” he added.

Jiyong’s voice scattered her own bubbles. “Oh, yes… Ginger..” she said while she gathered up all her thoughts. “My mom called me, he seemed like he’s crying in pain.”

“He lives with your mom?” Jiyong was in doubt to ask. But, he cannot help to ask. Because, Ginger was his gift to her. He had been asking himself, when he found her brought different pet, not only that time at petshop.

She nodded.

He waited for more explanations, if there’s any.

“Do you think I could live with him?” Taeyeon was asking, in her low voice. Jiyong gazed at her and found she had her small smile. Jiyong knew that smile. Her bitter smile.

“Sorry…” he said again.

“No more sorry and regret, Ji, please…” she said making Jiyong just took another deep breath. “And honestly, you can just drive me back home, no need to go to Jeonju.”

“But I want to drive you. And I cannot help but to feel sorry to you,”

Now it’s time for Tayeon to take a deep sigh. “Its hours driving from here, and you will need another hours to get back to Seoul again, and tonight is the release date of your comeback song.”

“Nothing special about tonight, really…” he replied. “You want to listen to our new song?” he asked.

“I can? But it’s not fair.”

Jiyong laughed.

“Do not spoil it, I will listen to it at midnight,” she said making Jiyong laughed even harder.

He stopped laughing before he asked, “have you ever listened to my song, Taeng? After…” he did not dare to continue. “Sorry, it’s okay if you didn’t want to answer,” he added. Because he already regretted to spill out that question. Question out of many questions he wanted to ask.

“I will answer… but with one condition,” she offered, “I will ask you back. One question for one question?”

“Are you even sure with that?” he cautioned. “I can ask you anything? Like anything?”

She gulped. “Let’s see what can we do with those questions,” she murmured, not sure, but let’s see…

Jiyong looked at her one more second, with a slight smile in his face. “Okay, so Kim Taeyeon, have you ever listened to my song? Like, ever? After that most stupid mistake I ever done to you?”

She rolled her eyes. “Stop that, I forgave you, let’s move on,” she advised. “To answer your question, no I have not listened to your song,” she said making Jiyong gazed at her, in question. “I only listened to this one song,” she added making Jiyong more deep in question. “Not really listened though, more like watched one of your performance I found on YouTube.”

“Can I guess?” he asked, which she replied with a nod. This time, Jiyong was so sure with his answer, “Untitled, 2014?”

Tayeon smiled. It stayed the same, she thought. He can read her, perfectly. She nodded to his guess. “I always skipped all of your songs that randomly played on the radio or suggested by Melon, or any other platform. But one day, I found this video on my YouTube home, and I clicked.”

“And?”

“Doesn’t that count as your second question?” she teased.

“You can ask two questions after this.”

Taeyeon smiled at his remark. “You indeed bad at singing, Jiyong,” she joked making him laugh, because that was what he said to the audience before he started to sing that song. “I am kidding,” she said. “I am not used to see vulnerable you, on stage, and you were so… vulnerable on stage…” she was not sure to say it, but she told him anyway.

Jiyong was thinking if only he was not behind the wheel, because he wanted to swim in those eyes of hers. To try reading her. “I poured my heart out, Taeng,” he claimed, “because I know, for sure, I am bad at singing,” he joked back at her making her laugh.

That ahjumma laugh. Still making him in awe.

“Two questions for you,” he allowed her.

Taeyeon was thinking hard. Many questions were inside her head, but she did not know what to ask. She was so afraid that she will ask something stupid, or something that will spoil this friendship she was having with him.

“Stop those thoughts, Kim Taeyeon. Ask!” as always, Kwon Jiyong can read hear, without e