002

Like every other weekdays, Myungsoo wakes up upon hearing the loud, almost-too-familiar ringing sound of the alarm clock, which he places on his bed-side table. He switches it off, ruffles his messy hair and rubs his eyes with the back of his hands. He stretches his back and gives off a loud yawn, almost as loud as the sound of the spinning, ceiling fan. Like every other morning, the morning is cold and quiet. He could hear the sounds of pretty birds chirping from the outside; the cold breeze from the slightly open window brushes his neck, and sometimes the shrivelling sound of his own heart beating. This is what he loves the most about the glorious morning – the peacefulness, that empty, vacant feelings, and the eerie sound of silence; welcoming him to the birth of another brand new day.

Every day is same old, same old routines – until one day, he decides to turn it, the other way around.

He leans himself against the pole near the bus stop and has his eyes observing the colourful bits of life, tracking in ever so slowly in his eyes. For one who is as observant and sharp as he is; his predictions and guesses are somehow almost too good to be true.

He glances over to his left. There are three high school girls in their school uniforms and bagpacks on their back; standing just a few metres apart from him. They seem to be whispering among each other; at times, glancing cheekily at him and when he catches them staring, they would be smiling from ear to ear, blushing in red.

“Good morning.” He greets and gives them a warm smile. It doesn’t hurt to be friendly, he thinks.

“Morning!” The girls reply enthusiastically, and then, they would giggle – and they would continue staring at him, whispering but it doesn’t really bother him as much it used to. He has gotten used to it. At some random days, he would receive love letters in the form of airplanes (with scribbled phone numbers inside) from some random girls he meets on streets. At times, he would hear people sort of yelling from afar, “Hey handsome, my friend here thinks you’re cute!” and when such things like that happens, he could only smile and laugh it off — of course; he'd be lying if he says he isn't flattered.

He glances over to his right, he sees a young, good-looking man with a bouquet of fresh flowers in his hands. The young guy keeps on fishing out something from the pocket of his pants; the right pocket has his mobile phone – which he keeps on staring every few seconds, and the other, seems like a small, ring casing. Myungsoo makes his guess; the guy is probably on his way to meet his girlfriend – and he is most probably going to propose her. He smiles at the thought of it and wishes him the best of luck.

A little while after, a little girl with her mother appear and they stand next to him. The little girl is so adorable in his eyes that he couldn’t let the opportunity to take a few pictures of her slip off. He greets the mother with his warmest smile and politely asks for permissions if he could just snap a few pictures of her daughter. She gives him a slight nod.

“Hello there, little sweetie.” He crouches down to level his face with the little girl. “My name is Kim Myungsoo, you can call me Myungsoo oppa.” He says as he offers a handshake.

“Is it okay if I take some pictures of you?”

The little girl smiles, and nods shyly. It doesn’t take a while for her to strike her cheery poses, and flashes her prettiest, innocent smiles. He signals her; a one, a two and a three, and clicks the snap button. It takes a few seconds for the Polaroid camera to print out the picture, and when it finally comes out, he gives the picture to the girl, pats her head and takes another picture of her – for his own memoir.

“You have a very lovely daughter.” He mutters to the girl’s mother.

Perhaps, this is also why Myungsoo refuses to get himself a car. He enjoys his long plentiful walks; he meets new strangers every day and sometimes, having random conversations with them would make even his dullest and darkest days. Myungsoo loves taking pictures and only by appreciating the littlest things in life, he gets to come across with many hidden-layered of the world that is buried deep within the fast-paced, of the moving life.

Myungsoo always takes the same bus to the subway each morning. He becomes acquainted with the middle-aged bus’ driver after a few rides; that they would often exchange their greetings each time. Myungsoo likes to sit at his favourite spot, one at the backseat, always next to the window, always.

“College again?” The driver greets him with the same question, almost every day.

“Yeap. Same old, same old.” He replies, and flinches his way to his favourite spot.

Myungsoo scans his surroundings, most of the front seats have been occupied by faceless passengers, but there are still some vacant seats, including the two empty seats beside him. He then scrutinizes their faces, but he sees no one that looks familiar. The rough sound of the engine signals the set off of the bus. Myungsoo throws his gazes out through the window, and notices how the three high school girls are still there; shyly waving at him, with sheepish smile on their faces. As the bus slowly moves, he gives them half a smile, and bids them goodbye with a wave.

Just when, he is about to stuff his earphones to his ears, he suddenly hears a loud shriek from what seems like from the outside. He narrows his squinted eyes; quickly searching for the screeching voice and he sees a running figure of a female.

“Wait! Bus driver don't go!”