“Attention passengers. Due to unforeseen circumstances, this train will be terminating here. Please alight from the train to await further instructions from staff. Please do not board this train.”

L. Joe's gaze drifted up to the loudspeaker, uncertainly eyeing the rest of the carriage to judge what he should do. He'd never had something like this happen before. His fingers trembled as he struggled to disentangle himself from the cord of his earphones, while he grabbed his bag, trying to get out of the train as quickly as possible.

He was already behind everyone else, who had jumped up at once, jostling out of their seats, and shoving other people out of the way as they scrambled to get out onto the platform. L. Joe held back, uncertainly, worried, not just that he might get squashed by the other people, but also about what would happen if he got off the train.

The same message replayed over and over inside the train, a similar message playing through the loudspeaker on the platform. But no one told them what they should do instead. L. Joe had never gotten out at that station before. He'd never been there before. There was no one he could call to come get him. He was on his own.

Hurriedly scurrying out onto the platform, he found himself swallowed by a large crowd of people, pulling him towards the stairs. He drew up to the top of the landing, still without any better ideas about what he should do next, nor any ideas about what everyone else was planning on doing. Everyone pressed through the barricades, which had been left open to deal with the overflow of people, who gathered in the large square waiting to hear what their next instructions would be.

Everyone wanted explanations about what had happened: to know why they'd been stopped here in the first place. Everyone wanted to know where they should go, to await what was going to come next. Everyone wanted to know what the staff were doing to deal with this: what solutions there would be.

L. Joe withdrew his phone, trying to decide whether he should try calling someone to come get him. Anyone he called would have a long drive ahead of them. He was nearly home, which meant anyone coming to get him would still take at least half an hour to get there, in order to pick him up. Calling them now, would probably make it easier for them all, and get him home sooner.

But then who should he call?

L. Joe's hesitant thoughts were interrupted by another broadcast from the staff, this time providing them with more of an understanding over what had happened.

“Due to an accident involving one of the earlier trains and a car, all trains heading in both directions between here and the end of the line have been stopped. All available local coaches have been requested at the main stations, further down the line. All passengers will need to find alternative means of transportation. The train lines will be down for a minimum of several hours. However, we will begin sending services back into the city shortly.”

L. Joe groaned to himself, biting his lip, now more uncertain about what he should do than he had been previously. He really had no idea what he was going to do. Within a matter of 10 minutes, the vast majority of people had thinned from the square: either having already been picked up or having gone down to board the train heading back into the city.

L. Joe looked backwards and forwards, suddenly finding himself almost alone on the other side of the barriers. There was no way for him to get back home. He considered the idea that he could take a train back into the city, in the hopes one of the other, major stations would be running coach services by then, so that he could get home. But there was no guarantee about that.

Besides, he was only about 20 minutes away from his home. Maybe if he hurried out of the station, he might be able to convince someone to give him a lift home.

Taking one step outside of the station, onto the street, he found his quick steps faltering. His eyes shifted from one place to another. Now that asking for a lift home was his most pressing concern, his shyness decided to kick in. He could barely convince himself to maintain eye contact for 2 seconds.

He sighed to himself, trying to make himself walk in their direction, but his feet seemed to freeze. He couldn't make himself move.

“L. Joe? What're you doing here?” an intrigued shout caught him by surprise, forcing his head to dart up wildly, hurrying to find out where his name was coming from. He hadn't called anyone. He didn't know anyone here. How would anyone here know that nickname Chunji had given him?

Chunji came racing across the road, enveloping the other boy in a warm hug, his smile brightening up the entire surroundings. L. Joe hadn't realised that it had gotten so dark, as clouds and twilight set in. Combined with the poor circumstances, everything in this foreign town had taken on a dreary pallor. One that fled in the light of Chunji's smile.

L. Joe returned the other boy's smile, tiredly, his earlier fright and worries dissipating now that he knew he had a friend there with him. The fact that Chunji's presence was unexpected and unrequested only made him more grateful for it.

“Chunji?” L. Joe murmured, checking that he wasn't experiencing a stress-induced hallucination. That he wanted someone he knew to be there with him so badly now that something had gone wrong, that he'd conjured someone up to comfort him. But then Chunji shouldn't have been able to hug him just now.

“I didn't know that you lived here. Your commute to university must take you ages!” Chunji continued, conversationally, when L. Joe seemed reluctant to speak with him. “I don't.” he began, hesitantly, still trying to accustom himself to the shock of seeing his friend here.

“Ah so you were affected by the accident too, then?” Chunji queried. L. Joe nodded, swallowing distractedly, to try and force his throat to work more effectively. He didn't usually get so tense around Chunji: he'd been speaking with him far more intimately the more time they spent around one another. But the shock of the unexpected circumstances, and the surprise arrival of a friendly face in an unfamiliar town, left him feeling dazed with relief. He couldn't seem to force his tongue to work properly.

“How are you going to get home?” Chunji enquired, suddenly frowning with what L. Joe guessed was either confusion or concern. L. Joe shrugged uncomfortably, the weight of his bag shifting painfully making him wince. “That's why I came out here. I was kind of hoping I'd be able to get a lift home, or find a bus or something.” he explained, dissatisfied with how pathetic his reasoning sounded, now that he'd actually spoken it aloud.

He clearly had not had any idea what he was doing.

“Oh I see.” Chunji stated, considering the matter for only a second before he broke out with a grin. “In that case, I can drive you, if you'd like. Only we'll have to stick around for a bi—” Chunji began, only for a loud ringing noise to cut him off. He gave L. Joe a look somewhere between sheepishness and consternation, as he yanked his phone out of the front pocket of his jeans. His eyes scanned the screen, before he shook his head, mumbling a distracted “Okay you know what? Forget what I just said. We can go whenever you're ready.” as he typed out a reply.

“Oh, are you sure?” L. Joe questioned, feeling uncomfortable at the thought hat he might've been distracting Chunji from something. The other boy must've had a reason for coming all this way, and it couldn't have been to come get L. Joe. Thus, dragging him away so he could get a lift, must've been taking Chunji away from something else he was supposed to be doing.

But Chunji waved off the question, cramming his phone back in his front pocket, and starting to walk away, gesturing for L. Joe to follow him. L. Joe quickly fell into step, a half a step behind Chunji, still feeling uncomfortable about the whole situation. He probably lived too far away for Chunji to be able to drive him home, but Chunji wouldn't say anything. He should probably give him some money for petrol.

“So where am I taking you to?” Chunji enquired good naturedly as he unlocked the passenger side door for L. Joe. “To the next station down the line. I can make my way home from there.” L. Joe assured the other boy. He could see the disbelieving look Chunji sent him, but he said nothing. Realising L. Joe wasn't going to be forthcoming with any more details, he just shook his head. “I'm not abandoning you at the station, but that'll give me a destination at least.” he stated, going around to let himself into the driver's side of the car.

They started travelling in silence, but the situation only made L. Joe feel more awkward; he felt like he was imposing on Chunji. Chunji was far too nice, giving him a lift home like this. He was probably only distracting him. “So why were you at the station?” L. Joe asked, hoping that some conversation might make the trip go faster. Every second he spent in the car made him feel more indebted to Chunji for helping him out like this. He wasn't sure he'd be able to survive the entire half hour trip, if that continued.

“Oh that. Changjo went on a school excursion today, so I was supposed to pick him up from the station.” Chunji explained, easily. “I didn't realise Changjo lived down here.” L. Joe stated, surprised. He had a couple of early morning classes, and he'd seen plenty of students in school uniforms hop on the train: but he'd never spotted Changjo waiting on the platform. “He doesn't.”

“Then why would you have to come get him from here?” L. Joe asked, confused. “His school is further down the line, but because he was on a school excursion, he had to return to the school premises before he'd be able to go home, even though he lives closer to the city. His parents work so he asked me to come get him, but when he messaged me earlier, he told me that they'd heard there were delays on the line, and so the trains would be stopping at that station, so I should go there instead.” Chunji explained in a huff.

“So why aren't we waiting for him?” L. Joe asked, trying to keep track of Chunji's story in his mind. “Because he messaged me when we were talking. Their train had gotten stopped further up the line. The teachers were having a panic, when he ran into CAP. Apparently, CAP agreed to give him a lift home from there, having spoken to Changjo's teacher about it. So he was telling me I didn't have to worry about coming to get him anymore, because he was going home with CAP.” Chunji explained, lightly.

But Byunghun couldn't help but frown, despite Chunji's upbeat tone. Changjo might've said that Chunji didn't need to bother coming to get him, but Chunji had already been waiting at the station for him. He'd had to drive all that way, for nothing. “So you'll be going back home again, after you drop me off?” L. Joe questioned, struggling to think of something to say to keep the conversation flowing. Chunji nodded, “Now that I know Changjo's alright, you're my only priority for the moment.” he commented flashing a quick smile in L. Joe's direction, when he had to look to his side to be able to change lanes.

If Chunji was already at the station, it meant that Changjo's train should have been arriving shortly thereafter. Surely, Changjo should've been able to send Chunji a message letting him know that he wasn't coming, sooner. Who knew how long Chunji had been waiting for him, and yet the boy was still back in the city, and hadn't bothered to tell Chunji anything about what was going on, until after Chunji had already had to go through that much effort? L. Joe sighed, distractedly, “He could've let you know a bit sooner, though.”

Chunji shuffled slightly at L. Joe's unexpected words, a deeper smile quickly settling on his lips, even as he attempted to defend the other boy. “I'm sure he messaged me the first moment he could: after he knew what was going on.” Chunji answered, but both boys could tell he only half-believed that, at best.

Still, it was nice to know that L. Joe cared. The other guys tended to waste his time, quite easily, but L. Joe seemed genuinely displeased by it. It was refreshing to Chunji.

“You live pretty far away from the university, don't you? I can't imagine this commute would be fun.” Chunji commented, amicably. L. Joe shrugged despite knowing the other boy wouldn't be able to see the gesture. “It's enjoyable enough, I suppose. At least the scenery is nice.”

“Is it? I've never ridden the train this far out of the city before. Well, at least in this direction. My parents live in pretty much the opposite direction.” Chunji answered, animatedly. L. Joe could never understand how the other boy could be so at ease, talking with him. Usually he wasn't as withdrawn as he was being now, but even then, he could never compare to Chunji: the boy practically radiated friendliness.

“So you weren't a city kid either then?” L. Joe enquired, amazed by the prospect. Chunji was so cool and popular at university, but all the other cool popular people, must've come from the city schools. That's just the way these things worked, at least that's how it had been in L. Joe's school. The coolest kids were the ones who had that air of cosmopolitanism that made them seem cultured and chic: that came from growing up in the city.

L. Joe had always implicitly assumed that someone who had that would be cool. He'd assumed that the coolest people he'd ever seen, who he now had the fortune to call his friends, must've had that element to them too. Chunji actually laughed at that question: the awe and surprise in L. Joe's tone catching him off guard. “No, and neither is CAP for that matter. Niel, Changjo and Ricky are though. I worry that it might make them arrogant, but at the same time, I think I'd worry for the future of their education if they didn't. The city schools push their students more than mine ever did: those boys kind of need that.” Chunji explained, sounding so sure and interested in what he was saying that L. Joe couldn't help but smirk to himself. He had to turn and face his window just to make sure Chunji didn't catch it.

He sounded like such a mother to those boys. Weren't they only a year or two apart in age? He kind of wanted to tease Chunji about when he's getting the new SUV and what his husband does for a living, but he restrained himself. He was fairly certain comments like that would not only be politically incorrect and possibly offensive to his friend, but that there was also a good chance Chunji wouldn't understand the implication. Instead he allowed himself to ponder what Chunji had said, thoughtfully.

“Ricky too? He didn't seem like the type to need help to get him to study, before.” L. Joe stated, intrigued. “Then I can assure you that he's changed. Never wants to do anything; he'd rather stick with the first answer that comes to his mind, even when he knows its wrong, because he's more interested in doing fun things than bettering himself through education.” Chunji stated, plainly.

After hearing Chunji talk so energetically earlier, the flat tone of his voice now, was more startling than if he'd been angry and shouted. No emotion from Chunji felt wrong.

L. Joe had to turn his head sharply, just to make sure it was still Chunji he was sitting in the car with. Chunji seemed to have realised what he said, and though he had the decency to look apologetic, his face remained its normal colour, and his tone told L. Joe that he was anything but regretful about what he was admitting. “Sorry, I can get kind of.... possessive of people I like. So knowing that you and Ricky are such close friends, makes me unhappy. After how long it took to coax you into seeing me as your friend, I kind of expected to be the only person you'd really be close to for a while, but now you're much closer with Ricky than you are with me. Being reminded of that makes me feel kind of jealous.” he explained.

L. Joe just shook his head in shock. “How can you just go around saying things like that? Don't you get embarrassed?” L. Joe questioned, his admiration for Chunji only growing. He felt a bit embarrassed to know that Chunji got jealous over him, but everyone else treated it as though it were no big deal. Like they were used to it. The thought that someone could be so open and honest about themselves: to be able to talk so intimately with a completely straight face seemed foreign to L. Joe.

“Not really. I am what I am. I figure, if I'm not upfront about it, things will only get more awkward if I don't tell people. In case you can't tell, I'm not very good at keeping my thoughts and feelings to myself. So they're guaranteed to find out about it sometime: I'd rather it be sooner than later.” Chunji explained.

L. Joe couldn't help but wonder whether it was this self-acceptance that made Chunji and his friends seem so confident, or if their confidence enabled them to be so self-accepting. Either way, it didn't seem like something he himself could mimic. He was pretty sure his admiration for all the guys just went up a bit.

He'd have to figure out some way to thank Chunji for doing this for him.