Sixth Landing
Parachute
After a week had passed by, I was spending more time than I should with Jaehyo—especially in the morning. Because of our time spent together, I was beginning to feel more comfortable around him. I knew his jokes were nothing but silly comments—though I do wonder if he were ever serious. One morning, after settling into our usual seats in the library, Jaehyo told me that his heart had been racing ever since he woke up and didn’t know what to do about it. I told him that he should probably go to the doctor, but he laughed and told me not to be so logical on things.
“What if the reason for my racing heart was because I’m falling in love?”
I stiffened at his comment and cleared my throat, “Well, that’s a problem you should deal with. Why would you even consider asking me?” Blunt as I was, I didn’t want to hear him reveal any more of his racing heart.
He laughed, “Have you ever fallen in love?” I don’t answer him. Jaehyo shifted his weight and narrowed his eyes at me, “You have, haven’t you? I bet it was with that one guy who walked you home every night.”
I looked at Jaehyo, “You saw us?”
“How could I not?” He leaned forward with a smile, “I saw him there every time I came to the coffee shop; and the best guess I could get was that he walked you home.” He explained and exhaled, “So, seeing that you told me you aren’t dating anyone now, how long were you with him?”
I shook my head and looked away, “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” He repeated, “I thought girls keep count of how long their relationships lasts.”
“I could care less,” I answered bluntly; I wanted to change the subject, but Jaehyo pushed on.
“Sounds like you guys ended it badly,”
“Sure,”
“Going one-worded on me now, huh.” He smirked.
Annoyed, I leaned back from the table and turned to look at him, “Well, what about you huh? Didn’t you say you used to date Hana? How long were you with her? Did you guys end it badly as well?”
Jaehyo laughed amusingly, “Well, I still talk to her so we’re on good terms. I dated her for… a year or so.” He answered, which I was not expecting. “Do you want to hear more?”
“No,” I answered, “let’s just get back to… tutoring.”
After the tutor session as we were gather our things, Jaehyo cleared his throat, “You haven’t called me for a week.” He stated, “We made a deal about calling each other, you know.”
I nodded, “I just… haven’t had the time to sit down and call you.”
He laughed, “Why not call me as you’re walking back home? It would probably make the walk home faster.” He suggested, “Unless, we should just switch back to me calling you every night.”
I quickly shook my head, “No. I-I’ll call you tonight. Promise.”
“Guess I should just threaten you with that statement if you don’t call me from now on,” Jaehyo sang, widening a smile onto his thin lips.
-
A whole day goes by. Just as I am exiting the store, I took out my phone from my pocket and began to tap on the device, looking for Jaehyo’s number. What was I going to talk to him about? Work was just about the same when he had called me a week ago. I stared at the numbers printed on the screen for a couple of seconds before coming to a conclusion. But before I could do anything, a whistle sounded from behind me. Stupid as I was, I turned and found two men waving at me to come over. I turned back around and quickened my footsteps as I started to make my way home. Unfortunately, I could hear the two men trailing from behind. My heart fluttered like a jackhammer; I was confused as to what to do because if they followed me home, they’d know where I live. My best option right now would be to head to a convenience store and hope they go away.
I found a convenience store within minutes and walked inside. I walked the aisles, pretending to be looking for something to buy; and every minute or so, glancing back to the windows to see if the two men were still outside. Unfortunately, they still were outside. Why would they wait? I asked myself; my insides were twisting in knots and my head clouded with thoughts and ideas of what to do. I looked down at my phone, staring at it for a whole minute before an idea popped into my head. I slid a finger across the screen and tapped ‘talk’ on Jaehyo’s number. The only thing I could hope for is that if I call Jaehyo to come over and walk me home, the two men would leave me be. I placed the device next to my ear and waited as it rang.
But after a couple of rings, he did not pick up.
My whole body panicked. I didn’t have any other number in my phone. I paced a little before hearing my phone go off. The screen light up, showing me a very familiar number. Without hesitation, I pressed talk and placed the device next to my ear.
“You finally called—”
“Help me,” I whispered into the phone, “please.”
Jaehyo’s voice dropped as he said my name, “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Just meet me at the convenience store on 81st,” I said, “and hurry.”
“I’ll be there quickly,” He said and hung up.
I placed my phone back into my pocket and felt a small sense of relief, but seeing that the two men were still standing outside put me on edge. Was it really that late out that men like this were ready to prey on girls? I inhaled and waited for Jaehyo—which took him no less than 5 minutes to reach the place. As soon as he entered in, I found myself walking towards him.
He breathed heavily as he spoke, “What’s going on?”
“Those two men,” I nodded, “ever since I walked out of work, they’ve been following me a-and I didn’t want to walk home because I didn’t want them to know where I live because something could happen if they knew a-and—”
“Calm down,” Jaehyo placed both of his hands on my shoulders, “everything is alright for now.” He looked into my eyes with assurance, “I’ll walk out with you and if they still trail from behind, I’ll walk you to my dorm room.”
I shook my head, “B-But—”
“Look, even if I walked you home, those men could be following from behind and the minute that I leave you, they could barge into your place.” He explained, “But if they don’t, then I’ll drop you off at your place.” I didn’t have much choice but to go along with his plan. As we exited the store, the two men were quick to take notice of us. I could see it in their eyes that they were confused as to why I was with Jaehyo. My heart pounded as we walked. Jaehyo placed a hand around my waist, which I stiffened and he chuckled. “Might be better if we walked like this; they could think we’re lovers.”
“Are they still trailing from behind?” I asked, turning my head away from Jaehyo.
“Looks like they’re walking the opposite way,” He informed, “so we’ll head to your place.”
I nodded, “Thanks,”
“You’re welcome,” he smiled, “looks like I’ll be able to get a look at where you live tonight.”
Great.
[parachute] wow 8 upvotes for this story? ;__; you guys are too kind to me..............
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