There were no good Samaritans left in the world.

Or maybe there were just no drivers left in the world. Because in the thirty minutes Jaejoong and Dara had spent yelling, crying and generally feeling hopeless, not one single car had passed them.

Nada. Not a car, not a minivan, not a motorcycle – heck, not even a horse and buggy.

Jaejoong stared hard at the trunk. It was as if he looked long and hard enough, the doughnut would miraculously appear, attach itself to the wheel rim, and they could be on their way.

He couldn’t believe Dara had done such a stupid thing. Sure, guys did stupid things – and he was the first to admit he’d done plenty. But taking out the spare tire just before ou hop in the car for an eight-hour road trip? Nope. Guys might be clueless, but you’d never meet one who’d pull an idiot move like that.

“Okay, okay,” Dara said, continuing to pace around the car for about the hundredth time now.

“We’ve got to think logically and do something.” She stopped to peer down at the torn tire. “Are you sure that you can’t drive it like it is? Maybe there’s a gas station nearby. Maybe you’d only have to drive in five more miles or something.”

Jaejoong gave her a sidelong glance. “I thought you said you were going to think logically,” he said tersely. “There’s no ing way I can drive on that. It’d be like driving on the rim.” He leaned against the doorframe. “Our only chance of getting to Kris tonight is if someone stops to pick us up. Even our phones don’t have signals!” He looked around. “And that’s not looking very promising at the moment. !”

Dara sat down on the hood, scared of Jaejoong’s outburst but then she leaped up as if she’d been shocked.

“Ow!” she exclaimed, rubbing the backs of her legs.

Jaejoong winced. “The engine got hot from the drive. You better watch yourself.”

“Great,” Dara mumbled. “Leg burn and a flat tire. What more could go wrong?” She stepped down purposefully on a large branch that lay on the side of the road. It made a sharp crack. “Kris is going to be freaking out if we don’t get there soon,” Dara said suddenly. Her voice trembled slightly. “He really is.” She wrapped her arms around herself.

“Yeah, I know that. He’s my brother. I know what he’s like.” Jaejoong said sarcastically. He tapped his fingers along the car’s roof. He’d been racking his brain for the past half hour, trying to come up with a solution. “But what do you want me to do?”

“I want you to get us out of here, Jae!” Dara burst out. “I’m tired. I’m hungry and cold. And I don’t want to be out here in the woods at this time. I want to be at the shore with Kris.” Frustrated, she gave the flat tire a hard kick.

“That’s really going to help things,” Jaejoong said dryly. “Uh, did you forget why we’re in this situation in the first place? If Miss I’ve-got-to-bring-my-entire-wardrobe had left a few fashion accessories at home, we’d be driving this very moment!”

Dara sniffled. “Make me feel even more worse than I do, why don’t you?” She sighed. “I know it’s my fault. I’m sorry.” Trying to held back her tears. Jaejoong was making her feel guilty.

Jaejoong glanced at her. He sighed.

Jaejoong shook his head. “We’re both just frustrated. It doesn’t do any good to point fingers.” The cool air made him shiver. “Maybe we’d better get back in the car. It’s getting kind of cold out here.” He hated to point out the obvious, but it was apparent that this was not a very popular road. And he wasn’t too keen on flagging down help at this point anyway. He felt