"You're awfully quiet," Jaekyung said slowly, turning her head slightly to her right to have a look at Hoya who was driving with a scary concentration. It had been almost an hour since they got on the road, and it was dark outside. She didn't know where he was taking her, but strangely, she didn't feel like he was going to bring her somewhere bad. If he wanted to, he could have jumped over the balcony wall and get inside of her house, right, she thought.

"I like to concentrate when I'm driving," he said, without any apparent emotion. Though he did looked a little flustered because he noticed that she was eyeing him all the while. "Besides, it's dark, so it's better for me to focus on the road."

"Okay..." she sighed, and looked outside, at nothingness. They have entered the highway and there was nothing to be seen and it was getting really chilly. She hugged her torso and shuddered.

"Are you cold...?" he asked, without looking at her. Jaekyung snickered at the fact that it had been an hour since they got into the car and he only asked her then whether she was cold or not. She figured maybe it seemed a little insensitive of him, but somehow it made him appeared innocent. She nodded, smiling and shaking her head in amusement. "You can wear that jacket behind there... Why are you smiling?"

"Nothing," she said, trying hard not to smile at his little stutter.

"Is there something funny?" he asked, looking serious.

"No, there isn't. Just concentrate on the road," she said, pointing to the front, clearing .

"Are you sure there isn't anything funny?" he asked, looking at her again.

"It's nothing really!" she said, laughing, throwing back her head and giggled further. "Have anyone told you that you're a little insensitive?"

"Like how?"

"Like... you should've put a coat on me from the beginning, but you're only asking me now. And you told me, a girl, to go out of her house in the middle of the night to run away. What if some bad guy kidnap me or something?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Well..." he cleared his throat and sat up straight. "I didn't notice that you didn't have a coat on..."

"You didn't?"

"No."

"Really? Why didn't you?"

"I was...  a little flustered."

"And why is that?" she asked, interested.

"Because," he furrowed, uncomfortable. "I've never done this before."

"Do what?"

"...Running away with a girl."

"Oh," she widened her eyes and looked at the road ahead of them. "It's my first time, too," she said, smiling, "running away with a man. And maybe I should be worried that you're probably kidnapping me. Are you?"

"Why would I want to kidnap you?" he asked, as if she had said something so ridiculous.

Jaekyung narrowed her eyes at him and pouted to herself, "Men."

"Said something?" he asked.

"No. Just focus on the road. Where are we going anywhere?" she said, giving up.

"Just wait and see. Take a nap first. We won't be there for a while now," he said, with a faint smile on his face.

"Are you really not kidnapping me?" she asked again, bringing her face close to his. "Probably you're an agent from the North and are here to recruit more citizen?"

"Yah! Sit properly!" he shouted, when her nose was almost touching his skin. Jaekyung was a little taken aback, not because he almost lose control of the car, or because he shouted; it was because he had looked so panicky that she was sure he was actually turning red.

"Yes, flower boy, sir."

"And, stop calling me that," he said, in a flat tone. She laughed again, and looked to her left, trying her best not to disturb him again. And Hoya was smiling as well, listening to her laugh which made his heart felt at ease, for some reason.

Jaekyung woke up when she felt a slight brush on her cheek. It felt like she had been sleeping for a while for she felt fresh She sat up straight while breathing in deeply, and looked around, at the darkness, and found Hoya was looking at her with a small smile. "Are we there, yet?"

"We are, but we're going to have to walk a little," he said, unbuckling his seatbelt.

"Ugh..." Jaekyung frowned and tried to unbuckle hers as well, but she found that Hoya's jacket was covering her, and it made her fully awake then. Slowly, she unbuckled herself and opened the door, and watched Hoya who was having his back at her. She hugged the jacket around her and waited for him to turn to her, which he did a second later, and when he extended his hand, she looked at him bleakly. It took her another few seconds before she stepped up to him and put up a face, before walking ahead of him. Hoya watched her walking away, and laughed a little to himself.

"Where are we?"

"Goseong-gun."

She stopped abruptly. "Gangwon-do?"

"Uh-huh."

She gasped, "So, you're really going to sell me to the North?"

Hoya scoffed, stopped and faced her, "Who are going to keep you there anyway?"

"Well, they could always use a teacher," she said. "And I'm quite strict, so maybe they will make me a military teacher."

"For a salad, you sure have a high imagination," he said, smirking.

"I'm not salad!" she said, furrowing at him, and then she was walking ahead really fast, leaving Hoya to take all the pleasure of walking behind her. She kept wobbling for she was wearing high heels, and almost stumbled a few times. It felt like it was his job to make sure she doesn't.  When she stepped into the beach's area, she cried out loud ecstatically, "It's the beach!"

He watched her, taking off her shoes and running off towards the shore, but he was a little worried since it was still dark and the sea was pitching black. So he jogged towards her, and held her arm. She looked up at him, surprised.

"It's dangerous."

"I won't go any further."

"What if you step on a glass or something? Come and sit down." She frowned but didn't object as she let him took her by the elbow and walked her away from the shore. When he let her go, he sat down and then looked up at her and tapped the sand next to him and ordered, "Sit."

She sat down quietly, bringing up her knees up to her face and began checking on her feet. Hoya was sitting quietly, staring at the cold sea in front of them. He was sitting with one knee up, and his left arm was rested on the elevated knee while he leaned on the other hand. Then, he watched her rubbing her heels. "You stepped on something?"

"No. My feet are just tired."

"Because you were wearing those high heels," he said, more hostile than he intended. "You were running away, you could have put on something else."

She stopped rubbing her feet and turned to frown at him. "I was at a dinner. And it'd be a crime to wear sneakers when I'm all dressed up like this."

"Women are weird," he commented, widening his eyes. "You would trade comfort just to look pretty. Don't you know that wearing high heels will affect your spine?"

"I also know that men love it when women wear high heels," she shrugged. Hoya fell quiet, and then they were both gazing at the sea, listening to the sound of the waves; far and near.

He took a deep breath before he asked, "Do you like him that much?"

"I do," she said, smiling bitterly. "I mean, he was a crush, and it's only recently that we started hanging out together and I got to know him a bit and I was thinking perhaps there was a chance for me and him to, I don't know, date or something..." she let out some air through and looked up the sky. "I should've listened to you, you know. Then perhaps I won't be feeling awful like this. I should've known... Well, I kind of have thought about the possibility that he wasn't really interested from the beginning but he was always sending all the wrong signals and I became hopeful and... I can't cry," she suddenly said, blinking to herself.

"Excuse me?"

"I can't cry. I feel like I should cry but I can't cry."

"You already cried."

"I know. But talking about this should make me want to cry, but I can't cry. I feel... weird," she said, furrowing, and putting her hand on her chest. "I should be crying to let out my feelings or something, but it's not coming out."

"Probably you already did."

"You mean I've gotten over it?"

"Maybe you have."

"That was fast."

"What's the use of clinging onto something bad anyway? The faster you let it go, the better you will feel. Am I right?"

"But it will make me feel bad. How can I just get over it in such a short time? Although he said that he was only thinkin