He seems to be waiting for my name in return, but I ignore him until I see his face slump slightly in my peripheral vision.  Fully aware of the hand in front of my face, I focus intently on getting myself to stand up. I am careful to keep all of my weight onto my right leg.  The boy- Baekhyun- takes a step back, but hovers nearby protectively.  

I stand there for a moment, recalling what happened the last time I tried to walk... or run, rather.  I purse my lips.  I think he senses my hesitation because he quickly comes to my left side and slings my arm over his shoulder. He looks at me expectantly.  I force myself to swallow my complaint (and pride), and look straight forward. It is clear that without someone's help, I'd be stuck here forever... and this guy is the only one around.  Then I start "walking".

When I take a step with my right foot, he takes two steps with his feet, acting as a substitute for my injured leg. He supports almost exactly half my weight.  Eventually we slip into a comfortable hobble, but I can't shake the feeling of uneasiness in the pit of my stomach.  This is just so weird.  

Next to me, closer than I'd like, I can see Baekhyun looking around at food items absentmindedly, bearing a look of complete contentment.  I guess he doesn't find this situation odd. Maybe he helps random crying girls with twisted ankles walk all the time. With a guy like him, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if that was the case.

We walk out of the small gas station probably looking like complete idiots, but the only person who could possibly see us is the employee who lies asleep in his chair behind the cash register.  Once the grimy glass door swings shut behind us, Baekhyun leads us to the passenger's side of one of the two cars in the small parking lot.  It is small, red, old, rusted and definitely needs a good wash.  He doesn't seem to be concerned about its appearance though, because he doesn't give it a second glance. We reach the car, and he detaches himself from me. I place my right hand on the hood of the car to support me. He looks at me, and I move to the now open door to signal that I don't need his help.

We settle into the car at the same time, and the first thing I notice is the odor.  It isn't particularly unpleasant, but I am baffled by its complexity.  There are traces of food, cologne, cigarette smoke, and ...dirt?  Whatever it is, it definitely smells old. I think it's probably something that was handed down to him.

He smiles cheerfully at me and put his hands on the wheel, drumming his fingers against the surface.  "So, where to?"  He asks the question like he's my chauffeur or something.  

Instead of answering, I respond with one of my own. "Where are we?"

He is unfazed by my indirectness, and answers easily, "Anyang." I frown.  I know where that is- about 19 km away from Incheon, my hometown. I guess I didn't get as far away as I'd thought, or hoped. 

"Do you live here?" I ask, trying to buy time so I can figure out my answer to his initial question. He laughs. "No, I live in Incheon." Perfect. " I just work here at the gas station."  

I am surprised; he drives to another city at night just to work at a dingy gas station that probably doesn't pay him much anyway?  The cost to get here is probably more than his wage.

It's as if he read my mind, because he adds, "They pay for my gas to get here and back, so it's not that bad. I just started working a few weeks ago."  He's leaving work, when he didn't do any cleaning, only a few weeks into his job... My eyes wander around the messy and worn interior of the car and stop at his clothes. He probably needs the money too.  What a strange guy.

"You can just drop me off at the Incheon station of Seoul Subway Line 1." I tell him.  It is convenient for both of us; I can go wherever I want to from the train station, and I won't be inconveniencing him more than I have to.  Honestly, as much as I don't care for him, I feel bad for the guy; he's poor, and yes, I'll admit it, he's been incredibly kind to me when I really didn't deserve it. 

He laughs some more. "Not a chance. Who knows where you'll go? Plus, you're hurt and in that condition, you might meet some weird guy in a gas station bathroom." I think he's joking, but I can't be sure. Seeing my expression, his laughter rises a few notches. 

"But really, I'm not going to do that. Where do you live?" He says, settling down. I can see that he's serious, and because I can't think of an alternative on the spot, I pull out my smartphone, unplug my earphones, and enter my home's address into the GPS system.  In hindsight, I probably could've used it to see where I was, but in my defense, I was in an unstable emotional state and my mind wasn't really working. Once it shows the highlighted pink path, I set it on the dashboard so he can see it and lean back.  I can see him gaping at my phone.  I pity him.

He starts the engine and we leave without a word.  He seems uncomfortable, and breaks the silence not a minute into the drive.  "So, what was your name again?"  I didn't tell you a first time. I sure as hell wasn't going to give him my real name, so I humor him.  "Kim Taeyeon."  He laughs good-naturedly, and it is so infectious that I smile.  However, I catch myself, and roll my eyes. 

"I absolutely love Girl's Generation!" He exclaims. I snort, but he goes on talking about his favorite songs and such.  I nod when appropriate so it looks like I'm paying attention, and turn my thoughts to what I'm going to say to my father when he gets home.  I sigh.  This isn't going to be pleasant. 

Baekhyun keeps talking for 10 minutes, saying something about how he wanted to audition to become an idol, but decided against it and is just studying as an arts major at a university.  Soon, we approach familiar scenery, and I feel a pit forming in my stomach.  By the time we are in front of my house, I feel sick.  Baekhyun is looking at my average sized house in awe, but I am too preoccupied by my own thoughts to comment.

Uncomfortable, I open the door, and say, "So, um... thanks." I hobble out of the car as quickly as I can, but then stop once I am in front of my front door. After composing myself for a moment, I knock and the door, with my father in it, opens almost immediately. "Kwon Eunkyung!" He exclaims angrily.  But then he pulls me into his arms in an awkward embrace, and says gruffly, "Don't do that again."  He starts to lecture me, and I barely contain my look of complete disgust.  He is just doing this because he is obligated to as my guardian, and it's revolting. He is probably relieved that I am back only because having a runaway daughter looks bad, and now he can make up a story that would look better.  When I push him away, we hear a voice call out, "Bye Eunkyung!". My father looks past me to see Baekhyun grinning widely, who is surprisingly still parked outside the driveway.  

He turns to me in disbelief. "You were with a boy?"  I shrug.

He runs towards Baekhyun's car, but I don't protest. He should have left when he could, and I don't want any more anger directed towards me.  That would just compel me to run away again (which I probably will), even though that may not be the best course of action. 

I see him with his arm raised, ready to strike, but Baekhyun starts to say something calmly, and he lowers his hand.  I think he is explaining what happened. I decide to go inside before my father asks for my side of the story.  I reach my room and bury my head in my pillow.  I'm back in this place that I swore I would leave forever.  I'm once again in the presence of the man who is not my father in any way except biologically.  For the second time this night (or morning, because it is probably around 1:00), I break down and cry.

A few minutes later, I hear my dad reenter the house. I get out of my bed to lock the door, but as I get closer, I hear two voices engaged in conversation, laughing comfortably. 

He invited Baekhyun into our house?  What the hell?

Shaking my head, I return to my bed and pile a bunch of blankets on top of me.  

This is all too much, I think. After the longest time, I finally slip into unconsciousness. 

A/N: Wow, that was a pretty quick update for me!  I actually did a lot of research for this chapter regarding some geography in Korea (I live in Hawaii and have no sense of direction so... yeah, I definitely do not know where anything is in Korea), even though that only took up a couple paragraphs, lol.  Anyways, I can't believe how many subscribers I had for the first chapter: 42, that's incredible!  Although I know most of you only subscribed because of everadvertise (who is amazing, btw). And thank you especially to my two upvoters: babyblueunicorn and xoxoxoxo88!  I love you guys!  Hope you continue to read and enjoy.  Please subscribe, and it would mean a lot if you guys commented and upvoted! Thanks again!