The bus hissed as the door made way for Eunhyuk to climb in and when he does, that's the time when the vehicle zoomed away. The night is at its deepest and a person wandering the streets of the city at this hour is hardly found by his eyes. A strong chill as he slowly walked to a seat made him tug in his sleek, black coat. It came to his senses that winter have started to linger the air, almost slipping from his mind.

It has been more than a year since he left Mokpo but still he could find no trace of change. Everywhere he turns he could see himself in his high school uniform, the long streets he used to walk with, the stores he used to go to, and all the other random places where he would find himself wandering.

He continues to take the farthest seat but arrives to stop, surprised to see a figure of a capped man leaning against the glass window, seated comfortably on the cushions of his seat. By instinct, he tilts his head towards where Eunhyuk stood frozen which eventually made him uncomfortable, embarrassment flushed him all the way to his cheeks. The man tilts his head back to its original position, and confuses Eunhyuk even more with the soft chuckle he has let out.

Eunhyuk could not figure out how old he was, but he was quite sure that their ages didn't range far from each other. His black baseball cap concealed all of his face except from the traces of his porcelain white skin and his smirking mouth which appeared very clear to Eunhyuk's eyes.

"You seemed disturbed upon seeing me." said the man, catching Eunhyuk's full attention as finally placed himself on his chair. "Should I leave at the next stop?"

"N-" Eunhyuk clears his throat. "No. Sorry about that. It's just—" Eunhyuk's words were cut.

"It's just your not used to see people ride this route at this hour." Eunhyuk is utterly surprised; the man finished the sentence the way he planned it. "No worries. I have the same thing in my mind anyway."

Eunhyuk nods, and sinks back to his seat. He did not bother to start another conversation because he did not have anything more to say. But it seemed the man had gained interest on him and continued to pursue his answers.

"If I may ask." Eunhyuk could picture the stranger pinched his eyebrows as he asked. "With your bags and all, I'm thinking that you're not from around here. Where are you from?"

"I actually used to go that district of Mokpo." Eunhyuk thumbs the opposite direction of where the bus is headed. "I just came back from my hometown."

He thinks it's not safe to reveal such information but he lets it go and continues.

"Felt like something was missing so I decided to travel back here." he added.

A year in Gyeonggi did not quite made him feel home as how he thought it would. Most of the time he had found himself unable to sleep—picturesque memories kept on haunting him. And so he thought, he needed to go back to Mokpo.

"I guess this place had taken so much space in your heart." Eunhyuk questions with a hum. "You know, choosing it over your hometown. It's quite... strange."

"I guess it is." says Eunhyuk, a faint smile is shaped.

A further pause comes in before the man continued.

"Forgive me for my forwardness, but there is more reason to that, isn't it?" the man answers back quickly. Eunhyuk does not say anything. "Similar to why you're riding this bus even though it is far-off from your way back home."

The man guessed it right again. Mokpo alone has never been the only thing that gave Eunhyuk the urge to come back but there has been always another. And this was identical to why he kept on riding this bus almost every night with a heavy heart.

"You seem to read me easily so I guess there's no harm in saying that yes, there have been memories—good ones—that I was here and not alone. I shared it with someone."

"And this person is—"

"A good, good friend." Eunhyuk interrupts. "Whom eventually became the object of my insane affection."

"Insane affection?" snickered the other. "And you never had the courage to push it through, so you left."

"I killed the months by spending almost every night riding this bus until I had the chance to disappear.."

The man nods and Eunhyuk continues.

"That person had someone. I just had to remove myself in the picture. He doesn't have to know anyway." Eunhyuks ends his words as he looked down to his feet.

After a few moments of thought, the man throws another question back.

"Were you having plans to see this person and tell all of these? At least to get the burden off your chest?"

"I doubt that would have a chance to happen." Eunhyuk looked down to his feet. "After leaving, I never heard from that person—not even a single phone call."

Having himself absorbed with what he is saying, Eunhyuk fails to notice that the capped man has already left his seat and is standing in the middle aisle holding on to the pole. Eunhyuk could only see his back.

"Well you can't be intent with that thought, can you?." says he, puzzling Eunhyuk again. "I'll be going off at the next stop. I'll be taking a bus heading there." the man points the same direction Eunhyuk pointed a while ago. "And I'm pretty sure I'm not going to ride this bus anytime soon. At least not for the same reason why I am here now."

By the time the bus slows down, the man started to walk away but then, Eunhyuk stops him.

"Why?" he asked anxiously. "Tell me for what reason are you taking these bus rides?"

The man does not look back and continued until the steps.

"I've lost something." he said, Eunhyuk could picture his smile. "And for the last year of riding this bus everyday. I finally got it back." And then he lets his feet touch the ground.

From the window Eunyhuk still saw him and stopped right in front the window against him. He slowly removed his black baseball cap and revealing his face and at the same time robbing Eunhyuk with  his words.

"D-Donghae." he stuttered.

The bus started to move on. And before the waving man's reatreating figure disappeared, Eunhyuk was pretty sure with what the other's lips  have uttered.

" Welcome back, Hyuk. I missed you."

***

My writing still needs work. Please try to bear with my crappy work. = =