Genre: ANGST, ROMANCE, TRAGEDY

Idea: Spontaneous. I wanted angst. And falling in stairs happened to me so I think this was an idea partly from that.

The Chance

Junjin ran all he could, until his legs were burning and exhausted. He slammed his clammy and shaky hands against the machine and went through all the names of different countries and capitals to find the one particular one. And when he did, he sighed relieved. He still had time as the plane hadn’t departed yet.

He was gasping, and the lungs inside him were prickly. But he didn’t care, as the pointers on the clock were moving fast towards the last minutes. He sprang to different rooms, he saw various people, and he had his words almost coming out, when he saw the small figure sitting in front of the gate, holding the plane ticket in his hands.

Junjin scoffed and picked up his pace as he advanced the guy and startled him when he slid in front of him and pulled him up.

“I love you.” He spilled out.

“Junjin?”

“I love you.” The said man repeated. “I love you, Andy.”

Andy looked at him in silence that was tardily turning awkward and uneasy. Junjin was still panting and gasping as his eyes were half-lidded and mouth was slightly open. Andy was still quiet, but he was trying to process the bold confession.

“I hadn’t planned to blurt it out,” the taller guy explained. “But we don’t have enough time in our hands. So please…just…let me confess before you get into the plane and disappear forever.” He sighed. “I love you. I am madly in love with you. I have no words to describe what I feel but I love you. I am perfectly insane to tell you that I love you.”

Andy ogled. He knew he wasn’t allowed to talk now.

“Ever since you fell to your clumsy legs and got the bruises, and I saw it and came to rescue, I have loved you. Ever since you apologised for ruining my path by falling, I have loved you. I have loved you ever since you bought me that dinner and paid for everything that night. And I have loved you when you told me you are taken and when you told me you will leave. That long…I have loved you.” He confessed.

“Jin…” Andy whispered and Junjin didn’t know if it was uncomfortable, scared or shocked. “…I really need to leave now.”

“I…I know.” Junjin replied and moved out of the way once Andy grabbed his handbag and lifted the strap onto his shoulder. “Have a great flight, Andy ya.” Junjin wished and flashed a gorgeous and cute smile.

Andy merely nodded and walked off to the assigned way, without looking back.

But…he wasn’t even halfway of the tube when he realised what he was doing and where he was going and turned his whole body violently around and began to proceed to the exit of it. He didn’t care that the other passengers were insulting him and blaming him from pushing them and nudging them, since he had something more urgent to do.

Junjin was already gone and Andy knew he was far away by now. He grabbed a taxi and got in, telling the driver to drive fast. The chauffeur nodded and asked what was going on and Andy just smiled and responded, “I am stopping myself from doing the biggest mistake of my life.”

He fished out his phone and started dialing a number. The smile plastered upon his face when he lifted the device onto his ear and waited. Though there never was the last bleep, he still was grinning. Then the pleasant women voice ordered him to sing his note and Andy did.

“Junjin…” he started shyly, seeing the furious lip biting from the mirror at the front. “I…” and he was murmuring the last words of the sentence, when the chauffeur did a prompt braking on the icy road and something was honking on their side and caught Andy’s attention. The huge yellow lights were advancing him and there was only fraction of seconds to react.

“Watch ou—“ the driver shouted before the front of the truck crashed the whole backseat of the car.

                ***

Junjin waited.

He had stood in front of the kiosk in the airport and waited.

Eventually he had gotten a seat and ordered a cup of coffee, but he had still waited.

He was still waiting.

He fished out his phone and noticed that the battery was off. He gasped and hurried to switch it on when a nice tourist asked him in broken Korean whether he needed a loader to help him. Junjin took it, thanking madly, and bowing when the person owning the cafeteria changed a channel on the telly and a breaking news of an accident appeared.

Junjin was hardly focusing but then there was someone’s shaky self-video and he dropped the phone onto the floor, once the blanket was lifted over the familiar face.

In that moment, Junjin became numb and the phone switched on.

In that moment, every muscle inside Junjin tensed.

In that moment, the tears just crammed out and ran down the cheeks.

In that moment, everyone realised what had happened.

Junjin collapsed onto the sofa and took the phone, noticing the missed call. With teary eyes, he raised the phone onto his ear and pressed the receive button.

‘Junjin…I…I love you. I will always love you. I lo—‘

‘Watch out!’

Junjin heard the car screeching and the truck honking as he rewound the recording and repeated the confession part over hundred times, until the sweet lullaby of Andy’s voice, caused him to fall asleep; the face ugly from crying and the hand holding the phone, finger automatically pressing the button.

                ***

Couple years later:

Junjin had bought two tickets; one for him, one for Andy. It was their anniversary and he was dedicating his day-off by watching the movie they had watched when they had met for the first time. Junjin held his hand on the seat next to him and glanced at it once in a while, as if he was imagining Andy watching the movie with him, and pecking him onto his cheek.

It was their anniversary.

Once the movie ended, Junjin took the small and empty box of popcorn and took it to the trash bin at the end of his row when someone slightly pushed him and he stumbled while the other one lost his balance and hit his elbows to the staircase and grumbled and sniffed in pain. Junjin crouched down to help him and the shorter lad kept apologizing when he raised his head and Junjin startled from jolt.

“Are you okay? I mean, you almost fell.” The stranger asked.

“…”

“Hello? Do you hear me?” The shorter one questioned and pouted.

Junjin nodded dumbfounded.

“Phew. I thought I made you deaf. I am so sorry.” He got up and helped the other one onto his feet too. “I should have watched where I am going, but my legs were suddenly not listening to me.”

Junjin nodded bewildered again.

“Oh,” the shorter lad hit his head gently. “My English name is Jason, but people in here call me Sun Ho. Lee Sun Ho. Pleasure to meet you.”

“Hi.” Junjin answered dozed off as the smile crept onto Sun Ho’s face. “Junjin.” He mumbled.

“Nice to meet you, Junjin.” Sun Ho greeted. “You know…I think I owe you something. Do you want an ice-cream?”

Junjin felt his heart thudding hard when he nodded once again and was led out by the new (looking exactly like Andy) acquaintance.

Junjin took out his phone and listened the recording once more, before he deleted it and perceived that Andy had come back…to him.