Everytime someone says they won’t wash their clothes or hands or face or hair after get in contact with their favorite celebrity, Shin always look down at them. It’s the most stupid thing people can do.

Shin lay on his bed, use one hand as pillow, and staring at his other hand with unknown emotion. Can’t get over the good moment he had doing make over with Kyuwon. “Her skin is so smooth. I’m gonna wash my hands and touch it again.” He touch his own skin, eyes close, lower lip bitten gently by his own teeth, try to feel it―how fair the skin that he have. “She feels better.”

He open his eyes abruptly. “What? Why am I sounds ?” He grit and sighs. “Please, dirty mind, you don’t belong in my head.” He gets up to wash himself. Maybe he needs cool water to cooling down his mind after spending the whole afternoon painting on her face. The sky has turned dark when Kyuwon got a call from grandpa asked where was she, why she hasn’t home yet and prepare diner.

There was too many colours scattered on her face, a track of Shin’s masterpiece. At least he responsible to clean up the mess he made by cluelessly helping rubbed her face with cold water and tissue. Kyuwon cleaned her face with cleanser and make up remover before that, but the layers he made was too thick and resulted her face became scarlet after all the make up removed completely.

It was tiring yet fun with Kyuwon. The times ticking faster when he spent time with her. He laid down lazyly on his bed as soon as he reached his room to regain energy, but he end up recalling the feelings of her skin on his hands. He can’t control himself to not fantasizing things. What can he do when he’s just a normal guy?

“I really have to clean myself.”

As soon as water from the shower hit his head, he feels the urge to close his eyes and enjoy the coolness infiltrate his skin. It’s so refreshing, till an idea suddenly pop up on his head. He immediately clean up himself and run to his room to get his guitar. It is an emergency. He have to write it all down before he forget.

New song coming up for The Stupid band.

**

Shin sneak out of his house late at night carrying backpack and guitar case while his mum and Junghyun already in deep sleep. He lean to the high wall that separating the road and Kyuwon’s house. He scratch his sleepy eyes as he text her to come out. After less than two hours working on the song he found at the bathroom, he couldn’t shut his eyes at all. His mind went restless and stuck in thinking about the bass and drum line for the melody. His brain wants to finish it soon, but his body was tired. He made the demo with guitar and keyboard and sing it himself, but he’s not satisfied with the result. It feels somewhat empty, and unappealing.

It’s still summer, yet the wind felt cold as it gets closer to dawn. Shin take out his phone again.

Why aren’t you answering? Sleeping?

“Good question, Shin. Look at the clock. Ofcourse she’s sleeping.” He scold himself, regret the message he sent her.

Shin staring at the dim screen of his phone. Thinking about the message, a bit expecting she awaken and reply even though it’s a whin.

He didn’t really sure himself why he asked her to accompany him on a late night like this. She’s a girl and they’re not yet in a level of a good friends. Where did he got the courage to do that? Even though he likes to tease and bother her, he should keep the boundary between him and her as an opposite gender colleagues. They’re just a mere collaborating partner. Nothing much. He should respect her like a great partner suppose to do.

Sorry.

Only one word he can send to her after much consideration and few moment of type-erase-retype-erase. He can’t find the right words to make up for his ridiculous request.

He put back the phone to his jeans pocket, tighten his jacket before pick up the backpack and guitar case. He doesn’t bother to take a last glance to her house before walk away. He’s never that melancholy type. If he goes, just go.

Upon reaching the end of the road, he take a turn right, opposite his usual course to the university. Vaguely he heard a creaking sound from the distance. It may be just a hallucination, but he put his senses at stakes just to gratify his curiousity.

He walks backward and lean back to take a peek at the road to his house. Much to his surprise, there she was in her PJ’s with a raggy hair and sticky eyes. Cellphone on her hand, and the light is on, indicate she was on it a moment before.

Shin turns around to face her. He take a moment of silent to smiling at the view few meter away from him. She looks funny when she frowning as she type something on her phone. He whistle to get her attention, in a split of seconds, his phone vibrating. No need to check it to know that it’s a message from her.

She notice him as soon as she looks away from her phone. Barking dogs in the distance become the sound effect as they staring at each other in a half asleep state, both. A slight of excitement in Shin’s sleepyness. A heaps of ire in Kyuwon’s sleepyness.

“Hold up.” Shin muttering before take the first step to approach her. He smiling faintly at her as they stand face to face. “I’m sorry,” said the trouble maker to hinder that girl from naging. He can see it coming at the moment their eyes met. “I didn’t think much when I sent that messages. I guess I wasn’t so sober back then.”

Her heavy eyes wrinkle at his statement. “Were you drunk?”

“No.” He smell out his clothes without take his eyes off of her. “I don’t smell like alcohol, do I?”

“That... sober... you said.”

Shin frowned. Couldn’t grasp the fact that she thought he was drunk when he sent the messages. “Nevermind. Forget my messages.” He put down his guitar case to grab her by shoulders and slowly push her to go back in. “Sleep. Let’s just say I never call you out. Pretend you didn’t met me tonight. Understood?”

“Oh? Oh? Why? Wait.” Kyuwon hold the wooden gate when Shin about to close it. “Why did you call me out? What’s the matter?” That moment she notice the backpack hang on his shoulder and the guitar case laying on the ground. “Where are you going?”

**

Shin holding the steering wheels loosely. Soothing acoustic tracks played on the radio. The road was quiet and empty to the outskirt of Seoul. Lee Shin and his guitar need to have a fresh air filling their bonding moment in attempt to create a fine harmony of sound and words. Laptop, notebook, cola, and some snacks on his backpack join them in their midnight journey. He was on the way to his favorite park on a hill which became his usual sanctuary whenever he stuck with anything he currently working on. The park is in the highest part of the hill, he can see Seoul at night blinking it’s light offers a healing theraphy for his disturbed mind.

He likes coming out at midnight time like this. The road less crowdy and the hill is empty. But tonight seemed the exception for the quiet night when his car (scratch that; eomma’s car) encountered a commotion about 20 minutes away from the hill. A car crashed happened between a van and mini cooper. Police and paramedics with ambulance already on the site handling the evacuation. Thus he can’t pass through them since the road was blocked for the police to clean up glass flakes as the aftermath of the accident. It was almost half an hour he waited in line to get through. He can’t turn around and take another route since there was two cars behind him, and the road is a one way.

“I guess I got a bad timing. How long it will take for us to go through?” Shin sighs impatiently.

“That’s scary.” Kyuwon shivering upon catching the sight of blood on the road beneath those damaged cars. “It must be really painful.”

“I wonder.” Shin turns down the volume of the radio to get clearer sounds from outside. Who knows they can hear some trivial conversation about the collision. Admit it or not, he’s a bit curious with how the accident happen. “I doubt they can feel the pain if they can’t even get their senses again,” he says when he saw a bloody hand protuding underneath cloth covering the corpse.

“Oh my god!” She’s wailing at the scene before her eyes, paramedics evacuate casualty from the cars, and one of the death body accidentaly revealed and she swear it’s the scariest thing she’ve ever seen―the blood covering the face but both eyes open wide.

One of the police wave his hand signaling the road is save and the cars can go through.

Shin drove the car slowly and carefully as they pass by the incident point. “Tell me it’s not real.” He wishper to himself.

The car finaly back on route. Shin put his mind on the road again, let the sound from the radio erase the terrifying moment they had a while ago. He was shaking his head to The Barberettes covering Rum and Coco Cola when he notice a sobbing sound from the side. He turns his head to look at her, to found her taking out a piece of tissue from her bag and wipe the snot on her nose.

“Ya, what’s wrong?”

She startle by his question and immediately look away to the window, feeling embarass caught sobbing in front of him.

“Are you crying?”

“No, you heard it wrong.” But her voice sounds bitter and shaky.

“Ya Lee Kyuwon.” He hold her arm try to make her look at him. “Why are you cry? Did I said something wrong?”

“No.”

“Come on. I’ll feel terrible if you won’t tell me. I’m in charge in this car, if anything discomfort my passanger I should responsible for that.” He lean to the steering wheel to get a better look at her face, hand still on her arm. “I already feel bad now. Don’t make me confuse. Just say it.”

“It’s nothing.” She wipe her nose once again to make sure it’s clean enough. “It’s just... the tears came out all of a sudden. I felt so sad for the accident. The family and friends must be shocked and traumatized by the sudden lost.”

Shin let go of his hand from her. He glance at the back seat to check on his belonging. “I’m sorry I can’t comfort you properly. There’re mineral water and juice in my bag. Drink something to calm yourself.” He grin at the road. “I can’t take it for you cause I’m occupied.”

“Ah, ne. That’s okay. I’m fine. I just, you know, I can be a little melancholy sometimes.” She shyly admit.

“It makes sense,” he says.

“What do you mean?” She put herself on guard for the tease or insulting joke he might pull out.

“Anyone can be melancholy if they witness a tragic accident.” It’s not the words she expect to hear. “I feel sad too. But I’m a man, I can’t cry easyly.”

Kyuwon smile faintly as she tuck the strainds of her hair behind the ear. They continue the rest ten minutes in silence. Focus to the street, focus to the radio. Enjoying the peaceful acoustic playlist the DJ played without interfered by noisy commercial. There are not much building in this area, the sky that fully decorated by stars can be seen clearly even before they reach the hill.

“Have you ever been out at midnight before?” Shin asks one of plenty question he wants her to answer.

“It’s my first time.” Her reply exactly the same with his prediction. Actualy no need to ask when he already know what her bigger obstacle is. “I hope we’re not back home too late.”

“I know. Harabeoji shouldn’t caught you went out with a boy at night.”

Kyuwon grimaced, feeling ashame with the strict rule she have to obey.

“Don’t you feel scared?”

Kyuwon sighs. “I don’t know if this still counted as scared or tired of protesting. I complained and whined a lot when I was younger. Thought harabeoji was arrogant and annoying for kept telling me what to do. But as I grew up I found the music he taught me is amusing. I admit I like it. I just fed up with the way he taught me. He’s too strict and unarguable.” She frowning, and talk to herself. “What is unarguable? Is that even a word?”

Shin scoffs. “Ok, I got it.” He spun the steering wheel to lead the car entering the smaller road, a wide parking lot below the hill welcome them ahead. “But it’s not what I asked.”

Kyuwon looks at him in lost, waiting for him to continue with his words.

The car stopped under a shaddy tree near the fence. The area slightly higher than the view in the distance. It’s already beautiful even from the carpark.

Shin move his body to face her. Lean his head to the seat as his eyes fixated in her. “It’s not about harabeoji.” His husky voice become deeper when he asks, “That question is about me.”

Kyuwon flusterred. But she can’t look away from him. His eyes sparkling yet unreadable. She cannot figure out what’s on his mind.

“You might don’t see me as a guy. But it won’t change the fact that I’m just a normal guy. I will always be an ordinary member from male population. Don’t you feel scared with the possibility happen of being out just the two of us in a desolate place you’ve never been?”

Kyuwon unconsiously gulps hard thinking about those possibility that comes to mind after he mention it. “Now I’m anxious.”

Shin chuckles. “Are you always this clumsy? I thought harabeoji is really strict he train you to be aware of anything.”

Kyuwon pursed her lips to the window. “It’s not that I didn’t think about it. You looks too pitiful and hopeless, I don’t have a heart to let you go by yourself.”

“So you feel comfortable with me now?”

Kyuwon taken aback. She didn’t realize it before. She used to feel irritated and wanted to get away from him as soon as she could, avoid him at all cost. He doesn’t have a good vibe to hang out with. But look at her now. She feel sympathetic at him and willing to sacrifice her sleeping time to keep him company somewhere she doesn’t even know.

“I guess we’re an official friend now.” Shin smirk while he open the door. “Don’t worry. I will protect you like a friend suppose to do. Let’s go.” He get out of the car without waiting for her respond.

Once again, he made her flusterred. An ultimate attack to make her speechless. Shin always full of surprise. Most of the things he does is unpredictable. This time it’s not an annoying surprise anymore. Somehow he looks more human to her―not the cold and cynical dude like her first impression of him.

Kyuwon get out of the car when Shin takes his belonging from the backseat.

“Can I help with anything?” She initiated, realize it’ll be heavy to hike with the backpack and guitar.

“Don’t underestimate me.” He pass by her to walks ahead. “Keep up with me without asking for assist is already a help.”

Kyuwon snorted. “Don’t under estimate me.”

The pathway is slope with low bushes and cherry blossom trees on both sides. From the left side, the Seoul night light view looks more sparkling and beautiful like a reflection of the stars on earth.

“Are you always here alone?” She asks as they arrive at the peak. She sits on a bench next to him.

He push her lightly. “Give space for the food,” which she obey without argue. “Or you’re so into me you want to sit super close so we