SUNGJAE

It was nearly eight when he left the library. It was already starting to get dark outside and if he didn’t get home soon, his mom would worry. He thanked the librarian, who he knew well as he spent most of his evenings in the library, studying. He gathered up his books and left. His head was swimming with Chemical equations and mathematical formulae.

PENIEL

He had no idea where he was. He looked at his satnav again. He still wasn’t used to using it as usually he only drove around his hometown, which he knew like the back of his hand. He felt like a country-bumpkin as he tried to make sense of where he was. The satnav was telling him to turn left, but he could see no left turns ahead of him. He circled the same roundabout for the millionth time and looked for a place to pull over. He got out of his car and held his face in his hands. If this was the countryside, he could easily ask a passing stranger the way. He looked around him and the people passing him looked cold and robotic. He’d heard that people lived mechanical lives in the city, but this was a bit much. It also looked like it was going to rain. Perfect, he muttered as he looked around in desperation for someone who didn’t look like a closet serial axe-murderer.

SUNGJAE

The first drops of rain were light and Sungjae took the chance to try and find some shelter. The one day he hadn’t taken his umbrella. He found a shop which had a roof that kind of stuck out in a way that would give him adequate shelter from the rain. Sungjae shivered as the drops fell heavier, and the corrugated iron that was giving him shelter made soothing rain noises that made him feel sleepy. The streets were now practically deserted of pedestrians. As he was looking around, he noticed a man who seemed to be sitting in a parked car with the inside-light on, trying to decipher some sort of gigantic paper. He couldn’t really see the man inside, but he seemed to be wrestling with the paper. Sungjae smiled. It was funny because the man would try to stand up every time he was folding the paper, and in doing so, would bang his head on the roof of the car. The rain finally let up and Sungjae started walking home. As he was passing the car, the window suddenly rolled down, startling him.

“Excuse me, but can I ask you something?”, asked a voice from inside. He couldn’t see the man’s face but he saw now that the gigantic paper was in fact, a map. A foreigner?, wondered Sungjae. No, but his accent was different. He certainly isn’t from around here, he thought.

“Umm… Yeah, no problem. What is it?”, asked Sungjae, keeping his distance from the car door. He was eighteen, but his mother had warned him about stranger, and he took her words quite seriously. The map went down, revealing a man who wasn’t much older than Sunjae. His first thought was that the man was very handsome. His jaw was square and his cheeks looked puffy as he looked at Sungjae with a questioning face. His hair was brown and styled up and he was wearing a grey tank top and tracksuit bottoms which made clear that he was fit. His arms were muscular and his chest and his shoulders were broad. The man looked so out of his depth, like a fish out of water that Sungjae shredded his previous mistrust and stepped closer to the car.

PENIEL

The rain fell heavily and the car felt like it was under attack from the heavens. He held the map close to his face and scrutinised it. He was well and truly lost. His head was throbbing because the map was so big, that it required him to stand up every time he wanted to fold it, and it wasn’t a good idea to try and stand in a car, being nearly 6 foot. As the rain eased up, he spotted a boy who was wearing a high school uniform walking his way. His face was nearly angelic and Peniel had to admit, beautiful. He was passing by his car and he decided to try his fate.

The boy stepped closer to his car. Close-up, the boy was even more beautiful-eyes that looked like they’d break into a smile anytime, a wide mouth and perfect apple-cheeks. He showed the boy the map.

“Could you tell me where I am right now? I’m kind of lost”. The boy chuckled. He took the map from Peniel and studied it. He scrunched up his nose while he concentrated, which made him look adorable. The boy was saying something and Peniel listened. The boy’s cheeks were slightly flushed and he figured that it must have been due to the heat. “We’re here, at Brooklight Junction”. He pointed to the map and handed it to Peniel. For some reason he felt the need to keep conversing with the boy. “Thank you so much, and sorry to trouble you further, but how could I get to Sharpville Apartments from here? I can’t find them on the map. The boy thought, scrunching up his nose cutely again. “Hmmm… Keep going straight on this road until you see a set of amber lights. Turn left there and you’ll start seeing road signs leading you there”. Peniel processed this information, and when he was sure he knew it, he smiled. “Thank you so much”.

The boy smiled and stepped back from the car. Peniel waved and started driving away and the thought of never seeing the boy again made him inexplicably sad.

SUNGJAE

He watched the car drive away and mentally wished the handsome stranger goodbye. He walked home and tried to recall what he had studied. He couldn’t wait to tell his mom about his day.

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I feel like this one was kind of long. Well, longer than I expected, anyway. It's like verbal diarrhea but the Penjae feels are strong tonight. It's 2:18 am and I've to wake up early tomorrow so this'll be all tonight. Kaykay byebye^^~