The second time he noticed it, he was in his car.

Other times, TaekWoon likes to drive. Of course, he has to pay attention to the road, but as soon as he makes it out of the noisy city, cruising along suburban roads is relaxing in its own way. He could turn on the radio at a low volume, only half-listening as he waits for the light to turn green.

If he hadn’t glanced at the clock on his dashboard, maybe he would have missed it.

It was the weekend. TaekWoon had declined his friends’ offer to hang out for dinner and chose instead to drive out somewhere by his lonesome to eat in peace. He’s not anti-social; rather, everyone has those moments where they’d rather spend time alone, right? TaekWoon was thinking about how much time he had left before he would need to head back to the campus and get ready for the school week ahead.

It was 6:47. It became 6:48. It flicked back to 6:47. It reverted back to 6:48.

TaekWoon blinked. Was he tired? Did he sleep enough the previous night? It’s not like he went out to party like everyone else usually did. Was his car broken somehow?

He didn’t get to delve on any deeper thoughts because suddenly the passenger door was wrenched open, and a stranger threw himself into the car.

TaekWoon didn’t even have the time to gasp as the stranger was almost shouting at him, “Drive. Drive! Just go!!”

Was the light green? Was there oncoming traffic? TaekWoon didn’t know. He just reflexively stomped on the gas and the car bumbled its way through the intersection, speeding forward. The stranger didn’t bother with the seatbelt, turning all the way around to look out the back window for whatever he was running from. Without even thinking about it, TaekWoon swerved down a perpendicular road, turning again and again until they had looped around in an odd square and were back on the previous street as before. Maybe it was enough to throw off the pursuer.

It seemed like the spontaneous tactic was good enough for the stranger, too, for he heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed in the passenger seat, turning back to the front as the car finally came to a stop at a red light. The stranger seemed to be admiring the car’s interior, running his hands along everything.

“Nice car,” he finally commented, flashing a bright smile.

TaekWoon, however, was not so carefree. He tried to use the tension in his hands gripping the steering wheel to distract himself from the fiery pain in his chest. He knew his body was shaking, and he couldn’t make himself stop.

“Who are you…?” he uttered in a hoarse whisper. He finally chanced looking over, and the stranger beside him seemed to be perplexed by the obvious question. Another spike of fire made his eyes scrunch up in pain, and he grabbed at the silver bracelet around his right wrist out of habit. “If… If you’re some kind of criminal, don’t wrap me up in whatever you’ve done… please…”

No answer. TaekWoon slowly opened one eye, but both suddenly flew open.

His car was empty. He jerked around in his seat, fumbled with the door handle and popped out of his car, spinning around to search the sidewalks and street. There was no sign of the stranger anywhere.

A/N: Oh noes what's going on~~ Gonna write a longer A/N on A Man's Best Friend in a bit.