“You head back first, I am meeting someone for supper. Want anything?”

“I’m good.” TaeHyung responded to NamJoon who was already pacing backwards towards the train station. And with that, the two waved and parted ways and TaeHyung started his journey home.

He slightly stretched his sore neck from side to side for a couple of times before pulling the hoodie over his head. It was a cold night and TaeHyung was obviously not dressed the season so all he had in his mind was to get home as soon as he can.

Passing by a street vendor, he hesitated for a moment before pulling out the only 10 000 won bill from his pocket, buying whatever he could with that money. Satisfied with his choices, he reached over to hand the vendor the money when he noticed from across the street, a somewhat familiar figure stood expressionless next to the traffic light, slightly fidgety. The dim street lights vaguely lit a portion of the face, revealing a pale girl. She was dressed plainly: a black hoodie hung over the shoulders and a pair of blue jeans gently hugging her legs. He knew he had seen that face somewhere but he just couldn’t seem to put a name to that face.

He quickly turned his attention back to the vendor as he thanked her before walking to the bus stop just a few metres down. As he sat at one of the benches waiting for the bus to arrive, he unknowingly turned his attention back to the figure who was now crossing the road with a jog. Her eyes darted left and right, looking animatedly wide, as she hid her face slightly behind the hood and her hands in the pocket stiffly placed in her pockets.

As a bus approached the station, TaeHyung gave the bus a quick glance, and stood up to board it. His eyes uncontrollably wandered back to observe the familiar figure further. This time when he turned to look, he was slightly shocked to see she was already making a mad dash for the bus stop as she flagged down the bus, abruptly stopping at a safe distance beside him before boarding the bus.

In that instant, he saw her face clearly.

Yoon Ha Young? Yoon Han Young? Yoon Ha Eun? Yoon Ha-

And finally a small voice rang in his head.

“Yoon Ha… Yeon?”

Ha Yeon cautiously whipped out her transport card, obviously not hearing TaeHyung subconsciously mumble her name, her hands trembling lightly as she quickly tapped her card and dashed for the empty seat by the window. She subtly squeezed herself into the corner and her face immediately fell blank again.

TaeHyung was undoubtedly a little shocked by how different Ha Yeon seemed but he masked it behind his usual poker face as he walked down the aisle almost passing her. He gave her a look but despite her looking straight ahead, he realized she probably had not noticed him seeing how she showed no reaction. Shrugging it off, he carried on down the aisle and settled in a seat two rows behind HaYeon.

He eyed her suspiciously from behind for a moment, doubtful about whether he had met the same person he did earlier that day in school seeing how that bright and noisy girl has turned into an anxious and mysterious teenager in front of him.

“Ha!” he silently mocked, “Talk about being two faced.”

But soon enough, fatigue took over him and he found himself falling asleep before they even reached the first bus stop.

TaeHyung was resting his head on the window as he drifted in and out of a nap, when desperate footsteps and a small cry to stop followed by an abrupt halt caused his head to dip, waking him up instantly. His eyes scanned the bus, his vision slightly blurred from sleep when he noticed the girl who looks like HaYeon pulling the jacket closer to her body, power-walking towards the bus door and before it could even open properly, tried to squeeze her way out.

His eyes followed her for a moment after she got off the bus. The way she ran, as though for her life, in an expensive neighbourhood she seemed familiar with, and her hands tightly locked in her pockets did not seem normal to him. And for a split moment there, for some reason the mock he had in him was replaced with a small feeling of sympathy as he watched the way she seemed overly insecure.

However, the warmth from the food that penetrated through his school pants, gently warming the skin on his lap distracted him from HaYeon. He effortlessly switched hands holding the bag full of food and heaved a sigh of relief. It was finally night and TaeHyung was more elated than anyone to be able to end the day’s work and return back to his home.

The bus came to a gentle stop at the last bus station where TaeHyung, the only passenger left, got off the bus.

Despite being on the same bus route, TaeHyung’s neighbourhood was nowhere alike the one HaYeon lived in. From the moment he stepped off the bus, the air reeked of alcohol and there were rubbish almost everywhere. Plastic bags rattled as it is dragged across the street by the wind. The