“Are we there yet?”

“No.”

A few minutes pass.

“Are we there yet?”

“No, Junhong.”

Minutes pass.

“Are we-”

“We’ll get there when we get there!”

Daehyun disguises his laugh as a cough when he hides his smile behind a hand. Jongup doesn’t even bother pretending, grinning widely anyway. Youngjae just rolls his eyes and looks out the window at the passing landscape.

Yongguk chuckles a little bit. “You don’t have to yell, Himchan.”

“If he would stop asking, I wouldn’t have to.”

Junhong pouts. “I just want to know, hyung. You don’t have to be so mean about it.”

“We are no closer getting there than we were ten minutes ago.”

“Actually we are ten minutes closer to getting there,” corrects Daehyun, shrinking a little bit when Himchan turns around in his seat to glare at him. “Never mind.”

“We’ll be there in a couple hours,” says Yongguk, ever the peacemaker. “But we’re going to have to stop for gas soon, too. I think we’re almost out.”

“Didn’t we just fill up yesterday?” Himchan asks, trying to remember. The days have blurred together, becoming mixed up and jumbled. One city turns into an oceantown, the landscapes becoming one and the same and trying to recount what happened each day becomes too tiring.

“I think it was two days ago,” volunteers Youngjae. “Two days and like, a million miles.”

“Was it really that much?” wonders Jongup. They start to get into a discussion about math that Junhong does not want to be a part of and he leans back in his seat, crossing his legs under him.

The van they have is quite comfy but a little small for the six of them, especially Junhong with his long legs. He’s been able to use it to his advantage getting leg room from when they’re cramped together for hours on end, so that’s something.

The front windows are down, blowing the evening air through the car and Junhong reaches a hand out to roll down the rest of them too. Since the air has cooled down and night is close to falling, it will no longer be hot and humid wind; instead, warm and refreshing.

Jongup notices him but doesn’t say anything, knowing the others are too preoccupied with their math discussion and really what harm could it do? They all are a little hot, even wearing as little clothing as possible. It’s a far cry from where they were four days ago where it was coats upon sweaters upon jackets and three layers of socks.

Now they’re lounging around in tanks and shorts, sunglasses perched on their noses to reflect back the sun’s dying light.

Junhong couldn’t be happier.

“We’re gonna stop here,” Yongguk decides, pulling into a small gas station. There was only one other car in the parking lot and the grass around it seemed to be overgrown. The little store connected to it was white but dirty and the sign that said open only had the first two letters blinking.

“Where are all the people?” asks Junhong as Yongguk pulls the car up to one of the filling stations. “How do they get supplies if it’s so far out of the way? What about the people that work here? How do they-”

“So many questions,” laughs Daehyun, unbuckling his seatbelt. “When we really should be focusing on more important things.”

Jongup follows him out of the car. “Like what?”

“Like what we’re gonna eat for tonight,” answers Daehyun as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Himchan rolls his eyes. “Alright kids, go to the bathroom and do what you need to do. We need to leave soon, can’t spend too much time in this dump.”

“They’ll hear you,” says Youngjae.

“Who? The bugs?” scoffs Himchan. Yongguk waves them off while he fills up the car. As he watches them enter the small store, chattering incessantly, he smiles, almost sadly.

They are seniors in high school. This is their last big adventure before leaving for college. Yongguk studying abroad and Himchan moving to Seoul from their small town. Daehyun is headed to Italy and Youngjae heard his calling in Busan.

The only two that would be left is Jongup and Junhong. And even next year, when Jongup went to college, Junhong would be left alone.

This is the last thing they’ll be able to do together as friends for a long time. Maybe the last time. Of course they’ll want to stay in contact but life usually gets in the way of that.

“How much longer do you think we have?” Himchan hops up on the hood of the car, looking at Yongguk interestedly.

“I’m not sure. Maybe two hours? Two and a half? Something around there.”

Honestly, when Himchan had suggested a road trip, Yongguk didn’t think he would be stuck with driving them around. But he was the one with the van and the money so it only made sense. He had been excited, for sure, but being with his friends on the road for three weeks straight meant he didn’t have a lot of time to himself. Not that he minded, but it would still be nice.

Himchan sees the other three heading back and frowns, because they’re missing someone. “Where’s Junhong?”

“Coming,” responds Youngjae but after five minutes have passed and still no junhong, Himchan starts to doubt that.

“That kid is going to be the death of me, I swear.”

“He’s not still in the bathroom, is he?”

“I thought he was with you!”

“Hyung!”

They all look in the direction of the voice and see Junhong rounding the corner of the store grinning widely. “Where were you?” scolds Himchan but the

younger just shakes his head.

“Yongguk hyung, I found it!”

“Found what?”

“The traveling mallard duck!”

The rest burst into laughter. The know the traveling mallard duck. Wherever they go, whatever they’re doing, Yongguk always manages to find a duck. It started out he was just honking and some ducks flocked to him but now they find ducks without even trying.

“You need to honk at it, hyung,” insists Junhong and Yongguk relents, following the kid around the store with Daehyun and Himchan on his heels. The other two stay behind. Someone had to stay at the car.

Nestled in the overgrown grass and outlined by the fading sunlight, is a duck pecking at the plants. Yongguk squats down next to it and honks softly. The duck just looks at him before honking back, making the others smile.

“Well we can check here off of our list,” says Daehyun as Yongguk stands back up, Himchan patting him on the back.

“But where is here exactly?” asks Junhong. Daehyun shrugs.

“No idea.”

“But does it matter?” Yongguk says as they make their way back to the car. Youngjae and Jongup are sitting on the hood, playing rock-paper-scissors, sunglasses pushed on their heads because the sky is turning indigo and purple as the sun goes down.

Junhong pauses. “Not really.”