The Reason? - Yoon Jeonghan

Chapter 3

      After a short but heated discussion between Joshua and Kyerin, the woman left. The empty cup of coffee laid on the table next to Joshua's, Ophely still hadn't finished her drink.

     The sun was starting to come out and a light golden hue was draped over the streets, giving it a warm glow. More cars were over the roads, more people going to their workplace early in the morning, Joshua gave a sigh as he watched the streets like Ohpely.

     "We should leave, the streets will get crowdier." She didn't understand how that was a problem, but she followed him, putting on her mask and the hat she had, just like him. Ophely didn't understand why they had to be so hidden and out of the way of others. She didn't question it.

     They walked around the city for a while, even if Ophely was used to waking around the countryside she lived in, walking around a city was more tiring. It was the number of people you had to look out for and the awkward holes in the seemingly flat ground. The noise that was slowly getting louder was getting to her head, she never liked the city, and its bustling crowd. It had only been less than a day, a simple hour, but ophely was already hating it. How could others enjoy this noise that gives you headaches and the fumes that makes your throat hurt?

     They walked down streets, some had food stalls and others were empty. She liked that he was taking a calmer route, maybe Joshua realised that she wasn't at ease? She hopes so, because she had been tightly holding onto his sleeve since they walked into a little street in the middle of a shopping hall. Too many people for her.

     The sky was getting brighter and the streets busier by the second. Taking more private passages was for their benefits, he should have taken his car or maybe bought a few tickets for the public transports. No, being away from citizens was best for their security.

     Ophely was getting tired, she had checked Jeonghan's watch four times already and the time seemed to go too slow, an hour and they didn't seem to be any closer to their destination, Joshua had been walking at a rapid pace since they left café. Her feet were hurting, shouldn't his too? They must be friends, him and the man in whose body she was, shouldn't he be as fit as him? Still, with a body like his, Jeonghan should be fine, it's just walking around a city.

     How wrong Ophely was, five minutes later and she was asking Joshua to stop and wait for her, her feet were killing her. Sitting down on a bench in the middle of a deserted street, the man waited for the teenager to gain back the feeling of her feet.

     "Why do we have to wear masks? They make breathing harder, and walking as much as we did takes breath." She rambled, her mouth wide open and gasping for air, the mask gently tucked under her chin, the same for Joshua.

      "For security."

     "That's so vague~" she moaned out, her head falling back. She watched the beautiful purple sky for a few more seconds before standing back up. She stretched her limbs and looked expectedly towards her body's male friend, silently asking him to go back to walking. She may be tired, but waiting longer before getting good rest was not something she wanted.

     "Don't forget the mask." Joshua advised before turning around and continuing down the street, a small ramen shop opening its doors a few meters in front. The two boys started walking again.

     "How long do we have left?"

     "Not long."

     "Still quite vague."