✓ nostalgia | jungwon

chapter 12.

nostalgia, twelve.
❛ the evening bus ❜

The day after, Yang Jungwon got on the bus home as he always did, but he couldn't deny the slight excitement he felt when the vehicle came to a halt at the stop near Sanheoli High School.

He scrolled through his phone with a small smirk as passengers began to board, knowing that in a few minutes, he'd have to continue his melodramatic argument with the girl. He glanced up every now and then, trying to seem casual when she arrived, but she didn't.

     Soon, the bus door closed, and he realized she wasn't going to board at all.

     For the remainder of the ride, Jungwon couldn't shake the question of what happened to Yebin. The festival's getting nearer, she probably just stayed after school to help, he thought. But remembering her swollen eyes from the day before, he felt uneasy.

     He shook his head, dismissing the thoughts as the bus reached his stop. He wasn't in the position to be curious about her.

     But that didn't change the fact that he was, though.

     Jungwon stayed behind as the rest of the passengers got off, stopping right by the driver's seat. "Excuse me, sir?"

     The man turned to him with a stoic expression. Jungwon put a hand behind his neck, avoiding his eyes as he struggled to find the right words.

     "Uh- would you, by any chance, know why Han Yebin didn't take the bus today?"

     "Han Yebin?" The driver raised his eyebrows at the boy. "Why do you ask?"

     "Nothing, it's just- you know, she's my friend so I was just wondering," Jungwon nonchalantly played it off.

     "Of course you are." The driver narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously, before humming in response. "Well, if you must know, she said her exams are coming up. She sometimes takes the evening bus in the to self-study after school."

     "There's an evening bus?" Jungwon asked.

     "Technically, no. She's the only passenger that ever boards."

     Jungwon's confusion grew. "You go back to Haean just for her?"

     The driver sighed, shrugging. "Look, I've known Yebin for years. She's a good kid. If she wants to take the extra step for her education, I'd gladly drive the extra mile to help her do it."

     Jungwon nodded, moving to leave as he realized he was stalling the the vehicle's departure. Of course she was just self-studying, he thought. But what worried him was the extent she was going to. Earlier that morning, he'd boarded the bus to find her completely passed out with her head resting on the window. It was 7:30 am, and no one was supposed to be that exhausted.

     He didn't know what he was thinking or why even thought of it in the first place, but he wanted to help her. Whether it was because of how he'd treated her before, simply out of pity, or something else, he didn't know.

     "What time is the evening bus?" he suddenly turned back.

     The driver seemed a little irritated, but Jungwon didn't care. "I have a few stops left, then I'll be heading right to her. From there, she'll be dropped off within twenty-five minutes. Any more questions?"

     "Just one," Jungwon said. "Could you drop me off then as well?"

     The driver looked at him as if to ask if he were being serious, but Jungwon didn't falter. The man shook his head with another sigh. "Fine, we'd pass your stop anyway. Now, hurry and get back to your seat."

     Jungwon grinned, heading to the back of the bus. The voice at the back of his head was asking him why he was doing this, but he chose not to listen.

     The driver furrowed his eyebrows as he caught sight of the boy's smile from the rear view mirror. "You her boyfriend?"

     "No!" Jungwon quickly denied, his smile falling. "I barely know her."

     The driver glanced at him over his shoulder. "Didn't you say you two were friends?"

     "Well- yeah, but we're not close friends," Jungwon explained, hoping it was believable.

     Albeit sending him another skeptical glare, the driver seemed to let it go, and the bus began rolling. Jungwon pulled his phone out as he took a seat, quickly making a call.

     "Mom," he began. "I'll be home a little later than usual. I'm just helping a friend."

     Han Yebin looked from her textbook to her notebook, jotting down the last of her math notes while trying to lock them into memory.

     "Derivatives, differentiation, logarithms... Holy shit." Yebin murmured to herself in exasperation. "All these long words in a subject about numbers."

     She was so engrossed that she didn't even noticed the librarian approaching her with crossed arms. "What are you still doing here? We've been closed since ten minutes ago."

     "Really?" Yebin looked around the library, where the tables were all empty and the lights had gone dim. "I'm so sorry, I'll be going now."

     The woman gave her a thin-lipped smile, waiting for her to pack her things. Yebin continuously bowed as an apology while being escorted out of the library, where the door was shut and locked quickly after. She ran a hand through her hair in frustration as she looked around at the near-empty parking lot. Almost everyone had gone home, and even with all those hours of studying, she had a long way to go before her chance of even passing the exams. But one thing that made her smile, was the bus that was waiting for her as she walked to her stop.

     "Hey, Mr. Nam." Yebin smiled weakly as she boarded the bus. "Thanks for going all this way to pick me up again."

     "Don't feel too special," The driver chided her. "You're not the only passenger on board."