somewhere only we know | huang renjun

004 | be careful.

!be careful.

IT WAS 7:58AM WHEN I MET RENJUN. he was standing outside the hedge bordering my home.

"you're early," he remarked, gesturing to his watch.

"so are you," i said, raising my eyebrows in response.

we walked most of the way to school in silence. it was just a little bit awkward, to say the very least. we both knew what had happened the night before; and while at first i wasn't exactly sure what renjun had gathered from the scene, the absence of his voice stuttering in an effort to make conversation gave me the idea that he had seen, and had understood, just about everything.

we soon approached a crossing. one of those that had no red or green lights, just a pedestrian sign and a dependence on your own intuition to avoid getting hit by oncoming cars. this crossing, in particular it seemed, was a little too dependent. i hadn't lifted my foot for more than a second when i was startled by a firm grip on my shoulders pulling me back away from the road, and a flash of color accompanied by a harsh breath of wind as a small SUV sped past us. i stumbled back, merely missing renjun's toes under the heels of my sneakers as i watched the car speed off into the distance.

"be careful." renjun spoke, "he would've hit you."

i stared at renjun helplessly lost for words. his hands seemed stuck to my shoulders while i took a moment to process everything that had just happened. i nodded, acknowledging his concerned warning.

"thanks," i replied shyly. i turned away from so as not to let him see the red flush in my cheeks, and turned my focus down the opposite side of the road, actively paying slightly more attention to the traffic ahead of us than i had just a minute ago. he removed his hands from my shoulders and let out a small laugh to himself.

i turned to him with an unclear expression, but finding it hard not to mirror his smile. "was it that funny?" i asked playfully, ever so eager for an explanation.

"i just saved your life," he began, "and you're so embarrassed about it! look at your cheeks, look how red they are."

mission failed, i guess.

"you know, we've barely said a word to each other this whole time," he rambled on, "and out from nowhere this car comes and, and," he stuttered, "and you nearly died!" he spoke fast, like a kid telling his mom all about his very first day at school. "you should've seen your face," he laughed. i stared back in astoundment. my head had suddenly become empty as if someone had hit ctrl+alt+delete on my vocabulary – i couldn't think of a single thing to say.

renjun's smile soon dropped as if he had just realised everything that had come out of his mouth. "you're not laughing," he observed. it soon became very awkward again, with him gazing at me in silence with eyes seemed to be filled with regret, and me looking right back at him still trying to understand what was happening. his lips closed as he looked down to the concrete, breaking our eye contact.

i replayed his rambling in my head, silently admiring his ability to think of so many sentences at once and present them so confidently – my own introverted personality could never do anything like that. though delayed, i soon began to smile right back at him, letting a small laugh leave my lips. he looked back up at me, reading my updated expression. i shook my head in disbelief, but he soon returned my amusement before we were both stood next to an empty road laughing with each other at nothing.