Hacking Seoul

0.24 - Questions Unanswered

"I know what you're going to say." He started before she could have the chance to mention the one person he hated the most right now, commonly known as her boyfriend.

"I don't care if he's supposed to take care of that, or if he's supposed to take care of you." He cracked a smile in the attempt to lighten the mood even though he felt like jumping off a cliff. "Promise me you will take care of you."

He looked into her eyes as affection flooded him. "Get that wound looked at as soon as you can, will ya?"

She stared at him for two long seconds before her eyes went back to the road, countless words left unspoken. The overwhelming emotion in her eyes was going to haunt him forever.

"Of course." She smiled just a little, the sadness obvious or maybe she just didn't bother to hide it anymore. "Don't you know? I can take care of myself."

The English sentence killed him. Images shifted right in front of his eyes as his mind went back to all the times she said those very same words tonight. Too defiant and distant at the time, those words were endearing to him now that he had seen her in distress and survived American streets with her. The shared memories between them only made him want to spend more time with this girl. He looked out the window as pain ate him hollow from his knees all the way up to his disintegrating brain. Disintegrating, because he had the fortune to meet her, but not the fortune to know her before he had to leave. Forever.

The way back was difficult and silent. He had so much to say, but he couldn't find his voice in midst of depression and growing heartache. He couldn't accept the fact that his voyage with this girl was really coming to an end. The improbability of their meeting and the series of crises that followed seemed to have put him in a land of uncertainty; he was searching hard for a safe ground but at the same time refusing to let go of their surreal journey together. He was holding on to every shred of proof that validates her existence, and his presence in her life, albeit only for one dreamy night.

This was the complete opposite of what his life was like normally. There was none of these dangerous, spontaneous ventures, none of these intimate, unapproved of contacts with strangers. And now that he had had such a sweet taste of it, he couldn't help but wonder how he would ever be able to get over tonight's rush of adrenaline.

Perhaps the silence was secretly wished for by both of them. Her maneuver was smooth and perfect, just like the outline of her face, and she took good care of avoiding his eyes. He was dying to know what she was thinking, to know what was in her head when his own mind was giving him a surging headache. He wanted to ask her about her injury, where she got that cut, how it happened, who was responsible, but all words simply boxed themselves in half way up his throat. It was when you ran out of time that you realized how much you still haven't knew or done.