nana

01. RIDE

01. RIDE
一 SEO NANA.

hey, nana. do you remember the first time we met? because i'm the type of girl who believes in things like fate, i'm certain that it was fate. you can laugh, it's okay.

the first time that seo nana met baek nana was in the winter. it was the winter in which they were leaving their hometowns, and this time, they were both hoping that it would be forever.

snow was heavily falling, and the train was delayed. it was the last train of the night, and she couldn't bare to miss it. when seo nana stepped off of the platform and on the train, she was greeted by an overwhelming amount of people. she expected it to be quite full, but not packed. she wasn't even the least bit surprised; they were departing to seoul, after all.

looking back on it, she was basically running away from home. nana grew bored of her town, not too far from daegu. it wasn't a big nor a small town. it wasn't a suburb, nor was it a city. it wasn't a sight-seeing spot either. it was a town surrounded by mountains, and she herself felt surrounded, enclosed in it.

nana was looking for a new city to fall in love with, a new city to fall in love in. she fell in love quite easily, so she took the best route, that is, going to seoul. she knew that it wasn't a very slow-paced city, but she knew that she could find her way somehow.

the doors shut behind her, and nana made her way through the aisle, desperate to find at least one seat. her grip tightened around the seats edges as the train began to speed away from the station. the car was extra bumpy that ride, and nana was on the verge of falling over.

she peered over every single seat, searching for an open one, until she came across one occupied by a suitcase. beside the suitcase was a girl, and nana didn't seem to notice the earbuds in her ears.

"um," nana mumbled, dragging it out. "excuse me." no answer. "um, excuse me," she said a bit louder this time. "is this seat—"

without warning, the train came to a screeching halt, causing nana to fall over along with the suitcase, hitting her right on the head with a loud thump. "ouch!" as others around her started to get up from their seats and check on their belongings, she heard a low voice above her, "oh, shit, you okay?"

nana looked up, and found herself startled over her looks. the girl moved the suitcase off of her, and moved it by her feet instead. nana quickly got up. "yes, i'm fine." she laughed a bit, picking up her bags. she swallowed, finally finding the courage to speak up. "is this seat — um, i mean — would it be okay if . ."

the girl chuckled. "go ahead." nana smiled, putting her bags in the overhead rack and taking a seat. nana peered beside her, watching as she took a cigarette between her lips and lit it, blowing out puffs of smoke. she found her beautiful, stunning. her hair was short, and dark, and her sharp features were what made her look so special.

"due to excessive snowfall this train will be stopping indefinitely. we apologize for the inconvenience. please wait until the train resumes travel."

nana groaned. "and i'm in a hurry too . . ." she pulled out her phone and began to text away, amazing the dark haired girl beside her. "hm, you high school students sure have changed," she laughed, earning a confused look from nana. "i'm actually 21," nana whimpered. "oh, sorry," she chuckled, "you're the same age as me."

right after, nana's phone began to ring, and she was so quick to answer it. "yes, it's nana. — taehyung! — hmm . . well, it looks like i'll be coming in late tonight. — really? — okay, i'll let you know when i find out. — yeah, see you later." she hung up, and the girl beside her leaned and elbowed her side. "is that your boyfriend from seoul?" "no, no, it's not—"

"ah, i see, so you're following him to seoul." nana shook her head and laughed. "no, he's my best friend, actually. we met at a community college in daegu, but a little while ago he left to go find his lost boyfriend that ran away to seoul."

"why didn't you go with him?" she asked, turning her head. "he told me not to. he wanted to fix his business on his own. i couldn't afford to, anyway. but i've been saving up until this very moment, and now that he's going to art school, i can go with him! so i really have to work hard in seoul to — oh, what am i doing . . . going on about my life and all. sorry," nana laughed. a laugh came from beside her as well. "it's fine, keep talking. we've got a long, long way to go."

"hey, they're selling drinks! do you want a beer?" she nodded. "excuse me. two beers, please!" the waitress brought over two beers, and nana handed one beside her. "thanks, nana."

"cheers," she said, opening up the can and raising it up. "to two girls, the same age, meeting on the same train to seoul." nana cheered, raising her can as well. "and one more thing . . ."

"cheers to us both being called nana."

hey, nana. do you remember the first time we met? i just talked on and on about myself, and never even asked about you. but i'm sure you were just trying to avoid talking about yourself.

when seo nana and baek nana stepped off of the train and on to the city of seoul, it was late, and thankfully the snow had stopped. they looked at each other for a moment, and wondered if they were ever to meet again.

"nana!" a familiar voice called, and nana looked over to see taehyung, waving with a huge smile. she began to walk towards him, but came to a halt and turned back around. "i hope we see each other again."

"yeah," she replied, and laughed in between, "later, nana."