#akm0ng. yingjie

[kkotseo]

— in response to @akm0ng

A long tiring day just ended. Just like any others who worked the typical 9 to 5 schedule. Though Seoah wasn’t an office employee nor a worker with a morning shift. She just so happened to end a meeting earlier with nothing filling the rest of her agenda. An unfortunate miracle to say the least. Blonde hair did not go unnoticed among a sea of dark hues. Hood cast over her head, she stood in line for the bus to come by. An issue with the engine, her manager mentioned amidst his flurry of apologies for Seoah must head home by her own means.

It wasn’t a bother unlike how the other worded on the phone. Perhaps a small inevitable predicament, but definitely not the end of the world. Instead, it was an unexpected opportunity to the singer, a walk down in memory lane at the present tense. When was her last time she took public transportation? It felt so far away. Her younger self seemed to lose grasp of how the experience was. Always in a rush, tackling school during daytime and trainee practices during nighttime. Yet, back then, things were a lot easier than she made it sound in her head.

Each on their own, tending to their bubble, thickening invisible barriers with Bluetooth earphones. Everyone’s similar behaviour facilitated her task to blend in. A few rebellious strands shone under the sunlight only to be tucked deeper within the hooded shadow. And no sight of the proper numbered bus among the busy lanes. The slightest impression of a vehicle bigger than the cars made her head tilt slightly, only to be left in disappointment.

Usually, Seoah was a lady of patience. However jaded, standing still was already an undesired supplementary task. Her makeup weighed on her face yet concealed any signs of fatigue. If only her thin rosy lips could curl a bit so she wouldn’t appear peevish.

A smile finally tugged on them as the bus approached with a forced halt and its passengers holding its pivotal handles and vertical bars tight. The scene didn’t raise a reaction from the outsiders whose sole desires were to head home. The queue shortened faster than the singer thought it would and once inside, she wandered to the back.

That’s how she met eyes with the foreigner who happened to address her in a language she was the least knowledgeable of. At first, a light tilt of confusion accompanied her widened eyes. ❝ Oh no, no! ❞ The alarmed singer exclaims the first English words that crossed her mind, both agitated hands in rejection. ❝ You sit. You sit! ❞ She gestures where the empty seat is. ❝ Please si--! ❞ Her chance to employ better words in a decent sentence vanishes in a flash, slammed against the window due to the violent curve the bus driver manoeuvred. She turns on her heels and loses balance. Eyes closed shut for the imminent embarrassment and pain, her stupor further grows when the suffering does not occur.

And she finds herself seated at the spot the stranger gestured earlier. Cheeks now flushed red from the situation, Seoah manages to bow curtly in his direction.

❝ ... ... Thank you. ❞