*Yawn*
Inside the silent car, Talon yawned as he covered his mouth. Staring ahead of him, he could see that the car was still moving comfortably. He couldn't sense anything abnormal and made sure to keep contacting the other every 4 minutes or so to make sure they were fine.
So far, after two hours of leaving the town, nothing attacked them or came close from them.
Looking at the rear-view mirror, Talon noticed that Sophie and Chin-Hwa had drifted to sleep. The last few days have been really exhausting with the amount of work they had to do so naturally, when things are calm, drowsiness took over them. Meanwhile, Acrypha was sitting in his lap, completely disconnected from the world as she meditated.
That left him alone in the car and it was a very serene moment. Or so he thought at least.
"Are you tired?" Surprisingly, a voice spoke to him.
Looking to the side, he saw Hyun-Jae staring back at him worriedly. He thought that she was asleep the entire time. But, turns out she was still awake.
"I'm not. Why are you still awake, Hyun-Jae? I thought you were asleep?" Talon asked back.
"I wasn't asleep. I can't go to sleep either since you're still awake." She replied.
"What? Why is that? You can take a nap, I'm not tired, really."
However, the girl still shook her head adamantly. "As long as you're awake, I'm also going to be awake."
"..." Seeing the determination in her eyes, the young man was rendered speechless. Deep down, he felt grateful that she was this worried about him but he also felt bad since he knew Hyun-Jae was exceptionally exhausted from all the work that she had to do.
Not to mention the responsibilities on her shoulders that she had to carry constantly, those were exceptionally exhausting since they taxed her brain rather than her body.
'She's really something else...' His respect and admiration for Hyun-Jae kept growing day by day.
Barely two months ago, the two of them were simple strangers who had no connection to each other whatsoever. He doesn't even remember passing by her on a random day. That was how distant they were from each other.
Yet, in just the span of a few weeks, they became the closest companions and the best of friends without even realizing it.
'Life sometimes works in weird ways. Who could've predicted our paths would've crossed this way? If the integration hadn't happened, we would've never become friends. I don't even know how to feel just thinking about that possibility...'
He had been through such a thing before when he ended his relationship with Sophie. At the time, he found himself completely engrossed in studies and work and he quickly exerted himself beyond what he was capable of. He knew that if he stopped for a moment to think about what happened, he would fall into depression or even worse.
Work was his only way of pushing those thoughts away. That's why, at that moment, he felt really bad for Hyun-Jae.
"What happened, Hyun-Jae?" He murmured in a low tone.
Hearing that question made the girl frown slightly before she closed her eyes. "If you know... You might hate me."
"That would never happen." The young man replied immediately with a serious tone that left no room for questions. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that.
Hyun-Jae was now one of the closest people to him, hating her was out of the question no matter what she did in the past. He knows that everyone can make mistakes, what mattered was their present and how they turned out to be. Hyun-Jae was an amazing person and a friend through and through, the number of times he found her supporting him through thick and thin was hard to count.
The instant response took her by surprise and made her look up. "How could you be so certain? It's not something that anybody knows. Beside a few number of people."
"Whatever it is, I won't hate you for it. That I can promise you."
"..." As if those words finally convinced her, Hyun-Jae nodded her head. "I will tell you. But, I... We need to be alone..."
"Of course, we're going to reach the next city soon. You can tell me then." He replied.
"Mmm..."
Even though on the surface, Hyun-Jae appeared calm, inside, her heart was racing quickly. She didn't know why, but she felt extremely nervous at that moment.
'I'm going to tell him... I'm going to tell him about it... Even though he said that he wouldn't hate me... What if he does? It's not a small thing after all... Am I risking too much? But, I still want to tell him... I don't know why, but all I want is to tell him.'
Her heart was terrified, but also more than willing to speak about her past. Something that she had never done before with anyone else. Even those who knew didn't dare to speak about it around her.
It was the sole thing Hyun-Jae wasn't ready to face for the longest time. Yet, out of nowhere, with a simple question, her heart suddenly was open wide enough to speak about her pain. She couldn't fathom how that was possible.
The sheer effect the young man next to her had on her was simply ridiculous.
'How far did I fall, I wonder.' She thought to herself as she slowly lifted her hand to touch her chest for a moment. 'I really wonder.'
A//N: Don't forget to support the book if you enjoyed reading ??