Author's Note: Thanks to those who enjoyed reading my first RakWon fic, and a special thank you goes out to MissMplease for offering to translate 'A Conversation Under The Stars' in one of the most beautiful languages in the world, French! Merci beaucoup for the effort :) You can read it at /s/11249505/1/A-Conversation-Under-the-Stars .
This fic was inspired in part by Akdong Musician's 'On The Subway', and of my own ongoing observations of my own subway rides. It's very natural for us to whip out our phones on the subway to bide our time during the ride, but shouldn't it be just as natural for us to just... be? And, most importantly, to really be with the people who are with us on the journey.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
...
It was a long day at university, and all Yoo Il-rak wanted to do on his subway ride home was to stare into space, zone out and not think about very much. That, or idly scrolling his social media timeline to see the latest in his friends' life updates. Which usually wouldn't have been a problem, if not for...
"...so then I told So-hyun that it would be impossible to hit that really high note if she didn't have proper use of her diaphragm, but not that I'm much of a vocal expert really, I just remembered some of the techniques when we had to take that vocal foundation class back in freshman year, but she just wouldn't listen to me, and so I..."
...his unusually chatty girlfriend, who didn't seem to realize that her usually chatty boyfriend wasn't paying much atten-
"Yah. Yoo Il-rak. Did you even hear anything I said?"
The blonde, shaggy haired violinist snapped out of his stupor. He raised his eyes from his phone, his shaky gaze meeting that of a very unamused Jeong Shi-won's.
"O-of course I did!" Il-rak laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand, a gesture that almost always reflected guilt, even if he didn't realize it immediately. He quickly put his phone to sleep and stuffed it into his pocket. "I-I think Naeil should have taken Yoo-jin's advice too, since there aren't many days left... to... the..." his voice trailed off as Shi-won's narrow gaze of imaginary daggers dug further and further into his conscience.
"...aaaand that wasn't what you're talking about. I'm sorry babe," a tired Il-rak sighed, conceding defeat. "It's just been a long day and I just wanted to wind down a little bit."
The university orchestra's concertmistress rolled her eyes. "I haven't had the chance to see you all day and now that I finally get to, I don't even have you here with me 100%! I don't really ask for much, you know, just for you to listen! Is that too much to ask for?" she hissed the last line under her breath.
Il-rak pinched the bridge of his nose with his right forefinger and thumb, while grabbing onto a swinging handle as the train came to a slow stop at yet another station. The doors whooshed open and a swift exchange of commuters took place. Shi-won leaned a little closer into him as a businessman speaking in hushed tones over the phone squeezed past. Il-rak instinctively put a protective arm around his girlfriend (though more of her violin case), and breathed in the scent of her honey tinged perfume, his Valentine's Day gift to her.
"Shi-won ah," Il-rak whispered in her ear, "Don't be so..."
"What? Petty? Small-minded?" Shi-won suddenly burst out saying, causing some of the surrounding commuters to look up from their respective electronic devices. Her normally delicate features darkened. "Whatever, we have many more stops to go, so maybe you can go zone out all you want. Come look for me when your soul is back in that body of yours."
With that, she broke away abruptly from her (stunned) boyfriend's grasp, knocking gently into a young lady in a white jacket, who looked up in irritation. Shi-won bowed quickly in silent apology, her long hair swishing forth as she did so. She pushed her way into the crowd of commuters towards a connecting carriage, leaving Il-rak staring blankly behind her.
After he lost sight of his fuming girlfriend, he sighed and ran his (now free) hand through his hair, trying not to meet the stares of some of the commuters. Some others nervously avoided his gaze upon their eyes meeting, and quickly turned their attention back to their smartphones.
Il-rak felt a wave of guilt crash over him. It hadn't been an easy time for Shi-won lately, what with her monthly assessment coming up, which made her feel a little more pressured and therefore, more emotionally volatile. He knew that this particular one was really important to her, since the date of her Vienna study trip was looming, and of course he wanted to support her the best he could. It didn't help that he had an upcoming competition to prepare for too, and he was having problems properly deciphering the piece. It was all he could think about lately, and when he didn't have to think about it, he would much rather not.
Which was why he enjoyed his solo subway rides; he could just do what he normally did, which was to numb his mind and just let the world pass him by without his knowledge. He preferred being in his own little world sometimes, with no one to bother him.
It seemed the same way with many in the same carriage as he: office workers with their phones held up before them, some plugged into earphones; two female students hunched over a tablet, intently watching a streaming video; an ahjussi with his glasses perched at the bridge of his nose, squinting into the screen of his flip phone, as he slowly typed out a message. A young lady leaned her head against her boyfriend's shoulder, but the boyfriend in question was too wrapped up in playing with his game console to pay her much attention. There was even a pram that had a smartphone attached to its armrest, with a cartoon playing on its screen, as the child's mother herself was glued to her own phone.
Il-rak scanned another part of the carriage and observed more caressing of mobile devices, thumbs rubbing up and down the screen, scrolling an endless amount of text, pictures, links, memories, thoughts, personal moments, bragging rights, envy trips. Some were conversations swiftly tapped on glass screens; while the intermittent taps on the screens meant a game was being played, almost always an addictive one that involved crushing lots of candy. (It was a good thing Il-rak didn't have much of a sweet tooth.) Naturally, there was some semblance of face-to-face interaction as well, but some of that was intercepted by – you guessed it – technology.
After a few more moments of observing the people on the packed train, he tried to think back to a time where commuters, free of their technological shackles, did other things while in transit. He imagined lively conversations between friends, quiet moments between lovers, elderly folks making eye contact with toddlers bouncing on their mother's or father's hip.
Il-rak suddenly felt a little sad, and even a little lonely. There had to be more than just... these second hand connections.
Just then, he felt his pocket buzz. He reached into it and pulled out his own phone again. After keying in his password, he swiped down to retrieve the message that had just come through.
We have four more stops to go before we reach the connecting station, the message from Shi-won read, just in case you still weren't paying attention.
Il-rak sighed. She was clearly still upset. He tapped the reply button and was just about to start typing, when he stopped himself in mid-text. He put his phone to sleep mode again and stuffed it back into his jeans pocket. Then, he started pushing through the crowd, in the direction that Shi-won had gone just moments before, while trying not to knock his violin case into anyone.
It took him about three carriages before he saw her, wearing her favorite red coat of hers, leaning her own violin case against the train doors, her eyes fixed on her phone. Il-rak shuffled sideways between the people standing along the aisle (ignoring a loud tsk he heard as he passed), till he managed to get to Shi-won.
"You made it," Shi-won said dryly, not looking up, yet completely aware of his presence.
"I had to be quick, of course," came Il-rak's smooth reply, "How else do you think I won your heart?"
He knew he had her when the sides of her mouth started slightly tugging upwards, just as the familiar musical refrain played over the train's speakers, signaling the arrival of another station.
"Hey," he murmured, nudging Shi-won with his elbow, "I'm sorry. I've missed you all day too, you know."
Shi-won stopped what she was doing and put her phone to sleep. "I'm... sorry too," she murmured back, raising her apologetic eyes to look at Il-rak, whose eyes had its usual gentle look, just for her. "I just... really wanted to connect with you. I wanted you to know what's been going on, since we don't have much of a chance to catch up sometimes."
"But we are connected!" Il-rak exclaimed, his usual confident tone coming back to him, as did his infectious grin. He put a finger to Shi-won's lips, and put it to his own. "See? Connected."
"Yah... not on the subway..." an embarrassed Shi-won blushed, trying to nudge her embarrassing boyfriend away. But that only made him come closer. Il-rak pulled Shi-won to him in a hug, gently kissing the top of her head.
"I like this kind of connecting the most," Il-rak whispered contentedly.
Shi-won smiled and closed her eyes, nuzzling closer into her boyfriend's sweatshirt.
The couple stayed this way for a few more moments, amidst the curious, maybe envious looks of those around them. As the music signaled the arrival to their station, and as the train came to an eventual stop, Il-rak took Shi-won's hand and exited the train carriage, leaving behind the unwelcome disconnect that had joined them on the train.
"So," Il-rak thought out loud as they strode in sync down the walkway towards their connecting train, swinging their linked hands between them, "Will it be a movie or video games tonight?"
Shi-won's nose scrunched in displeasure. "Yah, after all that..."
"I'm just kidding, babe," grinned the floppy haired violinist, nudging his girlfriend, "Let's pick up some kimbap from the subway convenience store and sit at the park near my place for a while? Then maybe after that, we can ask my father for the tiramisu he will definitely have left over..."
Shi-won's eyes lit up at the mention. "...because it would be such a waste for him to just throw it away..."
"...so we should help him out!" they ended in unison with a hearty laugh, and then continued to converse animatedly for the rest of the journey.