Ga Eul eyed the man sitting in front of her while she played with her soft curls. He looked miserable and lost in a diverse dimension that "He" only knows where. She decided to keep on talking to lighten up the mood. Although she tried to ask him a lot of things a while ago, the man kept his mouth shut.
"Mister, where are headed to? Looks like you don't have a luggage with you" she started in a friendly tone. The man didn't answer; he just looked at her blankly.
"I bet you're going to have a vacation in the countryside! City life is too stressful you know. Anyway, this would be the first time I'll go home after 6 months. Imagine that? I miss fresh air! Indeed, there's no place like home!"
"Look at this picture, that's my family! Lovely aren't they? My grandfather is already 82 years old but he's still very strong and healthy. I miss taking walks along the hills with him"
"I don't want to be apart from my family but I have to. I need to study and look at me now! I already graduated. They're all very proud of me, don't you think?"
Ga Eul continued talking even if the man didn't speak to her. She simply loves to talk about her family and make new friends during the boring hours of travel. After a while, the man's eyebrows moved and a crinkle started to form on his forehead before he stood up. Ga Eul was taken aback at his sudden movement and she just watched him walk towards the emergency exit of the train. She was alarmed when he opened the door and appeared to be on the verge of jumping off the moving train. Wasting no time, she quickly rushed to the man's side and tugged his arms as she spoke in high pitch.
"What's wrong with you? That's very dangerous! We are not allowed to cross this point! More over open the exit door when the train is moving! We might accidentally fall! Are you crazy? You wanna die?"
The man just looked at her but good thing, he followed when she dragged him away back to their seats. She is definitely starting to lose her patience and looks like this guy is not going to talk to her anytime soon.
"Are you mute or deaf?" Can't you at least give me a nod?" Ga Eul just shook her head when the guy just looked away without a single word. A moment of silence passed before the checker came and asked for their tickets. She poked the man after handing her ticket to the checker.
"Where's your ticket? Present it to him"
"I don't have a ticket" the young man spoke at last.
"What?" Ga Eul and the checker said in unison.
"Where's this train headed?" the man asked weakly. Ga Eul and the old checker looked at each other dumbfounded.
"I'm sorry young man but you have to get off the train when we reach the next station. How come you took this train without getting a ticket? And you don't even know where this train is headed?"
The checker scratched his head out of confusion since the young man didn't give a response. Ga Eul pulled the checker in one corner and tried to work out a solution for the situation.
"Ahjussi, there are more vacant seats and you can issue a ticket for him right?"
"Yes, but we should follow rules here. That young man is stubborn"
"Please Ahjussi, just let him off this time. He's going through a lot of things as of the moment and this trip was unplanned. He took the train at the last minute" Ga Eul alleged and finished explaining with a cute pout. The old man eyed her suspiciously and looked at the young man who's sitting silently and seemed to be listening to them.
"Is that young man your boyfriend?"
"Mwoh?" Ga Eul was shocked with the old man's question.
"I'm asking if that young man is your boyfriend"
"No! he's not my boyfriend" Ga Eul hastily answered. The checker was suspicious so she decided to butt in before he could say something else.
"But..but..he's an old friend. We accidentally met here and I heard he just had a tragic experience. Just let him off this time ahjussi..please?" she said while trying to look cuter in front of the old man.
"Arasso, arasso...if not because of you, your friend would be in great trouble" the man said knowingly. Ga Eul smiled widely and clapped her hands.
"Thank You Ahjussi! You'll be blessed!" she said mischievously. That's her strategy whenever she wants something, especially from her grandpa, good thing she never fails.
"Just be careful, looks like your friend is not okay" the old man said while glancing at the young man. Ga Eul simply nodded and bowed before going back to her seat and started to babble.
"Sunbae, are you okay? I know you have a problem. You can talk to me if you want. That's what my friends always do. They said I'm a good listener and adviser. Don't worry, it's free… I would gladly listen to you. I thought you were mute or deaf because I kept on talking but you have no reaction. I'm glad you're not! We can talk so we won't get bored while traveling. Come on, tell me, what's bothering you?"
The young man slightly raised and waved his hands much to Ga Eul's surprise. He breathed in deeply before speaking, obviously infuriated.
"Enough okay! You wanna know what my problem is? You are my problem! You speak non-stop! Are you some kind of a robot or extraterrestrial creature?I don't care if you're from the hills or from Mars, just leave me alone okay? I don't need you to listen to me, just keep your mouth shut!"
Ga Eul's jaw dropped and she blinked her eyes several times. She didn't see that coming…