"Attention please! Train 574 to Busan is not arriving at platform 1! Please stand behind the yellow line! Thank you for your cooperation!" The announcer's voice echoed through the station. "Train 574- that's us!" I excited leapt up from the bench where the four of us were waiting. Noah stretched and yawned while Marco re-checked the tickets. "574? You sure it's 574?" "Yep. She said it's going to Busan and I've checked the board twice. It's definitely our train." Satisfied with that, we gathered up all our stuff and began making our way through the crowds towards platform 1.
The amount of people at rail station was insane. But then, it was always insane. We couldn't walk side-by-side. Instead, we were forced to meander our was through everyone single file. Marco took the lead, holding onto my hand. I held onto Marco's with my right hand and Lee's with the left. Behind Lee was Noah pulling up the rear. "Everyone here?" Lee checked when we finally reached the bustling platform. I nodded and Noah pulled out the tickets, making sure we each had our own.
If you've ever been at a national rail station, you know how it goes. My favourite is the station in Newcastle, England. That place is massive but in a fun, old-timey way. Not like the newer stations in Glasgow or Manchester. Seoul's station reminded me more of them than Newcastle. Everything was serial and efficient. The train docked and we had to wait off to the side for the passengers to unload. Then everyone got aboard according to where their assigned seats were. I've done this a thousand times in Europe so I was used to the process. But for my American visitors, the situation was fairly foreign. Luckily our seats had both letters and numbers, so they were easy to find once we were in the right cart.
Our seats were at a table, which are also common on English trains. Marco and I sat on one side while Noah and Lee situated themselves on the other. There were outlets and a screen, which we didn't use. We were the only Americans in our cart and probably the whole train if I had to guess. Everyone else largely ignored us as we settled in for the long ride. Lee pulled out some boxes of tea and I got us some goodies to have alongside. We began to divide and partake in that when the train began to move.
Twenty minutes later we were still in an urban setting. I leaned back in my chair and gazed out the window. "What do you think Busan will be like?" "Eh, probably like any other Korean city," Lee obviously didn't put much thought into his reaction. "We'll see a good chunk of it once you're done at the university," Noah noted. I blinked at him. "But I don't know how long we'll be. It could take a while." He shrugged nonchalantly, taking a bite of his red-bean bun. "I'm sure there'll be some time." Marco and I looked at one another, not too sure. "You and Lee can go sight-seeing on your own, if you want. We'll join you once we got everything," Marco then offered. But Noah and Lee simply shook their heads in unison. "Nah, we should stick together. Busan is big and now is not the time to be getting lost in a foreign city." "That's a good point….." I had to concede.
Meanwhile, Marco glanced my way again and smiled. He was about to say something until the train came up into another station on the way out of the city. This was nothing unusual, since we did have a couple of stops scheduled from Seoul to Busan. What was unusual however, was the engine suddenly shutting off. Not just us, but all the passengers seemed surprised by this turn of events. Noah's lips parted slightly ajar. "What's going on?" Moments later, that tell-tale dinging echoed through the chain.
"Our apologies for the interruption! Due to mechanical complications, this train is now out of service. Please exit onto the platform with care. Our apologies for any inconvenience!" The now annoying announcer proclaimed. "Wait? What's happening?" Lee blinked confused and dismayed. "Are they shutting down the train?" Marco asked me. My mouth opened but all I could get was a nod. I did not like situations like this- not at all. I didn't have the best track-record with trains being cancelled. But there was nothing any of us could do. Just like I done in the past, we clamoured off onto this much smaller platform and awaited further instruction. None came and soon, once all passengers were off, the train slowly drove away, leaving us there. Lee looked at me, who looked at Noah, who looked at Marco; no one said anything immediately, but there was this sense of palpable dread in the air.
Noah found us a place to sit against a wall, since the few benches in this station were already claimed by other travellers. Noah and I sat on the dirty floor while Lee leaned against the wall and Marco paced. The collective mood went from a hundred to zero just like that. Of course, this was not the end of it either. One way or another, I needed those books.
Marco was clearing thinking as he paced back and forth in front of us. "They'll have to send another train. I mean, they can't just leave us here," he said, showing his inexperience with national and international trains. Noah shared his sentiment. "Yeah, course there's going to be another train. We paid for our tickets; we're going to Busan. That's how it works." "In America maybe," I whispered under my dejected breath.
Lee let out a frustrated sigh, running his hand alongside his hair. "What are we going to do if there is no other train? Are we going to take one back to Seoul or…..?" "I can't go back yet, Lee; not without those books. I need to get to Busan," one way or another. Timing is a different question completely. Marco looked at me, back at the empty tracks, and huffed to himself. "I'm going to see if I can talk to someone about this. Maybe find out when another train is coming," he offered. "No, I should go. I speak the best Korean here," I kindly interjected. But Marco shut me down by a shake of the head. "No, you stay here with the others. I'll be fine; just wait. I'll be right back." And so the three of us watched Marco head off inside the station. And we waited….. and waited….. and waited.
Over forty-five minutes later, an exasperated-looking Marco finally remerged. "Marco!" We all perked up to see him. He was not smiling- not in the slightest. He came over to where we were still sitting and sighed, mostly to himself. His eyes shut for a moment, then slowly reopened. "So…. There is another train coming, but it's going to be five hours. On top of which, it's going to be packed; the station manager said there's no guarantee we'll get on. After that one, the next train comes tomorrow morning- that's it." "You waited in line for forty-five minutes for that?" Noah sounded upset. Marco sadly nodded before continuing. "There is a train going back to Seoul station supposed to be here in ten minutes. I was told to get on that train and try again in a couple of days." "Will our tickets be refunded?" Lee asked. Marco hesitated, then reluctantly shook his head. "No…."
The colour drained from my face. No….. No, this can't be happening. This is so not good! I can't pay for another ticket to Busan; I could barely afford this one! As far as I could see it, going back to Seoul now without the books is impossible. Which means that I'll still have to go… My lips opened a sliver as I sucked in a long breath.
"Why don't you guys go home?" This grabbed their attention, as all heads were quickly turned my way. I didn't meet any of their stares straight-on. "You guys go back to Seoul. I'll wait here for the next train." "No; absolutely not, Elle," Marco didn't even hesitate to shoot down my plan. I finally looked up to him, only to find his eyes shining back at me. His lips flattened to a thin, straight line. "I'll go to Busan and get the books for you. You three go back to Seoul on the next train. I'll probably won't be back until tomorrow morning, so don't wait at the station for me."
"Marco, no! They're my books! I can't ask you to do that for me!" I stood up determined. But Marco was equally as steadfast as I was. "Better me than you, Elle. Busan can be dangerous at night- really dangerous. It's best if I go on my own; I have a better chance of getting on the train that way." "Then let me come with you! We can go together." "I appreciate the sentiment, Elle; I really do. But when we originally planned on going to Busan, there was nothing about an overnight trip in the cards. Please Elle….. I'd really feel better if you went back to Seoul with Lee and Noah. Just go and leave it me."
Noah also got to his feet, giving Marco a concerned look. "Now I don't think it's such a good idea you go tracing around Busan all by yourself," Noah remarked with actually worry. This genuinely shocked the rest of us, who turned to Noah with a bit of awe. I knew they'd been getting closer as friends, but it sounded like Noah was pretty worried for Marco's safety just then. Marco gawked at him momentarily before giving his head a little steadying shake. "Well what other option is there? She can't go back to Seoul on her own, and I don't want her staying in Busan overnight." Noah considered this, seemingly like he totally agreed with everything Marco had just said- which wouldn't be surprising. Then he glanced over to Lee and me, who were standing beside each other now.
"Elle, Lee; you guys go home on the next train. I'll go with you to Busan," Noah spoke the last sentence while watching Marco. Marco's eyes grew in astonishment, and not in a bad way. "Flynn…" His lips gasped. "Whoa, you sure about this, bro? You heard what Marco said about Busan after dark?" Lee stepped in. "That's why I'm going; to make sure nothing bad happens. It'll be a lot safer with two of us, especially if we are staying overnight." Lee still wasn't sure; he glanced back to me to see my thoughts on the matter.
To be honest, the idea of them both going made me feel a lot better. Sure, I'd miss having them around at home tonight, but I would sleep better knowing that Marco wasn't alone. Plus I knew I could Noah with difficult situations. They all looked in my direction, only to see me grin and nod back at them. "Ok, you guys do that. Lee and I will go back to Seoul, if you're sure….." "We're sure, Elle," Marco breathed a sigh of relief. We discussed the plan for them for the next five minutes or so until our train arrived. They walked us out onto the platform to say goodbye. Needless to say, I flashed them both a smile.
"Be careful." "We will," Noah and Marco said together. "Stay together, and don't go down any strange alleyways," Lee tacked on. Noah shot him a glare. "Who are you? Our dad?" But Marco merely grinned. He grinned and turned back towards me. We watched each other for a second before he held out his hand for mine. His gave mine a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for this, Marco….. Thank you." "Don't worry about it. Everything's going to be ok." "Oh, I know; I know it'll be." "Just make sure you get home safe." "She will," Lee answered for me, making my grin widen. "I will," I reiterated all the same.
With one last look at me, Marco's hand gave mine another squeeze. Our palms slid across each other's fingers as we boarded the train. Lee and I waved until Noah and Marco were out of sight. Then we sat down and relaxed a little. Lee sighed, spinning his head over my way. "See? Everything's going to work out, Elle. So we don't get to go to Busan? At least you'll get your books." "Yeah, you're right. That's the most important thing," I grinned back. He softly shut his eyes. "Everything's alright…" "Yes; yes, it is," I concurred. Though, I shouldn't have been so quick to judge the situation.
If I knew the horror awaiting me back home that night, I would have held onto Marco's hand a lot tighter back at the station.