When no one listens, the heart sobs in silence. When no one understands, the heart escapes to a place where there's solitude. Isolation becomes a friend until the heart seizes to slumber.
Min Jee wiped her tears away and roamed her eyes around. No one was aware of her excruciating pain. There's only she who knows what she's going through. The crowd made her unsafe and intoxicated.
She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and started the engine. The car sped up like a freed wild bull with nowhere else to stay. Her vision was fuzzy because of her tears. The car halted when a man crossed the pedestrian lane and she was unmindful of the red traffic light.
It agitated her as she stepped out of the car to check who she had bumped into. A man lay on the ground, his hair was covering his face. Her hands trembled as she lifted his upper body and uncovered his face. It was the stranger she met at the bar.
"Hey. Wake up," she whispered.
His serene face was unresponsive. Her pounding chest was stentorian. Min Jee's tears dropped on his cheeks. She traced her fingers on his bruised forehead. His eyes flickered in pain before it opened.
He gazed at her weary eyes, rosy cheeks, and flooded face before he raised his hand and placed the strands of her hair behind her ear.
"Are you alright? I'll drive you to the hospital."
She sniffed and helped him stand up.
"I'm fine," he said when sat down.
"No, you're not."
"I really am, but I know you're not."
He glanced at her.
"I'm just anxious. It will subside soon."
"I know a place where all worries go away."
She glanced at him.
"But we need pleasant music along the way."
He smiled and turned on the radio. A song entitled To The Bone by Pamungkas played in the background.
***
The light rested upon pebbles and golden sand. Hearthstone sparkled as the shore bubbled with softened colors of ever-dreams. Driftwood wafted with the gentle waves and the warmth of the grains whispered to the gusting breeze.
Min Jee rubbed an ointment and placed a bandaid on his forehead. It's fortunate that Youngjae always prepares a medicine kit in his car whenever he's with Min Jee. He deserves an award for being the best brother.
"How about your muscles?" she asked.
"It's still intact," he replied while flexing his firm biceps.
They sat on the sand and gazed at the endless blue sea.
"You're right. This place calms the mind," she said.
"When you have no one to call home, look where there are no people and you'll find peace."
She sighed.
"I depended on someone's words. I forgot my own," she said.
"When you grow fond of a person's presence, it won't be easy to go back to when you were happy being alone," he said.
"And when they leave you, they carry your heart with them."
He took a deep breath and let it out again, slowly.
"By the way, someone might search for you. You look like you are escaping," he said.
"I told them the wrong place. I don't want to bother anyone."
"But I'm bothered."
She smirked.
"The world is so small. We keep on colliding," she said.
"Fate is unpredictable sometimes. It's something we can't resist."
She gazed at him.
"Why do you sound surprised?"
"To be honest, today is my birthday. I celebrated it yesterday because you were there. I have no one. Since you were there—a stranger I met at the bar, I grabbed the chance. I thought I'd be alone today, on my birthday" — he stared at her — "but you came."
He smiled and took her breath away. She drifted her eyes to the shore.
"Why don't you have someone?" she asked.
"Believe it or not, I am a son of a billionaire. But after my love died, everything turned black. Time stopped and everything was frozen. I was the only one who could move. Then I saw a door."
Her brows furrowed.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand."
"I think I came from another dimension and I entered yours."
She hissed.
"Are you insane? Are you saying you're an alien?" she exclaimed.
"Perhaps."
She shook her head.
"You're kidding."
"I hope I am. I lost everything but I'm glad my face remained."
She chuckled.
"I'm serious. When I arrive at this place, I can do whatever I want. In our world, someone was controlling me. I'm like a puppet who only feels what I have to feel and do what is being told."
"So how did you figure out you were an alien?"
She played along.
"I went to my address, but our mansion wasn't there. Isn't it ridiculous? Also, the police didn't find my personal information."
She crossed her arms.
"Your story is interesting. I'd love to write something like that."
"It's not a novel. It's damn true."
Her head tilted to the side.
"Don't you have a name in your world? That's why you're not telling me?" she said.
"I have a name. It's Dong Joon."
"What?"
She went deaf for a second.
"I am Dong Joon."
She gulped. He can't be the Dong Joon she knew. She had to make sure.
"What's your lover's name?"
"Are you curious? Well, she's Eun Ae. Her ex was Hong Ji."
His words amused her as she burst into laughter.
"Don't tell me you read the webcomic Captivated? Did you know I'm the creator of it? That's the reason you're stalking me."
He frowned.
"What's a webcomic? You're an author?"
"Come on, quit joking around," she said and struck her shoulder.
"What's happening to you?"
She pulled out her phone and turned it on. The last thing she could do for the last test was to check their faces.
"Alright, let me check for the last time," she said and clicked Dong Joon's image.
She shifted her eyes from her phone to the stranger's face. Min Jee narrowed her eyes and blinked a few times.
"What are you doing?" he said and grabbed her phone.
He gazed at the picture.
"Huh? Why does it look like me? But it's an illustration. That's odd."
Her heart palpitated, and it baffled her.
"Dong Joon? How..."