Ephemeral: Chapter 04
Broken Ride ❁
*.☽.*
It had almost been a month since that fateful day I saw the guy who turned out to be The Byun Baekhyun of this country.
Believe it or not, I went back to the Hiking Place the very next day. Though I knew that there was a big possibility that he might not show up again because he wouldn't be that careless after bumping into a stranger, I did it anyway.
The truth was, I started to like his music. The way his voice sounded like honey whenever he sang love songs. The way it left a little tug in my heart when he sang a sad ballad. And before I knew it, almost half of my playlist was already filled with his songs.
I just knew there was a fangirl slowly growing in me and I certainly wanted to see him again. Not that I knew what to tell him or to react when I see him again. I just wanted to see him, maybe just to confirm that meeting him last time wasn't a dream or a product of my imagination.
Then again, as expected, I never saw him up there again. It made me sad a little of course. I continued to hike anyway, telling myself that he was not the main reason I went there in the first place. Which was mostly true. It was my healing place even before he showed up. Meeting him up there was nothing but a pure coincidence.
*.☽.*
It was a late Saturday afternoon when I decided to climb up the old hiking place again. I thought it was a good idea to come here a little later to avoid the scorching sun. It was almost Autumn but it was still hot which was starting to be annoying. That, and the thought that my bike chain broke made me think otherwise. It broke down fifteen minutes away from the entrance of the hiking place. As a result, I was forced to walk from there. I felt like a fool not checking it before coming here.
When I finally reached the entrance, I leaned it next to the signage. I fished for my hair tie inside my bag and made a messy ponytail. I bent my knees to examine it afterward. To be honest, I didn't know what to do with it since it was the first time it happened to me.
Like any normal human being who had a broken bike, I started to do what I thought was the right thing. To try and fix it. It appeared to me that the chain got detached from the crankset. Roaming my attention on the ground around me, I saw a stick near me. It looked quite useful, so I grabbed it.
It looked easy at first until my first attempt failed. The second one was not any different and the third failed attempt followed. I huffed the loose strands of my hair falling on my face out of frustration.
"Will you cooperate, please?" I pleaded not knowing if it was for the bike or my inexperienced self. "I need you to go home."
I roamed my attention around once more and instantly got worried imagining what it'd be here like when it started to get dark.
Shaking the scary thought away, I made my fourth attempt to fix my injured bike. I was in the middle of trying again when I heard something that halted what I was doing. Stopping halfway, I listened.
It sounded like a car coming in my direction and it kind of freaked me out. Knowing that not a lot of people knew about this place anymore, I didn't waste any time. I suspended what I was doing immediately. I stood and looked for a place to hide. My brain lagged for a brief second before I ran and hid right behind the nearby bushes.
Since I was about 165cm, I needed to make sure my head wouldn't give me away. I crouched as low as I could to cover my entire profile. My hands landed on the ground which I also retrieved and proceeded to place on my lap.
I was certain that anyone who would see me now would laugh at me. Honestly, what would my parents say if they found out that their daughter left her stable job and life in Australia just to hide behind the bushes like this? I dwelt on the thought for a few more seconds until the vehicle reached the entrance of the hiking place.
I briefly watched as a sleek, black car stopped right next to my bike. My eyes were on it while my mind was also busy thinking of a way for me to escape. My head filled with images of a goon coming out of the car. Tilting my head to the right, I saw a medium-sized rock a foot away. I struggled to stretch my arm and grabbed it. Held it close to me like it was supposed to save my life.
At least, I had something to defend myself with.
"Don't let me die, please don't let me die." I chanted silently as I slouched more, pressing my eyes closed.
For some reason, it became really quiet and I could audibly hear the car's door is opened and closed. My heartbeat was speeding as I bit my lower lip.
The footsteps came afterward leaving the dried leaves crushed under the person's feet. I was fighting my curiosity, convincing myself not to take a peek but then again I had always been a curious cat. I slowly lifted my head to check only to have my jaw dropped.
I almost poked my face with the stick, which I was still holding by the way, out of surprise when I recognized who the newcomer was.
It was him.
It was Byun Baekhyun.
He was the exact person I saw on TV and on the videos I watched that day I found out who he was. Only now he looked more casual and laidback. He was wearing a navy blue cap, gold round specs, and a loose, plain, grey shirt paired with pants and sneakers.
I was still staring at him in disbelief. He roamed his attention around, probably looking for the owner of the broken bike. I ducked, shutting my eyes closed not knowing why I had to do it.
The next moment I get to open my eyes, I happen to have an eye to eye contact with a hideous, crawling bug next to my foot on the ground. My breath hitched as I looked at it unbelievably. I blinked my eyes a few times hoping it'd magically disappear but it was still there. I hate bugs and this one right here made me feel so uncomfortable. I watched its legs make slight movements towards me and it gave me goosebumps.
Without having second thoughts, I shrieked and jumped away from where I was hiding, obviously and voluntarily revealing myself out in the open.
I sure made a few incomprehensible sounds as I flee from the tiny bug. By the time I came back to my senses, I was panting. My hands, still holding the stick and the rock, were on my chest trying to calm myself due to the sight of the bug. I bent a little, my hands landed on my knees for support.
"I... hate...bugs," I said in between my heavy breathing.
I was so busy trying to compose myself, completely forgetting that I was not alone anymore.
"Where did that come from..." I trailed off as the realization hit me.
My face started to feel hot, fully remembering why I was hiding earlier. My eyes darted to the objects in my hands which probably made me look like I was a character from Flintstones.
I slowly looked up and saw him already gaping at me. The shock was written all over his face too. His attention lingered on my face before he looked at me from head to toe. He probably recognized me because his face relaxed a little bit.
"Hey." He greeted me, giving me a small hand wave.
"Hi," I replied nervously as I straightened my awkward posture.
I was almost two meters away from him and I didn't know whether to come closer or give him more space.He was a celebrity after all. It even felt wrong to stare at him right now.
"Uhm." He scratched his neck. "You're not going to hit me with that stone, are you?" He wondered as he pointed to the stone I was holding.
"Uh, no," I replied as I immediately dropped the stone, as well as the stick I was holding.
I saw his lips curve into a small smile while he shoved his hands inside his jeans' pockets.
"What were you doing behind the bushes?" He asked once more.
I bit my lower lip, debating if I should tell him the truth. Then I realized that there was no time for me to make up stories and to be honest I doubt my mind would be able to come up with coherent thoughts.
Yes, not when I have a whole Byun Baekhyun staring at me right at this instant.
"Well...I.." I paused as I hesitantly pointed at my bike. "I was trying to fix my bike when I heard a car approaching. I got a little scared so I hid." I answered.
He chuckled, obviously laughing at me. I couldn't blame him.
"I realized that it was a bad idea when a hideous bug decided to keep me company," I explained trying to sound as rational as I could.
"What were you so scared of?" He asked followed by a lopsided smile. "Aside from the bug, I mean."
"Well, people don't usually come up here anymore. So, I was just being careful." I told him. "If you know what I mean."
He nodded as he took a hand out of his pocket to point at my bike.
"Did you overwork your bike or something?" He told me, a slight tinge of teasing in his tone. "Looks like it finally gave up on you."
It was my turn to nod. I wasn't sure if I had the right to laugh at his remark.
"Let me take a look." He presented, walking towards my ride.
I saw him bend his knees in front of it, ready to check on it. I immediately ran and stopped beside him.
"No!" I protested bending my knees next to him. "No, please. It's okay, I can fix it." I insisted.
Thinking how huge of a celebrity he is, I definitely shouldn't let him fix my stupid bike. Ji Hye would probably hate me if she knew I made her idol fix it.
He threw a puzzled look at me.
"Okay." He agreed anyway, signaling me to go ahead and fix it.
I hesitated for a bit before I tried to make my fourth attempt. I knew he had his eyes on me while I was trying to work on my bike. For real though, it was making me a hundred times more conscious and uncomfortable now. I probably looked like a fool who kept on failing m attempts.
"You already know who I am, right?"
I froze.
His question was unexpected that the stick that I was using broke, probably because I suddenly became tense. We both darted our eyes to the broken stick as we heard the cracking sound.
I took a deep breath before I glanced at him only to turn to my ride once more as soon as I met his eyes.
"Byun Baekhyun," I muttered.
I casually turned away to search for a replacement stick. When I found what I judged was a perfect stick, I heard a clicking sound. Turning to check on it, I saw him already working on it. He was already working on the bike chain using his bare hands.
"What are you doing?" I asked unbelievably with a small gasp escaping my mouth.
"This is why I hoped you won't figure out who I am." He replied without paying me a single glance as he continued to do what he was doing.
"What do you mean?"
"You're all awkward and tensed around me now." He briefly turned my way to meet my eyes. "I liked it better the last time."
I didn't know how to respond to what he just said. Was I that obvious around him? Did he notice how much I wanted the ground to just eat me alive right now?
I decided to keep quiet as I watched him. I was fully aware that I couldn't stop him from doing what he was already doing. It would be so wrong to whine about it.
"It's not just the chain, it's the crankset too. It's loose, maybe broken. You have to have it fixed." He announced after a few minutes of examining it.
"We can't fix it here?" I asked, worried.
He moved his head sideways.
"You need to have it changed."
I slumped upon hearing it. My bike was the only means of transportation I had to take me home since there wouldn't be any public vehicles around this area.
"I should've checked it before I left," I muttered, regret evident in my voice.
My attention fell on his grease-covered hands.
"Your hands," I exclaimed. "You didn't have to use your bare hands."
"It's okay." He answered. "Don't worry." He added as he tried to get rid of the grease but only made it worse.
"No, of course, it's not okay. And it's all my fault." I protested.
"It's really fine." He insisted, probably not wanting me to feel bad or something.
"Ah wait," I said as I stood, fishing for a pack of wet tissue from my purse.
He also stood next to me. Without thinking straight, I hastily grabbed his hands and started to wipe the grease off of them. I was concentrating on taking off the grease and was halfway done when I realized what I was doing. I was holding his hand and found out that he was staring at me intently when I looked up to check his reaction.
"I'm sorry." I apologized, letting his hands go as I got burnt from touching them.
His lips formed into a subtle curve. I had to force myself to ignore how handsome he looked when he did that by giving him the pack of wet tissue.
His smile was glued to his face as he took it from me. He finished what I had started and wiped his hands clean. I turned the other way hoping he wouldn't see the pink tinges on my cheeks as I felt myself blushing in embarrassment.
"Here." He said handing the wet tissue to me. "Thanks."
I took it from him and was about to put it back inside my bag when he stopped me. I just stared at him waiting for him to explain to me why he did it. I probably looked confused as I stared back at him. He took the pack again and pulled one out before handing it to me.
"My hands are okay," I said as I checked them in front of him.
"Not your hands." He replied as he pointed at my face.
My forehead creased trying to figure out what he meant exactly. Before I could even say a word, he already extended a hand to wipe something on my right cheek using the wet tissue.
What's happening?
All I could do was to continue looking at him, I was too surprised to even move or protest.
I wasn't sure this time if it was because of embarrassment brought by the dirt on my cheek or because of what he was doing that my face started to feel warm. I was certain I'd look like a strawberry any moment from now.
"There, all clean and..." He said when he finished wiping my face. "Beautiful."
The corner of his lips turned upward which made me focus on that little mole right above his lip.
"Oh my god, stop," I told him as I turned away.
I couldn't take it, the need to fan my face was strong.
"This is so awkward."
I heard a small laugh from him.
"I'm sorry."
*.☽.*
"Are you done?" He asked, changing the subject which I was secretly thankful for. "Hiking, I mean." He added.
"Not yet," I said moving my head sideways.
"Me too." He announced. "Obviously."
I didn't respond because he was right, I felt tense around him. I didn't know how to act naturally, this was crazy.
"Shall we do it together?" I heard him ask.
"Uhm..."
My mind practically lagged because of his words.
"I'd like that..."
"But?" He asked as he must've sensed the reluctance in my tone.
"But now that my ride's broken, I have to get going since it's," I paused to check my watch "almost five already. I have to walk to the town." I reasoned out.
"Not if you let me take you home."
His reply was brief and confident.
"What?" I muttered.
Was he kidding? He was, right?
"Well my ride's not broken so..." he trailed off, his eyes trying to read my expression. "I can take you and your bike home."
"No. Please don't do that." I refused.
"Wow, how could I be rejected two times in a row." He laughed, moving his head sideways.
"Oh no, no, no," I said in a slightly panicked voice. "I mean I know how careful you people are with your private lives."
He stared at me as if waiting for my next words.
"What if someone sees you, takes your picture, and posts it online?" I went on, hoping he'd get what I meant. "It's not safe for you. Really I just don't want to put you in a tight situation that's all."
He nodded at me, seemingly getting my point.
"Actually, if you're so into protecting my identity, which I appreciate, by the way, thank you very much. I can take you home without getting off the car." He said in a matter-of-fact tone. "In that case, no one will see me, take a picture, and post it online." He paused to make way for a smile. "So, no you're not going to put me in a tight situation."
I contemplated for a few seconds as if my life depended on it.
"I'm a good driver too." He added, obviously trying to convince me.
"Okay," I said, finally giving in to his idea. "But, you can drop me off near the entrance of the town. It wouldn't be that far from my Aunt's flower shop so I can walk from there."
I saw him smile widely upon hearing my reply.
"Copy that."
We exchanged looks and of course, I was the first one to look away.
I needed to do that or else I'd start melting right away and it wouldn't be because of the scorching sun.
*.☽.*
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