𝐁𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐚𝐝 | 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬

02: Superman.

Mark kept glancing at Kazuha to see how she was doing. He felt relieved when he noticed she was already warmer, probably thanks to his hoodie that she eventually decided to wear. She looked out the window and admired the pretty view of the city.

"Why did you decide to move to Korea?" Mark broke the silence.

Kazuha chuckled. "For a guy, actually."

Mark glanced at her with a surprised look.

"I know right?" she rolled her eyes and sighed. "But it didn't work out. Turned out he was just messing around."

"Fuck, that's terrible. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be, it's not your fault."

"Still, as a man, I'm sorry."

Kazuha looked at Mark who smiled reassuringly. Once again she noticed kindness in his eyes and couldn't help but send a soft smile back.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Mark chuckled. "So straight forward."

Kazuha covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, was that too much?" she was afraid she really said something wrong.

"No, no, it's ok. I like your boldness." the two laughed. "Well, I do have a girlfriend actually, but we've been going through some tough time." he gripped the steering wheel harder.

Kazuha watched the boy's frustration growing ever since he mentioned his girlfriend. She wondered what was going on between them and was curious of the details, but she knew she couldn't ask for any. "I'm sorry too. As a girl, I'm sorry."

Mark glanced at her and they burst out laughing.

The drive continued for a while longer and the two chit chatted the whole ride. They played a game of 21 questions and got to know each other a little bit better. Mark found out that Kazuha was freakishly scared of frogs and she found out how he once had to dress up as one when he lost a bet. The whole car ride was filled with laughter which is something Mark hasn't felt in a long time with his girlfriend.

"You can park over there." Kazuha pointed at an empty spot by a convenience store.

"Alright, now let me get that bike down for you." the both stepped out of his car. "Here you go." he handed her the broken bike. "Fixing this may coast a good amount." he scratched his head.

"I know." Kazuha sighed.

The two stood in front of each other in silence, just smiling. The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward as the two didn't know what to say or do.

"Thank you for the help, Mark. You quite literally saved me."

Mark waved his hand. "Oh, come on, it's no big deal."

"It is!" she said louder which startled the boy a little.

"Wow, it's the first time I heard you speak up and it scared me."

Kazuha covered her mouth and began laughing. It was really easy for Mark to make her chuckle and she enjoyed it more than she should've since they just met. "Anyways, thanks again."

Mark nodded and as she wanted to walk away, she realized what she was wearing. "Oh! I still have this on." she began to take the hoodie off but Mark stopped her.

"You can keep it. Look at it and remember the guy named Mark who, like you said, quite literally saved you." he joked.

Kazuha chuckled and grabbed her bike. "I will." she started walking away as the two waved to each other.

The boy stood by his car and watched her leave. He scratched the back of his neck and sighed.

The girl looked back and noticed Mark getting into his car. She bit the inside of her cheek while she contemplated on her next move which surprised her herself. She suddenly started running back towards his car.

Mark jumped at the knock on the window which he wasn't expecting. He noticed Kazuha and got out of his car again "you scared the hell out of me."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to, but I was afraid you might just drive off."

"What's up? Did you forget something?" Mark looked around inside the car.

"Yeah. Um," she chuckled nervously and her cheeks reddened as she continued. "Your phone number."

Mark's eyes widened and a smile began to appear on his face even though he tried to hide it.

"You know, I thought I could maybe invite you for coffee or something as a thank you for today."

He nodded and took his phone out of his pocket. "Of course!"

The two exchanged their phones and typed in their numbers.

"Ok then, I guess I'll see you around?"

Mark nodded and the two waved to each other once again. He opened the door to his car and took one more glance at the girl. She checked the new contact  in her phone and chuckled at the name he typed for himself - 'SuperMark'.

She turned around and shook her head while Mark laughed and got into the car with the biggest smile on his face. His night turned from a nightmare to a pretty pleasing outcome.