on track • hwang hyunjin (under construction)

eight

The moment the last bell rang, Yeonhee snuck out through the back door of her classroom, only to be tugged back in again.

"Don't even try," Hyunjin said as she whipped around, rolling her eyes as a result.

"Why are you even doing this?" She asked a little too loudly, drawing attention from the remaining students in the class. Yeonhee heaved out a muffled sigh before continuing, "Do I owe you anything?"

"You've forgotten already?" He raised, "I've done you a huge favour by getting you a place in the editorial club. You should at least be grateful I'm not asking for more." He smirked, spreading an awful scowl across her face.

"Whatever, let's just get this done and over with," she mumbled, trudging out of the classroom behind Hyunjin. "Where are we even going?"

"Somewhere far from here," he answered, spinning around when there was an absence of footsteps behind him. "And don't worry, it's too troublesome to kidnap you."

---

Even with his earlier assurance, Yeonhee was still getting more sceptical by the minute as they now trekked down a steep path far away from town. Is he trying to do something to her? Or what is he trying to do to her? Honestly, she didn't even know why she followed him this far out when clearly, it wasn't for anything good. If her brother found out about this, he would lock her in her room forever.

"How much longer?" She asked with a hint of fear in her voice, but Hyunjin was as calm as the smoothest of waters. "Be patient, won't you?" He said, but that just raised more suspicion.

"You know, this is a very clumsy way of kidnapping someone, right?" She reminded again, not being able to contain her anxiety any longer. But it only caused her supposed abductor to laugh at her rather serious comment.

"I told you, you're not even worth the ransom."

She didn't have the time to reply when the steep path ended on a dry, grassy field. Upon further walking, she found herself at an unfamiliar place, or more likely, a place she knew but didn't expect herself to be at one.

"Is this... a railway track?" Yeonhee asked in bewilderment, the previous feeling of terror dissipating away immediately. She took her time to absorb the suburban scenery that surrounded the rusty tracks, which were deeply embedded into the dirt beneath it. There were no nearby stations nor buildings of any sort, only a vast field that separated them from the modern world. Not to mention, the lack of life was replaced perfectly with an abundance of nature, adding on to the serenity the place was already in.

"Be honoured, I don't like to share this place with others," Hyunjin said, slumping himself in the middle of the tracks as she walked over, still admiring her surroundings until his statement caught her attention. She narrowed her eyes.

"Then why am I here?"

He glanced at her for a short while, ridiculing the puzzled yet annoyed expression on her face before answering nonchalantly, "I don't want my tutor to be so bent over books."

Yeonhee almost let his comment offend her, but ultimately decided to take it with a grain of salt due to the growing ache her legs felt after all that walking. It had probably only been 10 minutes, but the route there was so winding that it drained most of her energy, leaving her little left to argue. Or maybe that was his plan all along.

"Are you just gonna stand there?" Hyunjin patted the space beside him impatiently, prompting her to drag herself over to the rusty metal that seemed somewhat unsanitary. No, she wasn't giving in, rather, she decided to trust that one small part of her mind that told her to comply. Because that was the only way she could find out what he was up to.