23 A Little Incident

Dahyeong, Seoyun and I start heading down the tiled pavement pathway down the front of the school. Dahyeong has been talking so much nonstop, even if it's only been 30 seconds so far. I can't tell if she's just being her or if she's doing it deliberately since Seoyun and I have no clue what to really say.

"So we're headed over to drop by the convenience store, right? Pretty sure Seoyun still has to fill up her t-money card. I think after we can go to Seoyun's place after we're done there."

Dahyeong's nonsensical babbles did more good than harm. Some conversation to fill up an awkward atmosphere wouldn't be that bad.

"Yep. We're headed right now." Seoyun replies.

Dahyeong cocks her head to the side to get a good look at Seoyun before scrunching her face and facing forward again.

"Alright then. We're taking bus 408 to get to Seoyun's neighbourhood."

I respond with nothing, only lightly nodding my head while smiling. I guess I should have expected it when an awkward silence ensued as soon as I finished my small action.

Dahyeong purses her lips and fidgets with her hands. She stops walking for a bit to stand on her tippy toes to get a good look of the area in front of her, her eyes widening as she does so.

"Guys, the bus is almost at the stop. We gotta make a mad dash for it."

Oh no. I already know exactly how this is gonna play out. Dahyeong will somehow make it to the bus and yell out to the bus driver that her friends are still trudging along 100 meters behind. The bus driver is sometimes nice and waits but at times drives off without caring. Imagining scenarios such as this is really the only motivator for me to improve my running and actually try in PE class. Except I don't need to imagine it anymore since it's already happening.

Upon hearing those words leave Dahyeong's lips, Seoyun curses under her breathe while I start sprinting with Seoyun following close behind. Even with a headstart, within 2 seconds, Dahyeong still manages to edge Seoyun and I, leaving us to eat dust while we watch her speed down the sidewalk.

"Y'all better hurry up. The bus isn't gonna wait for 3 irrelevant teenagers!"

Dahyeong calls out to us from her spot roughly 10 meters ahead of us already. I hear Seoyun at my side start to pant heavily after running for only a few seconds.

"Why thank you. I totally needed the reminder that my life is unimportant." I joke back.

"No problem. All it is is just a reality check for you."

The pain in my legs starts growing as my muscles refuse to listen to me and begin to cramp up. On the other hand, my heart pounds against my chest violently, making me feel each individual beat. My arms grow numb from my blood rushing to my fingers after swinging around. Each of these and more was more than enough to make me want to pass out in that very moment. I can only imagine how much worse Seoyun is feeling.

I glance over at Seoyun who seems to have sacrificed proper running technique in an effort to make a final burst. Her arms would swing around carelessly while her legs stomped every step of the way. We might've been sprinting for only a minute now, but the burning pain was already settling in.

Dahyeong already manages to get to the bus and begins to enter the vehicle while Seoyun and I still trudged along a distance behind her. She leans against the railing and scrambles for her t-money card before heading in, disappearing from our view.

"Full sprint?"

Seoyun turns to me and gestures forward.

"Yeah."

With those words, we start booking it down the remaining sidewalk for the bus. A huge sigh of relief escapes through my lips as I find myself standing in front of the door to the bus, which I can only assume is happening to Seoyun too.

"Sorry about that." I manage to force through my mouth in between heavy breathing.

The driver only nods lightly in acknowledgement before turning back to the front. I take it as a subtle sign that I'm supposed to hurry up and sit. Seoyun seems to realize this sooner than me and takes off for the back of the bus in our usual spot where Dahyeong merely sat while staring at the two of us. I head quickly after Seoyun and we both take a seat.

"That took longer than I thought it would take you guys." Dahyeong pipes.

"Don't have too much faith in me because you'll always be thoroughly disappointed."

The words fall from my mouth in a playful tone, leaving Dahyeong only to grin and scoff lightly.

"At least we're here now and the bus driver didn't leave without us."

Seoyun leans back onto her seat and stares at the roof above her. I guess in some way, what Seoyun said is true. We're here now and that's all that matters, even if we may or may not have bursted a lung from doing so. My body is still so high on adrenaline that it feels limp and numb yet twitching with energy.

Needless to say, I won't be voluntarily running for a while. This very event has just reminded me what little stamina I have. For all I know, I could probably benefit from joining the track team as well, though I doubt that I'd even get in.

I glance over at Seoyun who's eyes widen from the sudden movement when the bus starts to drive. She flinches for a bit before readjusting herself in her seat. On the other hand, Dahyeong remains largely unaffected. I laugh to myself for a bit before facing down to my lap.

I've always found the silent rumbling in the car to be soothing, so much so, that it almost lulls me to sleep at times. After a long day, being able to slump against a seat and listen to the small chatter that surrounds you is relaxing in an odd way and really, it seems to work better than usual.

If I had to be honest, it feels really nice.