Prompt: "I'm at a payphone trying to call home... all of my change I spent on you" (Payphone - Maroon 5)
***
A few years ago...
"Oh come on! Don't die on me now!" He tried the ignition again and prayed that the car would start.
It didn't.
Hitting the steering wheel, he pleaded with it again "Come on. We need to go to see her. This is my last chance."
He tried the ignition again but after sputtering a little, the car refused to cooperate. Checking his mobile phone, he saw that the device's battery was also dead. "Great job, Jin-woo. Didn't your mechanic warn you that you needed to change your car batteries soon? And your mom kept reminding you to charge your phone. Did you listen to any of them?"
As if things needed to be any more worse, the rain was pouring outside, making it almost impossible for Jin-woo to walk anywhere safely and get help.
Except... a few meters away, he saw a payphone.
He squinted to make sure that he was seeing clearly through the heavy curtain of the raindrops. He took time to check multiple times to make sure it was a payphone because he did not want to head out if it wasn't.
Did the city really still have a payphone at this day and age? he wondered. Maybe they put it there for stubborn people like me.
Making up his mind to at least try, Jin-woo opened the door and ran as quickly as he could to the spot. Instinctively, he shielded himself with his hand even though it did not block a single drop of rain and he was drenched soon enough.
Please wait for me Joon-young. Give me a chance, he pleaded.
Joon-Young.
The one woman for him.
The one who made him feel complete.
The attraction between them was instant. The moment they met on that first day of work, he knew he wanted to be with her. Luckily, she eventually chose to give him a chance and soon enough, they were together.
It was fire.
But when life started to rear its ugly head, things fell apart pretty quickly.
It started with a pregnancy scare. He was willing to marry her and be responsible for their child, but she was confused about all of it. She still had plans and wanted to become a top executive in the corporate world. A child was not part of that at this time.
Jin-woo understood because in these situations, it usually demanded more out of the woman and a family did not always compliment a career. But he was in love. He assured Joon-Young that he would never leave her and would make adjustments so that she could fulfill her career goals.
Joon-young remained restless.
A few weeks later, they confirmed that it was a false alarm. There would be no baby. For a time, he thought things would go back to normal but they didn't. She distanced herself from him and soon a month had gone without him seeing her. One day, he received a note saying she wanted to see other people.
Tonight, three months later, she agreed to talk. Settle things. Work things out. He was surprised when he received the messaged but jumped at the opportunity.
His car had other plans.
Picking up the phone receiver, he took out the only coins he had, dropped them in the slot and quickly dialled her number. The rain was still beating down on the city and the noise made it difficult to hear the person on the other end of the phone clearly.
