Dark Matter | JJK

24. More Shades Than One

Usually, the bus ride from Seoul to Ilsan was a six-hour journey spanning a distance of over 300 kilometers from the capital to the northwestern city. But considering the number of times their intercity bus was halting in between, Petra doubted they would reach their destination before dusk fell.

As the bus's engine revved up in a shrill vroom vroom that had most of its passengers flinching in their seats, Petra glanced outside the scratched window at a grey world. The sky was barely any brighter than when they had left at 5 o'clock that morning, the sun still hiding behind a veil of ashen clouds, lingering in its slumber. Autumn in its final stages was no longer a tranquil ho-hum of falling maple leaves, blooming marigolds and swishing breezes; it now carried with itself the earliest, mildest iciness of an approaching winter.

Much like the outside world, the passengers on the bus were quiet. There were all kinds of people on board - gruff-looking middle-aged men reading newspapers, grandmas with greying hair already huddled in their woollen sweaters, mothers shushing the questions of their inquisitive children and blank-faced college students. Although a majority of them were busy minding their own business, Petra found a few pairs of eyes staring at her whenever she looked up. Or more specifically, at the snoring boy slumped on the seat adjacent to hers, strands of his black hair dancing across closed eyes as his head lolled with the rickety bus.

Dressed in a warm blue turtleneck sweater paired with ripped black jeans, Jungkook looked like a man deprived of even a wink of sleep for decades. Nothing could disturb him, not even the bumpy speed breakers or the annoying buzz of the engine. Once every three hours, his head would oscillate like a pendulum, knocking against her shoulder. He would sometimes stir because of the movement, lips parted as he looked around with half-lidded, confused eyes before falling back into dreamland.

Awake and unseasy, Petra was fidgeting more than him. The passengers' weird stares were scaring the living daylights out of her.

"Stop moving around so much," Jungkook groaned, finally blinking the sleep out of his eyes and stretching his limbs. Perhaps he wasn't as unaware of her discomfort as she thought. "Are your muscles stiff or what?"

"No," she mumbled, even though her legs were starting to ache after sitting in the same position for hours. "Everyone's looking at us weird."

Jungkook remained slouched on the seat but wide awake, arms crossed and gaze scanning the passengers lazily. He shrugged, like it was nothing new to him. Of course, Jeon Jungkook - receiver of a million heart-eyes and gushing squeals a day - was well accustomed to being stared at. Petra, however, could not say the same for herself.

"Relax," Jungkook muttered, looking sideways at her in his slumped posture. "They either find you very attractive, or there's something on your face."

Petra frowned, turning to him. "Speak for yourself. But is there something on my face?"

"Hmm," he contemplated, sitting up straight and making a big show of examining her anxious features. "Yeah, you look like you're holding in a fart."

Petra kicked his shin and turned away the second he broke into a fit of giggles, drawing even more eyes in their direction. The boy was not helping.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Jungkook wheezed, sitting up straight. "Stop getting so worked up about it. Don't pay attention to them." He settled back and looked out to the window, a small, tranquil smile curling around his lips. Petra tried to do the same, seeking refuge in the wide expanse of grey concrete covering the roads, mirroring the colour of the sky. She was only a few seconds into ignoring the magnetic pull of the several eyes on her when the bus suddenly lurched to a stop.