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Sarfaraz scoffs. “I don’t know how you can possibly promise that.”
“Okay, I promise I’ll try not to be annoying.”
He stares at me for another long moment, then slowly smiles. “Fine. Give me ten minutes to shower.”
After Sarfaraz is ready, we pack the rest of our stuff and take the train to Interlaken. The journey was mostly quiet; I, of course, tried to make conversation with Sarfaraz, but he still responded with short answers. Eventually I gave up and just took some pictures of the beautiful scenery outside the compartment window.
Once there, we check into the hotel I booked, thankfully without any credit card hiccups. Unfortunately, there’s only one bed, but Sarfaraz graciously agrees to sleep on the pullout couch.
After dropping our bags off, we get on the train to Sigriswil. I’m excited to get there; Zurich was so gorgeous, I can’t imagine what the rest of the country is like. As predicted, there’s very little rain in Interlaken, so the sky is much brighter. The stark contrast of the lush, leafy green against the grayish clouds makes everything look like it’s right out of the pages of a storybook. It also makes the colorful buildings pop. In the Korean drama, I thought it was a filter over the shots, but the pastel-colored houses, ranging from baby pink to lavender to daffodil yellow, look incredible in real life.
When we find two free seats on the train, I stop Sarfaraz before he can sit down. “What?” he asks.
“I want the window seat.”
“Why?”
“It’s good luck,” I insist.
“According to who?”
“Me!”
Sarfaraz rolls his eyes but moves out of the way. With a triumphant grin, I scootch past him and sit down. It may sound stupid, but as a person whose life has been one disaster after another, I try to seize every shred of good luck I can get. I pray to Allah for help, of course, but it doesn’t hurt to indulge in a little superstition. I wish on eyelashes, I pick four-leaf clovers, and I always watch meteor showers. The only thing I don’t do is carry around a rabbit’s foot, because ew.
Sarfaraz sits down next to me, and I get another strong whiff of pine, and coffee, though the coffee isn’t as potent this time, even though he had like two cups before we left the hotel.
We’re quiet as the train starts its journey, but, much like when we were on the plane, I can’t take the silence for long. “Are you excited about where we’re going?”
“I don’t even know where we’re going,” he points out.
Right. “Crash Landing on You is one of my favorite shows ever. It’s a Korean drama, and they filmed some scenes here. The scenery in the show was so beautiful, and the moments that the leads had while here were so important to their relationship that I knew I had to come visit sometime. I wanted to come here for my honeymoon, but my fiancé didn’t agree.”
“And that’s why you’re braving the rain to sightsee?”
“Yeah.”
Sarfaraz hums for a second, and I think he’s going to stay silent, but then he speaks. “Why is this show so important to you, anyway?”
His question kind of startles me. “I just love it.”
“But why? There has to be a reason if it made you want to come here for your honeymoon.”
I tap my fingers against my lap. “So, I lived in South Korea for two years,” I explain. “I went there to teach English. I watched it for the first time there. I started watching the dramas on Netflix to immerse myself in the language and the culture, and I found a lot of comfort through it. At first, I thought maybe I made a mistake in going so far from home, and that my mother was right, and that I wasn’t ready to be on my own. But I related a lot to the main female lead; being in a new and foreign environment and being scared.” I trace the flower design in the center of my palm. “But the show was great at making me feel comfortable. I watched it so many times that it became the one thing that was familiar to me. Plus, it was an extremely popular show, so a lot of people watched it, and I found commonality with people through it.”
He’s quiet for a second. “That makes sense... I guess,” he eventually says, though I can hear him trying hard to keep the judgment out of his voice.
I didn’t want to admit this part to Sarfaraz, but one of the other reasons I love the show so much is because of the romance between the two leads. The thought of gushing to him about how much I adore the lingering looks between Yoon Se-ri and Ri Jeong-hyeok—as well as their tender goodbye kiss right before Se-ri returns to South Korea, and their tearful final reunion in Switzerland—is kind of embarrassing. I know there’s nothing wrong with a woman enjoying romance, but I’ve already thrown up on this man; I want to keep as much dignity as possible. Plus, I can tell by his tone that he wouldn’t care.
Still, the chemistry between the actors—Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin—is electrifying, and enough to make any cynic believe in love. If it can make someone like me, who doesn’t think that real romance can happen for her, so enamored by their relationship, that’s a true testament to how amazing their chemistry is.
After another long beat of silence, I ask, “Why are you going to Pakistan, anyway?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Come on!” I pout. “I told you why I’m going.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
