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As we make our way down, Sarfaraz trips over a stray pamphlet on the bridge. He jumps and wraps his hand around mine, holding tight. I want to protest, but instead I silently keep going until we reach the middle. Plus, the weight of his palm in mine is kind of...nice.
I stop when we get there, and my grin grows when I see a red plaque. Something is written in white in Hangul, but the text next to it spells Crash Landing on You in English. Next to the words are sketches of the faces of the lead couple in the show, Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin.
I gleefully reach into my pocket and pull out my phone so I can take a picture of the sign. I only have one free hand, though, because Sarfaraz is still holding on to my other for dear life. While I want to spend longer on the bridge, I should wrap it up before the poor man dissolves from nerves.
The quality of the photos are good, but I’m still not satisfied with them. Stupid iPhone. I turn to Sarfaraz. “Hey, your phone is a Google Pixel, right? I saw it on the train.”
He somehow manages to answer without exploding. “Yeah, it is. Why?”
“Can I borrow it to take photos? The camera quality is so much better on the Pixel.”
Surprisingly, he doesn’t argue with me, probably because he wants off the bridge. He produces his phone, types the password in with his thumb, then gives it to me. It’s been left open to a website, though—the Wikipedia page for Crash Landing on You. I look up at him with an inquisitive stare. “I thought you didn’t care about the show.”
Alarm flickers in his face, and he temporarily forgets his fear as he snatches the phone back. “I never said I didn’t care,” he clarifies, his cheeks pink. “And, well...you kept going on and on about it, even braving the rain to visit the places where they filmed.” He turns his attention to his phone so he doesn’t have to look at me. “Plus, I was vaguely interested to see how the place we’re at influences the show. I watched the first episode on the train ride up here, while you were asleep.”
I can’t quite believe my ears. “You did? What did you think?”
He scoffs. “The woman in the show is obviously a menace. She showed up and disrupted that poor soldier’s life.”
I choke out a noise of disbelief. “Or maybe she’s what he needed to break out of his boring routine lifestyle and wake up and realize what’s been missing his whole life.” I gesture to Son Ye-jin’s face. “His soulmate.”
Sarfaraz hums, low in his throat. “So, you believe in soulmates?”
“Yes,” I say plainly. “I mean, the actors who played Se-ri and Jeong-hyeok fell in love in real life and got married after filming the show together. They had a kid, too.” I flatten my palm against the side of my leg. “You can’t tell me you don’t believe in soulmates after that.” I tilt my head to the side. “Can you?”
He doesn’t answer my question. He hums for a second and stares so intently at me I’m sure my face is gonna melt off, but then he asks, “So you think this fiancé of yours is your soulmate?”
My face flushes, and I can’t look him in the eye. I pick flecks of dirt off my pants. “I never said I had a soulmate.”
“But you just said—”
“I said I believe in them,” I interrupt. “Allah created us in pairs, after all. But I don’t think everyone marries their soulmate.” My thoughts drift to my own parents’ broken marriage. “But I think the people who do are the luckiest people in the world, though, and it’d be nice if I did, too.”
When I peek up at him, he’s looking at me with an expression that’s part puzzled and part...intrigued. After a beat, he opens his mouth. “Can we please get off the bridge now?” he chatters.
I chuckle. “Yeah, let me take a photo first.”
“Oh!” a new voice says, and I look to my left to see a young couple passing by us. The girl on the left steps toward us. “I can take a picture of you guys, if you want!”
Sarfaraz and I both start to refuse, but she plucks Sarfaraz’s phone from him and pushes him next to me. Instinctively, Sarfaraz’s arm loops around my waist, desperately searching for an anchor to keep him from freaking out. His palm against my hip burns a hole through my pants. A blush crawls up my neck, and I discreetly use my hair to cover it up.
After the girl snaps a few pictures, I ask her to take some pictures of only me. Sarfaraz reluctantly lets me go and steps off to the side, but he holds on to the side of the bridge. Once the girl has taken a couple photos, she gives me back the phone. “Thank you!” I say, then hurriedly lead Sarfaraz off the bridge.
Once we’re off, he finally relaxes. “Ugh, sweet land!” he groans as he staggers around, probably waiting for the shaking in his legs to stop.
I roll my eyes, continuing ahead of him. “Oh, and I’m too dramatic?” I grumble under my breath.
“I heard that!” he calls after me. I guess he’s feeling well enough to snark back at me, which honestly feels a lot more familiar than...whatever the hell happened on the bridge.
I’m about to suggest we go get lunch when a splash hits my cheek. I look up to see the clouds have darkened. Another drop of water pelts my eye. More rain starts to fall, hitting the ground and making the grass smell crisp.
“Damn,” Sarfaraz murmurs. I stop to let him catch up with me, and he shrugs out of his coat as he brings the top half up to cover his head. “We’re going to be soaked by the time we make it back down.”
My bag suddenly weighs heavily against my back, and I gasp. “Oh, wait!” I swing my backpack to my chest, unzip it, and produce the two umbrellas I bought from the store. “Here we go!” I grin triumphantly and offer Sarfaraz one.
He frowns. “When did you pick up umbrellas?”
“I got them in Zurich. I bought one because I needed it, and then I bought the second in case something happened to the first, which, in my experience, is something very likely to happen.” I hold it out. “Take it or get wet. It doesn’t matter to me.”
