Jongdae went to the warehouse late in the evening. A storm was coming. Leaves rustled on the trees he passed and the road was littered with twigs torn from its branches.

‘Hey Jongdae, didn’t think you’d show up anymore.’ Junmyeon came over and hugged him before Jongdae could even get off his bike.

‘Yeah, I had a client who I changed my schedule for.’

Looking around the camp, only Yifan sat by the extinguished firepit, waving at Jongdae.

‘You just missed Kyungsoo. Yifan and I were just talking about our next trip.’

‘What’s the plan this time?’ Jongdae asked Yifan when they joined him on the makeshift benches surrounding the firepit.

Yifan ignored the question as he stared behind Jongdae. Before he could ask, Jongdae heard engines. For a split second he thought he’d left his own bike on.

‘, what are they doing here?’ Junmyeon and Yifan stood up simultaneously.

A group of four bikers approached, revving their engines and trailing the muddy ground around them. They recognized the motorcycles right away. Not that there were many others around, all those on bikes were either affiliated with a gang, or their own. They stopped around them. One of them took their helmet off, an older man with the only patch of hair on his face located on his chin. His bald head was covered in tattoos.

‘Not this ,’ Junmyeon muttered, having had havoc with the man before.

‘What do you want from us?’ Jongdae asked, trying his best to make his 1.7m height look intimidating. Times like these he appreciated having Yifan around, who despite not having any tattoos, still brought in the intimidating factor with his height and bushy, angled eyebrows.

The older man raised his two hands. ‘I mean no harm, babies, why you gotta be so uptight right away?’ It caused a stir of laughter with his friends. ‘I just want to make sure you’re home before the storm.’ The grin on his face said otherwise. The other three got off their bikes and inched closer too.

‘Cut the crap, why are you all so hellbent on fighting us?’ Junmyeon yelled. He stepped backwards and his elbow bumped against Jongdae’s.

‘Well you see, we have a bit of an image to uphold. You can say, we built quite a reputation around here, and we don’t want a bunch of snotty kids ruining that for us,’ one of the others said, another broad looking old guy with distinguishable tattoos around what little skin he was showing. Only one without a responsible job could rock hand tattoos without losing their livelihood in this neighbourhood, so Jongdae could only guess what this guy did to keep himself financially secure while owning one of the newest Harveys out there.

‘Come on, we don’t interfere with that. We’re just friends meeting every once in a while.’ While Jongdae appreciated Yifan’s friendly approach to avoid an assbeating, the visible tension on Junmyeon’s face showed he wasn’t. Yifan took a step and stood eye to eye with the first geezer. ‘So why not let us do our thing and we’ll let you do your thing?’

The man didn’t back down and leaned in, while Yifan kept his head stiff with only his eyes cast down to the slighter smaller man. A ‘thunk’ came from behind Jongdae and Junmyeon met fists with another biker, the latter having struck out. Everyone sprang into action, with the other two charging Jongdae and Junmyeon. The first one came at Jongdae with his fist out. Jongdae dodged it and struck him at the shoulder that obstructed his blow from hitting the face. A punch from the back almost stole his attention away before another punch hit him. Knuckles barely scraped by his jaw. Jongdae hit the man with a swift punch to the stomach and reached to grab him. The person behind him stomped Jongdae at the back of the head and he saw black for a moment.

‘Jongdae!’ Junmyeon scream was loud in his ear and no second punch would meet skin. He swung his fists blindly and landed a successful hit, drawing a curse from his victim. Not Junmyeon’s voice, thank the gods. His vision returned and he took in the situation they were in. Yifan was still fighting the old man Jongdae assumed was some sort of captain of the team, another guy  behind him but not really lashing out. Junmyeon was right beside Jongdae, being the more skilled fighter between the two, fending off punches for both of them. With the onslaught of fists, neither had a shot of hitting back.

‘You punch pretty well for a bunch of faggots,’ one of them said and uppercut Junmyeon. Blood spewed out of his mouth and he cursed as he recoiled. Jongdae stepped in but took another blunt of a blow. His vision went black again and the slight hint of iron took over his scent as he lost consciousness.

The gritty texture of sand in his mouth was the first thing Jongdae noticed when he regained consciousness, then the cold wetness of his face and body. Dull sounds arose from around him. His friends were still fighting. He stumbled to his knees but the splitting headache prevented him from rising up entirely. The cold soil soaked the fabric of his pants while he took in the scene. It was one on one now with two bikers having left. Jongdae and his friends’ bikes were thrashed. Junmyeon pulled through with a ferocious kick that sent his assailant flying. The other caught notice and they scrambled away.

Yifan came over to Jongdae. He reached his hand out for Jongdae but then dropped himself on the ground next to him.

‘Are you all okay?’ Junmyeon asked and walked over to them. His lip was bleeding and his hair was dishevelled like Yifan’s was. He leaned down in front of Jongdae. ‘You’re not looking so good, Jongdae.’

‘Neither do you,’ he replied, ‘I can’t believe they had the guts to corner us like this.’ He couldn’t help but think about the last words he heard before he fell unconscious. ‘Do you think they target us specifically because of our uality?’

‘Among other reasons, yeah. You know how it has been in this town, old farts still live in the 1900s with their nuclear family delusions.’ Junmyeon spat out blood.

They were all silent as Junmyeon and Jongdae cleaned themselves up to the best of their abilities, while Yifan hid his face behind his folded knees.

‘You know… One of these guys,’ Junmyeon whispered, ‘he said something weird. I haven’t told you this before,

After Junmyeon blew off his steam, he turned to his bike. Jongdae reached out to Yifan, who had been quiet this whole time now.

With a tap on his shoulder, he got Yifan to raise his head.

‘What’s on your mind?’

Yifan bit his lip. ‘I have never been in a fight.’ His voice was quavering, and only now did Jongdae see him visibly shaken from the ordeal.

Jongdae laid his arm on his shoulder.

‘I feel sorry, I never understood the situation fully. I’ve had hourlong discussions with Junmyeon about this…’

The next weekend came by. He knocked on the big door of his friends’ mansion. It was Luhan who opened.

‘Jeez what the hell, Jongdae?’ He pulled him in and placed his hand on Jongdae’s cheek. ‘What happened?’

His jaw had bruised up significantly from the beating a few days ago, discoloured dirty purple and green.

‘Let’s talk about it inside.’

Luhan hugged him before drawing him into the hallway. They exchanged pleasantries while Luhan boiled some tea for themselves, then moved to the living room with their drinks and an American sized cookie.

‘So…?’ Luhan asked.

Jongdae sighed. He had mostly been quiet about the assaults happening towards him and his fellow biker friends, except for the time he had bruises on his face which were too painful to cover up.

‘Stuff happened, as you can see… And yesterday something happened again. Junmyeon and I were coming back from the bar when we saw their headlights behind us. They chased us for what seemed like at least 20 minutes. Luckily Junmyeon and I used the headsets in our helmets to discuss what to do.’ They’d been taking detours around the area to shake them off before returning home. Never had they been so persistent with their pursuit before. When they finally did lose them and could ride to Jongdae’s home unscathed, they’d rushed inside and spent the rest of the evening shaken up.

Luhan frowned.

‘I’m just so tired of these people bothering us. We’re not doing anyone wrong, they’re just trying to bully us off the streets.’

‘Yeah…’ Luhan trailed his words. They were interrupted by Minseok making his way into the living room. He jumped on the couch from behind it, but shot off it again when he saw Jongdae.

‘Jongdae, what happened?’ He reached out and Jongdae placed his face in his palm. Jongdae couldn’t help but smile. Luhan filled him in while his boyfriend was half on his lap to inspect Jongdae’s bruises.

 ‘I cannot believe they’d do that. And the police is not helping either?’

Jongdae shrugged. ‘I think they have some strings pulled at the local police station, so they never get the punishment they need.’

‘So one of the issues is what the police is actually doing about it?’

‘Yeah, I bet they burn all the records we make of it. At some point Junmyeon was there every week with fresh bruises, and they still didn’t take him serious.’

Luhan and Minseok exchanged glances. Then, Minseok turned to both. ‘Let’s make dinner.’

***

Jongdae invited Baekhyun over to join them to the warehouse again. The good experience he had last time made him accept the invitation. He was eager to have another try with graffiti. Before that, he trained at the skate hall. His training was going well and he started to see slow progress again.

Zitao stopped him when he got off him bike for a break.

‘Hey, can we talk?’ He said. Baekhyun nodded and the man brought him to a secluded corner of the ring.

‘What’s on your mind?’

‘I… I’ll be returning to my hometown in China again.’

‘That’s great! Right?’

‘Yeah, yeah it is!’ Zitao didn’t seem convinced of his own words.

‘Then, what’s the problem?’

‘There is none. I just wanted to say… Goodbye. I don’t know when we’ll see each other again.’

Baekhyun scoffed. ‘We’ll see each other again! Don’t be so dramatic. I know it might not look like I’m improving, but I’ll meet you at the top one day!’

Zitao gave a weak smile. ‘Of course.’ They hugged and they wished each other well. Zitao left afterwards.

‘If there’s something, you know where to find me.’ Baekhyun had the words on his lips, but he mumbled them inaudibly to the other.

His mind was scattered the rest of the day. Chanyeol came to the hall later, but he hadn’t heard anything from Zitao.

‘What, he’s leaving again? He’s probably following those friends you keep complaining about.’

‘Yeah, I don’t know. I don’t think they’re good people.’

Chanyeol sneered. ‘They’re not, saw them using some illegal in some parking lot the other day, and Zitao has been acting weird lately too. I hope he’ll be alright.’

Baekhyun didn’t have the heart to tell Chanyeol he too was getting on the wrong side of life. Surely, spray painting was not really equated to illegal drug use, but with Baekhyun’s condemnation of anything beside the law, Chanyeol would not let him live this down.

Baekhyun trained the rest of the day, then rushed home to shower. Jongdae picked him up from home.

They were there when dusk fell. There were more people scattered around. The weather was decent so most were outside on the terrain riding with their motorcycles. Baekhyun and Jongdae were the only two spray painting, though it was mainly Baekhyun working. Jongdae just laughed at the creations Baekhyun made and would make little adjustments. The artist in him couldn’t resist a touch up.

‘So like, all of these people are gay?’

‘Well, lgbt+ at least. Why, seeing someone you like?’

Jongdae wasn’t looking at him, he was fixing one of Baekhyun’s poor attempts at drawing a frog. His eyebrows were knitted together, they usually were when he was tattooing someone, even with something so mundane he had his entire focus on it. Maybe there was someone he did enjoy looking at.

‘Hmm?’ Jongdae drew his eyes away from the painting, looking expectantly towards the BMXer.

The moment was interrupted when they heard shouting coming from one of the smaller groups near the entrance of the building.

‘, the cops-‘ Before Baekhyun could register the severity of the situation, Jongdae dragged him along to another exit. Yifan and Junmyeon were running in front of them, with Junmyeon taking the lead and pointing where to go. They split ways with them when they ran into the forest, while Jongdae took Baekhyun to the urban outskirts instead.

‘We gotta split here. Run straight that way and then make a right turn. Just keep on running and you’ll find the bus stop eventually.’ Jongdae said, heaving. Baekhyun’s lungs burnt too much to reply. ‘GO!’ Jongdae yelled as he shoved him forward. Baekhyun let his legs carry him far away, not looking back at the other man.

He passed alley to alley, unbeknownst to where he went. Dead end, . Another he cut into was leading him nowhere. He turned around and stumbled upon the main street.

‘Stop right there.’ the voice of a man rang out behind him. It was over. The man lunged for him and threw him on the ground. Before he could comprehend the situation, his wrists were cuffed and he was arrested. The man hardhandedly pushed him back to where the police cars were situated. He obeyed as well as he could, keeping his mouth shut as the police officer put him in the back of the car. In the quiet car, he felt the adrenaline still rushing through his veins, making him jumpy and hypersensitive to the world around him. It was unlike how he felt in the ring, the lurking threat of the consequences fed his mind fear. He had never been arrested before so he had no clue what they’d do to him, but he wasn’t eager to confront the court for his vandalism act. He controlled his nerves as well as he could, rubbing his shaking hands together behind his back.

The police squad spent another ten minutes scouting the area. Baekhyun had been the first, and seemingly the last, to get caught. The others had more practice in this than Baekhyun had after all. Eventually he spotted another man getting dragged to the police car he sat in. It was Jongdae. The man laughed even as they manhandled him. With a shove he joined Baekhyun at the backseat.

‘Hey, you also here?’ He joked. Upon seeing Baekhyun shiver, he frowned and sat a little closer. ‘Are you okay? Don’t worry too much, you didn’t do anything. You just watched, okay?’ His cuffed hands were on Baekhyun’s jeans, playing with the distressed fabric. Jongdae easily chatted with the officers, as they joked about their arrest and what trouble they were to the police.

At the police station, they were both interrogated separately. Baekhyun answered the questions truthfully, but even then his palms were sweating and his words tumbled out of his mouth. For bad behaviour and trespassing, Jongdae and he were both detained for the night. The police officer patted Baekhyun’s back when she opened the jail cell to let him in. ‘Just don’t do it again, kid. You’ll be alright.’

Jongdae waited for him with a disarming smile, perked up on the bench.

‘Everything okay?’ He rubbed circles on Baekhyun’s back.

‘I don’t ever want to be a bad boy again.’

Jongdae chuckled and rested his head on his shoulder. ‘That’s a shame.’ He had taken all the blame during the interrogation, but it only resulted in a slightly higher fine for him. The police officers were familiar with him, some greeting him from the other side of the bars like they were welcoming back a friend.

That night in prison, they laid in each other’s arms on the harsh bench, Baekhyun’s head snug against Jongdae’s chest.

‘I’m sorry, Baekhyun. I’m sorry I got you into such a situation.’ Jongdae spoke after a while.

Baekhyun rubbed his arm. ‘I agreed to it, didn’t I?’ His voice was muffled against the fabric of Jongdae’s shirt.

‘You did, but I promised I’d keep you safe. I shouldn’t have sent you off to another direction. I assumed you’d know your way, but that was stupid of me.’ He raked his hands through Baekhyun’s hair, massaging his scalp gently.

‘I’m not a baby, I can take my own responsibility. But,’ he nosed into Jongdae’s chest for good measures, ‘I was kind of glad when I saw you get dragged into the car. I wouldn’t want to lie here alone right now.’

Jongdae snickered, its impact vibrating his chest.

‘It was actually kind of exhilarating. The rush of fleeing, the fear of being caught and actually getting caught. I understand why you’re a bad boy now!’ Baekhyun jested. In all truth, he was just happy Jongdae included him into his friend group and showed him new things. His anxiety from before had subdued. Jongdae eluded such confidence and compliance with the situation, it was difficult to maintain the emotional peaks his mind was going through before. He thought he should have been angry for being led into this situation. The soothing rhythm of Jongdae’s heartbeat, completely at ease, and his hand going through Baekhyun’s hair made it really easy to forgive. Cuddled up, they shared their feelings on tonight’s events and giggled over the dramatic retelling of either stories. Jongdae had returned to the scene after he saw Baekhyun get caught.

‘Where were you then?’

‘I climbed on a roof, there is this perfect hiding spot near the site.’

Baekhyun rolled his eyes and tittered. What a situation did he get himself into, and who would have expected him to end up in a prison cell…

They were sent home the next morning at 8 am. Their joints cracked from the rough surface they slept on, and both were not morning people.

‘Let’s get a coffee nearby, I need it.’ Jongdae offered to buy them some, to make up for what he put Baekhyun through. They went to the nearest café on foot, as Jongdae’s vehicle was confiscated like all the other motor bikes that were at the site yesterday. Baekhyun picked a hot chocolate and a muffin. He stuck out his tongue, causing the other to snort.

‘You’re so ridiculous, Baek,’ he said with a fond smile.

They sat is content silence. There was a familiar song playing in the shop and Baekhyun hummed along.

‘So, how often are you actually there? Why do half of the staff know you there already?’ Baekhyun asked.

Jongdae shrugged. ‘I’ve been there a few times. Different circumstances sometimes, but I seem to have a knack of getting myself in trouble. They like me well enough though. They cannot let me out early, but they’ll come and chat with me. It’s boring when you’re alone…’ He bit his lips. ‘I’m glad this time I wasn’t.’

‘You’re weird.’ Baekhyun rolled his eyes, his cheeks slightly tinting. ‘Okay wait I have another question.’

‘Go ahead.’

‘How do you afford your motorcycle? If these things happen more often and your bike get confiscated all the time…’

Jongdae grinned. ‘They bring them to a compound afterwards where you can purchase them back for a cheap price if you have the right papers. It’s a bigger drag when those bikers from that gang put their hands on them.’ He sipped his drink. ‘Also, I earn enough and my fixed costs are low due to cheap rent prices. How about you, how do you afford training every day?’

‘I don’t… I still live at home. The price I won for the tournaments I scored well on are not exactly like winning the jackpot.’ It was something that was bothering Baekhyun.

They spent an hour in the café until Jongdae glanced at the time and realized he still had a shop to run at noon. At the exit they lingered, suddenly uncertain how to say goodbye. Baekhyun initiated a hug, reciprocated by Jongdae. Jongdae retracted slightly, pecking Baekhyun on the cheek for a brief second.

‘See you around,’ he said in a low voice. Baekhyun was suddenly glad he turned around right after, feeling his cheeks burn up.

Baekhyun made peace with his ‘wild’ adventure and retold it for his friends at the bar the next day. He was met with the silent judgement of Jongin, while Chanyeol showed a different expression at every turn of the tale Baekhyun was telling, with cliff-hangers and hooks that hyped up the story more than it should have.

‘Oh this is just great. Baekkie goodie two shoes has been lecturing my about hanging out with the bikers, yet here he is causing trouble himself!’ Chanyeol exclaimed to Jongin. Jongin rolled his eyes, but his gaze softened when he looked at Baekhyun.

‘I’m just happy everything went okay.’

‘Thank you for worrying, Jongin, and also, sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.’

‘So you are going to do it again?’

While he hadn’t thought about it so thoroughly, his lack of an answer made it known. Chanyeol grinned at him, he must know too.

The days leading up to the competition, Baekhyun went back into his usual routine of training, eating and sleeping. Occasionally he would go to the bar and chat with his friends, where he would run into Jongdae and talk to him at the counter, feeling a pit of warmth in his stomach as the other smiled at him and brushed his fingers over his arm.

‘Haven’t seen you in a while, are you doing alright?’ Jongdae asked with his head snug on Baekhyun’s shoulder. Baekhyun patted his head in response, enjoying the familiarity they’ve created.

‘I’m doing okay, training hard.’

‘Such great discipline. When you have more time, come hang out in the shop again.’ Jongdae lifted his head and rubbed Baekhyun back while he ordered drinks for his table. ‘I miss you!’

Baekhyun glanced at him dumbly. A sudden spike of regret pierced his heart. How much did he actually miss his friends and his freedom when he was mindlessly focused on training?

‘You okay?’

Baekhyun shook his head. ‘Yeah. Just some thoughts.’

‘Don’t think too hard, you’re producing more smoke than my motor does.’ Jongdae patted his shoulder and took his leave with the tray of drinks he had received.

‘Your mind is just messing with you, Baek. You’re doing great, don’t worry so much.’ Chanyeol repeatedly told him. His words rang true at the next competition where he came first. With the noise of the crowd and the small trophy pushed in his hand, Baekhyun felt numb. It didn’t fade until he sat back in Chanyeol’s car, a sadness welling up on him.

‘What’s wrong?’ Chanyeol asked, leaning in to cup Baekhyun’s cheek. It was an awfully familiar gesture. He always did that when Baekhyun was sad while they were still dating.

Baekhyun glanced out of the front window, avoiding eye contact. ‘I just don’t know.’ He choked up as he admitted it. ‘I have so many doubts. Why do I even do this? It’s not even enjoyable anymore.’

Chanyeol retracted his hand. ‘Isn’t it the thrill of taking a high jump? Acing something you’ve practiced for so long? Falling and putting band aids on scraped knees, then laugh with your friends and do the same stupid all over again?’

‘I…’ They had this conversation before, except now Chanyeol was using Baekhyun’s own words against him.

‘You know why you’re doing this, Baekhyun. This is your life, this is what you want to do.’

‘Can’t I doubt that decision?!’

‘You broke up with me because of this.’ Chanyeol spat.

‘Well do you want me to give it up and start your again?! ‘Cause I have half a mind to do it.’ Baekhyun hissed back.

Chanyeol sneered and faced the window. ‘ off.’

Baekhyun leaned his head against the headrest, glancing at the off-white rooftop. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’m just so agitated these days.’ He swallowed and glanced at Chanyeol. ‘You don’t-, I mean, we… Are nothing, right?’

‘Yeah. We’re better off as friends. Just…’ Chanyeol reached out and placed his hand on Baekhyun’s knee. ‘Don’t tell me that stuff anymore.’

Baekhyun nodded. It was fair for Chanyeol to distance himself, with the rift between them caused by the unwillingness to accept change from Baekhyun’s part. Baekhyun had this fantasy of becoming a top BMXer with Chanyeol right beside him. When the latter branched out into other hobbies, abandoning his bicycle almost entirely, Baekhyun couldn’t find happiness in their relationship anymore. This ordeal made Baekhyun realize Chanyeol’s feelings back then, and here Baekhyun was spitting it back at him with his own mistakes.

‘I’m really sorry.’

Chanyeol had a humourless half smile on his face. The ride home was filled with only R&B tunes coming from the radio of the car.

With knees and elbows bloodied, even with protective gear on, Baekhyun returned home after dusk. His body felt as broken as his mind did. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep on the bed after he showered and brushed his teeth. The next morning, Baekhyun turned off his alarm and turned around again. All he wanted to do was sleep and hide from the world for a day. Another few hours later he reached for his phone. It was noon. Begrudged he stood up and stretched the knots out of his body. His knees hurt as he walked down the stairs to the kitchen. With breakfast over, he returned to his room and watched movies for the rest of the day. The day was already at its end when Baekhyun’s phone went off. A text from Jongdae appeared on the lock screen, a simple ‘hey, how’re you?’

Baekhyun placed his phone in front of him and hit the voice note button. With a sigh he rambled on how he hadn’t done anything, but if Jongdae was interested he could rant about the terrible movie he had mistakenly picked.

Jongdae returned with a voice note as well, his loud chuckle booming through the device. Even if Jongdae didn’t know the severity of his grumpy mood, he had some magic spell that pulled Baekhyun out of his slump.

‘Hey Jongdae. Can I ride your bike some day? I wanna try.’

‘Sure, but it’s better to do it at night to avoid traffic.’

‘Now?’ Baekhyun suggested. He tapped his screen as the minutes passed by.

‘Okay, I’ll be there in 10!’ Jongdae’s voice pitched in the voice note sent 5 minutes later.

Baekhyun rushed to his closet. He plucked out sturdy pants and a thick jacket. As soon as he rushed downstairs, a headlight passed the kitchen window. He went outside and watched Jongdae take off his helmet.

‘Hey,’ Jongdae said. There was some tension in the air, but Baekhyun couldn’t place what it was from. Jongdae passed him a helmet, which made Baekhyun realize he had spent what little time he had before Jongdae arrived in vain trying to get rid of his bed hair.

Jongdae drove them to an empty parking lot. Only one street lamp was on, another one blinked every once in a while. He hopped off the bike and gestured to Baekhyun to take a seat.

‘It’s really not that difficult. The right handlebar you use to speed up, the brake lever is for the front wheel.’ Jongdae continued to explain the rest, telling him all the small details about the vehicle and what to pay attention to while driving. ‘Give it a try!’

Baekhyun turned the handlebar backwards, the bike inching forward as the engine revved up. Even at such low speed, Baekhyun’s adrenaline shot up. Not so much for his own safety as for the bike, he had no clue how Jongdae would react if he damaged it. Baekhyun drove a wide circle around the parking lot and returned to Jongdae, sputtered to a halt as he forgot to release the gas while he braked.

Jongdae chuckled and held onto the bike.

‘Come on, you can go a little faster than that!’ Jongdae encouraged. He shooed Baekhyun away, so the latter went for a few rounds at higher speed. His heart was beating in his throat and his face wore a smile he couldn’t suppress. Good thing he wore a helmet. When he returned again, Jongdae was smiling too.

‘You’re doing great. How do you like it?’

‘It’s so cool! I can see why you like it so much.’

Jongdae put his own helmet on. ‘Ready to take on the big road?’

‘What?’ Baekhyun asked. Jongdae fit himself on the driver’s seat behind Baekhyun, placing his legs on either side of Baekhyun and leaned his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder.

‘A motorbike is meant for speed after all. Dare to go on the main road?’ Jongdae said.

‘Is that even legal? Do you trust me with that?’ Baekhyun asked incredulously. Jongdae shrugged.

‘I can intervene if something happens, don’t worry about it.’

With a green light and Jongdae snug behind him, Baekhyun twisted the handlebar like he had seen Jongdae do before. They shot forward. His vision was partially obscured with the huge helmet he was wearing, making it a pain to look both ways before crossing. Jongdae pointed to the mirrors. Right, he should be using those.

It was past midnight already on a weekday, so cars were only sporadically sharing the road with them. Jongdae was helping him with the blinkers and shifting, which Baekhyun was grateful for because he had never even driven a car and had no clue what he should be paying attention to. They to the highway. Jongdae placed his hand over Baekhyun’s hand and pulled the handle bar, surging them forward. The meter shot up to 130 km per hour and Baekhyun scoffed at the thought he had been nervous while riding in the parking lot. The adrenaline filled him with joy and he felt a freedom he hadn’t experienced in so long. Even with the wind tearing against him and the engine soaring as he pushed it to its limits, Baekhyun swore he heard Jongdae’s laughter next to him. He had his head on Baekhyun’s shoulder, his hands came to clasp tightly around Baekhyun’s waist. It offered some warmth too, a little bit of protection from the force of air going through his clothes and causing shivers down his spine.

After enough kilometres, Jongdae signed to get off the highway and eventually led them to a provincial road. He had taken control of the handlebars, so Baekhyun held himself tight on Jongdae’s upper legs.

‘Where are you taking us?’ Baekhyun tried to communicate, but the other either didn’t hear it or chose not to. He didn’t have to wait long for an answer, as the motorcycle soon came to a stop at the side of a small road, bordering a forest on one side with a lake on the other. The near full moon spread a dim glow on the water, peaking just over the vast woods.

Baekhyun stepped off the bike and took his helmet off. Laughter bubbled up from feelings of exhilaration and joy. The engine was turned off by Jongdae, his chuckles now hearable after he removed his helmet too.

‘What do you think?’ Jongdae asked.

‘That was so cool.’ Baekhyun exclaimed. Jongdae came to stand next to him, but Baekhyun swept him into a hug. Jongdae laughed, his mouth so close to Baekhyun’s ear that the sounds vibrated through his ear shell. With their chests pressed against each other, Baekhyun could feel his own heartbeat pounding in his ribcage. The feeling of being alive, he thought, like he was feeling everything at once. Baekhyun turned his face to Jongdae and kissed him.

Jongdae leaned into the kiss and deepened it. When they retracted, Jongdae gazed at him, expression unreadable.

‘Well that was… Something,’ Baekhyun said. He’d almost be afraid for his heart at this point for the work he was putting it through. He distanced himself and glanced at the wallowing waterbeds.

‘It was.’ Jongdae walked past him towards the water. He sat down on the grass before it, turning his head backwards and holding out his hand. Baekhyun accepted it and sat down next to him, his hand now kept warm between the palms of Jongdae’s hands.

‘Want to talk about it?’ Jongdae said.

‘I’m not good at talking.’

Jongdae chuckled. ‘You’re a chatterbox all the time, yet you chose now to be shy?’

Baekhyun huffed. Jongdae ate up his act. He certainly loved to laugh, why was he always smiling.

‘I like you, Baekhyun. I like you a lot.’ It was straightforward. Genuine. Baekhyun had to look away from the man that faced him with glimmering eyes.

‘I think I like you too.’

‘Then why are you not looking at me?’ Two fingers tapped Baekhyun’s jaw and he let them turn his head towards the biker. Jongdae leaned in and kissed Baekhyun, a small peck on his lips. He cocked his head, watching Baekhyun with curled lips and big eyes. He was so attractive. Baekhyun returned the kiss. They kissed languidly, for what seemed like minutes at end. Jongdae’s hand had found roots at the crook of Baekhyun’s neck, his thumb brushing against his cheek so softly it tingled. Baekhyun leaned over on Jongdae, his body more on Jongdae than on the damp grass beneath them.

When they broke apart, breaths ragged and his cheeks were too unnaturally warm in the cold night’s air, Baekhyun gave one last peck before standing. He held out his hand for Jongdae and helped him up.

‘We should probably go home, don’t you have work tomorrow?’

‘I do,’ Jongdae replied sheepishly as he patted down his pants. Jongdae drove Baekhyun home. They didn’t say anything about what had all went down not 30 minutes ago, but the kiss goodbye sealed their insecurities away. Baekhyun might not have known what they were, but at this point it didn’t matter much.