It was a cool evening, not too hot and not too cold. On Yukwon’s rooftop, the two youngsters were perched on the red tiles, a six-pack beer between the both of them. Tonight was actually their graduation prom, and Minhyuk would have been dancing under disco balls and blinding lights, if not for the fact that his best friend had remarked that “Proms are cliché, we’re leaving each other anyway,” and flat-out refused to go. Being the best friend Minhyuk is, he had ditched prom.

The posh boy studied his rebel friend; with red hair and multiple piercings in his ears, Yukwon looked like a typical gangster if Minhyuk didn’t know better. Thankfully, he did, and the other was actually really soft-spoken and quiet, who wouldn’t even dream about hurting a fly. Yukwon’s slender fingers drummed against the aluminum can as he spoke, “What are you doing after tonight?”

Minhyuk leaned back against the roof and sighed.

“Probably going to start applying for colleges. You know my dad,”

Yukwon hummed; Minhyuk’s dad was a pain in the , that he knew. However, Minhyuk wasn’t interested in his own future, he was more interested in his friend. “What about you?”

Yukwon’s answer was extremely unexpected, but then again, it seemed like the most appropriate thing that would come out from the redhead’s mouth, “I’m going to take a year off; go on a roadtrip ya know, just to relax,” Minhyuk sighed as he pictured himself and Yukwon travelling the terrain, just cruising along with nobody to tell them what to do. It seemed like the perfect paradise. A paradise that would never come true.

Yukwon seemed to have read his mind as he asked, “Do you want to come along? I’m going with the gang,” The other briefly remembered “the gang”; people who seemed like they knew him forever and were so easy-going that he fitted in without a problem. Then he remembered his dad and shook his head.

The redhead exhaled a breath that he didn’t even know he was holding and smiled at Minhyuk, “Wouldn’t it be fun to escape your dad for a while?” The other pondered and nodded. Yukwon stood up, deemed that the night was over and slid to the edge of the roof before jumping down on the grass softly. From the top, Minhyuk remarked that Yukwon seemed like a cat, so agile and mysterious, but was all fluffiness inside.

Yukwon threw a can at his head before smirking and catching his friend. “We’ll be leaving at dawn tomorrow if you change your mind,” Yukwon murmured into Minhyuk’s ear before pushing his friend out of the gate and shuffling into his house, leaving the other with a bright red flush painted on his face.

The next morning, the gang arrived at Yukwon’s house at 4am, carrying Yukwon’s favorite beer. The gang were like sworn brothers to Yukwon; Zico (or ZI-A-CO as Yukwon liked to call him) and P.O had been with him since his orphanage days, he and Taeil had met during middle school when Yukwon had punched a bully in his face after he saw him bullying Taeil (and gotten suspended). Kyung and him were buddies since the first year of high school. Yes, this was the life.

After a round of toasting to a new starting, they started furnishing their dingy caravan with no rooftop that Zico managed to get for fifty bucks. The morning was rowdy, with Kyung throwing everything unnecessary in the back (like three boxes of CDs and pirated DVDs) and Taeil nagging about “moving their asses”. Yukwon smiled as he threw his pack of cigarettes in the back.  

As the gang tried to arrange themselves to find who is driving; Yukwon giggled as he knew that Taeil was the only one that could drive, he looked up the road to where the rich people stayed. Minhyuk probably forgot or was too scared to disobey his dad. He sighed and turned back.

“Come on lover boy, time to hit the road,” P.O said snarkily and the entire group burst into laughter as Yukwon tried hitting the boy. As Yukwon put a foot into the back, a distant voice yelled out, “Hey, hang on a minute! Wait for me!” Squinting into the brightness of the arising sun, he spotted Minhyuk, casually dressed in a tee and jeans.

“Well, look who decided to disobey daddy,” Yukwon remarked, a smile lighting up his entire face. “Shut the up,” Minhyuk said promptly before stepping foot into the caravan and taking a seat beside Zico. “He’s been spending too much time with you,” Zico snickered and Yukwon grinned before closing the entire back of the truck.

“HEY OLD MAN LET’S MOVE!!!111!!!” P.O screeched and they howled with laughter as Taeil shrieked back a few curses and stepped on the accelerator. As the wind blew through their hair, Yukwon leaned back and mumbled in Minhyuk’s ear, “What made you change your mind?”

Minhyuk only smiled in reply. Unknown to the other, Minhyuk was tracing “y-o-u” in the dust of the caravan.