WOOHYUN

I jumped off the van and stretched. I glanced at the others, whose worried faces were brightening up a bit at the prospect of our ride.

Boys would be boys, I thought. One bike ride could pump up our mood.

“Get off,” I motioned to Dongwoo, who was already struggling to get Kairi to follow him. The girl didn’t oppose his hold but the look in her eyes was sending waves of guilt to the poor guy, with Sungyeol being no help at all. Thank god Sungjong hadn’t tagged along. He would have probably let her go with a big smile on his face.

“Gosh,” I scoffed and waved my hand. “Here! Give her to me!”

With relief on their faces, Dongwoo and Sungyeol pushed Kairi towards me. I quickly held onto her arm, her struggling finally showing. I smirked. Guess someone disliked me already. I turned around to give the van one last look. Hoya was the last to get off, exchanging glances with me as we were about ten feet ahead of the vehicle. I nodded to Hoya who nodded back.

                                                                                                                   KAIRI

The blast hit me.

It was almost as if the earth had cracked into two, my spine had probably dislocated somewhere from the shock. Goosebumps spread all over my body as I turned around in and saw the black Prius van go up in fire, the smoke fading away into the sky. My eyes flitted to a laugh, one that seemed infectious but at the moment, a scary reminder of what these guys were capable of. It was Dongwoo, clapping his hands and patting Hoya’s back. SungGyu, the eldest, gave a small smile to Hoya while Sungyeol grinned widely when Hoya threw an ant-sized object towards the flame.

I felt pathetic as my heart clenched. So Hoya was the explosives guy. My hope, a small light, went out as I saw him heave a sigh and calmly walk ahead of us.

The guy holding me was Woohyun. Finally, I knew of his name. His grip was firm and only tightened when I moved a bit. The tightening would decrease once I remained steady, but it would be worse than before if I struggled again. It was a subtle warning – don’t be troublesome, kid.

I looked around. I couldn’t believe it. We were in the middle of a desert. The road we were on was probably created by these guys only, who knew.  Never did I remember such a landscape, I had only seen such vast space in a textbook. Our city was full of buildings and a few space parks, gardens that were created on elevated platforms to get a good view of the cityscape. But this…

Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I could feel something release in me.

I heard someone snicker. I shot a look at L, who had been giving me mocking looks ever since we started walking. The road was long and empty. No chance of help. But what was so funny about it?

“What?” I curtly asked. L instantly stopped laughing. That scared me a bit. He gave me the most blank look I had ever seen and shrugged. “Shocked to see the sky? Didn’t think you people missed it anymore.”

I looked up and gulped. I didn’t want to admit but the rascal was right. The sky was a bright blue and there were these little white puffs on it… I racked my brains, trying to remember what I had learned about our geographical history… coults? Clydes? What on earth--?

“Clouds.”

I looked at Hoya. His back was still towards me, but I saw his shoulders move as he spoke so I could hear. “They’re called clouds.”

“Thank you.” Wait, what? I mentally kicked myself, why on earth did I just say thank you? From my peripheral glance, I saw Woohyun smirk and composed myself. These guys hadn’t done anything disgraceful yet, but I couldn’t take them for granted. I reminded myself of Hoya’s proud face as he walked away from the fire.

Each one of them had their own dark sides. I had already seen a sneak peek, I didn’t want to see more.

“How long do we have to walk?” I asked. My throat was running dry, I glanced at my watch and realized I had been dragged along for almost twenty minutes. I was too exhausted to be scared and looked around, hoping someone was mirroring me. Unfortunately, I was surrounded by six fit trolls, with only small drops of sweat reminding me that they were human. The weak looking Sungyeol looked like he had just taken several shots of espresso, his non-stop talking had become like white noise to me. I couldn’t clearly hear what he was saying, but it had to be something useful since no one told him to shut up.

“Even if you knew,” Woohyun said. There was no sign of tiring from HIM. “Would you have an alternative other than walking on?”

I knew he was right. My resolve to take revenge on him someday, with the hope that I would be alive that some day, told me to tightly shut my lips and close my eyes. I didn’t force myself to make an effort, this wasn’t my road to walk on.

“Oi,” Woohyun barked. “Walk properly.”

I scrunched up my nose and ignored him. How could someone be so annoying in a matter of few seconds?

“We’re here.”

It had to be Hoya, the one with the good news. I looked up and followed his gaze.

Standing majestically in the heat of the desert, were six shiny bikes.

                                                                                                               HOYA

“I can’t.”

I turned around and looked at Kairi. The light in her eyes had vanished, her posture was stiff yet she managed to shake from head to toe.

“Hey,” Woohyun growled. “You don’t have an option—”

“NO!” The five of us froze. Dongwoo glanced at me and nodded at Woohyun. He then made a sign of his neck being sliced. Sungyeol looked at L, who was standing closest to her and whispered, “Tell her to shut up!”

Woohyun cocked his head to the right and closed his eyes. “What did you say?”

Kairi continued staring at the bikes. Suddenly, she turned her gaze on me. Oh no.

“I can’t,” her eyes became moist. “I can’t… please… not bikes… I’ll walk more! But not bikes, please!”

Woohyun started laughing. “You think I’ll believe you? I saw your boyfriend with his bike…”

“That’s why there was a jeep out there! That’s how I always travel! Never a bike!”

The girl had a point. There was a jeep standing in front of the house, looking like it had been used to several outings. Woohyun clenched his jaw and I knew his stubborn resolve to order her around was shaking. He was considering whether to treat her like a helpless hostage or as a human being. Kairi kept staring at me.

I sighed.

Woohyun looked at me. I shrugged. “I’ll go with her.”

“Why? Being with me is THAT scary..”

“Woohyun.” I looked him in the eye, not wanting to explain what was already clear to everyone. “I’ll take her.”

Seconds passed. Finally, Woohyun roughly pushed Kairi, not caring that she sharply flew to the ground. Dongwoo hesitated towards her but she instantly got up.

“Don’t even try,” she muttered. She slowly treaded towards me and I held her the same way Woohyun had been for the past half an hour. The seven of us began walking towards our bikes. I jumped onto my purple one and waited for Kairi to join me. The girl clenched her fist and in a rush, sat behind me. Her stance was awkward, not like she hadn’t ever been on a bike before. Almost as if she was afraid of the vehicle.

“Take this,” I said, throwing my helmet towards her. I had enough confidence in my riding skills to know I wouldn’t skin my head off. I gave her my biker jacket. Hara would throw a fit anyway, I couldn’t imagine her if we walked in with a bloody girl at hand.

“Thanks,” she whispered. This time, she sounded sincere. I almost laughed. The general had at least taught her some manners.

“You better hold on to me,” I said. Kairi’s head, now covered by the helmet, nodded and I revved up my engine. The others were ready, waiting for me. Generally it was L at the centre.

But with this diversion sitting behind me, her arms lightly wrapped around my waist, the plans had changed.