The next day was Sunday and the next match came on Tuesday. Yoongi got Sunday to laze around all he cared inside of Jimin’s room and not wanting to go back home. He did so, waking up extremely late after they sudden escapade to the school field at night. It was around two in the afternoon when they did wake up (and truth be told Yoongi could even wake up later). When he checked on his phone, all he got was a few miscalls from home. His parents would probably give up on looking for him. This wasn’t his first time running away either and judging from the first they must have been thinking that their youngest son would be just fine. His friends weren’t looking either, realizing that he was safe and sound at Jimin’s. Namjoon had probably talked to the other but he didn’t really care right now. For now he would take all of those as a blessing.

He stayed even after lunch and they just lounged inside of Jimin’s room, doing practically nothing. Jimin had opened the window, letting the breeze caressed their cheeks as Yoongi sat with his back against the wall, staring at the sky. He could see the hint of the lovely summer sky making its appearance. Summer was upon them in weeks.

"Wouldn't it be great if we could the bike now, hyung?" Jimin suddenly said.

With the early summer air and the sky above his head looking this beautiful, perhaps it would be.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Jimim was lying on his bed, hands and legs spread. The boy looked at him with heads turned upside down.

"Too bad the bike's at your place."

Yoongi hummed in approval. Jimin didn't have a bike and he'd been the one giving the younger boy a ride for the past month. At one point he definitely had to ask Jimin to be the one giving him a ride instead. It would be nice indeed, standing at the back of the bicycle, hands spread wide with head looking up. Would it be like flying? Or it would probably end up as stupid as that popular scene in Titanic.

"You can't just steal it, can you hyung?"

Of course he couldn't. The younger was probably ranting and not thinking straight, suggesting something so stupid as stealing his own bike. But then again Jimin and him were both wondering. If only it was as easy as stealing the bike that he had parked at the back of his house. Nobody used the back door but him. But that didn't mean the house would be empty. Well, even if it wasn't, nobody was going to see him tip-toing towards the back door after all. This was Sunday and that meant his mother would probably at Mrs. Oh’s house, playing bingo. His mother wasn’t the most of his concern. It was his father that he was desperately trying to avoid. The old man was probably still in his workshop down the town, working with his brother even during Sunday. They took their day off on Monday and it would be around this time on Monday did they lounge in the house instead. Wait. That means-,

“Wait, we actually can,” Yoongi said, suddenly sitting upright, looking at Jimin, eyes filled with epiphany of some sort.

“We can what, hyung?”

“Steal the bike. No one’ll be at home. We can simply sneak through the back door, grab the bike and-,”

Jimin didn’t let him finish his sentence for the boy had raced towards the window, leaping over the windowsill and made his way down with a laugh in the air.

Yoongi smiled, looking at the obscure scene. Funny. Coming out from the window had seemingly be their thing from now on. Befriending Park Jimin had somehow made him forget what a ‘door’ really was.

+.-.+

Yoongi told Jimin to do some recon at first, walking leisurely passed his house and the back of it, making sure that there was no soul nearby that would see them. He certainly didn’t want to be caught by his own family. Pesky neighbor was on the list as well, because he knew it would be so awkward if the said neighbors ended up saying something along the line of ‘I see your son taking the bike just a moment ago’ when he was supposed to be missing. This time though he thought that his parents didn’t go as crazy as last year. Running away from home had seemingly be something tolerable now, or so he suspected.

In the end he told Jimin to bring the bike. Things went smoothly and here they were, pedaling down the road of their town. This time, Yoongi stood at the back, telling Jimin to be the one pedaling the bike instead since he had done so countless of time already for the younger and he wanted some repayment for the good deeds he had done.

They had avoided houses and busy road of their town, cycling down the outer road west of Yeoryang-myeon towards the Witgapyeon-gil that led to this rice fields and meadow, further from the hills and mountains. The sun was setting right at the end of the road, disappearing under the horizon. Altogether it looked as if they were chasing for the sun.

Yoongi told Jimin to ride faster and the boy complied (after much protests, of course) and he tried to lift his hand up, just like they did in that cheesy movie. As cheesy as the movie was, he had to admit that it felt sublime. The early summer wind held him in a tight embrace. He lifted his head up and there he could see the love of his life smiling back at him, looking as beautiful as ever. He raised his hands up, trying to grasp the twinkling stars that were making their appearance in the early evening sky. If only he could pluck them down, keeping them in his grasp, lighting up his somber life.

“Hey hyung, I was wondering,” Jimin said.

Yoongi just hummed in to his words.

“That last time when you ran away, where did you go to?”

He chuckled. It was a secret. He didn’t really go anywhere, contrary to people’s belief. His safe haven was actually this one place that no one really thought about and he planned on making it forever a mystery. And his friends had thought that he had followed the train track all the way towards Imgye-myeon. If only he could.

“You have to guess,” he said, grinning.

He never talked to anyone about it and actually there wasn’t much to talk about. He just enjoyed having his friends asking him about such insignificant thing and being even more curious because of it.

“What will you give me if I managed to get it right?” Jimin asked, still pedaling.

“This is not a game, Park Jimin.”

“You’re making it seems like one, hyung,” the boy said back.

“Shut up and go faster, will you?” he returned the word, smacking both of Jimin’s shoulder hard, holding a makeshift and imaginary reign and acted as if Jimin was the horse itself.

"But hyung, you're heavy," Jimin complained.

"It's your own fault for having such a short leg."

"Said someone as tall as me."

"I'm 1 cm taller than you, okay?"

"Hyung, it's only 1 cm! It's hardly any difference."

"Taller is taller, Jimin, and I'm still taller than you."

"I'll outgrow you, hyung, just watch," Jimin said.

“Shut up. Just go faster. Faster, faster faster!”

And with that the boy pedaled the bicycle harder and faster. Yoongi liked fast. The wind blew across his face and he let out his arms again, closing his eyes and imagined if he was flying. It really felt quiet like it, or so he thought since he never really did it. The road was not as smooth as it was in the town, a few bumps and rocks here and there, and it pretty much made the ride even more exciting. Turbulence, if it was a makeshift kind of thing.

Jimin swerved left and right with such speed the bike sometimes flew off the ground and Yoongi had to manage his balance, trying not to fall. After a particular bump he ended up laughing before Jimin followed along. The bike, the sky, the wind. This was indeed flying.

And in the end Yoongi did fly.

He flew for a few good seconds, floating amidst the dusk be loved the most before he remembered that gravity was a thing not to be meddled with.

He flew like Icarus and fell as hard to the ground, shattering his wings.

+.-.+

"A broken leg?!" Namjoon screamed to his face.

Yoongi just rolled his eyes.

"Please tell me that this is a joke. Please tell me that that cast is fake and you don't really break your leg. Wait, is today the 1st April? No? Come on Yoongi you better tell me that this is a joke."

That was what Namjoon had said to him as he entered the classroom with crutches and a cast on his left leg. As much as he wanted it to be a fake, the cast on his leg was very much real and his bone was very much broken. He cracked his femur and twisted his ankle. No surgery was needed, but the doctors had to put a cast on his leg.

"Wait, tell me again what happen," this time it was Seokjin who spoke to him.

Yoongi sighed. The situation itself was pretty much stupid.

He was riding the bike with Jimin that evening. For the first time Jimin was the one who pedaled the bike and Yoongi was standing behind. The situation would be so much different if it was Jimin who rode behind him. It would probably be the boy who was sitting on the chair with legs broken and being held at an interrogation with his friends.

"I was riding my bike with Jimin, okay. We were pedaling down the road outside of town near the rice field. You know my bike, don't you? The one with the metal rod at the back and no seat? Well, the rod snapped and I was the one standing behind, so I fell and boom, instant broken leg," Yoongi said nonchalantly.

He had to explain and repeat those words to his parents and the doctors. Missing from home for two nights and came back with a broken leg. That sure was some sort of an achievement. His mother was panicking. His father was secretly looking at him with face smug, probably seeing this broken leg as punishment enough. To be honest, he didn’t think about going home if it wasn’t the broken leg happening.

The moment he fell, he skidded on the road, his left leg twisting at a weird angle. Jimin was going fast like he had instructed the boy too so it wasn't really his fault. It was the rocky road’s fault if he could even blame it. But then again when he really did fall, Jimin look at him with face seemingly ready to cry. The fall was painful. He scratched his elbows and hands. The moment he tried to get up was a different matter, since he almost cried from pain as he did so. The journey back to his home had been agony, one from his leg and the other from Jimin's constant apologies.

Yoongi thought how funny it was. It took him a broken leg to come back home. His story of escapade this time had turned to a sour end.

"And where's Jimin now?" Hoseok asked.

That was a mystery even to Yoongi. He did manage to reach home, hobbling and wobbling with a broken leg with Jimin's help. The boy kept on apologizing he had probably snapped once or twice because he couldn't really remember. He left Yoongi at the front of door, the elder telling him to go afterwards, not wanting his parents to see Jimin and asked questions. That was the last time he saw the boy before his parents had taken him to the hospital.

He thought that he was going to see Jimin on Monday at school which would be today, but the seat behind him was empty. Something stirred inside of his stomach. Don't tell him the boy had felt so sorry and found no courage to meet him afterwards? That would be stupid (but a very Park Jimin thing to do as well).

"I don't know. Haven't seen him since yesterday," he said.

"Well, anyway this is a big problem, guys, since the match is ing tomorrow and Yoongi couldn't even play," said Namjoon, messing his hair in frustration.

If it weren't for that fact, the others would probably laugh to his current condition right now. To the mention of the match, everybody's expression had turned sour. This was indeed bad. Yoongi remembered gritting his teeth the time he heard the doctor's ultimatum and bad news of a broken leg. A broken leg, sadly, couldn't be fixed in a day. It couldn't even be fixed for a month or so which meant-,

"Yoongi wouldn't even be able to compete for the rest of the season," Seokjin said softly, as if reading his mind.

Yoongi groaned. He didn't want this to happen, of course. Breaking a leg was stupid yet he couldn't blame anyone right now. This was - just as Yoongi had said repeatedly to Jimin - a stupid accident.

"Well, that could only mean one thing," Yoongi said, sighing.

Hoseok, Seokjin and Taehyung had seemingly read his mind because they all turned their heads towards Namjoon. Hoseok then raised his hand and placed it on Namjoon's shoulder.

"We're counting on you, Namjoon."

+.-.+

Yoongi ended with crutches and a cast on his legs. That day he had to repeat the stupid story of falling off the bike to every eye that ended on him, perfecting a forced smile whenever someone said the very usual ‘I’m so sorry for you’. The girls and Minju were very persistent on knowing the details and bawled over him as if he hadn’t just simply broken his legs but developed cancer as well.

Yujin had oh-so-kindly offered to help him walk down the corridor and the series of staircases when the lesson ended. He was actually in the brink of refusing any help when the girl caught him spilling his books all over the staircase as he stubbornly tried to get down off of it all by himself. He had to remind himself to at least be a little nicer to the girl.

“I got it,” he said, taking his own bag that Yujin had been carrying for him as they reached the school gate, not wanting to burden the girl anymore.

“Anytime, Yoongi-ah. Just tell me when you need help,” she said, letting out such a warm smile.

He returned the gesture with another smile (and at least this one was genuine enough) as the girl answered whether he needed help getting back to his house. The others were practicing for the last time and his busted leg just prohibited himself from entering the practice. Heck, it could even cost them the medal as well and this year was their last chance at it. The more he thought about that the more he was pissed off. The others understood as well apparently, for Namjoon advised him to go home and get some rest – which he would gladly do now. He didn’t need to see his friends practicing and being tortured by the realization of what his stupidity had cost.

“I can get back on my own,” he said.

Wobbling and hopping on one leg and practically dragging the other. His brother had taken him to school this morning, actually offering to pick him up again when he refused. He didn’t really like being dependent and even with a broken leg Min Yoongi was just as stubborn as that.

“You’re sure?”

“Do I look like I’m not sure?” he said before realizing how mean it would only sound without a laugh (and he did it right at the end of the sentence to avoid any sort of misunderstanding). “I can get back on my own, Yujin-ah. Don’t worry about me.”

The girl let out a shy smile and he didn’t know what it was about girls that made them so persistent.

“Okay then,” she said. She turned around, taking a few steps out towards the school gate before she stopped and looked back at Yoongi again. “You’re sure?”

He had to continuously remind himself that it wasn’t a Park Jimin that he could easily shout a ‘oh my god just go already’.

“Geez, really!” he said, adding a laugh just to make things didn’t seem too serious and flick his hands away, telling the girl to go.

It wasn’t that he hated Yujin. It was simply because he didn’t want to rely on others. The girl finally disappeared from his sight and Yoongi sighed. Here went the horrendous journey home. He dragged his useless feet and started to walk back towards his home. It was a mere half an hour walk but with his current condition he didn’t really want to know how long it would take.

His mind ventured towards Jimin, wondering why the boy didn’t even come to school today. It was a bit early for him to come home, so up above his head, the blue sky greeted him with such a nice smile. He raised his head up like always, taking his time. Maybe this wasn’t so bad either. He could savor the view as long as he wanted to in between his limping steps.

And that was when he heard the rattling of bicycle and a very familiar voice calling him.

Scowling, Yoongi turned his attention from the sky towards the voice, coming from behind him. Sure enough came the boy whose existence was missing for the entire day.

“Aren’t you supposed to be practicing?” he said, scowling.

Jimin came on a bike, pedaling it slowly as he got closer towards Yoongi. Only then did he realize that it was his bike that Jimin was riding.

“Wait, did you just steal my bike?”

The boy looked flushed, ruffling his own hair and gulped.

“Kind of,” he whispered.

Yoongi rolled his eyes, knowing that the boy was going to say another ‘sorry’ if he didn’t stop it already.

“I’m not mad so stop looking so sorry already, geez,” he said, turning back towards his original track and keep on walking.

“Hyung wait, I kind of-,”

“What?”

And Jimin pedaled the bike and halted right in front of Yoongi, stopping his further steps.

“I feel bad so I’m offering to take you home,” the boy said.

Yoongi raised his brows, trying to figure out what the boy really meant. On the same bike did he fall yesterday. The rod under his left leg just snapped and he went tumbling down. Jimin did fall with the bike as well though the other was not fatally wounded anywhere near to his broken leg. The boy survived with a bit of a scratch here and there. The bike itself wasn’t really broken. Now the idea of offering to take Yoongi back home with his own broken bike with a broken leg seemed rather comical since it was entirely impossible. How could he even get on the bike with a broken leg? That was until he saw what Jimin had installed at his bike.

“Wait, did you just repair the backseat?” he said, pointing at the cushion at the rear and another newly repaired rod at the base of the wheel.

The boy blushed a bit before nodding slowly.

“Did you skip school just to steal my bike and install the backseat on it?”

Jimin bit his lips before nodding again. That boy was certainly impossible.

“I just steal it like you did yesterday, hyung. I tried to do it by myself until I finally went to your father’s workshop to get some help,” Jimin muttered softly. “They don’t know that I steal your bike, don’t worry. It’s just that I’m so-,”

Yoongi quickly raised his hand, already knowing what the boy was going to say.

“No, stop that. Stop saying you’re sorry or I’m going to break your leg so we’ll get matching cast now,” he threatened. He certainly had enough of the never ending chain of apologies he got yesterday.

Jimin gulped.

“Well at least if you won’t let me apologize-,” the boy stuttered. “-you could let me take you home, hyung.”

He was going to say no again simply because he hated being helped. He just liked being on his own. Yet he remembered how broken the boy looked days ago, crying his eyes out. He remembered the pitiful look Park Jimin always put on his face. He didn’t know why thinking about all of that got him changing his mind, but taking another look at his newly repaired bike finally convinced him. He really did fix it for him.

“Fine,” Yoongi said. As easy as that Jimin’s face lighted up again.

“I’ll personally pick and take you home until your legs heal, hyung. Everyday. I promised,” he said, face beaming.

Yoongi snorted.

“You’re going to regret ever saying that, Park Jimin.”

Long story short, I got myself a new slave