Byul stepped onto the rear parking lot of her building where Sehun was busying himself with work—which was, more specifically, work on her old and run-down car. She made a comment the week before about her car being useless and had been simply taking up space in the parking lot, though she never imagined Sehun would take that as an invitation to try to fix the old thing.

She held out a glass of cold iced tea to him. “Thirsty?”

Sehun withdrew his head from underneath the hood of the car. “Thanks.”

Byul watched him practically down the whole glass in a few seconds. That afternoon was particularly hot and she felt a little bad for just standing around while Sehun worked, because she had absolutely no idea how cars worked. Hence why she had left it untouched in the parking lot for so long that it was practically the car’s storage spot. When she asked what was wrong with her car earlier, he mentioned something about an ignition starter and a coolant. She had completely drawn a blank at the unfamiliar words. Sehun wasn’t exactly an expert mechanic, but he knew enough to handle the small details. He had certainly hot-wired a car more than once in his lifetime.

She took the empty glass from him and set it down on the little table that had tools laid out. “You don’t have to do that right now, you know.”

He gestured to the car’s engine with his thumb. “I already started adjusting some things. No point in stopping now.”

“But it’s hot.” As if to further prove her point, she rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand to wipe off the sheen of sweat.

He shrugged, picking up pliers from his box of tools. “I don’t mind.”

Byul certainly didn’t mind the way his shoulders and chest looked in a white wife-beater. She could spend all day ogling him from out her window. “Well, can I help? At all? I can hold something for you.”

Sehun looked up from what he was doing to evaluate her, as if thinking of a job he could pass on to her. “You can keep doing what you’re doing. Standing there…”

“And what?”

“And looking pretty.”

She crossed her arms, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Stop it!”

“There are a few spare parts that I need to find because the ones here are ruined,” he said, twisting something that she couldn’t see. “Or I could just buy you a new car.”

Byul thought that he was joking, but his expression looked so serious that he probably wasn’t. “What?” she asked to clarify.

“This is a 2000 Maxima. It’s old, run-down and the mileage is crazy high. It won’t last for another five years.”

“So? It’s got character.” It was obviously nothing compared to his flashy cars, but nonetheless, she still liked hers. Byul quietly stood beside him, watching him reach over to fiddle with a few things. His hands and the front of his top were getting grime and dirt smudges all over them.

“Want to get dinner later? Let’s make it a date,” he asked without looking up.

“Okay.”

Byul had noticed that he was less stiff and awkward around her when it came to asking for dates. They had been on quite a few. She lost count after six. It was routine for them to find time with each other when work wasn’t in the way. Most of their free time was spent together. Byul studied the concentrated expression he wore and how the corners of his lips were pulled down in thought. Sehun always had this aura around him that might come off as intimidating to some. He was the kind of guy you’d go out of your way to avoid during a late-night stroll. Looking at him then, he was just a sweet boy helping her with her car problems in his own free time.

“Is there something on my face?”

She snapped out of her daze as soon as Sehun asked the question. He grinned at her flustered expression. Before Byul could think of an excuse for her accidental staring, she heard her name being called.

“Hey, Byul!” Her upstairs neighbor, Chunji, had walked by while swinging his car keys on a finger.

She waved. “Hey, where are you headed?”

“Groceries,” he said with a loud sigh that made her figure he wasn’t thrilled about it. “Who’s this?” he nodded towards Sehun.

“Her boyfriend,” Sehun answered for her without turning to face Chunji.

Byul choked on her words, caught by surprise at his statement. She had never heard Sehun imply that they were a couple. In fact, she wasn’t too sure what they were and wondered if Sehun even liked labels. Byul was always too shy to ask.

“Nice to meet you.” Chunji held out his hand to shake Sehun’s but pulled away when he saw the dirt on them. “Well, I should get going. See you around,” he said, waving before he continued to his car that was parked at the further end.

Sehun eyed him suspiciously. In his mind, everyone was a suspect to Baekhyun’s plans. Concluding that the boy was harmless because he could barely figure out how to unlock his car with the key, he returned to work.

“Umm…” Byul awkwardly scratched her arm. “We’re together? Like, together-together? As in actually dating?”

“Well, yeah. I’m fixing your damn car, aren’t I?” He gestured to the whole thing with both arms.

She frowned. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I’m kidding! Don’t be mad.” Sehun chuckled, reaching out to pinch her cheek.

“Hey, don’t!” Byul gasped at knowing that he smudged the black oily stuff on her cheek on purpose.

She turned to get the clean towel he had left by the table. Sehun pried the towel from her hands in a way to provoke her more. She would have been mad except that Sehun had leaned over to peck her lips quickly.

“I need that,” he said, dabbing his forehead with the towel and fighting the urge to make fun of how off-guard he caught her.

Sehun hung his helmet precariously on the motorcycle that he had parked behind the shabby building. Digging his hands in his pockets, he made his way across the empty lot and up the stairs that would lead to the building’s main entrance. From the bottom of the stairs, he could already hear the music coming from inside.

He nodded at the man guarding the front door before passing him. “Hey, Tony.”

“Uh-uh.” The large man rested a hand on Sehun’s chest to stop him from entering just yet. He gestured at the sign on the wall that said, NO WEAPONS ALLOWED. “You know the drill, Sehun. I know you always have something on you.”

“Alright, alright.” Sehun withdrew the handgun from his holster and handed it to Tony. “We good?”

“Yeah. Have fun, man.” He patted his shoulder. “Ilhoon’s here, by the way.”

“Hm. Thanks.”

Sehun made his way into the building and past the bar, nodding at the familiar bartender in greeting. A few boys paused from their darts game to acknowledge him as well. Sehun never said more than a couple of words as he headed for the billiards table. The smell of cigarettes and alcohol hung in the air. Just as Tony had mentioned, Ilhoon was there. The last thing that Sehun had heard from Ilhoon was that he got thrown in jail for racketeering—running ion rings to be exact. Sehun didn’t particularly like the guy, but Ilhoon sure liked Sehun in a puppy-love kind of way.

“Hey, bro! Happy to see me?” Ilhoon called out as soon as he saw him approaching. “Join our game.”

He simply grunted, grabbing a stick off the shelf. The men—three, including Ilhoon—were in the middle of a game, but reset everything on the table for Sehun to join fresh. They let him go first to break the formation, the balls scattering in all directions.

“They let you out, huh?” Sehun muttered, eyeing Ilhoon.

“I made bail.” The boy shrugged.

“I see.” He gestured toward the bartender to hand him a drink with a wave of his hand. A minute later, he was being handed a glass of gin with ice before he sunk a striped ball. He had been there enough for the bartender to know his usual sipping drink when he played games. Sehun brought the rim to his lips as he contemplated his next move.

“What do you say we hang next week, huh? I have more free time now,” Ilhoon asked, hovering around Sehun like a month on a light.

Ilhoon had made the mistake of assuming he was best friends with Sehun just because they were the same age. Unfortunately for him, that feeling only went one way. “Nah,” he told him, taking his turn.

Ilhoon broke out in misplaced laughter, apparently thinking Sehun was joking. “Come on, I haven’t seen you in forever.”

One of the other men, Minhyuk, gave Ilhoon a look to tell him to shut his mouth which he was obviously ignoring. “I’d knock it off, dude,” Minhyuk muttered.

“If you played better, maybe,” Sehun said before taking another sip and watching Ilhoon miss his opening. The other men laughed, continuing to taunt Ilhoon which he shook off by shoving the guys around. When it was his turn again, Sehun bent at his waist and aimed for the center of the cue ball.

It was silent as they waited for him to hit until Ilhoon started yapping again like a broken wind-up doll. “Word around the block is that you snagged a seventy-five grand deal. What’s the girl like?”

Sehun paused, his grip tightening on the stick at the mention of Byul.

The one named Hyunsik spoke up. “Shut up, man. That’s his kill.”

“I know, I know!” Ilhoon leaned against the table. “But what I’m trying to say is that if Sehun needs a bit of help that I could come to check out the situation before he deals with her.”

Sehun straightened himself, t