“Can I come? Can I go with you? Please…”

“No, you can’t,” Byul patiently responded.

Her youngest sister, Hana, has been clinging to her side right from when she saw us coming out of Byul’s room and as we descended the stairs. Byul carried and dragged Hana on her side while I watched them from behind. Hana’s pouting, whining, and begging Byul to go with us. As much as I wanted Hana to tag along, we couldn’t fit into Byul’s motorcycle. And this is the day that she promised to take me out on her bike.

“Why? Because we can’t fit in your bike? You have a car. We can go in the car.” Hana let go of Byul and ran to me. She hugged me tightly and begged me through her eyes and her pout. “Please let me come, Jinnie… I will behave.” She hurriedly raised her hand up and crossed her heart. “I promise! I’m a good girl!”

With the two helmets on my hands, I struggled to hold onto Hana and just resorted to bending down a little bit to kiss the top of her head. “I know you’re a good girl, Han, but only you’re sister can tell if you can come along or not”

Hana turned to Byul with her bottom lip jutting out. The youngest Moon reached peak cuteness as she silently convinced her sister to join us.

Byul heaved a huge sigh before smiling sadly at her sister. She beckoned Hana to her and Hana ran into her arms, hugging her tightly. Byul ran her hands over her sister’s hair before leaning down to kiss her head, making me smile at them.

“It’s a date, Han. I’m taking Hyejin on a date. It’s just us. I’ll take you out sometime too but let me just spend the day with my girlfriend. You had her all day when I was at work. I wanted her for me just for this day, okay?”

“But she’s only here for two weeks…”

“And she can always come back. We can always go to Korea too.” Byul bent down to be eye level with Hana and gave her a gentle smile. “When we come back, you can always spend time with us together. How about that, little munchkin?”

Hana’s shoulders dropped down while I cooed at her defeated figure. She nodded her head before she whispered a very soft okay to her sister.

Byul hugged her and squeezed Hana in her arms, promising that we’ll come back with some treats. That lightened Hana’s mood and made her smile. Hana made Byul promise it several times and asked for assurance before she looked for her Dad.

Byul sighed deeply as she watched Hana skip towards their father’s room. “I think she just tricked me into buying her treats later” Byul mumbled while I just shrugged and chuckled at her. “I got scammed” she whispered under her breath as she headed to the garage.

I followed behind Byul to the garage and said, “You’re the one who offered her to buy treats though”

“It’s hard to argue with her when she can easily tug at my heart with just the way she look at me”

“That’s true”

Byul opened the garage first and then went to her bike. She held onto the bike's handle and kicked on the pedal before backing her bike off the garage.

Last night, we spent more than an hour in their garage. Byul was checking her bike to make sure that our date will go on smoothly and our ride will be safe. She had proudly said that she owned a Ducati Diavel. Even though I had no plans of learning how to ride the bike, she oriented me with the bike’s parts. She even said that she almost ran into her Dad when she was learning how to ride it when she squeezed the bike in full throttle.

She was the only one who was talking last night. All I did was listen to her and laugh along. I could see the passion in her eyes and hear it in her voice just like she was talking about photography. There was just greater passion in photography than when she was talking about her bike.

“Are you really sure you can drive this?” I asked Byul as I followed her out of the garage.

The bike is so huge and it made me doubt if she can drive it with me behind her bike.

“Of course!” she answered confidently.

She let the bike lean on its stand and sat on the seat sideways before motioning for me to come closer. She grabbed one helmet and placed it on the bike’s tank. Then she grabbed the other helmet from me and motioned for me to move even closer.

I took a step towards her but she still wasn’t content.

She held my waist and pulled me towards her until I was already standing in between her legs. She brushed my hair and tucked it behind my ears. “You have to hold onto me tightly” she whispered as she raised the helmet and carefully wore it on me. “We couldn’t hear much on each other while riding on the bike unless we shout at each other”

“Then how can we talk? What if I needed something?” I asked, my voice muffled a little bit from the helmet on me.

“Just tap on me then I can pull over.” She bent down to look under the helmet and locked it tightly enough. “The best thing about bikes is the feeling of the ride. We just have to enjoy the ride, okay?”

I grinned behind the helmet and raised my thumbs up as I nodded at her.

She softly giggled as she whispered, “Cute…” Then she suddenly frowned and said, “I should’ve kissed you before putting the helmet on you”

I softly bumped the helmet on her forehead as I teasingly said, “Your loss, Mansaeng”

“I can get my kisses soon.” She shrugged and straddled on the bike. She grabbed the helmet and wore it first before kicking the stand of the bike. She reached a hand towards me and said, “Hop in, Jinnie!”

I smiled at the excitement in her voice. I reached for her hand and let her help me get on the bike behind her. I followed her direction on where to rest my feet before I held onto her waist.

“Tighter” Byul instructed.

I slid my hands around her waist until I was hugging her. Since she was leaning forward to hold onto the handle, I had to lean forward as well. I rested my body on her back and rested my chin on her shoulder.

“You just want me to cling to you” I commented, feeling her body shaking from her laugh.

She placed her arms on top of mine and pushed our arms closer to her like she was hugging me back. “Partly…” she admitted while I laughed along with her from the admission. “Mainly because I wanted to show off again. I wanted to impress my girl”

I smacked her back and forced her to hold the handle again. “Just drive already before you make me regret dating you”

She gently bumped her helmet on mine, hearing her laugh as she reached for the handle. She started the bike’s engine, causing our bodies to lightly vibrate. She told me that we’d have to wait for a few seconds to let the bike heat up first.

“It sounds so y, right?” Byul asked.

“Is it ier than my voice?” I asked, smirking behind my helmet when I saw her shaking her head vigorously.

“Of course not! That’s a different context already. Your voice is incomparable. I never even co—”

“Just drive, Byul” I said, cutting her rambling as I smiled at her.

“Yes, mam!” She gave me a salute before reaching for the bike’s handle. “Hold tight, babe”

I hugged onto her tightly as I rested my head on her shoulder again.

She started moving the bike slowly as we exited their property. When we passed their gate, Byul accelerated and accelerated the bike, moving faster than I imagined. The wind felt cooler while the engine roared louder every second. The wind has picked up my hair and coat, blowing it behind me. The trees and houses have become a blur as we speed passed them.

Fearing that we’re speeding too much, I closed my eyes and held onto Byul tighter.

“Ah! Byul!” I screamed, my voice blown by the wind and suppresed by the helmet, fading it even more.

“Is it too fast for you?!”

“Way too fast!”

“But we haven’t exceeded a hundred yet!”

“No!” I immediately disagreed, feeling her body trembling as she laughed at me.

“Okay! But open your eyes first!”

“No!”

“I’m slowing down, okay? The view of the lake looks good so you have to see it! I want you to see it!”

I wasn’t so sure if she had slowed down the bike because the wind had picked up speed. I think… But maybe I was just too nervous to actually distinguish between things. Byul has been encouraging me to open my eyes so despite heavy reluctance, I opened my eyes again.

Things were still moving fast around us so I was still afraid. I held onto Byul’s waist tighter and pulled my head back. My body stayed attached to her as I looked over to our left.

“Woah!” I exclaimed, smiling and laughing at the sparkling lake.

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?!”

“Yeah!”

Seeing the lake a little farther from the road made me put everything else in a different perspective. The trees and houses around us weren’t moving fast anymore. The wind didn’t feel like it was going to blow me away. It felt relaxing and calming now. I was still having a tight grip on Byul but my body wasn’t completely attached to hers. In fact, I wanted Byul to move faster this time. I could feel the adrenaline she’s been talking nonstop yesterday.

“Ah!” I screamed again but it wasn't out of fear this time. I was genuinely enjoying the ride now. “Let’s go faster, Byul!”

“Now you’re talking, babe!” Byul’s body shook along with the engine while hearing her laughing in front of me. “Let’s go!”

“Let’s go!”

We zoomed past everything around us. I even risked raising one hand up in the air. Byul was enjoying hearing me laughing and screaming behind her. It was indeed fun. I had to admit.

She brought me to Central Park. We walked around hand-in-hand. Central Park is so huge that we couldn’t finish walking around the whole day. And if I’m with Byul, walking constitutes about thirty percent actual walking, sixty percent taking photos, and ten percent banter.

We took a lot of photos. I took photos of her and every photo received criticism directly from herself. She talked about the lighting, the angle, centering, and every other known term she could think of in photography. She was teaching me how to take photos and she was my model.

It was really fun.

When I was already hungry, we went to find food. She took me to a food truck and ordered tacos. We also shared a burrito and of course, had some ice cream. We ate them near the food truck. Then we went back to the park and sat in one of the benches to take a rest.

“Byul…”

Her arm around my shoulders pulled me closer to her while she squeezed my hand. She turned to face me and raised her eyebrows as she hummed, acknowledging me and letting me know that she’s listening.

“When you were talking to Hana, it got me thinking”

“What about it?”

I reached for her hand on top of her crossed legs. I leaned down to rest my head on her shoulder while I felt her kissing my forehead. “When you practically told everyone close to me, to us, that you’re courting me with the thoughts of marrying me...”

“That’s right,” she whispered with a soft giggle. “Would you like to get married already?”

“That’s not my question.” I raised my head up to look at her while still resting it on her shoulder. “You’re here in New York. I’m there in Seoul. Obviously, we can’t continue living this far. That won’t work. How should we do that then? My work is there and your work is here”

She hummed and slowly nodded as she looked away from me. She kept squeezing my hand while having a faraway look on her face, thinking. “Hmm…” she hummed again, bringing me even closer while squeezing my shoulder now.

I sighed heavily before I whispered, “I’m not asking you to move into Korea. I am not so sure yet about moving here. I haven’t thought hard yet, but I think we should start considering our options”

“Seulgi…” Byul suddenly whispered.

I looked at her again and asked, “What was that?”

“Seulgi and I have been talking. Yong and I have been talking about the new project. It would require me and Yong to be seeing each other more. Since they’re permanently living there, I’d be the one adjusting. Someone had to take over the company if I’d be there for the new project” she explained while I just blinked at her, totally in daze.

She had everything planned already.

“It’s still not in effect but that’s what we’re going for. Seulgi has been working under the company’s operations and logistics already with Hani and Jin. She’d be under the different departments too before she’d assume my position”

“She’ll do good”

A proud smile occupied Byul’s face as she nodded in agreement. “We made an agreement to tell each other everything regarding the company. We’ve been constantly communicating since she started her internship. She might come off as cold to the employees but she’s just quiet and most importantly, she always means well”

“So you’ll stay in Korea with me. What about your Dad and your sisters?”

“I’ve told them about this already.” Then Byul shrugged as she said, “And besides, we can come here any time or they can go there whenever they want

“So I worried for nothing?”

She finally looked at me again with a smirk on her face. “I had everything planned, babe. You have nothing to worry about”

“What would’ve happened if I said no? What would you do if I stood my ground about the closure?” I wondered, chewing the inside of my cheek as I stared at Byul.

“I would’ve gone home. Take a rest because maybe the timing is not right. The closure thing was a little bit upsetting. Then come back again and pursue you”

“So you have no plans to stop?”

“I planned to annoy you even more,” she whispered with a giggle.

“Well, that is someone you are,” I said while leaning forward towards her. “Annoying” I whispered before our lips connected for a kiss. I broke the kiss only to say that I love her before I kissed her again.

When Byul and I heard a camera click, we automatically pulled away from each other. Our bodies turned to autopilots as we calmly stood up and started walking. We still held each other’s hand and walked close to each other. That camera click was our signal that we should get going already.

Byul helped me wear the helmet again before she wore hers. We rode on her bike and then sped up away from the paparazzis.

She drove us back to the mansion but stopped by the lake. She wanted us to wait for the sunset and of course, take photos of it and me with the sunset. She parked her bike on the side of the road. We took off our helmets and sat on her bike. Technically, she sat on her bike while I sat on her lap with her arms around me.

We stayed like that and witnessed the sun setting here and probably rising in some parts of the world. Byul was supposed to take photos of the setting sun and me with it but she remained clinging to me.

I didn’t mind. I preferred it that way. Sometimes, it is best to just experience a moment and not necessarily capture it in a photograph.

“I love you, Jin,” Byul suddenly whispered.

I smiled at her and pressed a kiss on her cheek. “I love you too, Mansaeng”

She squeezed me in her arms as she laughed softly. “We should go home already”

We moved to get on her bike until I remembered something. I touched her arm and got her attention before I said, “Aren’t you supposed to bring treats for Hana?”

Her eyes widened before she gasped, making me laugh at her. She sighed and then shrugged her shoulders defeatedly. “I’ll just bring her treats tomorrow. I’ll just have to tell her that we hurried on our way back home because the paps found us”

I went to ride her bike as I said, “You better make up for it”

“I know.” She groaned while I wrapped my arms around her waist again, holding onto her and hugging her for comfort. “I’ll have to prepare for an earful from that little munchkin”

Contrary to what we did earlier, Byul smoothly breezed along the road and was not in a hurry this time. We enjoyed the cool air and the peaceful silence around us. The roar of her bike indeed sounded y. It’s deep and distinct but it’s not loud to the point that it’s irritating.

Thinking about that some more, it sounded like how I’d describe Byul’s voice. Deep and distinct. Therefore, y.

I thought of being a little sneaky and naughty so I untucked her shirt. I inserted my hand under her shirt and petted her belly. Then I found her belly button and played with it. I just touched it and made sure that my nail wouldn’t hurt her.

Her abs automatically tensed when she felt my hand on her skin. And then she flinched when she felt my middle finger on her belly button.

“Babe! That’s ticklish!” Byul shouted and gently bumped her helmet on mine.

I laughed at her complaining and just went about caressing her abs. I’m loving this bike ride of ours.

Byul parked her bike in the garage while I placed the helmets on the shelves inside their garage. She let me walk ahead on our way back inside the house. She followed behind me and I reached for her hand to hold it.

“Oh, Jin!”

I glanced at Byul and thought that she was calling me but instead, I saw her looking at her friend, Jin. Jin was standing up from sitting on the couch in the entry hall. Right beside him was Seulgi, making me raise an eyebrow at them.

Byul went to greet her friend. “What’s up? What brought you here?”

I waved at Jin to greet him before I looked over at Seulgi. And at just one glance, I could tell she’s nervous. I could easily distinguish it because she’s never fidgety with her hands.

Jin glanced over at Seulgi and they exchanged glances for a second. Jin nodded at Seulgi before reaching to hold her hand.

Exactly just as I thought.

“What’s going on?” Byul asked, her hold on m