Never ever lose/spoil your GPS when you are about to head to somewhere unfamiliar.

Jinki flipped the machine in his hands and ran a light finger over the edges of its cover, seeking a groove for his fingernails to get a leverage on. The new Samsung GPS was sleek, beautiful and futuristic looking, boasting of a seamless design, however, Jinki must say that that didn’t make it any easier for people trying to get a look at the internal mechanics. Distractedly flicking away the droplets of moisture that were transferred onto his hand from the GPS, Jinki stuck a stubby nail in the hairline crack and tried to pry it open.

“Give it up, Jinki,” the man sitting behind the wheel threw a quick glance in his way, before looking back at the roads, “It’s a gone case the moment you dropped it into the clogged sink.”

“Maybe there’s a way we can save it,” Jinki persisted as he scrapped his fingernails uselessly again the chrome covering, “You never know till you try, Taemin.”

“Technology has advanced, but not till the state when you can drop a machine into water and expect it to remain perfectly functional,” Taemin said as he peered into the far off darkness, “And is that the highway we are supposed to turn into?”

“Come on, at least give me some brownie points for trying,” Jinki said jokingly as he tried to make out the road signs on the darkened road. He squinted his eyes as the words became increasingly larger and clearer at an alarming rate, “Hmm, the highway goes to Dukbodo…  which is the not the place we are heading to—“ the car zoomed past the sign and drove into the highway, “—Wait! Taemin, we are supposed to head towards Bakbodo, not Dukbodo!”

“What?” Taemin stepped on the brakes instantaneously, 30 metres into the span of road, “Are you kidding me?”

Jinki clung tightly to the handles of the door as the car was brought to a sudden screeching halt, flinging his body forward if not for the seatbelt he had on. “Taemin! Don’t stop in the middle of a highway! Wait—no, don’t reverse! You are not allowed to reverse! Are you trying to cause an accident? Taemin!”

“Fine, fine!” Taemin switched gears rapidly and the car was soon moving forward as it was supposed to be, “Geez, don’t shout! I was just trying to get us to Kibum’s place faster.”

“We are not going to violate traffic rules, cause inconveniences to others and risk our lives simply to get to Kibum’s place faster.” Jinki enunciated each word slowly, “We are not. I emphasise, we are not.”

“It’s not as big of a deal as you make it out to be, Jinki,” Taemin shrugged nonchalantly, “I once drove against the traffic, you know.”

Jinki gaped and stared in shock at Taemin, who remained seemingly focused on his driving. Finally, he shook his head and murmured, “And that’s a reason why I do most of the driving nowadays.”

“You should let me drive more,” Taemin complained, “My driving skills are becoming rusty all because you don’t let me drive.”

“You are a traffic hazard, Taemin,” Jinki said with exaggerated severity, “Even a monsoon rain would be nothing compared to you.”

Taemin pouted, “I am not that bad, alright? Anyway, now that we are lost for the 4^th time running, any ideas how to get back on track?”

“Stop by a police station somewhere and ask for directions?”

“Ok,” Taemin agreed readily, “Oh yes, by the way, have you placed the gifts in the boot?”

“Yup, and all nicely wrapped up. Didn’t you double-check already anyway?”

“Just wanted to confirm. Given the way things are going today, I wouldn’t be surprised if we left it behind.” Taemin laughed.

“Well, they are all in the boot,” Jinki said, as a hint of uncertainty crept into his voice, “I think?”

“What? I thought you double-checked!”

“I did! But remember the time when we went camping and the it turned out the boot was not closed properly and the tent and stuff all fell out—“ Taemin immediately turned his head to take a look at the boot, “—Taemin! Look in front! Don’t take your eyes off the road!” Jinki interrupted himself in alarm, as he hurriedly placed his hands on the steering wheel, on top of Taemin’s, as he sought to steady the car.

“Nope, the boot is secure.” Taemin said happily, before turning his head forward again.

“Oh my god, were you trying to get us killed?” Jinki could feel beads of cold sweat starting to form. “Can I please drive now?” he almost begged.

“Now, now, Jinki,” Taemin shook his head in mock disapproval, “Stopping in the middle of the highway? Are you trying to get us killed?”

“We can turn into a side road and then switch drivers,” Jinki scanned through the surroundings, desperately seeking for the sight of any exit from the highway to no avail.

“No, I refuse.” Taemin rejected the idea cold on the spot, corners of his mouth twitching upwards at the image of Jinki’s morose look. “Relax, I am not that bad of a driver, alright?”

“So you say…” Jinki muttered to himself as he resigned himself to a ride of constant terror, positioning himself to be able to grab a hold of the steering wheel within 3 seconds should anything happen. Not that he was wishing for anything to happen, but with Taemin as a driver? More often than not, things were going to go awry whether he wished for it or not.

-

“By the way, I haven’t been seeing any police stations, Jinki.”

“Just drive a few metres more and we can exit the highway to look for a neighbourhood and its police station.”

Taemin hummed his agreement before suddenly speaking again, a hint of excitement creeping into his voice. “Oh I have a better idea! Bakbodo is in the north, right? Let’s head in the direction of the Polaris! I have read somewhere that sailors used to look at the heavens for maritime navigation.”

“Taemin…” Jinki trailed off wordlessly. He had once thought he would no longer be shocked at any of those ‘brilliant ideas’ Taemin came up with the moment Taemin tried to make a Coca-Cola rice concoction and introduce it into their menu. But it appeared that this new eureka moment of Taemin’s topped the list. Because who in the world look at the skies for directions?

Taemin continued eagerly, “And since the Polaris is the brightest star, it will be that one!” Taemin lifted one hand from the steering way to point to a bright spot of white in the 40 degree direction. Jinki, upon seeing that, immediately placed his hands on the wheel in alarm. He could feel beads of cold sweat starting to form. Goodness, placing his mind and body in a state of constant alert was starting to put a strain on him.

Taemin frowned and pursed his lips disapprovingly, “I am not that bad at driving, ok? There’s no need for such a big reaction just because I let go the wheel for a few seconds. The car is not going to freewheel off the highway into the wilderness just because of that.” He smacked Jinki’s hands off the wheel and resumed control of the vehicle.

“Taemin.” Jinki breathed in and out deeply, “Taemin. Just focus on driving and leave the directions to me.”

“Jinki, you spoilt our GPS.”

“It’s ok, I can still vaguely remember the way to Kibum’s place. Just follow my directions.”

“I don’t trust you. Why can’t we just follow the Polaris?”

“Because no one does that nowadays! And it’s about as reliable as... I don’t know, as Jonghyun I guess!”

“Ancient people once used it for navigation. Jinki, let’s just try it. It’s not as if you have a better idea anyway.”

“We can search for the police station.”

“Police stations do not litter the countryside, Jinki. Let’s just try my idea, alright?” Taemin bulldozed on, without letting Jinki to get a word in sidewise, “Anyway, even if you don’t, I am the driver. And what I say counts. So there. Lalala!” He then continued to sing loudly to himself, so as to drown out further opposition from Jinki.

Jinki signed and resigned himself to a ride that might not only leave him dead, but lost as well. And possibly deaf as an added bonus.

-

“Hello?” Jinki said, picking up the ringing phone.

“Lee Jinki! Where are you guys? We have been waiting for ages!” a shrill voice came from the other side of the line.

“Kibum?” Jinki asked questioningly.

“Who else? God, where are you guys? Minho reached our place three hours ago and you two are still nowhere in sight!”

“Sorry Kibum, we spent the last hour following the Polaris, aka the North Star, which turned out to be a Delta shuttle from America. It’s a miracle we are not somewhere in Nelspruit now.” Jinki said drily.

“Jinki spoilt the GPS!” Taemin shouted loudly.

“What? You guys were following the North Star? What the were you two trying to do? Become Galileo?”

“Focus on your driving,” Jinki patted Taemin’s arms warningly before going back to the phone, “Well, celestial navigation was the ‘in’ thing about 200 years ago, according to Taemin.”

“Jinki spoilt the GPS!” Taemin persisted.

“What the ? We happen to be living in the 21^st century for goodness sake! And why the hell did you even listen to him? You know Taemin can’t be trusted when it comes to directions!”

“He’s the driver, and hence has a monopoly on all decisions with regards to the direction the vehicle is going in. I have no say.”

“Taemin, give the wheel to Jinki now! You know you are directionally challenged!”

“Jinki spoilt the GPS!” Taemin yelled for the third time round, “He spoilt it! It’s not my fault we are lost, it’s his!”

“What did Taemin say?” Kibum asked.

“He said he misses you. By the way, can you convince him to give me the wheel—“ Jinki stopped abruptly as Taemin, fed up with Jinki’s interpretation of his words, decided to let go of the wheel and make a grab for the phone instead. “Oh my god, Taemin! Don’t let go! Stop snatching at the phone; don’t kill us both!”

The two wrestled briefly for control of the phone as the car began to swerve dangerously from side to side. Sensing his imminent demise, Jinki finally decided to throw the phone to the backseat and hurriedly flung himself towards the steering wheel, seeking to straighten the vehicle’s course.

“Gosh, are you two kids? Grow up. And Taemin, just give Jinki-hyung the wheel. I want to see you guys preferably some time before the next sunrise rolls around—“ Kibum’s thin voice issuing from the backseat was cut off by a loud crash from his side of the phone, which was followed by a loud yell of distress.

“Jonghyun! What the hell are you doing! Didn’t I tell you that that chair is shaky? And why are you the one who’s putting the star on the tree? Didn’t I say Taemin is the one who gets to do it? Now, the tree has fallen and everything is in disarray!”

A loud groan sounded, “Can’t you just come and help lift the tree off me instead of just screaming?”

“It’s ok, Kibum-hyung. There’s not much harm done.”  A bemused voice mediated, “Here, Jonghyun-hyung. Are you alright?”

“Geez, even Minho cares more about me than you. Thank you so much for the concern.” Jonghyun said sarcastically.

“Please. I’ve been living with you for years. The likelihood of the tree being damaged is higher than the chances of you being hurt—oh my goodness, the phone is still running. Hey, hyung, just hurry up and come over, alright? Take the wheel away from Taemin by force if you have to. You have my permission.” Kibum said, rapid-fire, “Ok, I am going off now. Bye.”

“Jinki spoilt the GPS!” Taemin tried one last round, but did not manage to beat the beeping tone of a phone call that had just ended.

He stepped harder on the gas pedal in frustration, and Jinki clung even tighter to the steering wheel.

A friend of mine once took the whole group of us out for a spin. She just received her license and was not the smoothest driver in the world. It just so happened that it was midnight and the highways were nearly empty, which made it relatively easier for her to handle the car.

Still, all of us were scared pale when she tried to reverse after missing the exit D:

P.S. Wow, I just wrote a Jongkey. Like wow. What's happened to me?