"And cut!" Minho jolted up with the sharp words entering his ears. The scene had not been taken to its end yet... Or has it? He dazed off halfway through it yet again. "Everyone take five!" the director announced. Minho sighed in dejection, running his fingers through his hair as he leaned over the steering wheel. The crowd hustled off in murmurs and groans while the director strode meaningfully towards the still car.

"Cut the engine," he ordered. Minho did as told without looking up.
 

"I'm sorry, kamdongnim, I'll do better,” Minho muttered softly, swallowing his pride. The director slipped into the passenger's seat beside him and shut the door.
 

"Listen to me, Minho, we booked the road only for an hour and a half. That's all we have. We still have to take some other scenes using this road after that, and you know it. Right now, we have already lost 20 minutes of our time doing this single scene and I need to know what is needed to rectify this. You walk in, you slam the door, everything is perfect. Your expression is great, the energy is great, and you start the engine with force - that is great too. You release the clutch and turned the steering wheel angrily and they were all perfect! All you needed to do is to press the exhaust and drive down that kilometre of road that we have cleared up for this purpose. Your other mates are waiting to fill up this empty road with you but it is useless if you don't move." Minho squelched his brows together in frustration. The director made it sound all too easy. And it was. It was supposed to be easy. It was until they met with that goddamn accident. Their manager was a very careful driver. Always signalling, never speeding over the limit, and always checking the blind spot, never making a single mistake. And still, the accident found them.

"I'm sorry," Minho whispered again. "I'll do better."

"No, Minho, you won't do better. You have not been performing for the past 20 minutes and you will not miraculously perform once this break is over. You will tell me what your problem is and I will help you rectify this," the director demanded. Minho sighed softly in response, letting silence cover over them for a few painful seconds.

"I have not driven since the accident," he confessed in a whisper. "I didn't dare to. None of us dared to... I've seen with my own eyes what an accident can do to someone. I don't want it to happen again." The images flashed across his eyes again - of the manager's burned wounds, of Jonghyun's bleeding temple, of Onew's sprained wrist and casted leg which he could only imagine how it bled before it was treated. And Taemin's broken body limply in the leader's shaking arms. The blood, the expression, the horror, the pain. The wait in the hospital, the tears, the worry, the-

The director placed a hand on his shoulder, calling for his attention once again. "Minho, start the engine." Minho's hand trembled as he raised his arm up, gripping the key tightly with his thumb and index before turning it in a painfully slow motion. The ignition fired up.

"Now, listen to me, the road is empty. There are no cars there. Everyone is on break. We're just going for a small ride, okay?" the director cooed softly. Minho shot him a worried and panicked look. "The road is empty. Nothing will happen," he assured. Minho gulped down and carefully released the clutch. He turned the steering wheel like he had done earlier, albeit less violently, and checked his blind spot even though the director just assured that there was no incoming cars. His feet shook as he placed it on the exhaust pedal but he couldn't bring himself to press into it. Just like how he couldn't in the past 20 minutes.

"Slowly does it, you can go as slowly as you want. Just start moving, alright?" Minho pressed upon the pedal with another gulp before slamming into the brakes just one second later. The duo jerked forwards toward the windscreen from the sudden stop, before falling back on the tender leather seats.

"Sorry," Minho breathed out heavily after another few silent seconds. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can do this," he whispered, abashed with shame.

"I want you to go back, and try. Try at your own pace. I will apply to use this road another day. When that day comes, you'd better be ready to do your job properly. For now, we will film for the other scenes, but you have to promise me that you will go back and try to fix this fear of yours. Go slowly, and have someone to accompany you. Try and practice in a secluded place, away from your fans. I know you can do it, Minho," the director instructed encouragingly. Minho pressed his lids shut in despair and self-directed frustration.

"Yes kamdongnim," his whispered through gritted teeth, thoroughly embarrassed by his failure and guilty for holding back the filming. The director pats his shoulder encouragingly once more before exiting the vehicle. Minho slammed his fist against the steering wheel, venting his anger on the still object.

"Dammit!" he hissed. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." He hit his head against the steering wheel with each muttered word before sighing with resign.

That very same night, Minho returned to the dorm to dig out his car keys which he hasn't touched for weeks. He toyed the keys in his hand, feeling them heavier than he remembered. He still needed someone to accompany him. He thought of his options between the members and there was only one clear answer. No way would he try and get Onew to help him in his state with a cast over both his arm and leg. Plus, the leader had enough to think and worry about. He even promised Jonghyun to help Onew out, not stress him out even more. And speaking of Jonghyun, he was resting in Onew's room. There was hardly any way for him to get the main singer to accompany him without the leader getting suspicious. The leader was too smart for that.

Minho knocked on the wooden door softly, and with a small 'Coming' as a response, he waited by the door nervously. The door pulled open and Kibum popped his head out curiously. "Yes?"

"I... I was just wondering... Could you go on a drive with me...? I didn't want to bother Jinki hyung and... Well, Jjong hyung is with Jinki hyung so I can't ask him either," Minho explained.

"A drive?" Kibum frowned but pulled the door open to walk out his room. "I'm not too sure..."

"Please, Kibum. I need this. I have already screwed up today's filming and I really need to start driving again." Minho followed the other, who was heading nowhere near their entrance. Instead, the fashionista walked to his personal walk-in wardrobe. "I just need to drive down this stupid road but I can't do it alone. I'm sure you guys know how I feel, that's why I need your help, Kibum... Please? With, I don't know, Chanel accessories on top?"

"Chanel accessories, huh? Good idea," Kibum murmured, taking out a set of clothes from his wardrobe and setting it in front of his eyes. "They don't make much for guys though," Kibum commented idly while making his way to his stash of bags. "But luckily for you, I actually have something." Kibum grinned, picking up a cowboy brown leather briefcase bag that was sleek and elegant with its classic crisscross design with the intersecting double Cs as a buckle.

"Kibum, I really don't care. I just need you to accompany me for a while, okay? Prada, Gucci, whatever; they're all the same to me," Minho groaned. Kibum gasped in shocked.

"No, no, no! Minho, you don't see, do you? Chanel is not to be compared to Prada or Gucci! This! This is a different grade! A Chanel bag like this, costs about three times of this Gucci one!" Kibum exclaimed in disbelief, holding up another bag from Gucci of almost the same size. "If you want to compare, take something better. Like Hermes maybe. I will never be able to buy that. It's much too expensive. Ahh, but Chanel is timeless and elegant. It gives off an air of sophistication, doesn't it?"

"Oh. My. Gosh. Kibum! I. Don't. Care! Are you coming with me or not?!" Minho hissed, at the end of his patience. "I'm not going to help you choose your clothes for tomorrow or whatever!"

"Now, who ever said that I was choosing for tomorrow? Someone just asked me out for a drive with a please and Chanel accessories on top, didn't he?" Kibum smirked. "Wait just a few minutes, I'll go get changed." Minho stared dumbfounded after his band member with his mouth agape. When he finally found his tongue, Kibum was already behind the bathroom door.

"Is there even a need to dress up so nicely for a drive?!" He marched up behind the door and hissed. A low chuckle sounded beyond the wood. "Please don't tell me you're putting on makeup. Please don't tell me," Minho grumbled.

"I can hear you, Minho!" Kibum teased. "And yes I am." A hearty laugh mocked Minho while he groaned in defeat.

Half an hour later, they were finally down in the car park, looking at the car that was coated in a layer of dust. The other members’ cars had the same fate.

“I won’t be surprised if the battery is dead by now,” Minho huffed with a sigh. Key just shrugged his shoulders and slipped into the car.

“I won’t be wasting my time. You better goddamn make some improvement since I have already dressed up for this. I don’t care if you have to get the manager down to restart your car, or get the sunbaenims to help you, but if you don’t achieve what you came to do tonight, you’ll be the one buying my Chanel accessories. I’m trusting you with my life here, you understand?” Kibum lectured while the both of them put on their seatbelts

“Don’t say it as if it’s so easy,” Minho rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you do it and prove it then?”

“It’s different,” Kibum held up one finger and wagged it side to side, a small smirk playing at the edge of his lips. “You have been driving for years longer than I have; how can you even compare yourself to a rookie driver like me?” Minho ignored his words and sighed loudly.

“Here goes nothing,” he murmured under his breath, turning up the ignition as slowly as he had earlier in the day. The car roared to life, though louder than usual; still, it managed to start up. “Well, that’s one less thing to worry about,” Minho muttered even though somewhere inside he was hoping it was dead.

"You'd better start driving before it really dies out. It's not exactly a very convenient time to be asking for reinforcements," Kibum pointed out. It was his little way of encouraging and pushing Minho towards his goal. Even though they didn't sound all that encouraging he knew that of all people, Minho responded to this type of taunting encouragement the best. Especially because of his pride and competitiveness which forced him to do things in order to save his face.

"Yea, yea, like I didn't know that already," Minho grumbled in irritation. Minho gripped the steering wheel tightly in his fingers, his knuckles white from the fierce clutch. Kibum held on to the clutch and with Minho's nod of the head, slowly released them from their parking position and into drive. Still, Minho's foot was firmly placed over the brake pedal.

"I'll pull the emergency brake in case of anything, so just do what you have to," Kibum urged, his hand still over the clutch. Minho released the brake slowly before placing his foot upon the accelerator. He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration, not finding the willpower to step into the pedal. "We're rolling back; we're rolling back," Kibum feigned. Minho immediately pressed into the accelerator and quickly floored the brake pedal before going too far. The empty car park screeched of the sound of his tires against the ground before only the sound of the running engine surrounded them.

"Well..." Kibum commented after a few seconds. "At least we moved."

"Now turn to the side. Don't want to be slamming into the car in front of us now, do we?" Minho puckered his lips and turned the steering wheel with both arms. "Just press the accelerator down slowly. Slowly does it," Kibum coaxed, using his free hand to show a slow motion of his flexed wrist angling down. Minho tightened his grip on the wheel, forcing the muscles on his feet to move. He bit down on his lower lip nervously and leaned forward towards the wheel like an amateur driver. As if Kibum was now his driving instructor, he followed the instructions carefully, pressing down on the accelerator as slowly as he could. The car started crawling forward at a walkable pace, but at least they were not hitting the brakes with every meter they moved.

"Not so bad after all, isn't it?" Kibum teased. "Let's get out of this place and get this motor running before the battery really runs flat."

"You can't mean that you want us to go out at this pace?" Minho gestured around them.

"Well, you don't think I dressed up to sit in a car park did you?" 

Another thing, I actually don't drive because I'm still too young but I want to as soon as I can. So the technical terms of driving in here and the next chapter may not be exactly accurate. 

I'll be updating the next chapter soon; I have most of it typed out already. Thank you, all of you, for being so patient with me T_T.