7:38 pm

[long chapter ahead!]

Minyook was strapped from head to toe in protective gear. The cafe was renting bikes for its members, and Jinxi turned out to be a gold cardholder. He was already being led to the backside of the cafe while Jinxi had graciously selected a bike and some gears for Minyook.

"Don't look so scared," Jinxi said as he strapped his glove on and adjusted his helmet. He sat on the bike, starting the engine with a loud roar.

Minyook had practically zero experience with bikes, of course, he was speechless at the turn of events. He stood there, fiddling with his own helmet thinking about the thousands of ways this could go wrong.

Minyook was not a person who gets scared easily. He had just seen way too many news channels and heard about one too many accidents. With South Korea still being prejudiced against such unruly behavior, it was normal for him to feel unsure.

"Yook, trust me." Jinxi said, shifting the gear from neutral, he held out a hand for Minyook,"You won't regret it."

Minyook gulped and quickly nodded- perhaps too fast. He held his head at a final attempt to stabilize himself and sat behind Jinxi. He vaguely heard Jinxi instructing to hold onto him before the sound of the engine took over his hearing ability.

Minyook clung on for his dear life at first but soon adapted to the pace and movements of the vehicle. Soon he felt himself relax and actually began enjoying the ride.

The rushing wind and the vibrations from the engine seemed to have a strangely calming effect on him. He could barely hear himself breathing, and it was liberating him from the shackles of his thoughts he never knew he was confined in.

He wrapped his arms around Jinxi for support and moved closer to him. He could feel the change in his posture every time they took a turn. It was like an intricate act of balancing, executed with perfection. Jinxi somehow seemed natural at this, and it made Minyook immensely confident.

Jinxi picked up speed when they reached the outskirts of Seoul, where there was far less traffic. The wind seemed to pick up and the scenery became blurry. Minyook had never been this dangerously close to something so volatile. It made his adrenaline pump harder, but he was enjoying it all the same.

When Jinxi eventually started to slow down they were far away from the metropolitan hub. The place was barren, and there was almost no building in sight.

"You might want to keep me alive if you want to get back home anytime soon," Jinxi said, taking out his helmet, pointing at the deathly grip Minyook had on Jinxi.

Jinxi felt the grip vanish, finally allowing him to breate better. He turned of the engine and got down from the bike in one swift motion, only to find Minyook sprawled on the gravel sidewalk.

Jinxi frowned, "What are you doing?"

"My legs decided it's high time to take a holiday."

"Yook get up it's dirty."

"I appreciate how you think I have control over my knees now.. but I don't"

Jinxi took off his helmet to run his fingers through his hair again before helping Minyook up.

Something was different with Jinxi today...

Jinxi looked at Minyook with a fond smile and pulled him towards the slight rise in the pavement. Minyook tagged along without much resistance- He didn't have a choice.. his legs were still on holiday somewhere in Jeju. However, it soon returned when Minyook finally realised what lay ahead.

Minyook's jaw went slack when he saw the view. They seemed to be on some sort of a bridge. The water beneath them was stagnant, forming a perfect mirror for the stars that hung above them. It seemed like they were standing in between all the twinkling little dots, with the fresh flurry of air breezing past them.

Minyook took an involuntarily step forward to lean against the railing. He could barely take in the beauty laid out before him, let alone string up words to express the way he feels, but Jinxi didn't seem to expect it anyway, so he was fine.

"There are several more options of stars here for you to choose from," Jinxi said, bringing Minyook out of his reverie.

He gently took Minyook's hand and guided it to the brightest star in the sky, "You can use that for signing to work for that individual artist."

Minyook went stiff at that statement. His hand that Jinxi held felt heavy.

"What if I needed that bright star for something else?"

"Then you can use that one," Jinxi said, pointing at the perfect reflection of the bright star in the water. Minyook laughed at the unexpected reply, elbowing Jinxi's torso.

"Sometimes you need to take your risk, Tae. You don't need anyone else's accreditation to feel accomplished." Jinxi let go of his hand and took a step back with a smirk to let Minyook think through.

"How did you know that I got the offer?" Minyook wondered, looking back at Jinxi with a questioning gaze.

"I saw him giving you his card." Jinxi leaned back at the railing and crossed his feet, "Yoo, not working under a label is hard, but not impossible. That guy is famous. He can get you far more networking than BH."

Minyook furrowed his eyebrows for a second, deeply contemplating his choices,"I never thought of going independent."

Jinxi took out a mango-flavored candy from his pocket and tossed it at him, "My friend used to say that when life throws an adventure at you, grab it and run."

Minyook caught the candy and looked at the stars once again.

You never run out of hope to pluck from.

Minyook smiled and popped the candy into his mouth, "I'll do it."

He looked back at Jinxi's smiling face and beamed, "Thank you, hyung."

Jinxi ruffled Minyook's hair with a soft fondness, and said, "Let's get you home."

The ride back home was just as stimulating. Minyook even screamed his lungs out once. Jinxi had to pinch his arm to silence him.

9:00 pm

Jinxi was waiting at the bus stop leaning against the back wall, legs crossed and eyes closed, when Minyook, who was sitting beside him, suspiciously looking at him, exclaimed," YOU'RE WEARING HAIR GEL!"

Jinxi cursed under his breath, still clutching his racing heart five minutes after the jump scare.