BOYNEXTDOOR

Bike Riding (Sungho)(5)

Hyerin's flustered expression stares at me for a beat. "It's okay if you're not-" I'm about to retract my statement when I hear another voice behind me. "Hyerin, I'm done. Let's go," A man in his mid-thirties tells Hyerin as he enters the store carrying a bag filled with vegetables, and I realize a second later the man is her father. 

"Dad, this is my friend," Hyerin introduces me, and I bow slightly. "My name is Sungho," I say as I shake his extended hand. An awkward silence falls before Hyerin's father looks between us, and smiles slightly. "Hyerin, you can go hang out with your friend if you want. I'll handle the rest of the shopping." He takes her bag and goes to the cashier, leaving us on our own. 

"Well, I guess I'm free now," Hyerin says with a laugh, and we head out of the store. I pause as I unchain my bike from a tree. "I was gonna head to the park to ride my bike. Do you wanna come?" Hyerin nods in response, and we head to the park. 

The sun bathes its warm, golden glow throughout the park as Hyerin and I head over to a bench to rest for a bit. 

"Maybe today is the day I'll finally learn how to ride a bike," Hyerin says, looking at the children riding their bicycles, some with and others without training wheels. 

"From what I hear, that's practically impossible," I tease, and Hyerin squats me on the arm as I grin. "Well, from what I've seen, you're pretty hard working, so you'll get it eventually," I say without joking this time. 

Hyerin falls silent, long enough for me to look at her. Her eyebrows are furrowed in the way I've come to recognize as her worried face. Once she catches me staring at her, she hides the expression with a smile, but that worries me more. 

"How did you learn to ride a bike?" Hyerin asks, changing the subject. 

"I picked it up from Woonhak actually. He kept asking me to ride with him, so we learned it  together." My mind flashes with fond memories of me and Woonhak coming home with bruised knees and elbows and placing bandaids on each other. Though Woonhak and I still ride our bikes frequently, I've come to see it as a safe place for escaping my thoughts for a while. 

"Yeah, Woonhak seems like the type to be consistent when he wants something," Hyerin smiles, and  I suddenly wonder what she thinks about our friends. Does she like someone more than the others? My heart sinks in my chest slightly at the thought. I try to shake the thought away, but my curiosity wins, and I find myself asking her the question.

"Do you like anyone currently or have you liked anyone before?" I ask in, what I hope is, a casual tone. 

Hyerin's POV: 

The question catches me off-guard, especially coming from him, but it reminds yesterday where Hanna asked me a similar question. Zeira's answer comes back to me, and I wonder how I'm gonna answer the question. 

I look at Sungho, waiting for my answer, and I freeze. His face is slightly sweaty, but the sun makes him appear as if he's glowing and glistening in the light. His black hair is messy as if he didn't bother brushing it, but it suits him, and I almost prefer it this way. His dark brown, almost black, eyes are fully focused on me, and I see myself reflected in them. My heart quickens again, and I snap my head away and mumble something about how I've never liked anyone. 

I stand up, motion to the bike, and exclaim, "Let's ride!" Sungho doesn't say anything for a moment, but joins me a second later with a smile on his face. A smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. 

If I ever needed a reminder of how bad I am at riding a bike, today is the perfect day for it. I wince for the third time today and grab Sungho's extended hand, trying to ignore how warm and comfortable it is to hold. We haven't mentioned The Question since then, and I intend to keep it that way. 

"How is it so easy for you?" I ask, out of breath, as I watch him mount and glide on his bike effortlessly. 

"It's just practice," Sungho says, riding circles around me. I pretend to glare at him, and he stops, motioning for me to mount again. 

"It's always practice, practice," I grumble under my breath, and he laughs at my frustration. I mount the bike and look at him, my eyes asking for advice. 

"I don't know how to explain it. You just need to place your feet in the pedals and trust that you won't fall," Sungho tells me, holding the handlebars for me as I follow the first part of his instructions. As soon as Sungho attempts to let go, the bike sways unsteadily as I struggle to pedal forward, frozen with the sudden fear that I will crash and fall. Luckily, Sungho's reflexes are quick, and he steadies the bike while I frantically plant my feet on the floor. 

I sigh, frustrated that I still can't do it. Sungho looks at me worriedly, but he stays quiet, granting me silence to think. I slowly dismount the bike, deciding what I'm going to say to him as I do so.

"It's hard for me... to trust I won't fall." I look at the ground as I speak. "There's always this part of me that believes I'll fall no matter what, and it's difficult to suddenly let that go... because if I do fall while hoping for the best, it'll hurt more," I continue, my voice shaky. "And I don't want to hurt anymore," I finish with a small voice, not daring to look up and see Sungho's face. 

Silence follows, and I worry I made a big deal out of nothing. After all, we came to the park to have a good time, and I overshared. Sungho is kind, so he won't say it outright, but he's probably uncomfortable-

Suddenly, I feel Sungho's arms wrap around me in a hug, and I stiffen slightly at the sudden action until I realize it's his way of comforting me. I relax in his arms, allowing myself a moment of rest. Though I overshared, it's nice to have someone listen. A tickle of tears fall down my face, and I sink into the hug. When I finally stop crying, I'm left with a feeling of warmth and fuzziness. 

At last, I force myself to pull apart from the hug, and I finally look at Sungho's expression. My breath halts as his eyes stare at me with so much care and concern that I find myself revisiting the question from earlier. 

"Do you like anyone currently?"

At the time, I said I didn't like anyone because I didn't understand what it was. In this moment, the rising feeling in my heart whenever I look at him, and the wide smile that forms on my lips guides me to my answer. 

Sungho, you're driving me crazy...

But I like you.

A/N: Thank you for reading as always (and sorry for the slight delay!) 💛. BOYNEXTDOOR's MAMA and MMA 2023 performances was so good! I knew they were going to do something creative, but they still managed to surpass my expectations. The rock version of But Sometimes is amazing! BOYNEXTDOOR's stage presence and confidence is unmatched, and I feel so proud and lucky to be an ONEDOOR 💛