Invisible String | Yoon Jeonghan

5 | Here with me

We will win, he says.

It will be fun, he says.

But, what he does not say is that we will be driving atop a very, very steep uphill road at a speed that may actually put professional riders to shame.

This is why no one should trust Choi Haneul's intuition.

I have yet again made the great mistake of doing that by actually believing that racing on a motorbike would be fun. Granted, I'm not the one driving, but this is still scary especially since we are riding uphill.

I feel that one single hitch, or one second of the bike's engine somehow not working will send me flying right to my death. And, Jeonghan as well because I'm clutching on to him for dear life, literally.

I can actually hear his rapid heartbeat, which could either be from excitement or fright. I don't know, and I'm not in the right state to ask.

I have also made the mistake of thinking that I could save myself from further embarrassment, but as my luck goes, this doesn't happen.

Right when Jeonghan makes a turn and the bike swerves at a very low angle, a very loud gasp leaves my lips and my arms tighten around him even more to save myself from falling off the bike. My arms tighten around him so much so that he has to say, "Haneul? I'm sorry, but I, um, can't quite breathe. Would you loosen your grip a little?"

I hurriedly let go of him, apology at the tip of my tongue when he just takes my hand and puts it around him again. "Don't let go."

Oh.

My heartbeat suddenly sounds too loud, like I'm deaf to everything but my heartbeat. The cold wind that was hitting my face doesn't feel that cold anymore.

As I unconsciously put my other arm around Jeonghan, I realise my hands are clammy with sweat. My heartbeat sounds loud because I'm actually hearing his heartbeats, leaning on him. And my face doesn't feel cold because it's warm, flushed.

Why am I reacting this way? Why am I so nervous?

"I'm sorry about scaring you. I get a little too competitive sometimes." His words bring me back to reality. It takes a while for me to find my voice and reply to him which garners a concerned follow up question from him. "Haneul, are you okay?"

Oh, my stomach feels weird, but not sick sort of weird. What is happening?

"Yeah, yeah, um, I'm okay. It's fine, you don't have to apologize. I'm the one who decided to turn this into a race, I deserved this." I chuckle at my stupidity. "This will teach me to think twice before making spontaneous decisions."

"No, there is actually not much need for us to speed up to win. I should've gone slower." I can hear the frown in his response, and knowing that he genuinely feels bad about me being scared somehow makes me feel warm.

It's nice to know that he cares.

"It's not the speed that's scary, it's the uphill road. I'm just afraid of these type of roads, no matter if I'm on a bike or in a car. So, don't feel bad." I smile when he nods, even if he can't see me at the moment.

He doesn't apologise again, but I can tell that we have slowed down. This makes me smile again.

We ride in silence for a while. To my surprise, it doesn't feel awkward at all. The soft noise of the engine, the humming of the cold breeze, and Jeonghan's heartbeat almost lull me to sleep.

As I blearily blink to get rid of this sleepy feeling, a bright light shoots down from the sky, and suddenly, I'm wide awake. "A shooting star! Jeonghan, make a wish!"

I sit up straight and intertwine my hands, closing my eyes to make a wish.

I wish everyday to be filled with happy moments like of today, and please, please get my relatives off my back.

I open my eyes, and instantly shiver because of the cold. Holding onto Jeonghan has been shielding me from the cold, but now that we're going slow, I have no reason to continue holding on.

That's upsetting.

"Did you make a wish?" I ask him to distract myself from these sudden, new feelings.

"I did. So, will you be okay if we speed up now? We're almost there, and it has already started." I almost ask him to elaborate on what he is talking about, but then I see it.

On my left, where I have just seen that shooting star, are plenty other shooting stars seemingly raining down on earth.

"A meteor shower." I whisper in awe. The scene is something straight out of a movie. "It's breathtaking."

"It is." I turn towards him, and find him stealing glances at the view once every five seconds. I silently laugh at his actions and hold onto him again.

"Let's go."

It takes us a couple minutes to reach the top of the hill, and I instantly get down from the bike, without much trouble this time, and run towards the edge. I lean on the railings, foolishly trying to get closer to the shooting stars.

Jeonghan soon joins me to watch the meteor shower, a relieved sigh leaving his lips. "Luckily, we're not too late."

I hum, my eyes still not leaving the raining bright lights. "Is this my surprise?" I can see him nod from my peripheral vision, and turn to look at him just as he does the same. "I love it. Thank you." He returns my smile, extending his hand towards my face. I just stand there foolishly, like I'm frozen, with my heart about to burst out of my chest.

He simply unclips my helmet, and takes it off my head, patting my hair to make it settle down. "Thank you." I repeat quietly, with a flustered smile.

He returns my smile, surprisingly flustered as well, turning towards the view again.

I follow suit, now taking out my phone to record a video of it. This will let me revisit this moment whenever I want to.

"Sooyun planned this, actually. She wanted to watch this with you." He says after a while when the number of shooting stars start to decrease. I turn to him, my camera now capturing him with the stars.

He's leaning on the railings with his hands folded, my helmet somewhere on the ground beside him. He makes a peace sign when he notices the camera, making me chuckle. He joins in as well.

"I will make sure to thank her as well." I sigh. "And apologise. We could've watched it together if I was not throwing a tantrum and refusing to go out."

My camera captures the last of the meteor shower.

"If it makes you feel any better, you didn't know about this. And, Sooyun will be happy to know that you got to see it, although not with her."

"Yeah, you're right. Thank you again, truly, for getting us here on time." Jeonghan is inside the camera frame again. And this time, he's grinning, just like me. "Thank you, for declaring a race."

Our warm laughters echo from atop the hill, on the cold autumn night, and one last shooting star is captured on my camera just as the moon stops hiding behind a cloud.

At least you're here with me.

A/N: A little short, but I wanted it to be just them in this one.