Stay Another Day

Chapter Three: The Bike Ride

Author's note: So I write for a living but rarely for fun. This is my first time writing fanfic and I'm absolutely floored by your reactions, feedback and comments (some have made me roar with laughter at 2 am). I still can't believe people are reading something I'm writing for myself, simply for the sake of writing. And so far I've been having a blast throwing RiRi in different scenarios. Anyway, I'll stop rambling but to quote our girl Son Ye-jin: "thank you SO much!"

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It's been a while since she rode a bike.

The last time Se-ri can remember was a family trip to Mykonos.

With her family being, well, her family, it hadn't been much of a holiday. Her parents were barely speaking and spent most of the time in separate rooms in their expansive rented villa. Se-hyeung and Se-joon were constantly squabbling over who got the room with the best view and, as for Se-ri, no one even noticed her.

She had needed to escape the frostiness indoors.

Se-ri had been walking down the flagstone streets, admiring the indigo sea beyond when a little shack renting bikes caught her attention.

Before she knew it, she was laughing to herself as she blew past whitewashed houses and one startled donkey. She had felt so light and so free.

This, she had thought to herself. This must be how those women in yogurt or health drink commercials feel.

She felt that familiar lightness now as she and Jeong-hyeok cycled down the dry bumpy path through the tunnel of trees. The sun winked at them through golden-brown leaves.

It was Jeong-hyeok's day off, so they had set off early for the market on his trusty bike.

With a yellow plastic crate tied to the rear, worn leather handles and a towel-padded seat on the crossbar, the bike had a cobbled-together, yet trusty look.

The company five boys were coming over; Kim Ju-mook and Se-ri had somehow convinced Jeong-hyoek to let him watch a bootleg copy of a Korean drama on his flatscreen TV.

"I refuse to partake in such nonsensical capitalist shenanigans," Pyo Chi-su had snorted, derisively.

"So, don't come then," Se-ri had retorted.

He feigned an air of indifference. "Look here, I don't know how they do things do things in the south, but here they don't take back invitations."

As Se-ri huffed and opened her mouth to answer, Jeong-hyeok had swiftly changed the subject.

Now, the woman sitting in his arms was significantly calmer.

He had reasoned that riding to the market would be better than walking – he did have a basket in the back of his bike for that very purpose. It also had other advantages, not that he would readily admit it.

"I'm thinking of joining the morning Tai Chi classes," said Se-ri. "How do I register?"

"It's not Tai Chi and you don't register like some exclusive country club," he replied. "You just show up."

"Do you go?"

"Never."

"Why not?

"We already have drills and exercises at the base."

"I see," she said, thoughtfully. "But it's a good way to make friends, no?"

He sighed. "I don't really care about making friends."

"Obviously," Se-ri muttered. "Anyway, I don't know how long I'm going to be here, so I think it's important to start an exercise routine, don't you think? Considering all the carbs I've been consuming."