At this point, Jeongin was half debating leaving his fate to the dogs and just heading out in the open daylight. At least the chance of a head-first collision would be much more bearable than this routine he had been continuing for the past four days.
He was bored as hell. He was anxious. His sleep schedule was screwed up to the point of no return. He hated driving at night time. He hated the pounding in his chest every time he set out on the bike, hated the inner battles he'd have with himself whenever he even considered taking out into the traffic. He hated falling asleep at 4 in the morning, waking up past noon, spending the rest of the day in an antsy fray, having trouble falling asleep again at night, and waking up at 3 am to do it all over again.
So finally, Jeongin decided to switch things up a little. After all, he was technically in Seoul now; it was time for some change. Instead of wasting the day away in his motel, he got Sunny and took the risk to ride her to the nearest gas station. As usual, those places always had convenience stores.
He needed some sugar in him. Jeongin usually avoided eating junk, not because he was particularly cautious or anything, but because he just didn't like fast food (something Minho used to relentlessly tease him for while gobbling up a super-sized burger and fries.) It was always too oily and greasy and half the time, those places gave the smallest portions. Jeongin had packed some sandwiches for the trip and he could afford to splurge a bit at restaurants. But right now, a packet of gummy worms and a chocolate bar was sounding really good.
Parking the bike, Jeongin headed off inside, ten dollars in his pocket. It wasn't until he was scanning the aisles that it occurred to him that perhaps leaving his wallet on the bike wasn't the best of ideas, whether he was using it or not.
He went back to retrieve it. But outside, he froze.
This really hadn't been a good idea.
A person in a hoodie. A man or boy, Jeongin couldn't tell, their hood covered the back of their head. But as he scurried away, Jeongin could see a wallet in his clutches. "Hey, HEY, that's mine!"
Stupid, stupid idea. The person heard. And they ran. Right towards a car waiting for them at the entrance, into the passenger seat, and the only thing Jeongin could do was watch as it drove away with his wallet, credit cards and all.
Jeongin was able to catch the license plate. St4Y4L1F3.
Jeongin kicked the sidewalk curb aggressively, doing more harm to his toe than the actual pavement. Several curses escaped his lip when the pain only poured salt on his wounds.
His wallet was gone. Jeongin was officially broke, with only ten dollars to sustain him the rest of the ride. His only options now were to find a station to report the car or brave the rest of the journey with Sunny. Into the vehicle-crowded roads.
The first option guaranteed his wallet back. Jeongin chose it without a second thought.
But first things first, food. Jeongin still needed to pay for the coffee he had had back at the motel. Then, he would see what he could afford with his money. Gummy bears were out of the question if he wanted a proper meal.
Ten minutes later, Jeongin was checked out of the motel and he surveyed his options. Seeing the only choice he had, he groaned, seriously considering going back for the gummy bears as a nutritious lunch instead.
Wendy's. The only place with anything edible in the plaza.
Jeongin banged his head on Sunny's handlebars several times before mustering up his will to ride over to the drive-through.
" 'I'm brave', Chan hyung said to me. Well, a lot of good this 'courageous adventure' is doing for me," Jeongin fumed to himself. "There has to be a difference between going against the odds and just knowing when the world is telling you to take a freaking break and go bury yourself in a hole for a few centuries."
"Sir, this is Wendy's."
"I'm well aware this is Wendy's!" Jeongin snapped at the drive-through monitor, hardly phased that the worker had heard him rant about his life problems. "I don't need any more reminders that I'm officially broke and can't just man up and reach my destination instead of going into freaking panic attacks every time I look at a road, thank you very much."
Dead silence. Enough time for Jeongin to finally process what he was saying to the monitor. His face heated up to the colour of a tomato.
"Kill me now," he muttered. He cleared his throat. "Please ignore all of that. What can I get for ten dollars?"
"Hey, it's fine." The person at the other end chuckled. "You seem to be in a rough spot. I know how that feels. You want to talk about it or something, bro?"
That's when Jeongin noticed the voice at the other end was very young, much like Jeongin was talking to someone else his own age. There was little professionalism in his voice and the worker honestly sounded a little bored.
"Not really, unless you can help me nab the guy who took my wallet," Jeongin said with an eye roll.
"Damn son, you got robbed?"
"That's on me. I left my wallet on my bike. But I got the license plate of the car the thief escaped in, so I'm thinking of reporting it," Jeongin said, easing into the conversation without even realizing it.
"Sounds interesting," Worker Boy said. "I had always wanted to be a police officer or some sort of detective when I grew up. But then my parents were like 'Oh, you want to be a detective? Then why don't you solve the mystery of how you're going to cover your night class and vehicle expenses now that every college has rejected you, cause we sure aren't going to do it.' So here I am."
"Cheers to life problems," Jeongin said.
"I'll drink to that."
Jeongin laughed. Well, this had been a welcome distraction. Who knew one of the stops on his road trip would be a deep analysis of life problems with the drive-through worker?
"Did you see what the thief looked like?" Worker Boy asked.
"Not really," Jeongin said. "He was wearing a fully black hoodie and he got into a car with his friends."
"Hmm... black hoodie..." A few moments of silence passed again.
"I don't know if this helps..." Worker Boy suddenly said. "But around half an hour ago, a car full of really loud people came to this driveway and ordered enough food to feed ten elephants. Didn't even say thank you for everything we prepared. Lazy, ungrateful college kids who have great things handed to them and can't even be bothered to show some respect for it."
Worker Boy sounded lowkey pissed. Jeongin wondered what his story was. But he had other things to focus on. "Did you see the license plate of that car?"
"No, sorry. But one of the guys did toss around the next address they were headed to for the night."
"Really!? Where?" Jeongin's head was nearly out the window by now.
"Come to the window and I'll write it down for you. Now, do you want a sandwich, or..."
"Give me the least oily thing you have. Remember, I'm broke." But Jeongin couldn't stop a smile from breaking out while saying that. He had a lead! He drove ahead to the window.
"Well, hello there." The drive-through window opened. Jeongin's hunch was right. It was another college student, the only thing distinguishing him as a worker being his Wendy's uniform. His long dark locks peeked out from behind his hat and fell over his eyes.
"Hello," Jeongin said a little shyly, now that there was a face to match the voice. "Are you like, allowed to chat up your customers?"
"Oh please, I do it all the time. I'd go crazy in this place if I didn't have some sort of entertainment," Worker Boy said with a chuckle. "But in all seriousness, I can get away with it now since I'm the only worker in the store currently. Business was low this week so I volunteered to finish things up for the extra paycheck. The summer staff arrive tomorrow. Today is my last day of work, so that's a plus!" A ding of a machine was heard from the back. "Oh, let me pack your sandwich!"
Worker Boy came back in a few minutes with a wrapped-up sandwich. Jeongin inwardly cringed at the oil stains. "Thanks..."
"Oh, and I'll get the address down for you!" Worker Boy scrawled something on a notepad and ripped out the paper. "Here."
Jeongin studied the address, scrunching his eyebrows. "Is it... far?"
"You not from around here?"
"I'm from Busan."
"Oh, that explains it." Worker Boy paused for a moment. "How about... if you come back at 6 tonight, I would have closed down the store. I can lead you there and point out the boys to you."
"You'd do that!?" Jeongin said, surprised. "But you barely know me."
Worker Boy shrugged. "I like a good mystery. And the chance to stretch my legs a little before I go completely off work. Plus, you can't be that much younger than me. How old?"
"Just finished my first year of university."
Worker Boy chuckled. "Wow, you're way ahead of me. If I could just get a brain, I would have finished my second year by now."
Jeongin heard a honk behind him. "I should go. So same place tonight?"
"You got it!"
"Okay, thank you, goodbye!" Jeongin said, making sure to flash a smile before leaving. First Chan and now this boy. Jeongin was meeting some interesting people on this road trip.
And so, Jeongin wasn't surprised in the slightest when he saw Worker Boy waiting in the parking lot. His dark tank top and hair in a half ponytail made Jeongin believe he had probably eagerly burned his work uniform. "My name is Hyunjin, by the way."
"I'm Jeongin," Jeongin said, hesitating, then putting his hand out. Hyunjin laughed but agreed to the handshake.
Hyunjin's eyes widened when he saw Sunny. "I knew you weren't in a car in the drive-through, but whoaaa, that's a cool bike. I always wanted to know how to drive one!"
Hyunjin didn't know how to ride a bike.
Frick.
"Her name is Sunny," Jeongin said, hoping the quavering of his voice wasn't evident. "She belongs to my brother. That's why I'm in Seoul. To return it to him."
"Why would you want to return a beauty like this!?"
Good question. "My brother would probably want it back anyway. I don't know why he gave it to me."
"Your loss," Hyunjin said with a shrug. "Let's get on and I'll give you directions."
Reality slapping him in the face as he sat on the bike, Jeongin figured there was no point hiding it. "Just a heads up... I have a bit of... let's call it road fear. So if I seem a little uneasy while I drive, that's why."
Jeongin waited for the questions, maybe even laughter. But they never came.
Hyunjin only shrugged. "Okay, whatever suits you. Now let's go!"
Feeling a little more relieved, Jeongin slowly backed out of the driveway. "By the way, if you don't mind me asking, do you do anything other than be a fast-food worker?"
"I take night classes. I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing, to be honest. Just trying to build up a little more knowledge. Maybe I'll take some exams and study abroad. Maybe I can get a proper job. I'm taking it easy for now."
Jeongin's jaw dropped. "Doesn't that scare you!? Not knowing what is going to happen in the future?"
"The honest answer? Not really," Hyunjin said, sounding sincere. "Maybe I have too much trust for my own good, but I just feel like someday, whether it is in the next few months or years, things are going to work out. Just because I'm not working towards something in particular doesn't mean it's all over. I just put in effort every day and hope that someday, I can choose a path and be able to follow it."
Jeongin stayed silent, taking that in.
"Hey, you going to start the motor?"
"Oh, sorry!" Jeongin chuckled nervously. "You just remind me a lot of my brother."
"Then that's definitely someone I'd love to meet."
"I'll pass on the message," Jeongin said. He put his foot on the accelerator.
"So are you new to Seoul?"
"Actually, no," Jeongin said. "I've come here a lot, especially since my brother moved here."
"Oh, what for?" Hyunjin asked.
"Kind of for the same reason as what you're doing," Jeongin said. "To explore and wait for the perfect opportunity."
Minho was smart enough to get into any good college. But he chose not to.
"I have some friends in Seoul," Minho told the family one night. "I'm thinking about moving there. We'll get an apartment together, work some jobs to get us by, and explore. I don't feel right about moving on to post-secondary without being sure about what I want to do."
Normally, this would be an absurd request. Taking a break before heading off to college? Unheard of! Jeongin himself saw none of that in his future, already planning to study medicine But as far as it was concerned with Minho, he had never talked of any such plan through his high school years.
Their parents only smiled. "If that's what you feel is the best for you, Minho."
"It is. Thank you, guys."
It wasn't like Seoul was an unfamiliar place. In fact, Jeongin had been there often. They had family there, so they usually drove over two to three times a year for get-togethers and dinners. His grandparents were always delighted to see him. His aunt and uncle on the other hand... not really.
The extended family wasn't perfect; that was a good way to put things.
"Are you scared?" Jeongin asked Minho one night, watching him while he was packing.
Minho turned to face Jeongin. "No, why would I be?"
"Because you don't know what lies ahead for you."
Minho only shrugged. "Maybe not. But that's what's exciting about it. I'll just get by day by day and work hard, and then someday, things will work out. And even if they don't, at least I tried. I'd rather do that than jump into something I'm not sure I want to do. It's a risk, but the possible end result will be much better."
Again with risks. With jumping out of the nest. With flying. Jeongin didn't know how he had grown up so different from Minho. Sometimes, he felt a small ache, a twinge of jealousy that he couldn't have the same mindset. But it would soon go away when he realized that he was happy with the way he was (at least he used to be.) And if Minho believed in himself that much, there was no reason why Jeongin should feel scared for him.
So Minho set off with Sunny and Jeongin could only feel happy for him.
And in the end, Minho being Minho, had taken his wings and gotten the results he wanted. After only a year, Jeongin now in his high school junior year, Minho had relayed the exciting news to the family.
"I've gotten into a performing arts college. A... dance major. It's what I want to do."
All in all, Jeongin was surprised he hadn't seen it coming. He remembered Minho getting into dancing. He and his friends had joined a club for fun (Jeongin knew it well. He had begged to also join, but had been too young.) However, the following year rolled along and when all of his friends quit, Minho had stayed.
Granted, he had been a bit lazy about practicing when he was younger, but when the family went to see the showcases, Jeongin could see that Minho put in the work. He danced so freely and effortlessly. Like a bird. Minho had even taught Jeongin a few moves; Jeongin could see Minho being a great teacher in the future.
And so Minho was happy, doing what he loved after taking a leap of faith and landing where he wanted to be. Jeongin was happy, sticking close to the sidelines but even there, being able to find his calling. Everything was okay.
If only that was the truth.