by the sidelines • haechan

thirty five

"There are so many things to do here, so why this?" I whined as we stood outside a bike rental shop awaiting our turn. Haknyeon was the one who suggested cycling along the Han river and we blindly agreed, but that dude wasn't even here now so we had no reason to go forward with the plan. But Donghyuck was lazy to think of other options.

"Unless you have any better ideas, don't complain," he shut me off as he wrote down our names on the bicycle booking list, before sliding over a few dollar notes and we headed to the back to collect our bikes.

"Lee Donghyuck?" A voice sounded from behind us as both of us whipped around to its perky tone. Two other guys were standing on the other side of a set of bikes, waving back at us before approaching excitedly.

"Woah, long time no see!" The taller one said, his large eyes curling into crescents as he extended a fist to Donghyuck, who returned it while still dumbfounded. "Yeah, what brings you here?"

The guy's radiant smile remained as he explained, "It's our summer break too, but how is it possible that we meet at this exact place and time?" His comment made me recoil due to cheesiness, but somehow it formed a slight smile on Donghyuck's face, something I've never seen before. Are they friends?

Just then, the guy seemed to realise my uncomfortableness as he nodded his head towards me and asked, "By the way, who's this?"

"Oh, right," Donghyuck finally took notice of me again as he replied, "This is Sung Yoojin. Both of us are here to attend a Taekwondo tournament." I smiled awkwardly as the same guy introduced both of them. "I'm Na Jaemin, and this is Lee Jeno. Nice to meet you!"

He glanced over to his friend before leaning closer to me and whispered, "By the way, are both of you a thing?"

"Are you crazy?" Donghyuck punched his arm hard before I even processed his question, causing the latter to chuckle in response. "I'm joking, but for real, are you?"

"Don't worry, we're not," I blurted out, feeling regretful that those were my first words upon meeting them. Jaemin responded with a smile as he heaved out a disappointed sigh, "Aw man, I thought I could congratulate my old friend. But I guess this is a start."

Donghyuck brushed past us as the owner of the rental shop came out with a set of keys. "We met after 5 years and this is the first thing you say to me?" His friend shrugged dismissively as we headed over to the owner unlocking a set of bikes. "Then we should catch up while we have the chance, how about we join the both of you?"

I looked at Donghyuck because ultimately, he had the final say, and I didn't want to be stuck with just him for the entire day, even if it meant hanging out with his friends. He didn't even take a second to contemplate before answering, "Sure, why not."

"Yes!" Jaemin hopped over to him, putting him in a headlock as he swung around, causing the both of them to break out in a mini wrestle. Dang, I've never seen him being so enthusiastic about hanging out with others before, these friends definitely shared a different relationship compared to his club members. I wonder how they met.

"Yoojin, right?" Jaemin called and I snapped out of my thoughts, strolling over to him holding a yellow bicycle. "Here's yours, you can ride, right?"

"I'm a little rusty, but I'm sure I didn't forget how," I admitted, scanning the bike before getting on unstable with his support. I heard Donghyuck snigger at the back as I shot him a glare. "I'm not rescuing you if you fall into the river." Gosh, I can never have a break.

"You didn't change one bit, Lee Donghyuck," his cheerful friend joked playfully, cycling ahead before swivelling on his back wheel to face us, causing me to let out a silent scoff. Damn, his friends are showoffs too. "But I'm glad you didn't. Come on, let's get moving."