You're My Star

Chapter 4: We're friends, right?

Min-hee came cycling down the street, music in his ears not only for entertainment but also for time-keeping. He always found it convenient to know when 3 and a half minutes had passed. The songs were good too, so it was a win-win. It was around 5 PM so he had to go to the company to practice with his team. He had just recently been promoted to Team A, so he was ecstatic.

The first person he told was his mom, of course. Right after the monthly evaluation where he was told he got a spot in the higher-ranking team, he spent the 5-minute break calling home and nearly crying tears of joy. What made his heart warmer was the sound of excitement and love on the other end of the phone. She was always his number one supporter, so he really wanted to work hard for her.

He smiled as he thought of her, continuing to cycle down the street. It was downhill, so he could relax a bit, just feel the wind in his hair, and his speed increase. He missed her, honestly. Both of his parents. And his brother, even. It was hard to live so far away from all of them. But it would take him 4 hours to go home via public transportation and he barely had any free time anyway, so the occasional calls would have to do for now.

As he reached the end of the hill, he noticed someone he thought maybe he could recognize from the back. He was contemplating whether or not to call after him because God knows there's nothing more awkward than yelling after someone who isn't the person you thought they were. But thankfully, as he got closer, he recognized the school uniform and let out a smile. "Seo Woo-bin!"

Woo-bin turned around, surprised someone was calling after him, furrowing his brows ever so slightly. But his face relaxed as noticed who it was.

"Wait for me!" Min-hee laughed as he cycled up next to him. He quickly got off his bike so he could walk with it at his side.

"Min-hee, hi!" Woo-bin beamed happily but quickly looked back down into the ground as he felt shy about being so enthusiastic. "Are you on your way to the company?"

"Yeah," Min-hee smiled, "Where are you headed?"

"Me? Oh, I'm just going home, I live on a crossroad further down here," Woo-bin pointed further down the street.

"This late?"

"I ate some food with Seong-min earlier. I'm so full," Woo-bin chuckled as he patted his stomach.

"Well, let's go together! I can follow you until you turn," Min-hee smiled in that signature kind way he always did, and it never failed to make Woo-bin's heart flutter.

"That sounds nice," Woo-bin smiled back, however, shyly. He asked once they started walking again, "How was your day?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Not a lot happened. Math was quite hard though, I thought my brain was gonna run out of battery."

"Same!" Woo-bin laughed, "I even had it in my first period. I never knew high school math was this much harder than middle school math. I think all of us were losing our minds. Is Mr. Nam your teacher too?"

"No, we have Ms. Kim, and let me tell you, she's harsh."

"It'll be fine, I'm sure," Woo-bin smiled reassuringly.

Suddenly Min-hee had a dawning realization as if he just remembered something, his face making a big expression.

"What's up?" Woo-bin chuckled.

"You know Han Min-ki? He was caught punching a poor boy from my class. And so viciously too," Min-hee pouted, "He's in your class, right?"

"Really?! I knew he was scary, but I didn't know he was like that," Woo-bin shivered, "Gosh, he is in my class. I really pray he won't pick on me. He skips a bunch of classes though, so maybe he just won't notice me."