[EDITING]
When Jeon Jeongguk's sister gets engaged to his friend's brother, almost everything changes.
Desperate to hold onto a fragile friendship, Jeongguk is willing to get himself into sticky situations--even to the point of ruining his sister's...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Leap of Faith
The wind was blowing through his hair. He was riding a bike down a country-road, out of town, with Hoseok to the left of him and Taehyung on his right. A few days had passed since the night of the party and they were having their first adventure as a trio. Hoseok was taking them to the infamous cove, the one he had wanted to show Jeongguk during the tour––but they hadn't had enough time. Now, because the weather was nice and because of how much Taehyung loved swimming, they were headed there. The pathway in itself seemed like a destination: beautiful greenery, flowers and the ocean, everything so vibrant he almost felt like he was viewing it all with a filter over his eyes.
"Hey, Guk," Taehyung called from beside him. "Look at this."
Slowly, Taehyung let go of the wheel of the bike, now balancing the bike with only his legs. As the road slanted downward, forming into a slope, he put his hands in the air and let out a cathartic roar.
Jeongguk laughed. "Show-off," he said.
Taehyung placed one hand on the wheel again, grinning at him. The other hung down his side. "You're just jealous," he called his way as he sped up the bike.
Jeongguk was laughing again, and he found himself looking at Hoseok, expecting them to shake their heads at Taehyung's vanity, but Hoseok eyes held a determined glint as he sped up his own bike. "Race ya!" he called and followed Taehyung, quickly catching up.
Taehyung yelped and went even quicker than before and soon the two were neck in neck, exerting their energy. Jeongguk did not speed up. He was taking his time. He knew that if he joined, he would win, but right now, he was preoccupied by his surroundings. He wished he had Taehyung's talent for biking without using his hands, because if he did, he would currently be taking pictures on the go. He made do with snapping photos with one hand, without looking through the viewfinder. He could see how they came out when he got home. It would be like opening a present.
Taehyung and Hoseok were waiting for him on the side of the road when he finally caught up.
"We'll leave our bikes here," Hoseok said, gesturing to the side of the road. They locked their bikes hidden behind the trees. Then, they started walking. The way was confusing. Sometimes it felt like they were going back to the bikes, but then they uncovered some new ground, and Jeongguk saw a glimpse of the sea. Soon enough he felt completely turned around. But Hoseok seemed to know exactly where he was going.
"I may have a good sense of direction, but I'm not going to find my way back," Taehyung said at one point, looking around.
Hoseok turned and winked. "I know. It's why I love this place. So secluded."
"You better not be leading us to our death, Jung."
