Bittersweet Memories (A Stray Kids Short Story Collection)

The Night Rider III

     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.