puzzle piece | jeong jaehyun

14

"Okay you ready?" Yunhui asked as Minhyuk's eyes looked ahead to the pavement in front of them, one that was clear from rocks and leaves, one that seemed emptier than the last one they were at. His eyes looked towards Jinah again, who he so desperately wanted to keep up with as she kept cycling.

He eventually nodded his head and stepped down on one of the pedals, letting the bike roll forward slowly. His hands were shaky against the bars, unintentionally turning the wheels and he eventually began to get frustrated by the whole ordeal, using his feet to bring the bike to a halt.

"You let go!" He shouted with an evident frown on his face as he turned back to his mom, his voice a little louder than usual. Yunhui furrowed her brows, shaking her head at his accusation as her hand was still firmly gripping his seat from behind

"But I nearly fell!" He said again with a huff and Jaehyun decided to step in, seeing Yunhui's reluctance to challenge the boy any further, scared that he would have an outburst if she pushed him even more

"Hey, look at me. All the wheels are controlled by these handles, you need to make sure it's always straight otherwise you mind twist the wheels and go another direction" Jaehyun explained, pointing to things on the bike to explain how it worked better

"And even though it feels like you're falling, those training wheels are keeping you balanced so I promise you won't fall okay? Just focus on keeping his bar straight and just keep pedalling" Jaehyun said reassuringly until the boy finally nodded his head

"But don't push me" Minhyuk said, turning back to his mom with a pout and she nodded silently with a guilty expression

"Since you won't fall there's no reason for your mom to hold on right? That's what the training wheels are for. Do you want to try it by yourself?" Jaehyun asked and Minhyuk contemplated it in his head

"Why don't you try go to that tree over there, it's not too far right? And when you get to the tree, pull these brakes to stop the wheels. We'll be right by your side" Jaehyun said reassuringly until him once again until the boy finally agreed

As Minhyuk put a foot down against the pedal, trying to steady himself as much as he could, Yunhui's hand instinctively reached forward to help guide him but Jaehyun was quick to grab her hand and hold it back. She looked down shocked at his movement before turning up to meet his face.

"It'll distract him, trust me" Jaehyun said, letting go of her cold hand before turning to walk towards the boy. And Yunhui knew that his advice would be the best to take since his five year old riding her pink bike around like an F1 racer.

Her eyes slightly widened as Minhyuk rode much further than the tree that Jaehyun had pointed to, infact he went to the tree that was pretty much all the way at the end of the path, following Jinah who had slowed down her ride to keep up with him.

"I did it" Minhyuk said with a wide smile as he turned to see his mom watching him with a smile on her own face, realising that he had finally made some good memories when it came to riding a bike

"Yeah you did, you're so good at it too!" Yunhui said with a bright smile, ruffling his head as he slowly turned his bike around like Jinah did as well

"Hold on bud, let me fix something quickly" Jaehyun said, kneeling down behind the bike to unclip the training wheels as Jinah kept him distracted

"Jaehyun wait—"

"Trust me" Jaehyun said again, looking up at the worried mother and giving her a reassuring look before standing back up to his feet with the two training wheels hidden behind his back

"Go slow, okay guys?" Jaehyun said, sending Jinah a knowing look which she silently understood and nodded, taking off at a slower pace so Minhyuk wouldn't fall.

And just like he did a few seconds ago, he stepped down against the pedal, sending himself off. Yunhui reached out again to support him, but this time even Jaehyun didn't need to hold her back, she held herself back. She watched him with lips parted, seeing him stabilise the handles and straightening his wheels quickly before pedalling again and again, keeping up with Jinah until it was like second nature to him.

Once you learned how to ride a bike, you never forget.

And once you learned to let go, you start to heal.

"Oh my god, he's doing it!" She said, a shocked expression on her face with her eyes lighting up as she turned towards Jaehyun, her hand extending out to reach his arm like she couldn't believe what he had just done.

"Yeah he is" Jaehyun said, his own heart practically swelling with pride as he watched another kid, that wasn't even his own, succeed in something so small yet so incredibly significant.

"Thank you! Seriously thank you so much!" Yunhui exclaimed, her body reacting faster than her mind as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, connecting their bodies in a bone crushing hug that had him stumble backwards.

His eyes widened, not knowing how to react as his hands tightly clutched the training wheels behind his back, in shock of the fact that the woman who was once calling his daughter tone deaf now hugging him looking like she was about to burst into tears.

"It's nothing really" Jaehyun said with an awkward chuckle, his free hand lightly patting her back knowing that she had probably hugged him out of an instant reaction than actually meaning to do so. And this brought her right back to reality, realising she had never been this close to him to the point where she could smell his expensive cologne, except for yesterday morning—this shouldn't be a normal thing.

"Uh...sorry. I-I uh...didn't mean to do that" she said, clearing his throat and creating space between them again before turning to walk towards the kids who had travelled a pretty long distance from them already.

Jaehyun stood frozen in his place for a few more seconds, not knowing whether the thumping in his heart was still from the sense of pride when seeing Minhyuk ride his bike without training wheels, or whether the mean neighbour next door had some other effect on him.