from zero » hyungwonho

ii

"Took you long enough!" Changkyun scolded playfully as Minhyuk and Hoseok finally finished hiking their bikes up the mountain.

"Blame this guy," Minhyuk replied, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder to point at Hoseok. "He wouldn't stop arguing with me - in front of his mother no less! For shame!"

Hoseok rolled his eyes at Minhyuk's over-dramatic accusations as he tuned out of the conversation, reaching up and wiping the sweat from his forehead with his arm.

"Hey, you ok?" Hyunwoo asked, worry covering his face like a blanket as he approached Hoseok. "You look rough."

"Just had a difficult night," Hoseok panted, still trying to regain his breath, and Hyunwoo smiled at him sadly, placing a hand on his dongsaeng's shoulder.

"Fresh air will do you some good," he reassured, and Hoseok chuckled lightly.

"That's exactly what my mum said to me this morning when Minhyuk came barging him," Hoseok's voice turned sour at the end and Hyunwoo let out a proper hearty laugh that made his shoulders shake.

"Then it must be true," Hyunwoo beamed at Hoseok and the younger male nodded in agreement.

Hyunwoo had always been the Dad of their friendship group. Although he was a little clueless at times, he really was the softest guy Hoseok had ever met, underneath all those muscles and his towering height.

Hoseok really did look up to Hyunwoo, despite the male being only a few months older than him. He was humble and modest, but not in that annoying way Minhyuk possesses.

"Finished with the mother's meeting over there, you two?" Jooheon yelled way too loud for early in the morning, and Hyunwoo chuckled softly this time. The two secretly suspected their younger was going deaf in one ear.

Hoseok grabbed his bike from where he'd left it on the ground and heaved himself on top of it, immediately racing past his fellow friends, practically bathing in their whoops and cheers as he did so.

Minhyuk soon joined Hoseok at his side, smiling widely as the cool morning air rippled in their t-shirts and hair.

"Bet you twenty I can beat you down this hill," Hoseok proposed confidently, and Minhyuk smirked at him - well, tried to; it was proving to be difficult with the wind almost bringing tears to his eyes.

"You're on, short stuff," Minhyuk replied, and left Hoseok in the dust as he sped off ahead of him.

"I'm one centimetre shorter than you, you prick!" Hoseok shouted after his best friend as he dashed off after him.

"They're gonna die," Kihyun sighed, getting on top of his bike. "And what kinds of friends would we be if we didn't go and make sure they did it with style?"

And with that, Kihyun zipped off down the hill, followed by Changkyun, then Jooheon, then Hyunwoo.

Hoseok let out a loud triumphant laugh when he zoomed past Minhyuk, letting the force of gravity pull him further down to the bottom of the hill. Streets up the mountain were norally empty at this time of day, which is why Hoseok nearly lost control of his steering when a car turned the corner and nearly knocked him over.

Panicking, Hoseok swerved violently off the uneven road, landing himself next to a row of large hedges as his bike toppled over the other side of the mountain, crashing to the ground below him with some painful sounding clangs.

The car didn't stop and continued driving up the mountain as if it hadn't almost killed Hoseok.

"Oh my God, Hoseok!" Minhyuk near enough screamed, breaking heavily and stumbling off of his bike as he made haste to run over to Hoseok's side. "Hoseok? Are you ok? Did they hit you?"

Hoseok groaned, opening his eyes to see his best friend's face right above his, his eyes glistening with tears. The other four swiftly sprinted over to their friend, all five of them kneeling on either side of Hoseok.

He sat up slowly, squinting as the pain in his head increased.

"Hey, take it easy, idiot," Changkyun scolded, and Hoseok clicked his tongue.

"You brat, I'm older than you," he muttered strenuously, exhaling loudly.

"Are you ok, buddy?" Jooheon asked, and Hoseok nodded stiffly.

"They didn't hit you, did they?" Minhyuk repeated with so much panic, Hoseok actually felt sorry for him.

"No," Hoseok reassured softly, reaching up and ruffling Minhyuk's hair. "They didn't."

Suddenly, a sharp pain overtook Hoseok's middle and he let himself lay back down again with a grunt.

"You guys are going to think I'm crazy when I tell you this," he winced as Hyunwoo lifted him up and Kihyun helped position him over the elder's broad back.

"Tell us later. Right now we're taking you to hospital," Kihyun patted Hoseok's back softly as he smiled at the boy softly.

Hoseok couldn't really do anything to protest - not when Hyunwoo already had his arms hooked around his legs and when the pain was too great.

"Where's your bike?" Jooheon asked, as he picked up his own bike.

"Down the bottom," Hoseok scoffed, almost laughing at the thought of hid bike destroyed at the bottom of the mountain. He was just glad that he wasn't the bike at the moment.

Kihyun managed to handle his own bike plus Hyunwoo's while Minhyuk and Changkyun wheeled their own bikes after Hyunwoo, who seemed to be managing just fine with Hoseok on his back.

~*~

The boys thought Hoseok only had a few cuts and bruises on his face, arms and legs, but the internal damage shocked them the most. Hoseok had fractured a rib in the accident and was landed a pair of crutches to make walking easier for him.

"My mum's gonna kill you," Hoseok teased, playfully nudging Minhyuk's arm.

"What?!" The younger boy shrieked, looking painfully horrified, and Hoseok felt bad for laughing. "You're the one who wasn't looking where he was going!"

"But you're the one who insisted on dragging me out there in the first place," Hoseok retorted, and Minhyuk pouted forcefully.

"Grub's up, guys!" Jooheon exclaimed, throwing pairs of straws to everyone, including Hyunwoo who was carrying the food tray.

"Yah, be careful!" Kihyun scolded as he set the drinks down, causing the younger male to shut up and sit down next to Changkyun.

"So, what did you want to tell us?" Changkyun asked before he blew his straw wrapper right in Jooheon's face.

"Oh yeah," Hoseok stopped unwrapping his burger to wipe his sweaty hands on his jeans. "I think I saw Hyungwon in the back seat of that car that almost hit me."

Everyone stopped eating and went dead silent at the mention of Hyungwon, even Minhyuk who was the main one Hoseok went to talk to about him.

"That's impossible," Hyunwoo shook his head. "He left three years ago."

"Yeah, don't remind me," Hoseok snapped back bitterly, staring at his lap to avoid everyone's gazes.

"Maybe you just think you saw him," Kihyun shrugged. "The doctor did say you had a mild concussion so your mind is probably still a bit hazy."

That did make sense, Hoseok thought. But that face...

That hair, those lips, those eyes...they had to be Hyungwon.

But if they were, then Hoseok only had one question in his mind:

What was he doing here?

~*~

funny story, i nearly got hit by a truck while riding my bike once when i was like 11.