At the End of Summer || Mark Lee (NCT)

Chapter 29. Movie Night

- August 14, 2018 -

Tuesday

"Oh my god! I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die!"

"Relax, Lisbeth. You're not gonna die." I laughed at Elizabeth as I held onto the handlebar of my bike, balancing her.

3:14 p.m. Today's the day I was going to teach Elizabeth how to ride a bike, and so far, she's doing great.

If barely moving the bike and screaming "I'm gonna die" is great, that is.

We were at her street, making all the noise we shouldn't be making. I couldn't really stop her from yelling because her fear of riding a bike was no joke.

She was used to just sitting behind us, holding onto our waists as we pedaled, but having to ride and control it herself was her irrational fear.

"Just relax. You're gonna be okay. You're not gonna die." I told her in an attempt to calm her down.

She gripped tightly at the handlebar. "Mark, the last time I sat here, I flew to the streets and I was hospitalized for days. It was the worst."

"Relax, man. I'm right here, okay? As long as I'm guiding you, you're not gonna get hospitalized. And besides, do you really think I'm gonna let something happen to you?" I looked at her with seriousness, and she stared back at me, her eyes showing nervousness.

"No."

I smiled widely and pinched her cheek. "No, right? Now, just do what I say. Relax your body, breathe deeply. Put your feet on the pedal, one after the other."

She breathed deeply and did as I instructed.

"Now, start pedaling slowly."

"What if I fall?"

"You're not gonna fall. And even if you do, I'm here to catch you, okay?" I reassured her, smiling warmly at her.

The doubt and fear in her face slowly faded and it was replaced by a tinge of confidence. Then she inhaled and exhaled again, and started pedaling slowly, like I instructed her to.

As she pedaled forward, I held simultaneously onto the right part of the handlebar, and onto her right hand, guiding her. I could feel her shaking a little, but she was getting the hang of it.

"See, you're doing it," I encouraged her. She smiled and gave out a small laugh. "Okay, go a little faster."

"No, no, no, no. I don't want to." She suddenly said and stopped pedaling, putting both her feet down on the ground.

"You're not gonna learn if you don't go faster."

She groaned and rested her head on top of the handlebar, her long black wavy hair falling to her sides, then she turned her head to face me.

"Can't I just sit at the back while you bike?"

I knew she was getting tired. I've been teaching her for twenty minutes and all her improvement was getting a few feet away from her house. I didn't really mind it, I was patient.

But just so her smile would come back, I decided to tease her a little. "Is that your way of saying that you wanna give me a back hug?"

"What?"

Her cheeks went from pale to pink as she jolted up her head. She was blushing, and I just laughed at her while she gave me a look.

"I'm just kidding. Come on, how are you gonna learn if you don't try? It'll be fun, I swear."