SeHo | Ride

Ten Steps Back

As soon as Sehun heard the crash, he quickly shot back at Ten, but realized he wasn't next to him anymore. He looked behind him to find Ten rolling on the ground along with his bike broken to pieces, meters before him. Sehun panicked and slowed down his speed. "Shit!" Sehun cursed in his helmet.

"Ten!" his team members called out in concern. Ten threw his helmet off and started to grab at his knee, eyes squinting in pain.

The sounds of concern came from the spectators that watched at the steps, and Sehun's bike decreased to a halt, hesitantly looking at the finish line then back at Ten. He wondered, is it really bad to just complete the race? He hesitantly turned his bike to drive towards Ten, and hopped off his bike. Sehun threw off his helmet, staring at Ten's injured leg. 

"What happened?" Sehun asked, "Is it broken?" 

Ten's teeth gritted in pain as he groaned. "Ughh, I don't know. It hurts..."

"Can you stand?" Sehun started to pull Ten up, putting his arm over his broad shoulder for support.

Ten looks at him confused, sweat running from his temple. "What are you..."

"It doesn't matter who wins this race now. We will finish this race together."

Ten didn't argue but smiled softly, wincing in pain as he tried to walk with his hurt leg. He hissed in pain as he put half of his weight on it, and Sehun held up his body closer against him.

"It looks like you might have sprung it."

Ten chuckles weakly, "I hope so. It's not broken is it?"

Sehun stared at his leg again, "No, it isn't."

He heard claps and cheers as they walked slowly to the finish line, everyone watching. 

"What happened?" Sehun asked, "How did you fall?"

Ten's face turned red, "It's embarrassing... I... lost focus." Ten swore softly under his breath. "I'm a disappointment."

"No, you aren't. Winning the race doesn't matter if someone is dead. It is just a race, and it won't mean anything if someone is seriously hurt." Sehun told him exactly what Junmyeon told him when he fell during one of their practices. 

He remembered that feeling when he was consistently competing with Chanyeol, and he slipped off of his bike, his body crashing to the floor, watching Chanyeol pass him to another victory. He was frustrated, and he felt the tears swell in his eyes, feeling like shame and disappointment. Not only to the bike crew, but Junmyeon. Junmyeon stared down at him, his head blocking the sun as Sehun stared into the sky. "You have to be more careful, Sehun." Junmyeon scolded. "Getting mad at yourself won't help you win the race. Don't push yourself to the point that you lose control and make a careless mistake. It's just a race, after all. It wouldn't mean anything if you're dead. Just remember that."

Ten looks at him for a moment. "Not many people see it that way. All everyone cares about is winning."

"Yeah, until someone dies. When I saw that you fell, not only did I know I would win for sure, but... it just didn't feel right to leave you behind when your life could really be in danger."

"You could have continued..."

"It's fine. After all, we can always race again."

Sehun and Ten finally crossed the line and everyone jogged to them. The Mavericks quickly aiding to their injured member. "We will take him to the hospital," Ravi said to Taemin, as they started to pull him off the course. Sehun held his breath as he saw Taemin walking over to him, preparing for what he was going to say.

"Thank you, Sehun." Taemin said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You are a very good sport." 

Sehun just nods in respect and softly smiled. 

"Junmyeon," Taemin said, "you really picked up a great team player. To be fair, since both of them crossed the race, we should split our earnings."

"That's fine with me," Junmyeon replied. "I would assume you need that money for his medical bill and bike repair. I'm sorry for what happened."

"Accidents happen," Taemin sighed, "but at least we raced fair. I have much respect for you and your crew, and most importantly, Sehun." Taemin took the thick load of cash out of his pocket and put it in Junmyeon's hand. "Forget what I said before," Taemin said, "All the money is yours. But don't worry about us, I can take care of this."

Junmyeon shook his head, refusing, "You don't need to do that."

"I insist. Money isn't that much of an issue to me." Taemin raised his voice, grabbing Junmyeon's hand and squeezing a little. Then pat the back of his hand, smiling cheekily again. "We race again. But today, it's fair to say that your team won." Before Junmyeon can say anymore, Taemin dashed back to his crew members, one of them collecting Ten's damaged bike.

Jongin walked towards Junmyeon with his hands in his pockets. "Will he be alright? He fell pretty hard."

"He might have only sprung it. I don't think he has any other injuries." Minseok answered.

"That's a relief, sort of. Now it is also his bike that he has to worry about. It is going to be a bitch to fix." Chanyeol said.

Junmyeon tried to smile, to lighten the mood. "I'm sure everything will be sorted out for them. Good race, everyone. You worked hard, and I am proud of all of you." He starts to split the money evenly with them all, and when he got to Sehun, he couldn't resist the smirk on Sehun's face. His gut flooded with butterflies at the younger guy, seeing his cockiness radiating shamelessly. Junmyeon couldn't hide his blushing face as he put the money in Sehun's gloved hands.

Once Junmyeon started to walk away, Sehun grabbed his hands tightly, not letting go.

"My reward?" Sehun slyly teased.

Junmyeon smirked back, looking around to make sure no one saw the sudden contact. But everyone was busy talking to each other and getting excited over their cash. "It was a draw, Sehun."

Sehun rolled his eyes and shook his head playfully. "You heard Taemin's words. It's fair to say that we won."

Junmyeon didn't say anything, just smirked at him, putting his hands in his pockets. Sehun had enough and was willing to risk it all as he closed the gap between them. His breath ghosted over Junmyeon's neck as he leaned toward his ear.

"I earned it. Now I am asking when?" Sehun whispered, sending chills to Junmyeon. Junmyeon remained stiff, but Sehun could tell he affected him as he watched Junmyeon lick his lips and eyes turn dark. Junmyeon detected the neediness in his voice, and he couldn't hold back his temptation anymore as he felt that familiar tension in his pants. But he still had to remain calm around the other bike members, and also everyone else who could be watching.

Junmyeon took a step back and walked away, without answering. Sehun watched him carefully as Junmyeon gathered everyone together again for another talk.

"I am very happy to have all of you on this team. And we have really worked hard to make this win possible. Unfortunately, an accident happened, but we can all say that it was not our fault so we shouldn't feel guilty. This happens in racing and we always have to remember to be careful when we race and understand the danger that we put ourselves in. And also, give applause to Sehun for checking on him. That's an example of good sportsmanship."

Everyone cheered, giving Sehun high fives and pats on the back.

"Let's meet at my place to celebrate. We deserve it!" Junmyeon smiles cheekily as he puts his helmet back on, hopping on his bike and turning on the engine. Everyone followed him on the dark road back to their district, Sehun also anxiously waiting for how this night could possibly end.