bikers & beaches | tk ✓

❧11

❧ The Fear of Not Living ❧

Taehyung was not planning to deal with an awkward atmosphere that night. He'd seen the motorcycle in the lot and assumed Jeongguk was already by the shore.

But he had also seen Mr.Tuan's car, sitting idle beside the two-wheeler, and light spilling out from the glass entrance. So, Taehyung decided he could go for a mango smoothie.

Instead of cutting through the bush lining to the sand, he traced the front path to the steps by the door. He pushed the handle without hesitation, freezing the next moment when he heard laughter.

Two voices. One familiar for years, older and mature, the other... hardly there. But he heard the lightness of the foreign laugh, the rumbling form of joy spilling out from someone's chest.

He was already too late, wincing as the bells jingled obnoxiously loud, causing the laughter to still.

"Hey, Tuan's closed for the— oh, it's just you."

Jeongguk.

Jeongguk?

Taehyung inwardly groaned as he stepped further into the diner and leather was the first thing to catch his eye. There was his star biker, perched at the bar counter, drumming fingers on the red surface.

Mr.Tuan was wringing a cleaning rag under the faucet, the running water filling the silence after the bells stopped ringing. The diner's seating floor was already wrapped up for the night, chairs up on the tables that were wiped clean.

"Ah, Tae," The old man smiled over his shoulder and looked at Jeongguk. "Sorry, I've got some company."

"Don't let me stop you." He huffed, hands buried in his sweater pockets as he stalked up to the bar counter and took a seat on the stool next to the biker's.

Mr.Tuan eyed them with confusion. Of course he would; the last time he'd seen them interact alone was with one doused in mango pulp and the other fuming with being told off.

The man must have thought he was going to have to split up another bickering session again.

"So," Jeongguk swiveled in his chair, straining his leather as he propped his head up, elbow holding him on the tall counter. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Shut up." Taehyung mumbled, jumping ever so slightly when an exposed knee, shining pale behind ripped threads on black denim, grazed his thigh. The surfer blocked Jeongguk out when he heard the small chuckle, entirely opposite to the light laughter he'd heard moments ago.

"Mango smoothie?" Mr.Tuan wiped his hands down on his apron and Taehyung's smile was immediate, nodding eagerly.

"I hate that wretched drink." Jeongguk scoffed, still staring shamelessly at the surfer. "Almost cost me my leather."

"Should've kept your hands to yourself and there would've been zero problems." Taehyung didn't give him any attention. Tried not to, at least.

It was a little hard when that knee kept tickling his outer thigh and making him shift as far away as he could without falling off the stool.

"Tell me to keep my hands to myself when we're in the water," Jeongguk snorted. "See how well that goes, Saltine."

He almost kicked the younger to shut the hell up.

Especially when Mr.Tuan fumbled with the mango in his hand upon hearing the words and the room was suddenly sucked into an awkward void of different awareness levels.

"You're going in the water, Taehyung?"

He didn't know whether to be glad or annoyed that that was the part the owner picked up on.