AFTER AN eventful breakfast, the boys found various ways to amuse themselves as chan put the last finishing touches on jeongin's bike. his speed and precision baffled everyone, especially the bikers. how is some surfer guy fixing a bike faster and better than our most trusted mechanics? they thought in shock. but sadly, all good things must come to an end, and that ending came a little before noon. chan called for jeongin from the garage, and the boy slipped there happily, eager to see his motorcycle.

"w...woah!" he exclaimed when he arrived in the garage. "there's not a scratch on it! it looks perfect! oh, thank you thank you thank you, chan!" he wrapped his arms around his torso, and the older boy chuckled.

"it's no problem, jeongin. it's the least i could do." he ruffled jeongin's dark locks and grinned when he stepped away with an annoyed face. both of them knew that jeongin was just playing around, though (in fact, he secretly enjoyed it, but put up a front to cover it up).

the bike in itself was jeongin's pride and joy. it was large and roared when he started it up, which caused a rush of adrenaline to surge through his veins. its slick black paint shone in the sunlight, giving off the impression that it glittered. all in all, jeongin's bike (which he named "the dark fox") was sleek and smooth, and he loved it to pieces.

but, one thing he always longed for was some sort of design on his motorcycle. the stray souls always told him that any sort of marking on your bike had to symbolize something important to you because your motorcycle was like an extension of yourself. changbin's motorcycle had a giant skull painted on it; minho's had a galaxy pattern; and hyunjin spray-painted purple flames onto his. but jeongin's bike remained bare. he was at a loss as to what to put on his bike. his friends all told him that it would come to him in time, but he just wasn't convinced. everyone else had found a design for their bike, so why hadn't he?

that's why jeongin couldn't hide his surprise when, upon further inspection, he found a tiny symbol on the rear of his motorcycle. it was an "s" whose bright red colour heavily contrasted with the darkness of the bike. however, it was rather small and was placed so that you wouldn't see it unless you were looking closely at the bike.

"chan... what's this?" jeongin questioned, pointing to the strange symbol. chan laughed and scratched the back of his head, a guilty look on his face.

"well, i noticed that your bike didn't have anything on it, so i thought i would surprise you with a little design of mine! it's an 's'— you know, for 'stray souls'— and i made it small just in case you didn't like it and wanted to cover it up." smiling softly, he said, "it's just a little something for you to remember your time here. you and your friends are always welcome back in my home."

jeongin thought that he was going to burst into tears. chan was one of the sweetest people he had ever met in his entire life, and only now did the realization that he would have to leave and return to the gang strike him. no more card games or rude awakenings from the surfers. no more movies or late night talks with chan. just the memory of the brief moments that they shared.

jeongin should've seen this coming. it was evident from the start, and yet he chose to ignore the harsh reality. chan was a surfer and he was a biker. surfers and bikers didn't mix. they weren't supposed to mix. and yet somehow, they had broken those barriers in a mere day and discovered that just because they were from opposite ends of the spectrum didn't mean that they couldn't connect. all of the stereotypes about bikers and surfers being sworn enemies didn't make sense to jeongin anymore. he didn't see leather jackets or board shorts. all he saw were people who had a lot more in common than they thought but simply refused to accept it.

but why?

before jeongin could get too deep into his thoughts, a hand placed itself onto his shoulder. "jeongin? you okay, mate? do you hate it that much?"

the boy shook his head frantically, chan's voice silencing the chatter in his brain. "no! sorry, i was thinking about something else. i love it, chan. it's really cool." it was the truth— jeongin did love the design— but chan could see how the biker's smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

"hey," he frowned, taking a seat on a nearby stool and gesturing for jeongin to do the same, "what's on your mind? i can tell that whatever you're thinking about is bringing you down."

jeongin fidgeted with the sleeve of his leather jacket as he sat down. "i dunno... it's sort of stupid."

"i can assure you that i've heard stupider things come out of jisung's mouth." chan's heart warmed when jeongin giggled a bit. "now, come on. out with it."

jeongin hesitated, but eventually gave in. "i was thinking about what will happen after this. we... we're not gonna see each other ever again, aren't we?"

chan's mouth formed an "o" in understanding. "so that's what you're worried about." jeongin nodded and looked down, light pink dusting his cheeks. "well, jeongin, it's true that it's not typical of bikers and surfers to be seen together, much less befriend each other." jeongin's heart clenched. "but—" he perked up slightly— "we're not like everyone else, are we?"

jeongin lit up. "so does this mean that we can still see each other?" after receiving a nod and a dimpled smile, he squealed and bounded over to chan. burying his face in his chest, he muffled out, "thank you so much, chan! for everything."

chan's face went cherry red. god, he's too cute to be legal. "anytime, kid. anytime."

☀☀☀

when jeongin and chan entered the living room, they were met with a surprising sight: the bikers were engaging in civilized (well, for the most part) conversation with the surfers! this caused jeongin to gasp loudly. all his life he had listened to his friends complain about how annoying and terrible the surfers were, and now here they were, casually talking about the new milkshake joint that had recently opened up in the town! jeongin was extremely happy, but at the same time extremely confused. what had happened while he was outside?

hyunjin quickly took note of his presence and ran over to him, shooting him a sly grin as he did so. tugging jeongin to the side of the room, away from any eavesdroppers, he said, "so, how was it? was he any good?"

jeongin gave him a confused look. "how was what?"

hyunjin rolled his eyes. "look, jeongin, you can drop the 'pure' act around me. i know that the two of you made out while you were in the garage. trust me, hyunjin knows everything."

jeongin felt like his body was on fire. "what the hell? of course, we didn't do... that! get your mind out of the gutter, hyunjin!"

the taller boy shrugged. "well, when two people are gone for a long time, it usually means they're either sitting there awkwardly not wanting to be the first one to leave the room, or it means that they're sucking face. i should know." he chuckled when jeongin whacked him on the arm, blushing madly.

"no! we weren't doing that! stop being stupid!"

"oh, is it bully jeongin day?" changbin yelled from across the room, and hyunjin laughed, waving him over. "i see! so what are we teasing him about today?" changbin grinned devilishly and rolled up his sleeves, and jeongin knew that he was in for the noogie of his life. dear lord, why does this have to happen to me? he thought in despair, mentally praying to whatever god that was out there to save him from this disaster.

"nobody's bullying anyone. save that for when we get home." minho's voice caused hyunjin and changbin to pout while jeongin cheered. thank god, my prayers were answered! he thought happily. "it's time for us to go home, anyway. i fear that we've overstayed our welcome."

this caused jeongin to droop like a wilted flower. "aw, man..."

chan smiled reassuringly. "no need to worry, minho. i quite enjoyed having you all over. it was a lot of fun." minho acknowledged his statement with a small nod. "i told jeongin this earlier, but my door is always open for you guys. don't hesitate to visit or give me a call whenever you want. it was really nice having you all here."

jeongin's friends went silent, and the biker knew them well enough to know that they were rendered speechless by chan's offer. jeongin understood their feelings— a surfer extending a hand of welcome to bikers? that was unheard of. so, he jumped in for them before the silence got too awkward. "thank you, chan. if we ever need help, we'll let you know." he led his friends to the door and guided them out, turning around to wave at the four surfers who he was lucky to now call his friends. "goodbye, you guys! i hope to see you again soon!"

a chorus of byes rang out from the house, and as his gaze shifted from person to person, jeongin let his eyes linger on one in particular before finally shutting the door and walking down from the porch to his newly repaired bike. but right before he was about to climb on, a hand stopped him. "jeongin, wait."

he looked up to find minho standing there, a look that he'd never seen before in his eyes. "yeah?"

minho remained unspeaking for a few moments longer, and jeongin could feel the curious stares of changbin and hyunjin boring into them. finally, he spoke in a quiet voice, and jeongin had to crane his neck to hear him.

"that guy... chan. he's nice. they all are." and with that, he quickly walked over to his motorcycle and slid on.

jeongin was elated. minho hated meeting new people, and he hated surfers as well. but those simple words from him were enough for jeongin to figure out that he was having a change of heart. the silent, unmoving minho had accepted these new people, a feat that the young biker thought would be impossible.

and as the four of them drove off together, jeongin thought that maybe— just maybe— his dream of connecting everyone wouldn't be so hard after all.

but some minds aren't so easily changed.