𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧.

"Yes."

"No."

"Please."

"𝘕𝘰."

I looked up at Hyunjin with puppy dog eyes.  "Please, I—"

"No, I'm not letting you borrow my car." He leaned against the wall and whipped out his phone to ignore me. 

It was 2:50PM, and our shifts were almost over, but Hyunjin had volunteered to stay and help Chan for a while, due to our current understaffed situation. So, I desperately needed to use his white Bentley convertible after work. My car had broken down the day before, and I was tired of paying for taxis around the city.

"You won't be using it! Please? Please, please, please, ple—"

"Oh my God, stop," He whined, drawing out his words with a tone of annoyance. "Your nagging is giving me a headache."

I sighed. I needed leverage, something I could do for him, something he needed—

Ah. Hyunjin had an adorable long-haired chihuahua. He constantly showed me pictures of his fur baby, but he had to leave him at his apartment before coming to the station, so he was often worried about him. 

"I'll watch Kkami!" I blurted out. 

He looked up from his phone. I had his attention at the mention of his dog's name. 

Crossing my arms and leaning back in my swivel chair at the studio desk, I bargained smugly, "I'll watch Kkami 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦,"  I held up a finger to emphasize, "If you let me borrow your car once."

Hyunjin took a breath, thinking. 

He then slowly shook his head, weighing the safety of his dog with the safety of his expensive vintage car. "Mm-mm. You watch him 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦, and you pick me up in my car from the dance studio later."

"What? That's not equal, it's a favor for a fav—"

"No Bentley for you then," He interrupted calmly, smirking and shaking his finger at me with feigned pity.

Although Hyunjin was a close friend and coworker, he really got on my nerves sometimes.

Like, why have such a nice car if you won't let people borrow it and show it off?? I really needed his car, not because it was extremely aesthetic and I wanted to take it for a joyride JUST ONCE (To which Hyunjin had formerly and firmly declined), but because I was already broke enough from the expenses of fixing my own car and paying taxi fares for the past week, and I really didn't feel like walking.

I rolled my eyes and settled for a compromise. "Okay, fine, I'll watch Kkami twice and pick you up later. Can I borrow your car now?"

Hyunjin smiled and nodded, giving me a final warning that if I scratched his car he would kill me, or something like that, I wasn't really listening. 

He tossed me a keyring with two keys and a white chain. As if on que, the front door opened as I caught Hyunjin's keys and they jingled in my hand. 

I looked up to see who it was, turning my chair to face the door. Felix smiled as he entered the studio, keeping a helmet under his arm and wearing a red and black racing jacket. 

"Hi, Hana." He waved toward me upon catching my eye. 

I smiled back. His cheerful aura had immediately filled the room as he walked in. "Hey, Felix. Is your motorcycle fixed?"

On Felix's first day, the reason he was late was because his motorcycle had broken down on the way to the station. He'd left the station an hour ago to pick it up. But now that my car had broken down only a week later, I was skeptical that Felix had passed some bad luck onto me, but it could be just a coincidence... 

Still, I watched him suspiciously with narrowed eyes. 

Felix nodded in response to my question, despite my judgemental gaze, and noticed Hyunjin leaning on the wall to his left. He started to greet him, hoping that the tension that grew between them since his first day could somehow be resolved. 

"Oh, Hi Hyunjin."

Hyunjin reluctantly responded with a indecipherable whisper of a greeting before turning to me with his arms crossed, a firm look on his face. 

He was just joking with me a minute ago while a bright smile... Now his expression was blank. What had happened when Felix came in?

"Please just remember to pick me up when you're done. I'll text you the address if you forget it."

He brushed past Felix and exited the studio like a light breeze, and just as quickly, he was gone, off to find and help Chan.

Felix moved aside to avoid bumping into him, watching him as he left.

What was up with those two? 

Felix seemed as confused as I was, but I discarded it as one of Hyunjin's moods, and Felix did too. I made a mental note to talk to Hyunjin later, though.

"You're picking him up later?" Felix questioned after tearing his eyes from Hyunjin's fleeing figure.

I nodded. "I'm borrowing his car."

"Oh, did you need a ride?" He motioned towards his helmet. "I could take you."

Holding up Hyunjin's keys and shaking them, the tiny clinks rang through the room as I declined with a smirk. "No thanks, I just acquired a pretty sweet ride."

Again, my phone dinged in unison with the sound of the keys. It was a reminder for 3:00.

I glanced at Hyunjin's keys before standing up and gathering my things.

Were they haunted or something?

I told Felix, "I've gotta go, I'll see you later though."

Nodding, he responded, "I'll probably stay and help Chan for a bit. You're going to visit that guy today, right? Say hi for me," He added.

"Sure," I gave Felix a wink and he smiled at me before I left. I clocked out with Chan and headed outside.

The radio station was magical, constantly full of music and laughter, but stepping outside in the sunlight after a long shift was a breath of fresh air. Sun rays filtered through the leaves of the trees, leaving tiny mosaics of swaying light and shadow as the trees moved in the subtle breeze. Not a cloud was in sight against the background of vibrant cerulean — it was my favorite type of day.

I hummed happily, spotting Hyunjin's sparkling Bentley parked nearby. I unlocked it and sat inside, starting the engine.

I breathed in the crisp air for a moment, relishing the feeling of finally succeeding and persuading Hyunjin to let me drive his car.

But my life flashed before my eyes as I thought of what he would do if a single scratch got on his car while it was in my possession.

I shuddered, trying to clear my head of those thoughts, and started off, the sunlight glinting off the cream exterior with a satisfying shine.

I had to settle for a joyride at a later time; Right now I had a friend to visit.

Driving halfway across the city, I parked in the shadow of a towering apartment building. It was luxurious, even from the outside, and I had to admit, I was slightly jealous of what I saw.

Passing the elegant lobby, decorated and furnished with an expensive touch, I suppressed my envy and rode the elevator up to the third floor.

After pressing the buttons, I stood in the center of the elevator, staring blankly in front of me at the closed doors.

Why were all of my friends richer than me? What was I doing wrong? Who was I trying to become? What was I doing with my li—

The elevator dinged, alerting me of my arrival to the third floor. I was jolted from the process of spontaneously rethinking my life as the doors parted in front of me. I sighed again as I remembered who I was here for and stepped out, walking down the long hallway and knocking on the door of apartment 325.

I waited for a minute in silence.

A crash suddenly came from behind the door, making me jump.

A muffled bang resounded, then footsteps approached the door before the owner tripped over something, resulting in another crash.

Worried, I leaned forward to listen better before calling through the door.

"...Minho? Are you okay?"