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“Please stop! I’m not a hooker!” Hyunjin tries to wave down a car on the side of the road.
Hyunjin then looks down at his attire and winces a bit at his crop top with shorts.
He then looked at his bags with a hoodie on top and tried to decide if he wanted to put it on.
“Screw him.” Hyunjin scowls as his pride got the best of him and kicked the hoodie aside.
Hyunjin then went back to trying to flag people down.
He then noticed a big semitruck slow down and come to a stop on the side of the road.
Hyunjin was hesitant as he picked up his bags and walked over to side. He was being precaution because he seen so many movies about this going wrong.
The side door opens to a young looking man wearing a cap and a toothpick between his teeth.
“You need a ride?” He asked.
“Yeah…” Hyunjin eyes his truck and see it’s pretty neat for a truck driver.
“Where you going?” He questions further.
“Seoul.” Hyunjin says as he keep his distance.
“That’s where I’m heading. You want to ride?” He offered and Hyunjin keep his bag clutched.
“How do I know you’re not a killer?” Hyunjin questions making the man chuckle.
He leans over and opens the console of the passenger seat to pull out a wallet.
“Here. If I act creepy or try to do anything, you’ve seen my ID and know who I am to report me. I would also give you my phone but I don’t have one.” He tosses it and Hyunjin barely catches it.
Hyunjin opens the wallet to see an ID, his truck driver ID, a credit card, and a few bucks.
“Bang Christopher Chan?” Hyunjin raises an eyebrow.
“From Australia.” He shrugs making Hyunjin nod and close the wallet to hand back to him.
He sits his bags at the foot of the passenger side and climbs in, shutting the door behind him.
“What’s your name?” Chan starts the truck up again and waits to pull out.
“Hyunjin.” He says as he buckles up.
As Chan pulls out in front of the million cars and starts their smooth journey out.
“So Hyunjin, how did you get stuck out here?” Chan asked as he looks at the boy.
“Uhm, well me and my partner got into an argument so they kinda stranded me.” Hyunjin didn’t want to flat out say he was gay, just incase this dude was homophobic.
“Please tell me the dude is now your ex.” Chan chuckles as he read right through Hyunjin’s little lie.
“How-“ “Straight people don’t say partner.” Chan explains.
“Sorry. I just didn’t want to be in any harm.” Hyunjin sheepishly tucks a hair behind his ear.
“It’s okay. I get it. I wouldn’t say shit either.” Chan shrugs but then he gasped.
“Hey, are you allergic to dogs by any chance?” Chan asked.
“No? Why?” Hyunjin seen the panic look in the man’s eye.
The man blindly reaches behind him and opens a door. Hyunjin noticed it was a bed big enough for the man and then his eyes widen when a dog hopped into his lap.
“Sorry. She’s been in there sleeping and I forget about her since she’s so quiet.” He explains.
“Oh she’s so precious! What’s her name?” Hyunjin was rubbing her floppy ears and letting the dog give him kisses.
“Berry. She’s my everything. I keep her with me so I don’t get lonely on the road.” Chan smiles at them.
“Do all truckers have dogs?” Hyunjin asked.
“No. Some have partners to help with the sleeping or just to keep them company but I prefer Berry over anyone.” Chan explains.
Hyunjin looked back at the bed that was small but looks comfortable with pillows and blankets but cramped after awhile.
“You sleep there? It looks tiny.” Hyunjin rubbed Berry’s ears.
“It’s all I got.” Chan shrugs.
“But like I’m pretty sure you prefer your bed at home.” Hyunjin jokes but Chan gave a tight lipped smile.
“Like I said, it’s all I got.” Chan repeats.
That’s when it clicked in Hyunjin’s head.
“I’m so sorry.” Hyunjin lowered his head.
“It’s okay. Gives me more time on the road.” Chan shrugs as he keeps his eyes on the said road.
“But it must get repetitive? Just driving non-stop.” Hyunjin’s mood seem to change as he stopped rubbing Berry’s ears.
“I like it. Gives me a lot of time to think about myself.” Chan says.
“Did you always want to be a truck driver?” Hyunjin placed Berry back in the bed so she could lay peacefully.
“No. I wanted to be a song writer actually.” Chan says making Hyunjin look at him shocked.
“Really? What stopped you?” Hyunjin was getting more interested in Chan as they talked.
“Reality. My dad told me that it wasn’t a real job and I needed to actually try to be something that made money.” Chan explains.
“Parents don’t know anything. They tell us to follow our dreams but down us for those jobs that we have to do to reach them.” Hyunjin shakes his head.
“What do you do for a living?” Chan then counters his question.
“I’m in college and right now I’m working at a dance studio, teaching little kids.” Hyunjin says making Chan hum in approval.
“That’s cute.” Chan whispered but Hyunjin heard and blushed as he played with his fingers.
As they continue driving, they talked and told stories.
Finding a lot in common about each other.
Hyunjin was getting tired as Chan pulled into a small parking lot with a lit building.
“What are we doing?” Hyunjin asked as he watched Chan stop the truck.
“It’s a truck stop. Go pee or freshen up if you need. I’m going to let Berry pee if she needs too.” Chan explains as he opens his door and climbs out.
Hyunjin undid his belt and opens the door, looking down at the high jump with nervous eyes.
He slowly puts one of his feet on the step and tries to step down but his foot slipped.
He thought he would hit the ground but he felt arms catch him instead.
“Be careful. We can’t have you hurting that pretty face. Yeah?” Chan jokes as he sits him up straight.
Hyunjin blushes again as he scrambles off into the building. Noticing it was small and had just three restrooms. One for women, men, and a family. A few vending machines along the wall with maps and pamphlets.
Hyunjin used the restroom quickly and walked back outside. A few other truckers leaning against the wall, smoking and talking.
He felt slightly uncomfortable with them staring at him so he quickly sped up towards Chan’s truck.
“You good?” Chan held Berry in his arms by the truck.
“Yeah. Can we just get in the truck?” Hyunjin keep his eyes on the other truckers.
“Yeah. Come on.” Chan nods towards the truck.
The two climb back into the truck and Chan made sure to lock the doors.
“I know what you’re worried about. They can’t hurt you.” Chan says as Berry sits in his lap.
“But they were staring at me funny!” Hyunjin points out making Chan chuckle.
“Probably because you’re not the exact type to be out here and getting in a truck.” Chan explains making Hyunjin cross his arms and makes a ‘hmph’ noise.
“If you’re so worried, I’ll stay awake while you get some sleep. I can’t drive anymore anyways.” Chan says.
“Why not?” Hyunjin looks at him.
“We’re only allowed to drive so many hours so our bosses know that we’re resting or sleeping so we stay healthy enough to drive. We have a lot of responsibilities to maintain since we drive such big vehicles.” Chan says as he yawns and stretches.
“Well then you should sleep. I’ll be fine.” Hyunjin waves it off.
“No. If you don’t feel comfortable with them being there then I’ll watch out while you get some rest. I know you’re tired. I can only imagine how long you were standing there.” Chan says as he opens the door to his cabin, motioning to the bed.
“…Okay.”
————
When Hyunjin woke up, he was confused at the small space. His first thought was to stretch but he just hit the wall with his foot. Also noticing how Berry was resting by his feet.
He slowly opens the cabin door to see Chan driving around a familiar part of Seoul.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Chan chuckles.
“Good morning?” Hyunjin was slightly confused as he climbs out and gets back in his seat.
“I was thinking about dropping you off at your college so you would be safe. Where is it?” Chan questions.
“Oh yeah. JYP College.” Hyunjin rubs his eyes as he looks around.
Chan nods as he makes a change of directions, seemingly knowing where it’s at.
Hyunjin was honestly sad about their little trip coming to an end. It was nice to be on the road and see new things.
Specially meeting Chan.
Hyunjin looks over at Chan and studied his face. He was focused on the road. Looking extremely handsome with his hat backwards.
He was also really sweet and kind to let Hyunjin join him on the ride. He could have ignored him like everyone else did on the road or been some killer ready to kill him.
But no, Chan helped him.
Hyunjin bit his lip as he noticed Chan coming to a stop in front of the gates of his college.
“I can’t stay parked here very long so it was nice to meet you.” Chan says as he looks at Hyunjin.
“Yeah, same.” Hyunjin opened the door and hopped out. He grabbed his bags to look up at Chan.
“Maybe I’ll see you around.” Hyunjin says.
“Maybe. I’m on the road a lot.” Chan scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.
“Oh. Well then bye.” Hyunjin waves and shuts the door.
Chan watched Hyunjin walk through the gates slowly. Trudging slowly as if he was in thought.
That’s when Hyunjin dropped his bags and stopped to run back to him.
Hyunjin threw open the passenger door before Chan could drive off.
“What are you doing-“ Chan was cut off by Hyunjin kissing his cheek quickly.
Hyunjin slipped something into Chan’s jacket pocket as he pulled away to whisper, “Don’t give up on those dreams. Let them become a reality.”
Hyunjin then finally left the truck and walked off to his bags where a few people ran up to him. All of them asking him a million questions and Hyunjin giggling at them.
Chan pulled the paper out his pocket and noticed it was a business card for a recording label. He turned it over to see a little note.
Ask for Jisung and Changbin. Tell them that I sent you. Make you’re dreams come true and maybe we can see each other more.
Chan looked back up to see Hyunjin now gone.
He also smiled at the thought of someone actually believing in him.
That someone being who he only met a few hours ago.