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When Zhang Hao got a call at two in the morning, he panicked. Most people do not call others at 2am unless there is an important reason for doing so. So when he woke up to his dreaded ringtone and saw Hanbin’s blurry name across his phone screen, his eyes were wide open and he was already throwing on a jacket and jumping into his slippers before his brain was even fully awake. Hanbin was away for a schedule and said that he wanted to visit his family before coming back to the dorms. Did something happen to him at the schedule? On the train home? What could be the matter? He swiped to answer.
“What’s wrong?” His voice was loud and panicked. It might’ve woken up Gyuvin but he couldn’t care less. He probably looked a bit ridiculous. His fluffy pyjamas were a size too small with pink pandas printed all over them and his slippers were chunky with pom-poms but none of that was important when your best friend called you at two in the morning. He scrambled towards the entrance of the dorms, ready to bolt to wherever Hanbin was.
“I’m at the entrance, open up!” Hanbin’s voice didn’t sound scared or worried. He sounded happy, cheerful. All of a sudden Zhang Hao felt silly. Was he getting worked up over nothing?
“Somebody better be dead.” He whispered and hung up, unlocking the front door. It was cold and dark outside, Zhang Hao shivered as their door creaked open. It was eerily quiet, probably because everybody was asleep. As most people tended to do when it was two in the morning. Everybody but Sung Hanbin who had a bright smile, almost like he was proud of himself. Proud for what? Zhang Hao didn’t know. The most striking thing that he saw when he opened the front door wasn’t Hanbin but more so his method of transport.
“Why are you on a tricycle?”
It was a cute tricycle, blue with pink flowers all over it. As cute as it was, it didn’t explain why a twenty three year old man rode it at two in the morning to appear in front of their dorms. It was also comically small, Hanbin was a tall and fully grown man. Certainly not the target audience for the kiddy tricycle. His knees were halfway up his chest and it seemed like it would do terrible things to his posture. He looked at the trike a little harder. He didn’t notice it at first since it was dark and his eyes still weren’t fully awake but there was another tricycle behind him, tied to the back of the blue one that Hanbin was on. They matched, as the one at the back was covered in rainbows and unicorns. He internally laughed at the idea of Hanbin riding the unconventional vehicle through the city while dragging another behind him.
“I found these in our storage room when we were cleaning stuff out. This one was mine and that one was my sisters, thought I’d take you out on a ride. You know, for our date.”
Date. Zhang Hao almost forgot. He was certain Hanbin forgot about it.
— Two weeks ago —
“This is terrible!”
Zhang Hao’s whiny voice echoed throughout the dorms. Gyuvin quickly poked his head around the doorframe of his room, Hanbin shortly following. “What’s terrible?” They anxiously asked at the same time.
“I’m going to lose! I can’t lose. I hate failing.”
Gyuvin and Hanbin looked at each other, both of their eyebrows pinched in confusion. Fail? “Fail what?”
“The year! I’m going to fail 2024!” Zhang Hao’s limbs spread across his bed in a starfish position.
“How can you fail 2024? We achieved so much.” Gyuvin tiptoed towards the bed and made himself comfortable on an empty space on the mattress. Zhang Hao didn’t say anything and instead shoved a piece of paper in his face.
“Is this a checklist?”
Zhang Hao nodded and Hanbin approached the other two, taking the page out of Gyuvin’s hands. “Win a music show… sing an ost… make a new friend… blah, blah, blah, it looks like you’ve ticked off everything?” He looked up but Zhang Hao only made a circular motion with his hands. Hanbin turned the page. “Oh, three blank boxes. You haven’t been on a date this year? Or kissed? Or…” He didn’t finish his sentence and blushed. Gyuvin’s curious hands reached for the page but Hanbin pulled away. “No, you’re not old enough to read about big boy activities.”
“I’m a fully grown adult!” Gyuvin exclaimed but seemed to have an idea of what was on the page because he didn’t insist on reading the last item on the list.
“I’m going to fail the year! This is absolutely terrible, I hate failing.”
“You’re not failing. There’s still a few weeks left, you have time.” Gyuvin patted his shoulder.
“A few weeks is nothing! Christmas is coming and everyone’s busy. Where am I meant to find a boyfriend at a time like this?”
“Well, a boyfriend isn’t on the list. You just have to go on a date. And kiss them. And-” Gyuvin’s voice was muffled thanks to Hanbin’s hand. The hand was slowly removed after a short moment and Gyuvin started to speak again. “Just go on a friendly date. And have a friendly kiss. And a friendly-” Gyuvin’s voice was muffled again.
“That is a ridiculous-” Hanbin started but was interrupted by Zhang Hao.
“That’s an amazing idea! That way I won’t fail the year! I’m going to win 2024! Gyuvin, come on, let’s go on a date.”
“What?!” Hanbin and Gyuvin shrieked at the same time. Hanbin removed his hand from Gyuvin’s mouth and wiped it on his pants. “Hao, this is your list, you can just cross it out.”
“Absolutely not. That’s cheating. I can’t cheat.” Zhang Hao shook his head seriously, almost like a disapproving teacher. He looked at Gyuvin again with wide puppy eyes.
“I do not consent to going out with you. I’m this close to bagging Ricky.” Gyuvin shook his head, visibly holding himself from physically reacting.
Zhang Hao looked like he was about to protest but then sighed. “Okay, fine. You get a pass. Hanbin, come on. You’re going out with me. Go on, go ahead and plan our date. Get ready to surprise me.” He pushed Hanbin out of his room, shooing him away.
“Do I not get a choice…” Hanbin quietly asked into the empty hallway. Not that he would have said no. He would have preferred a real date with real emotions rather than being something ticked off a list. “But a date is a date…”
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“This is your idea of romance? This has to be a safety hazard.” Zhang Hao scolded with no real malice and stepped out to untie the rope connecting the two tricycles. He was fully awake now, might as well roll along with Hanbin’s silly ideas. He kicked off his slippers in favour of some old runners. If he was really going to do this then he probably shouldn’t wear a pair of loose slippers. He locked his door, ready to go out in the small hours of the morning.
When he lowered himself into the tricycle, he felt his knees immediately reach up to his chest. It took a moment for him to get his legs used to the weird position. He gave it a test pedal, trying but struggling to circle around Hanbin who was laughing at his poor attempts at controlling the trike. Zhang Hao wasn’t quite as flexible as the dancer which might have made it more difficult to press against the pedals. At least, that was what he told himself. Eventually Zhang Hao gave up and pushed his feet against the ground to get the tricycle going. He zoomed off, letting the wheels glide over the concrete pavement of their neighbourhood. Hanbin gasped at the sudden speed and chased after him, also pushing his feet against the ground instead of pathetically trying to pedal his way through.
The night breeze was weak but bitingly cold against their skin, especially with how fast they were going. It wasn't so cold that they were freezing, it was closer to being refreshing and had them wide awake. Both of them could feel their ears and nose go red with the chilling air, still, there was something freeing about it. They let their trikes roll down the road, entering the once busy streets of the day. Where there were once bustling students surrounding the convenience stores in the light day, there were now deserted empty stores in the dark night. The only sounds were Zhang Hao and Hanbin’s youthful voices and laughs. It was peaceful, just Zhang Hao and Hanbin living in their little world by themselves. It might have been the best date that Zhang Hao had been on.
Date... Zhang Hao looked down and saw that his outfit was definitely not date worthy. He looked back up and shrugged. It wasn’t like he had to try hard to impress Hanbin, he was his best friend.
“Do you think the convenience store will let us in with tricycles?” Hanbin asked as they approached a 24/7 convenience store. It was empty and the worker seemed bored. What better time was there to get snacks than now?
“I think we should leave our bikes outside like normal people. It’s not like there’s anyone around right now.”
“Tricycles.” Hanbin corrected him but listened and parked his toy like vehicle beside a tree. He waited for Zhang Hao to do the same before going inside. Everyone in the store ignored the obscure fashion that Zhang Hao was sporting and Hanbin pointed at the seasonal snacks that they sold specifically in winter. Truthfully, Zhang Hao wasn’t really hungry but he still took a bottle of milk tea. Hanbin on the other hand grabbed an armful of snacks.
“You don’t want anything else?” Hanbin asked him as he paid for everything. Zhang Hao told him that he could pay for his drink but Hanbin insisted that since ‘he took him out’ then he should pay for their first date. Zhang Hao didn’t argue, who would deny a free milk tea.
“Not feeling it. And I’ll pay for the next date.” Zhang Hao booped Hanbin’s nose with his plastic bottle and giggled at the weak whine he got.
They took their snacks and tricycles out to a nearby empty park. Hanbin stuck a strawberry pepero in his mouth, dropped the rest of his stuff on a bench and hopped onto the seat of a swing. “Push meh!” His words were unclear as he yelled around the biscuit stick in his mouth. He looked back at Zhang Hao who was still leaning over the gate at the entrance. Hanbin cocked his head to the side, confused as to why Zhang Hao wasn’t next to him.
Shrugging, he looked ahead and kicked his feet off the ground, weakly pushing himself on the swings. He hummed and slowly chewed the pepero, savouring the sweet strawberry flavour and pretty night sky. He was mid swing when the chains he was holding onto stilled so he looked back and was met with Zhang Hao’s handsome face. He was so close and was only moving closer. Hanbin yelped, growing red and flustered with how close the other was. Then the pepero in his mouth was gone. Gone and in between Zhang Hao’s lips. Hanbin was pushed up into the air before he could complain.
“Hao!” Hanbin yelled and dug his heels into the mud, it was slippery but was enough to break the friction. His shoes were covered in dirt but his complaints were drowned out by his own laughs. “My pepero! And my date shoes are ruined, how can I impress you like this?”
“You don’t have to try to impress me.” Zhang Hao patted his shoulder and popped another pepero in Hanbin’s mouth. He then grabbed the flowery tricycle. “Let’s go to the skatepark. We won’t get a chance like this again. Race you!” He skidded off on his friend’s childhood trike, not looking back to see the other’s stunted face. Hanbin stayed still on the swing, slowly chewing on the biscuit stick.
The skatepark was a small section in the park, only consisting of a few slopes but it was still popular amongst the teenagers in the area. It wasn’t far so Hanbin watched Zhang Hao race against himself from the start to the end. It was childish, crow-like screeches echoed throughout the park and Zhang Hao’s feet were hovering above the ground as the wheels rolled but it was still somehow endearing. Hanbin eventually grabbed his bag and sister’s tricycle, chasing after Zhang Hao but the other was rolling down slopes long before he arrived.
“Let’s go round in a circle.” Zhang Hao motioned circles with his hands when he arrived, already starting to go up a ramp. Hanbin let him have a head start before he followed, but even with the disadvantage, he quickly surpassed the other. Zhang Hao yelled but Hanbin only went faster, his feet constantly pushing against the ground. He eventually lost control from laughing too much and Zhang Hao lightly bumped into the other from behind.
“Hey! I could have been hurt!” Hanbin pouted but was visibly holding back his laughter.
“But you’re not. I’d never hurt my Hanbinnie.” Zhang Hao patted the other’s head and slowly moved his hand down to rub the back of the other’s neck, gently holding him there. Their eyes were fixed onto each other, it must have looked silly from an outsider. Two grown men on tricycles, intensely looking into each other's eyes. Holding each other not only by the neck but also with their gazes.
“Don’t you need to kiss me? For your checklist.” Hanbin whispered.
Zhang Hao took a breath and then whispered. “Yeah. For the checklist.” He gently tugged Hanbin towards him, pulling him off his tricycle and onto his lap. Hanbin hovered over his lap, afraid to put too much weight on the children’s trikes and lightly rested his hands on Zhang Hao’s shoulders. He leaned down, Zhang Hao tugged him closer towards him one last time and then they were kissing. It was soft, it was sweet. It was short. They pulled back. They leaned in one more time.
The ride back was much less chaotic compared to when they left their dorms earlier. They pushed their feet against the ground in a much calmer manner and shared their spicy snacks. In their heads, the spice would keep them warm from the winter cold. They weren't sure if it was working or not. “I don’t know how I’m going to bring these back.” Hanbin murmured as he looked at their tricycles. “It was too much hassle bringing them here. We’ll have to keep them in the dorms for now.”
“Sounds like another tricycle date. Maybe I’ll bring them home with you this time.” Zhang Hao stole a crisp from Hanbin’s hand. “Ah, it's hot.”
“I know.” Hanbin teased. “I'm very hot, thank you for noticing.”
“So annoying.” Zhang Hao rolled his eyes but clearly didn't mean it and stole another crisp. "This was nice. We should do this again.”
“We should but I don’t know how many more late nights we can spend like this.”
“No, I mean... just dates. We should go on more dates.”
“More dates? As friends? For the list?” Hanbin’s voice was tense, both hopeful and nervous.
“How about, more than friends? Checklist for 2025, get a boyfriend.” They stopped outside their dorm but didn’t get off their tricycles. Zhang Hao’s eyes darted around, biting his lip like he was restricting himself from saying more. Hanbin smiled softly and nodded, leaning in to softly kiss Zhang Hao’s lips.
“Hao?” Hanbin looked shy. “Isn’t there one more thing you need to do before the year ends?”
A peck on Hanbin’s nose. “Yeah, you want to help me tick it off tonight?”