08:05 pm

"We're early, hope we didn't rush you? " Haemin said as Jinxi hurled himself into the passenger seat and slammed the door of the truck shut.

Jinxi remained silent as he shook his head and rearranged the backpack on his lap.

"Change of plans, we have to stop by Kevin's place and pick him up too," Haemin said, steering the truck to the main street, "Thanks to someone."

"Hey! I can't help if my dad decided to take my car out of nowhere, that too today of all day!"

Jinxi turned to look around at the unexpected voice and chuckled. Minyook looked undoubtedly absurd, sprawled across the backseat with an insanely huge backpack almost dwarfing himself in size.

Minyook saw Jinxi looking at him and beamed, making his already comical situation even funnier.

"So you decided it was a fun idea to trek all the way to my house with that backpack and those slippers," Haemin said without taking his eyes from the road.

He took a turn into a food street and slowed down.

"Look who's talking. Slides are way better than crocs. Right Jinxi Hyung?"

Jinxi smiled softly at the bickering, "Don't pull me into that conversation."

Haemin halted in front of a fairly big restaurant.

"I bought enough snacks, we don't need to get more," Jinxi commented, upon seeing Haemin eyeing the restaurant.

"It's very nice of you to call me a snack, hyung. But I prefer being a full-course meal," Kevin said with a smile and a wink while shuffling out of the side gate with a backpack too.

"Kevin?, " Yoongi blanked out, "I didn't mean-"

"You're only saying that because your family owns a restaurant," Minyook laughed, smacking Jungkook on his shoulder, "Who cares about a meal when you have snacks? Fries over rice!" Minyook yelled into the air.

Kevin got onto the backseat laughing and the two soon set into the debate of healthy foods vs tasty foods.

Looking at Minyook, Jinxi felt strange. He looked around the packed truck and could sense a shift in the aura. The loud voices in the background seemed to muffle his own thoughts. The cramped space felt strangely welcoming.

It felt like an escape.