#skip work

She appreciated Haknyeon letting her vent like he always did- they’d become friends at work and been carpooling for a while now, and Mia knew he wasn’t thrilled with the job right now either.

But Haknyeon always handled things so much better than she did; it’s why she liked him so much.

“Yeah,” he chuckled, glancing at the coffee in his hands before looking up at her. “Me either…”

“We should just… not,” Mia joked. “Let’s just not show up, be rebels and fight the system!”

She shook her fist dramatically, and Haknyeon laughed out loud at that before he was tilting his head, a curious glitter in his eye.

“What?” she asked, knowing him well enough to recognize he had some kind of idea. “What are you thinking?”

But Haknyeon didn’t answer her, a mischievous grin on his face as he hurriedly put his coffee beside her own, fishing his phone out of his pocket.

“Hak!”

Mia was giggling, his silence making her all the more curious as she sat straight up in her seat.

“What are you do-?”

But his phone was already against his ear, and he was reaching out with his free hand, covering her mouth to keep her from talking-

“Yeah, um hi-”

His voice raspy and weak, and Haknyeon coughed slightly into the phone, slowly lowering his hand from Mia’s mouth.

“This is Haknyeon-”

He coughed again, clearing his throat afterwards, and Mia was giggling under her breath.

“I, um… I don’t think I’m going to make it in today. I’m pretty sick-”

There was an indistinct voice on the other end, Mia recognizing her boss’s high-pitched tone, but unable to make out the words.

“-yeah, I’m sorry-”

Haknyeon caught her eye, both of them smiling before he was quickly turning away, obviously trying not to laugh.

“I just- Yeah, I woke up this morning with it-”

He nodded.

“Thank you so much. Okay, bye.”

Mia waited for him to hit the end button before she was turning almost sideways in her seat, eyes wide with surprise.

“I can’t believe you did that!”

“You’re gonna do it, too,” he said, motioning towards her phone in the front pocket of her purse.

“Oh am I?” she raised an eyebrow at him, and he chuckled a little, shaking his head.

“Come on, Mia, do it with me.”

His laughter was infectious, and she found herself giggling again, feeling slightly unsure…

“Let’s go on a road trip.”

His eyes were shining with excitement, an eager expression on his handsome face.

“I’ve gotta be at work in like, twenty minutes-” she protested weakly.

“Fuck that,” he was shaking his head again. “Let’s go race go-karts.”

“You wanna go go-karting?” Mia said with a giggle. “In this?”

She motioned towards her work clothes- pencil skirt, white, short-sleeved top, sensible flats- and she saw Haknyeon’s eyes flicking up and down her body, grinning again.

“You look great.”

“It’s not- I wasn’t-”

Mia felt a little flustered at the compliment, laughing nervously.

“I was just saying I can’t go go-karting in this-”

“Why not?”

She paused.

“Well…”

But to be honest, other than the fact that she’d never seen anyone go-kart in business clothes before, she couldn’t say she had another reason.

“I actually don’t know.”

Haknyeon’s chuckle was soft as he leaned forward, plucking her phone out of her purse and handing it to her.

“Do it,” he said, his face a little closer to her own, a playful grin on his lips. “I dare you.”

Mia scoffed because Haknyeon knew she never backed down from a dare, and she swiped the phone from his hand, sighing dramatically once again.

“Fine.”

She dialed the number to the office, feeling nervous, her boss picking up after the third ring, sounding slightly annoyed.

“Mia,” the woman answered sharply. “Don’t tell me you’re sick, too. Because Haknyeon just called and if you two aren’t here, I’m gonna have to be the one to run the reports today-”

She swallowed, biting her lip and staring at Haknyeon as she spoke.

“I’m sorry…” she made her voice quiet and a little broken. “I think I came down with something, I don’t know-”

“Oh great-”

Their boss wasn’t the most pleasant woman, and Mia could hear her closing a drawer in her desk rather violently-

“-well, I mean, I guess if you’re sick, you’re sick.”

Mia fake sneezed loudly, and Haknyeon slapped a palm to his mouth, clearly fighting back laughter.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Thanks so much.”

Their boss hung up without saying goodbye, and Mia stared at the phone for a minute before scowling.

“Geez,” she said. “What a bitch.”

Haknyeon snorted, already sitting back and pulling his seatbelt on.

“So, she took it well?” he asked playfully.

“Oh super well,” Mia giggled, following his lead, buckling up just as he was starting the car. “Told me she’d send me a get well fruit basket-”

Haknyeon laughed so loudly he was throwing his head back before looking at her once more, a brightness on his features.

“You wanna go now?” he asked.

“I mean- sure,” she realized they were truly winging it today, and she couldn’t think of a better person to do that with; Haknyeon was always so much fun. “Go-Karting at nine in the morning? Let’s go.”

He was chuckling again before throwing the car into reverse, resting his hand on the back of her seat and looking over his shoulder as he backed out of their parking spot.

Then he was shifting into drive, grinning and wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

“Okay, but first… We’re getting food.”

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“I can’t believe I won!”

Mia was yelling much too loudly, Haknyeon walking beside her and laughing brightly, plucking a big piece off his cotton candy.

“Maybe I let you win.”

“No way-”

She giggled, narrowing her eyes playfully at him.

“-I saw how hard you were throwing the ball; you never put that much effort into anything unless you wanna win.”

Haknyeon’s eyes darted along the features of his face, the man grinning teasingly.

“Wow, you pay attention to me so much.”

Mia felt her cheeks warming a little as she scoffed, rolling her eyes with a smile.

“Or you’re just obvious.”

Haknyeon laughed again, but this time, he didn’t argue.

They’d spent the entire day like this.

After the two of them had driven out of their work parking lot, Haknyeon had dragged them into a diner that had such good breakfast food, Mia had wondered how she’d never been there before.

Then they’d hopped in the car, Haknyeon already knowing where to go, and it was about an hour before they were stopping at a big amusement park.

Mia had been surprised- she’d thought they were just go-karting- but Hakyeon had told her they had go-karts and other games too, along with rides and, of course, lots of fair food.

They’d spent the entire day together, Haknyeon convincing her to ride roller coasters, Mia convincing him to challenge her in carnival games, winner buying the next round of snacks.

She shouldn’t have been surprised when Haknyeon was beating her in a lot of them, bringing out the competitive side in Mia, asking him again and again to play as they moved across the game booths.

And finally- after stopping at a game where baseballs were thrown to knock over bowling pins- Mia had won something, still excited even after they’d left and Haknyeon had bought them cotton candy.

The sun was setting now, the park a little quieter as many people had left for the evening, the dim lights of the rides and tents creating a warm, soothing kind of atmosphere.

Mia turned to Haknyeon, the man plucking another small chunk off his pink cotton candy, a sideways smile still pulling on his lips.

She’d been close with Haknyeon for quite a few months now, and she’d be lying if she said she’d never noticed how handsome he was. The man was handsome, and not just in looks, but in personality, a confident calmness about him that Mia had always admired.

He was funny, outgoing, and slightly mysterious, not always saying everything she was sure he was thinking.

Mia was always intrigued by him, enjoyed every moment she spent with him, and out there under the carnival lights, identical sticks of cotton candy in their hands as they walked close together…

There were butterflies fluttering wildly in her stomach.

Haknyeon must’ve felt her gaze, turning to her and chuckling a little, his eyes darting between her own.

“What?” he asked, voice a little quiet.

They stopped walking, Mia laughing lightly too, glancing at the ground before looking up at him through her lashes.

“I just…” she hesitated. “Thank you. I needed this…”

She’d been so stressed at work lately- so caught up- that she realized she hadn’t been this relaxed in forever…

And it felt so nice.

Haknyeon’s smile went soft, and he was staring at her for a moment before speaking.

“Yeah,” he replied lowly. “I know you did; that’s why I made you do it.”

Mia was just wondering how he could know her so well already- know exactly what she needed- when she saw him take a small step forward.

Her heart jumped a little when she felt fingertips dusting boldly against her own, Mia opening her hand slowly, feeling Haknyeon gently intertwining their fingers.

They both glanced at their hands before their eyes met once more, a warmth in her chest as she stared back at him, Haknyeon looking- not nervous- but excited.

“Come on…”

He pulled just slightly on her hand, smile still soft, eyes still lingering on her own.