Welcome to Your Last Race (Street Racers #3)

5. Taehyung

3 weeks later

Because Wooshik has been sucked into the world of business for the past six hours, I tried to persuade him to go out with Boogie. But here I am, experiencing the upcoming crisp of fall on my own skin, as Boogie struts down the pavement in the park close to our apartment building. It's pretty, though. I'm not, like, a nature freak, and I don't get sentimental over yellow leaves, but Boogie's hair color fits so well I couldn't help but pay attention.

I'm taking a video of our overexcited poodle on my phone, when it starts buzzing, and soon a call from Jungkook takes over the screen. I swipe it away to stop recording, and pick up the call, as Boogie picks up the walk.

"Listen," Jungkook says. "Hoseok has fucking news."

Overexcited Jungkook tends to accent the wrong words. "Like, news about who he fucked with? Cause do I really wanna know?"

"No, fucking news as in you won't fucking believe it."

"As long as it doesn't involve his sexual life, I'm in. Go ahead."

The line creaks, and I can pick up Yeeun whining about something in the background, before Hoseok greets me. After that, it seems like he's talking to both me and Jungkook. "So. The news is, we've got a new racer in Seoul. Before you say the same thing as Jungkook, there are new racers in Seoul every day, I know. But he's different. Gossips say he's been planning something since you've come back from Tokyo."

"Planning what? And who?" I ask.

"I don't know the name, exactly. I didn't care. But enough people heard about it that I believe it's true. Whatever the name, he's planning to pull off a race, Japan Race style, and kick you out."

"Kick me out?" I echo. "From?"

"Racing."

I snort. "Not to sound like a cocky piece of shit, but kick me out? Like, stop me from racing? Is this guy sick or something?"

"My exact reaction," Jungkook says. "The hell is the purpose?"

"I don't know that," Hoseok says. "All I know is that the whole race starts next Friday."

"Are we going?" I ask.

"Of course." Jungkook scoffs. "I need to see who that loser is."

"If I get the name, I'll tell you," Hoseok says. "For now, I'm late for work. See you on Friday, I hope."

"Oh, you'll see me on Friday," I say.

The past three weeks were quite uneventful. Not much changed since the first race back home. People still act this weird way – the older racers racing me to win, the kids racing me to lose and getting excited when they do. I guess I can't go with only the uneventful for long .

When Hoseok leaves, Jungkook stays on the phone.

"Do you think it's true?" he asks. "Or some sort of Park Jimin rebound?"

"I hope it's true," I say. "I want nothing to do with Park Jimin again. If it's just some racer, I will do my thing."

"Someone's jealous." He chuckles. "I guess it's not the last time it happens. You're a threat now, Kim Taehyung."

"Don't act like I haven't always been a threat to you."

Jungkook scoffs. "Sure, Kim."

We do it sometimes. Acting like the years we've hated each other. At this point it's funny.

It's four hours later – after I laughed more at whoever wants to kick me out 'from racing' with Jungkook over the phone, came back home, told Wooshik about the conversation, laughed with him about the same thing, and binge-watched three episodes of a k-drama – that Hoseok texts me a name.