Welcome to Your Last Race (Street Racers #3)

6. Taehyung

I could call it a Taehyung-wannabe's race, but it would be extremely egocentric, so let's settle on the race of the guy who hates me because I'm too good for him. It's fine. I hate him, too. You can only go so far before someone loses respect for you. He'd crossed the line ten years ago, before I could even have the tiniest bit of respect for him.

Everyone important – Jungkook and Yeeun – is now on board with Park Hyoshin, and his past association with Wooshik. Yeeun has been glaring at the crowd, waiting to catch the guy's gaze, ever since we came here. One of our old racing tracks. A closed road, half-empty, half looking like an abandoned construction site. He couldn't even be original with the location.

"Brings back memories." Jungkook sighed when we got out of our cars.

"I kicked your ass in that season," I said, grinning.

The parking lot at the beginning of the road is a massive chunk of dirty ground. My white sneakers won't be white at the end of the night, but that's least of my concerns. I'm here to cool down an overconfident ex-best friend of my boyfriend.

The race looks hyped – a lot of people, most of them familiar. Music, four street lamps, along with the reflectors of some cars, enough for the crowd. Yet I don't see how it was supposed to reach the level of the Japan Race.

"Why are you shorter?" Wooshik asks Yeeun. We're still waiting for The Asshole to show up.

Yeeun glances down. "My fucking heels are sinking."

Her five inch pink heels. Along with a pink mini-skirt and a pink crop top with bell bottom sleeves. White headband. Dangling earrings. The Barbiest outfit I've seen so far. And the most Yeeun, at the same time. Maybe Wooshik is a genius.

"Want me to hold you up, my queen?" Jungkook asks, with enough dramatics to make it a joke.

"I'll manage," Yeeun says, cracking her fingers. "I need to be ready to kick ass."

"Leave some for me," I say. "You know. That's the whole point why I'm here."

"Aren't you here to admit defeat and let The Asshole take your place in the community?" Jungkook asks, again, with a good share of dramatics, and I'm glad he's got it in himself to joke around tonight, because I'm growing increasingly frustrated and it's hard to focus on not being angry.

"I hope he fucks off once and for all tonight," I say.

I'm a little bit curious, and I only told Jungkook about it when we were at work earlier. I'm curious who that guy is to be so confident in his ability to 'kick me out of racing'. To fuck Wooshik's life up. To fucking think he can just show up here and act like a king of this place.

Finally, after what feels like forever, a black Lamborghini pulls up. People seem to be aware of who this is, but they don't seem too excited. Good. I've noticed and heard some skeptical reactions already, from people I raced along for years. If no one takes him seriously, maybe he'll get embarrassed and give up on his embarrassing idea.

But then, again, the community grew. Now we've got kids ten years younger than me in here, quite good at racing, but with a strange mindset. Excited to lose, jumping at every mention of a race with anyone remarkably older than them. It's kind of cool. Reminds me of my first-first races, when I watched Sanghoon and his friends – a few years older than me. I was a kid, and they seemed like the coolest adults this world had ever seen. So I get it.

But now the kids might hype up The Asshole. Not cool.

He gets out of the Lambo. Yeeun and I gasp.

"Your gay awakening was... fucking hot?!"