Welcome to Your Last Race (Street Racers #3)

37. Jungkook

Changes are scary, but those changes turned out to be quite smooth. Obvious. And nice. Once I stopped avoiding them. A week and a half later, and it's like Sunhee's been around forever. Sometimes she goes with me to work, sometimes she's out with her friend. She's been to another race with us, and somehow ended up going into eight races in total. It was a Sunhee-centered event. People caught up with the fact she's related to me and got really excited. She won seven, and the only one lost was against Taehyung, which made all the kids act like it was some idol's concert. It was strangely one of the most fun races in a while.

She's meeting new people too – the girls Yeeun meets up with, girls and guys from the races. She wants to work with uncle for a while, starting next week. I said if she's ready, we could totally make room for her in our garages.

Sometimes all of this makes me lie wide awake at night, sometimes I fall asleep on one side of the couch, while we watch another movie, and sometimes I fall asleep after telling Yeeun just how cool of a day we've had at work.

"Because she's fun, and she's like you, and you know it," Yeeun said. "And you wish she had been around before."

Even though I haven't told her anything like that, she knows better. Of course I do. One reason for it is knowing how badly our parents were treating her, while I was here, living my practically best life. The other is just... I don't know. I'm starting to... care a lot more than I thought I would.

This afternoon, everyone is here again. Taehyung and I are playing games, Wooshik and Yeeun dropped their work to watch. Sunhee's in her room, talking to her friend on the phone. Sometimes she hangs out with us. I quite like how all of it just works. The five of us.

The doorbell rings. People we know well don't even ring the doorbell anymore.

Wooshik immediately says, "Last time it happened we found out you have a sister."

"I'll take it," Taehyung says, pausing the game. "Just in case, prepare yourselves."

I wait patiently, because I am almost sure it's either Hoseok or Yoongi.

But then Taehyung speaks louder and my body freezes. "What? Are you fucking serious?" After what must be a normal-volume answer we don't hear, he adds, "No, what the fuck? Get the fuck out of here."

I exchange glances with Yeeun, knowing we won't like any of it, and stand up.

"I said get out," is the last thing I hear from Taehyung. Except that our guests don't get out. They get in.

And just like that, my parents are standing in my living room.

I raise my eyebrows. My mom crosses her arms on her chest.

Taehyung walks back into the room, huffing. "No fucking respect," he mumbles, standing on the side, arms crossed on his chest in the same way as my mom, except that three times as intimidating.

My father ignores the comment and, looking at me, says, "We came here for our daughter."

I could ask where they got my address from, but fuck knows I don't care. All I can think about is everything they did; deciding I wasn't good enough, leaving me, having another child only to treat her like shit so that she wouldn't accidentally become a disappointment like me.

"I'm not keeping her here hostage," I say, trying my best to keep my cool, or at least look like that. "It's her free will to be here."

"Then tell her we're here to pick her up," he says. "She's supposed to enroll in college in two months."

I notice their clothes. A fucking suit. My mom – a cream colored tight dress. They are perfect. From hair to their shoes. Fucking plastic dolls. But it's not the worst. No one fucking cares what they wear. No matter how pure and clean their outfits, they can't hide all the dirt they have on their hands.