Welcome to Your Last Race (Street Racers #3)

epilogue 05

Jungkook

Something definitely changes when you turn 30

Wooshik said something definitely changes when you turn 30. I waited three years to see what would change for me. I didn't feel it when I tuned 30. Nothing new was happening, nothing was changing physically. I thought it must have been an individual experience. Maybe not everyone experienced it.

Until Yeeun and I were searching for a movie to watch one night.

"We have to step up our game," she said. "We're 30 already and we keep rewatching what we've seen. Come on. Put on something new."

So I put on 'Hearty Paws' because it was the first thing that popped up that we hadn't seen, yet. The quality wasn't the best, but it was watchable. And three minutes in, after the boy gave his sister a puppy, I knew exactly what changed for me along with turning thirty.

Now I know what happens in a movie, because we re-watched it, but that evening, I had no goddamn idea what I'd seen. After the first three minutes I was deep in my head, wondering if I'd gone crazy.

Yeeun asked me later, "Why are you so quiet?"

And I asked her right back, "Why are you?"

We looked at each other.

"The puppy in the movie was cute," she said.

"Yeah. It was really cute."

It looked like we'd both leave the kitchen, but neither of us moved. I wanted to tell her, but now... after thirty years... it was weird to admit it. Terrifying. We've gone through changes, more changes, and I was about to mention more changes.

"I was thinking about the puppy," she said.

"Yeah, me too." I looked everywhere but at her. It was no longer a 'maybe one day'. It was... I wanted it. Not a goddamn puppy. "Yeeun."

Our eyes met.

"I am not talking about the puppy," I choked out.

She sighed. "Neither am I."

It's been five years since that happened.

I'm at work today, but I'm fixing my car. I've got to replace the coolant reservoir. Taehyung is still stuck in his garage, too. No one's in a rush. The Sun is setting. Soon we'll be getting back home.

"And she overtakes! She's the first one! Her super fast white car is," there is a pause, before the same enthusiastic voice continues, "super fast!"

My smile widens, and I lean to the right, glancing behind the hood. The door on the driver's side opened, and behind the wheel, a five-year-old girl swings from the left to right, pretending to twist the steering wheel along with her, like she's in a race.

Soojin. My baby.

Our daughter.

"Oh no! A black Porsche is getting closer!" I say, joining her in the play-race. She gasps, looking back.

"He's not going to win with me, daddy! Don't worry!" Soojin exclaims, making the accelerator noises. "I'm the best racer here!"

"Yes, you are, princess."

She plays for a few more minutes, and I work under the hood, before she slips out of the car and walks towards me. There's a Pink Panther plushy under her arm. She stands right next to me and looks under the hood.

It's been four years. There's not an ounce of our blood in her, because we adopted her when she was 1 year old, but I believe I have luck for people in my life. The same way I met Yeeun when I was 4, the same way Soojin came into our lives.