Welcome to Your Last Race (Street Racers #3)

epilogue 07

Taehyung

*for context, Soojin is 10*

As usually, on a Friday evening, we're hanging out with Jungkook, Yeeun and Soojin. For the past couple of months, our Friday evening routine has consisted of playing board games and watching movies.

We're on the board games part. This time playing Ludo. It's a fourth game tonight. I hope we'll get to watch Cars 2 soon because team Taehyung is badly losing against team Soojin-Jungkook.

Before I can have it yelled in my face that I lost, the door bell rings. We take a break when Yeeun walks back in with Yoongi behind her.

Soojin is up on her feet, sprinting at Yoongi who's got the widest smile on his face. Really, I've never seen him like that. Soojin grabs his hand and pull him in.

"What are you doing here, uncle?" Soojin asks. "Do you wanna play with us? You can be with uncle Tae. He is pretty bad at it."

"I believe so." Yoongi smiles. "I can watch you play, huh? I came here to talk with the old people."

So, I lose. Obviously. Instead of movies, Soojin decided she'll be playing the Sims today, so she runs off to her room, and the rest of us settles in the living room. Sometime along those years Yeeun thought it was a good idea to get two extra armchairs. It was truly a great idea. The older I get, the more I love armchairs.

"So? What happened?" Jungkook asks.

"Nothing," Yoongi says. "I just have an idea. I thought you'd like it."

"What idea?"

"You know how Yubin wants me to fully quit the crime field, right? You can say that I'm trying really hard. I thought tying the old relationships and jobs would be the hardest, but it's actually pretty easy. The hardest part is actually quitting." He chuckles. "So... I thought about something we could do. I mean, you get the credit, I run the background. It's not crime, really. But it would still be kind of illegal."

"I'm not sure if we should get tangled into anything illegal," says Yeeun. "Considering Soojin."

"It's not like that," Yoongi says. "All of you have a bunch of wins in the Japan Race on the account, right? And the whole race isn't as well known anymore. You, however, are."

I exchange glances with Jungkook, as if we can feel where this is going.

"Okay? What about it?" Wooshik asks.

"How about... you hold a race like that?"

I look at Jungkook again, only to see what I expected. The familiar thrill.

"You know... the Seoul Race," Yoongi says. "Or whatever you wanna call it, really. You'd be the faces, coordinators. I take care of the money for the winner, bribery, the cops, and everything of that sort. You just... make it famous. Get racers. Organize it on the surface level."

The Seoul Race. I can't believe we're at the position where we can be thinking about it.

"Yoongi..." Yeeun says. She's smiling. "You're crazy."

He smiles back. "I knew you'd like it."

"I'm really a step away from agreeing," says Jungkook, "but I want guarantee that this will not affect Soojin in any way."

"You're too respected for that," Yoongi says. "The coordinator of the Japan Race is still untouchable. I talked to him a while ago. Besides, I'd still be making sure you're protected 24/7. I'm still in touch with my most trusted people. They are not in crime anymore, either, but I know they'd want to do this with me. Like Jiho. Jiho is in. Jimin is in. Remember Bo? He's in, too."

"I'm in," Wooshik says. He looks at me, smiling. This might be the coolest thing we'll ever do.

"I'm in," I say.

"I'm in," says Yeeun.

All eyes settle on Jungkook. He looks at each of us and huffs a laugh. "You think I could ever say 'no' to an idea like this?"

Yoongi clasps his hands, satisfied. "Nice. That's what I like to hear. Better start brainstorming ideas, because I'm all ready." He stands up. "I'll say bye to Soojin and get going. Pleasure to do business with you, guys."

When he leaves the room, we keep glancing at each other.

"Why did we never have this idea?" Yeeun asks.

"I'm asking myself the same thing," Wooshik answers.

Jungkook laughs, shaking his head. "I'm calling Sunhee. She won't believe this."

Wooshik lightly smacks my leg. "You'll be our face."

"Why me?"

"Because you're Kim Taehyung."

~~

"Kim Taehyung," he says it again, against my lips, as my back is pressed against the wall of our apartment. It's late. We've barely walked through the door, he was already all over me. Which I don't mind.

I close my eyes. "What?"

He touches his lips to mine and kisses me. "Nothing. I like saying your name." As he kisses me again, I pull the shirt out of his jeans and fiddle with the belt. He drags his hands down my back, under my shirt and pulls me against him.

We stumble through the house, kissing, hands everywhere.

With no shirts and no jeans, I end up underneath him on the bed, and suck in a deep breath. "Fuck."

"What?"

"I don't know. Fuck. It's... it's so good." With a practiced move, I flip us around to straddle him. I put my hands on his skin and let them move.

"What is?" he asks quietly, watching me.

"Everything," I say. Sometimes I get those epiphanies. A very vivid feeling of how fucking happy I am. "I love you."

Holding myself up with one arm, I lean down and cup his cheek.

"I love you, too," he says, before I kiss him.

I keep saying this. I don't say it that often. Every day, sure. Sometimes a few times a day. But not like that. Non-stop. I love you. I love you. I love you.

It used to terrify me. Now these are the most familiar to me words. Like I got to the point where love is my optimal setting.

An hour later, panting and tangled in the bed sheets, I say it one more time.

We don't have to say anything else tonight. It's all obvious.