Chapter 35

I’d barely gotten out of my car before Ryusuke charged me and caught me in a hug. He gave me a few good thumps on the back, laughing with delight at my safe return.

“You did so good!” he enthused, grinning widely. I grinned back. Clearly his nervous mood from earlier had evaporated, as mine had.

It wasn’t hard to see why.

The mood at the post race meet point was infectiously high. Even for those who hadn’t placed, they’d come back thrilled at the experience of racing in the city and getting away with it. Even though some of their cars had come back with dings and dents from their minor collisions and sideswipes, no one had had any bad accidents. Even the Camaro.

To my surprise, Sungmin was chatting amicably with the Sunchasers when I arrived. I thought there would have been blood in the water from Sungmin’s dirty trick.

When Sungmin caught sight of me, he did the same that Ryu had. I coughed. Sungmin had thumped me with a lot more force than Ryu could muster.

“You fuckin’ did it, you damn byeongsin,” Sungmin laughed. “You won the relay!”

“Only because Tofu let me,” I admitted. But even so, I was feeling proud. I’d redeemed myself from the disaster of the second tournament race. Sort of. We hadn’t pulled into first. But surely we were second, right?

“How’d you like racing in the city?” Sungmin grinned.

“It was insane,” I whooped. I looked at the Sunchasers, who we’d been beefing with not too long ago. I’d even joined Tofu in taunting Firestorm at the end of the race. But no one seemed on edge. It seemed that conflict had simply melted into thin air. Firestorm held out his fist to me. As we dapped up, apprehensively, I asked, “We’re, uh, we’re cool right?”

“You and Tofu are a pair of fucking assholes,” he laughed. “But you know what, we pulled third overall, so yeah, fuck you guys,” Firestorm added smugly.

If they placed third that must mean… we had gotten second!

I looked at Flying Ace, whose Camaro Sungmin had rammed.

Ace was grinning too. “But Sungmin better watch his ass next time.”

“You saying I’m going to be in front of you again?” Sungmin retorted smugly. “I just pulled the same shit you Chasers always do.”

The boys hooted and jeered at the banter.

I noted someone was missing.

“Where’s Eunsoo? Is he not back yet?” I asked.

“Meh, knowing him, he’s probably off flirting with some cop.” Sungmin caught my alarmed look and laughed. “With his car, I mean.”

“He does love playing with them,” Ryusuke said nonchalantly. Seeing a nonplussed Ryusuke probably meant that Eunsoo would be fine.

Right on cue, a car roared up the street. A moment later Eunsoo’s blue BRZ pulled up. Instead of finding a spot right away, he did a victory lap before screeching to a showy sliding stop.

What an ass. But I couldn’t help joining in the whoops and cheers. Eunsoo popped out of his car.

Seeing his best friend arriving back in one piece, Ryusuke started over, waving and shouting his name. Eunsoo caught sight of him immediately. He beamed his trademark cheeky grin and broke into a run with his arms outstretched.

“Taidaimaaa~!”

Ryusuke’s smile faded and he skidded to a halt as Eunsoo showed no signs of slowing. “Eunsoo. No. No! NOO! AH! KUSO–” Eunsoo jump hugged his much smaller friend, bowling them both over in a tangle of limbs and laughter.

Eunsoo sprang up immediately and launched himself at Sungmin next. Sungmin was a little sturdier, and held his ground.

“Itaiii,” groaned Ryusuke, laying half-dazed on the ground. With a laugh, I grabbed his hand and pulled him up.

“Did you miss me?” Eunsoo was saying in a wheedling tone.

“No,” chuckled Sungmin. “Get off of me.”

“So rude,” Eunsoo complained. Seeing Ryusuke recovered, he grinned at him and slung his arm over his friend comfortably instead.

“That was some driving out there tonight, Choi,” said Comet.

“Coming from you, Seunghyuk? I’m touched!”

“Here’s our second and third place tourney winners!” LC broke in. He joined the circle and his drone whirred as it circled around. The boys made goofy faces at it as it passed. With my face covered, I just flipped it off.

“How we feeling boys? Bit of a turn over tonight, eh? You guys knocked Power Slam right out of placement!” LC asked. “Power Slam’s supporters are going to be pissed!”

“Sorry, not sorry,” said Fireball with a grin.

“All of you really pulled it out tonight,” LC enthused. “Silver, you really put on a show tonight in that first lap. Those drifts… you learned that in Tokyo, huh?”

Eunsoo grinned and broke into a little dance, pumping his hands in a raise the roof motion. “Tokyo drift, baby,” he enthused.

“Perfection in motion, my guy. But the best drive of the second leg has got to go to Ace. That last straight, sheeesh! If it weren’t for King Exotic’s little trick you would have had that. Guess you’re finally proving to us the power of American muscle!”

“Wouldn’t be the first time, LC. Nothing like muscle for a good fucking sprint,” Ace said.

“We’ll have to put that to the test sometime. Your Camaro versus his Tsunami next week?” LC grinned.

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Ace guffawed. “Send it.”

There was no way that Camaro could even come close to the Tsunami. Maybe? Would that nitrous injector give it enough of a boost to catch a literal supercar? Now I was curious too.

“I’ve got to say though, we really weren’t expecting you, Jester J! You really fucking killed it tonight on the track. You and Tofu both. Bit of showboating at the end there you two did, eh? Maybe you two should take up stunt driving.”

“Just a bit of fun,” I said with a grin (that was under my mask).

“Fun for us to watch too. Probably the best tournament finish we’ve ever had on this channel! Bring it here, kid.” LC stuck his fist out and I pounded his fist.

“Chat loves you, dude. Let’s hear it for our best new rookie!” The cheers of the people who should have been my rivals sent my heart soaring. I was glad for my mask as my friends thumped me on the back and hyped me up. I probably would have the stupidest most pleased expression on my face broadcasting otherwise.

After a few more comments, LC wrapped up the stream.

“Big payout tonight, guys,” LC said gleefully, rubbing his hands together. “Check your Huobi accounts. Some of you got some donos too.”

I nearly fainted when I checked my account. My knees felt weak. I sank onto the hood of my car.

Eunsoo laughed at my reaction and expression. “Man, nothing makes this guy happier than money.”

I ignored him.

I had enough to pay off the rest of the debt.

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The race had ended early well before the night had, so of course, the rest of the night was spent partying.

Despite claiming that he was going to go clean for life, it didn’t take long for Eunsoo to find something to get high off of.

Luckily for me, I never found out what exactly, because Ryu stepped in before Eunsoo could peer pressure me into joining him again. “Let’s not piss off his narc brother,” he reminded our party fiend friend. Eunsoo shrugged. He didn’t bother to offer whatever it was to Ryusuke either.

I was grateful that Ryu still had the presence of mind to be my voice of reason, because between the alcohol and the high of the race and the payout tonight, I was already completely gone.

By the time the first party at LC’s penthouse was forcibly ended by the police (damn noise complaint), I was already blitzed.

I was more than happy to go home and sleep it off, but Eunsoo intercepted me and Ryusuke.

“We’re continuing the party at Fireball’s house,” he reported.

Fuck yeah.

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On the walk over to Fireball’s place in Gangnam, we came across an entire store full of Le Creusets. I pressed my face against the shop window to see rows and rows of orange pots in various shapes and sizes.

“Oh my god, he sells pots,” I gasped. The revelation was so startling I vomited right on its welcome mat.

“Yea,” Eunsoo managed between his laughs. “Let’s go with that.”

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I don’t know where Fireball’s money had come from, but that guy was loaded. He had his driver (why in the fuck did he need a driver?!) make a run for yet more drinks, and before long the party resumed its fever pitch.

He had a freaking god tier sound system, and without any neighbors, we were free to put it on full blast.

Even without drugs, I was high enough to join in when a group of attractive girls pulled us onto the dance floor. Maybe I’d hit it off with one of them tonight and get over toxic Seolhee.

I didn’t. None of the girls could hold a candle to Lee Seolhee when it came to dancing. But hey, they were willing to dance with me. I knew I had no talent for it. But Eunsoo, despite being high off something, was surprisingly good at dancing, and soon he and the little gaggle of girls were off having fun trying to one up each other (though I will say, Eunsoo was definitely outdoing them all).

Tired, I just dropped onto a nearby couch to watch instead. Ryusuke flopped down next to me not long after.

“Meet any girls you like tonight?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“Pity,” he said, watching Eunsoo and the girls. Clearly he still didn’t approve of me and Seolhee, even though we’d never been anything serious. I knew she was here. I’d spotted her earlier, but she seemed happier to mingle with the crowd rather than the Tigers.

“You still mad at Seolhee?” I asked him.

“Who told you that?”

“Eunsoo.”

“That gossipy bitch,” Ryusuke said. I laughed. How ironic. Seolhee had called him the same thing. I told him so.

“She’s been out of line lately,” Ryusuke said. Clearly he wasn’t as amused as I was by their shared perception of Eunsoo. “Not sure why Sungmin’s still allowing her to come around.”

“What, just because of Comet?” I asked in alarm.

“Other stuff, too,” Ryu said.

I didn’t get a chance to ask exactly what because, Eunsoo had come stumbling back. He’d apparently had enough of dancing for now. “Hey cuties,” he crowed incoherently, as he dropped into Ryusuke’s lap.

Ryu wheezed but seemed amused at Eunsoo’s blitzed state. “What in the world did you take tonight, dude?”

“Everything, jagi,” slurred Eunsoo. He patted Ryu’s face and hair and grinned at me. Ryu sputtered at Eunsoo's handsy-ness. I chuckled. I wasn’t exactly sober myself, but at least I was just drunk. From this perspective, being high just looked messy.

Ryu felt the same way. He smacked Eunsoo's hands away. “You’re a mess, my guy. Maybe chill out for a bit. Or go home.”

“Only if you take me home, oppa,” replied Eunsoo slyly.

“You’re out of control,” I laughed at them.

“I’m going to get you some water.” Ryusuke tried to push him off, but Eunsoo clung to him tighter. Ryusuke gave him a long-suffering look. “Will you get off of me?!”

“I’ll get it,” I said, standing up with a wobble.

I couldn’t find any more bottles of water, so I ended up just grabbing a cup and filling it at the sink. The tap water in Gangnam was fine to drink, right? Had to be.

I turned around and nearly jumped out of my skin. Seolhee was standing right there.

“Er, hi,” I mumbled as I tried to get around her.

“I want to talk to you, Jae,” she said. Her words were slightly incoherent, like she was drunk. But who wasn’t drunk at this party? (Fireball’s driver, probably)

She looked so mournful and hurt that I felt bad, even though I still hadn’t forgiven her for the drama she’d caused recently. “Maybe later,” I said.

Seolhee’s eyes filled with tears and I felt terrible. Maybe she really was feeling regret for her actions finally. As I wavered doubtfully, she wrapped her arms around me and pressed her face into my shoulder. Automatically, I put my free arm around her. She let out a little sobbing sound against me, and that won me over.

“Ok. Fine. Let’s talk. But first I need to give this water to Eunsoo.”

She peeled off of me with a sniffle, but grabbed the arm that I had put around her. “Ok,” she said.

She clung to my arm as we made our way back to the couch. Ryusuke had managed to get out from under Eunsoo, and was now trying to get him to stand up. Conversely, Eunsoo was trying to pull him back down. When Ryu saw me coming with Seolhee in tow, his eyes widened and he tried to peel Eunsoo’s hands off.

“Here’s the water,” I said as I handed Ryu the cup of water. He was staring pointedly at Seolhee. “I’m uh, going to talk to Seolhee for a bit. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

Luckily, sloppy Eunsoo kept Ryusuke occupied as I made a hasty retreat with Seolhee and left before he could say or do anything.

I decided to go outside to a balcony patio with Seolhee. It was a bit too loud to talk inside, and there was hardly anyone else outside.

I’d barely stopped before she dived into my arms again, pushing me against the balcony’s railing.

“I’m sorry,” she wept. “I’m so sorry.”

I didn’t know exactly what it was that she was apologizing for, but honestly, there was a lot. The fact that she was apologizing in the first place was already a huge step for Seolhee. I patted her soothingly until she stopped shaking.

“It’s ok,” I said, mostly to reassure her. “At least no one got hurt.” I was talking about the race between Ryu and Comet. To me, the part that she had played in setting up that conflict had been the most serious of her recent offenses.

She looked up at me with teary eyes. “I meant the whole talking about your brother part,” she said.

… Ok. Sure.

Seolhee sensed my discomfort. “I mean, I’m also sorry about the whole thing with Comet, too,” she added. “But I wanted to say sorry about that first.”

I stroked her hair and she relaxed again. It hadn’t ended up being that big of a deal that she had gone and talked about my past, I thought to myself. It was my own fault. I’d told all the Tigers at the same time, and I hadn’t explicitly asked them to keep it to themselves. In that context, it would have been easy for her to assume it was ok to talk about it.

She snuggled into me again and my heart wavered yet more. “Can you forgive me?” Seolhee asked, her voice muffled.

It was adorable. I laughed a little. “I forgive you,” I said. I felt happy that we’d come to terms with this. “And I’m sorry too.”

She didn’t say anything and just hugged me tighter. It felt incredible to be close to Seolhee again. I’d missed the soft feeling of her body against mine.

Seolhee looked up at me and into my eyes. Her hands slid up my back and over my neck, making me shiver. She took my hat off and tiptoed up.

A moment later her lips landed on mine and I closed my eyes, savoring the taste and feel of her again.

When we broke apart, I watched her chest rising and falling with her breath. But I had to ask. “What about Yoo Seunghyuk?”

“Comet?” She wrinkled her nose adorably. “I was never into him.”

That was all the excuse my dumb young brain needed. I kissed her again, more aggressively this time.

God, I had missed her.

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Waking up next to her felt like another victory after an incredible night. The race, the win, the money, the party, the sex… Everything had gone right for me last night. I smiled as I ran my fingers through Seolhee’s silky hair.

We were still at Fireball’s place. Seolhee and I had gone into a spare bedroom (this guy had so many bedrooms in his house it was obscene) last night. Someone (maybe Fireball himself) had pounded the door tried to get us to come out, but Seolhee had locked the door with a giggle, and kept me distracted until whoever it was gave up and let us be.

I checked the time, and it was still fairly early. I remembered how Seolhee had driven me out the morning after the first time we’d been together, so I didn’t feel bad leaving her that morning. She mumbled sleepily as I kissed her hair and made a quick escape.

I felt a little dizzy from all the alcohol last night, but I didn’t stop to grab a drink of water before I left. I was pleased to see that there were still a few bodies strewn about unconsciously over various surfaces. So Seolhee and I hadn’t been the only ones to stay the night.

Sungmin, Eunsoo and Ryu were nowhere to be seen, but I figured that Ryusuke had eventually gotten Eunsoo to go home. And well, Sungmin and Sunhee took care of themselves well enough.

My phone was dead, so I threw it on the charger as soon as I got home to the Tiger’s base and went for a shower.

I smiled at myself in the mirror after with my hair still wet.

I’d done it.

I was debt free.