Partners In Speed - ver. 1 (Street Racers #2)

13: Taehyung

Visits in my garage are more frequent than in my apartment would ever be. Today, on one of the least busy days, Yeeun walks in first, Jungkook following her behind. She walks fast, energetic, and Jungkook drags his legs behind her, defeated, arms in his pockets, hair all messed up.

"Yes?"

"Our secret is busted," Jungkook says.

"I want nitro, too," Yeeun adds, arms crossed on her chest.

My smile widens. "And I absolutely support that."

She smiles, too, satisfied. I expected this to happen, sooner or later. I just promised it wouldn't come out of my mouth.

"Jungkook didn't throw a fit?" I ask, glancing behind her. He looks calmer than I'd expect the always-worried Jungkook to be.

"Oh, he did," Yeeun says.

"Out of habit," he adds. "But we talked a lot about it."

"You talked?" I raise my eyebrows. Their talk probably didn't have much to do with words, and teasing Jungkook has always been fun.

"We talked enough for me to relax and realize Yeeun can have it just as much as us," he says, giving me a look of not asking any more questions. "Now do your magic, Mr Kim."

I've been hoarding all those nitro bottles for years. A bunch of people from the races came to me asking about it, but I never gave it to anyone. All those people would have used it in a wrong way, killed themselves or someone else, and I was not going to contribute to this.

Mine, Jungkook's and Yeeun's cars are the only ones to come out of my garage with nitro.

They both stay with me for as long as I work on the car, playing around not only with nitro but also other things. A few scratches to fix, the clutch could work better.

I don't think I've ever had that kind of fun while working. I enjoy digging in cars as it is, but Yeeun and Jungkook filling the silence make it a whole new experience.

Last time like this, me and Jungkook argued. Today is lighter, easier. Like they always hang out in here.

They are both cool separately, but spending time with them together is like watching a movie. A bit of romance, a bit of comedy. Yeeun does everything, from playing mobile games to looking under the hood as I work, and Jungkook watches her. If I count, at least eighty percent of the time his eyes are glued to her. Nothing about this ever changes. Yeeun is always everywhere, and Jungkook is always all about her. It's heartwarming.

Only sometimes I catch myself thinking how lucky she is to be loved like that. And how lucky he is to be able to love like that.

"I'm used to manual.  Automatic gears still confuse me," Yeeun says, as we talk about the Mercedes. Having a normal conversation with them is something I never knew I needed that much. 

"What about driving? Which one is better?" I ask, curious.

She heaves a dramatic sigh. "I'll love my Mazda forever, but this one might be better."

"That makes me think we should do it more often," Jungkook says, swinging his legs back and forth as he sits on the counter. "Race for cars."

"You're gonna risk your Maserati?"

He gives me a playful grin. "No one's going to win with me."

"You sound sure."

"Weren't you the one who won most of the races you went into when you were gone for a few months?"

"Okay, fine." I chuckle, cleaning my hands with a piece of cloth. 

"What did you do with all those cars you won?" Yeeun asks.