N.Riki | Drift into you.

Drift into you | 01

October 3rd, the same day.

After dinner, I felt like I had eaten way too much and needed to shake off the heaviness. I asked Bora, my cousin—Uncle Bong and Aunt Minseo's daughter—to take me to her gym. We were really close, and she knew all about my racing. She even wanted to take my car out, but I refused. I wasn't familiar with the area yet.

Bora sighed but smiled anyway, and we walked to the gym together. I decided to make her do my workout, and after just 20 minutes, she was practically dying. Mid-workout, she suddenly got distracted, her eyes locked on someone across the room. I followed her gaze and spotted him—tall, reddish hair, deer-like eyes, a perfect smile—lifting weights.

"Who are you staring at?" I teased. "Is that your little boyfriend?"

She blushed. "That's Lee Heeseung."

I couldn't help but squeal. "Oh my god, the Heeseung? Bora and Heeseung, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S—" She cut me off quickly. "Shut up before he hears you!"

I giggled but noticed out of the corner of my eye that Heeseung glanced over at Bora, doing a double take. He checked her out, and I smiled to myself. Bora had told me everything about Heeseung—his bad boy persona, their flirting, and his group of friends. She didn't notice him looking and just tugged my arm. "Let's get out of here before he sees me," she whispered, pulling me toward the exit.

As we left the gym, we stumbled into a crowd gathered around what looked like a race. It wasn't anything compared to what I was used to, but it was cute. A red car sped past the finish line, and when the driver stepped out, I couldn't help but stare. Who was this guy? His sharp features, especially those lips... I bit my own lip without realizing it.

Bora noticed. "You're eyeing Riki, huh? Join the club." She smirked.

"Riki," I whispered to myself, lost in thought, still staring. His intense eyes scanned the crowd until they met mine, lingering for a moment before he snapped back to reality and threw on a cocky smirk.

Bora nudged me. "Be careful with Riki. He's bad news. He's a player, only cares about the thrill. I don't want you getting hurt."

Something about her warning only made me more intrigued. Maybe it was the thrill I craved, more than even he did. As he started weaving through the crowd, he brushed past me, his fingers lightly grazing my waist. His gaze flicked from my eyes to my lips, down to my waist before he walked away, his friend bringing his car around for him.

Bora grabbed my hand. "Let's go, Aera." As we left, I glanced back one more time, and for a second, Riki's hard expression softened as he looked toward a little girl—his baby sister, I guessed.

He was more than just a reckless narcissist, but I didn't come here for guys. I came to start fresh.

When we got home, I headed straight to my new bedroom. I changed and slid into bed, but my mind was racing. Thoughts of Nishimura Riki wouldn't leave me, especially after Bora filled me in on the walk home. Why did I always notice the bad boys?

Eventually, I fell asleep, but my dreams turned dark, memories from my school in the UK flooding back. The boys who hurt me, their voices taunting me.

"Aw, are you scared? We wouldn't hurt a pretty little thing like you babe, don't worry." Then he went and locked the door, one guy held me down as another covered my mouth so I didn't scream. Then the leader started slipping his hands in the waistband of my uniform skirt, ripping it off.

Another guy unbuttoned my blouse as tears rushed down my face, all I did was say I didn't want to do there homework for them, I just was sick of being such a pushover. They touched me, and they didn't stop even when I begged, I begged so much that I was exhausted, but all they did was laugh at me, and place hickeys all over my body. I felt disgusting.

Before the nightmare reached its worst part, I woke with a start. Minji had come into my room, flipping on the light with a bright smile, ready to tell me something exciting. Her smile quickly faded when she saw my tears.

"Aeri, were you dreaming about them again?" She rushed over and hugged me tightly, kissing the top of my head. "Shh, it's okay now. You're safe. You'll never see them again. Remember, this is your fresh start. No more being the invisible girl with PTSD or being known only as Vixen. It's all behind you."

I appreciated Minji's comforting words, but it wasn't that easy. I wiped my tears and forced a smile. "What were you going to tell me?"

Minji's eyes brightened. "You don't have to wear a uniform at your new school. And it's so big, no one will even know you're the new girl."

I was relieved. Minji really did care.

"Thanks, Ji. I think I'm going for a drive."

Before she could respond, I got up, fixed my appearance, and snuck out to where my car was parked a few blocks away—hidden so Uncle Bong wouldn't know I brought it. When I got there, I saw Heeseung and Riki talking, and they were looking at my car.

"That's Vixen's car," Heeseung said, sounding nervous. "If they've moved here, we'd better watch out. I mean, I'm confident, but I don't want to race against the man himself."

Tch... man..

It was true. Racing against me wasn't easy. When they looked away, I put on my helmet and jacket. The moment my engine roared to life, they turned, their faces filled with shock. I sped out of the garage, tearing through the city streets, the music blasting in my ears. I let the thrill of the night clear my head until I was satisfied.

When I finally parked the car and headed home, I felt a calm wash over me. For the first time in a while, I slept peacefully.

__________________________________

If you're reading this, I lowk don't like the way I write, I wish it was more detailed, like -saebyeok writing, or koifiished or like -ASTR0HEE  writing. Sorry if I'm disappointing anybody, even though this has like 0 reads anyway since it was published today.

ANYWAY, this chapter was a lil longer, I'm gonna update tmrw too hopefully, chapters 2 & 3 I think.

Serene is not eating.