Street Cred

Chapter 8

As they reached Hyunjin's house, everyone headed inside and sat in the living room while they talked and passed time. Changbin had received a text saying that Felix was on his way, so they waited on him before doing anything fun. Byeol remembered something from earlier.

"Hey Jisung?"

The blue-haired boy looked up at her and raised his eyebrows.

"Um, earlier, at the park, why did you ask if I was busy tonight?"

All heads turned to Jisung and waited for an answer.

"Well, remember how I said that we might have something up your alley? Tonight there's a-"

The ringing of Hyunjin's doorbell interrupted Jisung and Changbin bolted out of his seat to open the door. He soon returned back to the room with Felix around his arm.

"Byeol! Everyone else!" Felix hugged Byeol as he sat next to her. The girl giggled when she saw Changbin pull Felix into his lap and wrap his arms around him protectively. "So how was the park? Anything fun happen?"

"Besides Yeonjun basically trapping Byeol in a mirror maze and scaring her? No, you didn't miss much." Seungmin flicked his fidget spinner as he sat back on the couch.

"He did what?! Oh my gosh I am so sick of him! We are settling this once and for all tonight!" Felix's voice was harsh and actually caused a few of his friends to flinch from how loud he spoke.

"Wait, can somebody please tell me what's happening tonight?" Byeol's soft voice brought everyone back to a sense of normalcy and Felix took a deep breath trying to calm down.

"Jisung, Jeongin, and I are all street racers. So are Yeonjun and some of his friends. Even though there aren't 'teams', we still race against them and have a rivalry. Tonight is one of the biggest races of the year, and is also probably why Yeonjun has been so extra recently." Hyunjin finally explained what was happening tonight without an interruption.

"Yeah, that." Jisung spoke as Byeol turned to look at him.

Jeongin was worried to know what she'd think of him now that she new he was a street racer. It was fun and exhilarating sure, but it was also illegal, and he didn't know how Byeol would react. Her face showed no emotion as she looked between the three boys.

"So, you three are illegal street racers," she pointed at Jeongin, Jisung, and Hyunjin who all nodded a 'yes'. "And what do you three do?" Her voice was still small as she pointed at Felix, Changbin, and Seungmin.

"We do the maintenance on their cars before each race. Make sure everything is working properly and such." Seungmin answered her question.

Byeol just nodded her head as she turned to Minki and Jae. "And you two knew about this?" The girls nodded their heads. "For how long?"

"I only found out last month, please don't be upset, Byeol." Minki pleaded with her eyes and she squeezed Jisung's hand.

"I know this is a lot to take in, Byeol, but please think hard before you decide anything. If you'd like to come to the race tonight, we'd be more than happy to take you." Hyunjin spoke sincerely as he leaned forward in his seat.

"Yeah, a-and if you decide you want to stay friend's with us and come to the races, that's great. But if you think it's too much, we'll respect your decision." Jisung looked at the girl with hope in his eyes, hope that she'd go with them and enjoy it. This was his girlfriend's best friend and one of his good friends after all.

"Man you guys are depressing, of course I'll go tonight! If you had asked me two days ago, I probably would have said no and run away from you guys. But after getting to know you all better, and today at the park, my eyes have been opened to see how much fun it is to live on the edge." Byeol looked around the room and smiled at everyone as they smiled back. Her eyes finally met Jeongin's and his dimpled smile melted her heart.