live fast, drive faster (2/2)
(Part 1/2)
Jongin's key is in the ignition, and he's ready to pull out of the garage when there is a knock on his window. Kyungsoo, Chanyeol and Baekhyun are standing there, looking at him, Jongin takes a deep breath, then begins explaining Chen's suspicions.
"So you're saying he could be in danger?" Jongin's answer to Chanyeol's question is a grim nod.
"Kyungsoo, can you and Chen tell Kris and the others? I'm going first to make sure Sehun's not-" Jongin leaves the sentence trailing, but Kyungsoo gets the point. Nodding to Jongin, he turns and walks away. Just as Jongin is about to wind up the window, Chanyeol rests his arm on it and bends down to look Jongin in the eye.
"You're not going alone into Shinjuku. We're coming with you." Behind Chanyeol, Baekhyun nods in agreement. After a long while, Jongin answers.
"Let's go."
-----
Shinjuku is unfamiliar territory to Jongin. Shinjuku is dangerous territory, that much he knows. He's heard of gang activity here, and it's not somewhere he wants to be this late at night.
An all-too-familiar but battered Mercedes SLK 250 shoots past them. Not long after, a whole fleet of black cars follow suit. It doesn't take long for Jongin, Chanyeol and Baekhyun to realise it isn't a race - this is a pursuit, and judging from the state of Sehun's car, this could be a deadly one. Anyone - and everyone - could die.
So they do what any smart street racer would do - they pick a side and join in.
Jongin, Chanyeol and Baekhyun tear down the street after Sehun. The familiar silver of Sehun's Mercedes is up ahead, drifting through turn after turn in an attempt to throw them off his tail. Luhan's Impreza rams a black car off the road and into a nearby shophouse, leaving the car smoking as Luhan is off again after Sehun and his pursuers. The driver of the car staggers out, coughing and spluttering, and Jongin recognises him. Takuya, the same racer that tried to run Chanyeol off the road two weeks ago, member of a vicious street racing gang that does more than just illegal street racing.
Just why is the Black Hand after him? Jongin wonders. One thing is certain, though - if the Black Hand really is after Sehun, then the only way to get them off Sehun's tail is to knock them off the road or race them until their fuel tanks run empty, then fight. (Jongin would much rather take the first option - Chanyeol and Baekhyun could hold their own in street fistfights, but he's always preferred to keep it behind the steering wheel.)
Jongin rounds a corner, gaining on Sehun's pursuers. At the junction, two cars pull away from the pack and turn out. Why, Jongin has no idea. It's not important anyway. Sehun sends another car onto the sidewalk, but there are still four of them on his tail, and Sehun nearly loses control of his car when a black Audi rams him. Jongin steps hard on the accelerator and cuts in front of Sehun's pursuers, ending up next to Sehun's Mercedes. Go!, Jongin frantically waves Sehun on. Go now! Sehun speeds ahead as Jongin pulls a 180-degree spin, facing the pursuing cars and driving in reverse. An arm appears on the driver's side of the lead car, black object in hand.
"Fuck." Jongin barely has time to turn his GT-R around when there is a loud bang. Something hits the lamppost next to him with a loud metallic ping and a second bullet whizzes past Jongin's shoulder and shatters his left mirror. At the third gunshot, the sound of metal tearing through metal reaches Jongin's ears. Jongin swears again, swerving left and right to avoid being shot at. A familiar green and black blur appears in Jongin's remaining mirror before Baekhyun's Fastback hurtles down the straight and plows into the back of the gunman's car, Chanyeol's car streaking past him and Jongin towards Sehun, a blur of yellow fast approaching the black car at the junction that is headed straight for Sehun. Only there isn't one black car - Jongin sees a black Supra somewhere behind it, one of the two cars that pulled away from the pack earlier.
Chanyeol's already at the junction.
Jongin knows what's coming even before it happens. Everything happens in barely a second - just as Chanyeol smashes the first interceptor away from Sehun, the other black car does the same to him, pummeling Chanyeol's car on the driver's side. There is a sickening crunch of metal on metal and the crash of breaking glass, and Sehun is forced to swerve to avoid being hit. The laws of physics make everything worse - the speeding Eclipse's momentum has to go somewhere, and go somewhere it does. Chanyeol's car flips over several times, screeching and skidding across the asphalt.
Somewhere, there is a gunshot.
Crashes echo from beyond the junction and behind Jongin.
Jongin screeches to a stop just as the yellow Eclipse comes to a halt, smoking quietly. There's no sign of Chanyeol. Jongin's barely out of his car when a bright flash of light blinds him as Chanyeol's car bursts into flames. The ensuing noise is deafening, and when Jongin recovers, the air is hot and thick with the acrid smell of fuel and smoke. He staggers over to a lamppost, all but collapsing against it, bile rising in the back of his throat. The flames lick greedily at the frame of the car.
He barely notices a familiar Lotus Elan pull in ahead of him, a Mercedes close behind. He doesn't hear the familiar voices of those he's come to call his friends. He does, however, look up when a hand appears on his shoulder. It's Minseok, and Jongin mumbles "I'm okay" over and over again as Minseok helps him up. The air is still hot, and the car is still burning. Debris is strewn all over the road already covered with tyre skid marks. Minseok pushes him towards where Joonmyun and Kris are standing with Sehun, but there is something in the insistent nudge and Minseok's demeanour that makes Jongin realise something else is wrong.
Jongin turns around and immediately wishes he hadn't.
The Black Hand's cars are completely wrecked, their drivers having either fled on foot or died in whatever collision destroyed their car. Wrecked next to a lamppost is a familiar green and black Fastback, its driver slumped over the wheel, a small hole with feathery cracks radiating outwards in its windshield. There's only one possibility, and Jongin doesn't like it.
Somewhere, there is a gunshot.
Jongin screams, and the flames crackle mockingly in response.
-----
When they return to the garage, Minseok and Joonmyun disappear with Sehun. Jongin's body is acting of its own accord now, following standard post-race procedures - drive the car to the garage, let Chen take a look, tell him you'll buy him a drink later, thank him, leave the garage and go to the bar. The bartender offers a look of sympathy and slides over an extra-strong tequila.
"Lost a race? Tell me about it." Jongin just shakes his head and forces a smile before closing his eyes, trying to relax.
The moment he closes his eyes, he's back there again. Chanyeol speeding towards the junction. Chanyeol's car, lying overturned on its hood. Chanyeol's car, up in flames.
Jongin gives up and reaches for the glass, downing its contents in gulps. The alcohol is strong, far more than he's used to, but it's always helped him calm down after a race. It burns his throat on the way down, almost like the smoke and fumes earlier, but he feels marginally better. Key word being 'marginally'. He rests his head on the counter, trying to burn the images out of his memory, but they refuse to leave. Baekhyun, slumped over the steering wheel, his blood still fresh on the plastic and rubber. Baekhyun, dead.
"I'll have a mocktail, thanks. And a coffee for this guy." Tao settles into the chair next to Jongin, who lifts his head, blinks a bit, then puts his head down again. The bartender jerks his head towards Jongin and gives Tao a questioning glance, to which Tao's only response is a shrug. Quite a while passes in silence.
"Sehun?" Jongin doesn't lift his head. He doesn't need to - Tao answers anyway.
"Kris and Joonmyun took care of the other two cars. He and Minseok are with them now. Nothing to worry. They're calling in Luhan too."
"The Black Hand?"
"Definitely pissed off now. Whatever Oh Sehun did, it's not a small matter. Nothing Kris and Joonmyun can't handle."
"Chanyeol?" Tao doesn't reply this time.
"Baekhyun?" Jongin's question is met with only silence from Tao.
Jongin just groans and signals to the bartender for another drink, gulping it down when it arrives. The next half an hour passes in three more Tequilas, countless cups of coffee and utter silence except the clink of glasses and cups on the counter.
-----
Kris leans back in his chair, his eyes not leaving the young man in front of him. He's not in the mood for nonsense, not after losing two of those he looks after as younger brothers.
"So the Black Hand were your backers. You cheated them. And they found out." Sehun nods.
"Jongin went to save you, and so did Chanyeol and Baekhyun." Another nod. No one in the room continues - nobody wants to.
"Give me a very good reason why I shouldn't turn you in to the Black Hand and let them take care of you." At these words Joonmyun steps forward, surprising Kris and Sehun. "The Black Hand already assumes we're involved, Kris. We have no choice." Kris raises his eyebrows, but Joonmyun continues unflappably.
"You know this by now. The cars we T-boned off Sehun's tail earlier? The Okura brothers. The one Jongin wrecked earlier? The Black Hand's second, Minamoto. They already know who we are, and they're not going to take very well to this. Like it or not, we're going to have to help Oh Sehun." Kris says nothing, but no words are needed. There can be no argument - Joonmyun is right.
"...fine. We'll pay the Black Hand a visit tomorrow."
-----
It doesn't take long for word to reach Jongin. Even then, it hardly is something he wants to hear.
The Tokyo media makes a big fuss of the issue, citing conspiracy theories and racial discrimination ("two gaijin dead!") and so much more that irks Jongin. What irks him more, however, is when Kris asks that Jongin be part of the group going to meet the Black Hand. Well, Kris used "ask" - Jongin's quite sure it's more of an order than a question.
The Black Hand's headquarters turn out to be a place in Shinjuku similar to their own hangout. When they get there, it's evident that someone's been expecting them. Six cars - belonging to Kris, Joonmyun, Minseok, Luhan, Jongin and Sehun - pull into the parking lot, where members of the Black Hand are expecting them. Jongin recognises the greasy-haired gunman from the previous day, who looks nothing short of disgusted to see him. The feeling is mutual. As planned, Luhan stays behind with the cars, while the others follow a female racer through a dark alley. Minseok and Luhan remain outside the doors of the office, and Jongin glances back to see Minseok give him the thumbs-up before the door obscures him from view.
A man sits at a table, lazily fiddling with a piece of cork. The gunman ("Minamoto," Joonmyun mutters, "Takahashi's second in command.") walks over to stand by him, and Jongin notices that other than the smirking man at the desk, no one in the room looks very pleased to see them. Sehun is determinedly looking at the ground, avoiding all eye contact. A few of them lazily spin their guns, their eyes on Sehun. For a second, Jongin's eyes lock with Minamoto's, and Minamoto's lip curls as he mouths something rather insulting. Jongin's about to mouth something in return when the man in the chair smirks and begins to speak.
"Kris, Joonmyun, my friends. I thought you ran a decent little crew. What are you doing with dishonest scum like him?" The cork bounces off Sehun's head, but Sehun says nothing. Jongin's urge to punch that smirk off Takahashi's face grows." Kris just smiles and beckons to Joonmyun, who steps forward and places a briefcase on the table. Snapping the catch open, he turns the case to face Takahashi, who lifts the cover. From where he stands, Jongin can't see the contents of the case, but what he does see is the expression of surprise on Takahashi's face as he prods at whatever is inside. The lid is shut, and Takahashi looks straight at Kris, who finally opens his mouth.
"That should be the kid's debt, fully paid, not a single cent less. Would you like to have it checked? I can wait. I have all day."
"No, no, I'll take your word for it." A wave of Takahashi's hand and his men step forward to remove the case from the table. "You, Joonmyun and I go way back, and I know you two well. Unlike some people, you're honest with your friends."
Not like we'd get out of here alive if we aren't honest this time, Jongin thinks.
"So now everything has been settled. I believe that will be all?" Kris raises an eyebrow as Takahashi chuckles and shakes his head.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Kris. His debt is one thing, but there's also your racer over there. I don't like it when people try to stop me from getting hold of my debtors, especially if this means wrecking my cars and killing my men. He is quite lucky my men didn't take care of him like those two other, ah, inconveniences." That's it. Jongin steps forward, his hands balled into fists, but Joonmyun puts out a hand and glares at him. Jongin glares back at Joonmyun, then at Takahashi and Minamoto (that smirk is getting on his nerves) before stepping back behind Joonmyun.
"So what do you propose?" Takahashi leans forward at the question.
"Two weeks from now, four in the morning, the mountain passes, send him and one other racer. Either that, or you turn him," he jabs his finger in Jongin's direction, "over to us."
"I accept." Jongin answers before Kris can say a word. Takahashi applauds, the mocking applause ringing in the silent room, that insufferable smirk still on his face. Jongin fully intends to wipe that smirk off Takahashi's face two weeks from now.
The race is on.
-----
"You don't have to do this." Sehun says two days before the race. Jongin prods idly at a bobblehead on the table.
"I want to."
"You'll get yourself killed.
"So? You're not going to go talk to the Black Hand alone."
"-that's what Chanyeol and Baekhyun said, wasn't it." Jongin knows Sehun meant it as everything but a question.
Jongin doesn't quite know how to respond.
-----
Their cars are right behind the line, Jongin's GTR and Lay's apple green Genesis on the left, Takahashi's own black Genesis and Minamoto's GT500 on the right. Jongin recognises this place - he'd never forget Baekhyun's last straight, the junction where Chanyeol flipped, the place where he lost two of his friends. Bastard, that Takahashi. Jongin's distraction will be his victory, and the Black Hand know it very well. Unfair, of course, but Jongin pushes the quietly-seething demon of rage to the back of his mind. "Got a grudge? Settle it on the track." Kris's words are still clear in his mind, and Jongin fully intends to settle the grudge this day.
He'd refused to let Kyungsoo be his second in the race. Kyungsoo wasn't very happy about it (a bit of an understatement, perhaps - he refused to speak to Jongin for days), but Jongin never had much of a choice in the matter. He's lost two of his closest friends to the Black Hand, and the least he can do - if not for himself, at least for them - is to make sure he doesn't lose Kyungsoo as well. Lay volunteered to race as Jongin's second, and there were no objections. The sound of Lay's engine behind him gives Jongin some reassurance - having one of the best racers as his second means that there's someone there if he screws up. (Jongin tries not to think about it, but all he can see is flames and smoke and blood and broken glass and-)
Kris steps forward between Jongin and Takahashi's cars. No twin flags, no crowd, nothing - this race is a personal one. Jongin closes his eyes and just for a moment, he's on the track again (blood trickling down pale flesh), the crowd is cheering (the air is hot and thick and-), the track familiar beneath him (of course it is, this is where Chanyeol and Baekhyun's last race was), when the image changes. The screech of twisting metal, the acrid smell of burning rubber, bits of glass and metal debris strewn all over the street, flames greedily licking the sides of an overturned yellow car, a figure slumped over inside a green and black one not so far away-
A sharp knock on his car window snaps Jongin out of it. Outside, Kris motions for him to wind down his window, and Jongin curses. To think he'd forgotten proper race procedure. Behind Kris, Takahashi is smirking. Shaking his head and banishing the image from his mind, Jongin winds down the window and Kris bends down slightly.
"You both know the route and the stakes, I assume?" Jongin nods. Kris set them during the meeting - if Jongin wins, all debt to the Black Hand is cancelled, including any losses incurred during the race. It hardly is difficult to guess what happens if Jongin doesn't win - he's quite sure Minamoto's looking forward to it.
Kris steps back in front, standing between both cars, ready to start the race. Both windows are wound up, all engines gunned.
Left arm out. "Ready!" Takahashi revs his engine and grins at Jongin.
Right arm out. "Set!" Jongin revs his engine in return, and so does Lay.
"Go!" Kris points ahead with both hands and the cars screech past him. As they zip down the street, Kris turns to the rest of the gang.
"Get in your cars. We're following."
As Kris's Camaro tears down the road, Joonmyun and Minseok right behind him and the others close by, Jongin rounds the second corner.
They're not in Shibuya anymore, Jongin knows. Shinjuku is Black Hand territory, known for being treacherous (and for good reason), for trouble, for tricks in every corner. One wrong move, one slip and all that will be left of Jongin and Lay is a heap of smoking, twisted metal.
Third corner, fourth corner, fifth, sixth, seventh. At the seventh corner, Jongin scrapes past Takahashi's car to take the lead. Lay close behind and Minamoto behind him. Sparks fly as the GT-R scrapes against Takahashi's Genesis, and Jongin nearly gets rammed in return. Eighth, ninth, tenth. Jongin steps even harder on the accelerator. On the eleventh straight, right before the familiar straight and junction, it all changes.
Several cars parked by the side of the road ahead suddenly swerve into Jongin's path. It takes everything Jongin has to weave between them, the car narrowly avoiding collisions, being scratched, scraped and bumped in all directions. Takahashi's gaining on him. One glance behind him reveals that Lay clearly isn't doing any better either. Jongin brakes sharply to avoid an oncoming car in for the collision and recognises the driver behind the wheel at once. Miyazaki, the one who'd stood next to Takahashi in the room.
"Fuck." Jongin steps on the brake pedal and rams Miyazaki with the rear of his car. If you want to play dirty, I'm perfectly game for it.
Jongin stops attempting to avoid cars, and instead opts to ram them out of his way and preferably into Takahashi's path. The tactic works for a while, until they start ramming back. They're barely even at the halfway point.
Lay's caught up with Jongin by now, having sent Miyazaki into a lamppost. Jongin and Lay change tactics - as they reach the first of a series of curves in the course, instead of having Jongin maintain the lead, they drift through the curve. When they hit the straight again, Lay's now in the lead. In the time that it takes the black cars to change targets, Jongin and Lay repeat it on the second curve. Third curve. Fourth. By the seventh curve, most of the black cars following them lie in a smoking trail of destruction. Takahashi's still unharmed.
They've already completed one round, and the end point is a few turns ahead. Lay cuts his speed slightly, enough for Jongin to step on the accelerator and take the lead again. That's when Jongin hears gunshots.
The Black Hand members are everywhere, and all of them have guns. All of them are firing. Jongin realises, as he rounds the final turn, that they're not aiming for his head - it's too hard to hit a small target on a bigger moving target.
They're smart enough to aim for the wheels.
Jongin glances out the window, and sees Takahashi grin at him. A wave of anger bubbles up inside him - he's not going to lose, not after Chanyeol and Baekhyun lost. Jongin rams Takahashi's car, enough to send him skidding on the final straight, giving Jongin the edge he needs.
There is a loud bang that sounds distinctly different from the gunshots. The squeal of brakes, and then a crash. Somewhere in the back of his head, Jongin knows - of Jongin, Lay and Takahashi, one didn't make it. It's too early to lose focus now, though, so Jongin merely concentrates on that end point, the final few hundred metres, and-
As he brakes sharply, ready to drift to a stop, suddenly Takahashi is beside him, and-
Jongin's car stops neatly in the middle of the junction, Takahashi careens into a building nearby, and Jongin all but stumbles out of his battered car. He's exhausted, mentally and physically, and too tired to notice the others' arrival, but only one thing runs through his mind. If one of the three didn't make it past the final straight, and Takahashi is right there, then-
Takahashi's black Genesis sits in a smoking wreck nearby. Along the final straight is the overturned wreck of an apple green Genesis.
Lay.
As Joonmyun screeches to a stop nearby and runs over, Jongin's knees give out under him from sheer exhaustion. Kyungsoo's there, pulling him up and helping him over to where Minseok is.
"Is it over?" is all Jongin can ask.
"It's over. We won."
-----
Two weeks pass, and Sehun's even quieter than before. When he suddenly speaks, Jongin is both startled and somewhat relieved. The relief, however, is rather short-lived.
"Lay didn't have to." Sehun looks straight at Jongin, who is rather taken aback at the statement. Sehun doesn't stop there.
"Chanyeol didn't have to. Baekhyun didn't have to." Jongin's still not sure how to respond, and a while passes before he finds the words to speak.
"But they wanted to."
"Why?" Sehun's question is simple, but Jongin doesn't quite know how to respond.
"-because they thought you were family?" Jongin's only response doesn't even convince himself.
"-and when their family asks how their sons died, how do I answer?"
-----
It's eight in the morning when Jongin's phone goes off. The screen flashes "Butt" as Jongin groggily reaches over to pick it up. "Hello?"
"Jongin, get down here! Sehun's leaving, Luhan said so when I asked and-" Jongin doesn't wait to hear the rest of the sentence. He's out of bed in a second and out the door the next, car keys in hand, sprinting downstairs and over to the garage, mind racing. Why all of a sudden? Where does Sehun intend to go? Has he already left?
Jongin reaches the garage in time to see a flash of silver disappear around the corner, and a quick glance around the garage as he dashes towards his car confirms his fear. Sehun's Mercedes. Jongin still has a chance of catching up, still has a chance of stopping Sehun before he leaves. The Audi rockets out of the garage at full speed in pursuit of Sehun, and the chase is on.
Sehun notices, of course, and the chase becomes almost like another race - their ends couldn't have been more different, with Sehun wanting to leave, Jongin wanting him to stay. This race is for real, Jongin knows, and if Sehun wins, Jongin may well never see him again.
Turn after turn, the road gets more dangerous. Jongin knows it's a dangerous game he's playing with Sehun, but because it's Oh Sehun at stake, Jongin steps on the accelerator and speeds ahead. He's never lost a race with Sehun before - if there is a first time for everything, let it not be now.
The chase is on.
-----
Narrow the streets / So I may catch you
In order to find my person
I will put everything on the line
-----
Jongin's vision is swimming with tears. There's nothing else he can think of, not the road, not the engine, only the Mercedes in front of him. Fuck you, Oh Sehun. Jongin's vision is swimming with unshed tears. Fuck you. Stop the car.
The course is narrowing now - they've gone from the main roads to the small ones, the small roads to the alleyways, the alleyways to driving on any flat ground there is. Jongin guns the accelerator, and there is a jolt and a crash as the front of his car makes contact with the back of Sehun's.
Anything to slow him down, anything to make sure Sehun doesn't do whatever stupid thing he intends to do. He rams Sehun's car again, and again, and again.
It happened faster than Jongin's mind can process in its current state. The silver Mercedes pulls a sharp turn, and fast as Jongin is, nothing can save a speeding car when it's barely a second away from a wall. Jongin's desperate attempt at a turn doesn't cut it - the Audi's entire left side hits the wall, Jongin's head hits the wheel and with a sharp jolt, Jongin's world is suddenly upside down. The Audi comes to a halt on its side, smoking, metal twisted and glass broken. Brakes screech somewhere behind him, and a pair of arms all but hauls the half-conscious and bleeding Jongin out of the car. Nothing registers in his mind, not Minseok's attempts to make sure he's still conscious, not Joonmyun's voice some distance away on the phone for an ambulance, not the acrid smell of burning rubber or the taste of blood in his mouth or the sharp pain from his bleeding arm.
The last thing Jongin sees is a flash of silver disappearing around the corner.
-----
Even if you're ahead for a while, I will catch up to you
-----
Yuseong District, Daejeon, South Korea
Seven months later
A young man walks out the gates of KAIST and towards a nearby mall. He's not used to working and schooling at the same time - it's tiring, but he's managed alright.
The cafe he works at is a busy one, and he promptly gets down to work, taking orders and making milkshakes, brewing tea and coffee for the patrons. By and large, it's a normal day. He doesn't get yelled at by the manager like he used to be, doesn't mix up any orders like he did six months ago when he first started working here, doesn't fumble his job anymore. It's a simple life, one that's always in his control, one where there are no surprises.
The patrons come and go, and the day comes and goes with them. Six o' clock, and he's ready to pack up and go back. His other three colleagues are mopping the floors, wiping the tables, or nowhere to be seen, so he tidies up the counter and storeroom instead.
While he's in the storeroom, he hears someone call for him, and he hurries out.
The radio begins to play what was once his favourite song.
-----
"Hi, I'm sorry, are you still taking orders?" The newcomer's sudden appearance startles the middle-aged man on cleaning duty, who nearly drops his mop.
"Oh, we're closing in five minutes, so..."
"Please? Just one last order?"
"...oh alright then. Just give me a minute." The man calls out someone's name, and the customer leans against the counter as footsteps are heard from the doorway behind the counter.
A familiar song begins to play over the radio
-----
Till the end, I will head towards where my person is
-----
Jongin looks the same as he did seven months ago. Sehun's frozen in the doorway, unsure what to do next, what to say as everything floods back. A pointed cough from his colleague with the mop jolts him back to reality.
"Uh, hi, can I take your order?" Sehun prods at the counter screen and mentally congratulates himself for not tripping on his words.
"Caramel macchiato, triple shot, non-fat milk." Sehun feels Jongin's gaze on him as he keys in the order, one that sounds all too familiar to him. His eyes are fixed on the cash register.
"How did you know?" Sehun takes the cup from Jongin, eyes wide with astonishment. Jongin just smiles. "Intelligent guess."
Sehun goes about making Jongin's coffee, avoiding Jongin's gaze the whole time. Jongin doesn't say a word. Sehun caps the lid on and passes Jongin the cup, mumbling "that'll be 6500 won", and takes the notes that Jongin holds out. As he takes the notes, his fingers brush Jongin's, and Sehun pretends to not notice the little tingle that Jongin leaves on his skin. The merry 'ding!' of the cash register is the only sound between the two of them.
"Your change and receipt, sir. Have a nice day." Jongin takes them from Sehun, who turns to resume tidying up.
"Oh Sehun." Sehun turns around and for a moment, his eyes meet Jongin's. Jongin slides two white cards over to Sehun's side of the counter, then turns to leave. As Jongin walks away, Sehun can't resist asking one last question.
"Wait!" Jongin stops but doesn't turn around.
"-how did you know?" Sehun can't see it, but he knows Jongin's smiling.
"Intelligent guess." With that, Jongin walks out and towards the driveway. Sehun picks up the cards and turns them over. Words are embossed in metallic print on the first card - the second is plain and simple, with only a string of numbers written in neat black handwriting.
Car Dealer
Kris Wu
-
396-73524-227
Sehun glances out the window and spies Jongin walking towards a familiar white car. Somewhere in his memory, it clicks - a 1998 Toyota Chaser. As he glances down at the second card again and reaches for his phone, the song enters its final refrain.
-----
My heart is like that / It knows only one thing
Even if bent and in pain
It loves only you
Don't apologise / Even if you cruelly throw me aside and leave
If that's what you want, goodbye
But that doesn't mean my heart feels the same way