Chapter Text
At the starting line, Hyukjae did not recognise the man sitting in the car next to his. Seoul’s underground car racing was fairly small and a racer like him, who had been in this scene since he was tall enough to reach the pedals, had met and raced against everyone in the city. But, he did not waste time looking at this new opponent; his eyes were already on the flag that a girl would soon wave to announce the beginning of the race.
As soon as the flag went down, Hyukjae stepped on the accelerator. He knew this circuit by heart and could probably drive through it in his sleep. He came out of the first right turn in first place and checked the other car in his rearview mirror. The white car was right behind and showed no sign of slowing down despite the narrowing of the line that would lead up into the parking lot. His opponent was still gaining speed and was now right next to him. Hyukjae might like to win but he also valued his life, and he was not about to die by crashing into a parking lot because some crazy new guy wanted to show off. Even with the new adjustments Shindong made to his car, he could not speed it up in the few meters left. He would just need to up his game and catch up once he would reach the upper floor. He raised his foot slightly from the accelerator and saw the white car go straight ahead into the narrowing line. He cursed and went in right behind.
Once on the upper floor, he was still close to the other car and the empty lot could allow him to get back in first place. He brought his car nearer to the back of the other’s, giving it a little push, to remind this asshole that he did not get rid of him. Eyes flashed in the rearview mirror and squinted at the view of Hyukjae. He used that distraction to pull out and get past the white car.
He did not look back and finished the circuit in first place. As it should be. He stomped on the break and the crowd cheered. He did not wait for the other to finish the race to get out of his car and cozy up to the lovely ladies coming to him with his prize. He accepted the bottles of whatever alcohol were given to him, a few kisses on his cheeks. He could feel Kyuhyun rolling his eyes at the scene from wherever he was standing in the crowd. Kyuhyun was a judgemental ass but he was quite happy to be best friends with a winner like Hyukjae.
“And another win for Eunhyuk !” Announced a voice in the megaphone, the crowd cheered again.
Hyukjae high-fived his mechanic, Shindong, and gave him the green light to take his car away from the parking lot. He finally found Kyuhyun in the crowd, next to Yesung, another regular racer. He grinned at them, showing them the bottles that had been given to him. This was probably the only reason why Kyuhyun was still coming to his races : his win meant free alcohol. Kyuhyun smiled back, while Yesung kept his lips in a tight scowl.
‘Congrats hyung.’ Kyuhyun said. “Almost thought you would not make it out there. This guy was really going for it”.
Hyukjae barked a laugh “Don’t worry, Eunhyuk showed him who the real boss is around here. This nobody probably won’t be back.”
He turned to Yesung. “What? No congrats from you, hyung?”
“The move he pulled could have got you in a very bad position, Hyuk.”
“Worrying for me? You know I don’t break that easily.” Hyukjae answered with a wink.
“Ugh, I’m going to need that alcohol right now if you keep up with the flirting” Kyuhyun interrupted, a hand on his chest as if he was going to throw up.
Some ruckus behind them did not give a chance for neither Hyukjae nor Yesung to answer that. Some guy was yelling at Leeteuk, the man handling the race and the pool. Out of the screams could be understood “rigged”, “motherfucking cheater”, and some other not-so-nice adjectives to describe Hyukjae’s win.
“Hyuk, don’t” Yesung warned him, putting a hand on his arm.
Hyukjae did not listen and shrugged off his hand, ready to defend his win. He had won. Fair and square. Unlike the other crazy racer that had tried to kill them both and had lost. He got closer to the screaming guy and Leeteuk. The latter’s face was blank as if he was not even hearing any of the shit coming out of the man’s mouth.
“You got a problem with me winning? Take it out on me and not on the poor guy, would you?”
Crazy Guy turned around to look at him. He had quite the nice face, Hyukjae wondered what he was doing around here. If he had this face, he probably would not have chosen to go down the road of illegal street racing.
“You cheated, you touched his car. That’s against the rules.”
“Against the rules?” Hyukjae laughed. “This is an illegal race. There are no rules. I don’t know where the hell your guy came from, but you both can go right back.”
Crazy Guy saw red and flung his fist at Hyukjae’s face. Hyukjae closed his eyes, bracing himself for impact. But it never came. He opened one eye and saw Crazy Guy’s fist stopped by a big arm. Quite the biceps, in fact. Hyukjae turned to his savior’s face as he heard a soft voice speak.
“Hyung, don’t go around punching people please.”
The savior sighed and a smile appeared on his thin lips. Hyukjae took his whole face in, and then his body. He had smooth skin, expressive eyebrows, blond hair, cut short on the side. And his arms were not the only thing that was strong about him. He was wearing a white shirt (matching his car), that was tight on his chest. Fitted black jeans embraced his thighs and Hyukjae could feel the saliva pooling in his mouth. Of course, the crazy-wanting-to-take-on-death opponent was crazy hot.
Crazy Guy shrugged Hot-Guy off and left, cursing everyone and their mother. Hot-Guy (finally) turned to Hyukjae. The smile had disappeared and he now looked like he’d rather be anywhere but here.
“Good race. I intend to stick around so don’t be too disappointed if I win next time we meet.” His voice was hard, nothing like the one he used to speak to Crazy Guy.
Hot and an asshole. You could say Hyukjae was already in love. He had a type you see.
“If you win it’s because you managed to kill me with your crazy moves”.
Hot Asshole rolled his eyes, turned around to apologise to Leeteuk before leaving in the same direction as Crazy Guy.
“Don’t think I deserve an apology as well?” Hyukjae yelled after him. “I almost got punched because you sucked too much to win!”
Hot Asshole did not even look back nor answer him. Hyukjae sighed and looked at Leeteuk.
“Who’s that guy anyway?”
“He goes by the name of ‘Donghae’.” East Sea. “He signed up for a few of the next races.”
“Please don’t put me up against him anymore, or his bodyguard might actually give me a black eye.”
“Well you know what to do then” Leeteuk smiled “Win. Come by the shop tomorrow, I’ll give you the rest of your due.”
Leeteuk gave him a few bills before turning to scatter the crowd. Hyukjae went back to Kyuhyun and Yesung.
“Let’s go, losers. Drinks on me”.
“Obviously” Kyuhyun answered.
Once at the bar, Hyukjae let his friends order for him and went straight to the toilets. He sprayed some water on his face and pushed back his hair looking in the dirty and broken mirror. He had let Yesung dye his hair a dirty brown a few days ago. Some blonde highlights were more striking than the others but his hyung had said he looked handsome. Dark eyebags had been sitting under his eyes for a few weeks now. He sighed and got out to join his friends. Kyuhyun was already mixing beer and soju for him and Hyukjae, while Yesung had settled for some brownish drink.
He sat down in the booth next to Yesung, facing Kyuhyun. Yesung put his hand on his thigh, to show him support. His hyung shared his difficult relationship with sleep and had been the one keeping him company during lonely nights.
“Sooyoung gave me the keys, so we can lock up when we leave,” Kyuhyun spoke.
“You should get a job here, you’re the one closing every night” Hyukjae chuckled. “Forget university, just run the bar with Sooyoung.”
“Ha ha ha. One of us needs to educate himself to defend the other, hyung.” Kyuhyun answered. “And since you already took the gangster road, I’m the one in charge of keeping you out of jail.”
“How generous of you, Kyu” Hyukjae rolled his eyes.
“I know, you’re lucky to have me.”
Hyukjae laid back in the booth, resting his body weight on Yesung. He was always a comforting and warm presence. Kyuhyun finished mixing the drinks and handed him a glass. They cheered to his win and drank. Kyuhyun then turned to Yesung.
“What about you, hyung? When’s your next race? It’s been a while since I’ve seen you on a motorcycle”.
“I have one on Tuesday, just outside Ilsan.” Yesung answered softly, blowing warm air on Hyukjae’s hair.
“We’ll be there ! Right?” Kyuhyun asked looking at Hyukjae.
“Of course. We’ll go to my parents for dinner. Mum will be happy to see you.”
Kyuhyun smiled even bigger and brighter at the mention of a home-cooked meal. Between his university dorm and Hyukjae’s shitty flat, Kyuhyun always complained about how he could not cook a proper meal.
The door of the bar opened, and Shindong walked in. He went to the bar, made Sooyoung laugh and joined them with a beer.
“Your baby is in bed.” Shindong said to Hyukjae.
“I told you not to call my car a ‘baby’.”
“All cars are babies to me. I take care of them like a mother lion would with her cubs.” This earned him a roll of eyes from Hyukjae and Yesung. Shindong took a big sip of his beer before saying. “I heard the new guy’s team caused a scene back there. A punch was mentioned but your face seems fine.”
“Yeah, some crazy guy went on about cheating, but Hyukjae hyung stepped up to defend his pride.” Kyuhyun went on. “When I saw the other racer getting closer, I really thought they were going to beat hyung up, but the guy just stopped his friend from hitting Hyukjae hyung!”
Shindong nodded before looking at Hyukjae. “Who’s this racer? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him before tonight.”
“Leeteuk told me he called himself Donghae. A dumb name for an empty-brain racer. He should be around for a few more races.” Hyukjae finished his drink before adding. “Might not be here too long though, if he keeps losing.”
Shindong hummed. Hyukjae stroked Yesung’s hand that was still on his thigh with the end of his fingers, to silently let him know he would be leaving. Yesung answered the silent question by patting his thigh. They got up without a word for their friends. They waved Sooyoung goodbye, before stepping out in the cold fall night, hand in hand.
That night, Hyukjae fell asleep to Yesung’s breathing in his nape, his hyung’s scent surrounding him, a shield against his lonely nights.
🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎 🏎
The world was loud around Donghae, celebrating as they did after each race, win or lose. That night, he could not bring himself to join his team and his cigarette was left burning between his fingers.
He could not let go of the race. He had been so close. He had taken the right risks. Yunho had always said he took too much risk. But Heechul and Donghae had agreed that he would have to be ready for everything to win in Seoul. Speaking of the devil, Heechul was probably the one celebrating the most his lost after throwing a tantrum at the end of the race.
“To Donghae!” Heechul cheered. “For finally making it up to the big city game!”
Everyone cheered back, screaming “To Donghae” with him. Donghae smiled tightly and tilted his head in acknowledgement. He could not wait to sleep this night off. A gentle hand rubbed his shoulder.
“You should be happy Hyung!” Henry said cheerily. “You showed them that you were the next big thing!”
“Still lost, Henry.” Donghae whispered back.
“Lost yes but against Eunhyuk, himself! It’s a win that we didn’t have to take your body out of a car on fire.” Heechul interrupted.
“Thanks for the trust in my skills, hyung.”
“The only thing I don’t trust is this damn car keeping up with your talent, kid.”
Donghae shook his head, chuckling. Heechul thought the car was cursed or something, since his last race in Taipei. The car was fine. He had made sure of it. His driving though was not as good as it should be to hop to win against Eunhyuk. He was never a natural and had always needed more time, more practice.
“I’m going to get some air.” Donghae stood up and left the room.
The streets were empty, the only noises of life were coming from inside the bars that were still opened at the late hour. Two people were walking away hand in hand, one of them had their head in the crook their partner’s neck. Donghae sighed in envy of intimacy like this. Agreeing to this path of life, he had never thought further than how good it felt to drive all day long and how easy money would be. But since coming up to Seoul a few weeks ago, he had never felt so lonely and had never craved the warm of another body as much as he did now.
Donghae stepped on his cigarette before it burned his fingers and went back inside. He fell back on the coach he had left, his arm going around Dara’s waist. Her scent was familiar if not comforting. She smelled like the peach shampoo she had bought in bulk before leaving Taiwan, and a mix of tobacco and the cooking oil she loved to use. He curled into her side like a puppy. He could feel her laugh bubble and explode in her whole body as she listened to Heechul. He closed his eyes as she mindlessly put her fingers through his short hair. He had dyed it with Henry the day before. Henry wanted to go back to black and Donghae wanted to, if not feel at least, look confident for the race.
“Are you going to fall asleep like this?” He heard Dara whisper.
“I just might.” He sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that night.
Her hand left his hair to massage his neck and feel up his back muscle. Her lips pecked the top of his forehead.
“You did great out there. I know you’re disappointed.”
“I really thought I’d win for a moment, going up that parking lot.”
“I know, Hae. We thought so too.”
They both sighed and took in each other. The background noise faded away as he focused on her breathing into his ear. Dara was the only one Donghae could turn to on nights like these, when Heechul was too far into the party to take notice of the racer’s mood.
“You want to get out of here?” She asked, grinning.
“Ugh yes please.”
“Come on, I’ll buy you a drink, handsome.”
He laughed at her antics and took the hand she gave him. They told the others they were going to look for a quieter place, which got them some whistles.
They left the dirty and poor-lighted basement for the street and its lights. They walked to a bar that seemed less crowded than the others. The music, if they were playing any, could not be heard from outside and there were not any drunk people hailing at them. They went in, only a few tables were still occupied. Dara made her way to the till while Donghae sat at a table for two. Two men in a booth were laughing loudly and spilling their beers on the table. His attention switched back to Dara as she sat in front of him, a glass of wine for her and something that looked like sparkly water for him.
“Cheers to us!” She smiled and smacked their drinks together.
Dara started up the conversation on how she missed the nightlife in Taipei and that they needed to find new spots to celebrate other than Heechul’s shitty basement flat. He nodded along, sipping the water, looking at her moving her hands around explaining to him how her new landlord had tried to set her up with his son.
His attention was drawn away from her as one the guys from the booth took a chair to sit down with them. Donghae tensed instantly, reaching for Dara.
“You’re the EastSea, aren’t you?” The young man slurred his words, clearly drunk.
Donghae narrowed his eyes at him, jaw tensed. “Who’s asking?”
“I’m Kyuhyun. I have to say you got some guts showing here after trying to kill Hyukjae hyung.”
Donghae chocked on his water. He had been accused of a lot of things, but murder was a first.
“I think you have the wrong guy, man.”
“Hum, pretty sure you were the crazy racer that does not know the brake from the accelerator.” Kyuhyun insisted.
“Kyuhyun, let it go.” His friend said, a hand on his shoulder. He was standing behind, in denim overalls that were stained with greased, probably a mechanic.
Kyuhyun shrugged it off, keeping his glassy eyes on Donghae.
“You’re damn lucky that Hyukjae hyung is the best racer there is or trust me I’d make sure you’re sorry for ever trying to pull that move on him.”
“Cho Kyuhyun, I don’t let you hang around here so that you can threaten my customers.” The woman behind the till spoke up. “I’ll close tonight, you go home.”
“I’ll take him home, sorry Sooyoung.” The mechanic apologised.
Kyuhyun murmured some unintelligible words but left nonetheless. Donghae loosened his grip on Dara’s hand.
“Thank you.” He turned to Sooyoung.
“No need. But please refrain from killing Hyukjae. He’s my favourite paying customer.” She said with a wink.
“I’ll try not to then.”Donghae chuckled.
“You’re taking another round? On the house.” Sooyoung smiled.
Dara smiled brightly so Donghae could not help but nod. Later, as the sun was rising, he took her back to her flat and kissed her cheek in front of her landlord, thanking her for the night. She laughed airily and he waited for her to enter her unit before going back to his car. When he made it back to his flat, he was so tired not even the bright sun could have kept him awake.