Without even knowing where I’m going
I won’t live in this confusion

"Don't tell me you've never been a part of this before."

I looked over at Taehyung, who had his eyes trained on me, a smirk playing on his full lips.

"I'm not going to." I said, looking away with the smallest of smiles, intending to play at his game. "So you can relax and drive without any worry."

The slight reflection offered by the windshield's surface offered me a glimpse of his grin before he turned back to the view in front of him. The flagger stood in front of the lined cars, and there were no lengths set out this time, which meant that the competition was even.

"With how comfortable you are, being in the same car as a certified criminal, I'd say you've been in this kind of situation before." He said softly, his long fingers wrapping around the gearhead. "Tell me you haven't."

Before I realised it, a soft sigh escaped my mouth.

"Eyes on the road, Kim." I said instead, strapping myself to the seat and recalling my first night here, when the very Nissan I was seated in had so carelessly caught the lead in the beginning. "We don't want any more accidents."

He chuckled lightly, making my shoulders relax somewhat. Maybe it was funny that I was being the most laid-back out of all those I'd met with a criminal, but the easygoing way he spoke and his simple yet teasing remarks were something I'd dealt with on more than one occasion.

Simply put, he was the kind of company I had kept even in Daejong.

I knew that this should have unnerved me, especially with all that had went down back in my past, but I guess the whole car thing alleviated all my skepticism. At least when it came to Kim Taehyung.

Anyone who asked the new girl to ride with him in a race couldn't be the most temperamental—unlike a certain other racer.

That thought jolted me a little, and without realising it, I glanced around, only to find a familiar red Corvette in position two cars down my left.

Taeyong's eyes were on the road, his hands on the wheel—none of the excitement or even a hint of the smile he'd had when I'd rode with him.

"Watch out, now," Taehyung muttered, bringing me back to the race, his gaze straight ahead, strained on the flagger dominating the centre of the asphalt. "We don't want any more accidents."

I grinned at his subtle jab at me, turning to the road as well. This was the third race of the night, and the flagger had a switched off flashlight raised high in the air.

And then there was a beam of light shooting to the sky, cutting downwards in an arc, and I was thrown against my seat as the GTR shot forward.

"Holy shit!" I yelled, my eyes moving to the area behind the wheel as the pointer steadily moved to a ninety. "What's got you so hot under the collar?"

Taehyung didn't take his eyes off the road, but his lips lifted in the oh-so familiar smirk as he changed gears and turned a corner with a sharp twust of his wrists. "You wanna know?"

I swallowed hard, all the wind having been knocked out of my lungs from the rate of his acceleration. The screech of tires was audible even through closed windows as the car drifted through another bend, and my heart leaped in my chest.

"Maybe not." I muttered, but the sound was drowned out as his side of the window lowered a few inches. The wind skidded inside in an instant, and my skin felt like it was being pulled taut against my bones.

The low-pitched whine of the engine became louder, but when my eyes flickered to the rearview mirror, there was a car on out tail.

A very familiar red car, with a stingray logo decorating the tip of the tapering hood.

Taeyong's face was set in a determined mask, his eyes calm and eerily emotionless. It was almost scary, seeing his face so cold and lacking expression, but then his gaze flickered to inside the car.

His eyes went wide.

Maybe it was the shock of seeing me in the shotgun of the Nissan he was intending to overtake, but he faltered, and Taehyung, not being one to escape a chance, veered his car dangerously to the right.

"What the—" I started swearing as I was thrown not-so-carefully into the grip of my safety belt. "Are you trying to kill us?"

"No, I—" Taehyung was cut off by the sharp vibration of something in his side pocket. "Fuck this," He muttered, grip on the steering wheel tightening. "Y/N, can you take the call?"

I nodded, reaching forward to pull his phone from the pocket of his denim jacket, freeing it with difficulty and putting it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Y/N?" The surprised voice couldn't belong to anyone but Minhyuk. "What are you doing with Taehyung's phone?"

"Never mind that." I muttered, glancing sideways at the brunet, who didn't look half as cocky with the new development. "Why are you calling? Even that, in the middle of damned race?"

"Uh-" His voice was cut short for a moment, and then he cleared his throat. "Y/N, tell him that he's got to pull over. The blues are in."

"The what?"

"Just say it." Minhyuk sounded perplexed, and more than a little worried. "He'll get it, just be quick."

There was a short crackle which indicated that he had hung up on me, and—he had hung up on me. I scoffed, gripping the phone in my clammy palm, and turned to Taehyung, who had his eyebrows furrowed.

"Minhyuk." I licked my dry lips. "He said you should pull over, and something about the blues being in."

"The fuck?" He swore loudly, but sounded a little confused as well. Slowly, he steadied the speed down to a meager twenty, and pulled over to the side.

I looked around, noticing that it was only his car on the road. The others had mysteriously disappeared—yeah, they'd been behind us, but not by that much. Maybe they had just gotten calls like us, and had stopped sooner—but why?

Taehyung unbuckled himself from the seat and pushed open the car door, ducking his head and exiting it in one swift motion. I bit my lip, unsure of what was happening—the area seemed almost deserted, a section of a single strip of road with nothing by street lights on either side—but he seemed just as confused as me, so I followed him and got out of the car.

"Why did we stop?" I questioned, closing the door with a soft click after myself. "What are the blues?"

He turned and looked at me over his shoulder, as if just remembering that I was supposed to be here as well. "The police are in." He said simply, a small frown tugging down his brows. "Though it's nothing to worry about, really."

His worried expression did nothing to help his reassurance, and I raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Then why are you freaking out?"

"Me?" His eyebrows jumped, and once again, he put on his charmingly rugged, mischievous grin. "I'm not worried—though they usually don't come unless it's about the fifth or so race, and even then, less. Most probably they're doing a routine checkup or some shit."

I nodded, though I wasn't entirely convinced. Taehyung exhaled through his gritted teeth, stuffing his hands inside the pockets of his jeans so that the ends of his denim jacket bunched up at his waist.

Now what?

The soft glow of the street light hit his profile like moonlight, making his tanned skin look like unrefined gold. The sharp angle of his jaw stood out against the softness of the night sky, giving him an appearance that was more ethereal than his intention.

Not gonna lie, he was attractive. The perfect angles of his face, the taper of his mismatched eyes, the broadness of his chest—yes, he was boldly handsome, like a jock or a, well, a criminal.

"So what now?" I asked, leaning against the side of the car. He made a low sound at the back of his throat, the depth of his voice adding to the growl factor.

"Usually, we wheel the long way round and go home, but then I guess that won't help your case." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"My dad wants me home for tonight." I pursed my lips, tracing the bright green spray paint decorating the matte black finish of the Nissan. "Not all of us have approval, you know."

He smiled, making his face light up from the previous brooding expression he had worn. "I'm guessing he doesn't want delinquents dropping you off, either."

"I'm guessing chivalry is dead."

Taehyung grinned wider, walking around his side of the car to lean against it with his back next to me. "I'm guessing late night dates aren't."

I made a sound that was somewhere between offended and amused. "I would hardly call this a date." I tapped the window with my index finger, raising a challenging eyebrow in his direction.

"Never said this was." He smirked, eyes gleaming in a way that made my heart constrict in my chest. Oh, this was a new low. Being attracted to a delinquent.

And what are you?

The sudden, uninvited thought made my grin fade, and I sighed and looked away. He frowned, his own smile falling from his lips, and rested his arm on a spot on the hood behind me.

"You can climb up to your room's window, right?" He asked. "Or is that trend dead, too?"

I laughed silently.

"Come on," He number my shoulder with his own, the gesture more suggestive than friendly. "I'll drop you home."

──────

ooh la la the new cover

why is taeyong so hot this isn't good for me or any of us, tbh.

who likes sexy, criminal-minded taehyung? i know i do.

thoughts so far?

love,
Manx.