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You’re gripping the headrests of the seats in front of you, looking back and forth between the bodies occupying them. In the passenger seat sits Kai, not looking as frightened as he probably should be, and in the driver’s seat sits the apathetic Minseok. You tear your fingers from the black leather and stretch them out. You didn’t notice how hard you were holding on until your fingers had started to cramp.

Minseok is speeding down the first turn on the streets and he casually flicks his head to the side to shake the shorts bangs out of his face. You still don’t understand how his hair changed; a now dark purple from the light brown it was when you first met him.  A few feet in front of his car is Jiyong’s black sports car, humming its way into the right lane. You’re not sure if you’re more shocked at the fact that you’ve willingly put yourself in this situation or that you’re sort of enjoying yourself. There’s a thrill that comes with knowing that one wrong move could probably put you in the hospital, or worse, kill you. You shake your head, willing that thought to disappear.

It’s only the first stretch of the race, but even now, the atmosphere is tense. Kai sits completely still, making sure not to make any sudden moves, as that could distract Minseok from his driving. Minseok, on the other hand, rolls down his window allowing the air to rush in and toss your hair around. He comfortably hangs his left hand out while keeping his right hand firmly gripped at 12 o’clock on the steering wheel.

You peek at the dash and spot the speedometer: 105 mph. You’re sure you’ve never been in a car going this fast and you turn your eyes to the car next to you, noticing that you’ve been neck and neck for a few miles now. The roads are slick from melted snow but Minseok’s driving never falters.

From the way it’s built, Jiyong’s car looks like it could last for days going this fast and the thought worries you a bit. You’re slightly intimidated by the fact that his car hasn’t left Minseok’s side for a second, and you inwardly pray that he doesn’t get any ideas. Minseok huffs out a laugh suddenly, his breath coming out as a cloudy vapor, and Kai turns his head to him. “Why are you laughing?” he asks, eyeing the tuft of purple hair in front of him. Minseok raises a finger from the hand holding the steering wheel and points directly in front of him. “You guys might want to hold onto something. We’re about to hit some traffic.” Your eyes go wide and you lean forward to poke your head in between the front seats. “Hold on. How? Shouldn’t it be closed off?”

Minseok gives another bitter laugh and glances back at you for a second, returning to his normal position while saying, “Shutting down Shuto Expressway is nowhere near possible, considering how many cars come in and out of it. If Jiyong were to shut it down for every race, he wouldn’t make money. And if he doesn’t make money, he doesn’t have races. Which is why it’s open 24/7. And which is why it’s the most dangerous.” 

Kai gives consecutive nods, a frown appearing. “So we’re about to drive at over 100 miles per hour into an area that has cars constantly going through it. Great. Fantastic.” Minseok smirks at Kai, adding, “Oh, come on, teleporter. We all know that you can just bolt us out of here if anything bad happens.”

Kai suddenly turns his whole body toward Minseok and asks roughly, “Okay, how do you know I’m a teleporter? Who is it that told you about me and why don’t I know you if you already know me?”

Minseok’s car jolts forward as he leans on the gas, pushing the car slightly ahead of Jiyong’s. “You know you ask a lot of questions, right?” he throws in, jerking the steering wheel to the right, and shoving his car into the next lane in front of Jiyong’s car. You look through the back windshield behind you and watch as Jiyong’s car lines up behind Minseok’s, assuming he knows what’s coming too. “Listen, I’m gonna need you to shut up for a few miles so I can get us through this and then maybe I’ll answer your questions, alright?” Minseok is glaring ahead as the car rushes past the Shuto Expressway entrance sign.

And as if out of nowhere, a line of cars appears next to you, and another and another, and before you know it, Minseok is bobbing and weaving in between intersections. Your eyes go wide as Minseok just misses a delivery truck in front of you and you take this opportunity to tighten your belt. You place your hands on either side of the car to steady yourself as Minseok throws his passengers from side to side, barely missing cars. Jiyong doesn’t seem to have a problem with the cars as he gracefully finds opens spots and squeezes through them, pushing himself ahead and leaving no room for Minseok to follow him through. Minseok attempts to tail the car in front of him for a few miles of oncoming traffic until another sign labeled C2 overhead swoops past and Minseok sits all the way back into his seat.

Just as Minseok’s car passes the sign, Jiyong throws his car into the next gear and pushes further out. Minseok suddenly cringes and mutters “I know exactly where you’re going.” One of Minseok’s hands snake from the steering wheel down to a small trigger at the end of the dash. He points to it and looks at Kai, Kai looking back at him with a clueless gaze. “When I tell you, push this.” Kai moves his hand quickly towards the trigger but is immediately slapped away by Minseok. “I said when I tell you!” Kai rubs his hand, whining, “Okay, okay."

You laugh to yourself at the scene in front of you but quickly cover your mouth as it seems that Kai has heard you. He looks back at you, furrowing his eyebrows and playfully looking you up and down. You suddenly hear another laugh, one not coming from you, and you watch Minseok as a dangerous smile creeps onto his face.

Minseok then pulls up directly left of Jiyong’s car and maintains the same speed with him. Jiyong rolls his window down, his face a surprising look of fear. He signals to Kai to put his window down and Kai obeys. “Don’t even think about it, Minseok!” screams Jiyong from his car, half leaning out of his window. Minseok just glances through the window and smirks, tilting his head a bit to the side. He says nothing back, but leans on the gas and speeds ahead to the front.

You look through the front windshield and gape at the approaching tunnel in front of you. There are two entrances and you start to worry as you look at Minseok, who is hesitantly thinking about taking the opposite tunnel across the median instead going down the same one as Jiyong. But he stays his course and pushes past the entrance, the archway covering the car and absorbing it into its darkness. You look back and see Jiyong’s car lined up behind your car. If he knows what’s going to happen, then why is he still following us? you think to yourself, remembering the words recently exchanged between cars.

You feel the car jolt forward as Minseok once more pushes ahead, obviously searching for a specific spot in the tunnel. He moves ahead swiftly and manages a decent distance in front of the other car, until you can’t even see them anymore. “Get ready, teleporter, and only when I say!” he shouts over the echoes in the tunnel, and Kai steadies his hand over the trigger. “Jiyong doesn’t think I’m a fair winner, huh?” he says to himself, and Kai gives him a look. “Well, he’s right.” Minseok suddenly clicks the car’s cruise control button and releases the wheel. Both you and Kai give a simultaneous yell and you unbuckle your belt and throw yourself forward to grab the wheel.

“What are you doing?! Don’t you know that only controls the speed, not the steering wheel too?” you yell at him, but he ignores you and suddenly sticks the upper half of his body through the driver side window, his legs holding tight onto his seat. You try to keep your eyes on the road in front of you but you’re more worried about what Minseok is about to do.

You hear him yell from outside of the car, “Keep her steady and we’ll get out alive!” You and Kai share a concerned look but you keep a tight grip on the steering wheel as he listens intently for Minseok’s signal. You look up and see the ending of the tunnel approaching and Kai taps Minseok’s leg, making him turn his head to look. “Remember, only when I tell you!” he screams once more, Kai’s hand beginning to itch from anticipation.

Finally, you hear someone begin yelling loudly and you lean to look out of the window. Minseok has his hands up in the air, his now blue eyes glowing brightly and illuminating the tunnel as you fly through it. As he yells, you flinch at the noise he’s making; his yells sounding full of pain and anger.. There’s a hopelessness in his screams and you can almost feel it sitting in the pit of your stomach. It seems that his screams won’t stop, until finally, the exit is a few feet in front of you and Minseok yells, “NOW, TELEPORTER, NOW!”

Kai immediately moves his whole body forward and pushes the trigger, instantaneously shoving the car forward with a burst of blue exerting from the back of the car. “Nitrous? This is crazy!” Kai yells as he moves to help you steady the wheel. You release one of your hands and look at Minseok, who has now put his hands down and has placed them on the top of the car. Just as you exit the tunnel, Minseok gives out another yell, but this time as he does, he slams his hands toward the street and suddenly, the archway of the tunnel’s exit starts to close. You watch in horror through the rearview mirror as all around the edges of the exit, ice crystals form into larger chunks of ice until they clump together, forming a wall.

“Hit the brake, kid!” Minseok suddenly says to both of you as he clamors back into the car, shoving his foot down on the brake and throwing you to the front. You had forgotten that you took your seatbelt off and as the car screeches to a stop, you’re thrown in between both of the boys with two concerned looks directed at you.

You bashfully pull yourself up and in between the seats, taking your spot in the back and turning around to look through the window.

“Whoa,” you whisper, barely audible to the others.

What used to be the exit of the tunnel is now a thick wall of ice, closing off the tunnel and giving no chance for the other car to come through. Kai opens the door and steps out of the car with you following behind. You both stare at this colossal construct; its creator sitting comfortably in the driver’s seat, smiling. You move toward the ice, tilting your head back to look at the towering shield. As you get closer, you can feel the air around you become colder and you feel a slight shiver run down your back. The last few steps you take put you directly in front of the wall and you stretch your hand out to touch it. It’s real; the ice is slick on the top layer as your warm hand melts it a little, but not enough to cause the entire wall to come crashing down. After a few seconds, your fingertips have almost lost their feeling, so you throw your hand down from the ice, immediately placing it into the pocket of your new jacket.

 “I thought you’d like that,” says a voice behind you. You spin around to see Minseok standing behind you with his arms crossed and the same smile on his face. “Surprise, I’m ice.” He steps a bit closer to you and holds his hand open. You twist your brows at him and he gives out a chuckle. “Give me your hand,” he says. You suddenly feel like you’ve done this before, and then it all comes back to you… The dream.

You gulp nervously as you picture the scene in your head; taking his hand, and regretting it. The feeling of turning into a block of ice. Would he purposely let that happen?

He tilts his head in wonder at you, curious about what might be going through your head. He suddenly interrupts your flashback and grabs your hand, moving quickly and covering it with both of his hands. You’re about to protest against him but a warm feeling grabs your attention and you glance down to look at his grasp. The outcome you thought would happen, the one from the dream, is not what you’re seeing.

In fact, it’s the opposite.

You can tell Minseok is trying his hardest with his power but your hand is fighting against him. His ice is melting quickly into water and it flows down to the ground, now a puddle in the middle of the street. You quickly tear his hands from yours and look at your own; the skin on it is a bright red and the heat still radiating from it. Kai watches in amazement, taking your hand in his and examining it. The redness has yet to subside but once Kai puts his hands over yours, you can feel the heat from your skin disappear and your skin returns to its original tanned pigment. Kai keeps his hands on yours and looks at you, his face worried and concerned. “Are you okay?” he asks, searching your eyes. You nod your head at him and inwardly thank him. Minseok gives a loud scoff and says as he walks away, “You really are the Keeper.” You tear your eyes away from Kai and watch as Minseok wanders off towards the car.

You quickly remember that the last time your powers activated, your medallion was glowing. You reach for the chain around your neck but feel nothing, and hit your forehead as you remember that you left it in your room. You mentally scold yourself, thinking that you should be more responsible. 

Suddenly, there’s a loud roar from the tunnel and Minseok freezes in his tracks. Minseok and Kai have heard it too, and you all turn your heads towards the wall. Through the ice, you can see several headlights, and a silhouette of someone walking up to it. You all stand motionless as you watch the person approach the ice and place two hands on it. In a moment, something flashes behind the ice, revealing more silhouettes of people standing around the car.

The flash came from around their neck, and you remember seeing a medallion around Jiyong's neck before the race began. You wonder to yourself if he has any part in this, and if so, what role does he play? Will he help you or hurt you? You think that maybe you’re about to find out the answers to your questions.

The bright light returns to its origin and the figure lowers their hands from the ice. Everyone stands in silence for a few seconds until a crack, almost like a whisper, breaks the lull and is followed by another, and another. The cracking doesn’t become evident until the noises are simultaneous, a choir of terror revealing themselves on the wall of ice. Deep lines crawl their way down the fortress, splitting the ice in multiple pieces until it can’t hold itself anymore. The chunks at the top of the wall begin to fall and before one can land on you, Kai grabs you and teleports yo