zeroyon, abridged

so, this may be an upsetting update, but i don't think it's something unexpected. in the past month or so, my writing for zeroyon (imo) has taken a nosedive and i can't seem to write what i want in the way i want it. the frustration that surrounds this story is something that's been bugging me recently and after a lot of thought, i decided that i would end zeroyon's main plot and disclose to you the plot that was going to be written and how the team would've ended up. however, i also feel i owe it to all of you guys to write your characters properly, and so, occasionally this thread will be updated with oneshots and drabbles surrounding various characters of the team in deviant stories from the main plot. i hope this is a decent compromise, though i know it would've been better to just execute the story in the first place. i'm extremely sorry for the fact that i couldn't write zeroyon to its fullest and i let you all down.

but here's the plot breakdown from the rest of chapter one until the end. there are some hazy details that were never fleshed out entirely, but the basic run of the story was decided from the very beginning. 

so for the rest of chapter one.

the lineup was damien v wonwoo v two other racers from other teams but. .. they're not super important lmao. basically, the race would go that wonwoo and damien would be rather close in the beginning, but it wouldn't take long for damien to pull ahead and demolish everyone like the racing pro he's known to be. this solidifies wonwoo's hatred toward spitfire and damien especially. while the rest of the team goes to congratulate damien and cordially wish jinyoung and maelstrom luck for the rest of their careers, daniel realizes that taekjo is missing. he's found behind the car garage in a heated dispute with taeyong. daniel helps to diffuse the situation, but taeyong still gets a solid punch in. taeyong leaves with some biting words and goes to rejoin maelstrom. daniel tends to taekjo and taekjo points out the feeling of deja vu, which alludes to the first time daniel and taekjo met. a little while after this, youngji goes to visit youngcheol and tolya with ilhwa in tow. she asks the status of youngcheol's custody over his son to which youngcheol reolies that there hasn't really been any major breakthroughs, but he's hoping something happens soon. ilhwa sits near tolya but they don't speak. tolya only pitches into the youngji-youngcheol conversation every now and again. youngcheol offers to enhance some of the cars to which youngji states that there isn't anything that requires attention. back at headquarters, adrian is asleep on the couch and allura throws a blanket over him. she goes to her designated room and pores over tactics for the next race. damien heads home after saying good night to allura and you get some mom interactions here. this would delve into damien's personal life and conclude chapter one.

chapter two.

focus on hwang. he's in a board meeting with a bunch of television executives and he's discussing the pressing matter of the underground street racing teams. the executives look among themselves and are not impressed and tell hwang that there's more entertaining things to report upon rather than car fanatics and thugs. hwang insists that there is some serious dirt down in the underground but still makes no leeway. pissed, he leaves in a fury and wanders the streets with thoughts of hatred and a growing distaste for the news stations. he thinks his way of sensationalized news would be the most ideal, but he can't quite get the funding for it to broadcast it big time. he reflects on how he lost credibility after a report on a scandal went wrong and grows increasingly bitter the more he thinks about it. switch to allura in her bedroom at her house. her parents check up on her and she hides her notes for spitfire under a textbook. her parents ask if everything is okay and she replies that things couldn't be better. when her parents depart, she gets a text from a member of spitfire asking if she's ready to come down to hq. switch to the golden trio of damien/taekjo/youngji calculating their next move. adrian pitches in that they should start racing each other to get a better feel for how they fall in terms of rank. youngji argues that there is no rank in spitfire and that they all merely have separate strengths. taekjo rallies back that some people have a lot of strength while others don't and that there's a clear ranking in spitfire. damien taps their plans and reasons that the ranking doesn't matter as they pick racers from their team based on who else is competing rather than rank. it's not so much what damien says that gets the others to quiet as his tone. they argue some more. a piece of propaganda falls out of taekjo's notes and adrian picks it up. while no one's looking he stashes it in his pocket for later observation. switch to daniel and ilhwa who are now working out their differences expressed in the passion chapter. daniel and ilhwa's relationship grows a little closer here, as they both kind of open up in feelings and appreciation for each other. it ends with ilhwa staring at daniel for a little too long and a certain pit grows in his stomach. he abruptly leaves daniel alone. the chapter would end in the general area of allura arriving at hq.

chapter three.

ilhwa and dobin race (as suggested by koganes). prep in the beginning has adrian and hihi having more conversations. hihi wonders why adrian doesn't have a girlfriend yet, while adrian says that the only thing he needs in his life is adrenaline and he can't get it by being tied down by another person. hihi giggles and basically insinuates that she's open to adrian should he want to hook up with her. he declines bluntly. switch to jinyoung asking youngji how her team is progressing. she tells him that everyone is growing just fine. jinyoung laughs at her and says that maelstrom isn't taking too kindly to spitfire and it may not be long until their conversations become a little less cordial. youngji only smiles back in response, saying something basically like : "i hope it doesn't come to that". taekjo and taeyong avoid each other adamantly. daniel only observes, thankful he's not the pace car for this race. allura has ilhwa sat down with her notes open, guiding him through the best ways to utilize his car to win the race. he nods along, seemingly nonchalant, but his hands are gripping his kneecaps and allura assures him that he's going to do just fine. something like : "however this race ends up, it doesn't make you any less cool" .. something really lame lmao. ilhwa thinks it's admirable anyway and smiles. meanwhile, hwan coaches dobin to be ruthless and tells him to give ilhwa hell on the track. dobin shoots back that he really likes ilhwa and to hurt him would be like to hurt his brother. hwan promptly hits him. wonwoo broods in the corner, muttering things to himself as damien paces around the waiting area. wonwoo looks infuriated. the race begins and it's viewed from spitfire's perspective and their varying responses to everything that happens. adrian notes that ilhwa has a pretty strong start, but doubts ilhwa can let go enough to actually overtake someone like dobin. taekjo comments that it's silly to think that ilhwa thinks with anything besides his wallet. daniel tells him to cut it out, which takes taekjo by surprise. curiosity blooms within taekjo and he watches daniel more closely. allura mutters the tactic to herself and prays ilhwa can pull through. youngji yells adamantly for ilhwa's success. there's a glimmer of hope near the end that ilhwa could possibly pull into first, but dobin gets a surge of speed and races forward, followed by another no name car. ilhwa comes in third. he's pissed. dobin goes to console him and is only met with ilhwa screaming at him that he's made him look pathetic. ilhwa runs off. youngji apologizes to dobin, but chases after him. the rest of spitfire is silent. maelstrom pulls dobin into the celebration and the teams split. switch to youngji attempting to catch up with ilhwa at hq, only for ilhwa to have already left back for his home, car missing from the garage. she's distressed by this and texts him in waves. switch to allura beating herself up for not compensating for things and thus making ilhwa lose and not get his redemption. damien tells her that she shouldn't worry about it and that she can't control everything. allura wishes that she could and damien shrugs in response. adrian observes the propaganda in his room and wonders what taekjo is planning, thinking only that "it'll be fun whatever it is".

chapter four.

focus on hwang in his apartment and his dark thoughts. there's some dark that happens there, but .. i never got around to planning it. this is kind of a chapter mainly for fleshing out character perspectives and such ? focus would have been on youngji, adrian, taekjo and his plans for reforming the government, daniel and his plans to jump ship, while also having some focus on wonwoo and his growing fury toward damien and taeyong's new plans that are coming to fruition. hwang gets a brain blast at the same time taeyong does- parallels. the chapter ends with youngcheol arriving to spitfire to say that his son has come home.

chapter five.

this is like the r&r episode in an anime. the episode title would be : "spitfire goes babysitting!!!" or something like that. the team heads over to meet youngcheol's son, minseok. youngji speaks fondly to youngcheol about how great of a father he is. they have a bonding moment and they grow a little closer. tolya remarks that they look like a mother and a father. the two grow awkward. damien has a great time playing with minseok and seems to be a natural at tending to kids. allura is a close second, though she's softspoken and overly cautious. taekjo proceeds to coo to the child about how ed up the government is in a sort of twisted nursery rhyme. youngcheol urges him to stop. daniel lingers around the edge. tolya-daniel conversation that i never planned. adrian smokes in the corner, uninterested and still thumbing at the poster in his pocket. he notes to himself that the thought of revolution is exhilirating. as they play with minseok, a certain sense of humanity and their place in the world settles over the team and it's a bittersweet sort of feeling. youngji gets a text when the feeling begins to dissipate from ilhwa asking where they are. switch to hwan and his lavish life as he buys a new racing car. jinyoung is with him and he tells hwan that it's a good choice. "whatever could you be buying that for?" jinyoung asks, to which hwan responds "oh, no reason in particular." hihi and her racing style is exposed here. yeah h hh

chapter six.

hwang begins to launch his plan. buys a handheld camera. laughs to himself about how he thinks it's going to be success. typical villain laughter. it comes to the surface that the next race is going to have the wildcard independent racer itou rena. taekjo adamantly vouches to race in it. youngji asks him if he's sure because rena is unpredictable, but taekjo feels certain he'll win. adrian pulls taekjo aside after the others have left and approaches him about the propaganda. taekjo grins and fills him in. daniel is burning himself with cigarettes and ilhwa finds out. ilhwa reprimands him but ultimately attempts to patch him up. he tells him that he needs to stop and if he doesn't, ilhwa will enforce consequences. with a shaky smile, daniel asks what the consequences are. ilhwa hesitates and mumbles that they'll be "very bad, so stop doing this ". allura peeps in and asks if they're okay. they both respond that they are. youngji thinks about youngcheol and his son and the concept of a family. she draws parallels between her fellow racers and minseok. she notes that it doesn't feel quite the same, but it's not too bad either. she tells herself that she does not require a man and that she is doing fine on her own while running a proper household. the idea entertains her and she laughs. damien is taking a break back at his mother's place and there's developments on his relations with the assistant. damien reflects on the idea of staying at home permanently without taking the risk of racing. but he tells himself that there's still work to be done with spitfire and that he can't leave just yet. they gear up for the rena race.

in between this and the next part, would be : rena's race vs taekjo (to which taekjo would play with her and eventually win. he approaches her and finds her interesting. they stay in touch.), hwang going back down to the underground undercover, allura and ilhwa's relationship blooming, adrian and taekjo's relationship improving, daniel and taekjo's relationship straining and youngji and taekjo's relationship straining. maelstrom gears up for taeyong's plan. dobin refuses but jinyoung gives him a pointed look and he agrees. more development of taekjo's plans to rise in power and adrian's help with it (in small ways). hihi and adrian. dobin and ilhwa's relationship being repaired. daniel becomes more daring. hwang, as a passerby, begins to take videos of the races and in a way begins to stalk spitfire. hwan and his car. .. whatever the i was planning with that. basically, a bunch of new developments with characters and other races i never planned.

the .

a new race is gearing up. ilhwa wants redemption and adamantly approaches youngji to be chosen for it. taekjo steps in and refuses him due to the other racer being maelstrom's wonwoo. ("you're going to massacred out there, kid." taekjo smirks. "this race isn't for you.") youngji, however, says that if ilhwa thinks he can do it, then he should do it. taekjo is appalled and lashes out at youngji stating that she's making a huge mistake and that if she goes through with this, he's quitting the team. ilhwa wavers, contemplating stepping down, but youngji steps up and says that ilhwa is the one racing and that taekjo will have to deal with it. furious, taekjo storms out without looking back. damien calls after him to no avail. adrian claims he'll get taekjo back, but he does not return. ilhwa turns to youngji and states that this isn't what he wanted, but youngji just sighs and says they have to make sacrifices. when ilhwa leaves, youngji breaks and turns to damien in a panic wondering "what the did i just do???" switch to maelstrom in which they're finalizing the plan. jinyoung is proud while hihi is thoroughly entertained. dobin sweats and slips out when no one is looking. allura drills with ilhwa how to win and daniel gives him reassuring comments with chaste smiles. something is different with ilhwa and daniel. allura blinks and wonders what it could be. she muses this over but ultimately reaches the conclusion that ilhwa and daniel might be moving past platonic feelings. she worries about taekjo. the team goes to the prepping garage. dobin catches ilhwa on the way and warns him to be careful during the race. ilhwa wonders what he means and expresses his confusion. dobin looks around in fear and says to ilhwa that this race is different and he needs to be careful. they reach the prepping garage. youngcheol is there with his son. he says that they're there to cheer the team on and that he wants to make a spitfire fan out of the kid. maelstrom is oddly friendly. wonwoo is cracking smiles. taeyong shakes hands with ilhwa and daniel. the atmosphere is oddly bright. hihi pouts from the lack of adrian. hwan locks his eyes on ilhwa with nothing but a lazy grin. the race begins. a man slinks into the crowd, camera in hand. 

the race is tight. ilhwa has prepared for this quite well. allura is near tears in her stress on whether or not he can pull it off. youngji is shaken from her dispute with taekjo and the absence of adrian and taekjo, but cheers furiously for ilhwa. youngcheol is a consoling hand beside her, his son yelling out spitfire as if on repeat. daniel sweats more than usual, biting his nails. dobin also sweats on the maelstrom side of things and prays to himself that everything will be okay. the race begins as adrian slinks back into the crowd, shrugging when asked about his whereabouts and the lack of taekjo beside him. the cars take off and everything is going with wonwoo and ilhwa neck and neck. however, at a certain point, ilhwa continues to accelerate dangerously fast around some of the turns. it works in his benefit at times, but it's close to causing an accident. it's the last turn of the race. ilhwa is ahead by a hair. wonwoo is on his tail. as ilhwa's accelerated turn happens again, wonwoo rams into him and it causes ilhwa to go swerving out and crashing into a lightpole. wonwoo races ahead with only a few scratches on his paint to win. the crowd is livid and youngji is screaming. spitfire and youngcheol (after handing over his son to tolya who sputters his protest) runs over to the smoked and crumpled car. youngji wrenches the door open to find ilhwa unconscious and laying on his steering wheel, blood pouring from his hairline and body limp. youngji is in hysterics and damien struggles to do damage control. youngcheol turns youngji away from the crash and attempts to soothe her. daniel pulls ilhwa from his car as allura sobs. adrian stands paralyzed as he stares at the blood. the crowd is all watching them, silent. the man videotapes the whole ordeal.

daniel and youngji bring ilhwa to a back room to which daniel struggles to identify the injuries and work. youngji begs him to help ilhwa and then excuses herself to reduce the pressure on the doctor. daniel begins his work. damien is calm, but still troubled. adrian drinks quite a bit. allura is quietly crying on the couch, holding her head in her hands. youngji can do nothing to help them. they sit in silence. 

time lapse. taekjo is on the streets rallying the people with ideas of a new form of government. his numbers grow. it's discovered that adrian abandoned taekjo's side when he realized his devotion to youngji. taekjo throws himself in his work to forget spitfire. daniel treats ilhwa's wounds and ilhwa wakes up. daniel is overjoyed and ilhwa gives in to the pit in his stomach. youngji rejoices when she finds that ilhwa is alright and the whole team knocks back alcohol in celebration (except for allura who has soda). dobin stops by and takes part in the festivities and youngcheol also stops by. a certain feeling sticks with youngji and youngcheol. it's unspoken but it's different. allura stares fondly at them but mostly feels relieved that ilhwa survives. she thanks the spirit of her brother. daniel and ilhwa sit with knees touching on the couch, fingers just barely touching. it's a start.

the end.

as his rallies continue, taekjo is approached by a man who wonders at what taekjo is doing in the city. taekjo states that he's working to change the government into something efficient and proper. the man states that it's surprising, as he thought taekjo would remain bbypink forever. taekjo starts at this and demands to know who the man is. the man only laughs and says that he has video evidence of spitfire's activities and that he is going to report it to the police. taekjo pales.

spitfire has taken a break from races in an attempt to recover the feeling of security that the group used to have. youngji begins to create team bonding exercises. everyone reluctantly participates. although damien spends ample time with the team, he divides a larger chunk than usual for his mother. it appears the crash has shaken him. he relishes in the moments at home. youngcheol and youngji spend more time together. daniel and ilhwa are more touchy, but less talkative. allura breathes a sigh of relief as she feels the family bond has returned. adrian takes hihi up on her offer and they go out drinking together. it ends with some deeper conversations and hihi asks if adrian wants to go again another time. he accepts. the peace begins to feel as though it has returned.

taekjo breaks into hq one day and says that someone has reported spitfire to the authorities with video evidence and that it's only a matter of time until they're found out. he arrives upon seeing a scene of spitfire playing with youngcheol's kid. youngji is shaken and asks taekjo how he knows and why he's back in the underground. taekjo waves off all explanations and says that someone gave him a tip. spitfire flies into distress. they struggle to figure out a solution or escape route. they come up dry. adrian then abruptly brings up a scene of a movie villain driving away in his car screaming : "you'll never catch me alive!!!" and adrian suggests spitfire goes for one last ride. silence. in the silence, minseok asks "what's wrong mom?" to youngji.

zeroyon piles into youngji's van. she buckles into the driver's seat and she's misty-eyed. taekjo is in the passenger seat. damien is behind youngji with adrian beside him. behind them is allura, ilhwa, daniel. it's a lingering question on everyone's minds why damien decided to go through with it. he called his mom and let her know that if any authorities came to her house, that they needed to say that her son was long gone. she questioned him and damien only calmly reassured her that everything was alright. youngji drives through the city. taekjo turns on some pop music station. they move out of the city and reach the shore. a press on the acceleration. she drives the van right off the edge of the cliff. all of zeroyon dies on impact with the rocks. taekjo is smiling. daniel and ilhwa have linked fingers.

focus back on hwang. the authorities don't want to hear anything he has to say after the downfall of the scandal issue. hwang persists with video evidence and says that they need to investigate this group (who humiliated him) and put them behind bars. the authorities are skeptical but watch the footage. they are amazed at the footage and almost take hwang up on his offer, but ultimately take in hwang instead for affiliation with underground activities as opposed to taking down spitfire. thus, the driving off the cliff was for naught.

so yeah that's basically all i had planned for zeroyon. it's a little patchy and awkward, but i thought you'd like to know.

i will post drabbles and oneshots periodically, but don't count on a regular schedule. i hope i can make it up to you guys. once again, thank you for sticking with zeroyon. i really appreciate every single one of you guys :')