10:07pm.

Headquarters

Seoul, South Korea

The parking structure was bursting with activity as the race crews waited for the arrival of the kings. Today was the day that the lineup would be announced for the racing tournament and everybody was craving to know who they were racing against. Even the girls, who vowed to keep their cool under all circumstances, abandoned their promises. Each girl had found their own way to pass the time while they waited for the news.

Sharing a fat roll of weed with two nameless boys was Min Ah, who was laughing uncontrollably at the shape of one of the cars. Her normally perky eyes were halfway closed and bloodshot while her bright complexion began to pale. Saerok was at the bar arguing with the bartender, saying that she was one hundred percent sober while she was swaying from side to side like a giant pendulum. Ha-Neul, the maknae, tried luring her unnie away from the bar, but to no avail. Meanwhile Hyun Ae decided to stay away from all of the hubbub and instead sat against the wall of the headquarters, gazing up at the stars that blanketed Seoul. She could easily pick out the constellations Ursa Minor and Cassiopeia from the millions of sparkling lights that lit up the sky. Quiet Kumi sat in her car, her iPod hooked to the car stereo, blasting without a care in the world.

Soo Jin scanned the entrance for Kim Jaejoong and his idiotic posse to appear. When will they ever be on time for once? Didn’t they know everyone was waiting? The sooner these races were dealt with, the sooner she finally got to race against his egomaniacal . It’s not like anyone else here stood a chance against her and her team. She had made sure that she chose the best girls for the job, otherwise, how else would they have gotten into the tournament?

Finally, the roar of a car engine filled the air as an Audi R8 came into view, flanked by two Infiniti G37s. Jaejoong, or Hero as everyone on the streets call him, stepped out of the Audi as the crowd started to shout and holler. Putting an arrogant grin on his face, he made his way towards the center of the headquarters, the rest of Dong Bang Shin Ki following him like magnets. Two girls from the crowd immediately went over to him. He put both of his arms around them while they gushed over his conceited self. Max, the spokesman, cleared his throat.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” he announced. “Welcome to the first ever Street Racing Tournament of the East!” The crowd screamed and whistled. Max waited until they simmered down to continue. “Today kicks off the first round of the tournament. Each and every single one of these teams have deemed themselves worthy of competing in this battle to reach the top. Some have come from places as far as Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines. Tonight, however, might decide your fate. Who stays? Who goes? Who will reach the top? Only time will tell. Now, I’ve got a question for y’all. Are you ready?!”

The throng of people went wild as a member of MBLAQ, G.O., swiftly hooked up a projector to his car’s battery. The projection of a chart of blank boxes was projected onto the concrete wall. The audience went silent as they craned their heads to get a closer look. Max spoke again.

“When I hit this button, the team names will be randomized and put into different face offs. Each team will get a chance to race against another team that this generator's selected. If you win, you move up the chart and you’ll be one step closer to racing us, the champions.” Max put on a smug look before continuing. “If you lose, tough luck. You’re out of the running, goodbye, adios, sayonara, thanks for playing. Whoever gets to the top of the chart and successfully defeats all other teams will not only win plenty of won, but they will get a chance to race against us. So, without further ado, let’s get this show on the road!”

The crowd went crazy once again as Hero did the honors of pushing the button that randomized the names on the chart. After five long seconds, the standings were up. Some teams rejoiced at the results while others groaned. Max called for everyone’s attention once again. “Alright, the results are up! Looks like the first two victims to race against each other are…U-Kiss and G6! Come on up!”

A group of seven guys strode to the center of the circle surrounding Max, confident smirks on their faces as they nodded to each other. Pushing through the crowd, Ha-Neul dragged an uncoordinated Saerok to the heart of the circle and rolled her eyes in embarrassment. Did she really have to be intoxicated NOW? Hyun Ae somehow found her way to the middle of the circle too, just like Min Ah. Kumi calmly stepped out of her car, which was still blasting bass-thumping music. She quietly made her way through the crowd to stand with the rest of the girls.. Finally, Soo Jin strutted towards the center of the circle to join her team.

Hyun Ae eyed U-Kiss, who had shocked expressions on their faces. To tell the truth, it got a little old. They were girl street racers, so what? They were just as good; they were just as powerful. Maybe even better. Men were pretty much all the same. Clueless, arrogant and driven.

Max explained the rules. “Alright, kids, listen up. Each team is going to pick one person to race. Only one. This is only the first round, so we need to see if you guys are really up to the challenge. Make this choice good; it may be your last. U-Kiss?”

After a moment of discussion, U-Kiss sent forward a boy with dark, almost reddish, hair. He immediately started laughing obnoxiously while he went to stand next to his Subaru Impreza. Max then turned to the girls. Soo Jin gave the boy, who was called Dong Ho, an icy look, silencing him almost immediately.

“You guys are so foolish,” Min Ah said. “Laugh all you want, boys, since it’ll be your last race here. We’re not going to waste our energy on the likes of you. In fact, we’ll pit you against our maknae. Ha-Neul, care to do the honors?”

Sporting a devilish grin, Ha-Neul stepped forward. Her oversized T-Shirt flapped in the windy, summer air and she mussed up her hair. Her eyes gave Dong Ho a mischievous look. Dangling her car keys in his face, she walked over to her car. “Don’t start laughing now, pretty boy. I’ll pummel you to the ground.”

Micky handed the GPS devices to both Dong Ho and Ha-Neul. Her Lancer Evolution shined in the moonlight as it gave off a pale, eerie glow. Sujin made another appearance this time, this time wearing a flowing, white top and body-hugging shorts, complete with stilettos. Giving a confident grin to DBSK as well as the boys of 2PM, she held up the green cloths. Then, the countdown started. Three, two, one…

Surprisingly, Dong Ho’s car shot forward faster than Ha-Neul’s. Determined not to get left behind, she slammed her foot on the clutch and shifted to second and third gear as soon as she could. It was not enough. His car was still ahead of her. Damn, thought Ha-Neul. They definitely seem a step above Infinite. With a quick motion, she her car radio. Fast, upbeat music poured out of the speakers as her car gained momentum.

The first turn was up ahead and Dong Ho was a good five meters ahead of her. He drifted his car with precision, while she was a little shaky. The Impreza was now ten meters ahead of her. Ha-Neul’s heart was definitely sinking, but it wasn’t about to give up so easily. There were three more turns in this course and a lot could happen in that time. She just had to put her mind to it. There was no way in hell that she was going to go back home and reconsider what her parents had told her. She wanted to be a racer; now, she’s got to act, think, and live like one.

The second turn fast approached. Taking a deep breath, Ha-Neul down shifted at the last moment, causing her car to verge sharply. It worked, however. Her car gained speed, but it wasn’t enough. She was still trailing behing Dong Ho. That was alright, they were only halfway done with the race.

The street lamps on this particular street were dim. One of them flickered on and off and another’s light bulb dangled dangerously from its post. Shifting into fourth gear, she was catching up to Dong Ho.

He wasn’t about to let her pass. Cutting her off on the third turn, she was so close to passing him. Ha-Neul let out an exasperated cry as he sped ahead of her again, but then, she realized something. She could still tail behind Dong Ho and get ahead of him. She had learned how to draft when she was first introduced to street racing, but she never thought it would be of much use until now. Putting a sly smile on her face, she began to tailgate Dong Ho.

“You’re mine now, pretty boy.” Ha-Neul muttered as her head bobbed to the beat of the music. She stayed a good ten meters behind him while he thought he had all the glory. The fourth and last turn was coming up. This was it, she thought. All or nothing. The fate of G6 lie solely in her hands. Her unnies had depended on her to win this race for them; she was not about to let them down. She was doing this not only for them, but for all the people who told her she couldn’t be a street racer. Namely, her parents. It was an illegal sport, yes, but she wanted her name to be remembered somehow. That way, Ae-Young had someone to look up to, even though it was frowned upon strongly by her parents.

Dong Ho veered the car right while Ha-Neul stayed in his shadow. Sensing her opportunity, she put the car into fifth gear and felt a rush of speed as the Subaru Impreza sheltered all the air resistance. Swerving to the inside of the turn, Ha-Neul felt her chest expand as she passed Dong Ho and saw the look on his face as she overtook him. Trying to fight a winning smile on her face, she merged right in front of him and crossed the finish line, barely five meters ahead. She slammed on her brakes, burning rubber and sat in her car, shocked.

She did it. She ing did it. All that time during that nerve-wracking race and she beat him. Ha-Neul knew she shouldn’t be this happy over winning a race like that; it was supposed to be a normal thing for her, but just the sense of doing her team proud made her feel like she was the happiest girl on Earth. She pulled into the parking structure and slowly got out, trying to keep her cool. Scattered applause greeted her, as did Saerok and Hyun Ae, who showered her with their congratulations. Kumi nodded at her, then flashed a rare smile. She spied Min Ah at a makeshift betting table, collecting money from a very sullen-looking man. Even Soo Jin, who was normally expressionless and severe, had an amused look on her face.

“Th-the clear winner.” Max announced, apparently bewildered. “G6.”

Saerok was the first to break out into a yell, mostly because she was the drunkest one there. Slowly but surely, though, more people started to cheer for her. Hyun Ae gave her a hug and ruffled up her hair, much to Ha-Neul’s displeasure. “You did good, dongsaeng. You did good. However, I thought you would have been much faster than him. Didn’t I tell you about the NOS I put in your car? You could have used that!”

Ha-Neul looked at her unnie in disbelief. “You did WHAT?! Why didn’t you tell me sooner? It would have saved me a whole load of stress!”

Hyun Ae let out a sheepish laugh. “I thought you knew.”

-

After a night of partying and drinking, Min Ah had crashed at Saerok’s apartment and found herself on the couch with a splitting headache. The girls had celebrated so much at Torque that they had to rely on Kumi, who was the designated drunk driver for the night. She was currently passed out on the floor in her black tube dress and platform shoes, wearing a bandana around her neck that belonged to God-knows-who. Hyun Ae, usually the responsible one when Min Ah wasn’t around, was splayed across an armchair in nothing but her jean skirt, undershirt and one Jimmy Choo heel. The other one was placed neatly on top of the television. Saerok was most likely in her bedroom, sleeping soundly. Soo Jin didn’t party with the rest of the girls; she never did. The girls had tried to convince her to come, but Soo Jin had none of it. She just took her share of the prize money and drove straight home. It saddened Min Ah that her best friend was too cautious to have a social life.

Heaving herself off the couch, Min Ah’s head hurt worse than ever. Bathroom, she thought. She needed a bathroom. Running to the first door she saw, Min Ah found herself in Saerok’s tiny bathroom and dry heaved into the open toilet. Nothing. For a while, she leaned against the bathtub trying to figure out why the hell everything was hurting so much. When she felt she was ready to get up, Min Ah stood up and examined herself in the mirror. Aish, she thought. She looked worse than she expected.

Grabbing about four of Saerok’s cotton balls, she cleaned her face off of mascara residue and pushed her bra strap back on her shoulder. Her back ached so much. What the happened last night? Running a brush through her hair, she washed off with water and headed back to the living room to collect her things without waking anybody. Within five minutes, she was ready to go. Taking care to lock the door behind her, Min Ah walked through the apartment halls receiving curious stares from people. She couldn’t blame them. Min Ah looked like an Asian Ke$ha.

She drove to the local porridge house, where she wanted to eat a quick breakfast. Her stomach had complained on the way home and she decided that she’d eat at the new porridge house that opened close by. All she wanted was a bowl of hot jook and she’d be good to go for the morning. While she was eating her breakfast, a guy sat next to her at the counter. There were about nine other seats there. Why did he choose to sit next to her?

“Hey there.” he whispered as she blew on her food. Min Ah pretended to ignore it, but he was persistent. “Ya, I’m talking to you!”

“Yes?” Min Ah stared at the man. He DID look familiar. She felt like she knew him from somewhere, yet she couldn’t put her finger on it. Who was he?

“You look so much more different than when I last saw you, Park Min Ah.”

Min Ah nearly spit out her porridge and froze. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what?! How did he know her name? “You…you know me?” she managed to choke out. “Who are you?”

The man gave her a wide grin. “You forgot already? Shame. All the things we did last night…”

“Wait, what?!”

“I’m leaving. Here, this is money for your breakfast. I just wanted to see if you made it home okay. Kumi was fishtailing a lot last night while you were driving home.” The guy got up and headed towards his car.

Frowning, Min Ah left the money on the counter and chased after the man, who was already inside of his car. The next few words that left shocked her as she yelled them out in desperation. “YA! I wasn’t done talking to you, Kwon Ji Yong!”

█ author's note;
Sorry for the wait everyone! We were going to post this yesterday but I (MusicChibi) was talking on the phone to xaznbaybay and my other best friend until we were all tired. I didn't have the chance to go over the story until now, but I hope you like it! <3 Remember that I have a story of my own as well! You can apply for it, but the application forum takes a while to fill out :P The story is RATED. You can read it here: http://www.winglin.net/fanfic/MusicChibi/ and here: http://www.asianfanfics.com/index.php/story/view/3768. However that story isn't top priority, this story is. 

█ ending crap;
→ musicchibi
→ 12:06pm
→ listening to: Becoming the Bull by Atreyu