11:16 pm

Mountain Pass

 

 

Leeteuk then put his car for a test drive after some changes he made earlier on the mountain road. Siwon and Donghae joined him in the 'practice session' later on while Heechul and Kangin waited at the peak. Leeteuk focused on doing the uphill race, and Siwon focused on downhill while Donghae helped as sparring partner for both of them.

 

Tires screeched, cars went sideways on corners, and the smell of burnt rubbers mixed with exhaust fumes became an addiction to some spectators who always came to watch every time the Super Junior members hit the mountain for a spin. But even they could noticed there was something different that night.

 

Random Guy 1: “Wow, they really are awesome! That's the best drift I've ever seen..” He then replayed the action he recorded on his smartphone.

 

Random Guy 2: “They're so cool..”

 

Random Guy 3: “But...don't you guys feel a bit different tonight?”

 

Random Guy 2: “Really? I see nothing..”

 

Random Guy 3: “Didn't you noticed? They seemed really serious tonight..”

 

Random Guy 1: “Now that you mentioned it...”

 

Random Guy 4: “Yeah..i just realized it...They weren't showy like usual..there were no fancy moves, all precise and technical..”

 

Random Guy 2: “Is this has something to do with the challenge from the Girls Generation?”

 

Random Guy 1: “Maybe...but why are they really taking it seriously? I mean...they're only girls and I never hear or see any girls that could race like that good or even match the Super Juniors..”

 

Random Guy 3: “But they're not your ordinary girls..nobody have been able to defeat them so far in Seoul!”

 

Random Guy 2: “But that's totally different...no matter how good you are racing on city streets there's no guarantee you'd be as good as racing on the mountain especially on downhill..one mistake and you're gone..”

 

Random Guy 4: “But I heard they have beaten the Bangtan boys..aren't those guys race on mountains too?”

 

Random Guy 2: “What? You gotta be kidding!”

 

Random Guy 1: “No way..that's quite.....incredible..”

 

Random Guy 3: “You've seen them yourself when they came here..they're really good driving around the mountain..”

 

Random Guy 1: “Damn it! How come anyone yet a team could be that good both on the city streets and on the mountain pass?” He put both of his hands on his head in disbelief.

 

They all went in an awkward silence for a moment.

 

Random Guy 2: “I believe the Super Junior could win it. They have never lost so far and to challenge them here in their own backyard was already a mistake..”

 

Random Guy 4: “Yeah...here the slopes are steeper and the corners are tighter than most mountain pass in the region..”

 

Random Guy 1: “They won't lose to anybody, especially to girls!” The others agreed with him.

 

 

01:02 am

 

 

The practice session went for a few hours and proceeded up until past midnight. The Toyota Supra was the last one who joined the others who were already waiting for him at the peak. The car parked not far from the rest before the lights went off and then the engine followed with the driver looked exhausted behind the wheel.

 

Heechul and Kangin walked to the car and handed Leeteuk a bottle of beer once he got out from the car. “So...how was it?”

 

Leeteuk shrugged. “It's not that bad..but I still need to find the best setting for the car..” He then continued after he took a sip of his drink. “It felt a bit nervous under braking.”

 

“No need to rush it..it's something that needs to be taken patiently..”

 

“Maybe you just need to get use to the new brake pads..it might take a while and you might need to change your driving style a bit..” Siwon and Donghae came and joined the conversation.

 

“Yeah...i guess you're right..I just need to adapt to the new brakes..” Leeteuk scratched the back of his head. “how's your own preparation?”

 

“I'm actually quite happy with my car..I only need to practise a bit more..”

 

“I don't understand why a driver as skilled as you still need to practise” Donghae exclaimed after he finishes his drink and looked at the rest. “Even my GT-R couldn't keep up with him going on downhill..”

 

“You really drives like a pro..” Heechul crossed his arms. From all of the Super Junior members only Siwon that has ever competed in official/legal drifting competition and received training from a professional and because of that he had better driving techniques from the others.

 

“Yet....but in one or two years I will become one and earn a lot of money..” Siwon replied before he took another gulp on his beer.

 

“Aren't your family quite rich already? I mean like...stupid rich..” Kangin asked while he threw his already empty beer bottle to the nearest garbage bin but missed. “Oops..”

 

“My dad wants me to take over the company from him one day he retires..I'm not interested..”

 

Siwon came from one of the wealthiest family in the city that own several companies such as mining equipment supplier and an export-import company. His father had disagreement with him when he found out that his only son has been involved in street racing world. Although his parents finally allowed him to race only if he joins professional racing, they did not give him any help because they wanted him to take responsibility for his own actions.

 

“Racing is my passion..It's all that I can think all day..”

 

“Did he approved?” Leeteuk asked.

 

“Nope..but we made a deal..i need to finish my MBA first then I could do whatever I want..that's why I finished it a year early and became the top of the class so he wouldn't have anything else to say..”

 

“But..if I failed to become a pro, he said I need to forget everything about car racing and take over the company..”

 

“Well..with that talent of yours I'm afraid what your dad wants may never come true..” Kangin tried to throw his beer bottle to garbage bin but he missed it again.

 

“Just don't forget us when you're famous, or we're the one who's gonna drag you back to your old man!” Donghae punched him on the chest and everybody laughed together.

 

“It's already really late now and we all have to go to work in the morning. Why don't we just head home and meet up again in the evening..” Heechul suggested after he finished every last drop of his beer.

 

“Tomorrow let's meet up at Leeteuk's garage..maybe we can help with the setting of his car..”

 

“Thanks, guys..let's head back now..drive safe..”

 

Soon they got into their own cars and went off.

 

 

 

 

 

01.18 am

Gangnam

 

 

 

Gangnam, a central business district known for its wealth and high standard of living with high rises buildings and apartments flourished on the area. On one of the many streets of Gangnam, two cars; a pink Nissan S15 and a white BMW M3; drove casually approaching a huge cheering crowd. As soon both of the cars stopped the crowd gathered around them. Tiffany came out from her S15 blowing kisses to her fans and pampered them with her famous eye-smile while Jessica smiled at them but went straight to the other members.

 

“Girls Generation you're the best! I know you would win it!”, screamed their fans.

 

“Tiffany, you're so beautiful!”, screamed one male fan.

 

“Marry me, Jessica!” screamed another one.

 

The girls just won another race with the EXO crew. They accepted the challenge to race against them on the streets of Gangnam in EXO's own territory.

 

Not long after Tiffany and Jessica joined back with the rest of their members, EXO Suho's black Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 and Sehun's dark green BMW Z4 arrived and parked behind the first two cars. Both of the drivers looked exhausted and gutted inside their vehicles. Racing in home territory is an advantage but it also has its own drawbacks. You could get too comfortable to the familiarity because you race there all the time, you won't be ready if there something unexpected happened.

 

It happened when Sehun was leading in front of Tiffany and Jessica with Suho not far away at the back. He panicked when he was mid-drifting exiting a corner and saw a dump truck parked at the opposite direction where it usually empty. He couldn't see beforehand because the truck was a few meters from the corners away and blocked by a building.

 

He tried to avoid it but he was already went too fast. Luckily he only tapped the truck with the rear of his car, but it was strong enough to made the car spun around. Skillfully Tiffany and Jessica swiftly avoided the spinning Sehun and took the lead. They are always on guard, to prepare themselves for anything unexpected. That was because they never stick to their own territory and always went out challenging others.

 

Soon after they got out from the cars the rest of the EXO members came and gathered around them.

 

“I can't believe it..this is the second time we lost again against them..we have never lost for the second time before!” Kai was dumbfounded and puzzled like everyone else.

 

“What the hell, Suho?? We cant always loose like this! Not to them!”

 

“Oh just shut up, Lay! I could say the same thing to you when you and Luhan lost to them on the first race! I know it supposed to be my responsibility as a leader..but...”

 

“They beat us..we need to admit that..”

 

Everyone looked at the person who said it and it was Chanyeol.

 

“You're saying we should just let them? You're calling yourself an EXO member?” Kai got heated up and asked him loudly almost like a yell.

 

“We underestimated them before and now we're paying the price...You've seen it yourself, they're on a different level than us..It hurt our pride but what's more important they beat us fair and square..They're just too strong..”

 

Most of hem seemed surprised from Chanyeol statement, but deep in their thoughts they knew that was the case. Their heads could only swung low in defeat letting reality sunk, but Kai clenched his fist and left the others all of a sudden. With a quick pace he walked at the direction where the Girls Generation gathered.

 

“Kai! Where are you going?! Hey, Kai!” Suho shouted at him but it was too late. Kai was already pushed himself through the crowd which separated them from the Girls Generation and stopped right behind Jessica.

 

“Yes? Is there any problem?” Sooyoung was the fist one to noticed that Kai was there as Jessica turned her head. The rest of the EXO members followed him but kept their distance.

 

“Why are you doing this?”

 

“Sorry?” Jessica narrowed her eyebrows, wasn't really sure with Kai's question.

 

“When people street race they make a bet, the loser either loose their car, money, or their territory...but you didn't..you let us keep what's ours even though we have lost to you..”

 

“I don't know if you realize it or not but you're actually humiliating us..you made us look pathetic in front of our own crowd..and yes, it hurt our pride if you want us to be truly honest..”

 

Jessica just stood there, saying nothing like the rest of the girls but they stay cautious. The crowd were getting a bit anxious because of the tension while some murmured in the distance.

 

“So I have to ask you.....” Kai walked towards Jessica and then leaned even closer to her face with only a few centimeters separated them. “Why?”

 

Everyone was quiet both the EXO and Girls Generation members, anticipating what kind of reply Jessica would say.

 

“Because it will burdens us..”

 

“W-what?” He backed off a bit, a little surprised with Jessica's answer..

 

“(sigh) We have won in every districts of Seoul and if we have to take care every territory that we won from our opponents..like you..it would be too much and could compromise our other important projects..” Jessica replied with a straight face but her piercing gaze never left the boy's eyes. “We have no time to babysits..”

 

“Are you saying that this is all a joke to you??”

 

“I never say it was a joke..it's just.......less important..”

 

“What?!” Kai was furious because of Jessica's reply but just when he raised his hand for a punch, Suho grabbed his wrist from behind to stop him.

 

“Stop it! You're going to make it worse for us if you loose your temper like that!”

 

“But aren't you just gonna stand there and do nothing??”

 

“Oh well..if you boys really want it that bad, how about this?” The two boys looked at the annoyed Jessica.

 

“How about we race one more time for tonight to end this once and for all.. This time let's do a drag race, but there's a catch...the winner takes the losers car away..” She said coldly.

 

“Wha..what do you mean?”

 

“Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what you told me earlier I assumed you want to do it this way so bad. So...I'm giving you a chance to do what you would like to do..”

 

Startled by the sudden challenge they seemed hesitate what to decide. They looked at each others and it wasn't long for Suho to made a decision. They have been together as a crew for so long they understands each other by only looking from their eyes.

 

“Okay..we accept your challenge!”

 

“Good..now I want your friend here the one who race..i want to see if he's good in racing as good as his mouth..” Jessica moved her attention to Kai. Her eyes looked like they pierced through into the boy's soul.

 

“But..my car isn't tuned for drag racing..”

 

“Uugghh..whatever..” She rolled her eyes.

 

“I'll do it..” Baekhyun stepped forward and volunteered himself. “I believe I won't lose if it comes to drag racing..”

 

“Confident aren't you? I'll race you..” Taeyeon suddenly came up.

 

“Taeyeon?”

 

“I haven't race for quite a while..so I guess this would be a pretty nice warm up for our next project..”

 

“Fine..it's up to you, Tae...” Jessica walked away “This way I could save some mileage on my car before this weekend's race..”

 

From a distance the crowd were getting excited. “Omygod, are they going to have another race?” asked one from the Girls' supporters. “I'm not sure..but I think I heard they're going to do a drag race..” another one followed.

 

“A drag race?” Some EXO fans gathered in a discussion. “If it's drag racing Baekhyun in his Mercedes Benz SLS AMG never loses..but who's going to race from the girls side? Did anyone got it?”

“Looks like it's going to be Taeyeon, the leader..”

“What's her car again?”

“It's a Nissan GT-R..the new one..”

“New one or not, Baekhyun is going to crush her for sure..”

 

Soon the two cars lined up on the starting line. They will do a quarter-mile drag race on the Teheranro Boulevard. It's 3.5km long and it's the longest street in the Gangnam district. Suho walked towards Baekhyun's car and leaned on the driver' side.

 

“I heard her car has 550 horsepower under that hood..”

 

“So what I've heard..but it wouldn't stand a chance against this car..”, Baekhyun tapped the steering wheel of his car..”This baby has more than 620 horsepower under her belly..”

 

“Yeah..just win this...for our own sake..”

 

The crowd cleared up and left the two cars on the starting line. Engines revved and they did some burn outs to warm up the tires. The crowd started cheering to give them support. Baekhyun looked on his opponent feeling confident, but Taeyeon only focused on the road in front of her.

 

A girl then positioned herself between the two cars. She took her red jacket off and held it up high as a flag.

 

Ready..! The two cars revved their engines. Fires were thrown from their exhausts.

 

 

Set..! They revved the engines and hold it up to the optimum rpm for the perfect start.

 

 

GOO..!!!

 

Tires screeched and the cars jumped off the starting line right away. Baekhyun's Mercedes got away perfectly, but the GT-R has a sophisticated launch control system, channeling all of the crazy horsepower to its four wheels through the advanced AWD system. It's so powerful it could launch the car from 0-100 km/h in 2.6 seconds. An acceleration so fast that it could only beaten by the Bugatti Veyron. Not a Mercedes SLS or a Porsche 911, not even a Ferrari 458 Italia.

 

The sudden acceleration caught Baekhyun by surprise and once he realized it it was too late. The GT-R already had a good one car length lead from him.

 

“What the f..ck was that??”

 

No matter what he did, no matter how precise he changed his gears on the perfect rpm, Taeyeon could matched him and there was nothing he could do to cut the distance between him and the GT-R.

 

“Come on! Come onn..!!”

 

He pushed himself and the car to their limit. The 6.2 liter V8 engine screamed in desperation trying to catch up. There was nothing else he could do. The possibility that he would lose and even lost his precious car crossed in his mind and it frustrated him.

 

“Noooooooo....!!!!”

 

It was all over in 10.8 sec once the GT-R crossed the line first, but for Baekhyun who crossed the line only 0.1 seconds later it felt like the longest 10 seconds he ever experienced.

 

“No....no...this can't be....this can't be happening..”

 

He was in agony.

 

While slowing down Taeyeon made a call to Sooyoung.

 

“Sooyoung...”

 

“Oh my God, Taeyeon..that was pretty close..! You got us worried a bit..”

 

“Yeah...but it was incredibly fun..”

 

“Tell us about that..!”

 

“Hey, Sooyoung..call oppa to bring his tow truck here..looks like we got ourselves a new car..”