Power in her hands. She had power in her hands when she drove. Her destiny, her future. They were within her control, limited only by her ability to manoeuvre the route, to outdo the other racers. There was nothing to hold her back. Nothing to stop her from getting what she wanted. Racing was simple. Racing was straightforward. There were no lies. No pretence. Racing was pure speed and control. Mastery and skill.

The starting point of the race was on a quiet street close to the Han River. They were just beside a school campus. There was a university further up from where they were, but they were closer to the middle school grounds, so their surroundings were completely deserted at this time of the night.

Her eyelids fell, shutting out the moving lights and shadows from her mind. Nothing could beat this moment. In her driver's seat. Steering wheel in her hands. Gear stick throbbing and ready. She opened her eyes and they focused on the pretty girl in front. Mmm, she was pretty but Tiffany was prettier. Damn Tiffany. Disturbing her peace even when she was in her most comfortable zone.

“Get the out,” she said to the image of Tiffany in her mind. She had to focus.

The pretty girl held up the boards. 3...2...1...

She released the brakes and her car lurched into motion. The race was on.

-

Her blood surged with the engine as her car shot off into the night like a silver bullet. Her pride swelled, fuelled by the performance of her car. It wasn't just any car, of course. It was Jessica's gift to her and she was determined to do her proud. The control of this car was excellent. She'd made sure to tweak, customize every single part of her car to perfection. She knew exactly how much it could take, how far she could push it and what she could do with it.

She sped down the straight road towards the main road. Gears switched, she played it to perfection as she completed the first right turn of the race. It was a short straight before hitting the next turn and again, she switched gears and made the left turn without losing more speed than she needed to. The following right turn was not a problem either and she was clear, out on a long curvy road along the Han River.

It was immensely satisfying, being in the heart of your very own creation and working it to its full potential. She could hear the happy hum of her car's engine, feel the horsepower of it surging through the framework and right into her skin. The curves of the road were no challenge to the precise steering of her car and she made good progress, moving down the road at a neck breaking speed.

Taeyeon's car was diagonal to her, like a black shadow, a mere bumper ahead. No doubt, her car's superior engine and horsepower was helping her to keep up with the best racer in Seoul. She could spot Jessica's white car behind hers, keeping close, not letting up and she knew that Jessica was only waiting for the perfect chance to overtake them.

To Jessica's right was a dash of metallic orange. Before the race started, her friends had told her that three fun seeking friends had signed up for the race. There was nothing to worry about, said her friend. Yet, the orange car did well to keep up with Jessica. It'd be interesting to find out who she was after the race.

But the race had only just begun and was far from done. The road curved to the left, then the right, gentle bends that posed little difficulty to her. Driving the tow truck had honed her steering skills, much needed for driving large vehicles.

They sped a good distance down Gangbyeonbuk and she weaved in and out between the other cars on the road to keep up with Taeyeon. She'd watched and heard a lot about Taeyeon but it wasn't till now that she truly appreciated just how good the racer was. The black shadow zipped between lanes, overtaking car after car and putting more distance between them, an inch at a time. It was incredible, racing like that. It excited her. Got her blood racing. She could get used to this.

-

Haneul Park flashed by and within seconds, so did Noeul Park. She was ahead of the whole pack but there was no time to sit on any laurels. The real race began after the expressway exit. She made the right turn, left the expressway and entered a narrow road, heading towards Daedeok-dong. Narrow roads meant there was no room for relaxing. She had to make sure no car cut her off whilst cutting everybody else off from any hope of overtaking her.

Her feet pressed hard on the accelerator and she raced down Gayang-daero, keeping her speed at the highest possible to the last possible moment. Brakes stomped, she swerved to the right and released her brakes as soon as she turned into World Cup Buk-ro. It was a straight road down towards Digital Media City. She would have to make another right turn at the end and head to the World Cup Stadium before making a left turn.

Right behind her was the handsome silver car that had managed to keep up with her the entire time. The mechanic was doing good. Word on the street was that the silver car was a gift that had arrived in individual parts and assembled by the mechanic herself. Impressive, if anything. There was no time to be impressed, however. Not with the silver racer inching up towards her as they zoomed down the straight.

Digital Media City was soon behind her and the World Cup Stadium was looming up in the distance. The left turn approached rapidly and she prepared herself for it. Much to her surprise, a loud roar of an angry engine sounded from somewhere behind her and a streak of white appeared in her rear view mirror. She slammed on her accelerator but it couldn't stop the white bolt from speeding past her, towards oncoming traffic.

“. Jessica is crazy.”

Her brows furrowed in a deep frown as the white racer cut back into the lane a few cars ahead of her. She wasn't worried though. It was common for things like these to happen in street races. She had a few tricks up her sleeves too. All she needed was a window of opportunity.

-

Her lips curled into a smirk as she made the last minute cut back into the lane just in time to avoid colliding with the oncoming cars. It was a dangerous move but also a calculated one. She knew Taeyeon wouldn't be on the wrong side of the road when there were cars entering so she had a few seconds to blast the turbo and get ahead. It had paid off big time. Not only did she overtake Taeyeon, she had also put a few cars between them.

A quick change of gears and a turn of the wheel made quick work of the left turn and she brought her car back to its top speed, covering the distance easily. She smiled at the sight of Taeyeon's black car behind her. Her car's performance tonight had done her proud. It was definitely worth every cent she had pumped into it. The turbocharger alone had been enough to set her finances back a fair bit. It was top of its range, boasting competition engineered aerodynamics, designed to achieve high efficiency and fast transient response. And at four million won a pop, the move she just made didn't come cheap.

Now, her expensive engine pushed hard and took her down Moraenae-ro and past Namgajwa 2-dong. She spotted Taeyeon and Yuri in her rear view mirror, fighting to claim second place and grinned. Yuri had proven to be a great driver. She'd been right about that.

“Come on, Yuri. You can do this.”

-

A burst of pride filled her heart and put a wide grin on her face as Jessica zoomed past her and overtook Taeyeon. That was her girlfriend. Her lovely, talented girlfriend. If Jessica's kind heart and beauty hadn't been enough to lock her heart in, this would've done it. She could still remember how excited she'd gotten when she discovered Jessica's interest in racing, shortly after they became friends.

It'd been Jessica who'd asked her about it, actually.

“Why are you working in a garage? Do you like cars a lot?”

“I love cars. I've always loved cars. I love their engines, their colours, their wheels, their—”

“Alright, alright,” Jessica laughed, “I get it. You love cars a lot.”

She smiled and nodded. “Yes.”

“Well, that makes us a good match.” Her breathing quickened at Jessica's words and she blinked several times. Her attraction to Jessica made her more sensitive to words like 'good match', so it was only natural that her heart pounded when Jessica continued to say, “I like cars too. Racing cars in particular.”

“Racing cars. Oh my God, I love them the most!”

Jessica laughed. “Really?”

“Mhm.” She nodded vigorously to hammer in her point. “Really.”

“You know, I happen to have tickets to the Grand Prix next weekend. Do you wanna come with me?”

“Are you serious?”

Jessica grinned. “Yes. I'm pretty serious. I have an extra ticket so you can come with me.”

That set her off in a shrieking episode as she threw her arms around Jessica's neck and hugged the woman. “Oh my God, I've always wanted to go to one. This is like a dream come true. I love you, I love you, I love you.”

Slender arms wrapped around her waist as Jessica hugged her back and said, “So it's a date?”

“It's a date!”

-

Two dangerous lane switching manoeuvres later, she'd overtaken the cars in front and closed the gap. She was now in front of Yuri and just behind Jessica. They were speeding down the finishing stretch and towards the finish point which was where the race had started.

She was running out of windows of opportunity to reclaim her first position. Jessica had done a good job of cutting her off whenever there was a chance and she was stuck behind the white speedster, much to her frustration. But she wasn't about to give up yet. The race wasn't over. And there was a window to open at the end of Yeonhui-ro. They would have to make a gentle left turn followed by a sharper left before a right and it was at these three corners that she would be able to make her move.

For now, she kept as close to Jessica as she could, speeding down the straight. The turns were approaching soon and she in a lungful of air, holding it to calm her heart. It was now or never.

They got to the turn and she noted how Jessica kept close to the left curb. It was her chance. At the next sharp left, she switched to the right, pumped her turbocharger to its maximum and grinned as her power infused engine propelled her car ahead. She drove onto the right curb to squeeze past Jessica and with a quick turn of her steering wheel, she started into the right turn early. Cars horned as she cut across three lanes to the right but she kept it steady and entered the narrow street across the road, in front of Jessica.

She let out a whoop of sheer exhilaration at her success and thumped her steering wheel. “I'm the best, .”

It was this rush of achievement that got her going and close call moments like these that she loved. Adrenalin was pulsating within her and a confident smirk was plastered all over her face as she made a simple left, then right and ate up the remaining distance towards the finish point. All that was left was a straight down the middle of the university campus. She was almost there. Almost...there.

It was just a shadow. A moving shadow. The shadow entered her path without warning and her instincts kicked in.

“!” Her foot slammed hard on the brake at once. The sickening sound of tyres struggling to find their grip on the road pierced through her ears as she swung her arms violently, swerving her car to the side. For one full second, her car went out of control and her eyes squeezed shut, foot on the brake pedal. Then, all was silent.

Her car was still. Her eyes sneaked open. Only to be blinded by bright lights from the side. She looked. Eyes widened. Mouth opened to scream. But she never did.

-

Bright red lights from Taeyeon's car set off alarm bells in her head and she knew she had to swerve to avoid crashing into Taeyeon. But to her horror, Taeyeon's car swerved a split second later, and spun into her path. Instincts had her stomping on the brake as she screamed. Her shrill voice rang out alongside the horrendous screeching of tyres but she couldn't hear it. She couldn't hear anything. Then, the sound of metal crunching blasted through her ears and the last thing she saw was the terror in Taeyeon's eyes.

-

Something was very wrong. She'd heard a thunderous crash and all she could think about was Jessica, who'd managed to speed across the three lanes in hot pursuit of Taeyeon. She'd gotten stuck behind traffic and by the time she crossed the road into the narrow lane, Jessica and Taeyeon had disappeared.

She sped ahead, keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of Jessica, her heart pounding, her heart hoping that it was only her imagination of the worst sort. But her hopes were smashed when she saw the mangled mess of metal by the roadside. A lamp post had fallen over and was lying across the two cars. Clouds of smoke were billowing from the crushed hoods.

A shriek of horror escaped her as she stopped her car and hopped out. A man was by the white car, tugging at a limp body.

She broke into a run. “Sica!” Tears were already gathering in her eyes as she neared and her chest was tight.

“Do you know her?” the man grunted. She could only nod as tears fell like the rain. “Don't stand there and cry. Help me. We need to get her out without moving her too much.”

-

There was a strange buzz from the race crew and she sensed something was amiss. Rising from her seat, she left the crowd of onlookers and looked for someone she knew to find out what the problem was. Something seemed to be causing panic amongst them and a disturbing premonition was creeping up on her. She needed to get information and she needed it now.

A short lady hurried past her just then and she caught sight of her face. “Sunny!” she called. Sunny turned, and she saw the lines of worry on her face. “What's the matter? What's going on?”

“Tiffany. You're here. Why are you here.”

Sunny didn't seemed have the presence of mind and her eyes were unfocused. Seeing this only twisted her gut even more but she had to know. “Sunny, tell me what happened.”

“Taeyeon...”

“What is it?”

“Crashed...”

“No.” She couldn't believe her ears. “No. No way. No.”

“We need to clear this place out. Come and help me.”

“Is she okay? Is she hurt?”

“The ambulance is coming. The police are coming too.”

“Is Taeyeon hurt?”

“Yes.”

Hearing Sunny's answer felt like she took a punch in the stomach. She could barely ask the next question but she had to know. “How badly?”

“She’s unconscious.”

“Oh my God.” The news had her frozen stiff for a moment but Sunny continued walking and she had to hurry after her. “Where is she?”

“Hongik.”

Hongik. Taeyeon was in Hongik. Without a second thought, she turned and ran, ignoring Sunny's calls for her to stop.

-

Legs of jelly and lungs of paper. The result of sprinting down the middle of the university campus in a frenzy. Her lungs were on fire and her legs were screaming but she pushed on until she saw the wreckage. Two ambulances had arrived and two stretchers were being loaded.

It was ironic but now that she was within reach of Taeyeon, she couldn't move. Her legs lost their strength and she sank to the ground in a heap. Tears filled her eyes and blurred her vision. The doors of the ambulances closed and she watched as the blurry ambulances drove away. They disappeared from view in a matter of seconds but she remained on the ground, unable to pick herself up.

It was the approach of a policeman that got her back on her feet. It wouldn't do to be questioned by the police. She wasn't even supposed to be there. Pushing herself off the ground, she stood and walked away from the scene, trying her best to blend into the shadows. This was not the time to be weak. She had to get to the hospital. Taeyeon was heading there. She had to be where Taeyeon was. She had to go to Taeyeon.

Taeyeon...please...

-