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Soyoung sat upright against the leather seat with hands clasped onto the steering wheel, strings of thoughts surfacing her mind.
"You zoned out a bit in there, Choi" The voice spoke and she glanced at her side only to see Hendery standing beside her car.
"Start, I'm bout to test you today" He motioned towards the road as he pulled the door to an open and sat himself down in the passenger seat.
"Huh?" She uttered out, bemused yet he said nothing, wordlessly strapping the seatbelt over his torso and Soyoung cracked a smile at his actions.
"So, you still remember that?" "What?" His brow raised and she eyed the seatbelt, referring to the very first conversation they shared in her car.
"Seatbelt"
"Don't tell me we're gonna end up crashing"
"Safety it is"
"Safety it is" Hendery repeated the exact words with a slight smile on his lips earning a chuckle from her.
"Right, thought I was to practice alone" She muttered out loud intentionally, glancing at her surroundings and he nodded.
"Can't risk having my recruit run into a three million dollar car in a race, can I?" Hendery laughed, his palm resting on his thigh tapping gently and rhythmically.
"I won't. I'm not that bad" Soyoung rolled her eyes at his comment. "Yea, but it's on me if anything happens to you" Hendery shrugged, looking out of the window.
"Drive, as I speak" At his cue, Soyoung cranked up the engine, pressing her foot onto the accelerator- eyes trained on the racing track ahead, back relaxed against her seat, paying keen attention as Hendery began speaking.
"Your main motto is to win, no matter what it takes, win. Once you win a race- it's a breakthrough, replicating it becomes easier" "I don't think it works that way? Won't things get hard—" Soyoung casted him a brief look only to see him glaring at her and she pursed her lips shut.
"Just listen. And as of your question, no- once you win you get accustomed to that feeling and desire more and more of it" Hendery answered and she gave a small nod, eyes not leaving the road in front.
"Driving is way different from racing- yes you need a skilled driver and a favorable car but in here, even small things matter. Point one second late and it's over" He continued, eyes mindlessly staring at his hands as he fiddled with the ring adorning his index finger.
"The strategy changes from race to race. If it's a sprint race, that is a point-to-point rally, then your speed matters- brisk and hasty. If it's laps, your skill matters- steady and controlled" Hendery paused, eying the girl to make sure she was bearing his words in her mind.
"I'm listening, go on" She informed, feeling the weight of his gaze and Hendery hummed in response, proceeding with his one-sided conversation.
"A hands-on experience will give you a solid picture of things but to get there you need to enhance your skills" His eyes flickered over to the girl and the speedometer as he spoke, exhaling out loudly at her balanced pace.
"Choi, no slacking. Switch to third gear" He instructed and Soyoung mumbled something incoherent under her breath before doing as asked to.
"Throttle," Her foot on the throttle lowered further- the car picking up its momentum and visibly speeding up.
Hendery noticed the upcoming bend and his eyes landed back onto the girl, "Curve- first gear" Her fingers quick to decipher each of his words- hand clutching the gearhead shifted with a click and the car gradually slowed down.
"Right," A swift twist of her wrist and the car propelled to their right with a jerk and her eyes flung wide upon realizing the car was to pace off track.
"Small moves- it's power steering-!" Hendery hissed out at the sharp spin of the wheel, instinctively placing a hand on the doorframe for support.
"I didn't fucking know!" She exclaimed- her feet quick to release it's grip on the throttle and with another hast turn of the steering wheel in the opposite direction, the car maneuvered back onto the circuit making both of them sigh out in relief.
Soyoung pulled the car over to the side, throwing her head against the leather seat- fingers gripping the steering tighter, shoulders tense and a deep exhale slipped her mouth.
"That was pretty rough" Hendery let out, unfastening the seatbelt and her eyes drifted over to him, meeting his gaze.
"Did I fail the test?" She asked with a sigh under her breath as she loosened her grasp on the steering, watching as soon Hendery stepped out and shut the car door to a close.
Hendery bent down lower, propping his hands on the window frame with a grin on his face, "No, I'm impressed. You've got good reflexes" At those words, her eyebrows jumped up in astonishment.
"Practice, and you might win over Mark someday" Soyoung let out a chuckle at his comment and his smile widened, the corner of his eyes crinkling up as the conversation between the two prevailed.
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