Street Racer || Yang Jungwon

°•♡•° / 65

—— Jungwon

As I slid into the driver’s seat and turned the ignition on, a sense of urgency coursed through me. Seori was unusually quiet, her eyes glued to the window as the world outside blurred past. I could feel the tension radiating from her, heavy and suffocating. She never acted like this unless something serious was bothering her.

“Seori, are you okay?” I asked, my voice laced with concern as I glanced over at her. “You seem… off.”

She turned her gaze from the window to me, her expression distant, as if she was caught somewhere far away. “I just… I’m tired, Jungwon. I’m exhausted from all of this.”

My heart dropped. Those words hung in the air like a storm cloud, and I felt an unsettling chill creep up my spine. Exhausted? From what? From the drama with Jiyeon? Or was it something deeper?

“Exhausted from what? From Jiyeon?” I pressed, my hands gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter as I navigated the streets. I didn’t want to think of the possibility that her exhaustion stemmed from something more serious. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel like this whole situation was overwhelming her to the point of wanting to escape.

She didn’t respond immediately, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sweater. “Yeah, I guess… I just want things to be normal again, you know? Like before, all of this happened.”

I frowned, turning onto a quieter street to avoid the rush of the crowd and the chaos of the race venue. “I get that. I really do. But we can’t let Jiyeon dictate how we feel or how we live our lives. She’s just trying to push our buttons.”

“But what if she succeeds?” Seori’s voice trembled, and I could see her fighting against the tears that threatened to spill. “What if she gets what she wants?”

I felt my chest tighten at her words. “She won’t,” I asserted firmly. “I promise you, Seori, I won’t let her. We’re stronger than that. We’ve come too far to let her ruin this for us.”

“Have we, Jungwon?” Her voice cracked, and the pain in her eyes pierced right through me. “I just… I don’t know how much longer I can keep fighting. It’s so exhausting to hide everything from my mom and to worry about what Jiyeon might do next.”

“Seori—” I started, but she cut me off, her eyes blazing with a mix of frustration and sadness.

“I feel like I’m losing myself in all of this. Like I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I can’t keep pretending everything’s okay when it’s not.”

My heart raced as a chilling thought crossed my mind. Was she implying that she was considering giving up? Was the exhaustion she felt leading her to thoughts of escape? I couldn’t bear the idea of losing her, not after everything we had fought for.

“Seori, listen to me,” I said, my voice steady as I parked the car on the side of the road, away from prying eyes. I turned to face her, desperate to make her understand. “You’re not alone in this. I’m here for you, no matter what. You don’t have to carry this burden by yourself.”

She looked at me, the vulnerability in her gaze making my chest ache. “But what if I can’t do it anymore? What if I can’t handle everything that’s happening? What if… what if I just want it all to stop?”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. “Seori, please don’t say that.” I reached for her hand, interlocking my fingers with hers, feeling the warmth and life radiate from her touch. “You’re so much stronger than you realize. We’ll get through this together, I promise. You mean everything to me.”