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I felt exposed.
Once again, I was in the plaza. Even though it had probably not been long since I'd last visited, it still felt like a million years. The open atmosphere was scary, and my shoulder throbbed with a phantom pain every time I glanced behind myself to make sure no one was following.
No one was.
It was just paranoia at its best, but I could hardly blame my senses for being on high alert after having found out what I did. The racers, except Baekhyun and Taeyong, had no idea that I was leaving. Which was probably why Vernon had been so relaxed and easy going around me, and no one had spared me a second glance, pitiful or mocking, as they passed by my still figure.
The place was pretty much empty compared to the colorful throngs of people I'd seen filter through the back door of the bar on my first night here. The sensation of being back here was almost like that, minus the eagerness to feel the rush. The energy of the race. It was hard to want that when your whole existence felt like someone was hot on your heels.
Everyone was on a high, which was a normal reaction since they were going back to what was 'normal' for them—the drag races. It could've been a daily thing for me too, but given the circumstances, it wasn't the safest routine. I was surprised by my own slight reluctance when Jennie had shown up and told me I'd be racing on Saturday night.
Looking back, it was crazy how much my mentality had changed in the past couple of months. From being a major risk-taker, I had evolved into this, being wary even of being out in the open. I couldn't decide whether I had gotten better or worse.
Probably the latter, since everything else was going down with me.
"Strange, isn't it?" Jennie Kim herself spoke up from her position next to me, the painted fingernail of her index finger tapping at the glass of her hot pink Lamborghini. "You don't seem half as excited for your first race as you should have been."
As she spoke, I felt her eyes as they scanned the side of my face, trying to gouge my reaction. I didn't let her words affect my expression, though they did have an influence over my already unsure mind.
"Things seem less exciting than the actually are when you're running for your life." I glanced at her sideways, expression frigid. "Especially when you don't even have the option to fight."
Surprisingly, she didn't smile her usual superior smile, or even change the set of her mouth. Instead, she sighed, shifting the jacket around her shoulders, the car's exterior almost camouflaging the similarly-colored garment. "Not everyone has the option to fight, you know," she said, casting her eyes towards the starting line, where Seulgi was just approaching.
I bristled as the ravenette walked up to where we were standing, still not over our last meeting in the club. Her wink was just as mischievous as ever as she faced me, but this time, I felt contempt rather than the oh-so-familiar fluster rise within me.
