Street Cred

Chapter 26

Byeol smiled and pointed out Jeongin's car to Hana as it pulled up to the start line, and the little girl cheered for her brother.

"Yeah, I think Jeongin is definitely winning this race. Everyone one else that's racing against him are either beginners or new in town." Seungmin was talking with Changbin and Jaee while Minki and Felix were whispering amongst themselves. Byeol overheard Seungmin's comment and smiled to herself.

The gun went off and the racers all shot down the roadway and away from spectators' views. Byeol then pointed to the screen where Hana watched her brother take the lead. "Look, Hana. Innie is first!"

"Yay! Go Innie!" Hana cheered and people nearby chuckled at her cuteness, until a pout came across her face and she pointed to the screen.

Everyone's heads turned and they saw what the little girl meant. There was a car that had taken the lead in front of Jeongin and was making it impossible for him to pass them.

"Who the fuck is that? I've never seen that car before!" Felix was obviously upset by whoever had managed to pass Jeongin

"I haven't either, they must be one of the new guys from Busan. I heard that they have connections to people that race here, so they know everything about the racers already. I wasn't worried about them, but I think they might be legit competition." Seungmin looked at Changbin and Felix with a worried face and everyone's heads turned as they heard the cars coming back to the finish line.

Byeol turned to see that same car still in front of Jeongin and her heart sank. They crossed the finish line, Jeongin was in second place by only a few miliseconds. The people watching cheered, but Byeol, Hana, and their friends remained quiet as they all looked at each other.

"He's never lost before," Changbin looked back at the track as the red headed boy climbed out of his car and walked back to Hyunjin and Jisung with his shoulders slumped. . The three boys talked with each other, but they were too far away to hear.

Byeol's eyes stayed fixed on the car that had beaten Jeongin, the driver never stepped out, but something seemed familiar about it. She just couldn't place it. Her attention was caught by the sound of engines revving and she turned back to the track to see Hyunjin's car at the start line along with a few more cars she didn't recognize.

The gun went off signaling the start of the race and all of the cars were suddenly gone. All eyes turned to the screens and watched the racers fight for the lead which Hyunjin eventually took. He somehow managed to get so far ahead that the other racers had no chance of catching up. Jae smiled and jumped up and down when she saw Hyunjin's car come back to the finish line, taking first place. A few seconds later, the other racers arrived.

"Well, at least Hyunjin won his race. I still can't believe that that guy beat Jeongin. He's going to be crushed." Seungmin spoke from beside Byeol.

"Is he going to be mad? Or just upset?" Byeol shifted Hana to her other hip as she turned to face Seungmin.

"I don't think I've ever seen him mad. It just depends on what happened during the race that caused the other guy to take the lead. But you and Hana make him happy, so just be there for him, yeah?" Seungmin smiled at Byeol then pinched Hana's cheek causing the little girl to giggle.

Byeol looked down to the track and looked for Jeongin. She saw him sitting on against a wall with his knees brought to his chest and Hyunjin was next to him saying something. Byeol wanted nothing more than to run down there and hug Jeongin, but she knew she couldn't until the last race was over.

"Jisung is up!" Minki tapped Byeol's shoulder and pointed to the boy who was headed to his car. "You got this Ji!" She yelled down to the tracks and attracted her boyfriend's attention. He blew a kiss up to her and then got in his car and drove to the start line.

The other racers lined up and waited for the gun to fire. When it did, they were gone in the blink of an eye. Everyone turned to the screens and watched as Jisung fought with the other racers to gain the lead. There was one car in particular that was causing him trouble.

"That must be one of the Busan Boys. I've never seen that car before." Felix shifted on his feet as he pointed to the yellow and black car that was in front of Jisung.

Minki grabbed Byeol's free hand and squeezed it as they watched Jisung fight to get in the lead. As the front of his car passed the car next to him and he took the lead, Minki yelled in excitement and jumped up and down. The cars could be heard coming back and everyone watched as they crossed the finish line. Jisung first, then the car he had been fighting against, and then everyone else.

The yellow and black car parked next to the one that beat Jeongin in his race and Byeol watched them intently until the doors opened and their drivers stepped out. The blonde floof on top of one of their heads looked particularly familiar, but Byeol still couldn't recall where she had seen him before.

"Come on, we can head down there now," Seungmin tapped her shoulder and she nodded.

Byeol set Hana on the ground and grabbed the little girl's hand as they all headed down to the tracks. As they neared the three boys that had raced, Hana ran ahead and called out to her brother.

"Innie!" The young girl jumped into her brother's arms and giggled as he spun her around. Jeongin smiled and kissed his sister's cheek then saw Byeol making her way over and set Hana on the ground. He watched as Jae suddenly scooped the girl up into her arms and walked over to Hyunjin.

Jeongin felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and he looked down to see Byeol's head lay on his chest. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her body as he planted a kiss on her head.

"Hey," Jeongin lowered his head and whispered into Byeol's ear. She then lifted her head so she could see him and smiled.

"Hey," her face then fell. "I'm sorry that you didn't-"

"It's okay." Jeongin cut Byeol off as he gave her a sad smile. "It was bound to happen someday, I'm just glad that it was now and not at some big race. All that matters is that my girls were here for me." He kissed Byeol's head again as she giggled and he hugged her close.

"Uh, Byeol?" Minki's voice broke the new couple out of their moment. As Byeol turned to face her friend, she saw that Minki was pointing in the direction of the car that beat Jeongin. "Isn't that..."

As Minki spoke, Byeol was finally able to look at the guys and realized where she had seen the hair and where she recognized the car from. The blonde boy finally looked up and met Byeol's eyes as he smiled and waved.

"Chan?"