All Roads Lead to Us (Street Racers #1)

8: Yeeun

"So many years and I feel like I've never known him." I sigh, as Taehyung drives away.

With a cheap imitation of the first aid kit Jungkook keeps in the glove compartment, he sits sideways on the passenger's seat. He gives a bitter laugh. "Me too. I have no idea why he hates me so much." 

I lean against the car next to him and spare a glance. As a girlfriend, I should probably help him clean the cuts and wounds. As a friend, too. But whatever is between us now keeps me from making a move.

Our 'practice date' fucked with me, putting wrong ideas in my head. When we met again today, he was being an asshole again. Eye rolls, scoffs and rude remarks. Like not a single minute of the date happened. Like it didn't matter to him at all.

"Maybe he's just an asshole by nature. Some people are like that." I shrug. I have never seen Taehyung act kind towards anyone. He might hate Jungkook the most, but he doesn't show much decency towards anyone.

Jungkook washes off the blood from his lip, and when I drag my tongue across mine, I can taste it, too. "Sorry... for the kiss."

He glances at me, before adding more rubbing alcohol onto a cotton pad. "It's fine. More believable." With a muffled groan, he pushes it against a fresh cut on the other side of his lip. "He came to my store last week, trying to push me to admit we are pretending."

"I know we are, but he's being ridiculous. Everyone believes," I say, for the hundredth time hearing in my head what Eunbin told me during the last race. Jungkook doesn't pay much attention to the topic anymore. His eyes on the bloody cotton pad.

I can feel the inevitable question in my freezing palms before it comes. "What was it about the prize thing?"

I should have expected this to come up at some point. Even if I did, I wouldn't be ready.

Most of it I can't tell him, so I choose my words carefully. "I would probably be in jail now if it wasn't for Taehyung. He just happened to be at the right place, in the right time. He knew he'd win the race and said that I'll either do it or he'll call the cops on me. You know Kim, he would do it. I guess he did it to get you to race. You know... this whole fake-dating thing might be benefiting him more than you-"

I fall silent. His jaw clenches, hands stop moving, and the way he glares into my eyes could probably set my brain on fire, if he looked long enough. "Jail? What the fuck did you do?"

Got tangled with a gang to forget about you and make myself feel something after you left me empty.

He keeps doing that, keeps messing with my head. One moment he pretends to care, the other pushes me further away. If I act like a bitch, he will let it go. "Why do you care? We're not friends anymore."

The second part comes out of me like I've lost touch with my brain. I didn't want to say it, I have been avoiding it so far, but I guess I need this conversation more than anything. 

Why did you leave? Why did you do that? Why did you broke the promise?

"Maybe I do care," he says, offended. It knocks the air out of me.

My chest aches, and I say the next thing in a desperate need for it to stop. "It's you who left. No need to act like you do."

I will fall apart if I brush it off and stay with him, so I walk away. He doesn't follow, but curses under his breath, shuts the glove box, and I speed up. I need to be away from him right now. I will say too much if we keep this going tonight. I'm not the one at fault, I won't be chasing him.

The road from the hill to the city is empty. Wind tries to cool my skin, but the thought of Jungkook keeps it burning.

When a car slows down next to me and keeps rolling at my speed, I don't stop walking on the raw ground along the asphalt, but my heart drops. The window slides down for me to hear him.