"Ride or Die"
Street Racer, Ara, teams with a famous racing company to earn money for her ill mother.
Since the racing industry is discriminative towards female drivers, she disguises her identity as a male driver known as AJ.
Her rival, Park Jimi...
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Ara's deep exhales filled the garage, echoing against the floors and walls. She closed her eyes, letting herself relax into the leather couch. The tightness she felt in her stomach made it harder for her to breath properly, and the leather jumpsuit wasn't helping her very much.
She continued to rehearse her breathing, feeling her nerves die with each breath as she came to her senses.
Finally, the time came for her to be revealed to the public. Namjoon walked in along with Jungkook. Their smiles beamed with excitement- an expression much different from hers.
"Ready?" Jungkook asked, patting her back as he stood near to her.
She nodded because speaking was too difficult for her. She could only focus on one thing, breathing.
"Why are you nervous?" Namjoon asked, soft squeezing her forearm with his warm hand. She relaxed a little under his comforting touch and encouraging words. "You're a born racer."
Ara's pouted lips turned into a playful smile, a breathy scoff escaping her lips. "Of course I'm a born racer. I'm Ara. But it's not that." She shook her head and slowly her smile faded. "I'm supposed to be AJ. What if they find out I'm a woman?"
Ara knew she was born to race, and she would never let anyone take that away from her.
What she did fear was rejection. Rejection from the Motorsport industry since she was a woman. Women didn't get very far as a racer. They were discriminated against and lacked the support they needed to move up to the big leagues.
"Don't worry." Namjoon smiles.
"They'll be too distracted by your win to even focus on your appearance." Jungkook added, wanting to comfort the nervous girl.
A squeaking of sneakers against the epoxy floor echoed through the garage. The three heads darted up to the door as the chocolate haired man strutted in with his hands lazily in his pockets and biceps straining against his t-shirt.
"Besides, they're here to see the big time racers which appear after your race." Kai pointed his thumb towards Jungkook and back at himself as a mocking smirk fell on his lips. "You're not that important." Kai commented.
Ara rolled her eyes away from Kai, shaking her head at his comment. Jungkook scoffed, slapping Kai's shoulder as he approached their small circle around Ara. Kai chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood a good distance in front of the girl. The protective circle Jungkook and Namjoon has created around her prevented him from coming any closer- as if he wanted to, anyway.
