Hanuel's POV
Park Jiwon… that's Ghost's real name?
"You two know each other?" Minho asks, pointing between me and Jiwon.
Jiwon stands, shoving his hands into his pockets, and strides toward me. I don't step back. If he thinks he can intimidate me, he's in for a laugh.
Up close, I can see he's tall... easily 6'5 with dark eyes that pin me in place and chin-length black hair tied into a loose manbun.
"No. I don't." His voice is clipped.
Then, without another glance, Jiwon brushes past me and heads toward the other drivers. My glare follows his back, while the others glance between us with suspicion and curiosity.
"Aren't we getting a little crowded here? Do we really still need more engineers, hyung?" Jiwon asks, his tone edged.
Minho only smiles. "Ask Taeyang. He hasn't fully resumed yet, but he's already making plans. And since more engineers want to join the club, why not?"
I huff and move closer to Yoona, who nudges my shoulder. She mouths 'what's going on with you?' but I just mouth back, 'later.'
"Do you think it's FSK?" Rookie Yi-jun asks with wide eyes.
My heart skips with excitement.
"I don't know yet. I'm still waiting for him. We're all waiting for him," Minho mutters, and just like that, my excitement dims a little. "Anyways, Yoona and Hanuel, you two will be added to the group chat, and we'll have a club dinner today."
"Chicken!!!" Hyungki cheers, jumping to his feet. He grabs Jiwon's shoulders and shakes him vigorously, but Jiwon just gives a faint smile, letting him do it.
Of course, he hates only me. Bravo.
"Hey, Jiwon!" I wave at him, trying to get his attention. "Does your club know that you are—"
Jiwon suddenly tears himself away from Hyungki, storms toward me, and slaps a hand over my mouth. His eyes narrow sharply. "Shut up."
My eyes widen. I immediately grab his wrist to yank it off.
"What are you doing?" Yoona snaps, but Jiwon ignores her completely. He grabs my arm and drags me outside the garage, away from everyone's ears.
I wrench free, glaring at him in disbelief. "Are you crazy? What was that for?!"
He pins me against the wall, his hands on my shoulders. "Do you always talk this much? Why can't you shut up?"
I frown at him. "Let go of me, idiot!" I stomp hard on his leg.
He hisses in pain and releases me, leaning back with a sharp glare. I glare right back. "What is your problem?"
He sighs, rubbing his face with his palm. "Look. No one in this club knows I'm Ghost, okay? Only Taeyang and that's because he's my best friend. You're just this… unwanted force of nature who figured it out, and you need to keep your mouth shut."
"Unwanted force of nature?!" I can't believe my ears. So that's why he always keeps his helmet on. "But why is it a secret from the others?"
"An underground racer can't participate in FSK."
I blink, confused. He gives me a wary look. "Formula Student Korea."
"I know what it means! I'm just shocked. Underground racing is actually helpful for drivers and engineers alike." I snap back.
"Well, it's against the rules so I need you to keep your mouth shut." He drops his voice to a whisper.
I huff out a laugh. "You accused me of sabotaging your car, and now you want me to keep your secret? How's that supposed to work, Ghost?" I cross my arms over my chest, giving him a devious smile.
He looks at me like I'm his worst enemy, which only makes my grin widen.
"What do you want?" he finally asks.
I tilt my head, switch to an innocent smile, and step closer, poking his chest playfully. "I'll tell you when it's time, idiot. Which means… you'll have to wait."
I turn to walk away, but his hand shoots out, yanking me back. He slams me against the wall again, knocking the air out of my lungs.
"Of course you'd be sly about this," he mutters, his dark eyes burning into mine. "But you also showed up at the underground race, didn't you?"
My stomach drops. There's a laid-back wildness in his gaze that makes me feel like I've stepped somewhere dangerous, but I refuse to flinch.
"You—"
"If you want to participate in FSK, you can't have ties to underground racing. And we're both entangled."
"I'm not a driver. And I'm not a mechanic there either," I snap back.
"But if you tell anyone I'm a driver, I'll tell everyone you're my mechanic." His voice drops low, his lips curling into a smirk.
I'm left speechless as he releases me and strides back into the garage, pride radiating off him.
I scoff, pushing myself off the wall. "That idiot… who does he think he is?" I mutter, trying to process the audacity.
Within seconds, I'm back in the garage. Jiwon is seated near a car Hyunki is working on, and our eyes meet. Electricity practically sparks between us. Yoona stands up and comes to my side.
"We're heading out now, but we'll come to the club dinner," she says, flashing Minho that cute smile. He returns it, and then Yoona drags me out as we start walking back to the faculty.
She wastes no time asking, "How do you know Park Jiwon? You just got into school here?"
I stare at her wide-eyed as she leans in, clearly excited talking about him. We stop walking, and I tilt my head.
"Is he…?" I point at her. "Do you have a crush on him?!"
"Everyone has a crush on Jiwon," she says, blushing. I gape in disbelief.
"Huh? How? He's not even handsome." Well, he actually is. He's ridiculously good-looking. He could be a model or an idol. But I'm too bitter to admit it right now.
Yoona snorts. "Of course you didn't do any research. You just wanted to join the auto club."
I purse my lips. "Well… yeah."
"The auto club is insanely popular on campus, especially because of Park Jiwon who is the ace and face of the club for three years straight. He's helped us win all the racing competitions, and oh! He's studying Sports Science, third year, 22 years old," Yoona gushes, blushing and swooning. I just cringe at her enthusiasm.
If Yoona is blushing this hard, it means he's definitely a big deal here.
"But…" Her blush fades. "Do you two know each other? He literally dragged you out of the garage after telling you to shut up, and Hyung had to stop me from going after you two."
I let out a heavy sigh. Should I tell her? I bite my lower lip. "Park Jiwon's Ghost. Don't tell anyone, bye!" I hurry away, heading back to the faculty to attend my classes without looking back for her reaction.
My classes suck the life out of me, and I feel like a zombie by the time I leave campus. I head to my apartment, eating ramen to distract myself from the reality that I really need a job if I want to live properly.
Yoona is a rich kid. Her dad is a famous banker, and she's always ready to help me but I want to help myself. I've been independent since I was a kid, so it's not too hard.
As soon as I get out of the shower, my phone buzzes. I've been added to the auto club group chat with Yoona.
[Minho: It's time for dinner!]
[Hyungki: Chicken!!!]
[Jiwon: *rolling eyes emoji*]
I frown at his name. Minho sends the address, and Yoona texts that she'll pick me up. But I really need to finish my assignments first, so I tell her to go ahead and that I'll meet her there. About thirty minutes later, I finish and call an Uber, arriving in front of the chicken restaurant.
I pause at the door and see everyone seated and laughing, including Yoona but Jiwon isn't there.
"What a pleasant surprise," I grin, holding the handle.
"Hello!" A voice calls from behind me. I turn to see Jiwon and a brown-haired guy with a chain tattoo around his neck. The guy is grinning, but displeasure flashes across Jiwon's face. I shoot him a frown in return.
"Oh shit! Jiwon, she looks like your cat, Jackie!" the guy exclaims, shaking Jiwon.
Jiwon's eyes go wide, and I'm equally shocked.
I… look like his cat? Jackie?!