This Car-Poor Guy Needs an Avante N (3)
"That's right! Hit the brakes just enough to shift the weight at first, then ease off gradually!"
"At turns 15 and 16, you gotta realign right after cresting the rumble strip."
"Steering! More! Put more weight into it! Good! You're riding it well!"
Han Dae-jin was in the middle of a lesson from Kim Ji-hyun at her 'Human Forge Academy' office in Gangnam—a place that felt like a furnace for rebuilding people.
"Alright, take a quick break, then we'll run the wariagari drill again in a bit. You lost control at the end last time."
Kim Ji-hyun had Han Dae-jin step away from the sim seat, then reset the racing sim game they were using for the intensive training back to the menu screen.
Han Dae-jin slumped onto the sofa, chugging bottled water and wiping sweat from his brow.
"Hot?"
Kim Ji-hyun plopped down next to him and asked. She was dressed in a tank top and super-short hot pants today. From the side, Han Dae-jin could even see her nipples—she was clearly braless. But her hands and feet were decked out in FIA-certified racing gloves and shoes.
Kim Ji-hyun peeled off her Samdi Das FIA-certified gloves and took a swig from Han Dae-jin's water bottle.
"Your basics aren't half bad, surprisingly."
"Thanks."
"I'm serious. Polish 'em up a bit, and you'll be on par with any of the students who've debuted so far. But I heard you're switching cars?"
She pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a drag as she asked.
"Yeah. Avante N."
"You really going through with it?"
"Gotta call Mom again after today."
"Why?"
"'Cause the Avante 3 (Science 3rd Unit) is still in her name..."
"Sigh, you fucking idiot. There's a reason she got you the normal Avante 3... I'm already worried about your future. You know popping the Avante N's popcorn all the time is gonna tank your fuel efficiency, right?"
Kim Ji-hyun chuckled as she spoke, but Han Dae-jin just tilted his head, not getting it.
"This dumbass'll figure it out once he drives it. Anyway, once you get the new ride, let's take it out together. Manual?"
"Yeah, thinking manual."
"Cool. Meet at the cafe on pickup day. We'll do a quick ritual and check out your stick-shift skills."
With that, Kim Ji-hyun stood, reset the sim to the infamous wariagari course, and got ready. The wariagari here was a 2,000-meter drag strip where you practiced high-speed left-right turns to control weight transfer—her way of drilling the basics of load shifting.
Han Dae-jin settled back into the seat and hit the accelerator on the sim. Kim Ji-hyun quietly timed his turn-in.
"Turn! Right first!"
At 150 kph on the sim, Han Dae-jin fumbled through the wariagari, fighting to avoid crashing. The car whipped right, then left just like before, eating up nearly the full course width.
A few days later, Han Dae-jin took rare time off work to wait for the dealer and sell his Avante 3. After finally getting the okay from Kim Ji-hyun the day before, he'd gotten the paperwork from his mom and prepped for the sale.
The dealer arrived, inspected the car closely, noted its pristine condition, and bought it outright at the agreed price—no haggling.
Just like that, the Science 3rd Unit left Han Dae-jin's hands.
"Hey, the money from selling 3rd Unit just hit. I'll wire the down payment right now."
Confirming the funds, Han Dae-jin immediately called his cafe bro, the Hyundai dealer.
"Bro, what color you want? The red we talked about, or Intense Blue?"
"Intense Blue. No sunroof, right?"
"Of course not. You made that crystal clear."
Han Dae-jin chatted with the dealer bro for a while before hanging up.
And a few more days passed.
Han Dae-jin had been hoofing it lately, waiting for delivery—taxis, buses, or renting a Socar for the commute.
Today was the big delivery day. He cabbed in early and waited at the office to pick it up.
While tweaking promo copy for the company homepage, his phone rang. Dealer bro.
Han Dae-jin headed down. The guy had driven it himself. Han Dae-jin greeted him warmly, told him to park out front, and circled the car.
The sharp Intense Blue gleamed, giving him a rush of speed just looking at it.
"Fucking killer, right?"
"Hell yeah."
"It's basically the same shade as Akuma's Z, bro."
Dealer bro's words made Han Dae-jin grin ear to ear.
They hopped in, went over the rundown, then Han Dae-jin dropped him at the nearby bus stop before heading back.
Lunchtime? That was Han Dae-jin's time.
"Whoa, fuck, that's badass!"
"Dae-jin finally got it?"
Kim Ji-ho and the HR Director gushed one after another, hopping into his car on the way to lunch.
Feeling on top of the world, Han Dae-jin floored it like a maniac, blasting some DJ's playlist.
"Damn, driving like we're hitting a club."
Kim Ji-ho laughed. Meanwhile, the Avante N was popping off its turbo spool through the tunnel.
Han Dae-jin thought about break-in laps but decided later—time to drive now.
He met Kim Ji-hyun that weekend, after rough-in laps were mostly done.
Saturday evening. Han Dae-jin pulled up to the cafe in the Avante N, and the cafe bros cheered, congratulating him on the new ride.
He shook hands with the waiting Kim Ji-hyun, smiling.
"Like it, you little shit?"
"Love it."
"I'll take it for a spin at dawn and show you the ropes."
As Kim Ji-hyun spoke, Lee Hyun-woo arrived, checked out the car, and offered congrats.
"Now you'll really haul ass, huh?"
"Agh... still a long way off."
"What's the plan today?"
"Just some lessons with Ji-hyun noona here."
"Aw, bummer. Was gonna say since you got the car, let's hit Dongmak or Namsan Fortress."
Lee Hyun-woo's words perked Kim Ji-hyun's ears. She grinned.
"Dae-jin, wanna roll with me to Dongmak then?"
"Dongmak? Uh... Hyun-woo, you in too?"
"Hell yeah, Hyun-woo too."
Lee Hyun-woo nodded at their invite.
Han Dae-jin double-checked the stock PX4S tires. Plenty of tread left, but how long it'd last was anyone's guess.
And tires were top priority. Mint used PX4S flooded the market, but he couldn't run them forever. 235/35/19 SUR8Z? Or 18-inch downsize to 245/40/18? Tough call.
Soon after, Han Dae-jin, Kim Ji-hyun, and Lee Hyun-woo finished their drinks and headed for Dongmak.
Han Dae-jin was already buzzing—finally keeping up in a straight line.
"Don't chase like a horny dog."
Kim Ji-hyun yelled it as Han Dae-jin tailed Lee Hyun-woo, popping the popcorn like mad.
"Huh?"
"You can hang now, but racing same-spec cars exposes skill gaps. Makes it hurt more. Treat the car cold— if it's the machine, tune it; if it's you, rebuild you. Gotta know what's broken."
Han Dae-jin eased off the throttle, calming his Avante as it stuck to Lee Hyun-woo's tail.
Meanwhile.
Yoon Ha-rin pounded the treadmill at the gym, lost in thought—more sorting her head than focusing.
Real adult vids? Or stick to the clean path?
A sleazy sponsor DM from Star Talk flitted through her mind too.
She stepped off, panting. Her gym clothes were soaked, sweat beading on her face.
After a shower, she dressed and left. As she climbed into her Avante 3 Sport in the underground lot, her phone rang.
Old club junior.
"What."
Yoon Ha-rin snapped.
"Noona, Dae-jin hyung swapped cars and showed up?"
The junior buzzed excitedly. Yoon Ha-rin sighed, firing up the Avante.
"Don't care."
"No joke—for real, he got an Avante N."
That shook her. The loser pulling petty shit gets an Avante N? Intriguing.
"Where's he at?"
"Heard he just headed to Dongmak."
Yoon Ha-rin hung up and peeled out.
Tonight at Dongmak Beach... something was about to go down.