Battle with Yoon Ha-rin! But...
Yoon Ha-rin started chasing right after Han Dae-jin's Intense Blue Avante N and Lee Hyun-woo's Cyber Gray Avante N passed by. She quickly closed in behind Lee Hyun-woo's Cyber Gray Avante N and began her pursuit at high speed. In the next right-hand corner, Yoon Ha-rin hugged the guardrail so tightly it was almost scraping, sticking right to Lee Hyun-woo's rear bumper before crossing into the opposite lane to overtake him.
As a left corner appeared, Yoon Ha-rin slammed on the brake with her left foot, then gradually released it to stabilize the car as she entered the turn. She was still in the opposite lane. Han Dae-jin glanced in the opposite lane and was utterly shocked to see Yoon Ha-rin following him.
"What the fuck..." Han Dae-jin muttered to himself.
Kim Ji-hyun looked back too and spotted Yoon Ha-rin right on Han Dae-jin's tail.
"Don't worry about her. Just drive your own pace."
Meanwhile, Yoon Ha-rin had closed right up behind Han Dae-jin, maintaining a distance so close their bumpers were practically rubbing. She matched his braking timing perfectly. Realizing her cornering speed was higher than his, she was even easing off the throttle.
"Stupid fuck... what the hell is this speed..." Yoon Ha-rin gritted her teeth and kept pressuring him from behind.
A big right corner before the chicane appeared, and Yoon Ha-rin, pissed off, lightly tapped Han Dae-jin's rear bumper to disrupt his line. Caught off guard by the illegal bump—straight out of the rules—Han Dae-jin startled and skidded into the opposite lane. He countered with steering to regain control. And beyond the chicane, a motorcycle was coming!
"Fuck!" Han Dae-jin floored the accelerator and brake to tame the oversteer, successfully regaining control before chasing Yoon Ha-rin again. He glimpsed the motorcycle whizzing past in the opposite lane by a hair's breadth.
"That fucking bitch, if I catch her today, I'll fuck her like a dog, you fucking bitch!!!"
Fueled by rage, Han Dae-jin punched the accelerator, crossed back into the opposite lane, and attacked the S-shaped chicane using only throttle control and steering. Kim Ji-hyun watched from the passenger seat, silently amazed.
Finally, Han Dae-jin closed right up behind Yoon Ha-rin. She was inwardly flustered that he'd caught back up, but she started plotting her strategy for the second lap.
But just as they approached the three-way intersection to turn...
"Ah, fuck..."
What Han Dae-jin saw was a police car. The cops had spotted Han Dae-jin, Lee Hyun-woo, and Yoon Ha-rin turning together and immediately gave chase with sirens blaring.
In the meantime, Yoon Ha-rin had already bolted. Han Dae-jin, Lee Hyun-woo, and Kim Ji-hyun had no choice but to head out from Dongmak Beach.
"Ah, fuck, who the hell snitched..." Han Dae-jin grumbled while chasing Yoon Ha-rin's tail.
"Earlier... she kinda bumped you, right?" Kim Ji-hyun finally brought it up.
"Yeah, that fucking bitch rear-ended me and fucked with me, so I got pissed and caught up. Should've wrecked her ass just like that in the second lap."
"Let her go today."
Han Dae-jin looked flustered at Kim Ji-hyun's words.
"Huh?"
"I said let her go. She's not someone you can handle right now."
Han Dae-jin's pride stung, and he scowled.
"Why not?"
"You still don't know a lot of things. Save your showdown with Yoon Ha-rin for later."
Kim Ji-hyun said that, then called Lee Hyun-woo and told him to head back to the cafe. The three returned to Gimpo Coffee Special. The cafe was still open.
"Hey, Kiwi punk! How'd it go at Dongmak today!"
The Cafe Owner asked.
"Eh... not sure how to put it. Felt kinda shitty."
Han Dae-jin slurped his ordered iced bar while saying that. Kim Ji-hyun and Lee Hyun-woo were nursing iced Americanos.
"What happened?"
The Owner's Wife asked Kim Ji-hyun.
"Seems like things got messy with that Yoon Ha-rin girl and didn't resolve properly."
"No way! Who looked like they were winning?"
"I lost, obviously."
Han Dae-jin said self-deprecatingly. And it was true. From cornering speed to dirty tricks, he was several levels below Yoon Ha-rin.
"Dae-jin, from what I saw, Yoon Ha-rin seems really good at left-foot braking. That's how it felt from behind me."
Lee Hyun-woo, who had observed her from behind, chimed in.
"Left foot?"
Han Dae-jin asked back.
"Yeah. In karts or Formula cars, left-foot braking is basically standard. Sure, even in F1, a few drivers stuck with right-foot braking to the end."
Han Dae-jin imagined left-foot braking with his foot on the floor and practiced the motion. Kim Ji-hyun saw it and smacked his thigh.
"You're thirty, too late to learn that shit now, so just master your right foot, dumbass."
Han Dae-jin looked surprised at Kim Ji-hyun's words.
"Huh? But it sounds like it's essential..."
"Even in GT class, top drivers don't use left-foot."
Only then did Han Dae-jin nod, seeming to understand a bit.
At the same time, Yoon Ha-rin got home, stripped off her sweat-soaked clothes, and jumped in the shower. While washing, she glanced at the spot where she'd shaved her pubes a few days ago. Felt like losing a close friend. She lathered up body wash, rinsed, shampooed her hair, and finished up. After toweling off and drying her hair, she checked the clock—it was already 2 a.m. Dori was asleep, as it was late. She walked naked to her room and opened the wardrobe in the corner. Inside were dusty, faded trophies and a racing suit she hadn't touched in ages. Staring at the racing suit, Yoon Ha-rin thought something over, then closed the wardrobe, threw on some clothes haphazardly, and sat at her computer to continue editing the video she'd planned to upload. With only tens of thousands of subscribers, she was realistically small-time, so she had to edit everything herself.
The next day, Han Dae-jin arrived at Hyper Speed after Lee Hyun-woo's call. Hyper Speed was the tuning shop Lee Hyun-woo frequented, run by his mentor. Han Dae-jin parked in the lot and greeted Lee Hyun-woo and the Hyper Speed boss in the office.
"You Han Dae-jin?"
The Hyper Speed boss asked.
"Yes."
"Nice to meet you. Name's Kim Jong-jin. Hyper Speed boss, and I turned that dummy over there into a decent driver."
Han Dae-jin cracked a slight smile at Kim Jong-jin's intro. He accepted coffee from Kim Jong-jin and sat down.
"But Hyun-woo hyung, why'd you call me...?"
Han Dae-jin asked Lee Hyun-woo.
"Oh, you got rear-ended yesterday, right? Wanted to check for any damage, then get an alignment. Jong-jin hyung, set this guy's alignment like mine—rear toe zero. And... Dae-jin, interested in camber bolts?"
"Camber bolts?"
"Yeah. Regular suspension cars use camber bolts to adjust camber, but the Avante N has race-spec ones that go up to 3.2 degrees."
Han Dae-jin nodded. He checked his balance while listening.
"I'll cover this as a gift."
Lee Hyun-woo said, and Han Dae-jin thanked him profusely. Kim Jong-jin and his staff soon lifted Han Dae-jin's car and got to work. Approaching the lift, Han Dae-jin saw the spot where Yoon Ha-rin had hit it yesterday—light scratches.
"Barely out of the showroom..."
Han Dae-jin swallowed his anger, vowing to polish it or get a partial respray later.
Soon, Kim Jong-jin installed the camber bolts, did the alignment, and lowered the car.
"Sharper upfront now, but the rear's solid. Set camber to about 2.7. With this setup, you can run 265 squares later. Don't go one-piece; swap the wheel/tire instead."
Han Dae-jin bowed repeatedly in thanks to Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Jong-jin. He ended up eating lunch at Hyper Speed. While eating, he eyed the race-prepped cars around the shop and a stripped Veloster N with parts scattered—properly set up with roll cage and polycarbonate windows.
"Boss, you ever race?"
Han Dae-jin asked Kim Jong-jin.
"Hm? Ah, that damn racing... gotta tell another story? Normal folks don't even try racing without serious balls. I went bankrupt chasing that shit..."
"For real?"
"Nah, hyung's loaded now."
Lee Hyun-woo laughed as Han Dae-jin looked shocked at Kim Jong-jin's words. After lunch, Han Dae-jin picked up his car.
"Where to now?"
Lee Hyun-woo asked as Han Dae-jin was about to leave.
"Dunno. There's a decent practice course around Anseong, so heading there."
"Drive safe."
Lee Hyun-woo waved goodbye. As Han Dae-jin's car pulled away, Kim Jong-jin and Lee Hyun-woo watched.
"You brought in another tough one. Eyes different from those N noobs."
Kim Jong-jin said.
"That's why I got him in the club. Talk to him, hyung—join as a partner shop."
"Maybe..."
Kim Jong-jin pondered.