6. The Order of Enemies and Comrades #6
"Hello everyone, it's Ha-rini here! I came to Nuri Car Plaza today to change the LSD oil and engine oil on my baby, so I fired up the camera to chat with you all!"
While Yoon Ha-rin waved at the camera with her fancy action cam boasting German-made lenses, over at the lift in Nuri Car Plaza, her purple Avante 3 Sport was getting its LSD oil swapped out.
"Guys! It's not anything else... but lately, you know how it's been going around among car folks! Everyone's filming for Nuritube and shit..."
"Ha-rin! Hold up a sec!"
Just as Yoon Ha-rin was about to drop some line, the Nuri Car Plaza owner called out to her. She killed the camera for a moment and dashed inside to the lift where the boss was.
A bit later, Yoon Ha-rin pulled the car out and peeled away from Nuri Car Plaza. She kept filming even from inside the car.
"Anyway, especially for all you lady car enthusiasts out there! Let's enjoy our car life with safe driving, okay? I'm off to meet a guest now~!"
With that, she hit the main road and floored it, tires screeching loud as she accelerated hard.
Meanwhile, Han Dae-jin was seething over that video he'd deleted before. On a quick bathroom break during work, he sat in the stall pondering.
Did I really have to delete it?
That's when Kim Ji-hyun, whose number he'd swapped after that test drive at Dongmak Beach last time, pinged him on messenger.
Kim Ji-hyun sent the message, then followed up with the time and place. Han Dae-jin replied got it, took care of business, cleaned up, and headed back to his desk.
Back at the office, Kim Ji-ho beckoned him over with a hand gesture.
"You dumbass, why'd you fuck up the numbers?"
She whispered almost right in his ear. Han Dae-jin clapped a hand over his mouth on reflex.
"Got it, I'll fix it."
"Fix it quick, you retard."
Kim Ji-ho shoved him back to his seat. He sat down, slipped his glasses back on, and started editing the document.
The next day. Right after clocking out, Han Dae-jin headed straight to the Gangnam coffee shop Kim Ji-hyun had mentioned. A quick search showed it was a 24-hour spot on Dosan-daero where supercar photogs swarmed.
He parked in a nearby alley. Out front, Kim Ji-hyun's black BMW F8X M3 was brazenly parked up on the sidewalk blocks.
Inside the cafe, Kim Ji-hyun was already nursing an iced Americano, waiting. The second he sat, she smacked his crown with her fist, pissed.
"You fucking asshole, why're you so late?"
"Traffic was jammed."
She handed him a coffee anyway. As he slurped it down, he pulled out his phone to check the club group chat. He'd noticed while driving over that the admins had tagged him in a wall of text.
"Hey, you fucking bitch. You gonna stare at your phone right in front of me?"
"Ah, sorry. Just a sec, the club's blowing up with some long-ass tag. What the...? Fuck, why does it say I'm kicked?"
Han Dae-jin realized he'd been booted from the group chat and freaked. Kim Ji-hyun snatched his phone, asking what bullshit this was, and read it.
"Hey, retard. What the hell did you do to get kicked from the club?"
After reading it aloud, Kim Ji-hyun said. Han Dae-jin's face flushed red and pale by turns, hands shaking.
"Fuck, I just hit up girls first 'cause I wanted my vids to blow up. What?"
He slammed his fist on the table in frustration. Kim Ji-hyun finally got serious.
"Why's that?"
"I don't know either. No way..."
Han Dae-jin snatched his phone back and checked Yoon Ha-rin's Nuritube channel. Her thumbnail video was titled The Plights of Female Car Enthusiasts?
The instant Han Dae-jin saw Yoon Ha-rin's video, he chucked his phone on the table. Kim Ji-hyun told him to quit making noise and keep it down.
"Fuck..."
"You got a side chick too?"
"Ah... yeah, basically. Dating a married chick. Why?"
Han Dae-jin snapped back irritably. Kim Ji-hyun let out a shallow sigh.
"Someone sniffed out your dirty laundry, and your enemies pounced. Don't sweat it. Haters gonna hate, that's the world. But the real ones stick by you to the end."
She patted his shoulder. Meanwhile, the club chat was exploding in debate—some saying it was too harsh, others calling it preventive measures.
Then Jin Na-hee, who'd been MIA for a while doing racing girl gigs, chimed in.
The chat froze at Jin Na-hee's words.
The operator started typing, then stopped, typing indicator popping up and vanishing.
Soon after, Jin Na-hee called Han Dae-jin on his cracked-screen phone. He hesitated, then picked up.
"Hello?"
"Han Dae-jin? It's Jin Na-hee. We swapped numbers after I ragged on your video last time."
He mumbled a vague "yeah..."
"Where you at?"
"Gangnam, meeting someone."
"Kim Ji-hyun the lawyer? I know her, we're on the same team. Where? I'll come."
She hung up. Kim Ji-hyun texted her the coords.
Minutes later, Jin Na-hee's purple-wrapped Morning Z35 sedan sport pulled up in front of the cafe. Han Dae-jin and Kim Ji-hyun stepped out to greet her. The two women lit smokes and talked.
"No but seriously, Dae-jin. What's the deal?"
"Ha... my personal life's a mess."
"Fine, whatever, but Yoon Ha-rin's full of shit. Who gets pissy 'cause someone else used her video fodder..."
Jin Na-hee exhaled smoke with a sigh of disbelief. The three headed inside. She got the rundown, then filled Han Dae-jin in on the post-kick chat chaos. TL;DR: chat on the verge of imploding.
"No surprise. They kicked you on that crap."
Said Kim Ji-hyun.
"What now? I gotta film elsewhere."
Han Dae-jin sighed.
"We'll help with that, me and Ji-hyun unnie."
Jin Na-hee smacked Kim Ji-hyun's shoulder. She grinned.
"You were grinding hard to beat that Yoon Ha-rin bitch in the club, right? Make your own team, gather folks to run with, learn together. I'll hook you up."
"A team?"
"Yeah. It's not even a real racing team, just a club. I can bring friends."
As Han Dae-jin wavered, Jin Na-hee chimed in.
"Hey, Han Dae-jin. So what's the team name?"
Kim Ji-hyun jumped ahead. He thought, then it hit him—his college days, solo writing as a lone wolf, naming his unofficial club after that.
CLUB ASSA
"What? Assa? That's fucking hilarious..."
Jin Na-hee cracked up at Han Dae-jin's words.
"Club Assa. Outcasts charging to the top for max speed."
Kim Ji-hyun and Jin Na-hee nodded. Club Assa. Thus began the tumultuous history of this club.