The next morning Jaw Woo woke HyungWon up with a kick in the back, rolling him from the warm covers and onto the hardwood floor of the dorm.

"Oh...! Morning," Hyung Won startled awake at last, after numerous attempts from Jae Woo to wake him. His alarm had gone off every ten minutes for the last hour and Jae Woo couldn't take it any longer.

Hyung Won looked like he wanted to curse at being rudely awoken, but after seeing the cross expression on his fully dressed and groomed friend he swallowed his words. He rubbed the throbbing part of his back and quickly got ready for their morning classes as Jae Woo brewed some coffee and buttered some baguette.

"Did anything happen after I passed out?" Hyung Won asked from the bathroom as he brushed his teeth. Jae Woo kept a spare of everything in his room designated for HyungWon. At this point, they may as well live together to save some money, but the topic never came up. It seemed that they were both comfortable enough as it was.

Jae Woo enjoyed his coffee slowly as he gazed out the window, overlooking the street below. He preferred morning classes because no one else wanted to wake up early enough for them, which meant less of a hassle for him. "Nothing," He replied casually. "You snored so loud, though and you kept talking in your sleep."

Hyung Won laughed as he styled the fringe of his hair so that it framed his face nicely, emphasizing his big, dog-like eyes. "I don't remember what I dreamt about. Maybe someone stole from me," He chuckled at the thought and gave his appearance a nod of approval before joining Jae Woo for breakfast.

"Sorry, I haven't made it to the store. This is all I have for now," Jae Woo said, nodding toward the steaming mug that awaited HyungWon at the coffee table. "How do you feel?"

It was a ridiculously small room, but it was better than sharing a larger one with a roommate, even if it would grant him access to a small kitchen space. Jae Woo didn't like a lot of things creating clutter, anyway, so his mini fridge and microwave served him just as well.

Hyung Won sat on the cushion at the small table and accepted the meager meal gratefully. He made a dismissive sound as he ate. "You know I'm no lightweight. I feel great," He beamed around a mouthful of toast to prove it.

Jae Woo snickered as he sat across from him. "Good, because we have a test to study for today."

Hyung Won groaned loudly and they cleaned their plates before heading to class.

Unsurprisingly, Hyung Won skipped their study session to join a group of freshmen girls with their course review instead. He seemed apologetic through the text message and sent the praying hands emoji to beg for understanding. I'll bring you something good for dinner. He said.

Jae Woo understood that a player like HyungWon couldn't turn down an opportunity like that so he didn't argue. If Hyung Won insisted on spending his junior year chasing after girls instead of focusing on his studies, that was his own business.

It was colder than yesterday so by the time he had walked to the campus convenience store he was craving spicy ramen. Since he only intended to pick up a few groceries this trip, he decided to splurge and buy the more expensive instant noodles with tteokbokki, his favorite.

Jae Woo paid for his items and went back to his dorm, trying not to be too obvious that his head was on a swivel. He couldn't help but think about the jealous tinge in Ki-Jun's voice when he heard that Jae Woo wasn't alone last night. I'll be seeing you soon. It sounded like a threat echoing inside his head as he snuck through the stairwell up to his room, keeping his footsteps light. It was rare for Ki-Jun to find a way into the building without a keycard, but it had happened before that some unsuspecting girls let him in. He was handsome and smooth enough with his lies that it was easy to trust him and Ki-Jun is hardly new to the art of charming people.

If Ki-Jun did choose to make an appearance at the dormitory, however, he would have to be alone. His goons were too old and suspicious to pass as visitors, so someone would call campus security before letting them in.

Jae Woo locked himself safely inside of his room before he allowed himself to relax. It wasn't as though he couldn't defend himself if Ki-Jun showed up with unwelcomed intentions, but beating up a loan shark could only lead to more problems. He had worked very hard to keep his interactions with the kkangpae under wraps, so if they broke in and trashed the university dorm he would be kicked out.

Jae Woo prepared his instant ramen and sat down at the small table to study while enjoying it. Studying on his own was much more pleasant than trying to focus on other people around because they didn't disturb him with questions.

As much as he loved his mom and grandmother, he had grown fond of living alone. He didn't mind constant company like having Hyung Won over frequently, but knowing that he could look forward to some quiet time by himself was important to him. He slurped his spicy noodle contentedly as he scanned through his school books, blowing through his assignments and the study material quickly.

Thanks to his enhanced focus, Jae Woo hadn't been thinking about the kkangpae for a while. To help keep his mind off of it he watered his two plants, a succulent and a spider plant that nearly touched the floor, despite being hung by the ceiling. He had propagated it from his grandmother's plant before he left for University, so she would be happy to know how much it had grown in the past few years.

Jae Woo took out his phone and snapped a picture to send to his mom, asking her to show it to his grandmother. His phone buzzed in his hand as he was about to put it down.

There's a gathering tonight. Will you come?

The number wasn't saved in his contacts, but he knew who it belonged to. He glanced around his room before responding. It was pretty tidy still and his homework was finished for the rest of the week. He didn't work tonight, either, and the odds of Hyung Won coming back to the dorm tonight were slim.

Jae Woo gnawed his lip as he decided. Going out would be better than sitting at home with his thoughts about Ki-Jun.

Save me a spot. He responded before calling Hyung Won. He didn't answer right away which must have meant that he was having some luck with the group of girls tonight.

"Hyung," Jae Woo started. "Let me borrow your bike tonight."

It was hardly the first time that Jae Woo asked. He drove it as much as HyungWon did these days. The underground races were a good way to make a lot of money quickly and something about racing through the night on a motorcycle spoke to his soul, in the same way that singing did. It was something he was meant to do, something that he loved.

Hyung Won paused. "Are you racing?" Jae Woo's silence was an answer in itself. Hyung Won sighed. "It's in the parking garage. Be careful, please."

Hyung Won often left his motorcycle at the dorms on campus, using the parking space that was reserved for Jae Woo. There was better security at the university and he didn't need it unless he planned on going to his apartment.

"Will you go home tonight?" Jae Woo asked, not wanting to leave him without transportation if he chose to go back to his place. If he wanted to bring a girl home, his motorcycle had a coolness factor that taking a cab didn't.

Another pause. "I can come to the dorm again, but it might be late. Some of the girls want to go drinking," A grin was evident in his voice. "So no need to wait up."

"I won't. Have fun," Jae Woo was already heading to the bathroom to get ready for his night. "We have afternoon classes, so don't stay out all night."

Hyung Won exhaled humorously. "Alright, Appa. Wear a helmet, I'll see you later," He waited for Jae Woo to hang up first. Hyung Won was always worried when Jae Woo went racing, though he knew he didn't have to be. The crowd that attended the underground races were rough ones, but it was considered neutral territory. Anyone who tried to fight or get rowdy was promptly thrown out and banned from further events, so it was arguably one of the safest places Jae Woo could be.

The motorcycle was exactly where Hyung Won said it would be. Jae Woo zipped his leather jacket and fastened the button around his throat, giving his bootlaces a second check before climbing on, making sure to give the bike a once-over to ensure no one had tampered with it since it was last ridden.

Hyung Won rarely drove the Fireblade because it was a bribe to keep him quiet. It was the last thing that Hyung Won accepted from his father before cutting him off, so Jae Woo assumed that seeing the bike evoked unwanted memories. That was likely why he didn't like to go back to his apartment often, either.

Since Jae Woo left the dorm room he wore a black helmet over his head, the black visor pulled down to protect his identity, where it would stay for the rest of the night. He left his ID at home along with any other identifying information, aside from his phone which remained safely zipped inside of an interior pocket of his jacket. He took off into the city lights, matching the jet-black bike, and allowed the incessant noise of Seoul to be drowned out by the purr of the Fireblade's engine.

The event was already underway by the time Jae Woo arrived. Despite being an illegal affair it was located twenty minutes away from the university, blocked from view by construction vehicles and concrete barriers that shut off the stretch of road from the public. The police have been paid to keep their ears closed to noise complaints from anyone in this section of the city for the next four hours.

Jae Woo checked over his shoulder before driving around the barriers, past the cranes and steamrollers. Security stood at the entrance and gave Jae Woo a nod, noting the decal that adorned the motorcycle. They didn't require an ID check like most of the others who gathered, thanks to their boss' compliance.

"Have a safe night, Mr. Tae," One of the guards nodded and waved him through. "Yeo Sung-Keun is waiting for you at his tent."

Only the most exclusive people were permitted to enter and had to have explicit permission to attend the events. The Mayor himself wouldn't be permitted to enter without the conductor's approval. It looked like it was the usual sort of crowd ranging from social statuses of CEOs and chaebols, though there were even high schoolers with familial connections milling about. It was easy enough to discern the class of each type depending on how they interacted with each other, but Jae Woo hardly spared them a glance as he drove around them, circling the crowd with a wide berth.

His late arrival seemed to draw unwanted attention, but he expected that. Coming late to an event was rude, but no one would be bold enough to come up and rebuke him for it like they might with different racers. Those who bet on the races would have been informed about his pending arrival by now, and those who bet on him were easy to pick out through their whoops, while those who bet against him groaned.

Jae Woo pulled beneath one of the only tents on the street and dismounted the bike, offering a respectful nod to those who stood beneath it.

"You bastard, I was starting to think you were standing me up," A voice rose above the noise of the crowd as a tall figure pushed his way to the front. "It's not easy to squeeze you into the race schedule, you know."

Yeo Sung-Keun was an elegant man with broad shoulders and a well-groomed beard that betrayed his age, but it did nothing to subtract from his attractiveness. Even though Sung-Keun was in his early forties, he still acted young and had a youthful appearance. He didn't always smile so kindly at Jae Woo, but he worked hard to gain his favor.

"Sorry, traffic was bad," Jae sighed. "When am I up?"

Sung-Keun snapped his fingers at one of the men beneath the tent and had an iPad pressed into his hand. He checked the roster and glanced up at Jae with a sly grin. "We're doing match-ups tonight. You'll start with Soo Dong-geun, then we'll see who gets paired with you after, depending on who wins their races."

Jae waved a hand, swatting an invisible fly. "As if I'll lose."

"You know how I love your confidence," Sung-Kuen grinned and handed the tablet off to his assistant. "Hang onto it. You'll probably be pitted against Gu Seung-yoon before the night ends. He already won two of his races."

He gave Jae a firm pat on the shoulder before motioning for his underlings to inspect HyungWon's motorcycle, ensuring that it was race-ready.

Jae glanced around the street at the mention of his rival. Private information about those who attended these events, especially that of the racers, was kept very secure by Sung-Kuen and his assistants. Still, Jae knew that Gu Seung-yoon was the heir to a generous fortune and though he attended college in Seoul, he was in line to have a chain of luxury hotels handed to him by his family. Someone like that never had to work hard for anything in his life and only saw these races as a game to pass the time in between buying supercars and messing around with models. He didn't need the money that winning provided, but he would sooner curse his own mother than let Jae have the prize money.

Sung-Kuen couldn't see Jae's expression beneath the helmet that he still wore, but he seemed to sense that the mention of Gu Seung-yoon agitated him. He draped an arm around Jae's shoulder and rapped a knuckle against the back of the helmet. "Don't get too distracted, HyungWon. There are some important people here tonight who are betting on you to win." Including me. Jae knew what he implied with a firm squeeze of his shoulder.

"I won't."

Jae didn't shrug the heavier man off of him yet, continuing to scan the crowd that milled around waiting for the race they cared the most about to begin. Plenty of eyes made their way to the tent upon his arrival, but Jae wasn't looking at any of them. He didn't see any of Ki-Jun's goons yet, but something told him to stay on his toes. It was impossible that anyone here aside from Sung-Kuen knew his real identity, and even then the information that the old fox had was limited. Still, he was able to relax a bit knowing that Ki-Jun wasn't attending tonight's event.

As if on cue, Jae's phone buzzed. He fished it out of his inner pocket and scanned the text from Ki-Jun.

Can I come over tonight? He must have been thinking about Jae Woo a lot lately to ask two days in a row. If he didn't know better, Jae Woo would think that the loan shark was getting attached to him after these past two years.

I'm not home. Jae Woo turned his phone off and tucked it away again, hardly in the mood to entertain Ki-Jun tonight. He knew that being ignored would piss him off and expected that he would take it out on Jae when he saw him next, but winning tonight was more important.

"Oh, that reminds me," Sung-Kuen stepped away as if he hadn't read over Jae's shoulder before. "There's a particularly interesting person here tonight. He was studying overseas but just got back a few days ago. He's taking over Hyun Industries for his father."

Jae Woo didn't understand why he was telling him that. He didn't know anyone from the Hyun family and the name didn't sound familiar to him. "Is he an investor or something? Why do I need to know that?"

Sung-Kuen looked like he wanted to say something but decided against it. Before he could come up with a response, one of the mechanics who was checking the motorcycle gave him a thumbs up, signaling that it was unmodified and met the requirements to proceed in the races.

Sung-Kuen gave the mechanic a grateful look and gave Jae Woo another pat on the helmet. "You're up next. Have a safe ride."