Taehyung was desperate.

He was currently at the market with Jeongguk and a few things were making him feel that way. Number one on the list was the fact that he still hadn't talked to Jeongguk about the 'thing' that they needed to talk about (the timing was never right). Two, he insisted on getting three tubs of chocolate ice-cream but his lovely boyfriend's we're gonna be broke at this point if you can't control your cravings lecture had him shutting up with a pout. And lastly, Jimin finally called him which was great news but the man went on about how Yoongi was taking him to another street race that would be taking place tonight which was the thirty-first as a new year's kinda thing and Taehyung wanted to go so badly.

Three completely different scenarios out on that table and of course Taehyung chose to approach the most important one. He wasn't a child. He had the sufficient amount of maturity within him and his priorities were straight.  

"Please can we go?" He begged with big sparkling eyes. "It'd be a fun way to spend the new year. Come on, we fell asleep on the couch before we even made it to midnight last year. We're starting to become like those old married couples that eat early dinners and can't stay up past eight." He gestured with big hand movements. "I mean look at us... we're spending the last day of the year in a market." He inched his face really close to the other. "A market, Jeongguk."  

Jeongguk barely moved even with their noses almost touching. Instead, he had an incredulous look on. "I'm sorry but weren't you the one who insisted we have pasta tonight?"

"That was before Jimin called and told me about his plans. I don't want pasta anymore. I want you to take me to that race." 

"Look, you don't need my permission to go. If you want to go, then do it." Jeongguk lazily replied, lacking the slightest interest in this conversation.

Taehyung was getting more frustrated now. "No." He grumbled.

"What? You want to go and I'm not stopping you." 

Another groan.

Jeongguk dropped his head this time, sighing loudly before turning to the other. "What now?"

"You clearly don't mean that." He pouted. "I want to go with you and I want you to want me to go and not because I'm begging you to but from your own initiative of wanting to take me there with you."

"That's a lot of words..." Jeongguk rubbed his temples in a possible headache forming. "Hyung, I'm not deciding anything alright. I'm just advising you that those races are illegal and we could get into a lot of trouble." He simply stated and went back to scanning the isles for a packet of pasta noodles.

Another groan surfaced into the air. "Oh so where were all these worries the last time you went there with Yoongi and Jimin huh?"  

"That was..." Jeongguk trailed off, thinking of an excuse.

"Hah see! You can't think of a reason and since you guys hung out without me that time, it's only right that you take me to this race." 

"That makes no sense."

"It does and it's not fair!"

By now, the younger man was staring back at him with his jaw slightly twitching. "Life isn't fair honey, deal with it." 

Taehyung made that spoiled-child-throwing-a-tantrum-face with his head momentarily falling back. When he faced Jeongguk again, a glare befell his features. "Oh god, you sound like my dad."

This had Jeongguk smiling a little as he turned away to push the cart with them further down the isle. Taehyung was behind him, not moving from his spot. The gears in his head were spinning fast, morphing ideas that he could use to have his way with this. He didn't know why this race was so important to him but one way or another, he was going to leave this market with a 'yes' from the other- and maybe the three tubs of ice-cream that he originally wanted but we'll see how things go first...

He caught up with Jeongguk, taking his place next to him. "Jeongguk I swear if you don't take me I'm gonna..." Taehyung momentarily paused, forgetting what he initially had planned to say. "I'm gonna..." He tried again.

"You're gonna what?" Jeongguk had an amused smile now, crossing his arms over his chest as if getting comfortable with the show his boyfriend was about to put on.

"I'm not coming home tonight." Taehyung finally declared with confidence. 

"Oh and where will you go then?"

Some thinking... 

"I'll sleep at that park down the street from our place." 

Almost immediately, Jeongguk broke into a short pit of laughter before composing himself. "You mean that park where stoners go to get high, at night alone, in this cold weather? Alright," He nodded. "Be my guest."

Taehyung was at lost for words before he went back to Plan A again which was:

"Oh please..." He must've dragged the 'ease' of that word for almost eight seconds even with his lungs losing more and more air by the second (good job, Kim Taehyung) before Jeongguk ended his pleading with a palm over his mouth, glancing from side to side to see if anyone was watching them.

"Are you crazy? People are gonna stare from how loud you're being." He whispered, dropping his hand from the elder's lips.

"Oh what people?! We're the only ones here!" 

Jeongguk stared at him some more with a tired look, not saying anything to his over-exaggeration. The two other customers along the same isle they were in may or may have not been glancing their way in total confusion. 

"Just tell me why."

"I already did-" Jeongguk groaned. "Why do you even want to go so badly? Do you really want to spend the new year in prison alone?"

Taehyung scoffed. "How are you so sure that I'm gonna get arrested? And also even if the cops do arrest me, why would I be in prison alone? Are you gonna make a run for it and leave me?" He pushed himself against Jeongguk's chest, chin up, eyes all big again.

It was a fact that he looked very adorable right then. He knew it and so did Jeongguk as he visibly got distracted by those big brown eyes almost hypnotizing him. A struggled breath soon slipped past his parted lips and it looked like he was thinking hard. It was consideration.

He was actually considering it!

A smile started to take over Taehyung's lips and that smile turned into a huge boxy grin at the next thing he heard.

"Fine, alright. I'll take you."

. . .

Later that night, the couple had indeed made their appearance at the street race located in some deserted part of town an hour away from the apartment. They were walking into what seemed to be a parking lot along with hundreds of others who were probably either real car enthusiasts or just looking to get frisky tonight with the half-naked ladies and endless supplies of booze that had some people already drunk off their asses.

Jeongguk glanced sideways to a grinning Taehyung who currently had an arm looped around his. The man sighed. He wasn't even considering to agree to this but then as Taehyung was blinding him with his overdose of cuteness in that market, he realized that the other wasn't going to give up until he got what he wanted. Also, there might've been another minor reason as to why Jeongguk ever agreed to this but more on that later.

The JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) culture was typically almost the same in every country. Though having been originated from Japan, the people here certainly did their own twist on the subject. In comparison to a club scene, the loud background music played its part in getting everyone in the mood. Though the eyes of the people there weren't glued onto the supposed strippers bending their limbs in impossible less-than-humanely positions on poles. Nope, the attention was all focused on one thing and one thing only.

The cars.

With each step they took closer to that packed parking lot, modified Supras, Civics and Skylines came into view along with other heavily accessorized contraptions. Some clearly brought into the country illegally. Now Korea was rather known for its everyday Kias and Hyundais but tonight, there was none of that. A vast variety the cars were, all individually unique with different sized exhaust pipes hanging off their backs, raised hoods to display the flawless engine-types the owners valued more than their own lives (true story) and some with their lowered-suspension, the edges of the car screamed out orange sparks of fire every time it cruised around.    

The entire scene with people in their winter coats crowding around said vehicles, the light fog creeping into view which engulfed their feet added with the rubbery smell of tires burning against the asphalt from some crazy dude doing doughnuts in the corner there was indeed a foreign sight to a newbie- someone very much like Taehyung who had his eyes bulging out of their sockets right about now.

Jeongguk couldn't help but to let the smile invade his lips. He took Taehyung's gloved hand within his own, squeezing it once which had the man looking up at him that shocked expression still etched onto his face.  

"What do you think?" 

Taehyung breathed out in disbelief, tiny cloud of fog accompanying it. He was utterly at loss for words. "It's- it's so... different. More than I imagined it to be."

Adoration filled Jeongguk's eyes as he momentarily glanced to the car scene and then back to his boyfriend. "To these guys fixing up their cars like this, it's more than just a hobby. It's a religion to them." 

Those big words had Taehyung nodding in awareness. Though he soon got distracted by the guy still drifting in circles over in the corner there. The bright lights from the striking cars reflected itself over the glassy surfaces of his eyes which very much had Jeongguk still staring at him without him knowing it. 

Yeah, sometimes Jeongguk just wanted to stare...

In the next moment, a hand abruptly clapped his shoulder from the back which wasn't enough to make him jump or anything. Nonetheless, Jeongguk whipped his head to the side to see Yoongi. A smile formed over his lips at the sight of his friend.

"Hey." Jeongguk moved to give him a side hug, his hand still laced together with the other. 

"You guys made it." 

Taehyung right away stepped closer to the elder there. "Where's Jimin?"

In a brief way, Yoongi gestured with his head over to his car parked in the corner there where his boyfriend was looking like a human-sized burrito in his coat, currently meddling with his phone. Though like fate would have it, he looked up right on time to see Taehyung.

They both grinned in jubilance and in the next moment, Taehyung was prepared to run over to the other. Although right before he could've done so, a voice halted him in his actions.

"Be careful." Jeongguk emphasized.

An eye roll. "Seriously Gguk, what danger could I possibly get into in the distance of getting over there to him?"

With a subtle sigh, Jeongguk backed off with an apologetic look. So Taehyung smugly turned away, about to run again. Though that smug demeanor would evaporate in the following seconds as he would come to learn what Jeongguk was actually telling him to be careful about.

The first step he took, the poor man slipped on a wet puddle and was soon falling backwards. It took Jeongguk less than a second to react, reaching his hands out to catch him. With his arms wrapped around Taehyung's waist, he pulled him up with a smirk. He wasn't saying anything as his point was obviously proven given how clumsy Taehyung is known to be.

"Hehe... sorry. I'll be careful." Taehyung mumbled, nibbling on his bottom lip with tiny specks of red dusting over his cheeks. 

But within seconds, Jimin had called out to him and like nothing had happened, Taehyung was running towards him once more. Jeongguk stood there, hands in pockets briefly sharing a look with Yoongi before watching his boyfriend again with a smile. 

Gosh, what am I gonna do with you...