Ten; Because Life is Unfair

                                    

                                          
|| NARRATOR ||
"Where do you want me to take you?"
"Take me somewhere dangerous".
Cho Rae was expecting Seonghwa to take her to the top of a steep mountain, or a shady neighbourhood. Somewhere where they could have fun, mess around, and maybe some more stuff.
Cho Rae was definitely not expecting him to take her to an empty racing arena. It was opaque due to the time and damp due to the hail that they earned in the early day. But it was most of all alarming. To be that unattended in such an oversized spot.
"Why are we here?" Rae questioned nervously, hoofing out of the car as Seonghwa extended the door for her. Her eyes meandered around the barren chairs, the silence, and the ambiance that made her feel so isolated but so pacifist.
Seonghwa didn't say anything. He admired the place with her.
She peeked over at him, and he looked tranquil, at peace. He looked more placid than usual, which was saying something because Seonghwa was the chillest person she knew.
"What's it like performing in front of big crowds, Rae?" He asked her unexpectedly, his head curled towards the sky as the moon lightly elucidated his sculptured countenance.
She didn't know what to say in retort. She had never been asked such a strange question before. Was it possibly a trick question?
The most amount of people JEWELLE had ever performed in front of was 75 000 people. It was a KPOP festival hosted in Southern California and Rae's group was lucky enough to be invited. It was in 2017 and although Cho Rae did not like being a KPOP idol, she did have to admit that the festival was (kind of) fun at the time it occurred.
Rae sighed. "It's overwhelming. These people love you or hate you, they watch your every step and overanalyze your every move. One wrong action on stage and you're a laughingstock. Honestly, I don't like being a KPOP idol, I'm not built for fame and performing. It's not me, but it's too late to back up now."
"If you hate being an idol, why did you become one?"
"I'm kind of a failure to my family." She chuckled, racking out a cigarette and lighting it mid-story. "I never had aspirations or anything. I didn't want to be an investor like my mom or a doctor like my sister, I just wanted to live." She offered him a cigarette and her lighter which he took.
"My uncle is the CEO of KQ Entertainment. My mom and my uncle made a deal to make me a trainee and debut so I can do something with my life. Even if I wanted to back out, that would mean being cut off financially and emotionally by my family." She soughed once again.
To her astonishment, he started laughing. "What's so funny about that?" She asked defensively.
He stopped laughing quickly enough, but his smirk was still evident on his face. "Sorry, I just find it ironic. How you hate being in the spotlight but you're a celebrity, and I want to be a celebrity but I'm just an outlaw instead. I wish we could trade lives."
She looked at him in stupefaction. "You want to be a celebrity? Really?" She couldn't believe it. "I've always wanted to be famous. But, I don't know, shit happened, and I became a street racer instead."
Now it finally made sense to her. "So you brought me here..." She darted around the stadium again. "...Because you want to be the person driving a car in here." They looked at each other. "You want to race."
He pitched his cigarette on the ground in silence, trampling on the spark until the flame parched out. "Rae... Do you want to go for a ride with me?" He reached into his vehicle, drawing out a helmet and handing it to her.
She took the helmet and put it on. "Why not? I have a thing for guys that love to drive." 
Seonghwa hauled her into the car and started the engine. "You should put your seatbelt on." He advised. Rae did, carefully.
The car was vibrating gradually as Seonghwa had his hands on the wheels and his feet ready to pull them into a drive. "Count me down." He commanded to her, putting on his helmet as well which she just noticed was kept in the backseat.
She followed his instructions as said. "On your marks—" They both took a deep breath. "—Get set—" she squinted her eyes close. "—Go!" He pressed his foot down on the pedal as hard as he could, pushing them back against the seats as the world around them moved fast.
Cho Rae was too scared to open her eyes. It felt like she was on a rollercoaster, and she was more than convinced that if she opened her eyes she would end up vomiting everywhere.
There was one thing that was certain; never in a million years would she have ever guessed that her first date with Park Seonghwa would be racing in an empty stadium at full speed. I guess this is what it's like to be an auto racer. She giggled to herself.
"Open your eyes, Rae!" Seonghwa divulged to her. She was startled out of her mind but she eventually opened them anyways. The roads, the seats, and the loneliness were passing them at the speed of light.
But despite the two of them being sole in such a big space, she never had felt so adrenalized or unrestricted before in her life. She succumbed to the thrill, screaming at the top of her lungs as he drifted at the side of the road like the professional he was.
After a while, he slowed down at a normal speed. She took off her helmet so she could see the view better. It was one of her favourite moments of all time. it was captivating.
Then she looked at the other view.
She started to notice all of his perfections, like how his nose was an almost exact triangle, or how the moles on his neck looked almost majestic on him. She couldn't stop admiring him, he was a piece of art, a masterpiece.
Cho Rae thought back to what Seonghwa said. She chuckled a little bit at the irony. Life really was unfair for both of them. Because both of them wanted the other life, they knew it would never be possible. Not once in a lifetime.
Maybe if they had met just a few years earlier, they would convince the other not to go forward with their awful lives. With their depressing jobs. With their fulfillment. So they could both be happy all the time instead of only being happy when with each other.
But then again, if that were to happen, that means that they wouldn't be here right now, driving down the brisk road with their worries behind. That would mean that they would have never met like they did these past few months.
And truthfully, although Cho Rae hated to admit it, she was really glad that she did meet Park Seonghwa after all.