Slurp.
Dominic drank his coffee and looked ahead.
In his gaze, Luna was moving busily.
Luna, who had thrown off the shabby clothes she usually wore and dressed herself up fully.
Looking at her, Dominic opened his mouth.
“Who are you meeting that you dressed up like that?”
At his question, Luna, who had been walking while putting on an earring, flinched to a stop.
She seemed to think for a moment about how to answer.
Watching her, Dominic became even more curious.
The Luna Dominic knew had no friends.
He was not teasing her.
She truly did not have even one friend.
On the day Brian left, Luna closed the door to her heart.
She did not make friends, and spent that time working on cars instead.
To Luna, cars were her friends.
From Dominic’s position, knowing better than anyone that she had no one to meet, it was not strange for him to wonder who Luna was going to meet.
Since he thought of Luna like a daughter, he also found himself thinking that she must not have made some bad friend.
‘A kid who usually doesn’t dress up even when she has somewhere to go is dressing up, so I’m even more curious.’
Within Dominic’s doubts, Luna, who had been thinking for a moment, opened her mouth.
“A friend.”
“A friend? What friend?”
At her answer, Dominic’s eyes went round.
Because he had never imagined she would really be going to meet a friend.
What kind of friend had she made?
Dominic set down his coffee cup and rose from his seat.
What kind of friend was she going to meet that she had dressed up this much?
“Is it someone I know?”
“Yes.”
“Someone I know?”
Seeing her nod, Dominic’s mind became complicated.
If it was someone he knew, there were far too many.
Even if he narrowed them down and down, there were still many.
As he wondered who it could be, one person suddenly came to mind.
An actor he had recently taken an interest in, and someone he had introduced to Luna.
Dominic put the name of that man, who carried a familiar atmosphere, into his mouth.
“Could it be…… Han?”
At his question, Luna smiled instead of answering.
Her smile alone was answer enough.
Dominic let out a hollow laugh.
‘Have they become close enough to meet privately?’
He thought it was not a bad thing.
Because he knew Han Seongtae was a good person.
That was also why he had introduced him to Luna.
At the thought that she had made a good friend, a smile naturally formed on his face.
“Right, Han is a good friend. Go and have a good time. Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m all right. I’ll be back.”
At her words, Dominic nodded.
Her steps as she went to meet a friend were light.
“Seongtae, aren’t you going out? You came to New York. Shouldn’t you look around a bit?”
Han Seongtae could only let out a hollow laugh as he watched Jung Dusik come all the way to his lodging and sprawl out.
It has been one week since coming to New York.
Unless he was going out for work, Han Seongtae had not left his lodging.
He had not particularly felt the need to go out, and there were many things he could do even inside the lodging.
Seeing New York on the first day had been enough.
But perhaps he did not like seeing Han Seongtae that way.
Jung Dusik had been coming by constantly and urging him to go out together.
Normally, Han Seongtae would have humored him appropriately and rested.
“I was already planning to go out today.”
But now it was different.
At Han Seongtae’s words, Jung Dusik opened his eyes wide and stared at him.
His face said he had not expected Han Seongtae to really say he would go out.
“You’re going out?”
“Yes.”
“Good thinking! I looked up all the famous restaurants and sightseeing spots worth visiting in New York, you know? Let’s go out today and do everything!”
Jung Dusik sprang up from his seat and spoke excitedly.
Since he had been stuck in the lodging the whole time, he must have felt frustrated.
As Han Seongtae watched him, an awkward smile settled around his mouth.
Han Seongtae had said he was going out, but he had not said he was moving around with Jung Dusik.
Seeing his awkward smile, Jung Dusik sensed something strange and froze.
“Why that expression? You don’t want to go out?”
“It’s not that. I don’t think I can go around with you, hyung.”
“What? Why?”
“I have plans. I’m going out because there’s someone I’m supposed to meet.”
“Ah.”
At Han Seongtae’s explanation, Jung Dusik made a blank face.
Seeing his face, as if he had been betrayed, Han Seongtae gave an apologetic smile.
“So, who are you meeting?”
“A friend.”
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ busily moves around, saying he does not know what kind of gift you should bring.]
Right, he was going to meet a friend.
Under Jung Dusik’s dazed gaze, Han Seongtae moved his feet.
The place he arrived at on foot was a small cafe where he had arranged to meet Luna.
The cafe, which not many people visited, was run by an elderly woman.
She did not recognize Han Seongtae, and the people inside did not pay attention to him either.
Thanks to that, Han Seongtae could move comfortably.
Han Seongtae went deeper inside the cafe.
And he saw Luna, sipping coffee.
“Luna, it’s been a while.”
“Ah, Han, welcome. I ordered espresso. Is that all right?”
“Uh, yes, it should be fine.”
It was his first time drinking espresso, but it probably would not be too bitter.
Han Seongtae sat down and looked at the espresso cup.
Should he drink it or not?
Still, Luna had bought it for him, so he should drink it.
Han Seongtae was slowly lifting the cup when,
“I watched the broadcast. You spoke really well.”
“Ah, you watched it?”
At her words, Han Seongtae immediately put the cup back down.
“Yes. I also saw you sing. I never thought you’d sing ‘We meet again’ there.”
“Ah, that was the only thing I could think of at the time. So I tried singing it. Was it strange?”
“No. It was really good. Truly.”
At Han Seongtae’s question, she shook her head and spoke.
Far from strange, it had been a wonderful song.
She was wearing a soft smile.
A faint feeling of longing was mixed into that smile.
“Han, do you know something?”
“What is it?”
“Han is a mysterious person. I didn’t know I could talk this comfortably with someone.”
“…”
“Strangely, when I’m with Han, my heart feels at ease. It’s really mysterious. It wasn’t even like this with Uncle.”
At her words, Han Seongtae could not say anything.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ lets out a deep sigh, saying she must have suffered a lot in her heart.]
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ mutters, “I’m sorry.”]
What could he say?
That I have your father as a constellation?
Not only was there no one who could say something like that, even if he did, he would be lucky if he did not sound insane.
“Ah, I talked too much. Shall we get up now? We need to go look at cars. We’ll move in my car.”
“Yes, sounds good.”
At her words, Han Seongtae nodded.
Luna had brought a different car from the one she had driven to Dominic’s party.
A vehicle with a similar feel to a military car.
“This is a list I picked out. Take a look in advance. If there’s anything that looks good, tell me ahead of time.”
“Yes.”
After getting into the passenger seat, Han Seongtae immediately nodded at her words.
The list contained several cars and their descriptions.
He could feel her sincerity in it, and words of thanks naturally came out.
“Let’s go. To buy Han’s car.”
Han Seongtae drove around the city with Luna.
It had been 2 p.m. when he left the lodging.
But now it was almost 6 p.m.
Over that long stretch of time, there had been no result.
“This is the last place we’re going to. I hope there’s something decent here.”
“Yes. I hope so too.”
At her words, Han Seongtae nodded.
They had gone around to more than ten car dealerships, and he had not found anything he liked.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ clicks his tongue, saying there is no car that suits you.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ shakes his head, saying nothing gives that instant feeling.]
It was not as if he could satisfy only Han Seongtae himself.
And so, bringing along several nagging mothers-in-law, they arrived at the final dealership.
There, he was able to find one car.
A sports car from the car brand Lexus.
It was the same brand and model as the car the main character drove in Instinctive Rush.
“I’ll go with this car.”
Han Seongtae made the decision immediately, without any further hesitation.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ nods, saying it is a car with a decent feel.]
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ smiles, saying it is a beautiful car.]
It was a car everyone could be satisfied with.
Once he made the decision, the contract proceeded quickly.
After hearing the delivery date and finishing the contract, Han Seongtae came out and looked at her.
They had decided to go eat dinner together.
As they moved to a nearby restaurant, his smartphone rang.
“Han, what are you doing? I should see your face.”
Rogers had contacted him.
“Han!”
Rogers ran over to Han Seongtae.
He pulled Han Seongtae into a hug, then immediately turned his head and greeted Luna too.
“Luna, it’s been a while too. Have you been well?”
“Yes.”
Luna’s voice as she answered him was stiff.
It felt quite different from the soft attitude she had shown Han Seongtae.
Rogers did not care at all.
“Did you buy a car? I asked Luna for help. Among the people I know, there’s no one who knows cars better than Luna.”
“Yes, thanks to you, I bought one well. Luna-ssi helped me a lot. She explained things well too.”
“Luna explained?”
“Yes.”
At Han Seongtae’s explanation, Rogers looked at Luna as if he found it fascinating.
She turned her head away to avoid his gaze.
“Well, that’s good. You said you ate dinner, right?”
“Yes, I ate with Luna-ssi.”
“Then now we need to go digest it. Han, let’s go drive.”
“Drive?”
“Yeah, there’s a place I know well. There’s a place that rents out cars and the track too.”
There was a place like that?
At Rogers’s words, Han Seongtae tilted his head.
He could understand renting out a track, but it was his first time hearing of a track that rented out cars too.
And there was no reason Rogers would lie.
“Luna knows it too, right? You went there a lot before.”
“I know it.”
Luna said she knew it too.
Filled with curiosity, Han Seongtae followed them.
After moving like that, they arrived at a place with a huge track.
Beside it, there were several cars as well.
“Bill! I’m here.”
Rogers opened his mouth as he entered the building.
At his voice, someone came out from inside the building.
“Oh, Rogers. Luna came with you too.”
The person named Bill treated the two of them naturally.
“Bill is someone I’ve known since I was young. He’s the owner of this track.”
“Ah, hello. I’m Han.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Bill.”
Bill, who nodded at Han Seongtae’s greeting, looked at Luna.
There was a strange emotion in his gaze.
“Are you doing a little better?”
“Yes, I’m okay.”
“…Right. Then that’s enough.”
At her answer, Bill smiled faintly and nodded.
“Bill, can you show him the cars?”
“You’re not the one looking, since you have your own car. It’s for that guy?”
“Yes.”
“Follow me.”
Bill guided Han to where the cars were gathered.
He told him to choose whichever car he wanted.
There were many different kinds of cars.
According to Rogers, there were quite a few cars Dominic and Brian had brought and left there.
Was it a bond that had continued from long ago?
In a way, this place could be seen as a track used by the Instinctive Rush actors.
Han Seongtae looked around the cars and found one.
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ says that familiar things are the best, after all.]
The car he chose was a sports car that looked old.
The people beside him showed strange reactions to Han Seongtae’s choice.
They looked as if they had never imagined he would choose this car.
“You’re really going to ride this?”
“Yes, I like this one.”
At Rogers’s question, Han Seongtae nodded.
Seeing him, Rogers muttered as if he understood.
“Right. If you say so, then that’s how it is. Then should we make a drinking bet on our race? The last one to come in buys.”
“A drinking bet?”
“Yeah. If you’re scared, you can choose another car.”
Scared?
Han Seongtae let out a small laugh.
As if he would be scared.
“Let’s do it.”
Han Seongtae immediately agreed to the bet, got into the car, and headed to the starting line.
‘It feels good.’
The feel of the steering wheel and gear that fit snugly in his hand was good.
Bill stood to one side, holding a starting pistol.
Bang!
Along with the gunshot, Han Seongtae pressed the pedal.
T/N: Looked at the Lexus website and I feel that this suits Han.
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