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One year later.
A year had passed since Han and Lena had moved to Tokyo, the girl had had a better time than she expected, actually, she thought it was going to be more difficult.
Although in reality it had been difficult at first, mostly because of the language, but she learned it quickly, and she was happy with her life there, although yes, sometimes she missed going for a run, jumping out of planes or somewhere that could easily kill her, she was having a good time.
She had met quite a few people as well. Takashi was one, a men a little older than her, nephew of the head of the Yakuza, at first, Lessa did consider not letting Han get together with that boy, more than anything because of the danger, that the mere fact of being a Yakuza, implied.
But Han reassured her, telling her that he would just take care of some business, he would be like his accountant, the girl accepted it, asking him not to get in trouble with them.
Takashi and she didn’t hate each other, of course they had their moments of arguments, but it was normal, the men had become a “friend”. Actually, none of them considered themselves friends, but they knew how to live with each other, He had a friend with a strange name, which Lena do hate, but she didn’t say anything because they were her boyfriend’s “friends”.
He had also met Earl and Reiko, some eighteen-year-old boys, the same age as Twinkie, in fact, they were friends, they went to the same class, they were classmates and that, the boy had introduced them, although of course, Han already knew them, Earl turned out to be a very practical connoisseur of cars, although he was somewhat proud, he was quite intellectual.
Reiko was a cute and intellectual girl who drove amazing, besides that she handled computers well and all that kind of thing, this one somehow reminded her of her sister, she was sweet and quite warm, it was good to hang out with her.
Despite the fact that Han and Lena had said that they would have a quiet life, they still resorted to the drifting tracks in Tokyo, not to run, more than anything to see and help some guys with their cars, every weekend they opened to make way for competitors who wanted to be literally crushed by DK.
DK, Drift King.
That was how Takashi had been nicknamed, the men was, without a doubt, the best drift racer in Tokyo, although Lena was sure that she or Han could beat him with their eyes closed, she preferred to let him be and continue on his cloud delusions with his girlfriend, Neela, who was a girl the same age as Twinkie.
Han told him that he should stop dating school girls, let her grow up, but he ignored any word that came out of the Asian’s mouth.
Neela was a sweet girl, she knew her, they weren’t that close but she had talked to her before, when DK went to run and they decided to wait for him at the end, she would sit next to her to chat a bit, but nothing more.
That’s how it had been that year, somewhat chaotic with some arguments between them, but at the end of the day, neither of them could stay upset with the other, everything was fixed in no time and their life went on.
Lena brought it up every time she overthought things, it was hard and so different, but she might end up calling Tokyo home.
…
The night had come, with that, the awakening of Tokyo, that’s what Lena called it, because in that place you didn’t sleep until it was very early in the morning.
Also, the time to go out to see the races had arrived, Han had decided to close the workshop that day because he felt a little tired, so Lena stayed with him in bed all day, that was the best of her day, having him sleep in her chest while she caressed his straight hair, there was no better time in her day than that.
Lena got up feeling nothing next to her, Han usually waited for her to wake up so they could take a shower together before going out to watch the races.
The girl walked out of the room, her bare feet allowed her to walk without making a sound, her body stopped in the middle of the corridor when she saw Han at the door of the workshop, she knew he was talking by the way his head moved, but she couldn’t hear anything, frowning, she was going to take a step before he moved away from the door, closing it without much force.
When he turned around, he almost jumped in fright when he saw Lena walking towards him, she smiled when she saw his scared face, approaching him to take his face in her hands, he smiled. – You have to stop scaring me.
– I’m sorry, sweetheart. – She murmured, colliding her lips with his in a soft and short kiss. – Everything’s fine? Who was it?
– Nobody important, just a boy who came to leave his car, but we’re closed, so… – He said, taking the girl by the waist, making a pout with his lips, asking for another kiss, she smiled, giving him what he wanted. – Takashi is desperate because we haven’t arrive… He has called me about five times now…
– Well, he’ll have to wait another hour. – Lena said, smiling, Han frowned not understanding the girl, however, when he felt her warm hands on his abdomen, he understood, moving his hands from his back to his rear.
– Make it two.
…
And yes, two hours had passed, to Takashi it seemed like forever.
When the couple arrived, He complained to Han, who just ignored him, walking towards his car, which was the main reason why the other Asian wanted him there so early.
Laughing at Takashi’s expression, she mockingly kissed Han’s cheek before walking towards Earl, he was in charge, along with Lena, of checking Neela’s car, even though she didn’t run very often, it was Takashi’s request, so they did it without putting buts, they didn’t like the boy very much when he got angry, much less Lena.
– I told you that I wanted you here two hours ago, don’t you have all day to fuck your girlfriend?
– My girlfriend is not like yours, I don’t have her with me just to sleep with her. – Han said as he moved some things to better check the engine. – And if I want to come two hours late I’ll do it, I sent Earl and Reiko for that reason.
Takashi rolled his eyes, turning around to watch as Lena greeted Neela with a small hug before getting into some car talk. Of course Takashi knew that Lena was not like Neela in Han’s life.
Han really had that glow in his eyes and face when the girl was around, he had heard them talk, seen them interact, the way he respected her, the way they both respected each other, was something he had never had in his relationship with Neela.
– Did you hear that? There’s something wrong… – Lena heard Neela say as Earl opened the hood of the car.
– It’s because the way you’re handling it is wrong. You want to see? – Reiko told the girl in Japanese, Lena smiled as she denied.
– I don’t need a computer to tell me how to drive a car. – Lena raised her eyebrows before seeing Neela.
– I keep insisting that a V8 would not give you this problem, but it is your decision.
– You just sounded like Han. – Lena smiled, winking at her before looking at Earl, telling him to go with her to get some tools so she could do something with that horrible sound coming from the girl’s car.
– Take this one, I guess it’s not a big problem, you just have to tighten the nuts more on that fucking engine. – Lena gave Earl the toolbox, which she had taken out of her car, which she always took for an emergency, which had a first and last name.
Han Lue.
The man used to lend cars to unknown people to race, sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didn’t.
But maybe that was the fun of it all.
The girl was about to follow Earl when a hand on her waist pulled her back. The girl looked to her side, smiling when she saw Han’s face inches from hers. – Any problem?
– Just Neela and her toy. – She denied, making Han smile, he nodded, leaning his face to reach the girl’s lips. Both sharing a couple of kisses and smiles between them. He praised her from time to time while the girl was already sitting on his legs.
– Who is the tourist? – Takashi’s voice interrupted them, causing them to move away and look in the direction of Neela, who was talking to a tall, pale boy, he looked like an average Californian boy, at least, Lena saw him that way.
Han just sighed, looking at his friend with a disapproving look. – Why do you like little girls, DK? You’re getting older, your girlfriends should be too.
Han fell silent as he felt a pinch on his chest, seeing Lena shake her head with a smile before she got up from his lap. – Come on, I don’t want DK to kill someone today, I’m not in the mood.
Han groaned, throwing his head back before being pulled by Lena’s hand, walking his way behind his girlfriend, once they both reached the semi-circle, the girl decided to pull Han towards a blue car, that was in the place, he sat down, taking the girl’s waist, he made her sit on one of his legs, both watching the scene carefully. – Seriously, why does he like younger girls?
– You won’t like Neela? Is beautiful.
– I never said she wasn’t. – He shrugged. – But he’s not even eighteen. – He said with a grimace. – What does a man with almost twenty-seven years do with a girl who has not even finished school? – He said, Lena nodded, caressing his neck, feeling how the older man rested his head on her cheek.
-… And that word, Gaijin… What does it mean? – Lena rolled her eyes, she hated that word, more than anything because of the context in which they occupied it.
Takashi’s friend had gotten into trouble with Han a couple of times for calling Lena that way, of course that was until the girl had adjusted enough to be able to fend off the boy on her own.
Han felt the body of the younger one tense up, leaving a kiss on her neck before seeing the scene in front of them, listening to how the pale boy spoke against the older one, the couple looked at each other, grimacing in satisfaction before seeing the girl again. scene. – Don’t you know who I am?
– Yes, the Justin Timberlake of Japan. – Lena’s laugh made Han look at her with bright eyes, he knew that the girl loved when someone made fun of DK, which didn’t happen very often, that’s why he appreciated those moments of hearing her sincere laughter.
Which he was sure only listened when those things happened, lately, well, ever since they both moved to Japan, he had sensed a strange attitude coming from the girl, she seemed to be tense most of the time, one seemed to be too pensive.
She didn’t look like the Lena he was used to seeing.
And for a while, he forced himself to think that the girl was getting used to Japan, just like when he arrived at that place, but the more time passed, he noticed how nothing changed in the girl, she was still just as serious, thoughtful, and it’s not that they both fought or argued often, no, they didn’t, maybe they did it just once, when he was getting close to DK and when the girl found out what he was.
Yes, they argued, it was, without a doubt, an argument that Han did not want to repeat with the girl, two days, the girl did not stop talking to him but he could feel the annoyance of the girl every time she stood next to him, and he doesn’t want to feel that again.
It was like a punch to his heart every time he saw her laugh with Twinkie in the workshop, and when they closed, the tense atmosphere returned. He didn’t want to live that again.
– It’s time for the races. – Lena said to Han, who suddenly looked at her, coming back to reality, noticing how she got off her leg to stand next to the car, Han nodded, taking her hand, intertwining their fingers.
– Hey, what are you waiting for? It’s time to run. – With that, the whole group turned around, Lena gave Twinkie a look, who made a tired expression, smiling sweetly, she just winked at him before turning around to walk with Han at her side.
– Good luck, Justin. – Everyone heard that, making them stop, looking at the scene again.
Han and Lena were not surprised to see Takashi in front of the boy, so close as a threat, it was something they saw every weekend, it no longer seemed strange to them, what if they found it strange was seeing someone hold their position this long
And that made Lena smile.
He reminded her of Brian.
– Do you already have someone to offer your car tonight, sweetheart? – Lena left the scene, leaning a little to her boyfriend, who looked at her for a second before narrowing his eyes, knowing what she wanted. – Don’t you want to see what the child is made of?
When her hands reached into his pockets, he smiled. – Who will pay for the damage?
The girl smiled, nuzzling her nose with his in a flirty way as her hand slipped into his right pocket to retrieve the car keys. – I will, love. – She said in a low voice and with a giggle, leaving a kiss on the corner of his lips before moving away from the older man, turning his eyes to the scene.
– With what? With your skateboard? – DK began to mock. – If you don’t have a car, it’s easy to say that you’re good.
– Let’s see it then.- Lena interrupted. – Use this one. – The girl threw Han’s keys, the boy caught them immediately, the eyes of Takashi’s group looked at her with some annoyance, she just ignored them, as always. – Let’s see if you’re not just words, kid. – Giving the boy a smile, she took Han’s hand, turning around so she could walk with him behind DK.
…
– I’ll go with the kid. – Lena said to a, very, pensive Han, when she saw Twinkie walk towards Han’s car next to the boy, Han nodded, smiling at her goodbye as he watched her walk away. – Kids.
– Ooh, Lena. – The dark-haired greeted with a slightly nervous smile, mostly because that was actually hee car, or at least, that’s how Twinkie saw it. – Oh yes, Lena, this idiot here is Sean, Sean, this is Lena, the owner of this car.
The girl smiled, she knew why he said that the girl owned most of the cars that Han owned, although she never felt that way. – It’s nice to meet you, Sean, I hope you don’t get hurt. – She shakes the hand of the younger, who looked at her with a smile, noticing the pretty row of teeth of the girl.
– The little Mona Lisa will get hurt. – Twinkie said, lamenting.
– Mona Lisa?
– It’s how we call the Nissan. – The girl said. – It’s because she’s basically like the Mona Lisa in the world of drifting. – She began to explain, taking the keys from Twinkie’s hand. – My boyfriend and I rebuilt this baby from scratch when we moved.
– Bro, it’s serious, we’re talking about forged pistons, turbo, rods, new crankshaft. They worked so hard to make this baby look like Santa’s reindeer on a snowy night…
Lena smiled when she saw how the dark-haired man tried to put pressure on the boy, the older one felt some tenderness when she saw Sean get into the car and look at his friend with big eyes, without having the slightest idea what to do. – Why do you look like you’ve never been behind the wheel before?
– I feel that way… Drifting… A Drifting class would be very useful for me right now. – Lena heard Twinkie complain and she walked towards the car window, leaning a little.
– Everyone has a different way of doing it, but the easiest is with the handbrake. – She pointed. – Accelerate, when you see the curve, brake a little, pull the handbrake and step on the accelerator again, control the wheel and try not to crash too much, okay?
The boy looked at the steering wheel with doubt, the older one laughed, catching his attention. – Don’t destroy Mona, dude. – Twinkie said before starting to walk away with Lena, Sean managed to see how a tall man, long hair, below his ears, received her with open arms, leaving a kiss on her lips before they both walked to sit on the the hood of a car
– How was it?
– I think I’m going to have to pay you in installments. – She smiled tenderly, making Han finish chewing the chip he had taken to his mouth before seeing the boy in the car and turning to his girlfriend.
– So bad?
– We found Mona like a scrap metal but… Who knows, it might end up surprising us… Don’t you think? – He looked at her, noticing how she tilted her head, looking at the car before seeing it, his eyes collided with hers, which made him smile, nodding.
DK was going to humiliate him, that was for sure.
When the race started, everyone started running towards the elevators and stairs, trying to reach the top floor of the parking lot, which was where the race would end.
Han and Lena, as always, waited for everyone to finish left the floor so they could do it themselves, they didn’t like being among so many people. Lena decided to walk to her car, leaning into it to look for a popsicle, the kind that she always used to take with her when she went out, sometimes it made her want to eat sweet things. – Love. – Han’s voice calling her made her look to her left, nodding, she ran a little to take his hand, walking with him towards the elevator.
– Are you okay? – Lena’s sudden question made Han confused, he looked at her, chewing the potato in his mouth. – You’re weird.
And it was true, Lena hadn’t wanted to say it, but the boy felt that way, Han wasn’t someone who talked a lot, but he was more thoughtful, he looked like that, he sometimes got lost, took time to respond, more than the usual, and the mere fact that he had nodded disinterestedly when she told him about how the Nissan would end up and how much it had cost them, had made her doubt too much.
She knew him well, although his way of thinking was totally different from hers.
– No… Why do you say so?
– Did something happen? Was it because of the person who came to the workshop h…
– Nothing happened, Lena. – That made the girl raise an eyebrow, she decided not to ask, just nodding, she knew he was lying, but the way he had answered her, so quickly, as if he was upset, that made her not be able to bother with he.
More than anything, it worried her. Because that could only mean one thing.
When they both got to the place, the girl walked by his side, however, her free hand went inside her jacket, letting Han walk just a little behind her, sighing when he reached Earl’s side, the girl took out the popsicle of her mouth, holding it in her hands to see how DK’s car arrived at the place without a single scratch.
A minute later, everyone’s eyes turned to the car, totally destroyed that had just arrived, Lena giggled, shaking her head before putting the lollipop in her mouth again, she approached the car with Han.
– Do not go. – He said before walking towards DK, they had business to do anyway, Lena let him go before seeing the car completely, making a face.
– You’re not going to be very cheap, boy. – She laughed with amusement before meeting his eyes. – But you have guts, I’ll give you that point in your favor. – She winked at him before looking in the direction of Han and DK, where Neela was also. – Let me give you some advice too… Never run to impress, you won’t win that way.
– What if I don’t want to win?
– Then why run?
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