Pit Stop Chapter 2

By the time he saved up money and returned to the US where his parents were, their situation had improved only slightly. Though the house was smaller, it was located in the same village as before Yihyeon left for the military. Having been issued a new Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status (I-20), Yihyeon finally enrolled in college with the money he had accumulated and moved into the dorms.

At the same time, he worked at Oliver Auto Repair near his parents’ house—even though it was illegal under his visa status.

Even if Oliver worked Yihyeon pretty hard, he had willingly offered a job to the unsociable young man. Handing over his wages in cash, Oliver had nothing but praise for him, insisting that a former mechanic from the South Korean military was in a league of his own.

Yihyeon, who had always dreamed of building cars, began a demanding college life filled with high hopes.

However, it was only after he started attending university full-time that he learned that in the UK’s Motorsport Valley—where racing companies were concentrated—mechanics were mostly raised through apprenticeships from a young age. Even so, that didn’t mean there was no way to become a race mechanic later in life. Top students from his university occasionally landed jobs in the UK.

From then on, Yihyeon became obsessed with his grades. Because he also had to maintain his scholarship, skipping meals and pulling all-nighters became daily routines. Yet thanks to his hard work, he even went abroad to study in the UK as a scholarship student. He even won a college competition. His professors told him that at this rate, he could go to any company he wanted.

However, at age twenty-five, on the day he was packing his belongings out of the dormitory ahead of graduation, Yihyeon’s parents both died in a car accident.

It was an exceptionally hot day. Yihyeon waited for hours at the university’s main gate for his parents, who never arrived.

They said the brakes failed. It was such a trivial issue—something Yihyeon could have easily checked if he had taken a look at his parents’ car just once while commuting home on weekends.

Because he couldn’t take care of that one brief moment, both of them passed away. Right at 1:00 PM in the middle of the day.

When he was standing there like an idiot, unable to do a single thing, Oliver helped him with their funeral. Yihyeon postponed his job search and devoted his time to his parents’ funeral and settling their estate.

His parents had far more debts than assets. A administrator appointed by the US court liquidated his parents’ assets to pay off the debts. He was told he was under no obligation to pay the remaining debt, which was a blessing in disguise amid the tragedy.

Even so, debt ended up on Yihyeon’s bank account regardless. The security deposit he had borrowed in a hurry to rent a room near his late parents’ neighborhood, living expenses…

Once he was left all alone in a foreign land, money bled out just from breathing.

Oliver, who had helped with the funeral, did not fire Yihyeon. He told him to work hard, pay off his debts quickly, and get back on his feet. Yihyeon worked day and night. It was partly for the money, but also as penance for his parents. He developed a permanent habit of making sure to check the brakes of every car entrusted to him.

And just a while ago, Yihyeon finished paying off his modest debt and was finally able to look for employment. Yihyeon wanted to join a motorsport company that his parents had liked while they were alive—preferably a well-known one. However, motorsport companies post job openings only once a year during graduation season, meaning the vast majority of recruitment had already wrapped up. Just then, Oliver had handed something to Yihyeon.

“It’s a gift.”

“A recommendation letter?”

“Yeah. Pegasus started a WEC team this time around. They say they’re hiring additional personnel. How about applying there?”

WEC, the 24 Hours Endurance Race. The place that crafts cars with the most perfect braking systems in the world. It was a tempting offer.

Yihyeon took Oliver’s letter of recommendation and stood frozen in place for a long time.

“…Thank you.”

“If you’re thankful, apply right away.”

And a short while later:

[Congratulations! We are offering you the position to work with us.]

The interviewer explained that an opening had unexpectedly occurred on Pegasus’s WEC team, forcing them to hire someone urgently. Thanks to that, the interview proceeded rapidly via phone and video calls. His mind was complicated at the thought of leaving the town where he had lived with his parents.

Bzzzz—

Just then, a vibration sounded from the glove compartment on the passenger side. Pulling the car over at a red light, Yihyeon retrieved the cell phone. The shop phone… Oliver had definitely tucked it in there.

‘What a hassle.’

There wasn’t even a specific caller ID. Thinking it might be Oliver, Yihyeon pressed the call button.

“Hello. Oliver Auto Repair.”

― Fuck, why aren’t you here yet?

Click―

Cursing out of nowhere. Yihyeon hung up the phone without a moment’s hesitation.

Conveniently, the traffic light turned green, so he tossed the phone carelessly onto the passenger seat and drove on in silence.

Countless people called the repair shop, and there were endless unpleasant customers. But to call an auto shop out in the middle of nowhere on the eve of a holiday—where people should be spending time with their families—and start hurling curses… His character was certainly obvious.

Customers who started calls with profanity were usually those who had dialed the wrong number mistaking it for an illegal establishment, or those who had gotten their cars repaired elsewhere and were blaming Yihyeon for faults. There was even someone who argued six months after a repair, claiming there was play in the steering wheel.

Beside him, the cell phone rang persistently. It was probably that same unpleasant customer from earlier.

‘Wait. Why did he say Why aren’t you here yet?‘

Instantly picking up on the abnormality, Yihyeon grabbed the vibrating phone again and pulled the car to a halt. Since there were no cars passing by, the sound of Aiba coming to a stop sounded unusually loud.

When he pressed the call button, the man with the exact same voice asked in a tone that suppressed his anger:

― Why did you hang up on me?

“Who is this?”

― Who am I? I’m the customer who called an hour ago, you piece of shit!

“Road 3?”

― I don’t know shit about that, why aren’t you here yet!

This unpleasant customer was the very person who was forcing Yihyeon to work overtime. He was also the guy waiting for the repair shop employee in the middle of an empty road where no one was passing by on a holiday evening due to a flat tire.

Once he grasped the situation, Yihyeon’s professional persona and personal self clashed. No matter how long he had waited, how should he react to a man who spouted curses over the phone at the employee driving out just for him?

Reaching a conclusion in that brief moment, Yihyeon let out a sigh and answered.

He was a customer after all, so what good would it do to be unkind?

“Could you not even wait an hour without calling continuously? You’re not a child…”

― A child? Are you crazy?

Oops. Yihyeon had accidentally blurted his thoughts out loud. Well, now that it had come to this, it couldn’t be helped. He might as well just commit to an unfriendly persona.

“Just wait a bit. I’ll be there shortly.”

― Don’t talk like an Uber driver—

Yihyeon hung up the phone abruptly once again.

Then he grabbed the steering wheel and resumed driving. No matter how empty and deserted the road was with no observers around, he had no desire to drive while talking on the phone.

The area around Road 3, where the unpleasant customer was waiting, would similarly be an empty field devoid of cars and people, with only flickering streetlights. Sure, it might be a little scary, but he had no intention of summoning his non-existent social skills for a customer who started slinging curses right off the bat after waiting a mere hour. Most County Roads in Indiana were sparsely populated, so calling for service usually meant expecting a two-hour wait under normal circumstances. Road 3 in particular was so far away that even Oliver Auto Repair rarely sent service calls out there. Given that it was Christmas Eve, all the nearby service centers were likely closed, which must have been how they managed to reach Oliver Auto Repair. If the timing had been just ten minutes later, he would have had to sleep out in the middle of the road. He should be grateful that someone was even driving out to him. Yihyeon grumbled internally.

Still, he was glad he had quickly realized that the rude man on the phone was his customer. Thanks to that, he had time to prepare how to react when facing an unpleasant client.

He drove the car while controlling his facial expressions so as not to tarnish Oliver Auto Repair’s reputation.

Because it was the only auto shop in town, Oliver Auto Repair had a surprisingly large number of difficult customers, but Oliver handled most of them directly, so Yihyeon hadn’t suffered much damage. However, occasionally when Oliver was away or when customers took advantage of his busy moments to walk right into the garage and act maliciously toward Yihyeon, Yihyeon treated them without an ounce of service spirit. Being unable to tolerate demanding, self-centered customers was a bad habit of Yihyeon’s.

‘Is that the car?’

He finally entered Road 3. Far off in the distance, a red car could be seen stopped right in the middle of the road.

He couldn’t even pull it over to the side…