Nishimura Riki

Now playing: Table for Two — Megan Moroney ————————— The house had never been quiet before with twelve kids running around, there was almost always someone yelling from upstairs, someone arguing over the bathroom, or someone running through the kitchen looking for food. You had gotten used to the chaos surprisingly quickly.

Now, though, the house felt different..Just… uncomfortable.

It had been a few weeks since you and Niki broke up, and somehow, everyone had fallen into the unspoken agreement that nobody would mention it.

You still ate dinner at the same table. You still saw him almost every morning. You still passed each other in the hallways.

But you didn’t talk at all. You weren’t sure what was worse: the silence or the fact that you still caught yourself looking for him.

You still didn’t know why he’d ended things, Niki had never really explained. He’d simply told you that it wasn’t working anymore, and when you’d asked what changed, he’d shrugged and said that sometimes people just stopped being good for each other.

One Saturday morning, you were sitting at the kitchen counter when Niki’s younger brother walked in— Sunoo—grabbed a piece of toast, and glanced at you.

“You coming tomorrow?”

You looked up. “Coming where?”

“To the race.”

You frowned. “What race?”

Sunoo stopped chewing.

“You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

He looked toward the hallway before lowering his voice.

“Niki’s racing tomorrow.”

You stared at him. “Niki doesn’t race.”

“He does now.”

You didn’t know what to say. Apparently, while you had been trying to avoid Niki, he had been doing something completely different.

The next afternoon, you found yourself standing beside the track with Sunoo, surrounded by the roar of engines and crowds of people wearing racing gear. You had expected some small local event.

It wasn’t.

There were professional teams there, along with people wearing uniforms from Ferrari, McLaren, William’s Racing, HAAS, Aston Martin, and Red Bull. There were cameras, sponsors, engineers, and people with credentials hanging around their necks.

You looked at the track..Then you saw him.

Niki

He was sitting inside the car, completely focused..You hadn’t seen him look like that in months.

Football had always been the one thing he took seriously, but this was different. There was no frustration in his face, no anger, no pressure. He looked calm.

The race began.

You barely understood what was happening, but you understood enough to realize that Niki was good.

By the time the race ended, people were already talking about him. Sunoo looked ridiculously proud. “Told you.”

You couldn’t take your eyes off Niki.

He had finished near the front, and as soon as he stepped out of the car, several people approached him.One of them wore a Red Bull Racing credential.

You watched as they shook his hand and started talking..Your stomach tightened.

Later, when the crowd had started clearing out, you found Niki standing alone behind the paddock area, still wearing his racing suit with his helmet tucked underneath his arm.

He noticed you immediately. “Didn’t know you were coming,” he finally said.

“I didn’t know you raced.” you said as you look at him, keeping some distance.

He shrugged. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

You looked away. “Apparently.”

He didn’t respond.

You glanced toward the track. “Why racing?”

His smile disappeared, that cold facade appearing again. “Why not?”