[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 11
“Ugh… I’m tired.”
Even though it was in a game, I felt a sense of fatigue and stretched my body.
I had given all my time, except for eating and sleeping, to ranked matches because of a date scheduled for the weekend.
As a result, by Friday, the day before Saturday, my rank was F3.
“Show me my information window.”
[KING#16007 – F3]
Name: Private
Age: Private
Appearance: Private
Race Record.
Casual Race Count 0 – 1st 0, 2nd 0, 3rd 0
Ranked Race Count 73 – 1st 71, 2nd 2, 3rd 0
If this were a real F1 record, it would be an unbeaten record that even Schumacher’s grandfather couldn’t break.
However, the reason I still hadn’t entered F2 was partly because there were too many users enjoying For One, and also because the ranking cutoff for F2 was 1000th place.
If I continued like this, I could achieve F2 before hitting 100 matches, but it wouldn’t be fun.
F3 felt too low a level for me, whether at the bottom or top ranks, and as my record proved, it was more like practice as I mostly ran alone at the front rather than competition.
If I were at the level of Kang Ho-yun, I could have a thrilling race with fierce positioning battles and pit strategies…
But the range of 500th place was still far.
“Should I see what he’s doing?”
Taking the opportunity, I entered Kang Ho-yun’s private room.
[KING has entered.]
Vroooooom!
He was, as always, immersed in practice.
He was honing his senses about critical braking and trail braking.
Turning corners, resetting.
Repeating the endlessly boring practice of turning corners and resetting, he was at it.
He experienced countless failures, frustrations, and despair, but instead of giving up, he became more tenacious.
As the saying goes, “The pain that does not k*ll me makes me stronger,” Kang Ho-yun was slowly but surely growing.
KING: Good job! My disciple!
Kang Ho-yun: …….
A disciple filled with a willingness to learn and showing clear signs of growth is incredibly rewarding and lovable as a master!
I thought from the first day that persistence was admirable.
However, looking at his handsome face, which seemed like he might be lazy, I found myself wondering one thing.
“Why doesn’t he have a girlfriend…?”
Watching from the side, there didn’t seem to be any shortcomings.
He’s a streamer with an average viewer count of 20,000, making good money.
He’s a ranked player in For One, good-looking, tall, and he’s called the idol of the academy.
Moreover, his personality is quite decent…
And so on.
Despite having so many advantages as a person, he doesn’t have a girlfriend.
“There are plenty of pretty people in the academy.”
There must be something wrong that I don’t know about, or maybe he’s a playboy…
Though the probability is low, could it be that he likes men…?
Tap!
“When did you get here?”
“Ah! You startled me.”
As I was lost in thought about Kang Ho-yun, his hand touched my shoulder.
“What were you thinking to be so surprised? Were you badmouthing me?”
“Badmouth? I came to check if you’re practicing well.”
He chuckled and asked me.
“So, do you think I’m doing well?”
“It seems like the results reflect your effort. From my standards, you’re still lacking, but you’re doing well.”
“Yeah, thanks. It’s nice to hear your honesty.”
It’s just that my standards as an F1 champion are too strict; in fact, Kang Ho-yun was absorbing my feedback like a sponge.
It was neither an easy lesson nor request.
However, with his efforts added to his basics, maintaining 500th place was possible.
Even now, if he returns to ranked matches, 500th place could be within reach. If he does well, he might even challenge for the lower end of 300th place.
“Do you want to race with me?”
“Race together?”
An impulsive suggestion came from my competitive spirit wanting to compete against someone of a certain caliber and my admiration for Kang Ho-yun.
Since he had never raced alongside me since receiving my lessons, he was wide-eyed at my suggestion.
Well, it’s not a common occurrence to race with someone like me.
“The weather at Paul Ricard Circuit is clear. Just like that time, okay?”
“Are you really going to race? It’ll be boring racing with me.”
“I’ll pace myself for you, so just change your settings without complaining.”
Practicing alone is nice, but racing alongside someone can be even more motivating.
The competitive spirit ignites when you feel you can overtake your opponent, allowing you to surpass your limits and move toward a higher world.
Since there’s no way for anyone to beat me, I planned to keep an appropriate distance while playing the pace-maker role, or tuck closely behind him to push him.
[France Paul Ricard Circuit, clear weather, set for 20 laps.]
“Let’s get started right away!”
I entered the pit, dressed in my signature red color, and got into the race car.
“To the grid.”
[Race Waiting Room, heading to the grid. KING’s grid is tied for 1st place.]
As I stepped onto the grid, Kang Ho-yun’s blue race car was aligned next to my red race car, welcoming me.
KING: Hey, mister. If you go slow, I’ll catch you!
Kang Ho-yun: What kind of speech is that from a girl…?
KING: Oh my, do we still think like this in 31 years? Such a backward comment?
Kang Ho-yun: Let’s not talk. Get ready for the race.
I chuckled and started the race car.
Vroooom!!!
While I had heard this engine sound so many times, it sent chills through me every time as if it were the roar of a lion.
My opponent is a top-level player ranked 500th.
My heart, tired from ranked battles, started racing again.
*
*
*
On the day Yooihyun achieved another extraordinary record.
The forum was ablaze with gossip about her.
<Personal ranked matches 73 times, 71 first places>
[KING#16007 – F3]
Race Record.
Casual Race Count 0 – 1st 0, 2nd 0, 3rd 0
Ranked Race Count 73 – 1st 71, 2nd 2, 3rd 0
Response: “Oh, that’s KING we’re talking about, hahahaha.”
ㅇㅇ(233.184): Seriously, what a crazy number. Is this even possible?
ㄴ성이름*: What’s more, those 2nd places were orchestrated to ensure they were counted. Otherwise, it would have been a perfect win.
KING is KING*: KING is KING.
ㄴㅇㅇ(128.772): This guy is everywhere in posts.
포랑해*: Great Huang KING. I love you!!!
포창인생*: KING will save us! KING is the future of Korea!
Initially, the reactions to KING were divided, but now the forum users had changed significantly.
No matter which post you entered, there were only praises for KING, and occasional criticisms were quickly downvoted and deleted.
Even the user who used to bash KING, claiming it was a secondary account, had become one of her devotees.
Professional gamer, or should I say, official F1 team?
Kang Ho-yun, a pro driver ranked 79th and member of the For One Korea representative team, became enamored with KING’s clear and vigorous driving, clicking thumbs up on every post.
“Her record is simply unbelievable.”
Even while watching KING’s record, Kang Ho-yun found it hard to believe.
As he was replaying KING’s driving video, a man with short hair who looked keen approached him from behind.
“Is that KING?”
“Oh, Seon-jin hyung. Yes, it’s KING. I heard she renewed her lap time again today and was watching.”
Yoo Seon-jin.
A real F1 driver from Korea, one of the only twenty in the world, and a globally renowned figure currently ranked 15th in For One.
He is the team leader, the director of the Korean representative team, where he also plays as an athlete.
Though he was influential even before For One’s global popularity due to his good looks, Asian descent, and excellent skills, he became a major figure outside of F1 after For One gained worldwide acclaim.
The sole reason he took charge of the Korean representative team was to nurture outstanding juniors in his home country.
“What do you think about her?”
Yoo Seon-jin asked, arms crossed, with a serious expression.
Kang Ho-yun, observing the driving video silently, continued to analyze the footage closely before speaking.
“The technical aspects seem flawless, and the DRS, which was clumsy at first, has become perfect. It’s like a fully developed monster.”
“A fully developed monster…”
“If I had to pinpoint a flaw, it would be her aggressive driving? But that often leads to positive results, so it’s debatable…”
To Kang Ho-yun, KING, Yoo Ihyun seemed like a driver without any drawbacks.
Of course, being in F3, it was still difficult to measure her true level accurately, but the technical detail shown by KING was beyond imagination.
‘Maybe even better than Seon-jin hyung…’
It was a thought that crossed Kang Ho-yun’s mind, perhaps a bit presumptuous.
“If possible, I’d like to recruit her for our team.”
“Recruit her?”
“Except for her nickname, everything is set to private, including voice and friend requests, making it impossible to approach her…”
As he mentioned, KING had never participated in casual matches, so there was no way to find acquaintances, and being a new account meant no one knew her identity.
The only people who knew the owner of that account were her close friend Jihyun Lee and Kang Ho-yun, who was bound by a contract, so there was no way to extract any information.
At that moment, Kang Ho-yun’s eyes sparkled as he jumped up and grabbed his hand excitedly.
“There’s a 1v1 tournament in KiwiChi! KING was on the participant list! With KING, she’ll at least reach the round of 16.”
He accessed KiwiChi and found Yoo Ihyun’s account on the participant list.
[KING#16007 – NO.46785221]
“You can still sign up, right?”
“Today’s the deadline.”
“I’m participating too.”
As soon as he saw KING’s log, Yoo Seon-jin, who had initially given up participation due to his busy training preparing for the KiwiChi tournament, immediately changed his mind.
[Legend#1 – NO.50030421]
#1.
Special significance was given to the nickname dominance to recruit F1 drivers for For One.
The name of Yoo Seon-jin, the living legend of Korean F1, was now added to the participant list.
As this news spread in the forum, that day the gallery ignited into a heated rivalry between KING and Legend.