[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 18

Palace.

Isn’t it more fitting to say it’s a palace rather than an officetel?

Strongly blocked from the outside by security guards, Kang Ho-yun’s officetel is indulgently decorated from the entrance to the luxurious interior.

It was truly like a palace.

To live in a place like this, it seemed impossible to sustain it solely on the income of a streamer. Considering that Kang Ho-yun occasionally visits this house, it made me think he must have been born with a silver spoon.

“You can use the room to the left of the entrance, and the bathroom is next to the kitchen. You can order food, or if you want to cook, you can order with this.”

“Ah….”

He continued explaining while showing the tablet provided for each household.

The tablet displayed basic information such as the house’s temperature and gas valve, and various apps like delivery applications and grocery apps were installed.

There were also applications for home appliances and furniture, which summed up to mean that there was nothing you couldn’t order from inside the house.

“Then if you have any questions while living here, feel free to contact me.”

“Thank you very much, senior.”

Kang Ho-yun quickly left the officetel.

It felt like he was being considerate enough to leave me alone to explore the house, but there really was nothing to explain about the house itself.

There was a kitchen, a bedroom, and I just needed to know where the bathroom was.

I quickly scanned the house and unpacked my things in the left room at the very back of the house, which was now my room, and I laid down on the bed.

“How long has it been since I’ve felt this freedom.”

Now I could truly do as I pleased for 24 hours.

In my previous life as an F1 driver, every day was a battle.

In this life as Yoo Ihyun, every day was a battle too.

Today was an armistice, or more precisely, a ceasefire.

There were still overdue tasks regarding the identity of Yoo Ihyun, but it was a monumental day to part ways with the painful aspects that had bothered her.

I wanted to throw a party and invite someone to celebrate, but realizing there was no one to share this joy with made an emptiness wash over me.

When such negative thoughts arise, you must quickly shift your gaze elsewhere.

“There’s a special remedy for this.”

For me, that special remedy was F1.

I entered the capsule next to my bed and accessed For One.

Drrrrring! Drrring! Drrrring!

On the day Yoo Ihyun quit school.

The academy was suffering from an unexpected phone bomb on a quiet weekend.

“I’m sorry, but that student has quit, so she has nothing to do with our academy. I’m going to hang up now.”

“What? You want me to give you the student information? That’s impossible without consent.”

“You want me to tell you her measurements? If you prank call like this again, I will report you to the police.”

Clack!

Drrrrring! Drrrrring! Drrrrring!

“Ha….”

It was the same frustrating scenario of hanging up only for the phone to ring again, repeating for hours.

Starting from various broadcasting stations and media, For One streamers and YouTubers, to the occasional prank calls, everyone was searching for one person.

That protagonist was Jin Hyun-woo.

More specifically, Yoo Ihyun, who introduced herself as Jin Hyun-woo.

Having beaten Joon Hyuk in an event match, Yoo Ihyun quickly rose to fame online with the video titled “The Beautiful Girl Who Defeated a Player.”

At first, netizens focused on the name Jin Hyun-woo and concentrated on digging up personal information, but since that name was essentially just a virtual character in this world, it was bound to cause issues in the investigation.

However, as Yoo Ihyun’s video became so famous overnight that it even crossed over to international audiences, academy students who knew her true identity began posting in various communities.

(For One Seoul Academy student ID and IP verification photo)

Didn’t want to get trolled, so I covered my face.

To get to the point, Jin Hyun-woo is not Jin Hyun-woo.

Her real name is Yoo Ihyun, and she was in the same grade as me.

Why the past tense?

Because she quit today.

ㅇㅇ(233.78): It’s not like you’re verifying Jin Hyun-woo’s student ID, and you’re busy verifying your own student ID.

ㅇㅇ(178.288): If you have a brain, think. Is that evidence?

ForOneLover*: Isn’t there a picture with her face? Like a roll call or something?

At first, the evidence was so flimsy that people didn’t believe it and only insulted the poster, but fueled by stubbornness, the writer managed to sneak into the faculty office to gather whatever evidence they could.

(Electronic attendance proof photo and a picture with Yoo Ihyun’s name)

Is this enough now, you bastards?

ㅇㅇ(233.78): Is this real? But I don’t know anything, the proof photo is also super pretty.

ㅇㅇ(178.288): She’s pretty, and her name is pretty too. Will I ever meet a girl like this before I d*e?

ㄴMrLoveKING*: Dying might be the faster option.

ShukShukShuk*: A beautiful girl who is great at For One? I can’t resist this~

ㄴㅇㅇ(78.321): Seems like she’s better than KING.

ㄴForChangLife*: You idiots are making a fuss. KING is the best.

In the end, the academy fell into this chaos due to an irrefutable attendance certification post.

Amidst the continuous ringing of the phone, the faculty office door creaked open.

The person who opened the door was a man neatly dressed in a black suit.

If someone in this world didn’t know this man, they would be considered an alien; he was the ranked 15 driver and actual F1 driver, Yoo Seon-jin.

“I’m looking for a student named Yoo Ihyun. Is this the right place?”

Everyone’s attention simultaneously turned toward the entrance.

① KING 0:52:619 🏁

② Riki Lauda 1:02:483

“I wonder how many times this is?”

As I finished the Austrian Red Bull Ring circuit, I let out a long sigh.

Honestly, it felt like I had played several matches on For One since I unpacked my things.

Including those played at the academy, I must have played dozens of matches in F3 alone, but there was no hint of breaking through the wall of F2.

Even though I accomplished most races in first place, not advancing felt unfair, yet in some ways, it was expected.

For One is a game with over hundreds of millions of users, and F2 is an honorable title given only to the top 1,000 users among them.

Moreover, the rank of F2 is not just influential within the game.

Once you enter F2, people around the world will know your nickname, and you could receive offers from professionals, players, invitations as guests from broadcasting stations, or major YouTubers.

F2 in For One holds the power to completely change your life.

Even those who don’t play the game often watch, so if you gather practical demand, it wouldn’t be surprising if about half the overall population had an interest in For One.

Thinking about this made it even more daunting to realize how many matches I would need to win, so I stayed on the results screen to cool my head when the people I had played with approached me via the overall voice chat.

RikiLauda (All): KING, are you really the KING? I’m a huge fan. I’ve been a follower since Sre’s stream.

NevalLover (All): Wow… It was an honor to race with you, KING!

Speeeeed (All): What? Is this real?

SenaIsLegend (All): Look at the record. Records don’t lie.

Speeeeed (All): I know that, but I didn’t expect to meet KING here…

People were happily chatting about me even though I wasn’t responding.

They seemed to enjoy discussing the various speculations regarding my private information, from the time they met speed racer streamer Sre to all the rumors circulating in communities.

Watching them, I felt both surprised and grateful for their attention.

Seeing their child-like joy, I impulsively turned on my voice chat.

KING (All): That’s me, indeed.

Usually, I would never turn on my voice, but I was thinking of taking a break for a moment, and having been isolated from people all day, I craved conversation.

In this life as Yoo Ihyun, I couldn’t help but be indifferent toward my identity as Jin Hyun-woo, which made me feel stifled.

Borrowing the anonymity, I thought it would be okay to talk about Jin Hyun-woo.

After all, the voice was modulated anyway.

KING (All): I’ll take a few questions. I’ll answer everything except those that are difficult to respond to.

RikiLauda (All): Wow, it’s KING! I love you, KING!

NevalLover (All): KING! KING! KING! KING! KING! KING! KING!

ArmyIsYouthGroup (All): Is KING speaking? Oh no, little baby is going to d*e…

When I spoke, the voice chat room erupted.

Confessing their love as if they were strangers, proposing was nothing unexpected.

Speeeeed (All): Kyaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!

There was even someone screaming incoherently like an alien.

“Why aren’t they asking the questions they should be asking…?”

I wanted to vent my frustrations regarding my identity as Jin Hyun-woo, but the Q&A turned into a monster’s carnival.

KING (All): If you don’t ask questions, I’ll leave.

Speeeeed (All): Me! I’ll ask a question!

Just a moment ago, the loudest screamer turned into the first person to return to being human after my somewhat forced ultimatum.

Speeeeed (All): I’ve always been curious, are you perhaps a secondary account?

A secondary account…

Strictly speaking, Yoo Ihyun does have a secondary account, but the intent behind the question isn’t whether it’s a secondary account or not.

It’s really asking if I’m a ranked player with the main account on the leaderboard.

In that case, my answer is:

KING (All): No. This is my main account. Next question.

RikiLauda (All): Me!

SenaIsLegend (All): Me! Me! Me! Me!

The Q&A began heating up from the first question.

Because everyone was making noise, they called on each person to ask one question at a time.

Q2. How do you race so well?

A. I don’t know. I just turned out to be good at it.

Q3. Can you tell us some personal information? Even your name?

A. That’s a secret. You might find out later?

Q4. The whole world is going wild because of you, KING. How do you feel about it?

A. I’m used to it, so I feel nothing.

Q5. What’s your goal?

A. Of course, F1. Number one.

Many questions followed, but most asked for personal information, so there were only a few I could actually answer.

As I was about to wrap up the Q&A session,

Racerkang (All): Are you the Jin Hyun-woo who participated in the representative team events, or Yoo Ihyun?

KING (All): Huh? Who? I’m not that person.

I felt my heart drop and left the room as if fleeing.

“Wow, even shamans play games?”

A shaman playing games.

This is a terrifying world.