[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 192
Kiiing-!!!
The pistons of the engine began to produce a different sound as they surpassed the repetitive limits. Like the sharp and refined sound of a jet engine, the V-1’s engine, which had been irregularly thumping, began to flow in a steady rhythm.
Despite having crossed some critical point that the V-1 could reach, the engine noise felt strangely calm.
Yooihyun. The nineteen-year-old seated in the car was tuning everything to maintain that calm.
[Uihyun Yoo, who had lost her ranking, moves ahead of Ricciardo again!]
The rankings, which had flipped in vain, repeated the past. Yooihyun regained the position she had given up, and Ricciardo returned to his place.
[Uihyun Yoo is getting faster and faster!]
Yooihyun was shaking off what she could not leave behind. She was finally brushing off the ‘past,’ which had been clinging stubbornly and tormenting her.
First life and second life, man and woman, and…….
[Uihyun Yoo!!!]
[Hyunwoo Jin!!!]
Hyunwoo Jin and Yooihyun.
Within the faint sound of the name Yooihyun, she recalled Hyunwoo Jin.
‘Back then…’
There were people who had chanted her three-syllable name even then. Those who had fervently called her name and solidified her existence.
In that place, Hyunwoo Jin could live with pride in the name Hyunwoo Jin. He knew who he was for sure and what he had to do.
The past was filled with glorious days, the present was walking that path, and the future promised glorious days waiting for him.
The youngest F1 champion. It was not a title earned after a fierce battle but a trophy seized through overwhelming performance. There were no rivals, and everyone was busy praising him. ‘Hyunwoo Jin’ as a driver was that kind of existence, and he knew it well.
Of course, due to his innate personality, he was not blinded by such external praise.
Rather, the more he heard it, the harder he worked without stopping. When it was not the season, he spent all his time in the laboratory researching race cars, and during the season, he devoted all his time to work alternating between the circuit and the laboratory. It was a dream, not work for him……
Living such a life, despite having amassed so much money and fame, his range of activities was extremely limited.
Home laboratory home laboratory home laboratory……
Eventually, he even set up a place to live in the laboratory’s empty room because he felt moving was a waste of time.
The nickname “genius in a money-filled cubicle” was not given for no reason.
It was a life where he poured everything into it. Yet, it was a life where there was still so much more to pour out. He thought daily that he would have many regrets when he died.
Kwaaaang!
He never expected it to end so vainly. He never anticipated that the time would come so quickly. He hoped to d*e on the circuit or at the laboratory, but he never expected to meet such a miserable d*ath in an unknown open space.
In the minds of Yooihyun and Hyunwoo Jin, the image of himself dying at the moment of the accident came to mind.
His entire body drenched in bl**d screamed in agony. It felt as if every joint in his body was shattered, and there was no part that listened.
It was painful and excruciating. Not just the body, but the mind found it too painful to d*e without unfolding the future.
Hyunwoo Jin died like that. It was a life full of regrets.
And a second chance was given like a miracle.
It was Yooihyun. But it was also Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo Jin repeatedly vowed that the past was just the past and that he should discard it now. Yet, in the end, he could not let go of the memories and life of his previous life. The pain of d*ath was tormenting him, and the guilt of living as Hyunwoo while stealing Yooihyun’s life gnawed at him.
He had to let Hyunwoo go. It was something he had to do someday, but that moment had never been now.
He lived like that. Clinging to someone else’s life, he continued the meaningless life of Hyunwoo.
And now.
[Yooihyun!!! This is Yooihyun from Ferrari!]
“Yooihyun! Yooihyun! Yooihyun!”
The heartfelt shouts of commentators and the audience calling his name echoed deeply in Hyunwoo’s chest.
Without realizing it, Hyunwoo sensed that the ‘moment’ had finally come.
*
*
*
“Yooihyun! Yooihyun! Yooihyun!”
Since when?
[Yooihyun! This is Yooihyun from Ferrari!]
I started to hear the voices of people calling me Yooihyun clearly. It wasn’t that this had never happened before, but why on this day did that shout resonate deep within my heart?
“…….”
My heart felt heavier than ever.
Today, I am more Yooihyun than I have ever been.
‘Yes…… It’s not Hyunwoo, it’s Yooihyun.’
From now on, Hyunwoo will truly cease to exist. No, he might not be able to say that because he never existed in this world in the first place.
It’s just that the Hyunwoo inside me is disappearing. I am the only one in this world who remembers Hyunwoo.
So I didn’t want to forget more. Although I live as Yooihyun now and must take on her life, no matter what, the source of my soul resides in Hyunwoo. If I lose ‘myself,’ there will be no one to remember ‘me.’
That’s why I have turned away.
“Yooihyun!”
The voices of people calling me Yooihyun.
[Yooihyun!]
The name Yooihyun echoing throughout the world.
I didn’t want to lose even a little bit of Hyunwoo, at least not as much as others did.
But then…….
‘Yooihyun…… Yooihyun…….’
Why does that name sound so loud today? Why does that name, which I had turned away from and closed my ears to, poke at my heart so intensely?
Yet it didn’t hurt at all. On the contrary, it felt warm. The voices of those calling me that felt comforting.
At that moment, I realized. It was time to let Hyunwoo go. It felt like it would be okay to let Hyunwoo go now.
Kwaaaang!!!
I began my final race as Hyunwoo.
Clack!
Hyunwoo’s hand controlled the gear. The engine integrated seamlessly into the appropriate RPM and speed, accelerating without losing a beat.
The race car surged forward, shedding the air wrapping around the chassis.
Corner. My hands became busy.
Click!
It was a deep corner. This time, I downshifted. I entered the corner with an exquisite speed that didn’t need braking. Reaching the end of the corner, the apex, I manipulated the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator.
Vwooom!!!
As I exited the corner, I quickly upshifted again. A perfect maneuver flowed like water. The control showcased my talent and experience as a champion.
I entrusted myself to that.
This is the last time. Today marks my final dash on the circuit as Hyunwoo.
Thinking that, I unfolded the possibilities that I had not shown when I was ‘myself’ on the circuit.
“Ah….”
The suppressed and pent-up soul I had harbored till now dominated my entire body with a feeling of liberation.
The starting line was right ahead. Once I pass that line, it will be an everlasting farewell to Hyunwoo. Yooihyun must live as Yooihyun.
Kwaaaang!!!
The V-1 was launched without hesitation and soon crossed the finish line.
⑥ Yihyun Yoo 0:56:654 +3.766 15/57 – Ferrari
[Uihyun Yoo cuts over a second off the fastest lap!]
The fastest lap.
At last, I could truly let Hyunwoo go. It was painful, but it didn’t hurt; it was sad, but it didn’t feel sad. That moment was the moment when a single task given to me left.
*
*
*
Yooihyun, having not only successfully defended against Ricciardo but also completely overwhelming the Red Bull race car, presented the audience with a thrilling run and immediately entered the pit to change tires.
“Here it comes! Get ready!”
The pit crew of F1 Ferrari, dressed in red, moved busily to welcome Yooihyun.
Four rectangular positions where the tires would be placed. Three pit crew members were waiting at each position. One held the new tire to be changed, another held a power drill for disassembling and assembling the tire, and the last one was waiting empty-handed to remove the old tire.
Additionally, there were rear and front jacks to lift the race car, stabilizers on both sides to keep the chassis from wobbling, two front wing adjusters to replace the damaged wing, and a lollipop man to signal.
In less than two seconds, a total of 20 personnel surrounded the pit stop.
“She’s here!”
As Yooihyun’s race car came to a halt perfectly aligned with the designated line, the waiting personnel all rushed toward it.
Vroom! Vroom!
As the rear and front jack men lifted the car, they loosened the screws and removed the tire, putting on the new one.
Vroom! Vroom! Vroom!
The assembly and disassembly were completed at lightning speed, and it was done. In exactly 1.87 seconds, Yooihyun’s race car reactivated.
“Nice.”
“That was good.”
The pit crew, having wrapped up the pit stop efficiently without any issues, exchanged congratulatory fist bumps. It was a ceremony for getting through the nerve-wracking pit stop without a hitch.
The pit stop occurred on lap 16, three laps earlier than the originally planned lap 19. Due to the fierce battle with Ricciardo, the tire condition deteriorated rapidly, leading to slower lap times and a necessary choice.
The silver lining was that Ricciardo and Perez, who were following him, also entered the pit at the same time due to similar tire condition degradation. Thanks to that, they returned to the track without getting entangled by Red Bull and without any losses.
A pleasant pit in, but now the second phase was beginning.