[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 25

“Shall we get started?”

Before the group arrived, I wanted to show off my skills after a long time, but the doorbell rang.

Ding dong!

Looking at the clock, it was 5:40 PM.

The group was supposed to arrive at 7 PM, and there was still more than an hour until anyone would come… As I checked the intercom, lo and behold.

“Yooihyun, have you been living here all by yourself? You traitor!”

Jihyun Lee was puffing up her cheeks and adorably sulking against the intercom camera.

I shook off the water on my hands and went out to greet them with joy.

“Hey, Yoo…”

“I missed you, Jihyun.”

As soon as I opened the door, I interrupted Jihyun’s words and hugged her.

We hadn’t even been apart for a few days, but to me, she was like a benefactor, and I felt grateful and sorry after hearing from Kang Ho-yun that she’d been lonely without a roommate, so it was a reflexive action.

I tried not to think too much about it, but the soft sensation of two bodies meeting felt strangely different.

Anyway, it wasn’t for any ulterior motive, so I held her for quite a while.

“What’s with you? It’s only been a few days. I can’t breathe. Let’s hurry inside.”

Jihyun entered, and I greeted the following Park Hajin as well.

Lastly, Kang Ho-yun, who came in with his hands behind his back, bowed his head apologetically.

“I was trying to arrive right at 7, but Jihyun insisted we leave immediately.”

“It’s okay. Thinking about it, it’s your senior’s house, so you don’t have to apologize to me.”

“Still…”

“If you really feel sorry, help me prepare the ingredients. By the way, do you know how to cook?”

While Jihyun and Hajin were looking around the house, Kang Ho-yun and I began to prep the ingredients we bought.

There wasn’t a single pre-packaged item. I bought everything in its raw state to cook.

Soybean paste stew, marinated beef, grilled deodeok, grilled fish, etc.

As I listed the four main dishes and other side dishes, Kang Ho-yun looked shocked and responded.

“You think you can finish all that by 7? I mean, do you even know how to do it beforehand?”

“Senior, have you ever seen me unable to do something? Stop talking and wash the vegetables.”

This wasn’t in this world, but in my previous life, I earned a qualification as a Korean chef.

Due to the nature of F1, I had to spend most of my athlete life abroad, and I got tired of foreign food, so this was the solution I came up with.

I loosened my body and started cooking in earnest.

I made a marinade for the bulgogi and let the meat soak, while Kang Ho-yun pounded the deodeok, spreading red seasoning on it.

I rinsed the fish clean with water and tidied the fins, poured oil into a frying pan, and crisped it up.

The stone pot rice, which takes a long time, was already soaked in water, so I just had to put it over the fire.

The fragrant smell of rice wafted up while the meat was grilling and the fish was cooking—I made the other side dishes in the meantime.

One by one, the dishes were completed and started piling up neatly on the table.

Before I knew it, Jihyun and Hajin, who had just come in, were watching in amazement.

“Wow… Where did you learn this? I didn’t know you could cook so well; you’re amazing!” “Right? It’s surprising how you keep producing dishes without a hitch.”

“This is all thanks to my talent.”

As I continued to cook, laughing at the half-hearted joke, the table setting was quickly completed.

The four main dishes filled the table, and colorfully arranged vegetable side dishes created a beautiful symmetry.

The initial plan to impress was a success.

“Done! Let’s eat!”

“I’ll enjoy it, Hyun-a.”

“Thanks for the meal!”

I hadn’t cooked in a long time, and I was a bit worried about my taste after 31 years, but they enjoyed every bite without leaving a single grain of rice.

Anyone who has prepared a meal for someone else will empathize.

There’s nothing more gratifying than seeing someone you’ve cooked for enjoy their meal.

That day, I had the best meal I’ve ever had in this world.

“So what did you talk about with Seon-jin hyung?”

After finishing the meal and eating the ice cream I brought for dessert in the living room, Kang Ho-yun asked.

At the mention of Seon-jin, I could see Jihyun and Hajin’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Are you talking about Yoo Seon-jin? The representative team player and director?”

“What? Hyun, did you get scouted for the representative team?”

I waved my hands and replied briefly.

“What do you think? He told me to join the representative team, and I said no.”

Kang Ho-yun’s previously stiff expression finally relaxed at that.

For someone who had proposed we become teammates, the appearance of Yoo Seon-jin likely wasn’t welcome news for him.

To someone like me, who pursues only skill, my position of 500 would be far behind Seon-jin, who ranks 15th, so he couldn’t help but feel anxious.

But even so, I hadn’t really cared much about the representative team, not to mention F1 teams before I got to know Kang Ho-yun.

“Really…?”

Still, it seems I should ease his worries.

I began to elaborate for Kang Ho-yun, who was responding lukewarmly.

“There’s really no reason to go. It’s obvious there’s nothing to learn there, so why bother? The representative team is just a bigger academy for me. They need to be a team like Ferrari to bring me in, right?”

“Hmm…”

That last comment was a joke, but…

It might have sounded serious to Kang Ho-yun, who knows my skills better than anyone.

“Oh, I’m not going anywhere. So don’t worry about unnecessary things and stick to what you said before.”

“What is that? Do you have something going on?”

I answered Jihyun, who kept asking, that it was just something and changed the subject.

The real important issue today was my achievement of F2.

Whether the broadcast would start.

“Since the 1024 rounds start tomorrow, senior, are you going to broadcast?”

“Yeah, of course. I’ve been doing it since the qualification rounds, and the tournament is the highlight.”

“So here’s the thing…”

I paused for a moment to focus their attention.

“Should I start broadcasting tomorrow too?”

Jihyun and Kang Ho-yun, who knew I was planning to become a streamer, nodded indifferently, and only Haji’s eyes widened again.

“I was planning to start broadcasting from the start when I achieved F2, and as you said, there’s nothing like a tournament for building recognition.”

“The timing is perfect, and if you start your first broadcast with your name from tomorrow, the promotional effect will be tremendous. Most importantly, if you want to do it, then do it.”

He was right.

Though it was unintentional, I happened to barely enter F2 the day before the tournament began.

I would have gained popularity regardless, but the difference between F3 going live and F2 going live is enormous in a game where rank is an absolute indicator.

However, my consideration for whether to go live was not for that reason.

“True, but I agreed to transfer my broadcasting rights to you.”

“That’s not a problem. We can completely merge the broadcasts.”

“Is that even possible?”

I had never thought of such a method since I was a novice about platforms.

“There’s a function called merging broadcasts. The donations and other earnings that come from it can be divided among the streamers as a percentage.”

“I didn’t know there was such a good method. Then let’s say all the donations go to you.”

“There’s no need for that. After all, more people will come in because of your name than mine. Let’s split it 50/50.”

“Since I feel bad, let’s do 70/30. You take 70, and I take 30.”

Since I could no longer fulfill my promise to appear as a guest on his stream, I figured I should do at least this much.

We quickly wrapped up the deal over money like that.

What was there to complicate?

It was obvious that, judging by his attitude, money wouldn’t be a big deal for him, and I wasn’t in a rush for money either.

By the way, a relationship built on trust can reach decisions without going through complex processes and disputes.

As we solved the headache-inducing problem and continued our noisy conversation, time was already nearing 10 PM.

“I guess I should start heading back to the dorm.” “Yeah, I should be going now.”

Jihyun and Hajin collected their things and stood in front of the front door, ready to leave.

But why was Kang Ho-yun standing next to me?

“Hajin, here.”

Kang Ho-yun casually handed the car key to Haji. Haji accepted the key with a bewildered expression.

Handing over the car key means he intends to stay here tonight?

In an instant, I was dumbfounded and slowly turned to look at him.

“Oh, don’t think anything weird. I have things to discuss, and there’s stuff to share for the KiwiChi Championship. Things like analyzing opponent strengths or circuit strategies.”

“Really? Is that really all?”

With the keys in hand, Haji looked back and forth between me and Kang Ho-yun with a sly grin.

For a moment, I almost punched him in the face with full power but managed to hold back.

I answered as if I didn’t know anything, keeping a straight face, as we had previously agreed.

“We decided on that. There are things to teach, and I have things to learn about broadcasting, so I’ll be staying with him until the tournament finishes this week.”

“Alright, make sure to keep in touch more often, Yooihyun. Got it?”

Jihyun opened the front door, pulling on Haji’s collar, who still seemed dazed.

As Haji was dragged out and the door closed, finally only Kang Ho-yun and I remained in the quiet officetel.

“Sorry. I suddenly….”

“It’s fine. Anyway, this is your senior’s house. So what did you want to ask?”

“That is…”

* * *

Vroom!!!

Screech!!! Bang!!!

That was the 18th time.

Kang Ho-yun had either crashed the race car into the fence or slipped.

KING: Senior, come into the pits after practice ends.

Kang Ho-yun: Got it.

The completely wrecked race car came into the pit, starting from the front wing to the rear wing.

Kang Ho-yun emerged from the cockpit, took off his helmet, and was glancing at me sideways.

He had brought me to where the leftover car was because he had something to ask.

He expressed his frustration, saying he didn’t know how to accurately assess tire conditions.

“Um… I feel like I’ve become somewhat competent in trail braking, but I just can’t tell where the limits of the tires are. Because of that, my critical braking has also become timid.”

The limits of the tires…

Knowing the tire condition and being able to handle it up to the limits is an essential skill for an F1 driver.

After all, the tires are one of the many components of the race car that only the driver can control.

I suppose you could say it’s a very basic knowledge and sense needed for racing.

However, it becomes ironically difficult to master the fundamentals as you reach higher levels.

“That’s a good phenomenon. If you’re at the level of feeling problems with the basics, it means you’ve come a long way, right? Keep going.”

“I’ve been racing as much as anyone else, and I thought I was good at identifying tire conditions. The tires can be checked visually, so I didn’t think much of it.”

That can happen.

Not just Kang Ho-yun, but most F1 users prioritized technical proficiency over tire conditions.

The perception was largely that ‘just checking the tires visually is enough; how important could it be?’

However, the tires are the most important component that conveys the entire performance of the chassis to the road, so it’s the factor that must be understood best.

“Assessing tire conditions is a sense. No one can provide the answer. But if I were to give advice…”

“Please, go ahead.”

“The vibrations of the chassis, the trembling of the steering wheel, the extent of deceleration and acceleration conveyed through braking and acceleration, and the entry and exit angles when turning corners. Lastly, as you mentioned, checking it visually with your own eyes. Those can be categorized into about four main points.”

Narrowing it down like that is only four main points; in reality, you must draw on all your bodily sensations regarding the vehicle’s responses during the race.

Only then can you determine how far you can set critical braking and how to design future racing strategies.

However, that’s an area that cannot be explained theoretically.

Essentially, it’s a domain of sensation.

Thus, I needed to help him awaken sensations that cannot be explained.

“It’s going to take a long time.”

I sighed deeply and began an endless lecture.