[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 55

KING, while Yooihyun focuses on the race.

Kang Ho-yun, who took over her stream during the joint broadcast, couldn’t help but admire the constantly increasing number of viewers.

“Welcome to the newcomers. KING will be here soon, so please wait a moment.”

When it started, there were definitely around 300,000 viewers, but now it has exceeded one million.

In the round of 16 was Daniel Ricciardo.

In the quarterfinals was Lando Norris.

After passing through the semifinals with Charles Leclerc,

the finale of the tournament.

So, only VS Max Verstappen remains now.

Over a million viewers have gathered for a single personal broadcast.

However, it was not strange.

As so many F1 drivers were eliminated by the time they reached the finals, their fans, whether they liked it or not, had to watch the next match to enjoy the thrilling one-on-one.

By defeating Daniel, she absorbed his viewers.

Next was Lando’s viewers.

Then she absorbed Leclerc’s viewers.

Of course, she couldn’t absorb the entirety.

The final opponent was Max Verstappen from the dominant number one team, Mercedes Benz.

No matter how much of a KING she was, surpassing a strong F1 championship candidate in terms of recognition was out of the question.

Having secured over a million viewers against Max, one could say she performed well.

Moreover, the total viewership for the tournament exceeded 100 million, so this wasn’t something to brush off.

Anyway, Kang Ho-yun, who usually had an average viewership of over 20,000, found it quite a burden to manage 1 million.

Furthermore, KING had just barely won her semifinal match with Charles Leclerc.

Thanks to that, the viewers kept increasing, the chat room was on fire, and donations and messages were pouring in…

Kang Ho-yun’s mind was on the verge of leaving.

“Wow, has it already surpassed a million? Hello, everyone. This is KING.”

After ending a long interview, KING returned.

Once he confirmed her black appearance filling half of the empty camera, Kang Ho-yun felt relieved.

One Man Show: I thought I was going to d*e. There are too many people, I can’t handle it.

KING: Is there really a need to handle it? Just check the donations and the standout bait casually.

One Man Show: …You seem very unfamiliar.

Yooihyun, who had come to learn about streaming, had an innocent demeanor as she asked KING how to start her first broadcast… but the image of KING that Kang Ho-yun knew had completely disappeared.

“Oh, the chat is moving too fast, I can’t check it properly. So please tell me through donation messages.”

《First-Line Selection Fast Driver donated 50,000 won!》

– This streamer does it for a fee.

“I never forced anyone.”

《Commander Jeonun donated 100,000 won!》

– hahahaha I drank, but I didn’t drive drunk.

“Nowadays, everything’s self-driving. Is that also drunk driving?”

Only a money-crazed b*stard, abbreviated as Money Crazy, remained.

However, the viewers enjoyed KING’s seemingly deranged attitude, and she responded to the donation messages with enthusiasm.

Regardless of the method, Yooihyun was managing the broadcast much more smoothly than her, who was just a year into streaming.

Only then did Kang Ho-yun come to his senses and began to play a supportive role beside her, busy communicating with the viewers.

He summarized the noteworthy donations among countless others to display on the screen, and bundled up the duplicates for easier visibility.

In the midst of the busyness, he responded to reactions from both KING and the viewers, cutting off any excessively overwhelming ones mid-way.

Even if Kang Ho-yun was momentarily shocked.

‘Despite all this, I’m technically a one-year experienced veteran.’

One cannot ignore the vibes that come from experience.

While the broadcast was smoothly sailing, the announcer’s voice announcing the final match [KING] VS [Max Verstappen] filled the waiting room.

– The finals will proceed after a one-hour break considering the players’ conditions. The players advancing to the finals are KING and Max Verstappen. Max Verstappen and KING.

Kang Ho-yun nodded.

Regardless of whether it was a game or not, continuous play for several hours could result in significant fatigue.

Especially in For One, due to F1’s nature, once you start racing, you must use all your focus until it ends, so a break is not just optional, but essential.

Moreover, Yooihyun had already gone through three races in a row, not just once, in the rounds of 16, 8, and 4.

The physical fatigue, along with the accumulated mental burden of facing the competitors, must be considerable.

Seeing Yooihyun let out a sigh of relief, it seemed like a break was indeed necessary.

However, as if refusing to allow time to rest, the chat kept flowing continuously.

[How are we supposed to wait another hour!!! Open the door!!]

[How do you expect us to wait? Our KING teacher will entertain us, so it’ll be quick.]

[Tell us about your first love. Tell us about your first kiss.]

[d*mn, what’s with the hour? I ordered chicken to time it perfectly, and it’s going to get cold.]

[hahaha KING Sensei, just tell life stories while we munch away~]

[Come to think of it, other than being Korean, I know nothing about this person.]

[Where does she live, how old is she, what are her hobbies? Let’s go~]

[KING’s personal information… I actually want to know…]

[This is way more entertaining than the race, seriously hahaha.]

[Hurry up and start, KING!!!]

An extraordinary moment of unity among viewers, which seemed impossible.

Their affection for Driver KING, for Streamer KING, was so blind.

While Kang Ho-yun felt that Yooihyun’s rest needed to be guaranteed by the viewers, he also understood their outcry from another perspective.

The viewers had long since fallen for the human known as KING.

From the time she began to gain attention on Sre’s radar and her name circulated in the community with overwhelming achievements.

They went wild over her when she broke the shortest lap time and entered F2 with the fastest record.

A new face that uprooted the stagnation in For One from the ground up, making it impossible not to like her.

Moreover, KING, who participated in the Kiwich one-on-one tournament and defeated hacker users and current F1 drivers to reach the finals.

At this point, KING’s popularity had become too tedious to describe.

Having garnered so many followers, what fans knew about her was nothing but her being Korean.

While she had been streaming steadily since 1024 players, she had never once shared anything outside the races.

When someone begins to like someone, it’s natural to be curious and want to know more about them.

The patience of KING’s followers had already been worn thin long ago.

Still, the finals are only once, and opportunities to chat will abound in the future.

In preparation for times like these, Kang Ho-yun had been analyzing the strengths of KING and Max.

Just as he was about to send a voice message suggesting she could take a bit of a break to consider her position,

“Ah, I don’t know. I’m tired. If I’m going to race later, I should rest. So for the next hour, it’s a lying-down broadcast.”

Yooihyun called over the bed and sprawled out.

[She’s so self-willed hahaha]

[This is truly a king.]

[A completely crazy person… That’s what makes her even more likable…]

[What’s with the private appearance while lying down?]

[I never thought I’d be watching a laying-down stream by a guy. It’s annoying but I’ll endure it for KING.]

[Turns out, KING is actually a woman?]

[She’s really lying down! She’s not even looking at the chat! Not even checking donations!]

《Lalemi donated 10,000 won!》

– This streamer isn’t doing anything.

“…”

Even Kang Ho-yun had no choice but to be speechless at her brazen behavior.

《QUEEN donated 500,000 won!》

– Shhh! Her Majesty is sleeping.

As her responses faded, donations burst forth with a loud celebratory sound, waking her up.

“Oh my, thank you for coming again today, Queen. I’ll make sure to spend this money wisely.”

Yooihyun, who had ignored anything less than ten thousand won, jolted awake and reacted.

Kang Ho-yun trembled, wondering if he had created a monster.

*

*

*

Daniel Ricciardo.

Lando Norris.

Charles Leclerc.

The three F1 drivers sat in the waiting room, chatting casually.

Their common point was that they had been opponents of KING.

Based on their firsthand experiences meeting KING on the circuit, they were speculating about her match with Verstappen.

“Who do you think will win? I think Max will win.”

“Of course, Max will win. No matter how good KING is, Max is among the best of the best.”

“There’s no such thing as ‘of course.’ You all thought you’d win and lost to KING, didn’t you?”

Frustrated, Daniel vented about hearing the phrase “losing to an amateur is disgraceful” from Lando and Charles countless times.

Having to face KING as the first opponent among all the F1 drivers, Daniel had been tormented by both of them and all the drivers.

Of course, they knew very well that there were moves among every F1 team to recruit KING.

And being F1 drivers, they had an objective understanding of KING’s skills, so they weren’t being entirely serious.

Since KING was still an amateur, Daniel had become an easy target of mockery for them.

While they complied with their wishes and handed over the checkered flag to her, elegantly losing in the round of 16, there was more than just Daniel whose fate as the second-place driver followed him.

Lando, who seemed confident, lost, and Charles Leclerc, who was sure he would win, also shared the same fate with them.

While they didn’t lose by an immense gap, from their perspective of having faced KING, they could feel just how remarkable a driver she was.

So, from a rational standpoint, it was sensible to passionately debate the matchup of [KING] VS [Max Verstappen], an amateur versus a potential F1 champion.

“To be honest, I don’t know who will win. Max is definitely good, but the pressure I felt from KING today was on par with Max.”

“Both of them have a presence that seems impossible to catch up with. It feels like there’s an enormous wall that I can’t surpass…”

“In the end, it’ll probably become a battle of momentum for the lead, but I still think Max will win. Experience in tournaments is also important.”

As they say, “arms bend inward.”

The lengthy discussion concluded with the prediction of Max’s victory.

When considering the obvious fact of an amateur versus a championship contender, Max’s victory was a given.

What is this uneasy feeling, though?

“Hmmm…”

Even though the three accepted in their minds that Max would win,

‘But if it’s KING…’

In their hearts, they couldn’t help but hope for her.