[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 62
KING.
A user who began to make a name for himself by dominating the streamer Sre in the F2 ranks.
A monstrous user who achieved 1st place in 112 out of 120 ranking matches, entering F1.
A user who participated in the KiwiChi Championship, advancing to the top 16 as an ordinary person and defeating a current F1 driver to reach the finals.
A user who showcased races against Max Verstappen, considered the next F1 champion, without losing ground.
So, completely insane.
In a rank where there isn’t a single female driver, who could think of KING as a woman?
And that the famous KING was actually the stunningly beautiful nineteen-year-old girl, Yooihyun.
“Hello. This is KING, Yooihyun.”
When KING, or rather Yooihyun, revealed her identity and came out on the podium.
Viewers, commentators, journalists…
There was no way anyone could remain calm.
[???????????]
[No wayㅋㅋㅋ The KING who wrecked the players is a cute girl? Get out of hereㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[???Cute girl????]
[She was a girl???]
[I love you!! Please date me!!!]
[Wow, what is this? This is more shocking than today’s race???]
[Wow, she’s so fucking pretty 12111 f*ck…]
[Yooihyun… I think I’m really gonna d*e heeung…]
[Is she really a girl? ㅋㅋ Don’t lie. Is this a hidden camera?]
[KING is a cute girl? ㅆ1b, I can’t take this for realㅋㅋ]
[Hey, there’s no option to change the appearance in For One, right? Is that real?]
[Wow… The whole world has been tricked by a nineteen-year-old cutie…]
[But putting that aside, she’s really pretty]
[So prettyㅓㅓㅓ]
[If she’s prettier than a celebrity and drives this well, what am I supposed to do?]
[What are you supposed to do? What are you?]
[ㄴㅇㅁ]
《QUEEN has donated 3,000,000 won!》
-Your Majesty… I mean, Queen?????
The reactions of not only the viewers watching KING’s broadcast but also everyone else watching the interview worldwide would have been similar.
It’s astonishing that KING, who delivered fearless, experimental, tough, and eerily precise driving, is a cute girl.
Recalling the ridiculous performances KING showed from the top 1024 to the finals, there’s something spine-chilling beyond the fact that she is pretty.
The awe of the fact that a young girl of nineteen can perform such weighty and thrilling driving.
Her tremendous talent in driving and F1 was beyond what one could dare to imagine.
Witnessing, in real time, a new rising sun, a king, in the F1 scene as a single driver enjoying For One is such an overwhelming historical moment.
“I apologize, viewers. I will continue the broadcast after the interview, so please wait a moment.”
As Yooihyun nodded towards the streamer cam and requested understanding, the chatroom ignited more than ever.
[Noona… I feel like I’m going to d*e waiting]
[We’re sorry, KING-nim]
[Please don’t turn off the broadcast, sir. Please]
[I’ll give you all my money, so please don’t end the stream today]
[Suddenly, there are so many sweet idiotsㅋㅋㅋ]
[Which b*stard made our noona uncomfortable? If you’re uncomfortable, change your position]
[f*ckㅋㅋ KING, just wait~]
[I can wait all day]
[I love you, please marry me! I love you, please marry me!]
After revealing her identity, the chatroom became extremely, or rather completely, friendly.
Yooihyun paused the rapidly scrolling chat for a moment and responded to the interview.
As reporters flocked to her, questions poured out like a waterfall.
“Please introduce yourself!”
“Why did you set your information to private? Is there a special reason?”
“Are you affiliated with an F1 team?”
“Is the KING account your main account?”
With reporters so crowded that even the host couldn’t control the situation.
Max watched the scene with a blank expression.
“Shh!”
When Yooihyun placed her index finger against her moist lips, the atmosphere instantly quieted as if cast by a spell.
She raised her delicate finger to her lips and surveyed the crowd with slightly lifted eyes.
Could there be anyone more fitting for the nickname KING?
With a gesture from her, standing gracefully on the podium, both the chatroom and reporters could only fall silent.
“One by one, slowly, understood?”
Yooihyun took control of the atmosphere, gently pointing at reporters with her palm as she conducted the interview.
Q. Self-introduction
“I was born in ’13. I’m Korean, and my name is Yooihyun. I dropped out of the academy, so right now I’m jobless.”
Q. Reason for privacy
“It’s funny that a top-tier F1 driver turns out to be a nineteen-year-old cute girl, right? It feels like… a hidden master in the martial world? Something like that.”
Q. Affiliation with F1 team
“I’m not affiliated with any team.”
Q. Main account?
“I did have an account given by the school during my time at the academy, but since I dropped out, this is the only account I have. So I can say it’s my main account.”
Questions kept following one after another, and Yooihyun passed over the repetitive ones and answered as quickly as possible.
“Um…!”
“Yooihyun!”
“Here too…”
Yet the questions showed no sign of decreasing.
– The trophy ceremony will soon begin, so Max Verstappen, KING, and Charles Leclerc are requested to come to the stage.
Just at the right moment, the announcement of the ceremony echoed.
As no more meaningful questions arose, Yooihyun was about to wrap up the Q&A session.
“Yooihyun! Currently, the second driver of Ferrari is vacant; are you considering participating in the Ferrari test?”
Someone’s shout pierced through the noisy crowd and reached her ears.
*
*
*
“Ferrari… what did you say?”
Ferrari test?
What on earth is that?
Does it mean they are testing drivers instead of scouting from the lower leagues in this world?
It was confusing, especially since Lee Myung-jin, the Ferrari scout, personally contacted me with a recruitment offer.
“Ferrari is conducting an open recruitment test for users above the F2 rank to select a second driver. They were asking if KING would like to participate!”
Listening to the reporter’s words defining the Ferrari test, it seemed clear that there was some internal issue at Ferrari.
Lee Myung-jin would have followed the orders of the director, Mr. Mattia Binotto, and the decision to proceed with the Ferrari test must have been made at headquarters.
There must be a disagreement between the director and headquarters.
Here, Ferrari has been performing terribly enough to record 8th place last year, so it is likely that the director’s influence is almost nonexistent.
Well… maybe not getting cut is a blessing.
“First… I want to participate in F1, but nothing is confirmed yet. The competition has just ended, so I plan to think about it step by step.”
There’s no need to hastily reveal the contact with Ferrari.
It was decided to meet after the competition ended, so it would be better to remain silent until enough discussion had occurred.
kiwitch*: KING, the award ceremony is ready, please enter the waiting room immediately.
As my head became more complicated, a voice arrived from KiwiChi.
“I have to go to the award ceremony, so…”
I ignored the following questions and moved to the waiting room.
How is this situation unfolding…
My head was in chaos.
My heart says I should join Ferrari, but my mind screams no, and I was already on the brink of losing my sanity.
On top of that, the tangled internal affairs.
“Yooihyun, let’s take it one step at a time.”
Yeah.
It’s better not to think about what comes next and handle what’s in front of me one by one.
Wrap up the award ceremony with style.
Have a discussion with the viewers who are eagerly waiting for me.
And take a break today, then meet Lee Myung-jin tomorrow and talk it out—everything should be solved then.
Only then could I once again smile and step onto the podium filled with cheers and glory.
*
*
*
“What? KING was a girl? No way…”
Won-jin.
A typical high school student born in ’14, 18 years old in Korean age, was utterly shocked watching the KiwiChi Championship finals from the system design team at the For One headquarters.
The user he couldn’t beat, even using hacks.
The driver who fiercely battled on equal footing with Max Verstappen.
“She’s a girl, and on top of that, she’s pretty? And she’s just a year older than me…”
Thus, Won-jin’s true identity was the infamous hacker under the nickname Barcode Nick, known worldwide.
He had committed the disgraceful crime of using hacks during the competition.
Nevertheless, due to his recognized skills and talents for hacking the For One system all by himself at a young age, he was hired as an employee of For One under the condition of leniency.
Won-jin had made significant contributions to this newly strengthened security program, Steel.
He had emerged as an essential figure, on par with the original designer and chief manager, Michael Nantz, showcasing his abilities without reservation and leading the project.
Of course, there were weaknesses, but being young meant having the characteristic of absorbing knowledge like a sponge.
“Won-jin? Come here. Don’t touch that. It’s core code, so if you touch this, you’ll have to alter everything else.”
“Won-jin? You can do it this way. Got it?”
“Jin. Didn’t I tell you not to do that? It’s gonna overload.”
“Jin!! Where the hell are you!!!”
There was a bit of rebellion that comes with growing up, but under the guidance of Michael Nantz, he swiftly developed as both a system designer and as a person.
Even though it hadn’t been long since he joined, Won-jin was already an indispensable presence at For One.
Perhaps because he was genuinely interested in designing.
He was gradually becoming attached to the game and company called For One.
And then, it happened.
He thought he would bury himself in this dream job where endless development and advancement coexist as a designer…
“KING… Yooihyun…”
Facing the ordinary person KING, Yooihyun, who had defeated even former players and threatened the position of the next champion, made his delicate curious heart race with excitement.
The desire to design the best race car and the twisted desire for Yooihyun to drive the race car he built engulfed Won-jin in an instant.
“Michael… Is it hard to design an engine?”
“It’s a different realm than system design, but the basic framework is probably the same. Anyway, both need to be designed and made to work as designed.”
Although the two fields couldn’t be considered the same, those kinds of details didn’t enter Won-jin’s mind.
As mentioned earlier, youth tends to absorb knowledge like a sponge.
“So, it’s the same, right?”
“Uh… can it be like that?”
From that point, Won-jin’s time away from his post noticeably increased.