[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 76
“Phew… Let’s do one more lap.”
No matter how fun a game is, it becomes tedious the moment it turns into a repetitive task.
Eventually, it reaches a point where no excitement can be found anymore.
Shukaak-!!!
A black race car is sprinting lonely at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit.
Amidst the tedious repetition, the only thing racing fearfully down the long circuit is that one race car.
Ghuuung!!!
Click-!
【 6th gear – 7th gear↑ 】 / 【 351km/h 】 / 【 DRS Activation 】
Even though there was no one chasing from behind, the dashboard soared to the maximum RPM, and the sound of DRS repeatedly turned on and off.
The driver’s intense will to shorten the lap time was being powerfully spread across the entire circuit.
After hundreds of laps, the driver finally crossed the start line once again, managing to renew their lap time.
Name / Time
① One Man Show 1:22:039 –0.749
Kang Ho-yun, who reduced his lap time by more than 0.7 seconds compared to the best lap time achieved during the Kiwi Tournament with KING.
Soaked in sweat as if he just showered, he could only sigh heavily as he returned to the pit after accomplishing his goal.
“Ah… I should end it here for Barcelona.”
Kang Ho-yun, slumped onto the floor, threw his helmet aside and lay back.
His body, battered after countless laps, felt prickly all over like being poked with a needle.
He could reset the settings to restore his condition, but he intentionally chose not to.
Although his head was spinning, he sometimes enjoyed this state of exhaustion.
Feeling the achievement and self-satisfaction of having given his all during this practice, he couldn’t muster the strength to even lift a finger.
It’s proof that he had poured everything out.
Lying on the floor with his eyes closed for a while, he eventually fell into thought.
It was a common issue of what to choose between the distant ideal he wanted to pursue and the reality he could face.
It was the timeless struggle of young people who have yet to decide their career paths and a crossroads in life.
Would he chase his ideal until the end, or would he conform to reality?
Even for the 21-year-old Kang Ho-yun, who was born with a silver spoon and had more worries about how to spend money than how to make a living, that question came just like it does for ordinary young people.
“Is it really right to continue with For One…?”
With the question that didn’t have an easy answer in mind, Kang Ho-yun recalled what had happened the previous night.
— Ho-yun, do what you want to do.
Words he had heard from his father, who held the position of chairman in a large corporation.
It was something his father had thrown out while he was studying intently about the company.
— Dad…
Kang Ho-yun couldn’t say anything in response to his father’s profound and sincere gaze.
Inheriting management rights had been his father’s long-held wish, and for Kang Ho-yun, who had lived without ever going against that wish, it was a statement that was hard to accept.
To do what he wanted to do.
“F1. I want to do F1. I want to be a driver and get on the podium.”
Although what Kang Ho-yun wanted was driving, the path to becoming an F1 driver was incredibly distant and perilous.
His junior, Yooihyun, who had become his mentor, achieved outstanding results and reached F2.
In the Kiwi Tournament, he had garnered victories against promising F1 drivers like Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris, and Charles Leclerc.
In the finals, he even cornered Max, so he understood better than anyone the value of Yooihyun as a driver.
He realized that one had to achieve at least that level to shine on the professional stage.
One had to achieve at least that to compete with other drivers.
Before he knew it, Yooihyun and KING had become a benchmark for distinguishing between professional and amateur for Kang Ho-yun…
“Do I really have talent? Can I reach that level…?”
That benchmark not only provided a clear path toward his goals, but it was also an overwhelmingly high wall that shattered even his firm resolve.
“I really don’t know what’s right….”
When faced with the crossroads of ideals and reality that he had vaguely thought about, Kang Ho-yun couldn’t easily come up with an answer.
It was probably because he lacked confidence in himself.
—I know your dream is to be an F1 driver. But isn’t it a profession that only the top 20 can have?
—… Yes, that’s right.
—I’m not belittling your talent. I heard you’ve recently ranked up to 300. Being in the top 300 in a game enjoyed by hundreds of millions is indeed remarkable. It’s a level that can’t be described as anything but a natural talent.
His father placed a hand on Kang Ho-yun’s shoulder, who had fallen silent.
—Still, becoming a pro requires a different kind of talent. It’s surely not an easy path. But if you really want to do it, then go ahead. Just be prepared to bet everything.
When Kang Ho-yun lifted his head and looked back, his father had vanished, and the door was open.
For a while, he couldn’t step outside the door.
While it may seem like a hopeless situation, Kang Ho-yun was in a much better position than others.
Even if he failed to become a driver, as long as he was the son of his father, he could always inherit management rights again.
So, he had a place to return to.
However, Kang Ho-yun did not want to face ideals with such indecision and complacency.
Like his father said, he was thinking of going all in with the mindset that “there’s only d*ath behind me.”
There were two months left until the season opened.
That was the last chance to prove Kang Ho-yun as a driver.
“Reset body condition. Change to the next circuit. Unlimited laps.”
His dream could come across at whatever circuit, at whatever lap.
The circuit continuously moved on to the next.
From the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit to the Bahrain International Circuit.
From the Bahrain Circuit to the Silverstone Circuit.
From the Silverstone Circuit to the Istanbul Park Circuit…….
“To the grid.”
[Race Waiting Room, transitioning to the grid.]
As soon as he was moved to the grid, Kang Ho-yun stomped on the accelerator, racing toward the shortest lap time at the Bahrain Circuit.
Ghuuung-!!!
He firmly believed that at the end of it all, there would be a dream waiting for him; that was the only way Kang Ho-yun could move forward steadily.
***
“Ah, it’s such a hassle to clean up…”
Having exhausted all my energy organizing and placing dishes, bedding, and daily necessities bought from the department store, I simply didn’t have the energy to cook and ordered spicy braised chicken for dinner before diving straight into bed.
The smell of the new comforter and pillow, along with the fluffy softness, was absolutely exquisite.
I used to avoid the habit of lying down right after eating due to health reasons, and because of my profession as a driver, but today was an exception.
This frail body had dealt with too active a day.
And I was planning to become a driver; technically, I’m not one yet, right?
Of course, I would be a driver, so I needed to start exercising tomorrow, whether it be in the gym or cardio.
With this weak body, I wouldn’t be able to endure the realities of F1 at all.
Ranking matches, broadcasts, workouts, Ferrari…
Ding-!
As various thoughts entered my mind, I was making plans for the week when a text message from Lee Haeri arrived.
[Dear Yooihyun-sensei, the list has been released, and I’m sending you a message because I haven’t heard from you. The event starts tomorrow, and the broadcast time is fixed from 8 PM to 10 PM. Additional broadcasts are voluntary. Please feel free to reply. / Sender: Lee Haeri]
I knew she was 25, but I couldn’t understand why she was being so formal with me.
Of course, it’s better than being treated informally by older folks right from the start, but being overly polite is also a problem.
“Anyway, I got selected for Cheongchul Aram.”
It might have been an obvious result.
Since it was said that 20 teams would be selected through internal evaluation on Kiwich, they couldn’t afford to miss out on an influential streamer like me.
Hastily accessing Kiwich to check the list, I found my nickname “One Man Show” written there.
He also had a solid fan base as a first-year streamer on Kiwich and actively participated as my partner in this Kiwich tournament, so it was unusual for him not to be selected.
“Shiri, call Lee Haeri.”
I needed to reply to Lee Haeri’s text, but instead of going through the hassle of waiting for replies, I just made the call.
Ring-!
— Hello!
She picked up before the ringing even finished.
“Hello, Haerari. This is Yooihyun.”
— Yes, I know! Yooihyun-sensei!
Her reaction upon answering the phone felt a bit overwhelming.
I felt like I maybe shouldn’t have bothered…
“Talking over the phone seems more convenient. Is it alright to talk?”
— I’m fine with it, sensei. Just call me anytime. I love you.
Please stop.
I almost hung up out of discomfort but held back.
“Tomorrow is the first educational broadcast, do you have any plans? Since you’re more experienced than me as a streamer, I wondered if you had a structure planned out.”
— You can do whatever you want, but if I may offer my suggestion…
As expected of a streamer from Seoul University, she had prepared something.
Her overly polite and kind tone transformed into one that was gentle and skillful, like a student presenting a PPT in front of a professor.
Someone who speaks this well…
I stifled a chuckle at the contrasting image as I listened to Haeri’s broadcast structure, which, to summarize, was like this:
Since the educational broadcast is the main content, the beginning will consist of education sessions.
The key point will be the outrageous chemistry between the strict KING and the irritable Haerari.
However, education alone couldn’t maintain viewers’ interest, so halfway through the educational period, the style would change.
That was to utilize other streamers actively.
What could be called “breaking through the dojo.”
This was another main content that Haeri confidently prepared as the Cheongchul Aram Event.
While the event is intended for skill enhancement, attracting viewers as a streamer is also an important task.
Since there is no competitiveness with regular educational content, her plan was to create an event within the event, taking advantage of the lack of strict regulations on Kiwich.
“We can start with streamers we have connections with.”
Finishing her rough plan, Haeri added a closing statement.
— There will indeed be people who will copy this. But don’t get involved in races with many participants as that may reduce interest in the main event.
So, the crux of this plan is to go with a select few.
“That sounds good.”
— Do you like it, sensei?
“That’s great! I’ll also think about it hard.”
— Huh…! I… I love you!
Having no part to argue against Haeri’s statement, I expressed my agreement, and her reaction was quite amusing.
After wrapping up the call, I turned off the lights and lay down in bed to fall asleep immediately.
The capsule delivery is tomorrow, so there was nothing to say about that, and I was too exhausted to go to the capsule room.
Furthermore, I have so much to do starting tomorrow.
As a streamer and as a driver, there’s a mountain of preparation to be done, so I needed to take a break today.
Just as I was about to fall asleep.
Ding-!
[Sensei, I’ll dream of you. I’ll dream of you too♥ / Sender: Lee Haeri]
I’ll have to block her after the event concludes.