[TS] Formula One Streamer - Chapter 95

After a long broadcast, I woke up from a sweet sleep, consumed by a strange feeling that I was missing something important.

There must have been something… something significant that happened…

As I wandered around searching for the source of this bizarre feeling that seemed just out of reach, I finally found the answer.

“Oh, d*mn… Haerari.”

My disciple, Lee Haeri.

Two days ago, I had let Max take care of her because I couldn’t make it to the last educational broadcast on Friday due to scheduling conflicts.

In an attempt to communicate with the viewers, I had started broadcasting again on Saturday, and I ended up forgetting again.

Blaming my stupid and insensitive brain, I hurried toward the capsule.

Right now, it was late night in Italy, so in Korea, it was either very early morning or approaching dawn.

According to Korean time, today was the day of the grand prix.

Given how early it was, the chances of Haeri being online were very low, but as a teacher, I couldn’t just ignore it.

“Why haven’t you said anything? At least send a message…”

Even in the short moments heading to the capsule, my guilt grew deeper and deeper, to the point where I ended up blaming Haeri.

Wasn’t it so? I had spent a bit of time in the later part of the broadcast playing Stardew Valley, but in real-time, I definitely played For One more.

Since Haeri had a lot of interest in me, there was no way she didn’t know I was online.

Yet, if that logic were applied, it went both ways.

Perhaps the responsibility of teaching lay more with me.

Given that ‘KING’ was a limited alias, Haeri might have deliberately refrained from interrupting my broadcast out of her broad-mindedness and understanding.

Yeah, no matter how much I tried to make excuses, it was clearly my fault.

Regret always comes too late. Though it was late, I should act as soon as possible.

Messing up my hair out of frustration, I lay down in the capsule and hurriedly connected to For One.

Skipping the entire welcome intro, I shakily opened the friends list.

[Haerari]

Should I say it was a relief? A signal indicating Haerari’s connection was next to her nickname.

Moreover, it was highlighted in red, showing that she was currently racing.

“Phew… you’re still awake after all.”

If she hadn’t been online, it would have been really awkward.

I could have called, but I was uncertain if she was sleeping, which made it inappropriate to call and apologize, saying I would teach her now.

It would only be adding rudeness to rudeness in an attempt to make amends.

Though it was virtual reality, I still let out a sigh of relief and sent her a voice message.

KING: Haeri? Are you there? It’s me, Yooihyun.

After waiting for a while, there was no response.

When I checked the game progress information, it showed she was practicing in a private room, neither a ranking match nor a normal match, and it seemed she had missed my voice because she was so focused.

Growing impatient with her silence, I clicked on the private room out of desperation.

[Please enter the password: ****]

A four-digit password blocking my way.

I had no way of knowing it.

As despair washed over me, a suggestive room title caught my eye.

“Something you want to do with KING…?”

Was that a hint? Something she wanted to do with me.

Could such a short four-digit number convey that?

Lost in thought, I recalled several combinations of four digits that made sense.

But that thought didn’t last long.

One kept coming to mind…

“Could it be…”

No way. No, really?

With equal parts hope and fear, I slowly input that inappropriate four-digit code.

[Entering the room.]

With a click, my vision went dark as my body was transferred to the private room.

I had cracked the password, but I couldn’t shake the fear that something else might break through; I hoped it was just my imagination.

***

Now, the pink race car that had become a symbol of Haeri was racing around the circuit day and night.

On the circuit, where only the deafening roar of the race car existed, she was struggling in the bleak expanse filled with 19 AI opponents.

Cutting through the racing line, entering, exiting, and sometimes probing, she was testing her abilities to the fullest.

The difficulty of the AIs, initially set to F5, had gradually been lowered to F4.

Although it was a considerable challenge for Haeri, ranked at the very bottom of F5.

“It’s doable…!”

Surprisingly, despite having been scared earlier, it was manageable.

Of course, that meant the race itself was doable; she was still far from the podium rankings.

Yet, there was no sign of despair or negative emotions in Haeri.

On the contrary, her fighting spirit was ignited.

Her competitors in the main event were not F4; they were all in the same F5 tier as her.

The purpose of racing against AIs at this difficulty was not to achieve first place.

Skill improvement. That was the real goal.

Initially, her anxiety about being the bottom-ranked led her to be conscious of the other streamers who would be her competitors and to practice diligently.

Comparing lap times, arguing about who was better—meaningless weighing.

However, over time, as her skills began to improve, she naturally eliminated the concept of ‘comparison’ with other streamers during practice.

She realized how meaningless comparisons are for those unprepared. The basis of comparison should be not others, but ‘myself.’

The education conducted by Max on Friday had punctuated Haeri’s value system.

The phrase “a true driver only looks forward” was once romantic.

That metaphorical sentence advising not to have a specific target for comparison had ingrained itself in Haeri’s heart like a tattoo.

[KING has entered the room.]

For Haeri, there was no back or side. There was only forward.

Thus, Haeri, focused on moving forward, was completely unaware that Yooihyun had entered the room.

Positioned high above where the circuit was visible, Yooihyun held back, fearing that revealing himself might distract Haeri.

All he could do was watch Haerari’s driving, trying to think of helpful feedback, an unqualified teacher’s only role.

“What’s up? Did Max hit you or something?”

It was an unexpected outcome.

Meeting Yooihyun had given clarity and direction to Haeri’s driving, resulting in a fundamental level of improvement.

It was akin to teaching a language to someone who was previously primitive in driving, so it was a natural result.

It could be seen as an evolution of cultural and mental levels.

However, Haeri was not only that; her racing techniques had qualitatively changed.

Her ability to design races and transform those designs into actual movements was incomparable to before.

“Oh…”

A quiet gasp escaped Yooihyun’s slightly parted lips.

The trail braking technique, which had been merely imitated before and even felt disadvantageous to use, was now being used meaningfully.

While one could say she wasn’t yet skilled, it was clear that the beginner’s version was absent.

For now, the fact that she could perform it should be the focal point.

Understanding trail braking, a technique common even in the celestial realm, implied that she possessed competitive strength differentiated from others in F5 and F4 tiers.

Beyond that, she had developed a sense of timing in position fights, overtaking moments, and defensive timings.

This indicated that her body had finally understood the natural dynamics of racing on the circuit.

Though still at the F4 level, considering all this was the result of acquired effort, it was a remarkable achievement.

“She’s grown a lot.”

It had been two days.

In just two days, Haeri’s skills had undergone a dramatic transformation.

Could a person change this much in just two days?

Skill improvement often comes not as a gentle curve but rather in the shape of stairs.

There might be a period of stagnation, followed by a sudden vertical leap at a certain moment.

The saying that studying in any field is a long battle isn’t just words.

The effects of studying don’t appear immediately. They accumulate over a day, two days, three days, and four days before they manifest.

That moment when the results of what was crafted and synthesized over time take shape without one even realizing it.

That is the moment of ascent.

Haeri was about to experience that moment.

Yooihyun, despite the race being insignificant at her level, maintained brighter eyes than ever as he followed Haeri’s movements.

Although our relationship as Cheongchul Aram event partners could end at any time, it was still a bond.

I was proud and impressed by Haeri’s growth.

At this moment, I felt I could accommodate anything Haeri desired.

…Except for the dirty password.

As the race came to an end, Yooihyun remained silently in place until Haeri stepped out of the race car.

“Haerari! Did you receive some special lecture or something?”

“Teacher…! I missed you!!!”

Drenched in sweat, Haerari rushed toward Yooihyun’s embrace, forgetting to reset her heavy body.

She looked like a puppy meeting its owner after a long time.

As if she might run away, wrapping her arms tightly around Yooihyun’s waist, she fully enjoyed that resilience.

Meanwhile, Haerari’s viewers were igniting the chat room with the unexpected appearance of KING.

“Did something happen while I wasn’t here? You’re like a completely different person.”

“Nothing happened. The only thing that’s changed is… I like you more than I did back then?”

Normally, it would have been behavior that would send Yooihyun into a panic, but instead, he pulled Haeri into a hug.

Since today was also the end of the official training, and he was aware of her hard work, his heart softened.

Still, there was something that had to be addressed.

“Speaking of which… why did you use that password?”

“Huh?”

“The private room password. 697S… h… if you do something like that again, I won’t see you anymore?”

“I-I was wrong! I won’t do it again!”

It was the ‘Stop s*xual Harassment!’ project aimed at Yooihyun’s body, which had become the starting point for selecting a manager.