Keep Going Crazy Chapter 11

It was enough to make him go crazy and jump up and down.

You can talk all you want about professional spirit. But that doesn’t apply between you and me right now, does it?! Do you even have the right to say that to me? And it’s not even concern—it’s closer to suspicion and contempt, isn’t it?

‘No, and besides, having sex the day before qualifying is my idea of professional consciousness?!’

Unable to actually say that out loud, Ryeoun thumped his own chest in frustration.

He felt so exasperated that he wanted to smash the entire hotel to pieces.

He liked sex, sure, but he was only human. There were days he wanted it and days he didn’t. Some days he’d go through the motions out of obligation, mechanically joining bodies without any soul in it. The guy in front of him wouldn’t understand even a grain of that misery.

Ryeoun, who had been pounding his chest, shot back as if yelling.

“Even if I have sex five times, it doesn’t affect my condition at all!”

Well, five times would obviously cause problems… But at any rate, Ryeoun wasn’t so lacking in that so-called “professional spirit” that he wouldn’t grind his stamina into the ground and fuck like a brute if needed.

He had never once been affected in a race by having sex the night before qualifying. Other drivers openly brought their partners around and raced in Grands Prix. What, did they just hold hands and sleep?

If having sex once the night before a race was enough to cause physical issues, then he might as well give up the title of F1 driver and go run on a treadmill. Ryeoun just wanted to say that sex didn’t ruin his condition.

But Aiden’s next words were absolutely jaw-dropping.

“That’s precisely what’s strange. Isn’t sex with a normal man more exhausting?”

Ryeoun was so dumbfounded his mouth fell open. Aiden, as if realizing something, nodded and spoke again.

“Well, I suppose that could be the case.”

Ryeoun didn’t even want to imagine what kind of misunderstanding he was having. He no longer felt the need to deal with Aiden.

“…Whatever. Do you live without any sex at all? If having a little sex was enough to ruin a race, I couldn’t be an F1 driver in the first place. Anyway, don’t ever meddle in my personal life again. It’s not like I came running to you begging for it, so what’s it to you? I’ll handle my own business, so mind yours. Are you my mother? Cut the nagging. Since when are we on terms to nag each other? You’ve ignored me just fine until now.”

“….”

Seeing that he couldn’t retort to the “ignored” part, at least he had some self-awareness. Then again, if he’d done it without awareness, that would make him even more of a bastard.

“Like it or not, I’m your teammate, so at least show me some basic courtesy. I’ll handle my own results. Just because my best finish is P7 doesn’t mean you have the right to look down on me.”

Aiden said nothing. He only kept staring at Ryeoun with eyes that clearly showed he wasn’t pleased.

Ever since switching teams, Ryeoun had wondered: Can I rely on him? Can we become close? It’s disappointing for anyone to find out their teammate is a complete bastard.

Even more so when that person was a senior he used to respect.

Ryeoun turned around and strode off. Aiden didn’t try to stop him any further.

‘Crazy sex-addicted freak.’

Heading toward the room where Noah was waiting, Ryeoun muttered under his breath.

He’d wanted to keep Aiden in line, but not like this. He hadn’t wanted to advertise the fact that he was gay, and he certainly had no desire to show off what might look like a messy personal life (honestly, Ryeoun didn’t think he was promiscuous).

But what could he do? What was done was done.

He didn’t know much else, but a few things were crystal clear.

That Aiden genuinely worried about his own career and the Constructors’ Championship battle.

That he didn’t believe in or support Han Ryeoun as a driver even a single grain of rice’s worth.

And finally, that he was such an ill-mannered and prickly bastard that he’d let all of that show.

How on earth did he end up with this kind of first driver?

All the way to his room, sighs kept spilling from Ryeoun’s mouth. His mood was completely ruined. Far from improving things with Aiden, he’d only made them worse.

‘Let it be…’

That was truly how he felt.

What a spectacular start to the Grand Prix.

∞ ∞ ∞

To cut to the chase, Ryeoun’s Australian Grand Prix ended in a complete mess.

For the new Grand Prix season opener, Ryeoun had put in enormous effort.

He didn’t want to quote Aiden’s words, but… well, what he said wasn’t wrong. Horizon and Helix are different.

The sponsorship money coming in was different, and everything—driver support, salary, expectations, technology, teamwork—was different.

In moving from Horizon to Helix, Ryeoun had made a great many changes on his own.

He’d acted nonchalant around others, but the truth was he did feel pressure about competing for the Constructors’ Championship.

Maybe some people think: if he could score points with Horizon’s cart, surely he’d get even better points with Helix’s racing car, right? People who don’t know much about Formula 1 might think that way.

But that’s completely wrong.

Adapting to a good car takes just as much effort.

The day Helix unveiled their new season’s racing car, Ryeoun was as excited as a seven-year-old on Christmas morning. And he felt just as much pressure.

Because he was anxious about how long it would take to adapt from the familiar Horizon car to the Helix car.

Every team’s racing car has different characteristics.

Under FIA regulations, teams allocate their budgets and strive to build better racing cars. Adapting to a new car every year is the same challenge for every driver. But drivers who’ve switched teams feel a little more pressure.

Helix’s racing car has stronger downforce than Horizon’s.

That means he doesn’t need to slow down as much as usual in corners. This was a good thing for Ryeoun, who’s aggressive in corners, but it was also one of the aspects he wasn’t used to.

There were small changes for each Grand Prix, but the fundamental car design was different, so Ryeoun worked hard to get a feel for it.

The brake pedal sensitivity, the strategy, the tendencies—all different.

Based on private tests specially arranged by sponsors, Helix made fine adjustments to the car. The work was done based on Ryeoun’s test results.

There’s a saying: you can’t be full after the first spoonful. Ryeoun had always agreed with that. In his entire driving career, he’d never once been satisfied after the first attempt.

So even before the Melbourne Grand Prix in Australia, Ryeoun had reassured himself.

‘Finish safely, all the way to the end. That’s the goal.’

It wasn’t a difficult goal. Compared to the Horizon car, Helix’s car was far more stable. On straights and in corners alike, it was fundamentally faster than Horizon. Given the different money put into the design, that was only natural.

Don’t push too hard, focus on getting used to it. I can score points after that. That was Ryeoun’s goal.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous.

Ryeoun had never really been fond of physical training. Good grief, if other drivers heard that, they’d be horrified. For an F1 driver, muscle strengthening and endurance training are among the most important exercises.

To withstand G-forces, physical training is essential.

Many drivers have regular training schedules. They diligently follow the training cycle that suits them best.

Ryeoun was closer to the type who was half-forcibly dragged to the training facility by Younghoo. Even knowing he had to do it, he’d never once enjoyed training.

Actually, Ryeoun wasn’t someone who needed strict weight management. No matter what he ate, he didn’t gain weight easily, so compared to drivers whose weight fluctuates like rubber bands, he didn’t struggle much to maintain a steady weight.

Maintaining a steady weight is one of the most important points in racing. A driver’s body weight is even factored into the car’s design.

Anyway, Ryeoun was a driver who had no need for intense dieting. That was probably the greatest gift God had given him.

But other aspects are harder to be born with. He needed muscles that wouldn’t waver under G-forces, and cardiovascular endurance on par with a marathon runner.

He’d never taken the lead in directing these unavoidable training sessions himself. Every time, he’d been squeezed like a shriveled piece of tofu by Younghoo and his personal trainer.

But while preparing for the transfer, Ryeoun had pushed himself into training on his own initiative. It was one of the most intense and grueling periods of his life. Honestly, it felt harder than when he’d been hospitalized after a crash…

Han Ryeoun had worked harder than anyone to show a changed image after the transfer.

Just because he had a languid, playful image didn’t mean he approached training the same way. He threw himself into it so intensely that he wondered if he’d ever spent that much time in the circuit simulator before.

It wasn’t like he had a heavy sponsor schedule, so he had plenty of time to prepare.

But… all that effort crumbled in an instant.