Keep Going Crazy Chapter 27

There were two weeks left until the start of the Japanese Suzuka Grand Prix. During the travel and settling in, the bruise marks remaining on Ryeoun’s wrist gradually faded and eventually disappeared.

The wristband he hadn’t been able to return was sitting quietly in one corner of the small cross-body bag that Ryeoun always carried around.

He had washed it clean and dried it well. He was planning to return it casually when he met Aiden, but that turned out to be no easy task.

Because after all the official Grand Prix schedule ended, Aiden had completely vanished without a trace.

Aiden Carter travels by private jet. That meant he wouldn’t even run into Ryeoun in the air, since Ryeoun takes commercial flights.

Before leaving the Shanghai paddock, Ryeoun had spotted Aiden’s back. But he hadn’t called out to him then. He felt embarrassed, and on top of that, he had this strange sense of duty that he absolutely had to wash the band before returning it. Even though it hadn’t even been sweaty.

Anyway, after missing a few opportunities like that, he lost any way to see Aiden. Ryeoun looked at the unreturned band once every day.

Should I send a text? Would he even reply? He wasn’t saying he hadn’t thought about it. But for some reason, he felt reluctant to text first.

It had seemed like they might be able to get along better… but instead it had become more uncomfortable.

In his life, Ryeoun had rarely had to deal with uncomfortable relationships with people. If he liked someone, he put them in the ‘my people’ category; if he didn’t, he shut the door without mercy.

But Aiden was not someone who could be resolved with such a simple binary. If he hadn’t been a teammate, Ryeoun would have just easily cut him off. Holding onto a relationship that didn’t click and trying to patch it together this way and that was really not Ryeoun’s style.

‘What can you do.’

What could he really do. Like it or not, comfortable or not…. He was his teammate.

In Suzuka, they were given a few days of free time. Since it was a race held in a nearby country, Ryeoun’s family came to Japan.

Suzuka is a fairly quiet and pretty small Japanese city. His family had come a few times before to watch his races. They had even all gone to a hot spring together.

What jolted Ryeoun, who had been spending a few comfortable days with his family after a long time, was none other than a single text from Aiden.

[Suzuka?]

While they were polishing off some eel rice bowls, his phone buzzed. After checking the sender’s name, Ryeoun opened his phone faster than ever.

‘Is he asking if I’m in Suzuka?’

Well, where else would he be if not Suzuka. Did he think Ryeoun had gone all the way to Nagoya to hang out? Race week was after the weekend…. Ryeoun had plans too, you know! He obviously had training scheduled!

Ryeoun snorted and sent a reply.

[Then am I in Korea?]

[Got time?]

Seeing Aiden’s text suddenly asking if he had time, Ryeoun just stared blankly.

“Who is it?”

The question came because he had stopped eating. Ryeoun gave an awkward smile and stabbed his spoon deep into the eel rice bowl.

“Aiden.”

“Oh, have you two gotten close?”

‘As if…’

The distance between them was far, impossibly far. Ryeoun just raised an eyebrow in lieu of an answer.

His mother, under some kind of delusion, started rattling off casual comments like asking him to introduce them sometime, asking if Aiden liked Korean food, saying that since he was mixed race he might miss Korean people… all sorts of easygoing talk.

“We’re not close.”

“…Really?”

“Really not close. It’s just… well, I guess he has something to say.”

“That’s how everyone gets close~”

At that, Ryeoun furrowed his brow without realizing it.

By grabbing each other in front of the hotel elevator, confessing to a dissolute private life in a private bar, and handing over a wristband with a sneer on his face in the pit? That’s how you get close? Where does a relationship like that exist, Mom….

Ryeoun couldn’t bring himself to say that out loud. Then, clicking his tongue, he slowly sent a reply.

[I do. Why?]

[Morning training is fine, right?]

[..? What’s fine?]

[I mean, do you like jogging?]

[Are you asking if I like jogging first thing in the morning?]

[Yeah]

[Does anyone even like that kind of thing?]

[Is there a driver who dislikes morning training?]

‘Crazy bastard.’

There was just no getting through to him. What driver on earth actually enjoys jogging at the crack of dawn?

This crazy world champion was definitely not right in the head.

[I doubt many people like it?]

[Well, I like it]

‘Then just enjoy it by yourself…’

The words rose to the tip of his tongue, but Ryeoun barely managed to send a normal reply.

[I hate it. You’re not suggesting we do it together, are you?]

[Why not?]

[??? What are you saying? You want to do morning training together?]

[That’s right]

“Why?”

“Huh?”

At Ryeoun’s sudden question, this time his father’s eyes went wide.

“Something wrong?”

“Ah…. No. It’s nothing.”

Ryeoun waved his hand. His throat felt ticklish, as if a bone from the eel he had been savoring so deliciously just moments ago had gotten stuck.

He couldn’t understand why this crazy world champion was suddenly proposing morning training to him. He did need to return the wristband, sure…. But the thought of jogging together had never even crossed his mind.

[Did you eat something bad?]

[If I had an upset stomach, I wouldn’t have suggested jogging]

[No, I mean have you lost your mind?]

It seemed like beating around the bush was only damaging his own mental health. Ryeoun decided to be a bit more direct.

[My mind is perfectly fine]

[Then why did the wind suddenly blow you to ask me to go jogging in the morning? You don’t even like me]

[Me?]

[Yeah!]

The quick replies stopped. Ryeoun stared silently at his phone. Suggesting jogging to a second driver he didn’t even like. He was definitely crazy. Or maybe he ate something bad. Whatever it was, he couldn’t be in his right mind.

[Which hotel are you staying at?]

The reply that came back was a truly out-of-nowhere question. Silence was as good as affirmation. It seemed clear that the guy disliked him.

Ryeoun let out a deep sigh. For some reason, talking to Aiden Carter always made him sigh.

[S Hotel.]

[See you in the lobby by 7 tomorrow morning]

[Are you crazy? Hey, no way!]

[That band means a lot to me]

“….”

Now he was even resorting to threats. Of course, he had doused that band with fabric softener and washed it until it smelled nice! He had even put it carefully in a zipper bag in case it got dirty! …Now he really didn’t feel like returning it nicely.

[–; Fine]

[Good]

[Hey, don’t misunderstand. I’m just returning the band, I never said anything about jogging, got it?]

[Exercise will be good for you]

[Crazy bastard, I said no]

No reply came.

He finished his eel rice bowl, took a walk around the circuit with his family, met a few fans and took pictures with them, and checked his phone all the way back to the hotel… but no reply from Aiden arrived.

‘Left on read again. Again.’

He wasn’t even surprised anymore.

Ryeoun shook his head and opened the door to his room. And for the first time in his life, he wished morning wouldn’t come.

∞ ∞ ∞

“…Are you serious?”

In a corner of the cafe in the lobby, having shuffled down in his slippers, Ryeoun was able to find Aiden.

The guy was leisurely drinking a warm coffee. Standing in front of him, Ryeoun looked him up and down from head to toe.

It was a perfectly complete workout outfit.

“I told you exercise would be good for you, didn’t I?”

“Hah…. I told you I wasn’t doing it. I have my own training schedule too.”

Saying that, Ryeoun parked himself across from Aiden. He tossed the zipper bag he had brought down onto the table. Aiden reached out and took it. Then, without any hesitation, he opened the zipper bag and put the band on his wrist. He didn’t even smell it or check for any damage.

“Your morning training schedule starts at ten, doesn’t it?”

“…How do you know that?”

“I asked your manager.”

“Ah, Han Younghoo….”

Ryeoun muttered his manager’s name with resentment. What kind of manager just spills everything when asked? Forcing himself to suppress the urge to grab Younghoo by the collar and shake him, Ryeoun scowled.

“I’m not a morning person. I’m about to die of sleepiness right now.”

“That’s why you go jogging.”

“…I really hate jogging.”

“You’ll like it once you get used to it.”

“What bullshit. I’ll hate it forever.”

“If you hate it forever, you won’t make it to the podium.”

“Hey!”

In the end, Ryeoun yelped out loud. It was a thousand pities that the lobby was empty because it was early morning. Quickly lowering his voice, Ryeoun waved his hand threateningly at Aiden.

“Just doing weights at ten in the morning is already hell. Please don’t add to my morning suffering. Do it alone. Why are you suddenly like this? You never cared about my training before…!”

Looking at Ryeoun, who was almost growling in a low voice, Aiden shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m trying to care a little now.”

“…?”

As if he had been punched somewhere, Ryeoun stopped all movement entirely.

Because it felt like he had just heard a sentence he couldn’t understand at all.