Keep Going Crazy Chapter 6

Honestly, when Ryeoun first saw Alex greeting him like that, he thought, ‘His sense of aesthetics is broken.’ Because the Horizon suit colors were so ugly that calling them tacky would be an understatement.

The pale sky-blue and white suit looked very plain, and on top of that, all sorts of colorful sponsor logos were plastered all over it… There’s no need to elaborate on how ugly it was. There was a reason Horizon’s suit was cited as one of the worst designs among Formula One fans.

Yet Alex praised Ryeoun, saying the suit suited him wonderfully, as often as he ate meals—no, as often as he ate bread. Looking back now, Ryeoun thought Alex had probably done that to help him feel attached to the team called Horizon as quickly as possible.

Although Ryeoun had secured an F1 seat with good results in F2, F1 wasn’t a place that was easy for even him to adapt to overnight.

Becoming an F1 driver meant media attention on an incomparable scale compared to F3 and F2. Not only media exposure, but he also had to adapt to a new racing car. He had to get used to a new schedule strung together like sausages. So adaptation couldn’t possibly be easy. Above all, the pressure of the title ‘F1 driver’ was suffocatingly heavy.

Whenever Ryeoun, struggling to adapt, faced difficulties, Alex would guide him with words like, ‘Hey, mate. Want me to give you a hand?’

If he had to define their relationship at the time, it was probably close to mentor and mentee. Alex took care of Ryeoun with great attention. It was almost like a mother bird’s care. From then on, Ryeoun jokingly started calling Alex ‘Papa.’ He still sometimes called him that.

Though he usually gave off the impression of a relaxed, playful, uncle-like man, Alex was a driver who knew how to drive quite intelligently.

Rather than laying out theories this way and that, he was more skilled at explaining through driving on the track.

Ryeoun learned most of the characteristics of the Horizon racing car and the various sensations a driver needed when handling that car from Alex. Thanks to that, he was able to barely scrape into the points with the car fans called a ‘donkey cart.’

Even when he retired due to his own or the team’s mistakes or accidents, Alex would run to Ryeoun first as soon as the race was over.

Although his advice about the race was blunt, Ryeoun had never once taken a defensive stance toward Alex’s advice because he knew well that Alex was worried about him.

They’d done several all-night training sessions together, and it was true that they’d grown closer by sharing various stories.

Even when Ryeoun transferred from Horizon to Helix, Alex didn’t hold back his advice. Alex’s words—that the car’s speed was important, but reading the overall flow of the race and not getting excited was the most important thing—were still advice Ryeoun mulled over many times.

“So. You have something on your mind, don’t you?”

Alex, who had returned to his seat, raised his glass of whisky on the rocks. Clinking glasses with him, Ryeoun pouted his lips.

“I think he dislikes me.”

“Who?”

“Aiden. Me.”

“Yeah?”

Alex’s reaction was calmer than Ryeoun had expected.

“Is that obvious?”

Seeing Alex’s calm reaction, Ryeoun suddenly felt dazed. The thing he’d been worrying about started to feel like nothing. Even though it wasn’t actually.

“How could that be obvious? But don’t dwell on it too much. For Ed, Jamie’s vacancy must be a big deal.”

“…There’s a Korean expression, Alex. ‘Kkojunda.'”

“What does that mean?”

“I can’t explain this in English. Something like nagging? Embarrassing? Something similar…”

Alex burst out laughing loudly.

“He’s embarrassing you?”

“Well, something like that. Not openly, but behind the scenes? Kind of slyly?”

“Haha!”

“It’s not something to laugh about, you know?”

Laughing heartily, Alex poured the whisky down his throat.

Alex had been favorable toward Ryeoun from the start. And comparing his behavior with Aiden’s, Ryeoun found it hard to think this relationship would improve easily.

Since he already had a comparison, it was a natural conclusion.

Even before meeting Aiden, Ryeoun had run through simulations many times. How would he act at their first meeting? What would he say first? He’d thought about those things often, but Aiden disliking him was something he hadn’t expected.

Yes, to be honest… It was true that his feelings were hurt because Aiden didn’t treat him kindly. He’d arbitrarily assumed Aiden’s personality and imagined his behavior, and when he didn’t act that way, maybe he just wanted to throw a tantrum.

Ryeoun wanted to tell Alex in exhaustive detail about what had happened at the sponsor event. That’s why he’d called him. But strangely, with Alex right in front of him, the words wouldn’t come out easily. For some reason, it felt like spitting on his own face. It was quite funny and absurd, given that the realization of being on the same team as Aiden wasn’t even that significant.

Alex, who had set down his whisky glass, spoke.

“I’m not close with Aiden either. You know that, right?”

“Well… You did say that before.”

The year before last, Ryeoun had asked Alex. Whether he was close with Aiden Carter. At the time, he’d just wanted to become a little closer to Aiden. They weren’t on the same team, so there was no point of contact, and if Alex was close with him, Ryeoun wanted to be personally introduced. Of course, he meant introduced as a ‘friend.’ Because Aiden was the driver Ryeoun respected the most.

Unfortunately, though, Alex had shaken his head and replied that he had no personal friendship with Aiden. Ryeoun remembered being disappointed by that.

Alex lightly crossed his legs.

“But I am a bit close with Jamie, you know.”

“Yeah.”

Fortunately, Jamie, Helix’s former second driver, unlike the prickly Aiden, had quite a few friends and a hearty personality. He’d been fairly friendly with Ryeoun too.

“I heard this once over drinks a while back—apparently, Aiden is that obsessed with results.”

“…?”

Ryeoun just blinked in bewilderment. What… was he saying something so obvious?

“What are you talking about? Which driver isn’t obsessed with results?”

“If you put it that way, there’s nothing to say. I mean it’s particularly severe.”

“…How severe?”

Alex shrugged.

“I wasn’t there to see it firsthand, so I don’t know for sure… But enough to be mind-boggling? From the outside, he doesn’t seem that way at all, right? He’s incredibly gentlemanly in front of the media.”

“That’s what I’m saying. My head hurts right now, seriously.”

“Jamie said it’s a bit suffocating. Still, Jamie’s a good driver, and after running together for a few years, it seems like a fair amount of trust built up between them.”

“…I guess so.”

“A rookie suddenly drops in front of a guy obsessed with results. The Jamie he trusted and relied on transferred to another team, and now he has to work with a rookie whose skills aren’t fully proven yet. Isn’t that bound to rub him the wrong way?”

[Fuck. Still, acting like that with no manners is over the top.]

An irritated Korean curse slipped out of Ryeoun’s mouth. Alex’s eyes widened as he asked back.

“Ssa, what?”

“It means no manners.”

“Haha, is that Korean swearing?”

“Well… something like that.”

“Anyway, that’s all I can say. Just wait and see. As you race together, trust will naturally build up, won’t it?”

‘That’s only if I score points…’

Ryeoun held back the urge to sneer out loud and muttered inwardly.

Tomorrow was Media Day.

He didn’t want to place too much significance on Media Day, but since it was the first Media Day of the season, there would be more interviews coming in. There would also be more occasions where he’d have to stand in front of the camera with Aiden.

Yet here he was, late at night, in a lounge, venting to his former teammate. A sudden wave of self-awareness washed over him.

It was supposedly a matter of trust… Well, he wouldn’t know unless he asked the man himself.

Honestly, at this point, Ryeoun didn’t even feel like putting in any effort toward Aiden. Asking why he disliked him, or whether he had any intention of getting along—it all felt like a waste of time.

Every relationship requires effort from both sides. Even a clap needs two hands to make a sound, let alone human relationships. Trying alone is just wasting energy into thin air.

‘I’d rather spend that time running another simulation.’

Alex, who had given him such sincere advice, would probably facepalm if he heard this, but Ryeoun calmly reached his conclusion.

Ignore it and each go their own way.