Chapter Text
Sunday, 11 May 2025, 15:00
Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia
RACE DAY
“Seoyeon, radio check.”
“Yep,” Seoyeon flexes her fingers, feeling them strain and bend against the synthetic fabric of her night-black racing gloves. The ominous gentle humming of a shackled engine ripples through the cockpit, spreading across the entire car and sending vibrations up her spine.
“Loud and clear. P21 is slotting into the grid now, Sullin in 22nd, then the RockPeaches. Race start imminent. Repeat, race start imminent.”
A distracted hum is Seoyeon’s only reply. Unless she’s in first place and there’s a Ferrari or a Honda on her tail, she has never been one to look over her shoulder during races.
Her only two concerns are the Arrow Ferrari car warming up in the grid slot just ahead of her, a flash of sunlight bouncing off its luscious scarlet bodywork.
And more importantly, the driver occupying its cockpit.
STARTING GRID
1 Kim Yooyeon (Arrow Ferrari)
2 Yoon Seoyeon (Sonyo Ford)
3 Jiyeon (Sonyo Ford)
4 Kim Nakyoung (DoubleA Mercedes)
5 Park Sohyun (BestShip Honda)
6 Yamada Kaede (Blueroom BMW)
7 Gong Yubin (DoubleA Mercedes)
8 Zhou Xinyu (BestShip Honda)
9 Seo Dahyun (Blueroom BMW)
10 Koma Mayu (Hatchi Infinite McLaren)
11 Kim Soomin (Arrow Ferrari)
12 Kwak Yeonji (TKZ Porsche)
13 Park Shion (Hatchi Infinite McLaren)
14 Kamimoto Kotone (TKZ Porsche)
15 Kawakami Lynn (Visionary Audi)
16 Hsu Nien Tzu (Visionary Audi)
17 Jeong Hyerin (Chiyu Renault)
18 Jeong Seoah (Gravity Cadillac)
19 Jeong Hayeon (Mochi ZSpeed Toyota)
20 Joobin (Chiyu Renault)
21 Kim Chaewon (Mochi ZSpeed Toyota)
22 Pirada Sullin (Gravity Cadillac)
23 Lee Jiwoo (RockPeach Aston Martin)
24 Kim Chaeyeon (RockPeach Aston Martin)
“All cars in position. Formation lap complete. Repeat, formation lap complete. Prepare for race start.”
Seoyeon grips the steering wheel lightly, feeling the light vibrations tickle her fingers, sending small jolts of anxiety searing through her arms. Nine years a Formula 1 race driver, two times a world champion; but her heart can never seem to still before the opening race of the new season.
Thick spit clings to her drying throat, but Seoyeon pays it little mind, her narrowed gaze still fixated on the fiery red Ferrari positioned in front, and the top of Yooyeon’s stylish hot pink helmet peeking out from the cockpit.
“Red lights in five seconds. Repeat, red lights in three seconds. Look alive.”
Instinctively, her body kicks into autopilot; every limb hovering over the necessary buttons and pedals. She has one last look at the back of her sworn rival’s Ferrari, promising herself that when she crosses the finish line fifty-eight laps later, she won’t have to look at the back of anybody’s car.
Seoyeon’s eyes, unblinking, fix onto the board hanging over the starting line, as the first of five red lights blink on. She rests her foot on the accelerator, and the light hum of her car rumbles into the growing of a violent roar.
“Formula 1 in 2025 begins when the five red lights go out…”
The track underneath trembles with the force of twenty-four cars coming to life at once. The crowds on the grandstands cheer wildly, and the noise around the track ascends to an ear-splitting crescendo. But as Seoyeon’s focus sharpens, the controlled chaos fades into nothing more than a low droning in the back of her head.
One by one, the red lights blink on, until all five are alight. Seoyeon tenses up, and her car follows suit, every inch of carbon fibre and every milimetre of electrical wiring compressing, like a coiled spring itching for release.
The lights go out without a sound. Seoyeon yams the pedal down with all her might, forcing a furious scream from her engine as the car jerks forward, screeching into the gap right next to Yooyeon.
“It’s lights out and away we go!!! Kim Yooyeon gets a good start, but Yoon Seoyeon gets away brilliantly! They’re wheel-to-wheel diving into turn 1, and Yoon Seoyeon makes a move DOWN THE INSIDE…!!!”
The Sonyo Ford is an unruly beast; powerful yet dangerous. But Seoyeon has been its owner for so long that she knows all the right buttons to press. She throws the car into the first set of turns, forcing Yooyeon into a razor-sharp line that nearly sends her wide. Seoyeon grunts and clicks through the gears, foot flat on the accelerator as they emerge from the first straight with her nose barely behind.
She slingshots through the track with practiced finesse and the natural harnessed fury of a rampaging bull, blasting down Yooyeon’s side as they roar down a long straight. But Yooyeon has just enough speed and more than enough skill to plant her Ferrari in the narrowest of openings, forcing Seoyeon to brake a nanosecond too early into the next turn.
Years of hard-fought battles with the indomitable Arrow driver have taught Seoyeon one thing: A nanosecond is enough for Yooyeon. She doesn’t even get the chance to blink before Yooyeon roars through the next straight like a rocketship hurtling through space, the gap between her and Seoyeon gradually widening.
Not if Seoyeon has anything to say about it. Gritting her chattering teeth, she hurls the car down the next turn, shifting through gears as quickly as she swipes through the countless social media posts waxing lyrical about the unstoppable racing queen Kim Yooyeon, five-time champion and the odds-on favourite to win in 2025 as well.
What about Seoyeon? The greatest rival. The futile challenger. The runner-up. Second best. For the past three years, that sentiment has rang painfully true.
And if it’s one thing people need to know about Seoyeon, it’s that she’s a terribly sore loser.
“Yoon Seoyeon tries again, switching back through turn 13 for the better exit, attacking through turn 14, down the straight as they begin the second lap!!”
Gaining, gaining. Seoyeon grips onto her steering wheel like a vice grip, the car balancing on a knife’s edge as she peels into the car-wide gap beside Yooyeon, their wheels inches from colliding. She dives into the turn with her nose barely in front, but Yooyeon defies convention with daringly late braking, blocking Seoyeon’s overtake attempt and scuttling all her momentum.
“Shit,” Seoyeon stumbles through the turns, her unblinking eyes never leaving the back of Yooyeon’s Ferrari, which is moving so fast that she can only process a blur of explosive red as it begins to pull away down the straight.
“Head down, Seoyeon. Race is long. Keep focused.”
“Yeah!” Seoyeon snaps. Her foot hasn’t left the floor since the race started. Press down any harder, and she might stamp a hole through the shuddering floorboard of her car.
It doesn’t stop her from trying anyway, the car responding with a defiant roar that causes her ears to ring with a cathartic pain, as every cell in her body fires to life.
LAP 36/58
1 Yoon Seoyeon
2 Kim Yooyeon
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12 Kamimoto Kotone
13 Kim Soomin
14 Kwak Yeonji
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“Come on, Soomin. Let’s get on with it. Kotone, 2.3 ahead.”
“What about Yeonji?!” Soomin chokes out in between desperate gasps of air. Between wrangling her uncooperative car and trying to keep it on track, battling the aches and fatigue of a gruelling race, and the crushing pressure and embarrassment of languishing in 13th place while driving an Arrow fucking Ferrari, she hasn't had a chance to so much as glance at her side mirrors to keep track of Yeonji's position.
She doesn't have to look, though. She can hear the amplified boom of Yeonji's car as it tails her through the track, slipping around corners and roaring down the straight. She can sense a foreign front wing nipping at the edges of her rear wheels. She can feel Yeonji's stubborn presence looming dangerously close, a menacing aura emanating from somewhere behind Soomin, like she's vulnerable prey dead in a hunter's iron sights.
“Yeonji, 0.8 behind. You need to shake her. Come on.”
“Trying!” Her car screeches in protest as she bundles it through the next corner, missing the apex by a hair and compromising her exit into the next straight. Soomin locks her steering wheel violently to keep her disobedient car on track, her foot slamming the acceleration pedal flat to the floor to compensate for the loss of speed. Still, she can feel Yeonji slicing through the wind right behind her, inching closer with each passing moment.
“She’s not letting up!” She cries, faint vestiges of panic creeping from her stomach to stab her chest.
"Yeonji, 0.3 behind. Yeonji close. Repeat, Yeonji close."
A bolt of faded gold shoots past her field of vision, and Soomin catches a glimpse of Yeonji's dark blue helmet as she thunders away. Soomin grits her teeth, her field of vision narrowing into slits. It's one thing to perform miserably at the first race of the new season, driving for a new team with plenty of people to impress. Being overtaken by her lifelong friend in a slower car? Well, Soomin would rather die than let that happen.
She slaps her gears into action and steps on the power, catching up to Yeonji in the time it takes to blink. She punts the car through the next bend, cutting Yeonji off the racing line and forcing her to back out of the overtake.
At least, that was the idea. Yeonji peels out from behind Soomin's compromised car and glides past her smoothly, a cloud of dust kicking up behind her for good measure as her golden Porsche fights to pull away.
"Shion, 1.2 behind." A twinge of disappointment seeps through her race engineer's monotonous voice as it crackles through the radio. This was not the performance anyone was expecting.
A defiant bolt of lightning strikes through Soomin's chest, twisting the steering wheel as far right as it will go to correct her car's direction as she sets off after Yeonji. Fastest gear. Pedal to the metal. Quicker car. And of course, quicker driver. She pulls up to the back of Yeonji's car and swings out desperately in an opportunistic overtake down the straight.
She can't counter-steer in time, and her car snaps violently in protest. The most momentary of wobbles has her ripping into the side of the Porsche, sending them both careening off the track and sliding into the barriers. A shower of red and gold debris rains down on Soomin, the impact into the barrier ripping through her body and rattling her bones.
"Yellow flags are out in the first sector, and THERE'S A BIG CRASH DOWN IN THE EXIT OF TURN NUMBER 5!!! It's Kim Soomin and Kwak Yeonji!! The former TKZ Porsche teammates come together, and they've smashed into the barriers!! Their races are over!!!"
"Soomin, are you okay?"
Her race engineer's voice sifts through the violent ringing in Soomin's ears. A low groan escapes her. "Yeah... I'm okay," She winces as a dull pain pulses against her side. But beyond physical pain, a dangerous sting flares in her heart, shame and frustration mixing together to create a particularly lethal combination.
"And Kim Soomin's Arrow Ferrari debut weekend, which began with much difficulty, has ended in complete disaster!!!"
Taking a moment to compose herself, Soomin pulls herself out of the cockpit and stumbles away from the car, nodding absently toward the stewards asking about her wellbeing. She sneaks a look at the remains of Yeonji's wreck of a car, and then at Yeonji, who is already out of the car and looking right back at her.
Yeonji's helmet visor is down, so Soomin can't see her eyes. But she doesn't have to see when she can feel the bristling anger radiating off Yeonji's tightly coiled frame.
Soomin begins to move, a waterfall of apologies already on the tip of her tongue. But Yeonji turns away and leaps over the barrier to safety, leaving Soomin alone in the open, and in the lurch.
LAP 38/58
1 Yoon Seoyeon
2 Kim Yooyeon
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13 Park Shion
14 Joobin
15 Kawakami Lynn
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“How are the tires, Joobin?”
“Dead!” Right on cue, the car slides around wildly to emphasise her point. Joobin frantically locks her wheel to wrest it back under control, heart leaping into her mouth. “Oh my god. Super dead! So dead it’s insane. I have no grip-!”
“Safety car! Safety car is out. Box and pit confirm, Joobin. Box, pit confirm.”
Finally. Joobin heaves a sigh of relief. “Copy!”
Joobin struggles into the pit lane and swerves into Chiyu Renault's designated pit box. In a matter of seconds, her worn tires are replaced with a set of fresh mediums, and she emerges from the pits behind Kawakami Lynn's Audi.
"You are now P19. The cars from P18 to P12 have already pitted. They're on old hards. You will have the speed advantage at the end of the race. Seoah is P11 on old mediums. Dahyun is P10, she's just pitted for new mediums. Let's see what we can do from here."
"Copy," Joobin swallows thickly, taking a moment to relish the respite of the slowed-down speed behind the safety car. “Was there a crash?”
“Soomin and Yeonji at the exit of turn 5. They’re out of the cars and doing fine. You're coming up on the wreckage now. Keep to the far right, be very careful."
Joobin navigates the turn, keeping right as instructed. Off to the left, she manages to catch a glimpse of the smashed up remains of the golden Porsche and scarlet Ferrari being lifted away by extraction cranes before she shoots away down the straight.
"Looks ugly," Joobin mutters.
"They were squabbling for about five laps before this. It happens."
Joobin hums thoughtfully, sliding up to the back of Lynn's sleek black Audi as she joins the train behind the safety car, a long train of the fastest cars in the world twisting and turning around the race track, somewhat resembling a snake.
"Safety car in this lap. You have Lynn in front on old hards. It's in your hands, Joobin."
Joobin snaps to attention. She tightens her grip on the steering wheel, her feet poised on the pedals as she begins to line up an overtake on Lynn's inside.
"Once Seoyeon restarts the race, it's full speed ahead. Get ready."
"Leave me to it. I can handle this," A small smile finds its way to Joobin's face. It's unlikely she'll be able to continue her streak of 'Overtake Queen' titles from junior formulae into Formula 1. But Joobin loves herself a challenge.
"Stay sharp, rookie," The smirk in her race engineer's voice is unmistakable.
Bristling tension crackles through the air, so heavy that one could cut it with a knife. Focus sharpened, Joobin's fingers twitch against the rippling vibrations of her steering wheel, a mixture of nervous energy and coiled up excitement, itching to be unleashed.
"Green flags, we are racing. We are rac-"
Joobin doesn't need to hear the rest. She tunes out the noise, slamming her foot down on the accelerator, the monstrous roar of the Renault engine relegated to a low whine in the back of her ears. She swings her car down Lynn's inside, expertly cutting across and edging past her in the next series of corners.
"Great stuff, Joobin. Next up ahead, Nien is-"
Taking advantage of her fresh tires, Joobin speeds to Nien's side, braking late and forcing herself in front, the strong grip enabling her to turn aggressively and roar away.
With each passing lap, Joobin's confidence grows in exponential magnitudes. She picks off Chaewon and Shion with twisty moves into the corners, while her teammate Hyerin puts up little fight as she overtakes her down the straight. Hayeon puts up a bit more of a battle, but Joobin manages the overtake with an unorthodox move through the outside of the turn.
"Seoah in the Cadillac, 2.7 ahead. This is for P11."
At the sight of Seoah's deep blue Cadillac nipping through the corner and out of sight, Joobin charges up for a mighty chase down of the girl who beat her to last year's Formula 2 title.
There's no animosity between them. In fact, they get along very well off the track. Adjusting to the dizzying world of Formula 1, with all its dazzling glitz and glamour, has been far from easy for 21-year-old Joobin. Having a friend like Seoah to struggle through it with has been a welcome relief.
But racers are competitive by nature, it's in their blood. The fact that Seoah is her friend makes the prospect of overtaking her in a real race all the more tantalising.
After all, all is fair in love and war.
She catches up to the back of Seoah in a matter of laps, waiting patiently for an opportunity to present itself. A nudge down the inside has little effect. They roar down the straight, and Joobin peels off to perch herself right next to Seoah, swinging her car into the next corner to make the move stick.
"Here's a brilliant battle between the reigning Formula 2 champion and runner-up! Joobin tries to take the inside, but Jeong Seoah hangs about on the outside, gets the better exit, and STAYS AHEAD! Joobin prepares another overtake with a daring move into turn 11! But Jeong Seoah makes the car big, and blocks the apex! Joobin can't get through!!"
"Line it up, Joobin. You're nearly there. She can't hold on forever."
Joobin resists the urge to laugh. She's been behind Seoah enough times last year to know that she can, in fact, hold on forever. But she stays bold nonetheless, poking and prodding to maintain pressure. The tire advantage will tell soon enough.
The chance finally opens up when Seoah's car wobbles out of control, compromising her exit out of the turn. Joobin wills her car into the fraction of open space left behind, inching her nose ahead as they roar down the straight side-by-side.
"Oh no you don't," Gritting her teeth, Joobin twists and turns, slingshotting out of the next set of corners before Seoah can set herself, the momentum spitting her out of the next straight a full car's length ahead.
"Ciao!" Joobin roars down the straight, all the parts of her car crooning in harmonious appreciation.
"Awesome job. Next up, Dahyun in the BMW, 1.3 ahead. This is for the last points position. You were four tenths faster in the last lap. Three laps remaining. Let's kick on."
"Started from P20, Joobin is now ahead of Jeong Seoah into P11! And she's hot on the heels of Seo Dahyun just up ahead! What a debut race this is shaping up to be for the young rookie!!"
LAP 57/58
1 Kim Yooyeon
2 Yoon Seoyeon
3 Kim Nakyoung
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Seoyeon's tongue flicks across to wet her cracking lips. She forces her watering eyes to stay open, the back of Yooyeon's scarlet red Ferrari now engrained into her retinas. Down the straight they go, and Seoyeon gets close enough to attempt a daring dive, but Yooyeon closes the door and zips away like a slippery hare.
"Come on!" Seoyeon slams into gear, her straining car screaming into her ears as she blazes after Yooyeon. Into the last pair turns, she gets close but not close enough, and Yooyeon shoots down the long straight, with Seoyeon in hot pursuit.
"Final lap. This is the final lap. Everything you've got, Seoyeon. Yooyeon, 0.7 seconds. Nakyoung behind, 1.1-"
Seoyeon throws herself into the first turn, the sound of the Ford slicing through wind eliciting a violent sound equivalent to a gunshot. She comes out of the turn exit a lot closer to Yooyeon than she has any right to be, but like hell she's going to complain.
"Here they come, out of the corner and into the straight!! HERE COMES YOON SEOYEON!!! She blows past Kim Yooyeon, who pulls out and prepares for the switch back!! Yoon Seoyeon needs a perfect entry into the next corner...!!!"
Seoyeon slams on the brakes, the car skidding across the corner entry and sliding about erratically. She counter-steers frantically to make the next corner, her heartbeat dropping back down from 185 to 160bpm only after she trundles onto the straight unscathed and ahead of Kim Yooyeon.
"It's a long straight down into turn 9, and Kim Yooyeon is lightning quick down the straights! Into turn 9 they go, Kim Yooyeon swings inside with the momentum, and she squeezes past Yoon Seoyeon to retake the lead!!!"
"Four corners left, Seoyeon. You only need one."
Like a raging bull charging at a matador's red cape, Seoyeon roars toward the back of the scarlet Ferrari, sticking to its rear like super glue. Yooyeon defends the inside, so Seoyeon takes the long way round, throwing her monstrous beast into the corner with controlled abandon. Yooyeon blocks the line, and Seoyeon hurls down the other way, forcing the Ferrari into an awkward exit out of the turn.
This is the chance Seoyeon had been waiting for. Her vision tunnels in on the vulnerable Arrow Ferrari, the frantic crackling from her radio blending into the background as the thunderous roar of her marauding beast grows ever louder in her ears. Closer and closer into the last set of corners, Seoyeon prepares for a sharp dive down the inside-
"-Seoyeon! Nakyoung behind! 0.2!"
A flash of tiffany green materialises at her side, and Seoyeon frantically cuts across to prevent Nakyoung from overtaking. A vicious bang erupts from a region in her rear, and Seoyeon's heart explodes as she slides erratically across the straight.
"THE MERCEDES AND THE FORD MAKE CONTACT!!! Yoon Seoyeon is wobbly, Kim Nakyoung senses blood as she emerges out of turn 12! All the while, Kim Yooyeon gets away unscathed, and she's already diving into turn 13!!!"
"What the f-!" White fury sears across Seoyeon's abruptly expanded vision, her adrenaline ripping into overdrive as she wills the car into relative calm. She plants her Ford right in the emerging gap, impeding Nakyoung's opportunistic advance, spite pouring out of her every move.
The Mercedes seems to decide against another challenge, dropping back from Seoyeon's rearview mirrors, as if mocking her.
Seoyeon viciously slingshots in and out of the final corner, rounding the bend just in time to spot the back of Yooyeon's famous Arrow Ferrari shoot past the chequered flag to an ear-splitting roar from the Australian crowd.
RACE FINISH
1 Kim Yooyeon
2 Yoon Seoyeon
3 Kim Nakyoung
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"Chequered flag, that's P1! Great job, Yooyeon! Excellent race!"
Yooyeon lets out a strangled exhale. She didn't dare to so much as breathe until she was sure the race was over. A relieved smile spreads across her face, and she raises a gloved fist high, drinking in the adulation from the sea of passionate fans cheering from the stands.
"Woo! Well done, everyone!" She takes another shuddering breath. The image of Seoyeon's monstrous Ford chasing her down will haunt her nightmares for at least the next few nights. "That was way too close."
"Seoyeon and Nakyoung came together at turn 12. No damage, but that slowed Seoyeon down."
"Wow," was all Yooyeon could think of to say. Even though Nakyoung departed Arrow Ferrari last year to sign for DoubleA Mercedes, she was still helping out Yooyeon in crucial ways. Maybe there really is honour among ex-teammates.
Although, after the incident between Soomin and Yeonji today, that code doesn't seem to be universal.
A blur of marine blue sears past her vision, and Yooyeon takes a long look at the regal bodywork of Seoyeon's impressive Ford. Her petite frame makes for a snug fit inside the car, the top of her matching blue helmet barely peeking out from the open cockpit. But a murderous aura emanates from every inch of that tiny body, causing Yooyeon to shudder involuntarily.
Yooyeon will never admit it, but if Nakyoung had never interfered with their battle, there was a reasonable chance that Seoyeon might have gotten past. But again, those thoughts will remain as exactly that; just thoughts.
She glances into her rearview mirrors, catching sight of Nakyoung's stylish silver and green Mercedes coming up behind her. Nakyoung's eyes are obscured by her visor, but her sharp glare pierces straight through the obstruction regardless.
A piercing glare that Yooyeon swears is directed straight at her.
Yoon Seoyeon. Kim Nakyoung. A sworn rival and an ex-teammate turned new challenger. The media is going to have a field day with this narrative.
But Yooyeon doesn't care for narratives. As usual, as always, there will be challengers for her crown, dissenters aiming to drag her from her throne. And this year especially, they seem to be up for a serious fight.
Yooyeon's smile only grows wider. If it's a fight they want, then it's a fight they're going to get.
