🏁

CANADA

'Good luck for tomorrow's qualifying sweetheart, we will be there for the race' a small smile plays on her lips upon seeing the message from her mother appear on the screen of her phone before she types out a reply and presses send.

Her parents have been nothing but supportive of her dream to become a racing driver. It all started with her going on those bumper cars in amusement parks, the journey really began in Japan on a family vacation where she witnessed Michael Schumacher win his 6th championship in Suzuka.

Sending a 5th grader to an unknown country with no prior knowledge about the sport was a daring move by her parents. 'They were just little kids left out in the rain with go karts to fend off for themselves' It was hard, so hard that the thought of giving up on her dream crossed her multiple times.

She wasn't alone, her older sister also moved countries to pursue the path she desired, if her sister could do it then she could do it too. Her sister was also there, studying in a well renowned boarding school while she was out on the track in cold Toronto weather driving go karts.

It's no surprise that she chose her Canadian citizenship over her Korean heritage. She grew up in Canada, if it wasn't for her moving there, she wouldn't be here.

Home races bring a different kind of pressure on driver's shoulders, you have double the expectations on your shoulders because you are representing not only your team but the people of the country that gave you a chance to reach where you are today.

She felt overwhelmed the entire day in the paddock, her hands were shaking during both of the practice sessions because there were so many people supporting her. Everytime she went out on the track, the roar of the fans became louder and at one point she wondered if she even deserved this amount of love and support from her home fans, because she still hasn't delivered something to them to get this much in return.

'It's a big promise to make but I'll do anything in my power to repay those who still believe in me.' 

A deep prolonged sigh escapes from her lips, leaning back against her seat, she looks straight into the dark blue night sky.The rooftop was her secret haven, a place where could escape the chaos of the racing track and find solace beneath the vast expanse of the star-studded sky. 

She wasn't always like this, a person who considered getting out of her room was a hassle suddenly exerting efforts to stay up late just so she could see the sky, a habit that developed through time or maybe a habit that developed under the influence of someone.

Seungwan sat atop a rooftop in her hotel in Montreal, the city lights below painting a tapestry of colours on the canvas that was the night sky. The world had fallen into a gentle slumber, leaving behind a tranquil silence broken only by the distant hum of traffic and the music she was listening to.

With her closed eyes, she let the wind mess up her hair, the strand of her fringe on her forehead felt oddly comforting in that moment, it felt nice. She felt sleepy but not a single cell in her body wanted to move from there, so she let her eyes rest.

'I wonder who could be here at this time' she mumbles to herself upon hearing distant footsteps, there is some sort of shuffling, it goes from being barely audible to audible enough that she can distinguish every single step.

The rooftop is closed because the restaurant is closed, it's one in the morning, people don't eat out that late. The access to the rooftop isn't available either unless you are a Formula One driver with lots of popularity, all it takes is one picture to get them to do anything you want. 

She doesn't feel the need to open her eyes, there is only one person that would be awake at this hour just to see the moon. A slight smile played on her lips, not because of the presence of her former teammate but the fact that her habits never changed, no matter what. In life, people come and go, with that habits change, mannerisms change but for her nothing changes, it doesn't matter who stays and who goes, she stays the same as if those people never held any sort of significance in her life.

She keeps her eyes closed, doesn't make any effort to move or to do anything as a matter of fact until a gasp echoes in ears, it's restrained as if it wasn't meant to leave the mouth and that's when she opens her eyes to see Joohyun standing a couple of footsteps away from her.

Her deep brown pupils open revealing a taken aback Joohyun standing, she's dressed in her pajamas, too childish for a thirty-one year old, but whatever floats her boat. 'Who dresses like this in Canada?'

“There is no need to leave,” it comes out as a tired sigh from . She takes out an earphone from her ears and looks up to meet Joohyun's eyes, the older girl gulps, unable to withstand her intense gaze, her eyes tremble as she quietly takes the seat opposite to her. Her small hands are covered by the oversized shirt she's wearing, she isn't sure if the garment is right for the Montreal weather, especially when Joohyun is sensitive to cold, not her problem though.

“I was here to see the sk—”

“—Moon, you are here to see the moon”

Joohyun likes watching the sky, specifically the moon, her former teammate was there to stargaze the Montreal sky, not to stalk her, she isn't that cruel to deprive Joohyun of the things she loves or what else would the difference would remain between them?

“You're not angry,” her right eyebrow jerks upwards, not at the words, rather the tone is what catches her attention, Joohyun's voice is tiny, she's careful of what she says like she's scared of saying what's on her mind.

She almost lets out a tight lipped chuckle when she lifts her head from the headrest of the seat. Instead, she frowns, the older girl is resting her chin on the metal railing, her shirt is too thin for the cold Montreal air, it takes seconds for a conclusion to form in her head 'You'll catch a cold, Joohyun.'

“You are a little tolerable outside of that Mercedes racing suit,” is the reply she settles with. Joohyun's head snaps in her direction, their eyes meet and Seungwan realises maybe she shouldn't have said that because it's not the truth, her presence irks her even more when she is not in that Mercedes racing suit. 

Silence envelopes them but for the first time in a longtime it's not making the girl infront of her uncomfortable, the sound of traffic serves as white noise, and the sound of air breezing through the sky only makes the entire experience more comfortable. The city's skyline formed a stunning backdrop, its myriad lights reflecting in their eyes, making them sparkle like distant constellations. 

Scooting closer to the railing she rests her head on the metal surface, turning it away from Joohyun to look at the traffic of a nearby road. She wandered about the unusual nature of their interaction, maybe it's because she's tired and the overwhelming emotions are still running high, so she doesn't fancy showing Joohyun her piece of mind tonight or maybe Joohyun isn't doing anything that makes her blood boil that's why things are fairly calm between them. 

She puts her earphone back in her ears but lowers the volume, there is no need to talk and there is nothing inside her head urging her to do so but maybe if the older girl decides to break the ice, 'Just in case.'

She loses track of time but it's been more than ten minutes of radio silence, the only sound she heard in that period was the sound of the older girl rubbing her arms to keep herself warm. The cool night air rustled their hair, and the soft fabric of their clothing fluttered in response. 

“Why didn't you tell me to leave…like you always do?” She tears her eyes away from the road and turns her head to meet Joohyun's questioning gaze. Her voice is back to normal, unable to hide her curiosity, brewing within.

She snorts and looks as far as she can. Minutes pass by in silence, the dark blue sky starts to disappear right before her eyes, a small layer of fog begins to appear and it surprises Joohyun, she can tell by the way the older girl eyes perk and she leans against the railing to gawk at the sky, “You did come here knowing I was going to be here,” it's Joohyun's turn to be surprised, her words cause the older girl to shift before she stares at her with guilty eyes.

“Four years,” she affirms, “I know a lot,” it comes out like a confession and she doesn't care, it's all in the past anyways, “Hating you doesn't erase everything…I wish it did.”

She stops there. There is nothing more to add because she knows Joohyun has figured it all out. She hears the older girl shuffle, from the corner of her eyes she can see her rubbing her arms with her hands, 'Only an idiot will wear something like that and come to a rooftop.'

Silence settles better then once again, it's uncomfortable this time but she knows it's for both of them. It's not the type of uncomfortable where she can fill it with words, so she remains quiet. The stark contrast between their exchange in Spain and here in Canada baffles her a little, they went from screaming and shouting at each other to this in a span of a week. She doesn't know what to make out of it.

'It's just an act of kindness, nothing else,' she mutters to herself as she carefully takes off her cardigan, leaving herself with nothing but a plain white t-shirt that loosely hangs around her neck.

She gets up from her seat and walks around until she's behind Joohyun, draping the cardigan on her shoulders. She hopes the older girl gets the message as she steps back and puts her hands in the pockets of her pants.

They share a meaningful look before Joohyun puts on the cardigan and hugs herself, a nod follows, 'You can stay. I am the one leaving' then she turns around to leave.

🏁

“The crowd is already on its feet, look at the roar as The Red Bull of Son Seungwan rounds around the last corner and she crosses the line to take pole! It's her first pole here in Canada and she does that by beating Bae Joohyun who has to settle for a front row start for tomorrow's race. Everyone is on their feet, the atmosphere here is electric, you can hear the chants of 'Seungwan' as the Red Bull driver brings the car into the pits.”

'I almost bottled that' shaking her head with a chuckle she gets out of her seat and climbs on top of the car before she bows down elegantly to show her gratitude to the home fans who are still cheering for her.

She can still see the grandstand from her view and it makes her chest bubble, these people are here for her, they are supporting her and they love her. She never got to experience so much love from this sport before this season but this season has been giving lots of firsts and she'll add this memory to that collection.

“Congrats mate,” she takes off her helmet and mask before turning around to shake Im Nayeon's hand who put her Aston Martin on P3.

“Great job for getting that P3,” she applauds her and goes back to making herself look presentable for the post race interview.

She puts down her towel after cleaning up her face and picks up the water bottle, that's when Joohyun comes to her view, doing the same thing as her. The Mercedes driver stares at for a moment and then nods before she looks away, it reminds her of the previous night at the rooftop, she pushes it to the back of her mind and makes her way to the post-qualifying interview 

“First time getting out in Q2?” The rookie is still dressed in her racing suit, her face hangs low and the redness on her cheeks is enough to tell that she has been crying her eyes out in her driver's home. She was meant to be there a lot earlier but the post qualifying interviews kept racking up and she just couldn't break rules to get to the rookie driver.

It baffles Seungwan that Minjeong is distraught over a Q2 exit when just last year the rookie used to celebrate making into Q2 with that Alpha Tauri. “You used to celebrate Q2 during that Alpha Tauri rookie season,” her words make the rookie look up as she hastily wipes her tears with the sleeves of her racing suit.

“It's different,” Seungwan stops the younger girl from wiping tears with her racing suit and takes out her handkerchief from the pocket of her jacket and offers it to the rookie, “I was a rookie in the seventh fastest card on the grid and now I am in the second fastest. Not making it into Q3 is shameful for a Red Bull driver.”

“No it's not,” she bites back a chuckle as she dabs the cloth on her cheeks to wipe the tears.

“How would you know, you never got out in Q2!”

“Wait really!”

Minjeong snatches the handkerchief from her, blowing her nose into it before she tosses it in a trashcan. 'She's angry. Okay noted.' The rookie driver crosses her arms and nudges her away, showing that she doesn't want to talk.

“Seventy plus races as a Mercedes driver and you never got out in Q2, that's why they call you an elite qualifier, even now, our one lap pace is often not that great and you still manage to put it on pole,” she nods, figuring it out that maybe her teammate has been keeping tabs on her even before becoming teammates.

“And?” She grabs the rookie by her neck and gives her a good slap on the back, the sound of her groaning makes her satisfied, “There is no point of getting a pole if you are not winning the race,” she shrugs like it's the easiest thing to say, out of twelve poles during her Mercedes days she only managed to convert two of those into wins, “Bottom line is stop being a baby and focus on tomorrow's race, you're p11, the car is fast enough for you to be inside top ten.”

“You didn't have to hit me for that!”

“Sometimes all it takes is one smack to bring someone back to their senses.”

They share a good laugh before Seungwan gets up and makes her way to the door, “I should leave now. Your girlfriend has been dying to console you.”

“She's not my girlfriend,” she snorts as a blush appears on the rookie's cheeks, it's fun making her all flustered.

“Yet,” she mutters and opens the door, “And I didn't even say who it was,” before Minjeong can rebuke her claims she strides outside to see Jimin standing a few steps away from Minjeong's driver's home.

“She's all yours,” she announces to the Mercedes rookie before heading for her own driver's home to rest.

🏁

She stands separately from everyone in the middle as the national anthem gets played, and unlike the previous night where the nerves wouldn't let her sleep she's oddly calm. There are no thoughts about the race circling in her mind, no strategies going around, it's just her and the cheers of her name, nothing else.

Roughly half an hour before the race, she's almost all prepped up when a mechanic gives her the message that her parents have arrived in the paddock and are being escorted to the Red Bull garage, she just nods and continues to put on her helmet.

'Make them proud' a smile rests on her head as she walks to the garage to see her parents and sister sitting there. Her mother and sister take turns in hugging her while her father pats her helmet and tells her to break a leg.

'Whatever it takes, the victory is mine today.'

One. Two.. Three… Four…. Five…..

“It's lights out and away we go! Son Seungwan capitalises on pole and is already ahead of Bae Joohyun who gets away from Im Nayeon but is under pressure by Kang Seulgi as they race wheel to wheel into turn one behind them the McLaren and Haas fight for the position as well, the Haas comes out victorious as the McLaren locks up and loses the position to the Aston Martin of Ning Yizhuo. Kang Seulgi tries to force the four time world champion wide but Bae Joohyun holds her ground and remains P2 by the end of the first lap.”

She keeps looking at her mirrors to make sure Joohyun is behind her and the gap between them isn't decreasing, the nerves are definitely catching up to her now that she is out on the track racing. She doesn't want to be at the front to be someone's prey, the car is slower compared to Mercedes, even though it's just some tenths slower and it scares her.

“Gap to Joohyun 2.5 seconds,” Sana reports, “Alfa Romeo has stopped at the side because of an engine failing, a virtual safety card has been dispatched. Do you want to come into the pits for hards?” The ball has been thrown in her court and all that's left is for her to make the call.

“Race leader Son Seungwan is coming into the pits to get rid of those old mediums, it's too good of an opportunity to miss, this a free pit stop. Kang Seulgi is coming in as well as Yoo Jimin but not all cars fancy a free pit stop, it's too early for those on new mediums that's why Mercedes has kept Bae Joohyun out on the track who has now inherited the race lead from Son Seungwan.”

'It's just lap nine' she reminds herself as she comes out P4 behind the McLaren and the other Ferrari.

Park Chaeyoung is within her DRS range by lap eleven and she wastes no time in tailing behind her, the exit to turn fourteen is much smoother compared to the Ferrari that's driving on used mediums, she opens the DRS flap and takes the inside line to get ahead of the Australian driver by the end of turn two.

The catching up continues for her as it takes five laps for her to get within the DRS range of Jennie Kim's McLaren, it's a much easier battle compared to the Ferrari one because the McLaren driver doesn't try to defend to save her tires and lets her get past her for that P2 spot.

“It's a mechanical failure for the Haas as it stops by the side by the end of lap twenty. A safety car has been disposed and those down at Red Bull aren't going to be happy because this has given Bae Joohyun a free stop. The Mercedes comes into the pits to get fresh hard compounds, and comes out at P3, that's nicely down by the Mercedes crew, the gap between them is nine seconds but Bae Joohyun has much fresher tires compared to Son Seungwan.”

'She's out in P3 with fresh hards' she clicks her tongue, letting out a huge exhale to calm her throbbing heart, in the process she ends up locking up and goes over the kerb almost knocking herself out, “Sorry guys.”

'Focus Seungwan, you can win this,' she motivates herself and keeps pushing to create a gap while Joohyun catches up with Seulgi who is in P2.

With each passing lap, the circuit gets faster and her tires get older. The same corners that were easy during the initial stages of the race almost seems like they'll knock her off at any lap, the race shouldn't be this hard but it is. 

“Tires are dead,” she informs the pitwall near lap forty-five when she ends up skidding near the chicane and it's enough to tell that the hard compounds are not going to work for much longer. 

“Do you need another set of hards or new mediums?”

'Twenty-five more laps, the mediums wouldn't last that long' she nods to herself and manages the pace during the last couple of corner, “Hards.”

“Box and pit confirmed, Seungwan.”

The pit stop is fast but so is the Ferrari of Kang Seulgi, who overtakes her at the pit exit, only adding to her woes. Her tires are cold, it'll take her a couple of laps to get their temperatures right and by that Joohyun, who inherited the lead of the race, get away.

'! This can't be happening' she hits the halo above her as she sees the Alpine into the barriers, it took her five laps to catch up to Seulgi only for the Alpine to send it straight in to the walls and now both Seulgi and Joohyun are getting free pit stops.

“Seulgi is out in P3 on hards…Joohyun is P2 with mediums,” the radio message she dreads comes her way and it's worse than she imagined.

Her head starts to throb as soon as she realises that she has to do a rolling restart with Joohyun behind her on new mediums, it's over for her, because Joohyun behind her is snaking her Mercedes getting temperatures right, so by the time safety car ends the grip she'll have would be much better compared to her, getting away will be the easiest task in the world.

“How many laps of safety car?” 

“Two more.”

'Okay so lap fifty-five, only fifteen more laps, it can work' she lightly presses the brake pedal while keeping the throttle open and starts to snake her car behind the safety car.

The plan is to overheat her tires so the rubber can melt and stick to the track, if Joohyun takes the same lines as her, it is inevitable that her mediums will get some graining and that's