※This story is a one-shot.
Episode 1 is the original Japanese text, and Episode 2 is the Korean translation.
If you are reading in Korean, please proceed to Episode 2.
※이 이야기는 단편 완결입니다.
1화는 일본어 원문, 2화는 한국어 번역본입니다.
한국어로 읽으실 분은 2화로 이동해 주세요.
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The venue is packed with spectators, and the in-venue commentary begins to play.
“The first race will begin shortly.
The spotlight is on the undefeated MAD BAEZ, and YTZ, who have risen to the highest level.
The race begins.”
The red signal light starts to turn on.
One, two, and up to the fifth, the lights come on, then go dark, and the machines all take off at once.
The first to burst out was Hamin’s machine.
Hamin hums as he pulls the paddle and shifts up.
A smooth start.
Next is Yejun, also from MAD BAEZ like Hamin.
He smoothly follows behind Hamin, and after a few laps sends a radio message to the pit.
“The tire wear is faster than expected. Be careful with Hamin’s change too.”
Noah listens to Yejun’s radio in the pit,
and turns his eyes to Hamin’s machine coming in.
As soon as the tires are changed and Hamin’s machine heads back out,
Noah switches to Hamin’s radio.
A little later, a radio call comes in from Hamin.
As always, with a hum
“Tires are good! No problems.”
At Hamin’s voice, Noah lets out a soft laugh.
“Hamin’s in top form too.”
At the hotel in the second race venue, Hamin was thinking.
What had gone wrong?
His condition had been perfect.
The machine was fine too. Pit work had gone smoothly.
As he looked down at his phone, a news headline caught his eye.
“Undefeated MAD BAEZ’s Hamin loses to a rising new duo”
Beside it was a photo of the three on the podium, and for the first time he wasn’t in the center.
Why, why, why—there was no answer.
I have to go train.
If he touched the machine, the answer should come naturally. He had done everything he could.
He got into the machine and took to the course.
Right before the corner, he pulled the left paddle. On the next move, a moment of hesitation crept in.
Damn it!
By the time he thought that, the corner was already closing in.
““Hamin!!””
Yejun and Noah, watching from the side, shouted at the same time.
When Hamin returned to the pit
“I’m okay. It looks like only the machine was damaged.”
He said it with a tone that sounded almost like he was making excuses.
“Never mind that, get checked first.”
“Understood. Hyung.”
When Hamin nodded, Noah took him straight to the medical room.
After being examined in the medical room and told there was nothing wrong, Hamin returned to his room.
He sat in a chair and stayed still.
When it was getting dark outside, someone suddenly knocked on the door.
Hamin didn’t move. After a while, it sounded again.
Only then did he finally head to the door.
Looking through the peephole, he saw Yejun standing there.
“Hamin? You’re in there, right? I heard you hadn’t picked up your meal, so I brought it.”
Yejun lifted the bag.
“Hyung, I’m not hungry right now.”
“Doesn’t matter, I’ll hang it on the door. Eat it later.
If anything happens, call me, okay? See you.”
Once Hamin confirmed Yejun had left,
he took the lunch bag and set it on the table.
He still wasn’t hungry, and went out of the room anyway.
He walked off without a destination. It was late at night, so there were almost no people around. He went into a nearby park.
“Hey, Hamin.”
A voice called out unexpectedly; when he turned around, Noah was standing there.
“Ah, Hyung. Why are you here?”
“I saw you leaving from the window, so I followed you.
What’s wrong? That mistake today—doesn’t seem like you.”
“It has nothing to do with you, Hyung. Please leave me alone.”
After saying that, Hamin turned his back on Noah.
Noah didn’t chase after him any further.
Hamin moved deeper in, as if trying to run away.
As he walked through the park, he nearly ran into a figure coming out from the shadow of a tree.
It was Uno from YTZ.
It was the last face he wanted to see right now.
“Sorry—huh? You’re Hamin, right? I’m Uno from YTZ.
I’ve admired you for so long, and I’m really happy I get to race with you this season.
I’ve been watching since the racing kart days. Why are you so fast?
What do you think about when you’re racing? I think about dinner recipes.
And when you’re managing nutrition, do you ever have trouble?
Also, what training do you recommend?”
Stunned, Hamin stared at Uno, who was talking a mile a minute.
“Ah, good evening. Likewise, I look forward to working with you this season.
Um, somehow you’re different from your usual image. I thought you were a quiet person.”
At that, Uno grinned, showing his canine teeth.
“That’s right.
Bambi-hyung always tells me I talk too much, so I shouldn’t talk so much.”
Hamin was taken aback by how friendly he sounded.
“I see.”
He tried to end the conversation with a brief response, but Uno kept going.
“Why did Hamin start racing?”
“Huh?”
The question left him speechless.
“What made you start?”
He was pressed with another question.
“I mean, I did karting, so I just kept going...”
“Then what made you start karting?”
Uno cut in with another question.
Just then, a voice came from behind them.
“Hey, is that Uno over there? I told you not to talk too much outside.”
When Hamin turned toward the voice with a bad feeling,
as expected, there appeared Bambi with pink hair.
“Ah, Bambi-hyung. Who do you think I’m talking to right now?”
At Uno’s words, Bambi looked at Hamin.
“Ah, Hamin. I look forward to working with you this season. I’m Bambi from YTZ.”
Bambi hurriedly greeted him.
“Likewise, I look forward to it. I’m Hamin from MAD BAEZ.”
After the two exchanged greetings, Uno continued.
“I was just asking Hamin what got him into racing.”
Hamin was confused.
Why was he racing?
......He didn’t know.
Before he knew it, it had become part of his life.
Was there a reason for it?
Seeing Hamin go quiet, Bambi said,
“See? Hamin’s frozen up. You must’ve been bombarding him with questions.”
At Bambi’s words, Uno gave a little heh-heh laugh.
“By the way, I started because I wanted to become the wind.
But when I actually tried racing, it felt less like wind and more like riding a rhythm, and it feels really good,
it’s truly fun to race.”
When Uno said that, Bambi followed up.
“Yeah, I’d say it’s a little different from wind for me too. It feels like becoming one with the machine.
That’s what makes it fun. It’s exciting.”
Seeing the two of them with shining eyes, Hamin froze for a moment.
“Sorry, I don’t really understand. It’s late, so I’ll excuse myself.”
With that, he left.
Before the second race, while Hamin was standing in the pit, Yejun approached.
“Hamin, give it everything you’ve got. You can do it.”
He lightly patted Hamin’s back.
From the side, Noah said,
“I’m just doing my role—”
With that, he put on his helmet.
Neither of them mentioned what happened yesterday.
“Yes, Hyung.”
With that, Hamin climbed into the machine.
The machines lined up at the starting line.
When Hamin looked to the side, he saw YTZ’s machine.
“What do I feel......”
When he closed his eyes, all sound vanished.
He had teammates he could trust.
When the race began, his right hand naturally pulled the paddle and shifted up.
His body remembered what to do. Before he knew it, he was humming.
The noise faded away; it was as if he were in his own world.
“Ahh.”
Hamin hummed as he pressed the radio button on the steering wheel.
In the pit, Yejun picked up Hamin’s incoming radio call.
“Hyung!”
When Yejun heard Hamin’s voice, he immediately connected to Noah on the radio.
“Hamin’s back!!”
“Okay.”
Noah held back the trailing machines and opened a path for Hamin.
Yejun’s voice came through from the pit.
“Go win it, Hamin.”
After the race, Hamin was standing in the center of the podium.
Bambi and Uno stood on either side of him.
“Bambi, Uno.”
Saying that, Hamin draped an arm over both of their shoulders.
“I get it! Why I race!
While I’m racing, it feels good to enter my own zone.
My own world—that’s what racing means to me.”
Watching from below, Yejun said,
“I’m glad the usual Hamin is back.”
Hearing that, Noah said,
“You said you were quitting and then wanted to race more, didn’t you?”
“You too, Noah.”
“Of course.”
As the two were talking,
“Hyung.”
Hamin ran over and hugged them both.
