LDR Ch 33

Leo went straight into the album on that phone, deleted all the photos and videos taken so far, and then checked if it was synced anywhere.

“What’s the big deal about taking a few pictures in a public place,”

“Holding your phone like that means you don’t mind if it gets taken. The fact that it’s not even synced just shows you don’t even have the basics down.”

If the logic is that it is okay to take pictures because it was in a visible place, then it should be okay to have things taken if they are within reach.

“Sue me for theft or whatever.”

Leo returned the phone, which he had wiped clean.

“Because then I’ll sue you too.”

Everyone knows that the chances of winning a lawsuit against the paparazzi are almost zero. That is why there were so many paparazzi. But it did not matter to Leo.

“It doesn’t matter if I win or lose. My goal is to drag out the lawsuit and harass you.”

Leo continued speaking to the paparazzo, who was looking at him as if he had been wronged.

“If you follow us again, I’ll be the one to file a lawsuit first, so keep that in mind.”

Having returned to the car, Leo immediately started driving again.

“What did you do?”

At Harrison’s voice, which came out as he watched the paparazzo who was truly no longer following them, Leo simply looked straight ahead and answered.

“You don’t have to worry about it.”

A more seasoned one would have recorded the threat, but there was nothing of the sort. He has no sense of professionalism. At that level, he is a failure even as a paparazzo.

“Another paparazzo might have taken a picture.”

“I don’t care about that either.”

If an athlete had done it, it would have become a huge controversy, but what great harm could come from a picture of a chaebol threatening a paparazzo.

“Are you two fighting?”

At Elizabeth’s question, which broke a brief silence, Harrison and Leo simultaneously looked at Elizabeth.

“No.”

“No.”

At the answers that came out in unison without them even looking at each other, Elizabeth finally took the clothes off her head and handed them back to Harrison.

“I don’t believe you, but I’ll pretend to.”

At those words, he could feel Harrison’s gaze on him, but Leo said nothing and just looked straight ahead. There was nothing to say anyway.

Austrian Grand Prix

Red Bull Ring

ABW’s qualifying result could not be called good. F1 cars were heavily influenced by aerodynamics. Although it varied depending on the variables, generally, if there is a car in front on a straight, a phenomenon called a slipstream occurs, reducing air resistance at the back, which gives the car behind a speed advantage. This is often described as the front car “towing” the car behind.

However, in this Austrian Grand Prix qualifying, while competing teams had their teammates tow each other to break records, Harrison and Nathan had both ignored the team’s radio instruction to help each other, so their rankings were not good.

On top of that, although there were differences between circuits, the pace of the teams seriously competing for the championship was now similar. So, from more and more places, a mix of talk, concern, and criticism was emerging that if ABW really wanted to win both the constructor’s and driver’s championships, they now needed to funnel the points to Harrison.

No driver, even a second driver, wants to be treated like a real second, and Nathan was driving a car that he could use to aim for the championship himself if he did well, so there was no way he would welcome that public opinion. Thanks to that, the team atmosphere was naturally like walking on thin ice.

Amidst all that, Leo quietly watched the screen. Even though they had fought, the Red Bull Ring held a deep meaning for Harrison. Not just for Harrison, but for everyone. It was the only circuit that Heather, who always accompanied Harrison to the circuits, did not attend.

That is why Leo would rather miss the British Grand Prix, but he had never once missed the Austrian Grand Prix. Even though Harrison did not show it, someone needed to be by his side.

In fact, Harrison was particularly strong at the Red Bull Ring. His first podium and his first Grand Prix win were both here. As if he had to make it so, no matter what.

— The Austrian Grand Prix finally begins!

The cars lined up on the grid, and finally, the lights on the signal came on one by one. Harrison was in 3rd, but since the odd-numbered grid at the Red Bull Ring was fundamentally advantageous for taking the racing line, the position itself was not bad.

— The lights go out, and they all charge forward!

The moment the lights went out, the cars all surged forward at once.

Harrison used that advantage to overtake the 2nd place car at the start and snatch the position, and then he defended against the car trying to reclaim the spot from behind, solidly securing 2nd place. On top of that, Nathan, who was in 5th place, also moved up to 4th at the start, so both had a good start.

However, after that, Elias, who had originally been in 2nd before losing his position, chased Harrison as if his life depended on it. Because of that, Harrison could not even think about increasing his pace to overtake, and instead had to constantly focus on defending, causing the gap with 1st place to widen even more.

Elias, who had decided to retire this year, had been recently evaluated as having declined in skill, but he surprised everyone by taking 2nd in this qualifying. Having lost that position, he was trying to get it back no matter what, and Harrison, although currently in 1st place, still had a small championship point difference, so he had to widen the gap somehow.

Though their reasons were different, their goal was the same, so the race continued with neither of them backing down. The Red Bull Ring is a tense track with a somewhat uneven surface, and you have to use the curbs as much as possible, yet the curbs are sharp.

As soon as you return to the starting line, you encounter a long straight and an uphill climb, and after entering Turn 1, you immediately exit by riding the curb and meet another long straight. After the corner that follows, another straight appears, and since it is a DRS-enabled zone, exit speed was crucial.

— Harrison Turner, his exit speed was excellent. But Elias Korhonen is getting closer, closer, closer! Can Harrison Turner defend his position!

Sure enough, as soon as Harrison exited the corner, Elias, who had closed the gap to within one second, activated his DRS. On top of that, he got a slipstream and the distance narrowed even more, and finally, at the end of the straight, the cars entered the corner side-by-side, so close their wheels could touch.

— As expected, Harry never gives up his position! Turner entered the corner first, but my goodness! What’s happening!

As both drivers tried not to give the other space upon entering the corner, Harrison did exit the corner first, but it seemed there might have been slight contact in the process. The broadcast, also unsure, replayed the situation.

— Harry, are you okay?

— Fuck, is he out of his mind? He pushed me on purpose!

— Did you collide?

— I don’t know.

Harrison did not give space, and Elias dived in even though he knew Harrison had already entered and could not change his line.

— What kind of bullshit is it to dive in when everyone knows I can’t do anything there? Fuck, does he think he can’t race without being yielded to, just because everyone moves aside when he forces his way in?

Even while passing through the following corners where lock-ups and understeer frequently occur, his complaints were long and precise. Soon, a notification appeared on the monitor that the incident would be investigated. Checking Elias’s radio, he saw a stream of curses saying that bastard still thinks he’s a rookie, hasn’t learned a single thing, and consistently gives as much space as the size of his character.

— It’s under investigation now. I’ll let you know when the results are out.

However, not long after, a notification appeared stating that the investigation was closed as no further action was required, and soon Elias was called into the pits, likely having decided he needed to undercut.

— Are the tires okay?

— They’re holding up, but not great. The left tire is vibrating a lot.

Fortunately, Harrison’s pace was still good, but it seemed the tires had worn down a lot from the constant battle for position.

— Come to the pits.

— Okay.

The subsequent pit stop was about average speed, but Elias’s pit stop had been fast, and his pace was good after switching to new tires, so it was still unpredictable who would have the upper hand when they went out on the track.

— If it stays like this, it’s going to be a very narrow margin when Harrison Turner comes out onto the track. Can Elias Korhonen cross the track before Harrison Turner! Harrison Turner is coming out onto the track. This is Elias Korhonen’s chance! He’s getting closer and closer, it’s a very narrow margin. Who will cross the track first, ah! There won’t be any space for Harry!

Following the commentary that was pouring out urgently, Harrison’s short radio message was heard.

— Ha, fuck, one thing after another…

Right on the path where Harrison was exiting onto the track, there was Elias. Without leaving any space to exit. In this situation, Harrison would have to slow down and exit behind Elias. But Harrison did not slow down, only doing so at the very last moment before almost colliding with Elias, narrowly squeezing out behind him.

— That was a very dangerous situation. Harrison Turner’s front wing and Elias Korhonen’s wheel almost made contact!

— Well. I don’t know why Elias did that. That was a very aggressive move.

— And it seems Harry’s tire temperatures are not sufficient yet, he looks a little unstable.

Even though his temperatures were still low as he had just changed tires, Harrison followed Elias closely, putting pressure on him.

— Harrison Turner, gets closer with the slipstream! Can he reclaim the position! He gets closer, more, he went into the inside of the corner first, can Elias Korhonen defend his position! No! Harrison Turner, a beautiful exit!

Harrison exited the corner first, but after that, another straightaway followed. This time, Elias followed Harrison closely, and the distance narrowed more and more.

— Elias Korhonen, follows Harrison Turner closely! It looks like he’s trying to overtake on the outside, ah! They’ve collided!

Elias, who was right behind, tried to overtake Harrison on the outside of Turn 4, but that corner was one where the driver on the inside frequently pushed the outside driver wide. On top of that, the outside was gravel, so attempting an overtake on the outside was a high-risk move in itself.

Nevertheless, Elias looked for an opportunity to overtake before the gap widened further, and Harrison took a wide line around the corner to push Elias out. But Elias, instead of being pushed to the outside to avoid contact, held his position.

— Ah…

As a result, the two cars collided straight on.

— Harry, are you okay?

After Manuel’s urgent call, for a brief moment, there was no sound but the echo of breathing in his ears. Fortunately, the outside was a gravel runoff area, so the car stopped before hitting the wall, but that unusually loud breathing sound made his heart tighten more and more. He wanted to close his eyes, he wanted to cover his ears, but he could do nothing.

— Sorry.

— Are you okay?

— Yeah. I’m okay.

On the screen, the figures of Elias and Harrison, who had gotten out of their cars and were being guided by the marshals, were broadcast side by side. Seeing them, their helmets still on so no expression was visible, Leo finally realized he had been holding his breath. And that his hands were shaking.

Leo reflexively looked around. The team members let out sighs mixed with relief and disappointment, and among them, of course, Heather was not there. Heather does not come to this track. Because it is the circuit where Jude’s accident happened.

After getting a check-up at the medical center, doing interviews, and even going to the operations office to receive penalty points, Harrison finally returned to the garage. Since it was an accident where driver error was clear, the reactions were varied. Simon held his forehead and shook his head, the mechanics sighed but patted Harrison’s shoulder one by one, and Manuel came over, held onto Harrison, and seemed to be saying something.

But Harrison did not seem to be in the mood to talk, gently removing Manuel’s hand and heading straight for the driver’s private room. As he watched him, his eyes suddenly met Manuel’s.

Manuel simply shrugged once and returned to the pit wall, and Leo got up from his seat and headed for the driver’s waiting room.

When he opened the door, he saw Harrison wiping his face with a towel. Leo closed the door behind him.

“What are you doing.”

He had not intended it, nor expected it, but even at the cold voice that came out, Harrison just answered as usual, though with a slightly subdued atmosphere.

“I misjudged. I was angry from the moment he blocked my way back onto the track and made a bad call.”

At the voice that was a mix of fatigue and composure, Leo walked up to him. In the face he finally met, there was nothing to be found.

“I’m not talking about that, what the fuck were you thinking, of all tracks, at this track…”

And then, suddenly, everything stopped. Leo, who had been speaking without even knowing what he wanted to say, Harrison, who had just been looking at Leo, and even the language and emotions.

He knows he should not have said it. But it was already out, and perhaps it was what Leo had always wanted to say all along. Nevertheless, it was something that should not have been said.

“Of all tracks, this track. Now you’re curious about that too?”

Unlike at the dinner in England which he had silently tolerated, this time Harrison questioned the unfinished sentence. The slowly spoken words had no hint of sarcasm, but they were so plain that they were, on the contrary, cold. Leo should have replied that he did not mean it like that, or that he had misspoken. But, what actually came out was a dry voice of his own.

“There’s never been a time I wasn’t curious. It’s just that you always avoid it, so I haven’t been able to talk about it until now.”

“So what are you curious about.”

“I didn’t mean it like that…”

He had a chance to take back his words, but Leo could not say anything and just looked at Harrison. The eyes that had already grown cold and the face with no expression. A familiar, yet unfamiliar sight.

“At least at this track, I thought you would…”

Before Leo could finish the words he did not even know how to phrase, Harrison asked.

“Because my own brother almost died, and I have to be mindful of that. Is that what you want to say?”

It was a businesslike voice whose tone did not even change, but the words themselves were sharp.

“I never said it like that.”

“You’ve been wanting to say it since last time.”

At the voice that brought up the fight in England that they had already buried, Leo did not avoid it either.

“Fine, then why haven’t you answered until now? You just don’t even want to talk about this.”

“Because everyone tells me to react somehow!”

The expressionless face suddenly broke its composure without any warning.

“And what changes after that? They’ll feel sorry for me. They’ll be curious about what effect it will have on me, whether I’ll mess up the race because of it. If the result is good, they’ll connect it to that because it’s good, if it’s bad, because it’s bad. And if something like today happens, they’ll all say I’ve lost my mind. For acting like a dick at the place where my family ended up like that.”

He had thought that one day, they would talk about Jude. Leo and Harrison would be together for the rest of their lives. He had never thought about exactly what that would look like, but he had thought that perhaps after a few more years, when they were a little more mature, better able to control their emotions and thoughts, they would talk, perhaps in a way that was unfamiliar yet comfortable. Maybe it could be like that, he had thought.

“Everyone thinks I’m thinking of Jude when I walk this track. When I go out there, people tell me they miss Jude. That he was amazing, how well he drove this track. So should I thank those people? For the kindness of telling me about the corner where he was found in that state, when everyone thought he was already dead when they first tried to move him? Fuck, if they hadn’t told me, I would have never known for the rest of my life?”

But in reality, it had only come to this. Only to this, only in this way.

“People still ask me about Jude.”

His gaze looked straight into Leo’s eyes.

“I came here to race, not to mourn, nor to satisfy other people’s curiosity.”

“Then where is your life?”

He took another step closer to Harrison and gripped his elbow.

“If you divide everything like that, into racing and things that interfere with it, then where is your life.”

There is no way he does not know what he is defending himself against. If they talk about Jude, Harrison has to admit it. The effect it had on the people he loves, including himself. And that he could once again have such an effect, perhaps even worse. But also that he is ignoring it.

“Yeah, you probably don’t want to be asked questions like that. But I’ve never once, said anything about you not saying anything to the reporters. You don’t talk to the people who love you, the people who loved Jude, not even to Jude himself. Do you know why? You know it too. That if you start thinking about your life overlapping with racing, you have to quit.”