Chapter Text
Chapter 1. Rookie.
(Spotify Playlist)
(29/01/24)
He had signed the contract half a year ago. Midway through the 2023 season, Daniel had already decided where he would be on the grid the following year. It had taken a great deal of consideration, a lot of discussions with his agent and manager as well as other drivers who had been in his position before. There had been mixed reviews over the whole ordeal, some saying that driving for a top team in Formula 1 was a great opportunity, others said it was at the cost of one's pride and dignity.
Yet when it was all said and done and when it came down to the moment where Daniel sat in an office with his ex-team principal, and his future one, he had signed the contract after only a moment of reading it. Crystal Choi had nodded in understanding whereas Charles Choi had hummed in approval at Daniel’s agreement. They had shaken hands, offered the obligatory congratulations and that was it.
The contract for now was only for 1 year.
Whilst Daniel would have liked for it to be longer he also took into consideration the unique circumstances that came with the team he had signed for. The history of drivers and the team's perspective on things. 1 year was fine so long as Daniel could prove himself he could get an extension later on. He just hoped that the team wouldn’t drop him mid-season if he underperformed.
The contract had been signed and with the upcoming 2024 season, Daniel would be driving for Oracle Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team.
Of course, now that he’s changed teams from Visa Cash App Red Bull [VCARB] to Red Bull itself, Daniel had to move from his apartment in Italy that had been close to the VCARB headquarters to Milton Keynes, in England where the Red Bull headquarters were located. The move had been easy, he didn’t have many things in the first place other than clothes and some other personal belongings. If anything, saying goodbye to his teammate Zack and Team Principal Crystal had been a lot harder.
Daniel joined F1 in 2019 at the tender age of 22, not the youngest rookie to join F1 but not the oldest either although he was rather close to it. He had been training under the Williams Driving Academy and had raced for Williams in the 2019 season before joining AlphaTauri, VCARB’s previous name due to their ever-changing sponsors. They had offered him a deal to join them for the following years and Daniel had taken the deal without so much as looking back and in the four years at VCARB, he had been racing alongside Zack Lee.
Zack Lee who had also been a rookie in the 2019 season. Zack Lee who Daniel knew well even before joining F1. Zack Lee who had been one of his role models back when he had still been racing for F2 and F3. The same Zack Lee who had been offered a Red Bull seat in his rookie season in 2019 but like many other drivers who signed up to the team he was dropped the following year. Despite what occurred, Zack had been nothing but kind and a good teammate when he joined VCARB alongside Daniel. Their friendship had bloomed into more than just a PR stunt and due to this, Zack had been one of the many drivers that Daniel had asked advice from about joining Red Bull. Zack had of course replied that although Red Bull was a top-tier team, the team had other priorities than supporting their second drivers.
Crystal had been a confident and strict Team Principal and it was under her guidance that Daniel had been able to bloom within the F1 community. Under her knowledge and instructions, Daniel had not only grown confident but also assured in his driving. Her advice when he had gone to her about the Red Bull offer had been straightforward. Red Bull didn’t take shortcuts, they weren’t going to wait around and hold his hands if he fucks up, they had clear expectations and were nothing short of the best and therefore were not going to make any conciliatory compromises. Either Daniel had to be the one to step up or fall like the rest.
The advice had been plain and simple but it came from someone who probably had the best perspective, being the daughter of the director of Red Bull, Crystal’s words held a lot of weight.
At present, Daniel was walking into the Red Bull headquarters. Despite being in his 6th season in F1, the nervousness that flows through Daniel as he enters a new team doesn’t fade.
“Daniel Park” A voice calls, cutting through the soft noise of the lobby and Daniel turns to see Charles Choi himself. The Team Principal smiles, offering a wave and Daniel smiles in return, quickly putting the pass he had been given over his head before making his way to the man.
“Mr Choi, it’s a pleasure to see you again” Daniel greets and the man nods.
“The pleasure is all mine, I hope your flight from Italy went well and that you settled into the new apartment quickly?” The Principal asks and Daniel nods.
“I’ve already finished unpacking” Daniel remarks and the man chuckles before turning around and leading the younger male down the halls and further into the facility.
“Good. Well, then I guess I should say congratulations and welcome to the Oracle Red Bull Racing headquarters. I’ll give a small tour and introduce you to some of the people you’ll be working with as well as your team before getting you settled here” Charles explains and Daniel nods.
The fact that Charles Choi, who was not only the team principal but also the director of Red Bull, was the one giving him a personal tour felt a little odd.
As they walked, Daniel couldn’t help but allow his eyes to linger on the armless sleeve of Charles’s coat. Empty and limp, most people who didn’t know Charles wouldn’t have even noticed it at first due to the man’s overflowing confidence and aura, but those who knew him and his history wouldn’t miss it.
“You can come out and say it, I won’t be offended” Charles hums when he notices Daniel's silence after being shown the rooms where the cars were made.
Realising his error and that he was caught staring, Daniel shakes his head.
“I-I didn’t mean to stare I’m sorry…I just find it fascinating” Daniel replies, cursing his rudeness.
“Fascinating?” Charles arches a brow at the word.
“Yes, I’ve heard the stories and seen the footage of it happening but to see it in person rather than on screen or from afar…it was during the 2003 season, right? You had just moved two years before Renault when the accident occurred in the last race in Japan” Daniel states and the man nods, an amused glint in his eyes.
Just like many others who were older but still within the F1 industry, Charles Choi had also been a former F1 driver, having won two world championships in 1995 and 1997. He had quite a career back in the day, successful and renowned.
“Yes, It had been an accident. I had touched wheels with a Williams car at the start of the first lap and due to this, I crashed into most of the grid. My car went spiralling out of control and I ended up in the barriers at a difficult angle, this was during a time when we didn’t have the Halo or other safety measures so I crushed and shattered my entire arm from the elbow down. They couldn’t save my arm and therefore had to amputate it, I was never able to race again since then” There was a sad look on Charles' face as he spoke of the moment and it made Daniel feel bad for bringing up the incident. “Not many people would bring up my most traumatising memory straight to my face, you are a brave person, Daniel Park, I like that about you” The Principal states, patting the younger boy's shoulder when a passing figure catches both their sights.
“Anyways, moving on from this I should introduce you to the rest of the people. Jinyoung!” Charles calls and the person in a Red Bull polo shirt stops and turns their way. His confused face turns to one of recognition before eventually a tight smile.
“Jinyoung, I’d like to introduce you to our newest driver for the 2024 season, although I’m sure that the two of you are more than familiar with each other” Charles greets and Jinyoung nods.
“I’d be able to recognise my bratty nephew's face from a mile away” Jinyoung retorts before opening his arms. “How have you been Daniel?”
Accepting the hug from a familiar person, Daniel smiles warily at the man. The hug was odd, he never usually got this kind of affection from his uncle and although it was welcomed it was still strange. Not wanting to confuse Charles he responds to his uncle in kind.
“I’ve been well, how about you? Mum and I didn’t get to see you come home for Christmas or New Year” Daniel promptly says, a sour emotion building up but not ready to burst just yet. After all, his uncle missing out on another family gathering or holiday wasn’t out of the ordinary. Jinyoung shrugs and smiles sheepishly, if a little guiltily.
“I know, tell my sister I’m sorry for that but there was a lot of work I needed to finish up here in England before our next season. I did miss seeing you both” Jinyoung apologises and Daniel nods although he would have preferred it if Jinyoung told his mother that himself rather than passing on a message.
“You know, one of the promising reasons I decided to sign you to Red Bull was because your uncle vouched for your skills” Charles remarks, clasping the engineer on the shoulder and directing the conversation away from personal lives. “Well, there was your driving skills that we had been seeing the last couple of years but your uncle was the one who suggested you and said I wouldn’t regret it. Who am I to ignore one of my oldest friends who was also a World Drivers Champion [WDC] back in 1998” he informs and Daniel turns to raise his brow at his uncle in surprise. The man simply shrugs.
“It’s not like I insisted on you being an option but Charles here wanted my opinion and I gave him one. You were a good option in comparison to the other drivers on the grid as well as the other up-and-coming rookies” Jinyoung states.
“Still, it’s good to know that I can count on you sometimes,” Daniel smiles.
They share a passing look. Daniel had always looked up to his uncle ever since he was young. Jinyoung had been a driver, a world champion and even after he retired he became a renowned race engineer. The old man was reliable when it came to Formula 1, and whilst Daniel didn’t make it a point to rely on the man for his career it was good to know he still helped out whenever he could.
“Let’s finish up the tour, I’ve got one more person to introduce you to before we head to the simulation room” With a wave goodbye to Jinyoung and a promise that they would go out for dinner together, Daniel was whisked off yet again by Charles.
The factory rooms of how the car parts were made were interesting to look at, the team were kind and welcoming and the simulation rooms were impressive. VCARB also had simulators but the sheer size, aesthetic and infrastructure of Red Bull's room was nothing to scoff at.
Daniel had been introduced to his new personal trainer, Shigeaki Kojima, a strict-looking quiet man with glasses and thin facial hair that trailed around his jaw and chin. The man didn’t offer a smile, simply a nod in Daniel's direction before looking him up and down once. The Red Bull driver was then sent away to the simulators to assess his driving skills.
For the rest of the day, all Daniel did was run simulations and take small breaks in between to eat and connect with the other employees and team members that he would be working with. By the time dinner rolled by, Daniel went down to the cafeteria with Shigeaki in tow as the man was talking about starting him on a new diet.
“Mr Kojima, can I ask you a question?” Daniel asks gingerly and the man looks up from the files he was reading about the new diet to raise a brow.
“Again just call me Shigeaki, I don’t care about the formalities of Mr Kojima” He responds gruffly and Daniel nods. “But go on, what’s your question kid?” he prompts and Daniel refrains from pouting.
Daniel was hardly a kid anymore and he was hardly young. He was 26 and going on to 27, he wasn’t some greenie rookie anymore. He was a seasoned driver.
“I was just wondering when I would be seeing my teammate, I didn’t see him around headquarters today even though we’ve started sims and car fittings” Daniel inquires and although the trainer's face remains stoic his eye does twitch slightly.
“You’re referring to Jong Gun Park” Shigeaki responds and Daniel nods. “Gun isn’t in England right now, he’s currently residing in Monaco. I believe he will be coming back here for testing by the end of the week” The trainer answers and Daniel frowns.
“That’s strange, is he busy doing something? Promotions or training?” Daniel questions.
Daniel was used to him and his teammate coming in on either the same day or a day or two apart after their end-of-year holiday break. When pre-season testing days started up or when they needed to run sims, Crystal always expected her drivers to come in at around the same time, for Gun to come in a week after Daniel it felt more than a little strange.
“I believe the exact words that he told Charles for not coming in at this time was ‘I can’t be bothered coming in to train’ although I think my brother, his trainer, paraphrased his words more politely than what he said” Shigeaki states and Daniel stares back with wide eyes.
“Really? He said that to Charles?” Daniel blinks back with wide eyes, shocked that anyone could have the balls to act and say something so rude to their boss and not face any repercussions.
“Charles was pissed but it’s not unusual behaviour from Gun” Shigeaki states before noticing that the shock on Daniel’s face still hadn’t fallen. “You have heard about Gun’s behaviour, right? I mean, most of it isn’t known to the public for Red Bull’s sake but it’s not as if he’s been subtle with how he acts and it’s not a secret amongst the grid” Shigeaki mentions, watching Daniel’s expression with his sharp eyes.
Daniel bites his lip, gnawing at it as he thinks back to what people have said.
“I thought they were all just exaggerated rumours” Daniel answers honestly. “I mean, he’s the number 1 driver and he’s won the World Drivers Championship 4 times, of course, someone of his calibre would have an ego” he states but Shigeaki merely sighs.
“Okay, kid, because I feel really bad and embarrassed at your naivety I’m going to warn you about some things here at Red Bull. I’ve seen too many young drivers come and go because they couldn’t process or swallow the facts that I’m about to tell you. Red Bull doesn’t need another champion, you aren’t here to win your own world championship and you certainly aren’t going to be the favoured driver. Everyone at Red Bull knows that Charles favours Gun, that Gun Park is the golden child and that he will be the one who will be receiving the best strategies and the best care, understand that so far?” The man asks and Daniel nods, listening intently. “The reason you are here is to ensure that Gun stays at the top. You drive to get points but you also drive to make sure that no one gets past you to challenge Gun and if they do get past you, you are the one to apply pressure on them. Moreover, you are not here to challenge Gun or to win, but you are here to ensure that we win the constructors championship” The man adds and Daniel frowns.
Despite Gun being one of the best drivers on the grid and having recently won 3 WDC in a row, Red Bull itself hasn’t won the constructors championship since 2015. This was because their second drivers had been performing less than great, struggling to drive the car or compete on the same level as their teammate. Even with Gun winning most races or scoring high amounts of points, the second drivers of the team had been finishing at the bottom of the points bracket. This led to other teams such as Mercedes or Ferrari who had been consistently scoring points from both their drivers to ultimately win the constructors.
“So Charles brought me here to help Gun win but also to help win the constructors” Daniel concludes and Shigeaki nods. “If that’s the same case for the majority of the second drivers that have come to Red Bull, how come none of them have ever succeeded? I mean the pressure wouldn’t be on them to win but to just score as many points as possible” he voices and finally a small smile appears on Shigeaki’s face, although it was none so kind.
“That’s because Jong Gun Park is an asshole”
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(05/02/24)
Daniel has a week to think about his trainer's words about Gun. He of course has heard the rumours, that Gun was a horrible person to work with and that he liked to play mind games and was unnecessarily cruel but at the end of the day they were teammates. Sure your greatest rival in F1 was always your teammate who was in equal machinery but in terms of winning the constructors championship, you needed a teammate who could also match your ability to win and earn points. Why the hell would Gun be so disagreeable with that?
A win for the team was a win for everyone in Daniel’s book.
For the rest of the week, Daniel settled into his life at Red Bull. He decided that if Gun was a jerk to most people, to which Shigeaki did confirm that he was an asshole not just to his teammate but the entire team, Daniel would resolve to be kind. Or at least try.
Seeing a refreshing new driver who either didn’t ignore them or wasn’t rude to them must have been shocking as most of the team responded in kind to Daniel’s attempts and would often comment about how different he was from their other driver. Ryuujo Magami the lead Mechanic was more than vocal about the sheer contrast Daniel was to his other counterpart and even Kouji, the Data Analyst had confirmed that he found Daniel’s attitude like a refreshing glass of cold water in comparison to Gun’s bitter black coffee attitude. Even Uncle Jinyoung informed him about the gossip others were saying about his better behaviour and impressive driving in the Sims.
With so many comments and warnings from the people around him, Daniel probably should have been far more prepared when it came to meeting Gun for the first time. He had just finished his gym session with Shigeaki who was helping him work on his core and neck strength when finally the older man let him go after two hours of hard work. As Daniel finished showering and packing his belongings, heading out to do work in the sims he stumbled upon a person that was waiting just near the entrance of the gym.
Dressed in a navy Red Bull polo shirt, a leather jacket over the top of that and dark pants. The man stands up from where he was leaning against the wall but his arms remain crossed over his chest and the dark sunglasses that were over his eyes are stiff on his face.
Daniel didn’t need to be a driver to know exactly who the person in front of him was.
“Ah, Gun it’s great to finally meet you in person” Daniel smiles at the stoic person, closing the gap between them the younger walks over and extends a hand. “Hello, I’m Daniel Park but we’ve already met briefly over the years in F1. I’ll be your teammate this season” He greets.
That garners a harsh snort from the taller, broader-shoulder man as he looks down at the hand in front of him.
Seconds go by and Gun says nothing, Daniel could only wait patiently, hoping that he was acting both professionally and not in any way overstepping any boundaries. Eventually Gun seems to take pity on Daniel as he shifts his hands and reaches to accept the handshake.
Daniel sighs in relief but it’s only momentarily as the second Gun’s larger hand envelopes his he tenses at the tight grip the elder has on him.
“I don’t care if you’re my new ‘teammate’ this year, follow my instructions and stay out of my way and we won’t have any problems with each other, newbie” Daniel has seen the interviews that Gun has done, he’s been there during PR group interviews and he’s heard Gun speak before. The man has always held a deep and sultry kind of voice but now, hearing it whisper into his ears at such a proximity, sends shivers down Daniel’s spine.
Shuddering at the voice it takes a moment too long before Daniel realises what the man had said. By the time he goes to respond, Gun has let go of his hand and harshly shoulder-checked him before walking away.
Rubbing at the pain in his shoulder, Daniel could only huff at the interaction.
“What the hell is his problem?” Daniel grumbles.
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“I don’t get him, I get that he’s one of the top drivers in Formula 1 but that doesn’t give him the right to be such an asshole” Daniel rants, walking back and forth as he talks into his phone. “I mean the fact that he told me to follow his instructions and stay out of his way within the first minute of meeting me, I’d get it if I did something wrong to him but I just met the dude! And It’s not like we’ve ever had bad blood before, so why the hell is he so rude? And I’m not a NEWBIE!!” He huffs as he flops onto his bed.
“Hey man, don’t take it personally. I’m pretty sure Gun says that to all his teammates when he meets them. Hell, I’m pretty he said something like that to me back in 2019, he just does it to get under your skin” Zack replies over the phone.
“He did?” Daniel asks softly.
“Yeah man, I reckon if you asked Vin Jin or Eli or even Warren, they’d tell you the same thing. Everyone knows that Gun just has the worst attitude and it’s not just limited to other drivers” Zack continues and Daniel hums in agreement, the words from everyone at Red Bull this past week were enough for Daniel to see that the other driver was right. “I don’t understand how both Jichang and James were able to be teammates with him for two years, a year for me was already torture but having to do it all over again for another year? The patience that those two drivers have is immaculate but it also might have something to do with their age” He grumbles.
“Still though, I don’t get his attitude. No one can just be that rude and not have some kind of back story to them, something must have happened in the past” Daniel huffs.
“I think it’s beyond the point of anyone asking him why he’s such a bitter bitch. Just leave him alone, perform well at Red Bull and stay out of his way like he asked. So long as you help the team win the constructors championship it should all be fine” Zack supplies supportively.
He had told the other driver about everything Shigeaki had told him earlier in the week and yet again Zack had been unsurprised by the case. The guy had lived through this entire story himself back in 2019. Anything Gun threw at Daniel he had probably already thrown at Zack.
“Of course, I’ll drive my best on the field and help the team as much as possible. It just sucks because Gun is also a part of that team but he acts like he’s some lone wolf. You know it’d be so much better if I could talk back to him about his attitude if he wasn’t such a great good driver” Daniel bemoans as he turns on his side on the bed. “But today when he finally flew in from Monaco and Charles made him do the sims, he beat all the times and records I set without even sweating” He hisses.
There was a dissatisfied grumble on the other side of the phone.
“Right?! I want to be mad at him for his attitude and lack of apparent care for the team but he’s such a good driver it’s hard to hate him completely. I even looked through his history, he did quite well in Toro Rosso in his rookie years and even when he was in the junior leagues he was winning. I don’t think this guy has ever completely and utterly lost and maybe that’s why he’s so rude” Daniel huffs.
“Maybe” Zack agrees.
“Zack, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Just today, after my first meeting with him when we were doing sims together and even when we had a meeting with Charles afterwards, the guy’s presence just made me feel insignificant. Every time he would look over it felt like he was judging me and when he was setting records it felt like everyone else was judging me on why I couldn’t be better like him.” Daniel whispers like it is a secret.
“Hey come on, don’t think like that. Don’t let him pressure you-”
“It’s exciting”
“Yes, yes I know it can be daunting-wait what?”
“Exciting. I don’t know why but it got my adrenaline pumping. I want to beat Gun even though I know he’s supposed to be the best and it’s supposed to be near impossible. I want to prove to Gun that I’m not just a stepping stone and I want to prove to the others on the team that I’m also here for a reason…this is bad, isn’t it Zack? If I feel this way even though Gun told me to stay out of his way if I keep feeling like this then obviously I’m going to defy his order and he’ll get pissed off but…I want to win too” Daniel confesses as if it was a sin.
There was a pause on Zack's side of the line before eventually the other let out a full belly laugh.
“You’re fucking crazy, Daniel. Okay, yeah, you’ll be fine at Red Bull, I don’t even know why I was worried, to begin with when I know how crazy you are” Zack sighs, his tone growing a little more fond by the end of the sentence. “ Alright, I should get going but I should see you in a week or so for the Red Bull Charity shoot” The VCARB driver states.
Daniel sighs, disappointed that his call with his best friend is ending so soon.
“Alright, I’ll see you then,” Daniel tells the other.
“Oh, and Daniel” Zack pipes up one last time before ending the call. “There’s no shame in wanting to win, every driver wants to win”
And with that, the call comes to an end.
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Daniel isn’t quite sure what the people expected from him when he joined Red Bull. Sure a lot of them knew who he was from when he was at their sister team.
AlphaTauri/VCARB have had to do a lot of collabs and promotional work together with Red Bull so almost everyone knows his personality and how he tends to do things. Hell if they hadn’t worked with him before they still would have seen him around simply through his other promotional works and because he was a driver. So most would know him for his soft and kind attitude.
Anyway, Daniel was starting to assume that most of the people on the team thought he was going to start throwing hands at Gun the minute the older man started showing him any sort of disrespect. Granted it was hard for Daniel to keep up with his happy-go-lucky attitude when Gun was muttering snide comments under his breath sending him dirty looks any time he was in his vicinity or even shoving him around when they walked past each other. What was this? A playground bully? How could this man be so impressive but have the personality of a child? Daniel was trying hard to be civil but with every passing day, he felt closer and closer to cracking.
It was hard to do anything around Red Bull without the other driver breathing down his neck or giving him looks. Tried to give feedback to the engineers and mechanics but Gun would be death glaring at him from a few metres away. It also didn’t help that in these moments everyone would always be cautiously waiting for Daniel to finally blow up, looking from him to Gun as if they needed to be constantly aware that a fight might break out. Despite this, fighting Gun was not on Daniel’s list of things to do.
Sure he wanted to beat the older man but beat him in a race, not with his fist. Besides, with the fact that he was 27 and Gun was 35, beating the older driver up might make Daniel feel like he was beating down on a senior citizen.
Daniel laughs at himself for his own clever little age joke.
“What are you smiling about?” Jinyoung sits down next to Daniel with his tray of food.
Shigeaki who had been staring at his phone and eating looked up as well, turning his gaze to Daniel’s face which had now formed a goofy smile.
“Nothing, just thinking about something” Daniel tells his uncle who raises a brow.
“Careful, you might hurt yourself there” Jinyoung huffs and Daniel lets out a squawk of indignation.
“Hey!”
“If you can still smile and make little jokes inside your head it must mean I didn’t push you hard enough in the gym today” Shigeaki murmurs and Daniel shakes his head.
“No, no, you were wonderfully cruel today just like every other day so far” Daniel was quick to say and the trainer merely snorted. “I was just thinking about how on edge everyone is when Gun and I are in the same room. It’s like they’re expecting something to happen” He explains to the two older men.
“Oh, that’s probably because they are. They’ve all been around long enough to know the routine by this point” Jinyoung nods and Daniel looks at his uncle in confusion.
“What do you mean?”
“Gun has this thing where he does everything in his power to be ‘subtly’ annoying to piss off his teammate. For some it doesn’t take long, for others it can last a while” Shigeaki explains.
“Who holds the records for lasting the least amount of time and lasting the most?” Daniel inquires, curious by this concept, that Gun really was being an asshole on purpose just to get a rise out of him.
“The fastest was Vin Jin back when he was Gun’s teammate in 2020. The poor kid lasted two whole weeks of pre-testing before he eventually went on a rampage and tried to punch his teammate. Gun made it a point of using that against him, saying Vin Jin was too emotional to be driving an F1 car in general. That he was pathetic” Shigeaki replies. “As for the longest, it’d have to be Jichang. The guy has the patience of a saint and he was driving quite well at Red Bull during the first year and a half with us. It wasn’t until Gun made some offhand comment about his brothers that Jichang broke”
Daniel frowns. This attitude, the way Gun had been acting and was continuing to act, was far worse than Daniel thought. If anything, the way he was behaving currently was only going to continue getting worse.
“So he’s not going to stop doing this until I crack…” Daniel frowns. “How come you’re telling me this? Are you hoping that I’ll quit before Gun ruins me?” He raises a brow and Jinyoung snorts.
“As if. You’re my nephew, quitting isn’t in your blood. Do what you will with this information, just know that when I offered the idea of you joining Red Bull to Charles I also spoke about how persistent you are” Jinyoung adds and Daniel sighs.
Of course, his uncle would know exactly about all the predicaments that Daniel was going to fall into the moment he joined Red Bull and it was just like him not to say anything about it until he was specifically asked.
“I just want to race cars, that’s all” Daniel sighs.
It’s only been about two weeks with Red Bull and Daniel was already facing more problems than he can count.
That was a lie. There was only one realistic problem so far and its name was Jong Gun Park. If only his teammate didn’t spawn other problems for him.
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(17/02/24)
“Welcome to the annual Red Bull Charity Shoot! Thank you to everyone who was able to make it in attendance this year, the Red Bull team and I appreciate you all coming by to showcase your support and I just hope that we can have an even more successful time this year…” Charles continues with his speech.
Daniel stood to one side of the Team Principals, shoulder to shoulder with Gun who was as stoic as ever as well as Zack and Vasco who would be driving for VCARB during this season. As Charles finishes his speech he passes the microphone to his daughter who provides a similar speech about success and the goals of her own team. During this time Daniel takes a moment to peer at his co-worker who for once isn’t dressed in a Red Bull polo but some fancy sweater and slacks as well as a puffer jacket over the top to keep the cold out. Daniel himself was dressed in something similar, having been handed the outfit by one of Red Bull’s stylists, the clothes were without a doubt by a brand that was sponsoring them but Daniel didn’t care enough to know which brand it was.
All he knew was that he looked sophisticated and Gun even more so.
Daniel feels a nudge, snapping out of his daze of covertly watching his partner he realises that there is a mic being handed to him from Gun of all people. A mic that was probably passed on from Crystal but apparently Gun didn’t even want to speak so he was giving that chore to Daniel who was very ill-prepared.
Taking the object, a smirk passes Gun’s face, taunting him before quickly disappearing. Annoyance flares in Daniel’s stomach, and feeling vindictive he decides to take the speech with stride.
“I don’t believe there’s much I can say that hasn’t already been said by our esteemed Team Principals and Hosts of today’s charity shoot. I may not have been with Red Bull specifically for all that long but I have been within the Red Bull family for years now and it has been very much the same in the sense that this family, its community and its close team are some of the most hardworking and passionate people I’ve seen in this industry. The efforts and tasks they do behind the scenes so that both myself and my fellow teammates can drive to the best of our abilities have been incredible. And I know that this year will bear even more fruit than the last, don’t you agree, Gun?” He adds the last part to address Gun, holding the mic up to the taller man who looked caught off guard.
Gun sends a scowl his way before accepting the mic.
“Of course” Gun states, letting out a fake grin as he nods at Daniel and turns to the crowd.
There were of course some members of the press, a few flashing cameras here and there to capture the interaction between the two drivers but Daniel could hardly care.
“Any other words from the 4 time champion??” Someone from the crowd calls and there's a polite round of chuckles, Gun included.
“No, I believe my teammate here summed it all up pretty well” Gun and Daniel exchange pleasant fake smiles and everyone eats it all up.
With that, Gun passes the mic back to Charles who begins the charity event. Meanwhile, Gun steps closer towards Daniel, murmuring a few words to the younger.
“Whatever the hell you’re trying to do, it won’t work so stop it” Gun grumbles and Daniel sends him a lost look.
“Whatever do you mean?” Daniel inquires in return, pretending to look lost.
The crowd breaks up and the event begins in full swing so the majority of the rich sponsors that had attended move quickly to grab a firearm to shoot at the clay pigeons. With most people’s eyes finally off the group, Gun turns to Daniel completely.
“You’re sly, trying to catch me off guard like that” Gun states, stoned face as usual.
“I wasn’t trying to do anything other than get you involved in the conversation. I felt bad leaving you out despite you being the older and more experienced Red Bull driver” Daniel hums out in a reply. “We are teammates now and I do want to try getting along with you rather than having you hate my guts. I don’t know what I’ve done but you haven’t even given me a chance yet to do anything” Daniel states, voice unwavering as he speaks and meets his teammate's eyes that were hidden behind his glasses.
Gun snorts, scoffing at Daniel’s apparent audacity.
“You haven’t earned any sort of chance from me” Gun speaks back with venom.
“I’m just saying if I do end up doing shitty during the races then by all means, act shitty towards me. But if I do well, won’t you be nicer to me?” Daniel inquires and Gun lets out a disbelieving smile.
“If you do bad then you’re not worth the team's efforts and if you do well then you could be a threat to my position” Gun retorts and Daniel’s brows raise through his fringe.
“You think I could be a threat to your position?” Daniel picks up on the words and Gun frowns.
“That’s not the point-” “Yeah, the point you’re trying to make is that I can’t win with you whether I do great or not. You’re a very confusing person, you know that, right?” Daniel huffs and Gun pauses momentarily.
“Are you going to quit then because you can’t win against me?” Gun raises a brow.
“Gun let's get one thing clear, I’m not here to get your approval. You may be a 4-time world champion but I don’t work for you. We are both drivers, we both work for Red Bull and Charles Choi so it doesn’t matter to me whether you’re happy with me or not. So long as I do my job, which may mean me doing better than you, I’m not going to stop so you can finish up this game you’re playing, trying to get me to crack because I’m not going to. Understand?” Daniel explains simply and Gun stares back, his face void of anything before he huffs out a smirk.
“You know, ever since I got back here this season everyone has been raving about how polite, and kind and sweet the new driver of my team was. Even before then, there was always this annoying buzz in my ear about how well-mannered you are and how you’re some sort of sweet angel on the grid but to see you speak the way you have to me…you’re not so sweet are you?” Gun steps forward, closer into Daniel’s space which has the younger scrambling away internally, outwardly he remains where he is. “The fact that there is something darker in you…it just makes me want to break you even more” he adds.
Daniel shivers under the terrifying gaze of the older driver. A moment passes before Gun draws back, and an even scarier smile grows on his lips.
“I’d like to see you try and be a better driver than me, it’ll be all the sweeter when you realise you’ll never reach my level” And with that he turns around and walks away, leaving Daniel to himself.
Daniel stands frozen in his spot, going over the words they had just shared and realising that perhaps Daniel’s cocky attempt at trying to get Gun to stand down and accept that they were teammates had only caused the other to get even more fired up. Essentially, Daniel may have screwed up.
“Daniel, are you alright?” Vasco’s voice cuts through his thoughts. Daniel turns to the VCARB driver and accepts the drink the other man offers him.
“I’m fine” Daniel states, letting out even breathes.
“Gun said something to piss you off, didn't he?” Zack sighs as he walks up next to him. “I told you, the guy is an ass that likes to try riling people up. Just ignore him” The driver huffs.
“How successful was that advice when you were teammates with him?” Daniel retorts, his tone sounding snarky as he questions Zack who draws back and raises both his hands in surrender.
“I know, I know. It didn’t work all that well because no one gave me that advice early on. By the time Eli came around to tell me about it I had already signed for VCARB the next year and was overly done with Gun. Besides, I was young back then, had a short fuse and got emotional quickly. You’re older than what I was and you’re much nicer. You’ll do better than I did” Zack replies easily, his tone leaving no room for any arguments. “Besides, didn’t you say that you wanted to win against him?” Zack asks and Daniel huffs, letting out a soft smile.
“I did”
“Then win” Vasco adds, nodding at Daniel with a grin.
END CHAPTER.