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▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀ CHINA ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀

5/24 RACES OF THE SEASON COMPLETE.

DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

CONSTRUCTOR'S CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀ MIAMI ▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀

Jungkook felt his blood rush with excitement, heart jumping in his chest, when the smell of American soil entered his lungs.

He stepped down the ramp of the private plane on the heels of Andrea Ricci and Henri Dubois, having taken the long leg from Asia in a comfortable ride after spending his week off between traveling about Asia and going to Brackley in the UK for some training at the Mercedes headquarters.

Henri had offered to charter them to the states when he and Andrea mentioned they were both in Europe during their time off. Jungkook jumped on that train to France very quickly.

It was that stupid pride that bubbled in him when he stepped into the sunlight of Miami, Florida and was greeted by the Stars and Stripes lodged into the outer wall of the air strip's FBO— or private airstrip lounge.

He laughed at some comment Andrea made, adjusting the duffel on his shoulder as some attendants helped remove their bags from the plane storage.

Jungkook requested to hold his luggage, trying not to keep the older man under the weight of the bag for too long. There were cars waiting for them behind the line marking aerospace territory. His was clear with the Mercedes emblem nailed below the front hood. The other two were traveling together to the hotel their respective teams had put the drivers in.

He waved goodbye to his driver friends and handed his bags to the driver who loaded them into the large, spacious vehicle.

A small frown fell on his face at the empty car. He had been half hoping to see a familiar face come to pick him up despite the message that they wouldn't be able to because of the timing.

He shrugged his shoulders back and sat in the backseat anyway, closing the door so the blasting air conditioning could cool him down. Pulling out his phone, he found some messages and instructions regarding team protocols between touching ground and when they needed to show face beyond that. In the mess of those, he saw some from his cousin and parents, greeting him back home and wishing him a safe flight.

The trunk closed with a beep and the driver lingered at the door to sign off on paperwork for his retrieval.

There was slight rustling and Jungkook stiffened. It happened in a split second, the flash of movement and then a body tumbling into his row of seats from the trunk.

Jungkook yelped as a socked foot nearly broke his nose before he spotted the familiar swept, brown hair and... was that his shirt?

"Jimin!" He yelled in retaliation. "Stop stealing my clothes!"

The man recovered from his tumble and shot up, punching his arm and dumping himself properly in the seat. "Oh, hello, Jimin, my dearest cousin and the reason I'm not an insufferable only child. Thank you for burying yourself in the stuffy trunk for half an hour just for a cute little welcome home surprise."

"You nearly smashed my face in," Jungkook couldn't hide the smile on his face as his hopes were sealed. "And that's probably the most spacious trunk I've seen in my life, you drama queen."

"Whatever." Jimin rolled his eyes and turned to look at him. It was not even a split second of pretending to be annoyed that the man was laughing and tackling him with a hug. Jungkook hugged him dearly as the whiff of that forest and floral perfume hit his nose. "Damnit, we missed you, Gguk."

The familial nickname made him shove the man back. "Where's my—"

"They're both at the house." Jimin grinned and Jungkook blinked in stun. "Yeah, you can thank me for doing a wonderful job convincing his highness to make an appearance at your first American race in Formula 1."

"God, I owe you."

"You've owed me like fifty times, I don't even trust those statements anymore."

Jungkook laughed a little. The driver's seat opened and his driver, Ethan, sat inside and greeted them both.

He was staying with his family that week. Teams allowed the drivers to stay outside the offered location, especially at home. It gave them an extra bit of privacy that hotels couldn't necessarily guarantee.

They caught up in the drive, half an hour not nearly long enough for Jungkook to cover everything. Thankfully, he'd called Jimin in between races to get a head start.

"You haven't seen her in a month?!"

"She's busy working! So am I, Hyung."

"That's... do you two at least talk?"

"Yes, of course, we do." Jungkook scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest defensively. He was a good boyfriend and that was something his ego would not take a hit towards.

He called Asli when he missed her— which was whenever he had a free moment and he wasn't afraid to admit it. She called him a puppy for the frequency and Jungkook happily accepted the name.

There were times she didn't pick up, it wasn't quite a lot honestly. And if she did, Asli would still text him. Jungkook would say they were doing well.

"What is she doing now? She's still in trade?" Jimin opened a box of dried mangoes and handed him one. Jungkook ate it rather quickly considering he was still full from the meal on Henri's jet. "You said she got her knife set the other day— what does that even mean?"

"Yes, her trade business is doing really well. And the knife set is for culinary school."

"Oh," his cousin snickered. "So, something is going on the chopping block."

"Hilarious." Jungkook rolled his eyes.

"At least it's not you." Jimin pinched him and Jungkook stole another mango slice. "Are you excited? All the news here is about you."

"I'm pumped. Just realizing I haven't been to Miami in a long time."

"Last time you raced here was when you were... what? Fourteen?" The older leaned down to fold the hem of his jeans, the fabric grazing the carpet of the car's floor. "Upgraded to the Euro tracks so fast, hot shot."

"Thank you." Jungkook grinned. "How's New York?"

"Love it so fucking much. As much as I love North Carolina and your parents— you know how much I love them—" Jungkook nodded at the unnecessary words. Everyone knew how dear Jimin was to their family. "— I literally went to three concerts, ate the greatest seafood of my life, and bought the best fake Chanel all in the last week."

"Fake Chanel?" The Mercedes racer grimaced. "What happened to the coat I got you for your birthday?"

"You might make real designer kind of money, now," Jimin waved him off. "But not everyone does."

"Yet, you're still in my Brioni shirt."

"Precisely why I am in your Brioni shirt." Jimin batted his eyelashes. "Thanks, by the way."

Jungkook listened to Jimin talk more about New York as his cousin swung his legs up and sprawled across the back row like they were on a couch in the hidden space of his family home's four walls.

It was always like Jimin to turn anywhere he was into a home. By his presence and perception alone. Jungkook always felt his nerves die down around the older even during their phone calls, and probably because Jimin had been that kind of anchor for him since they were kids.

Jungkook was born and raised in the states. When he was seven, a taller and sweet looking boy was unpacking a suitcase in Jungkook's room just as he had come back from school.

His cousin, his mother had told him, was going to stay with them for the rest of the year.

The boy's English was weak, he dressed funny, and worst of all, he was trouble the second Jungkook's parents looked away.

But Jungkook couldn't shake off the boy from clinging to his side all the time. Especially when months turned into years and soon Jimin was shorter than him, went from his cousin, to older brother, and even better, his best friend.

Jimin really did save him from being an insufferable only child. With two kids under one roof, Jungkook worked a lot harder, trying to prove himself to both Jimin and his parents. Jimin oftentimes took the heat, being older and all, but Jungkook learned to love faster and push more.

Jimin learned to cook and played ball with his mother and Jungkook spent his time working on cars with his father. With a luckily well-enough off family income, he was karting from a young age with NASCAR's Concord track not far from his hometown.

"Thanks for picking me up." Jungkook pinched Jimin's cheek annoyingly and the man shoved his hand away. "Cute surprise."

"I have to say, little airport run really reminded me of the old days."

Old days... like not even ten years ago. But Jimin was right. When he was outracing all the other kids, in his division and above, at the Concord track and Miami track during the summers, Jungkook switched to online schooling to train more and compete nationally. He won various national circuits, traveling south and west for all kinds of races.

When he got the chance to enter the European leagues, it scared his parents. Racing was nothing short of dangerous. Deadly. Especially as one progressed through leveled of karting to faster circuits. High rewards, higher risks.

Jungkook was on an adrenaline frenzy while his mother only prayed everyday that when he sat in the cockpit, he safely crossed the finish line.

Lots of small jobs to help his parents fund the travel and many American titles later, Jungkook was racing for European titles.

And it was Jimin, a couple years older than him, who would drive and pick him up from the airport every time. The one who would stay up late or get up early with the time differences when Jungkook would call him crying on the phone because he was a high schooler's age living alone in Europe training under harsher, more cutthroat karting schools.

He couldn't call his parents. It would make him want to go home and invite them to ask him to do just that.

"I remember when you nearly drove us into the wall once because you were exhausted from the late night pick up." Jungkook through his hands up in the air. "I had to take the wheel off your hands."

"To be fair, I had a midterm the next day!"

"And I had just won the KF2 Euro Series the day before, but you didn't see me with droopy eyes!"

"Kill yourself." Jimin scowled.

"Say that in front of my mother when I drive a death weapon for a living, I dare you."

They quarreled the rest of the drive, all light hearted, of course. Ethan had an awfully concerned look on his face in response to their bickering as they pulled into the neighborhood of the Jeon family's summer residence.

The front door swung open before he was even out the door and Jungkook smiled over the roof of the car, waving an enthusiastic hand.

He ditched his bags to hurry up the steps and engulf the smaller woman in a hug, hunching over her figure to fit under her arms and tuck his head on her shoulder.

"Hi, Mom."

She stroked his hair and leaned back to hold his face. The older woman tossed his head around, eyes scanning his body for any outwardly visible injuries and Jungkook nearly laughed.

"I'm okay, promise." He chuckled, reaching up to hold her wrist and he saw physical weight lift from her shoulders. "It's nice to see you."

"I missed your voice, Jeongguk." She responded in Hangul, yanking him down in hug him again. "Good job in the Japan and China races. Your dad just stepped out to grab me some onions for me, but he'll be home soon."

In his peripheral, Jungkook saw Jimin lean against the porch pillar, dropping the bag in his hand to the ground and smiling at the pair hugging.

That small smile on his cousin's face, though, didn't quite reach his eyes.

〇〇〇〇〇
◉ ◉ ◉ ◉ ◉

The paddock was crowded with a great flock of American celebrities and international alike. Jungkook was nearly running through the barriers to make it to Mercedes' motor home after his father delayed him with a good luck pin he couldn't find at the last minute.

Jungkook fingered the metal on his shirt cuff, the cool pin grazing his wrist every now and then.

It helped him take a deep breath as he stumbled into a crowd of Mercedes engineers and hospitality, all who ushered him quickly to the debrief room. Daan, his race engineer was beside him with waving hands already, sputtering out words at lightning speed.

Jungkook just managed to keep up and understand the goals for their single practice of a Sprint race weekend. Technically one and a half races with valid championship points.

He was sat next to Oliver in the meeting room and they put their headsets on to hear instructions clearly for the weekend.

Miami had a lot more DRS zones and straight-ish sections of the track, which meant faster speeds and plenty of speed trap points for something to go wrong and for some kind of collision.

Jungkook had to bite the smile off his face because the giddy feeling he used to get as a child was beginning to return as he glanced out the window and saw some glimpses of the track.

The last he'd driven was before he'd moved to Europe for the European leagues in middle school, so it almost felt like a vague memory to breathe the same air again.

Their debrief wasn't very long. Practice laps were in short bit and then some scheduled team press before Sprint Race Qualifications.

Jungkook knew the schedule, but a glance at his cuff and at the gold pin— a small star— and his stomach swooped for a moment. His family would be watching for the first time. It was a chance to prove himself and also not to mess up and make a fool of himself at a home race.

It felt like his first home race, the familiar landscape, family, people he had grown up surrounded by... Jungkook felt much more nervous going into his warm up room to collect himself alone than he had at the last couple races.

His standard warm ups with jump ropes and small workout with his trainer got his blood moving and heart pounding in his ears. Tugging on his undergear and tying the sleeves of the race suit around his waist to keep cool, even with a portable air conditioning and fan running, Jungkook waiting to throw on his gloves, shove and balaclava on for a bit.

He put earbuds in and listened to a heavy bass and drum instrumental. It helped drown out his spinning head and forget the familiar rattle of a bottle that always lingered like a taunt at the back of his mind.

A knock at the door startled him and he ripped the wires away and tossed them into his bag.

Oliver nudged the door open once he got the all clear. "Hey, Jeon."

"Hi, Oliver." Jungkook smiled and reached for his other equipment already laid out for him to put together. "What can I do for you?"

"Actually just letting you know there's a lot of people outside the paddock that want to say hello. If you can spare a couple minutes we can step out together?"

"Sure, let me just find my... cap, there." He fixed his hair under the rims of the cap and shuffled out behind Avila. "You know, my parents are in town for the race."

"Really? That's amazing. You have a brother, right?"

"Cousin, but basically brother, yeah." Jungkook checked his phone once before tucking it in his race suit bundle at his waist. "They're here, now."

"They got passes, yes?"

"Yes, yes," Jungkook smiled as the media and security teams flocked them as they exited the motorhome.

Smiles grew on both Mercedes driver's faces as they shook hands and posed for pictures. Fans and celebrities were in the paddock lane and Jungkook swallowed seeing faces he'd only ever seen on a screen before.

Sometimes he would forget his media training, the fact that he, too, was a celebrity, and that millions knew his name because the rise to fame happened exponentially quickly. No one necessarily cared about even Formula 2 drivers unless one was a deep fan and critique. Formula 1 was where one's name was to be engraved in Hall of Fames.

United State presidents had flown in for the races before, A-list celebrities, athletes from other sports, actors, artists... the list went on as he named off so many recognizable people in front of him.

And then he saw a glimpse of people that looked like him.

Jungkook hastily broke away from the pictures to weave his way to his family walking down the lane. There were cameras as he hugged them and led them to the Mercedes area.

A hospitality manager was at his side soon, introducing herself to the Jeon family and Jungkook passed on the care to her as he was being waved in for practice.

His gloves and head gear were handed to him. Shimmery red streaks were slashed across the Mercedes blue and black of his special home race helmet and Jungkook went to his side of the pits where his car was being set up inside the garage. With gloves tugged over his hands and his race boots on, Jungkook fixed the HANS device on top his balaclava and then slid his helmet on.

In his full race gear, the Miami heat slipped in through his helmet and clung to the gaps of his suit.

Jungkook a few deep breaths as garage instructions and movement felt like a frenzy around him.

His eyes closed as he leaned against the wall and he trained himself to darken the view behind his lids until it was a void he felt like falling in. Falling and falling until the sound drowned out and he was able to hear his heartbeat and breathing.

A hand slammed on his shoulder and Jungkook's breath was knocked out of his chest. He was being nudged towards the car and he shook out all his limbs before climbing over.

Hands on the halo, Jungkook lowered himself into the cockpit of the car and felt it nest around his every curve. His steering wheel was on the top of the vessel and he picked it up and slotted it into the car.

Last minute checks and announcers outside were flooding his eardrums again.

His headset and water was connected and he listened to the words from Daana carefully for instructions on when to go.

His car was already on so he just had to be pushed out onto the track when his turn was called.

Long deep breaths filled the space in his helmet as he flicked his visor down to escape the sun that crawled up to his eyes as the stands and fenced track became visible beyond the garage roof.

"You're a go."

And he hit the pit lane speed button to exit the garage and start his first race in Miami since he was a kid.

〇〇〇〇〇
◉ ◉ ◉ ◉ ◉

"Hey."

Taehyung lifted himself up from the fence that he was hunched over on.

His eyes narrowed at the man in Mercedes gear. "Hello, can I help you?"

"Jimin Park." A hand was outreached and Taehyung took it. The name was familiar and the Mercedes gear made it easy to put two and two together of the man's association.

"Taehyung Kim."

"I know." A sweet smile on the man's face. If he was associated to Jungkook, he clearly wasn't showing any ill feelings towards Taehyung. Surprising. "Good sprint race and qualifying."

It was fine, honestly. Nothing special. Ferrari had decent spots in the top 10 for tomorrow and Mercedes was holding onto a starting position of P2 and P3. Bailey won the sprint, putting McLaren ahead of Mercedes in the championship.

Taehyung had just been lingering around the motorhome with downtime after the evening press conference when the encounter ensued.

He shrugged and reached for his water bottle on the ground.

He was about to take a sip when Jimin leaned against the fence with him.

Taehyung paused and lowered the bottle to his side. "Did you need something, Jimin?"

"Just admiring the sunset." The Mercedes associated man pointed at the skyline. The sun was setting and it was very pretty. But he could admire that a motorhomes over at his home base. "And wanting to put a face to the name."

"Pictures don't do me justice?" Taehyung said without a hint of a smile on his face.

"Pictures never tell the whole story." Jimin replied like he was media trained and Taehyung let out a shallow chuckle at the words. "And I've heard a lot and not nearly enough at the same time."

Of course. Taehyung knew it. "I can easily imagine Jeon busting a lung ranting."

"Did he do something to you?"

And there was the accusation.

"And why would I tell you?" He entertained.

"Because I've only heard one side," Jimin shrugged. He was acting much too neutral to be wearing the Mercedes blue in that conversation. "I want to know the whole story."

"I have a Wikipedia page, you can start there." Taehyung rolled his eyes, pushing off the fence and downing the water in his bottle. "Have a wonderful day, Mr. Park."

Taehyung smiled for a camera that flashed when he turned away from Jimin, hearing the man swear under his breath. The sun had sunken deep enough that he wasn't washed in golden light and he was almost grateful as the paddock lane had dispersed for the later hours post all the Saturday events before the main race on Sunday.

"Oh, Hyung, there you are!"

Taehyung's head nearly whiplashed at the term for older brother in Hangul as he caught Jungkook leaving his parents side to tug Jimin along into their group.

Jimin couldn't have been his actual brother with their last names, right?

Unless Jungkook and Jimin's relationship was like his and Anna's.

He averted his eyes quickly enough to avoid eye contact with the Mercedes rookie, but he wasn't able to make the turn around the mobile fast enough to avoid being seen altogether.

"Taehyung!"

He really shouldn't have stopped.

He slowly turned over his shoulder and smiled, more of a grimace, as Jungkook came over with Jimin under his arm and his parents following along on the other side.

"Hey, Champ." Taehyung greeted.

Jungkook's expression turned a little embarrassed as his mother looked at him. "Don't call me that." He cleared his throat and gestured to the elders. Taehyung felt his fingers twitch out of discomfort of what he knew was coming. "My parents wanted to meet you."

"I wonder why." He muttered under his breath, smiling and bowing his head towards them. "Hello."

"You race well." Jungkook's father shook his hand and Taehyung almost felt a wall of relief slam into him as Jungkook's phone started to ring.

"It's Asli." Jungkook dismissed himself to take the call.

Taehyung nodded. "Thank you. I'll take my leave as well. Need to rest before tomorrow."

They said goodbye and Taehyung met Jimin's harsh eyes once before turning towards Ferrari's motorhome.

"You and Jeon are cordial?" A voice nipped at his ear not even ten seconds later as Farrow stepped out of the motorhome on his way in.

"You're spying from the window, now?" Taehyung shot back. "And I'm just respecting elders."

"Ah, yes, they must like seeing another Kor—"

"I suggest you stop there before you make a mess that the media team would have to clean up." Taehyung snapped back before shoving past Luc into the indoor space. "Piece of shit."

He couldn't wait until Imola next weekend. After three races in a row— Japan, China, and Miami— of Jungkook's name being shoved down his throat and his Korean roots being given too much spotlight, he couldn't wait to be close to home and Otillie.

He wasn't sure yet if his parents would come down for the race. There were others closer to Berlin, but Italian races were always classics.

Taehyung felt tempted to ask after having stopped doing so a long time ago. His mother would come anytime she was able, which was an incredibly great amount that he was grateful for, but something about seeing the Jeon family in Miami made his chest squeeze tight. The yearning made him feel sick.

He shook his head until it hurt.

He had a race in less than twenty four hours.

Taehyung shoved his shaking hand in his pocket when his eyes fell on the red race suit laid out for tomorrow.

〇〇〇〇〇
◉ ◉ ◉ ◉ ◉

Maybe it was the love of a home race that gave him his last push on the track. Maybe it was the five second penalty Oliver received mid-race for contact. Maybe it was Jungkook's rookie skill.

But all he knew was that he was on the second step of the podium, bending down to take the Miami Grand Prix trophy for 2nd place.

The Australian national anthem had played for the race winner Bailey— who deserved it for dominating all weekend— and the British anthem for McLaren as the winning team.

They handed out the trophies to Bailey, himself and Ader, three different teams scoring the top points that weekend.

His eyes gleamed as the fans and teams below roared for the winners when they set the trophies down and swapped them out for the champagne bottles.

Officials left the stage just in time for corks to be popped off. Jungkook shook the bottle and sprayed it on the other two drivers, both of which targeted him as an extra congratulations.

Champagne down his suit, in his eyes, drenching his hair and sticking to his skin under the Miami light.

He was a home hero. He had two more American races to try and win the Prix, but he would gladly take second place that weekend.

Jungkook didn't miss the news that followed the race. He was likely to win a race that season if he stayed on his trajectory.

And more importantly, he was a contender for the Driver's Championship. Not too shabby for a rookie.

i'm using the 2024 racing calendar for my storyline:

happy holidays!! my present to all of you :]
- neeto <3

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