CHAPTER 142: THE RIGHT PERSON

It wasn’t a decision he came up with overnight, but one he had been considering and observing for the whole European debut season before making it.

Back in Turkey, he had felt anchored to Fatih, actively needed in every step of his privateer journey after leaving the academy. Even then, he was acting more as a chief engineer than a coach. Fatih seemed to have an innate sense of how to drive effectively, no matter the situation. Burak kept waiting for that feeling to hit a ceiling, a point where a teacher would be needed to push him further, but in the five years they had worked together, that time never came.

However, when they moved to Europe, he finally witnessed that even the chief engineer role he had shouldered in Turkey was now being handled by professionals like Steve and John, who had studied and gained experience in that area. They simply did the job better than he could.

The worst evidence of his dwindling usefulness came during the first international race. Fatih made the decision on his own to take a setup gamble, one that turned into a nightmare on Saturday when it rained more than expected. Situations like these were where a reliable coach was needed most, to ground the driver and keep him focused.

But far from needing to be grounded, Fatih didn’t look shaken at all. He retained his confidence and backed it up on the track, beating drivers who were in the most optimal setup for the weekend. He showed the maturity of knowing that the only important race is the one that gives points, and everything else can be sacrificed if it increases those chances. Although it was a maturity Fatih had possessed since he was in Turkey, Burak had expected that confidence to shake for a moment as he realized he was not at the top of the food chain in the international scene. It seemed his worries were unfounded.

The second race delivered another punch. Having spent the entire night monitoring the engine teardown, he went back to the hotel to rest, only for Fatih to be met with an engine problem due to the rushed rebuild. In a situation like that, he would have expected a young driver of Fatih’s age to get nervous and worried, to the point that he would have been contacted to calm him down. But to his surprise, Fatih didn’t need that. Despite starting from last, he once again reigned supreme, as if all the obstacles he faced were nothing but small potholes.

With just those two races, he had come to the realization that, in his current form, he was not going to be of any help to Fatih, despite his extra activities for experience with other teams. For someone in a position where a lazy coach would just bask in the glory and receive the paycheck, he felt none of the joy. Instead, he felt worse, especially due to his relationship with Fatih’s mom.

Their relationship, which had finally moved in the right direction, made him happy but also complicated his situation. He now felt guilty, sometimes even questioning why he remained Fatih’s coach when he was rarely needed. Considering he was being paid, he couldn’t use the excuse that he simply loved Fatih and wanted to watch him grow up close, no matter how true that was.

So, to remove that guilty conscience and also accomplish his dream of continuing to watch Fatih up close, he decided to take a leap of faith. He reported his need for further education to have the required qualifications and experience to move with Fatih into single-seaters, which at the earliest would be when he was fourteen. He had expected TOSFED to stop indulging his requests after they had already paid for his experience training, and he was prepared to resign and fund his own education if they did. But to his surprise, it seemed they were also starting their long-term planning.

Fatih’s performance had convinced them. With the two prestigious international trophies he won in his first year, it was clear that Fatih was guaranteed to at least move to F4. That certainty justified their investment in Burak’s education. It meant they would be maintaining their close relationship with Fatih through an individual whom both Fatih and Rümeysa trusted. With most of the funds set aside for Fatih’s karting career now freed up due to his double sponsorship with Red Bull and Tony Kart, they decided to divert it to improving Burak’s education.

Using their connections, they managed to enroll him in the special January intake, having missed the September start, giving him two months of preparation before he was to start his higher education in motorsports engineering.

"Why didn’t you tell me about it ahead of time?" Rümeysa asked, having calmed down after hearing his full explanation. She could resonate with his reasoning, as it made a lot of sense.

"The situation was complicated by the evolution of our relationship, and I didn’t find the right timing. Only now can I say with confidence that I have found a way," Burak said, showing that he was not keen on having to rely on her just as they started their relationship, as it might be interpreted as him taking advantage of it.

"It is for Fatih’s benefit, so why would I think about it like that?" Rümeysa said, reading the undertones and making it clear that as long as it was for Fatih, she would not think negatively about it.

"I will keep that in mind," Burak said as he caressed her hand.

"How far is the university from here? Would you be renting, or is it close enough to travel?" Rümeysa asked, finally moving on to the more important questions.

"It is a one- to two-hour drive from here and a three-hour journey by train, but the university guaranteed boarding for first-year students, so I think it is better I stay there during the week and return on Fridays, leaving on Monday mornings," Burak, who seemed to have considered all of that, explained.

"How were you planning to tell Fatih about this?" Rümeysa asked, already having a headache about how to tell Fatih that his coach was going to be missing most of his races less, as he had to go to university. Although he was mature for his age, she knew he was still a child and was used to having Burak around for most of the week.

"It won’t be difficult if we explain the situation as is, with as much detail as possible. If I remind him that I will still be here on the weekends, he should be able to understand," Burak suggested. As someone who knew Fatih second only to his family, he knew how understanding he was, so long as he had enough information. What he hated was being left without an explanation.

"But what is TOSFED planning to do? Are they going to ask us to hire another coach?"

"They will contact you to consult on your decision. I asked them to delay it until I had talked to you about it, so we could discuss it before we contact them after you have made your decision."

"What do you suggest we do?"

Burak, upon hearing the question, took a moment to consider it before he said, "I don’t think he needs a personal coach at the moment, as the team he is in already acts as one, seeing how they managed to operate during the day I was not there. But we also have to ask him and see his position as well, and decide based on that. If he wants one, we can go with that, and if he doesn’t, we can just ask RFM to assign someone for him. After all, if not for me, that is one of the services they usually provide for their clients."

"Most of the assistance he usually needs is related to administrative matters like registrations, inspections, and similar things. So, someone there taking over for him is not going to be that demanding."

"You are not worried that he might like the new coach better than you if we hire one?" Rümeysa asked, teasing him.

"Well, if he is better, there is not much reason to complain, so long as I get to continue to watch his career from up close. Being on the grandstands with you watching him is not bad either; in fact, it might even be more enjoyable to watch it that way," Burak said, mixing a serious answer with sarcasm, as he knew if he had the option, he would much rather be actively included in his growth as a racer than as a spectator.

"What about us? Do we tell him?"

"I don’t see any reason to hide it from him since he will catch on very fast even if we don’t tell him," Burak said as he chuckled, imagining how Fatih would react to the news that he was going out with his mother.

"HAHAHAHAHA," Rümeysa laughed as she imagined the same thing, having no worries that he would react negatively, completely unaware that Fatih had already discovered it from their phone call, where she had accidentally slipped where Burak was, which indicated they were in the same room.

........

Fatih, unaware of the conversation happening at home, was in the middle of selling some of the Bitcoins he had loaded onto his phone wallet, already on his second day of selling to accumulate funds for his TheConqueror.com company.