DASH-Chapter 151

“I have to admit this now, but I honestly thought Jaekyoung wouldn’t find someone to date or get married to in his entire life.”

After calming down a bit, Mrs. Shim blew her nose.

“He doesn’t seem interested in that kind of thing, and he doesn’t have the personality to accept something like that even if you force him to find a partner. To be really honest, I thought he was going to live alone for the rest of his life.”

Even before that, Jiheon had noticed that Mrs. Shim had low expectations for Jaekyoung’s marriage. This was especially noticeable when she discussed Jaekyoung’s life after retirement. There was no strong indication that he was preparing for old age with the assumption of having a spouse or a new family.

Even when Mrs. Shim threatened him, “I will no longer cook for you after you retire,” she never said, “So get it from your wife.” She simply told him to buy it on his own or to cook for himself. Of course, Kwon Jaekyoung would’ve said, “I’ll just go to McDonald’s.”

“I was married, but it didn’t end well, and the divorce rate is very high these days. I thought it would be unfortunate if Jaekyoung got married and experienced such a thing. So I just told him to eat well and live well by himself.”

Mrs. Shim fell silent for a moment, seemingly overwhelmed by emotions once again. She then blew her nose and wiped it with a crumpled tissue.

“Deep down, I suppose I wanted him to meet a good person and have a relationship at least once. When you told me earlier, I was surprised and worried that your ‘courting’ might not mean what I thought.”

While still sobbing, Mrs. Shim giggled and muttered, “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m being so silly!” She then lowered her voice and said:

“Don’t ever tell Jaekyoung I said that.”

“Sure. Of course, ma’am. Don’t worry.”

Jiheon smiled. Seeing him like that, Mrs. Shim smiled brightly and spoke in a much calmer voice.

“Since I first met you in Ilsan, I told Jaekyoung that you’re very polite and gentleman-like for your age. You don’t know how many times I’ve told him to learn from you. It was amazing to meet you again and work together like this. Hearing that you and Jaekyoung have such a good relationship makes me feel proud and happy. I hope you’ll take care of Jaekyoung in the future.”

Mrs. Shim spoke as politely as possible, and then her eyes sparkled again as she asked:

“By the way, should I keep calling you Assistant Manager Jeong? Or... would it be better to call you Jiheon-ssi?”

Her voice showed a bit of excitement only when she mentioned “Jiheon,” and she seemed eager to change the title. Though she tried not to be obvious, her expression and tone were all clear, just like her son. So, Jiheon gave the answer she would most likely want to hear, just as he did with Jaekyoung.

“You can call me whatever you want, ma’am. I prefer the latter because it feels like we’re closer.”

As expected, Mrs. Shim beamed with a smile. She couldn’t hide her feelings and said to Jiheon:

“Alright, I’ll call you that, Jiheon-ssi.”

****

The Gimcheon National Swimming Championship took place every February to March at Gimcheon Sports Town for five days. Besides being the largest national competition in Korea, the championship also served as the first selection round to select the national team for the Olympics in the Olympic years.

As it was a national competition spanning from elementary ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) school to general education, finding accommodation was usually challenging. However, this year, it was even more of a struggle. The only hotel near the pool had been fully booked a few months prior, and all nearby motels were not available either.

Needless to say, Kwon Jaekyoung was the reason why the already intense accommodation war became even fiercer this year. A large number of spectators from all over the country gathered, as it was the last chance to watch his race. Officials from various media outlets, including the press corps, also assembled, about four times as much as in previous years, with half of them being foreign media.

“They’re mostly from Australia and the United States.”

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Team Leader Lee remarked while looking at the foreign reporters occupying the press seats.

“It wasn’t that bad until yesterday.”

“The major talk over there is the 400m individual medley.”

Manager Yoon said while putting a straw into his soy milk pack.

“I ran into someone from the Gimcheon Sports Council earlier, and he said it was the first time they had so many reporters on the last day. Usually, the final day of a swimming competition is the least crowded.”

Manager Yoon took a sip of his soy milk and turned to Jiheon, who was standing beside him.

“Is that really true? The last day is always the least crowded?”

“That’s usually how it goes.”

Jiheon nodded.

“Most people always show up on the first day of the competition. But as time passes, athletes who have finished their events pack up and leave, so the audience and reporters follow suit. Then, on the last day, only the athletes competing on that day remain, as nationals traditionally feature the 400m individual medley and 400m medley relay on the final day.”

“Wow, no wonder there’s no one around.”

In response to Manager Yoon’s remark, Jiheon chuckled and agreed. In swimming powerhouses like Australia and the United States, the 400m individual medley was one of the most popular events, but that wasn’t the case in Korea. As it was a difficult event, only a few athletes attempted it, leading to fewer fans.

“But this year, Kwon Jaekyoung will compete in it.”

Team Leader Lee proudly crossed her arms, casting her gaze at the pool. Jaekyoung was warming up in the middle lane, alone without anyone on either side. Only two other swimmers were in lanes 1 and 8, the outermost lanes. It marked the first time there were so few people during the official warm-up session in the five days of the competition.

“Isn’t there something strange? The pool is unusually quiet, but there will be the biggest crowd of reporters and audiences.”

As she pointed out, there were five swimmers competing in the 400m individual medley. Ironically, most people’s interest and expectations were focused on today’s match, which didn’t even have a preliminary round [1].

“It feels like we rented the place out. It’s nice.”

Manager Yoon crumpled the soy milk pack he had already finished and cracked a joke.

“Maybe it’s because the pool is more relaxed, but Kwon Jaekyoung seems to be in better condition than usual. Right?”

Manager Yoon sought Jiheon’s agreement.

“Yes. He looks the best today.”

Jiheon willingly agreed.

Though he was responding to Manager Yoon, it was true. Jaekyoung appeared to be in excellent condition. Even during the warm-up, his movements were so light as though flying, with no unnecessary motions. Yet, his power and speed were so incredible that it was hard to believe he had participated in 12 races in 6 events over the past 4 days.

“Look at the Australian reporters’ faces looking dark over there.”

“It feels like they’ve lost an Olympic gold medal already.”

“My goodness, Noah.”

“Let’s play for four more years, Noah.”

While Team Leader Lee and Manager Yoon shared laughs and exchanged jokes, Jaekyoung approached the poolside after his warm-up. Removing his swimming cap, he ran his wet fingers through his hair and walked straight to Jiheon, who draped a shower towel over his shoulders.

Jiheon simply handed the towel without uttering a word—he took the role since he was the lowest-ranking among the three—but suddenly, Team Leader Lee and Manager Yoon, who were observing from the side, cleared their throats for no apparent reason. They muttered awkwardly, “Alright then, we should go have breakfast,” and left.

Jiheon, along with Jaekyoung, headed to the waiting room. He vowed that if the day came when he would teach his children about the “10 things you should never do in life,” the first thing he would emphasize was to avoid having an open relationship with someone from the same company.

“How do you feel today?”

“Fine.”

“I see. It looks like it.”

‘Isn’t this why he’s working hard today?’

Smiling, Jiheon opened the waiting room door and stopped abruptly because he locked eyes with Han Yuseong, sitting on the bed just opposite the entrance. Han Yuseong stood up with a surprised look, greeting him and removing the earphones from his ears.

“Hello.”

“Yeah, hello. It’s been a while.”

Jiheon said, opening the waiting room door wider. He allowed Jaekyoung to enter first, followed him in, and closed the door. Passing by Han Yuseong, he spoke to him once more.

“You must’ve finished your warm-up already?”

“Yes.”

Han Yuseong answered briefly, put his earphones back on, and sat on the bed.

Jaekyoung frowned sharply at the guy’s blatant signal of ‘don’t talk to me anymore’ to Jiheon. At this rate, he would definitely be ready to pull out Han Yuseong’s earphones and say, “You cultist bastard. Your sunbae is still talking to you.”

If he caused trouble just an hour before the race, he could have been reported to the Sport Ethics Committee based on Han Yuseong’s response. Jiheon urgently pushed Jaekyoung to the corner of the waiting room.

“Come over here. Let’s do some stretching.”

Once they reached where their bags were placed, Jiheon laid out the exercise mats. Jaekyoung quietly observed and eventually sat on the mat without saying a word. Jiheon sat on a chair beside him and watched him stretch. But all his attention was on Han Yuseong.

The swimming pool gate opened at 7 today, and they arrived around 7.10. By then, Han Yuseong was no longer in the pool, indicating he had finished warming up in just ten minutes, which was quite short for a proper warm-up.

Considering the 400m individual medley required a lot of stamina, many athletes opted for a brief warm-up to conserve energy. However, no matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like Han Yuseong had adequately warmed up.

Jiheon was particularly concerned that Kim Giseok, who was always with Han Yuseong, was absent on a day like this.

“Stop staring at him.”

Jaekyoung’s sudden voice caught Jiheon off guard. He turned his head, realizing he had been looking at Yuseong without realizing it.

“What?”

“Why are you staring at him when there’s nothing to see? The most handsome one is already right in front of you.”

Jaekyoung said in annoyance while stretching his back.

“Sorry.”

Jiheon smiled and apologized, but even then, he mumbled, “Wait, why did I apologize?” Jaekyoung immediately frowned and asked:

“What? Why are you apologizing? Are you really thinking about something else when you are looking at him?”

“Hey, it’s not like that.”

Jiheon explained it was just unconsciously done, but Kwon Jaekyoung didn’t seem willing to listen. This guy stared at Jiheon with his eyes squinted for no reason and then suddenly sprawled on the floor.

“I can’t play today. I’m so annoyed.”

“Yeah, then don’t play.”

Jiheon spoke calmly as he got up. Then he walked over to Jaekyoung, grabbed his arm, and made him stand.

“If you’re gonna lie down, don’t do it on the bare floor. Lie down on the bed. Why are you lying there after just stretching? Your whole body will get stiff.”

“I don’t care if I get a bit stiff. I’m not going to play.”

“Then don’t.”

Jiheon nodded and guided him to the bed and forced him to rise. And when he took him to bed, Jaekyoung smiled and lay down on the bed.

Other swimmers returned soon after warming up. They talked for a long time before Jiheon left the waiting room about 20 minutes before the race.

“I’ll see you at the stadium later.”

Jaekyoung nodded and took his cell phone out of the bag.

Seeing him putting on his earphones like other swimmers, Jiheon said, “Don’t miss the first call,” and left the waiting room.

The hallway was empty. The once-crowded space with swimmers and officials was now quiet, signaling the approaching end of the competition.

While walking toward the stadium entrance, he sent a text message to Manager Yoon, who asked where he was.

“Hey, look who’s here. Isn’t this Jeong Jiheon?”

A loud voice came from behind.

Startled by the sudden call, Jiheon turned around and inwardly clicked his tongue as he saw someone approaching from the other side.

It was the federation’s vice chairman.