"Among all things...", thought Jihon. But he wasn't sure if his misadventures had been orchestrated by someone or if they were just a series of random events. It was more like a small twist of fate than a streak of failure. However, the coincidence is too accurate, because everything happened just on the day of welcoming new employees.

[The upcoming event is the final of the men's qualification swim for 200 meters at the Olympic pool in Cairo. The representative of our country, Kwon Jaekyung, is going to take part in this long-awaited competition.

The voice of the presenter spread throughout the space, and the swimmers began to take their seats. The camera slowly changed the angle, capturing the presence of eight people in the distance. Eventually, the operator zoomed in, showing a close-up of the player heading towards the middle track.

Inside the noisy pub, many familiar faces were broadcast on a large screen, and the atmosphere became more exciting as a group of female patrons burst into applause. However, it was the table at which the college students had gathered that attracted attention, their enthusiastic shouts and stamping of feet reverberated throughout the institution.

"Hey, if anyone hears you shouting like that, they'll think they've already taken the gold!"

"I know, I know, okay? Seriously, I thought that Kwon Jaekyung had already managed to surpass the world record!"

"If he doesn't get medals, then the fuss that you have made here, girls, will be to blame," the guys booed them, but the ladies remained unperturbed.

"Don't panic. His face alone deserves a gold medal."

"That's for sure! If we ranked them by appearance, Jaekyung would have won 24 times already."

"At the end of the day, he's the most valuable player"

At other tables, laughter rang out when the girls' words hit the bull's-eye.

[The camera has been pointed at Kwon Jaekyung for quite some time now.]

Even the host spoke in a voice saturated with laughter. There was another reason why he was so happy.

[Undoubtedly, he is considered one of the main contenders to win and win the gold medal in this championship.]

The commentator politely explained the reason, his words filled with pride.

[Our Kwon Jaekyung took first place in the preliminary round, setting a new record across Asia. Currently, Noah Kenny from Australia is in second place. Although breaking his previous record by 0.4 seconds, he was behind Kwon Jaekyung.]

[The two athletes trained together in Australia, right?]

[Yes, that's right. Since last year's competition, Kwon Jaekyung has been training in Australia, particularly at the Aquatic Centre, where Noah Kenny is also trained.

The commentator continued his monologue, adding phrases like "shaving buddy" and other unnecessary remarks that lengthened his own speech too much. At times, he even tried to create a sense of closeness by familiarly referring to Kwon Jaekyung as "our Jaekyung", as if he had forgotten about the official introduction of "athlete Kwon Jaekyung".

Jihong's smile faded as he heard the commentator try to demonstrate his connection to the athlete. It was obvious that the commentator was indeed Kwon Jaekyung's former coach, although he had only worked with him for a year in elementary school before he was fired. Kwon Jaekyung's parents filed a complaint, claiming that the coach often came to the pool drunk. Jihong vividly remembered witnessing the coach dozing off in the living room several times, with the smell of alcohol floating around him.

Initially, Jihong thought that the trainer was enthusiastic about teaching Kwon Jaekyung because of the young prodigy's exceptional talent. However, his reckless behavior and inability to overcome his habits ruined him. Now, dressed in a suit, he took on the role of commentator. They say that when the star appears, even neighbors and kindergarten teachers will be invited for interviews. Jihong considered the coach's behavior shameless, because he was just using the opportunity given to him. Jihong raised his glass of beer, a smile playing on his lips as the TV presenter re-described current events.

[Here it is, the Cairo Olympic Stadium. The long-awaited final of the men's 200m swimming championship is coming soon. Our country's swimmer Kwon Jaekyung is aiming for victory.

[This type of competition involves overcoming equal segments of the distance by different swimming styles, such as freestyle or butterfly, alternating in a strict sequence. However, in complex swimming, there are all four styles that are performed in a certain order.]

[Butterfly – backstroke – breaststroke – freestyle, in that order?]

[Exactly. Swimmers must adhere to this order. Although there are distances of 400 and 200 meters, Kwon Jaekyung will participate in the 200 meter swim.]

[So the distance for each style is 50 meters?]

[That's right: Swimmers usually specialize in a particular style. However, the water all-around requires all four techniques. It is considered the most difficult competition for swimmers, as it requires a combination of strength, endurance, skill and flexibility.

"Ah, that sounds difficult," the colleague from the general affairs department muttered to himself as he sat across from Jihon. His voice sounded as if he had never known such a thing existed. Such ignorance is not surprising, given that swimming has always been an unpopular sport in South Korea. In the past, the competition only attracted attention when an athlete took a gold medal, but that was only once. Swimmers have never won Olympic medals, and Korean athletes have rarely reached the finals of the World Championships or the Summer Olympics. Only a few broadcasters bothered to broadcast the finals of the less popular competitions live, leaving most Koreans oblivious to the existence of the all-around. However, it was a little strange that even an employee of a sports agency did not know about such a significant event.

"Well, that's not surprising, he's from the general department," Jihon thought, casually taking some rice and bringing it to his mouth.

Suddenly, the screen took on a bright shade of blue, and a bird's-eye view of the 50-meter pool appeared on it. Below, where there had been a calm expanse of water, there was now a continuous stream of voices from the host and the commentator.

[Historically, Western athletes have taken first place in the individual competition, don't you agree?]

[Yes, as I mentioned earlier, although skills play a special role, physical strength is also important. Swimming is a sport in which physical qualities greatly affect performance. It is not surprising that American and Australian athletes excelled in this competition. Usually, everyone is 190 cm or 2 meters tall.]

[Haha, that's quite impressive, but haven't Asian swimmers achieved outstanding results?]

[Absolutely. Ye Xuan of China won two women's gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics, instantly becoming a national hero of China. At that time, she even broke the world record. In addition, the Japanese athlete won the gold medal in the all-around swimming in the individual at the World Championships, which caused a huge stir.]

[Is it because such achievements are rare?!]

[Exactly: People thought that athletes from the United States or Australia would claim gold, but it was an Asian athlete who did it.]

[However, our country has yet to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games.]

[That's right. We have high expectations this year. Kwon Jaekyung reached the finals for the first time and took first place in the qualifying stage.]

[Let's not forget that he has already won the gold medal in the men's 200m all-around at the Asian Competitions. Kwon Jaekyung was only 17 years old, attended Osford High School in Australia, and is 188cm tall.... But it's still growing, isn't it?]

The commentator answered the host's question with pride, as if it was about his own child.

[I heard that he was 186 cm tall last year, which is quite a jump considering that he was only 183 cm tall during the competition when he was in his third year of high school.]

[Our swimmer Kwon Jaekyung is getting taller and taller, and his records are becoming more and more impressive. In this Olympics alone, he has already won gold medals in the 200m and 400m freestyle, 50m backstroke and silver in the 200m butterfly. If he manages to win gold in this individual event, he will accumulate a total of four gold medals. It seems that the competition is about to begin.]

Before the presenter could finish speaking, the signal sounded, and the swimmers took their positions. The camera quickly switched back and forth, catching glimpses of swimmers and the enthusiastic crowd in the stands. As soon as the list appeared on the screen, the presenter continued his speech in a calm and collected tone.

[South Korea's Kwon Jaekyung is on the fourth track.]

When the list disappeared, the swimmers were already lined up and ready to start. There was a rumble at the moment when they all dived into the water at the same time.

[Starts!]

In an instant, silence reigned in the room, enveloping everything around. Even those who used to be busy laughing and idle chatter paid attention to the screen installed on one of the walls of the pub. In the reflection of Jihon's desk, the following picture could be seen of some of his colleagues turning their chairs to the screen, admiration frozen on their faces. Fortunately, Jihon didn't need to move around, as his chair was originally turned toward the panel. He clutched his glass of warm beer, his eyes fixed on the screen. As he took a sip, the sound of beer sliding down his throat resounded distinctly in his ears. Perhaps it was the silence that made the sound more noticeable.

[At the beginning of the competition, swimmers compete in a butterfly style. Noah Kenny, starting from the fifth lane, immediately takes the lead.]

[The main style of the athlete is butterfly. At these Olympic Games, he also took gold medals at distances of 100 and 200 meters butterfly.]

[And Kwon Jaekyung's main style is free, right?]

[Yes. But he is also good in butterfly. This time he took the silver medal in the 200 meters.]

[Attention! Noah Kenny on the fifth track was the fastest, followed by Kwon Jaekyung on the fourth and Phil Abramson of the United States on the third.]

[Abramson is the world record holder in the 200-meter backstroke, and he won the championship yesterday too.]

[But in the 100 meters, he lost 0.05 seconds to Kwon Jaekyung and took the silver medal, didn't he?]

[Yes, Kwon Jaekyung's run was intimidating in the last 10 meters.]

While the presenter and commentator spoke in detail about the race, the swimmers quickly covered half of the distance of the 50-meter pool, performing a backstroke. Then, in an instant, the three swimmers in the middle lane reached the touch panel, their hands touching near-perfect synchronicity.

[Noah Kenny on the fifth lane, Kwon Jaekyung on the fourth, almost simultaneously reached the 100-meter touch panel.....! Changed! Kwon Jaekyung is in the lead on the fourth track!]