Jihong thought that Jaekyung would immediately ask about the meaning of his words, but he didn't. Jaekyung just kept his mouth shut and stared at Jihon, his dark brown eyes moist and his previous insistence gone. Jaekyung looked at him as if he was ready to cry at any moment. For the first time, he looked his age.

"Oh, he's only 12," the realization of the situation instantly struck Jihon, and he regretted his words. The thought that he had taken his anger out on an innocent child made him feel ashamed of himself. He felt so uncomfortable that he wanted to run away. Even now, these memories made his face blush with shame. If he could, he would want to fall underground. Jihon lowered his head, covering his face with his hand. Yes, he immediately apologized, trying to smooth over the situation with kind words. But that didn't mean he could erase his mistake. Hence, when he thought about that day, the first thing that came to his mind was not the goodbye they exchanged, but Jaekyung's childish demeanor and resentful face. At that time, Jihon was still very young. This was the time when he, being immature, had a fully formed adult body. But this could not be an excuse. Jaekyung is much younger, and an 18-year-old high school student shouldn't have behaved like that towards a 12-year-old boy.

"I wonder if he'll be there today," Jihon mused, rubbing his hot cheeks.

Since Jaekyung left all contract-related issues to his mother, it is unlikely that he will attend the meeting. Moreover, this is not even the conclusion of a contract, but an ordinary conversation. With less than two months left before the competition, it seemed unlikely that the athlete would intentionally miss training.

"Sir, shall I drop you off at the main entrance?"

Hearing the taxi driver's question, Jihong hurriedly raised his head. From the window he could see the appointed meeting place - the hotel building.

"Oh, yes. Please stop here

According to the instructions, the driver stopped right in front of the main entrance to the hotel. After paying and getting out of the taxi, Jihong checked the time on his mobile phone again. The clock is 14:46, and the meeting is scheduled for exactly 15:00. Taking a seat on a vacant sofa in the lobby on the first floor, Jihong waited for CEO Kang Taejin and management team leader Lee Yujeong. After all the business, they decided to arrive directly at the place. Fortunately, Managing Director Guo was not present at today's meeting. It seems that the CEO was aware that the manager had a bad reputation. And the number of participants was deliberately limited: a representative of the legal department or the head of the strategic support management department was not present.

No lawyer was needed today, as a routine briefing is scheduled about the company's vision, athlete support, and the strategy they can offer to partner with Kwon Jaekyung. As for Ms. Shim, it was obvious that she would start asking a lot of questions, so the CEO decided that it would be better if the team leader Lee was present at the meeting, rather than the department head Jin, who was already busy. To a certain extent, Jihong agreed with this state of affairs. Mrs. Shim's main concern was the down payment, and there is no need for a lawyer at this time.

«… I'm not sure. But the CEO said it was important to meet and show people what kind of company we are," Jihong thought.

The general director and the head of the management group took care of this. Jihon sighed and sat down even deeper on the sofa. Behind his back, he heard whispers, someone was talking on the phone: "No, he said that he would not go to the Olympic Games even on pain of death. He is determined to retire after the next competition. We must accept this and include this condition in the contract."

Jihon froze in place in shock. He didn't have time to panic because of an overheard conversation. The Olympics, retirement after the championship, future competitions, contract, etc. All these words sounded eerily familiar. It is clear that it was about someone from the industry in which Jihon worked. At this point in time, there is only one sports agency in the process of contracting a national team athlete who had unique abilities and was quite independent in terms of making decisions about participation in the Olympic Games. Just as Jihong thought, "Maybe...?" the man behind him confirmed his suspicions: "His mother is certainly on our side, but she admits that she can't break her son's stubbornness. She said that this time she did everything she could to convince him to sign a contract with the agency. The rest is up to us."

"This is really Kwon Jaekyung," Jihong concluded. Everything that has been said so far has been about him. This meant that the person standing behind was a representative of Kava, and judging by the situation, the negotiations with Jaekyung were not going smoothly. "What's going on? Did she invite us to take advantage of the trump card in the middle of the fight with Kava? But the important thing is, why won't Kwon Jaekyung take part in the upcoming Olympic Games?" Winning a Grand Slam tournament would be impressive, but to be honest, two consecutive Olympic titles will be much more valuable in the advertising market. Or did Jaekyung use it as a tactic against negotiating with Kava?

Jihong struggled to concentrate amidst the sudden flow of information, but he was interrupted by a call coming from his cell phone.

[Mr. Jeong, where are you?]

It was Lee Yujeong, the head of the management team.

"Oh, I'm in the lobby, ma'am," Jihong quickly stood up, then covered his mouth with his hand and whispered. "But I don't think you should come here right now. Please tell me where to go and I'll go on my own."

[Oh, really? Then go upstairs. We'll meet at Kwon Jaekyung's room.]

After calling out the room number, the team leader Lee Yujeong hung up. Jihong put his mobile phone in his pocket and began to look for the elevator. However, all three central elevators were already going upstairs, and a long queue of waiting people formed. He had heard that there was a large symposium and exhibition at the hotel today, and these people were probably participants. Most likely, the elevators on both sides of the lobby were equally slow.

«……»

Thinking for a moment, Jihon crossed his arms over his chest. He needs to get to the room located on the 21st floor. He glanced at the toe of his shoe, intensely calculating in his head. As a result, he decided to climb the fire escape. Arriving at the 21st floor, Jihong realized that the choice was right. If he had waited for the elevator, it could have taken about 10 minutes, but using the stairs reduced the time to five minutes. However, he felt terribly tired. Jihon walked down the corridor with bated breath. When he reached the room, his breathing was almost restored. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and neck, which he could not help noticing.

"Oh, Mr. Jeong," the team leader Lee, who was standing in front of the door, was the first to notice Jihong and gestured for him to come over. And CEO Kang looked around and expressed a slight surprise: "Why are you sweating so much? Is it so hot outside?"

"I was going up the stairs, sir.

This time, even the team leader seemed puzzled: "This way? Isn't that the 21st floor?"

"You underestimate a former athlete. It's a matter of spitting for him," CEO Kahn, a former volleyball player, proudly stated. Although this is not entirely true, but Jihong did not want to argue.

"Wipe off the sweat first," Team Leader Lee took a handkerchief out of her bag and handed it to Jihon.

"Thank you, madam. I will wash it and return it to you," Jihon thanked, wiping away the sweat. Team leader Li waved her hand dismissively, "No, keep it, or just throw it away. I was going to buy a new one anyway, as this one was pretty shabby."

"Then I'll buy you a new one," Jihong folded his handkerchief with a smile and put it in his shirt pocket.

"Now let's go," General Manager Kang immediately knocked on the door. A moment later, a middle-aged woman opened the door.

— You are probably representatives of Spoin. We have been waiting for you. Please come in.

The person who greeted us with a warm smile was Mrs. Shim, Jaekyung's mother. First, she led the CEO and team leader Lee, and when she saw Jihon, she exclaimed, "Oh my god, Mr. Jihong," opening her arms for a hug. "It's been so long since we've seen each other."

"Hello, ma'am. Indeed, a lot of time has passed.

"Oh!" It's been almost ten years, right?

— Yes, you look great. As if they have become younger, ma'am.

Mrs. Shim smiled and waved her hand, but Jihon's praise was genuine. She looked more stylish with glowing skin and a bright complexion. Well, she had good skin back then. Why not? Being the mother of such a wonderful son, she probably received compliments and envy from those around her, which allowed her to keep a smile on her face all day long.

"Make yourself comfortable," Mrs. Shim led us to the table in the living room. From there, the kitchen and two bedrooms could be seen, indicating that it was a living quarters.

"Jaekyong is now undergoing manual therapy. But he'll finish soon," Mrs. Shim said, pointing to the tightly closed door inside. Jihong couldn't help but feel heavy from what he heard. He expected Jaekyung to be in training. From the moment he accidentally witnessed a phone conversation with a Kava employee in the lobby, he was haunted by an unpleasant premonition about the current situation.

"I see. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule," Director General Kahn bowed to him.

– It's not someone but the athlete Jihon, no, I mean the assistant manager Jihon, who personally contacted me, so I have to do at least that.

At such words, the team leader Lee Yujeong smiled and jokingly replied, "Mr. Kang, you definitely need to praise him."

"Oh, of course, of course," he replied with a smile.

Mrs. Shim turned to Jihong once again and continued with a smile, "We have a very close relationship with him. Jaekyung went to the swimming center at the time because of him. Jaekyung kept saying that he wanted to train in the same place as him, so we even moved to Ilsan."

If Managing Director Guo had heard this, he would have shouted, "Wait, what the hell? You said you weren't close at all, but you were very close!"

Jihong swallowed, thinking about how lucky he was that Managing Director Guo wasn't present today. However, CEO Kang reacted positively with a happy expression: "Winning the World Cup was a huge event."

— That's right. Korean swimmers rarely took medals in such competitions, and at that time he was only a high school student. Videos from that competition continued to be shown in the news, and when Jaekyung saw it, he immediately expressed a desire to train there.

"Kwon Jaekyung would still be successful no matter where he was," Jihong quickly interjected, trying to shift his attention from himself to him. - He is quite stubborn, and also has a good physique. The amount of training he did in elementary school was enormous. Even adults can't compare to him." In order to somehow divert the topic from himself, Jihon showered himself with compliments to the fullest.

– At that time, I thought that Jekyung would be able to show his abilities in complex swimming competitions. But when I heard about his victory and winning gold in the championship at the Asian Games, I realized how much it was expected. This confirms the idea that gold medalists in the all-around are real champions.

"Oh, that's right. By the way, he began to prepare for the competition, but...

Just as Mrs. Shim was about to continue her speech, the door opened. A chiropractor and an elderly man appeared.