The travel time from Banpo to Yongsan was almost the same as the time it took to travel from Jamsil to Banpo. However, the road was perceived as much shorter. Of course, Jihong understood what the reason was: the place he was going to was nothing more than the federation office.

Jihon has long disliked people from there. As Mr. Cho noted, they are known for their excessive interference. Athletes were forced to hire coaches who graduated from the Korean National Sports University. If they tried to refuse, they were immediately met with anger and open threats. And then, when the frightened athletes eventually gave in, they were shown leniency, declaring: "We care about you. Everything we do is for your own good."

Kava is the agency that the organization highly recommended to Jaekyung. They seemed to be working hard to complete the deal. Moreover, they received a large sum from the company, but then Spoin poached Jaekyung. It's only natural for the federation to hate them. Despite the failed negotiations with Kava even before the conclusion of the current contract, the federation did not care. They went on to criticize Spoin for brazenly intercepting the water sports star, not knowing their place and not being as promising as Kava. In other words, the "greeting" that Jihong was going to give them was just a formality.

«…….»

Jihong stifled a breath that almost escaped his lips so that Jaekyung wouldn't notice his anxiety. After repeating the same action 4 more times, he finally arrived at his destination. Jihon drove up to the parking lot and tidied up his hair one last time to keep all criticism to a minimum, and prepared to leave. Suddenly, Jaekyung unbuckled his seat belt and got out of the car before him.

"What?" Will you go too?"

"Since I'm here, why not

With that, he moved forward on his long legs.

"What the hell? He has never met with the chairman. Is there anyone he's close to in the federation?" The office was located on the second floor. Jihong knocked on the door under a sign that read: "Korea Swimming Federation."

As soon as they entered, the office staff rose from their seats in amazement.

— Hello, I'm a representative of Spoin. I have an appointment for three hours

"Oh, yes. Please come in

They were escorted to the office, where their boss "sat". However, people's attention remained focused exclusively on Jaekyung. It seemed that someone might even accidentally blurt out, "Wow, it's Kwon Jaekyung! Damn, he's really that handsome."

— Vice Chairman, a representative of Spoin has arrived

When the assistant knocked on the door, a voice was heard: "Tell him to come in."

«.......»

"Oh, are you here?" he said, imposingly moving to the guest sofa. A man in his early thirties sat across from him.

"Why don't you come in?"

"Oh, no, sir, I didn't know you were still busy

"It's okay, come in

When they were talking on the phone this morning, as soon as he found out that Jihong was THAT Jung Jihong, he suddenly became familiar: "Oh, yes. I heard that you work there. How are you?"

It's been ten years since Jihong was a young athlete and the person opposite was a member of the federation, and if you dig deeper, such a relationship between senior and junior is quite common. However, now they have met thanks to work. And the meeting was between the head of the federation and the agent responsible for promoting the best athlete. Therefore, such careless treatment goes beyond common sense.

The point is not that the deputy did not know the rules of business etiquette. Probably, he understands how inappropriate his behavior is now. In fact, this insistence in such an ignorant manner seemed deliberate. And, thus, he tries to put Jihon in his "deserved" place, as if asserting himself. Jihong, suppressing a sigh, was about to enter, but unexpectedly, Jaekyung, who was standing outside the door, suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder and burst into the office first.

"Oh, Jaekyung is here too?"

Seeing Jaekyung's sudden appearance, the vice chairman exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh my God, I can't believe I've had the chance to see such an amazing man," he babbled in the middle of the booth, his arms spread wide. Of course, the guy ignored the feigned cordiality. He just nodded and sat down next to him. The man who had originally been sitting there shifted to the side of the deputy, who immediately lowered his wide-open arms and redirected his anger at Jihon.

"Hey, Jihon, you should have warned me about his visit

Before Jihong could object, Jaekyung took off his cap and asked, "Why? Shouldn't I say hello to you?"

"Oh, that's not the case. If I had known you were coming, we'd all have lunch together

"I don't have time for that

Jaekyung pushed his hair back, abruptly interrupting the words of his interlocutor, whose expression immediately hardened. But Jihong, determined to defuse the situation, quickly said, "We will definitely arrange such a meeting next time, sir. Let's have lunch with all the members of the federation." He smiled and put his hand on Jaekyung's thigh. Fortunately, he no longer opened his mouth, perhaps recognizing the silent signal. Feeling the tension in the room, Jihong bowed his head, pondering how to express his intention, "Anyway, we are now providing support to Mr. Kwon Jaekyung, sir. I am here because I think it is appropriate to get to know you."

"Yes, well... A difficult path awaits you

The vice chairman grumbled reluctantly. However, he looked at them extremely disapprovingly, then clicked his tongue in disappointment and added, "But the way you behave bothers me."

"Excuse me?" asked Jihon again

– Since the competition is just around the corner, why drag an athlete here who needs to train? Why should he miss training on such a minor occasion?

"I was coming back from training," Jaekyung interjected again. "I was driving from Gwacheon, and hyun will drop me off at the hotel. Since he said that he would visit the federation, I decided to go with him."

"yes, I see," muttered the deputy, exchanging embarrassed glances with the stranger, who, turning to Jaekyung, asked, "But the way you address him... Is it true that Mr. Kwon Jae-kyung calls Jung Ji-hong 'hyun'?"

"Yes," Jaekyung replied directly.

"I understand...

The guy stared at the unknown man, then leaned back comfortably on the couch and asked, "Am I not allowed to call him that?"

"No, that's not the point. I'm just curious if the two of you were close

Anticipating what Jaekyung would freeze further, Jihong hurriedly intervened, "He used to call me that at the swimming center. It makes no sense to change something now, because he is already used to such treatment."

"Oh, exactly. You both visited the same pool," the Vice Chairman nodded, apparently remembering the past. "But were you close then?"

"Yes," and again Jaekyung blurted out everything first, going beyond harshness and even irritation.

And the deputy only let out an awkward chuckle: "I see, so that's why you made a deal with them," and looking at the stranger next to him, he took a deep breath. Leaning forward slightly, he continued, "To be honest, we were hoping that Jaekyung would join the bigger players in the market, you know? Such agencies provide substantial support. And thanks to their extensive experience, they can teach us a well-coordinated organization of processes, which we can then apply in our work with athletes."

— I'm not going to cooperate with Kava

The deputy, momentarily taken by surprise by the direct mention, began to stutter a little: "No, don't... Kava, I mean, yes, it's Kava. So you wouldn't choose them no matter what?"

—Yes

"Why...???" was a question of confusion.

"They think too much about money

"Really...?" They?

Jaekyung, with his long legs crossed, maintained a nonchalant tone as he continued, "They were constantly changing their own promises. At first, they assured me that I could do whatever I wanted, because the main thing was only cooperation. But when it came time to draw up the contract, they suddenly put forward several new conditions. And they even wanted me to write a receipt. How can I trust them?"

"Sorry, Mr. Kwon Jaekyung. It seems that there was a small misunderstanding," the unknown man quickly intervened. "They would never act like that. After all, they have been working for a long time and have exclusive contracts with many athletes. If the company were problematic, then many would be..."

Jaekyung interrupted him abruptly.

"No... I'm just a person who knows a little about what's going on

"When you learn more, then we'll talk

"What, excuse me?"

"You say this because you don't know much about their activities, so I ask you to learn more and tell me," Jaekyung's voice remained steady. "And perhaps you will understand why I made such a decision."

The stranger was speechless. And the guy just grinned, putting on the cap he was holding in his hand, and muttered, "Misunderstanding is my ass."

As Jihong looked at him, a thought crept into his mind, "I screwed up."

— In any case, this is my choice, and there are reasons for everything

Because of the cap, it is difficult to make out what emotions Jaekyung was experiencing. But, don't go to a fortune teller here, it's clear that the guy is now frowning with irritation.

"I hope that the federation will support us

Anger slipped into his uncharacteristically polite speech. The vice chairman looked at Jaekyung from afar and sarcastically concluded, "Yes, Jaekyung, you can do it." Then he turned to Jihon, "You have a difficult path ahead of you."

It is not clear whether his words were an encouragement or some kind of curse.

"Yes, sir. Please take care of us

When Jiheon bowed his head, Jaekyung stood up and said goodbye: "I have manual therapy at five. I'm leaving."

Without waiting for an answer, he left the leader's office without hesitation.