«…….»
Jihon froze for a moment in shock.
Assistant Manager Nam rubbed the back of his head and immediately apologized, "Oh, I'm sorry. You shouldn't have asked about it. I'm sorry, Mr. Chong."
"No, no. Everything is fine
Jihon waved his hand, slightly embarrassed. But I decided to stop this farce and simply admit: "Yes, you are right. It's about me."
"Hmm, I see.
Mr. Nam looked as if he had expected this to happen.
"You don't seem to be too surprised
"Well, I've had some suspicions for a long time
The man took chopsticks: "It seemed to me that you don't want to go into details yourself."
And quickly pulled out large bones from the mackerel. Jihon watched his skillful movements before starting his meal.
"How did you understand?" asked Jihon, carefully pulling the spikes out of his tail one by one.
— Intuitively, probably. After all, sometimes you were strangely involved in this topic. And it's obvious that you would go into denial.
"Well, I wouldn't say... though
Jihon seemed to want to clarify something. Mr. Nam seemed to understand his intentions and continued, "Anyway, let's get back to the main thing. I don't know why you think that man mistook a riot of pheromones for love. Maybe there is some good reason. It is difficult to make assumptions out of context," stressing that he is ready to listen to the end.
— One way or another, the best way out is a direct refusal.
The interlocutor nodded, expressing agreement.
"But in no way can we say that he confused love with a biological reaction. Just dot all the i's.
"Why...?"
"You need to accurately convey your feelings, and not devalue others. Their emotions belong only to them. Your responsibility is to clearly state your position, leaving everything as it is.
Jihon was silent for a while, not looking up from his meal.
— Да, ты прав
A smile appeared on his face and he added, "Mr. Nam, you are so wise."
The colleague proudly lifted his chin and struck a confident posture before suddenly remembering something.
"By the way, is this the one who advised you to quit smoking?"
Jihon was silent for a second before answering honestly.
"Yes
"yes...
While Jihong was picking at his plate, talking about the fact that he had not shared his story in vain, his colleague abruptly interrupted his thoughts: "Never tell people that they perceive something wrong because of pheromones."
The fish seemed a little tough, perhaps because it had been overcooked. Jihong looked at the tip of his wand and said, "Okay."
***
Minu returned to the office a little after five. This adjustment was due to the fact that Jaekyung cut his training in half in connection with the upcoming championship.
"Were there any problems while working with Kwon Daekyeong?" asked Jihong, and Minwoo immediately blurted out enthusiastically, "No, none at all!"
"How do you feel after spending the whole day with him?" asked the group leader Lee Yujong.
"He's not very talkative, so it was a bit awkward, but otherwise it's great
"Much better than dealing with someone talkative
At the words of his superior, Minu laughed, thinking about what luck it was.
Jihong listened to their dialogue and gently interjected, "Was Kwon Jaekyung sitting in the front passenger seat?"
- No, only from behind
"yes, I see..."
Jihon, muttering softly, returned to his desk. He pretended to be busy, moving his mouse busily, and then turned to Min again: "Starting tomorrow, you don't need to give me reports on every move. Just call if you have any difficulties or questions."
"Yes, sir!"
When Jihong saw Minwoo return to his workplace, the team leader Lee Yujeong praised him, "Fortunately, Kwon Jaekyung is not picky-picky. We could have sent Mina or someone else from the beginning."
Hearing this, Jihong smiled, "Yes, you are right."
But it didn't take long to realize how naïve and presumptuous they were.
***
[Mr. Jeong, I don't know what to do....... ]
Minu fussed as soon as Jihong picked up the phone. Jihon's heart sank at the intern's anxious tone. Just yesterday they agreed to contact in case of force majeure. Just one signal threw him into a fever.
"What is it?" asked Jihong while studying the advertising contract.
[I checked Mr. Kwon Jaekyung's stats today... His results at a distance of 200 meters butterfly and 100 meters freestyle fell sharply. Butterfly is now 3 seconds, no, more than 4 seconds worse than his personal best.]
His voice trembled as if he was about to cry, which contrasted with the confident demeanor of yesterday. This was understandable, because the competition was just around the corner. The focus was now on keeping the athlete in top shape. But then his record suddenly went downhill, just as he was about to leave for a sports camp three days later.
"Did Jaekyung mention anything?"
Jihong was so excited that he didn't even wonder why Minwoo had set the record right now.
- Did he complain about his health?
[N-No... And there was no damage. He was engaged in weightlifting and behaved as usual...]
— Did you measure the level of lactate?
[No......? What is it?]
Jihong sighed and shifted the phone to his other hand: "In the car, in the back seat, you will find a bag. It has everything you need. Use the device to determine your lactate level. Kwon Jae-kyung knows how to do it."
[Oh well, I'll check and let you know right away.]
After the call ended, Jihon's anxiety increased, "What if Jaekyung ignores Mina or protests? And what if he brushes it off, saying that he knows his own body well enough and he doesn't need it? Should I go there in person? But will he listen at all? Rather, he will growl sarcastically, saying, why did I come at all."
As questions swirled in Jihon's mind, Minu called again.
[Uh...]
"Okay, how much?"
[11.7 mmol.]
Jihon hesitated for a moment if he had heard correctly.
"What?" How many?
[That's 11.7 mmol, sir.]
"Are you sure?"
[Yes....]
Minu sounded somehow muffled. The level of lactic acid or its metabolites signals muscle fatigue. Although lactic acid acts as a fuel that allows the body to actively generate energy during exercise, excessive secretion can lead to a decrease in motor activity. Therefore, swimmers often conducted such blood tests and tried to keep the level below 2 mmol/L as much as possible. Of course, there were cases when it rose to 6-7 mmol/l due to fatigue or lack of sleep. But so much ?!
[Wh, what... What should we do now?]
"Really, what is to be done?" muttered Jihon with a feeling of complete hopelessness.
The immediate solution was quite trivial: you just need to lower it, and surprisingly, it wasn't too difficult. He was more worried about what would happen next. It seemed, but there would be no immediate result. Probably, everything will return to normal after the competition.
"First of all, today's training...", Jihon said almost mechanically, but then quickly stopped. He took a short breath before continuing, "It doesn't matter, I'll be here now."