As Jihong pondered the unexpected turn of events, the sound of a cell phone rang out next to him. Jaekyung took his cell phone out of his pocket, his brows furrowed.

"Who's calling?"

— Coach

Perhaps it was the new coach leading the national team. Jihong, deciding to take advantage of the situation, quickly suggested, "You should go out and answer. It's too noisy here."

Jaekyung was silent. It seemed that he hadn't even planned to listen to Jihon.

"Hey, hurry up, come on

Jihon persuaded him again and again. Only then did the guy click his tongue, reluctantly rising from his seat, and blurted out: "Stop playing your games."

And he left the restaurant.

Noah smirked as Jaekyung left, then shifted his satisfied face to Jihon. Finding his gaze meaningful, Jihong took the initiative and asked first.

"Why do you look at me like that?"

— There is no specific reason. Just wondering what the difference is

"I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?

— I read one video in which you are the main character

— Which one?

— From Berlin during the championship

"Ahh

Jihon nodded, thinking, "I wondered how he knew me. That's the thing."

"You have a good memory

"No, it has nothing to do with it. I was shown it not once or twice, but probably a hundred or even a thousand times

The tone of the interlocutor made Jihon doubt his seriousness.

"Even if we met ten years later, I would still recognize you. Since Jaekyung watched this video every day. Every single day.

"Is it?"

Noah arched an eyebrow as if asking, "What's that weak reaction?"

Noah, after briefly acknowledging it, proceeded to a long and strange monologue: "Anyway, Jaekyung kept turning it on. You may be angry with me, but I didn't find anything outstanding in him. Yes, your stroke is powerful compared to your physique. But the performance did not make a strong impression on me. Although, even if Jaekyung is crazy, there is probably something unusual after all. And I wondered if I could feel something similar when I saw you swim in person."

"Actually, Jaekyung never watched me during training either," when Jihong denied, Noah's eyes widened.

"Wh-what?"

— Yes. When Jaekyung came to the swimming center, I was recovering from an injury

Hearing that he had never swam properly in front of Jaekyung, Noah muttered in a low voice, "I see..."

"Then why do you think Jaekyung has this obsession?"

After thinking for a while, Jihong added, "I guess this sounds like an aspiration?"

Respect, envy, reverence. Jihon lined up synonyms in English one by one before continuing: "The swimming infrastructure in our country was very poor. It cannot be compared with China or Japan. After all, the base of talented athletes is small and there is no proper training. If you take into account the results of international competitions before Jaekyung, they were mainly related to the Asian Games."

"And you?"

"Yes, so that's what I'm getting at

Jihon tapped his fingers on the table, "I was second. He is the second Korean swimmer to win a medal at the World Championships. The first one was won in diving, which caused a stir."

Especially considering that it was the men's 100-meter freestyle that was the culmination of the event, such a triumph led to a huge hype.

"It was a first for the Korean society, which did not show much interest in swimming, so much so that the Olympics were not even broadcast properly. And how did I look in the eyes of young and beginners then?

"Hmm, a hero?" You probably became the source of their inspiration. The same is true for Jaekyung

"Don't you have an idol or an ideal?"

"There is a man who flattened the noses of the Americans at the Olympics and earned the title of Australian hero. I became interested in swimming, thanks to him.

"That's exactly

"But I never wanted to sleep with him

Jihon closed his mouth. Noticing his reaction, Noah began to smile even wider: "And it never occurred to me that I would have sex with a copy of him."

«…….»

Jihon was still pausing. In the end, Noah attacked again: "Hey, don't pretend to hear about it for the first time."

"What?"

Jihong feigned shock, but it didn't work either.

Jaekyung got mixed up with a Chinese member of the beach volleyball team right after the Asian Games last year

His speech sounded too convincing, even though he had messed everything up. In the end, Jihong corrected the interlocutor: "Water polo. And he represents Taiwan."

"Oh, yes?" The moment I met him, I realized that he looked eerily like you

— Noah

Jihon quietly shouted the name of the provocateur, to which he only smirked.

"Why are you talking all this nonsense?" Are you trying to reassure me that I'm special to Jaekyung?

"Honey, I don't mean anything other than a statement of fact. The truth remains true

"Yes, yes, okay," Jihong muttered quietly, tired of fighting. "So what?" Does it matter?"

"Yes

For a moment, Jihon stared at him, effectively letting out a mute cry, "You... you...?"

"Does he have feelings for Jaekyung? That's why he's attacking me...", Jihong was chaotically lost in his theories.

"Wait, Hanny..."

Noah shook his finger insistently, repeating, "No, no, no, no."

Noah exclaimed, focusing the attention of the restaurant's patrons on himself.

"Okay, let's be quiet

Jihon tried to calm the agitated Australian alpha. And Noah immediately fell silent, "Okay, okay," before taking a sip. He leaned back in his chair and sighed dejectedly.

"The media constantly portray us as rivals, but, in fact, I have never won

Noah was probably referring to the 200-meter individual medley. In butterfly, he has no equal. He was expected to win gold in his main event. However, he failed to overtake Jaekyung at a distance of 200 meters.

"I want to beat him at least once before the end of my career

Jihon was silent. Even if he said that such a thing was simply impossible, it would only provoke Noah.

"I checked the lap times right before I came here and I had an amazing result. Therefore, I believed in my strength. However!

"However?"

"That's not enough

"Jaekyung is much better. He is confident in his every move

"Well, he's always like that

"That's right. He wasn't even interested in the other swimmers," Noah complained in a slightly upset tone.

Most of the winners have the same records, plus or minus. And the differences are imperceptible, most often they are 0.01 seconds, so the analysis of other people's performances is crucial. They studied the footage to develop a strategy. But Jaekyung didn't care about anything at all. After all, his superiority was indecently striking. The only thing that matters is the current result.

"But there seems to be a way out," Noah's words made Jihon worried.

"I'm afraid to even guess what you're up to. But give it up

"You're asking me to surrender without knowing all the details

"It doesn't matter. Don't you dare use me. I'm Kwon Jaekyung's manager. We are in the same boat. My job is to help him achieve his goals. Do you think I'm going to be a part of your crazy antics?

"Good. Then just don't interfere

"What the hell do you want to do?"

"Just listen to my plan

— No, I don't. I'm just curious what the hell are you going to say to Jaekyung right before the competition...

Noah leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "Have you ever slept with Honey? I tried it yesterday, it was incredible. With omega, everything is really different. It's like this body is made for sex with an alpha."

«.... What kind of crazy bastard is he?" Usually, when athletes taunted each other, they would bark something like, "I'd fuck your bald coach." But he was stunned by Noah's crazy idea. Undoubtedly, Jaekyung will not react in the best way.

"Stop it. Jaekyung will not fall for such nonsense

"Are you sure?"

"yes

Noah's smile seemed to imply, "Let's just wait."

«……»

His mouth went dry, causing Jihong to nervously grab the glass in front of him. Having drunk the already diluted drink in one gulp, I put it back with a loud bang.

"And I'm also convinced that you won't resort to dirty tricks

"Why?"

"You are an outstanding swimmer

Jihon replied casually, so as not to look like he was trying to dissuade Noah, "Why would you stoop to all sorts of stupid things after your hard work? Wouldn't you rather be proud of coming second honestly than win the championship in such a cowardly way?"

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about, Honey?" Second place is always a disappointment. The greatest satisfaction comes gold, followed by bronze, and then silver. I don't feel any satisfaction wearing something like that around my neck. I would prefer a bronze medal, which I don't have to think about.

"Then be content with her

Jihon shrugged his shoulders, and Noah silently took the knife. When Jihong shuddered slightly, he smirked cheekily and began to cut the steak thoroughly.