Jihon's heart began to flutter as soon as this intriguing view opened up in front of him. He turned away quickly, fearing that a blush would appear on his cheeks as well. Then he tried to bring himself back to a state of balance, adjusting his tie.

"No, ears can turn red from anger. Yes, maybe it is," he consoled himself, continuing to complain: "Hey, you're the only athlete I've ever signed a memorandum with. You know, right? »

The next thought gave some stability, calming down the explosive mixture of anxiety and embarrassment inside. Jihong silently reminded himself, "Don't forget, Jung Jihong. This guy is cautious and, under the guise of a contract, has made some absurd demands."

However, they boiled down only to going to the pool together and quitting smoking, which caused the last nerve cells to become completely loose.

«……»

His strength seemed to be exhausted, and his legs were so weak that he could hardly stand, causing him to lean his staggering body against the wall.

"Damn...," Jihong muttered quietly and wiped his face with his hand. Finally, he came to his senses and gently called out to Jaekyung.

— Jaekyung-ah

The guy immediately turned. Fortunately, he seemed to have calmed down, and his expression was back to normal.

"Why do you like me...?"

Upon hearing the question, Jaekyung smiled as if asserting, "I knew you'd ever ask about such nonsense."

"I don't know. How could I explain it? How annoying

He even clicked his tongue, which helped Jihon put aside difficult emotions and regain his cool. At such moments, Jaekyung was like a giant piece of dry ice, instantly freezing everything around him.

"Hey, I'm not asking for a detailed analysis. What is annoying? You can even write a dissertation about me

"But you asked me not to write it

Jaekyung raised an eyebrow as if he was contradicting himself.

"No, it's just curious. I've never liked anyone before," Jihong said seriously.

Jaekyung stared blankly at him and gave everything out as if in spirit: "You are handsome, a good swimmer, friendly, able to give compliments, you have a great physique, gorgeous shoulder blades, fair skin, you drive well, and you look great when you smile. Is that enough?"

He complained about how infuriating it was, but in fact he listed absolutely everything, detailing the image of Jihon in his eyes. There were moments that even made you think: "Hmm? Isn't he going overboard?"

"So, if you meet someone who looks like me with all the characteristics you've listed, will you like them too?"

— Хён

«…….»

He assumed that Jaekyung's next line would be, "Hyung, stop talking nonsense," with his typical inexpressiveness, but this severity reflected in the grumbler's eyes haunted him...

Suddenly coming to his senses, Jihong blurted out, "I'm sorry, I used to be dumped after confessing. They always left to look for someone better."

"I've already met such a person twice

«…….»

"But this only made the situation worse

Jaekyung added with the same impassivity, "They weren't as good as you, and the more I interacted with them, the more I thought of you. Do you understand?"

But his facial expressions did not correspond to the tone at all, sincere irritation slipped through him.

"yes...", Jihon muttered. He needed something to answer, but he couldn't, because every word of the brat was a complete surprise.

"I'm sorry I blurted out something strange

In the end, he bowed his head and apologized. The guy stared at him for a long time, and then decided to speak up: "Why the hell are you so complicated? I've heard that you've dated anyone who asked you out."

"Yes," Jihon confirmed, crossing his arms over his chest. "But since this is complete nonsense, I stopped behaving like this."

"You have to try it to understand whether it's nonsense or not

"There's no need to even try, and it's clear

"Hyung, why are you so sure?"

— I know myself quite well

Jaekyung glared at him sullenly and continued, "I don't think so. Hyung, I know you better than you know yourself. Don't you remember, I can write a whole dissertation about you, right?"

"Let's do without it

Jaekyung clicked his tongue and turned away. As he looked around the empty pool, he ran his fingers roughly through his hair in his usual manner.

"In any case, if you deliberately tried to make me feel bad, you failed. I will not fall for such tricks."

Jaekyung chuckled as if amused, and then looked at Jihong: "I told you that I started from 1200 meters. There are only 100 left."

Before Jihong could ask what it had to do with what was going on, Jaekyung continued, "The last 100 meters should make my lungs and hips burst, but I like it."

Nostalgia and enthusiasm mingled in his voice. It was as if he had already taken possession of the touchpad.

"Do you know why?" That's why their durability is proof that I swim so fast

The bold statement left Jihon speechless. He couldn't say something like, "Yes, so don't be discouraged. You have every chance." And joking about burst hips before the competition is not very tactful. So he just smiled, which prompted the athlete to scrutinize his reaction for a while.

"Anyway, you've been working hard this month and a half, hyung.

"What?" Why such sudden praise? And? Are you going somewhere?

Jaekyung stared at him meaningfully and then moved towards the locker room.

"That's right, the competition will take place in two days. In the meantime, don't come, hyung.

"What?" Why? Do you think I'm going to distract you?

Jaekyung looked like he couldn't believe his own eyes and abruptly changed the subject: "How many lame athletes are in your company?"

"Hey, why are you suddenly scolding our athletes?" said Jihong, confused by the sudden criticism, and Jaekyung growled in exasperation, "I'm just worried that you'll lose your mental toughness if there are a lot of idiots around. No, let's say I lost concentration and took a hundred steps back, but even in this case, there will be no problems at the championship. I'm not a jerk. Did this swordsman stop competing because he was sad when you rejected him? Is that why you didn't shave me?"

"Who the hell is he...?" - Jihong was stunned at first, but eventually understood and laughed.

"Are you talking about Yeonho?"

"I don't know. Either Yeonho or Yeonggol

Jaekyung was even more upset, as if implying, "Why do I need to know the name of the lame swordsman?"

"No, I mean, why are you mentioning it?"

"Why?" Terribly infuriating

Jaekyung's position was so confident that for a moment, Jihong almost thought the arguments were valid and logical.

"Why are you mixing me up with these sucky people?" complained Jaekyung, offended, and then walked back to the locker room. Jihon laughed, still puzzled, and followed him, asking, "Then why don't I come?"

Jaekyung stopped again and looked back with a sigh: "If you are there, the federation and the Korean Sports Council will grab you and start harassing you again, insisting on my participation in the Olympics. So please don't come. Ok? Enough for Minho-hyun and the other guys from Spoin to be there. You should take a break, given all the hard work you've done in a month and a half."

"Minu, not Minho. Please remember

When Jihong corrected him, the swimmer declared, "Don't worry, I'll definitely win five gold medals."

And he waved his hand casually, hinting that there was no reason to worry. However, Jihong couldn't relax, because Jaekyung talked about winning five tournaments as homework that could be done in a day and a half.

Excessive self-confidence will not lead to anything good. But, since this is Jaekyung, everything will definitely be fine. Even a natural disaster will not change the results.

And indeed, four days before the closing ceremony, Jaekyung achieved his goal of five early gold medals.

The record happened exactly eight days after the opening ceremony.