No one could even imagine that Kwon Jaekyung would become the absolute leader in the championship. However, he won five gold medals without making much effort.

At a distance of 50 meters freestyle, he set a new world record, and then won at distances of 100 meters crawl and 200 meters freestyle. And two days later, Jaekyung broke his own record in the 100-meter freestyle, which was the most anticipated event. Finally, on the eighth day, he won gold in the 400 meters, cementing his fifth and final gold medal.

In total, he took part in six swims. And at a distance of 200 meters butterfly, Noah won the championship. Both swimmers walked hand in hand, but Jaekyung was slightly overtaken. And yet, in the final 20 meters, Noah really rushed forward with all his might, securing a gap of 0.01 seconds. Despite Noah's victory, the game itself was impressive, with Jaekyung surpassing his record by more than a second.

Jihong suggested that if they were the same height, then Jaekyung might even win. The difference between them was 10 cm.

When Jihong measured the athlete's height before the first competition, it turned out that he had reached the mark of 193.8 cm, but the guy rounded the figure to 194. It seems that height is very important for men. It seemed that Jaekyung was satisfied not with his crushing victory, but with the way he had swept away.

It was cutely funny, so Jihong playfully asked, "Hey, are you so happy? What are you more happy about?"

Jaekyung didn't elaborate, but he replied with a very serious look, "Hyun, you know... The ideal difference in height between lovers is from 10 to 15 cm."

"Hmph, isn't it?" So, by my standards, it will be from 174 to 169 cm? I don't know about women, but for a man, 169 cm is not enough. Well, it doesn't matter to me, because I won't find a lover anyway.

Jaekyung fell silent for a moment and then suddenly called out to Mina, "Minho-hyun! Please bring a blood collector. My lactate level jumped to 20."

From afar, Minu shouted, "What?"

Alarmed, Jihong quickly intervened: "No, no! He's joking!"

"Hey, don't mock him!"

Jihong reproached him again for not distorting names. Jaekyung, ignoring everything, became angry.

"Hyung, I told you not to come, so why the hell are you here?"

"Why?" At work, of course.

"What?" Are you trying to deceive me? Are you a spy for the Australian team? If I fail tomorrow, it will be on your conscience, hyung.

To which Jihong only laughed, "Hey, how can such trifles throw you off balance? I didn't know that the great Kwon Jaekyung was such a weakling."

«…….»

The guy pursed his lips in displeasure, and wrinkles appeared on his forehead one after another.

"Hey, I was joking. Calm down and take a look.

"What is it?"

Jaekyung, bored, reluctantly picked up his cell phone. Realizing that this was a promotional video, he frowned even more: "I don't want to watch."

"Why?" It turned out great.

Despite all persuasion, the stubborn man immediately returned the cell phone.

"The video has just been aired, and people are already delighted.

— Yes, yes, I don't really care about the reaction of the public.

"What the hell are you carrying?" Public approval is the most important criterion in an advertising campaign.

Jaekyung sat down on the sofa and asked, "What do you think?"

— It turned out cool. I watched it several times. Being on the set, I was already confident of success. But the editing turned out to be better than I expected. Even the drops of water on your eyelashes sparkled like jewels.

He glanced at the screen for a moment, but immediately shook his head, seemingly indifferent and completely unimpressed, and then mumbled, "Well, if you like it, then good."

Jihong was speechless for a few seconds, before he could have objected: "Hey, this is your advertisement" or "First of all, it is the advertisers who should be happy with the result."

It was a polite answer, designed to cheer up the interlocutor a little. Usually, Jihong communicated with other athletes in this way. However, this time he could not squeeze something like this out of himself. He felt that Jakyong's harsh remarks reflected his true emotions. Perhaps the guy sincerely believed that the most important thing was to hear a positive assessment directly from Jihon, which would make him a little happier. Therefore, he decided to refrain from indifferent words: "Yes, I really liked it. I am glad that the first commercial was a success. It's all thanks to your hard work and patience, Jakyon-ah. The director praised you very much and even said that you could become an actor in the future."

Jaekyung still looked a little sour, but he still relaxed slightly. Jihon wanted to pat the guy on the head. After all, he pretends to be indifferent so nicely, as if it does not concern him at all. But due to the latest incident in the pool, he tried to avoid unnecessary physical contact. Jaekyung's reaction at that moment made it clear that even simple touches made a huge difference to him.

Of course, Kwon Jaekyung was a different type of athlete compared to those young men, his performance would remain great regardless of his state of mind, but Jihong used this as an excuse to keep some distance between them.

He was rarely alone with Jaekyung, and left some of the work to Mina and other employees. And mainly met with officials along with team leader Lee Yujeong and CEO Kang. As expected, representatives of the Federation, the Korea Sports Council and the Athletes' Association, regardless of their rank, grabbed any Spoin employee to discuss the Olympic Games.

They'd say things like, "You've seen what Kwon Jaekyung did! He is a real pro, why did you let him end his career? Will he not go to the Olympics next year? What about the Blue Dragon Medal?"

They were indignant, upset, and even, like children, stamped their feet. And Spoin gave the same comment every time: "Of course, it's unfortunate. How could it be otherwise? We will do everything we can to change his mind."

But in fact, no one even tried.

And this was just a polite formality.