"Oh, Mr. Jeong, there you are.

Jihong had barely managed to bring a glass of water to his lips when someone suddenly touched his shoulder. Looking up, he saw a familiar smile. Standing next to him was Executive Director Han from KSC.

"Mr. Han, how are you, sir?"

"Good, good. And you look even better since we last met!" and with that, Director Han was the first to hold out his hand, which Jihong immediately shook. To which, not hiding his own joy, the man patted him on the shoulder again with a return gesture.

Mr. Khan was also a member of the organizing committee of the Pan-Pacific Championships. And during the competition, he once visited Jihon when he was having lunch with CEO Kan. Even in that short meeting, the man showed great sympathy for him.

"Oh, please have a seat, sir," Jihon suggested, pointing to an empty chair at his table, and in the meantime carefully released his hand from Mr. Han's grasp.

"Don't worry," he waved him off, but immediately leaned over to Jihon and asked insinuatingly, "Why are you hiding here? And treats are so far away! Let's get closer," his eyes swept meaningfully to the center of the room. However, there were no vacant seats there - almost a hundred athletes and officials occupied all the tables.

"We're comfortable here too," Jihong replied with a smile, but Mr. Han didn't pay the slightest attention to his words.

"Hey, you won't be visible from here in the photos," he said, unceremoniously nudging Jihon with his elbow. "Later, when the CEO arrives, we will take a picture in the press room. And it would be great if two of our beauties were in the foreground, wouldn't it? Mr. Jeon and Kwon..."

Suddenly, Executive Director Han stammered. It finally dawned on him that one of the "handsome" men was staring at him, as if he was going to eat him alive.

"Mr. Kwon Jaekyung isn't feeling well," Jihong hurriedly explained, blocking the space between them. "He's been unwell since yesterday, we even thought about whether we should come today at all."

"Oh my God, really? Then he should have rested," the man hooted with feigned anxiety. In response, Jihon only gave out something on duty: "It will be impolite of us, since we have received a special invitation from you. We will listen quietly and leave so as not to cause inconvenience."

"Yes, yes. Well done," Executive Director Han nodded and headed to another table, having previously waved to the official sitting there.

Jihong continued to stand until Mr. Han shook hands with the other person. Only then did he return to his seat and lean over to Jaekyung, who was still showing his displeasure and desire to kill someone.

"Don't frown so much.

"I'm always like that. What can I do about it?

- I know that this is not true. Why are you sulking?

Jaekyung was seething with anger, not caring about how he looked. Probably, the situation itself annoyed him insanely, as he furrowed his brows even more. Obviously, what was happening infuriated Jaekyung: he was dragged where he did not want to go, and he had to endure the antics of strange people.

But what was even more surprising was that Kwon Jaekyung didn't get up and leave, heaping curses on everyone around him.

This guy could not stand such "parties". In Australia, he shied away from them, referring to the fact that it was time for him to return to his homeland, and in Korea - to a busy training schedule. He never showed his nose at meetings organized by the federation or the KSC, where he had to show off in front of the public. Even the agent received awards for him. There are only two cases because of which Jaekyung will appear without objections: the meeting of the newly elected national athletes and the pre-competition camp.

"You won't go anyway. You'd better train," they said condescendingly. "We're giving you a chance to win a medal."

Therefore, Jihon did not hope that the stubborn man would agree. He just brought up the topic, but to his surprise, Jaekyung replied, "Okay."

Jihong was even a little taken aback: "What? Do you want to go?"

"What's wrong?"

He was struck by Jaekyung's directness and muttered in confusion, "No, it's just... I would be very grateful. But I know how much you don't like such events."

"Yes, I don't," he blurted out briefly. "I hate it."

He repeated the same thing several times, so that Jihong would surely understand how disgusted he was.

"If you don't like it so much, then don't force yourself.

He was about to come up with some excuse, but Jaekyung, after giving him an anxious look, sighed and brushed away the bangs that had fallen on his forehead: "It's not worth it. KSC will start putting pressure on Spoin, and you will have to deal with this situation. It's okay, I'll go for a while and come back."

So, Jaekyung came to a place where he didn't want to be at all. On his forehead, it was as if there was a sign that read: "I didn't want to go here damn much, but then I thought I would be cursed if I didn't agree, so I forced myself."

"Oh, whom do I see! Kwon Jaekyung himself has come!" - the officials greeted him with feigned delight, which immediately disappeared as soon as they saw this gloomy guy up close.

However, since Jaekyung usually ignored any invitations, no one rebuked him or asked, "What is this dissatisfaction? I shouldn't have come, if I didn't want to!"

Instead, everyone was smiling radiantly and saying, "It's great that you came, Jaekyung! You've had a hard time. Don't worry about anything and just get ready for the Olympics."

They tried to cheer him up and retreat as soon as possible. Everyone, as if by agreement, raised their voices and laughed louder, trying to be heard by the assembled athletes and other officials. It was as if they shouted: "You see, even Kwon Jaekyung trusts KSC! The same guy who ignored the federation gets along so well with us! We are a real support, unlike them! And even if they mess up, we'll settle it. So don't hang your nose and get ready for the Olympics."

Actually, the whole event was planned just for this. Officially, it was held to praise and support the athletes who participated in the Pan-Pacific Championships, but in fact, given that the federation could get the status of a governing organization, what was happening was more of a signal to the athletes. However, since the federation is still being tested and it is not clear whether it will receive this status, the championship has become a convenient occasion to bring everyone together. In the end, it was organized by KSC. As expected, with the start of the event, representatives of the sports promotion department appeared on the stage, followed by the employees of the training department. They assured the athletes several times that there was nothing to worry about, and announced the approximate schedule of preparation for the selection next year, the schedule of training in the Olympic village, the schedule of winter training camps and joint training.

And, of course, when it came to training, the athletes' eyes lit up. Not only swimmers, but also divers, open water swimmers and water polo players. Everyone perked up, nodded, and enthusiastically began to ask questions.

Everyone except Kwon Jaekyung.

Since Jaekyung did not participate in the national team's training camp, he was not interested in what was happening at all. He did not pay attention to the reports of the employees of the training department and completely ignored the speech of the sports promotion department. Sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, he was impatiently waiting for the end, almost at a low start.

"It's good that we're sitting in the corner!" exhaled Jihon quietly.

Finally, the representatives of the preparation department finished the presentation. Everyone was waiting for the administration of the Olympic Village to take the floor, but instead the employee responsible for the event appeared again, thanked everyone for their hard work, invited them to the table and left.

KSC definitely put a lot of effort into this event. Instead of sending everyone to the nearest restaurant, as usual, they hired a well-known catering company and organized a buffet right in the conference room. Athletes enthusiastically pounced on food, enjoying luxury that they could not even dream of being under the wing of the federation.

Of course, this did not concern Kwon Jaekyung.

"Can we go already?" he asked, jumping up from his chair as soon as he had had his fill.

He was clearly impatient to get away from here as soon as possible. And Jihong was in solidarity with him, but, unfortunately, he still needs to do something.

– Yes, but first I will talk to the representatives of the departments.

That made Jaekyung grimace in displeasure.

"And how long will you say hello to everyone?"

"I'm sorry, I won't be for long. There are very delicious desserts. Go and get yourself something.

"I told you I didn't like sweets," he muttered irritably. - "Okay, okay. Just hurry up."

When Jihong returned to their table after talking to everyone, he found Jaekyong eating a chocolate cake. His mine was still sour. And next to the plate on which lay the half-eaten dessert, there were two more: one with scraps of brownies and cakes, the other empty with traces of whipped cream.

Apparently, he started with a cake with whipped cream.

"Delicious?" asked Jihon, coming closer.

And Jaekyung only glared at him without answering.

Jihon smiled and sat down next to him: "Let me try it."

"What if you don't like it?" said Jaekyung, but he still divided the cake into two parts with the same fork he ate and handed it to him.

Jihon knew perfectly well that it was the same fork, but he remained silent and, taking a piece, calmly ate it. The chocolate cream was so sweet that he couldn't help but "Wow, how sweet!"

"Then why did you ask?"

"Well, you ate so much that I wanted to eat too.

"What nonsense..." muttered Jaekyung, but despite his grumpy tone, he looked quite satisfied. He seemed to be relieved.

Jihon moved his chair closer to him and, smiling guiltily, said, "I'm sorry. I promise that I will not drag you to such places again."

"Come on," Jaekyung sighed quietly. – "If you have come, you have come."

He clicked his tongue. But the more he mumbled, the sweeter he seemed. Perhaps it was the chocolate cream that stained his lips slightly.

"You've got cream on your lips."

–Where is?

Frowning slightly, Jaekyung casually ran his fingers over his lips, causing Jihong to feel embarrassed for a moment. When Jaekyung's relatively soft lower face disappeared from view, his already pronounced cheekbones began to seem even sharper, and the boy turned into a man in an instant. It's just that Jihong remembered him too well as a child, and any of his actions were perceived more as a cute childish whim.

Of course, during sex, Jihong more than once caught himself thinking: "He's a real man!", but this is rather an exception. As soon as it was over, in his eyes, Jaekyung would once again turn into a big cute child who needed to be protected and guided.

And now Jihong was surprised to see how Jaekyung had changed – he had matured not only externally, but also internally.

"He really grew up. Became a real man," Jihong thought, once again realizing what he had known for a long time.

He couldn't help but imagine what Jaekyung would be like in five or ten years. However, he did not imagine himself in these fantasies. It wasn't just that he didn't want to get ahead of himself, but he didn't want to imagine what would happen to their relationship in the distant future.

"Hyung," Jihong involuntarily raised his head through his thoughts.

–A what?

"Aren't you hungry? Have something to eat," Jaekyung asked, gesturing to the cake on his plate.

"I'm not hungry," Jihon politely declined, though the mere sight of the delicious sweets made his mouth water.

Suddenly, the back door of the hall creaked open, and someone slipped inside. Jihon, who was sitting at the table closest to her, turned his head to see who it was and met the gaze that had entered.