The moment Kim Gi-seok noticed Ji-heon, his eyes widened.

— Oh, Mr. Chong.

He immediately broke into a wide smile and came up to say hello: "How are you?

Jihong was slightly taken aback by Kim Gi-seok's impudence, and Jaekyung, not at a loss, muttered discontentedly: "You came here to ask if I would like to join your religion?"

"Jaekyung-ah," Jihong hissed quietly and motioned for him to stop.

And then he glanced at the uninvited guest: "It's been a long time since we've seen each other. And he greeted him on purpose without getting up.

Even though he clearly understood the unspoken message, Kim Giseok was not at all embarrassed and replied with a cheerful smile, "Yes, it's been a month now.

And finally, he asked nonchalantly, "If you don't mind, we'll sit next to you?" Yoosung is late, but he'll be back soon.

"Go somewhere else." I do not communicate with sectarians. Jaekyung blurted out, angrily crushing his cake with his fork.

Passers-by could not help but cast a glance at them. A frankly menacing aura emanated from the grumpy guy. Because of this, Jihon hurriedly reached under the table and grabbed him by the thigh.

And Jaekyung, probably not counting the message, suddenly looked at Jihong and muttered, "What?" Why do you touch other people's thighs? Hyung, are you a pervert?

"Oh, you little asshole...!" cursed Jihong to himself and pinched the impudent man tightly again.

He tried to wrap his arms around the stone thigh, but his hand was actually numb. Still, he continued to say the words silently so that the grumbler could read them on his lips: "Stop it. Seriously."

After Jihong warned him, he once again turned to Kim Gi-seok: "Our table is too far from the food. Maybe you should find another place?

However, ignoring the polite refusal, the man did not even think of giving up: "No, no. I like it here.

And then he leaned slightly to whisper something in Jihon's ear, "To tell you the truth, Yoosung just finished the photo shoot. And it would be a little inappropriate to appear at an event in such an outfit, so I wanted to sit farther away.

Before he could finish speaking, the back door of the hall swung open, and Han Yoosung walked in.

When Jihon saw him, he understood what he was talking about. Han Yoosung's heavy styling and bright makeup attracted more attention than his clothes, hinting that he had just come back from filming.

Considering that most of the other guys are dressed in training suits, the contrast was striking. Han Yoosung is probably the kind of person who likes to be the center of attention, otherwise the situation would be awkward.

"All right, as you like." Jihon replied curtly.

"Oh, thank you. Kim Giseok smiled and waved to his protégé, "Yooseong-ah, I'm here!"

At the familiar call, Han Yoosung happily turned his head, but his expression immediately changed as soon as he saw Jaekyung.

And despite the outward anxiety and hesitation, he finally approached and greeted Jihon: "Hello, songbae-nim.

— Yes. Jihon stammered.

To be honest, after all the PR speculation, he couldn't have any sympathy for Han Yoosung. However, noticing the way the guy hesitantly sat down opposite him, Jihong felt a strange unease inside: "Well, yes, he's an ordinary athlete. Is he to blame for anything?" and belatedly added aloud:

"You look great today. Fresh from a photo shoot?

"Yes," Han Yuseong said shyly.

To which Kim Gi-seok quickly intervened, not hiding his smugness: "Yes, yes, he just arrived here from a photo shoot. He will be a model for a fashion brand.

And, without waiting for a counter question, he revealed all the details, including the brand and label.

- I see. I'm happy for you," Jihon replied.

Catching a slight indifference in the tone of his interlocutor, Kim Gi-seok made a playful remark: "Uh, it's such a pity, Yoosung is still a long way from Mr. Kwon Jaekyung. He's got a lot of commercial offers lately, haven't he?

"Fortunately. Jihon said without changing his manner of speech.

Feigning delight, Kim Gi-seok continued his grandiloquent speeches, straightening his shoulders and straightening, "Words can't express how much I was stunned by the news of Kwon Jae-kyung's departure!" I am sincerely glad that everything turned out in the best possible way.

To which Jihong calmly looked at him and tried on his trademark smile: "Really?

The man was confused for a moment, and then, deciding to stick to his game, squeezed out his enthusiasm: "Of course! If Kwon Jaekyung did end his career, it would be a huge loss for the entire sports community. And it would also have a lightning-fast effect on the morale of our athletes at the Olympics. Isn't that why KSC took action by rolling up its sleeves to protect it?

Ji-heong has thought about it before, but Kim Gi-seok is unusually thick-skinned. Thanks to his eloquence, this man managed to convince not only the athletes, but also the director himself, who was initially against the merger, to merge with Kava. And now he's a hero to Kava, and a traitor to JFX. Well, this is also a kind of talent, but Jihong was not particularly eager to associate with it at all.

"Yes, KSC made the right decision," Jihong said as he cut it off, throwing one leg over the other.

— Well, yes, well, yes. This is their job! Kim Giseok nodded vigorously, pulling his chair closer to the table.

And then he turned to Jaekyung: "Now you have nothing to worry about, and you can focus on preparing for the Olympics. But I can imagine the pressure on you, Mr. Kwon Jaekyung. After all, everyone already believes that you are guaranteed to get a second gold in a row at the Olympic Games.

Jaekyung abruptly interrupted his dessert eating process and glared at Kim Gi-seok. His eyebrows twitched furiously, and the veins on his forehead swelled, as if he was about to blurt out something like: "Stop talking nonsense and better take care of your athlete."

But Jihong intervened in time, preventing him from opening his mouth, and deliberately shifted the topic to Han Yoosung: "Yes, but Han Yoosung is also a promising athlete. Everyone is breathlessly waiting for success from him because of his recent triumph. You must be having a hard time now.

"Oh, not really. He has a lot to strive for. This is Yoosung's first Olympics, so everyone is just rooting for him, isn't it? Kim Giseok deftly wriggled out, smiling softly at Han Yoosung, who was sitting next to him.

And the timid guy quickly straightened up and confidently declared: "Yes, I will show excellent results.

Jihong also remarked that Han Yoosung also had an unsurpassed talent: answering politely and in full combat readiness. Of course, he is a very strong swimmer. And his specialization is long distances, which is also rare in Korea. He had great endurance, and with proper training, he can count on the final of the Olympic Games, if not a medal.

But why did he decide to participate in the complex relay? In it, you cannot rely only on endurance. And for swimmers like him, it is rather disadvantageous due to the peculiarities in the technique.

Jihon, wondering if their plans had changed, cautiously asked: "You said that you would perform in the complex swim at the Olympics, right?"

— Yes. I'm going to try my hand at the 400 meters. Han Yoosung replied firmly, as if he was giving an interview to a journalist.

– And what about the 1500-meter freestyle?

"Well... it all depends on the situation before the qualifiers..." His voice sounded excited, and Kim Giseok immediately seized the initiative.

— No, it won't. This time he will focus on complex swimming. Participating in both is too much of a burden for the body.

And it made sense. If the competitions were held on the same day, one of them would have to be abandoned. But it's still strange. If he had performed only in the 200 meters, he would have saved more strength and could have fought for the championship at a long distance in freestyle. No matter how unlikely it was that Yoosung would prevail, Jihong still didn't understand why Yoosung had given up his primary discipline.

— But why this relay? "In the end, Jihong asked the question directly. Kim Giseok looked at him as if asking what that meant.

And Jihong explained, "Since this is his debut, wouldn't it be better to start with 200 meters?" Depending on the situation, he could even show himself at 1500...

"If he wants to try, it's better to go straight to the 400 meters, and the result is not important," Kim Giseok interrupted, not even listening to the end. – Isn't this sport equated to a "medal of merit" among swimmers?

Jihong couldn't help but laugh when he heard such an unexpected remark.

Indeed, the 400-meter medley relay is a difficult competition and has often been compared to a triathlon. Therefore, the owner of gold is almost equated to the "champion" of swimming. However, in the last four or five years, everything has been completely different.

In the men's 400-meter relay in the international arena, the winner was Australian Noah Kenny. However, only the Australian media glorified him as a champion or god.

In all other countries, when it came to swimming, the name of Kwon Jaekyung was always mentioned. Even if he did not take part in the 400-meter complex swim. Jaekyung avoided him for a very trivial reason: he wanted to win as many awards as possible.

Swimming is one of the sports with the most medals at the Olympics, but at the moment only one swimmer from Korea is able to make it to the finals. This meant that Kwon Jaekyung needed to collect as many victories as possible.

To do this, it was necessary to choose disciplines strategically. This applied to most international championships, but especially the Olympic Games, because their schedule is so tight that two or three competitions often take place in just one morning.

For guys competing in multiple directions, the competition schedule and the distribution of forces are just as important as their physical shape.

Therefore, the federation decided that Jaekyung would abandon the 400-meter medley relay, which required the most expense, and instead perform in all the others where he could show good results, such as freestyle, backstroke and butterfly.

Of course, Noah didn't have to do that. Australia is traditionally a strong swimming power with a very powerful line-up of athletes, even the qualifying round is very tough there. Thanks to this, Noah was able to entrust other disciplines to his comrades, and he himself was able to concentrate on butterfly and complex relay. Therefore, he consistently finished second to Jaekyung, but invariably took gold in the 400m, where his main rival did not participate.

But it was very unpleasant to hear from Kim Gi-seok, who knows about Kwon Jaekyung's position: "If he wants to try, it's better to go straight to the 400m, and the result is not important" was very unpleasant. He, in fact, hinted that the 400 meters swim is the highest class, and Jaekyung, competing only in the 200, does not seem to reach this level.

Such an obvious censure unsettled Jihon.

"An athlete's medal is his reward," Jihong concluded dispassionately. "Regardless of where it is conquered.

"Oh, Mr. Jeong, your words make it a shame for our athletes who didn't get them," as expected, Kim Giseok immediately changed his shoes. - Medals are not everything, you know? After all, they shed sweat and tears.

But Jihong was not confused, as if he was just waiting for him to swallow the bait: "Do you feel sorry for those who do not participate in the 400-meter medley relay?" Even if they achieve stunning results in their discipline, they lose the "medal of merit" simply because they have a different specialization.

When Ji-heong said this without even smiling, Kim Ki-seok touched his forehead in puzzlement and said, "Oh, no, I didn't mean that..." Of course, it would be great to become a prize-winner. This is really the highest award. Especially when it comes to the Olympic Games. Isn't it like the Medal of Merit?

Then he continued in the same cheerful tone: "But in truth, it will be difficult for many of our athletes to claim victory. They have no choice but to show themselves. Therefore, whenever possible, we encourage them to take on more difficult tasks. I hope you understood me correctly.

He ended up using Han Yoosung as a shield. This was the most disgusting feature of Kim Gi-seok in Ji-heon's eyes. He tried his best to make people lose their temper, and when they answered, he humbly bowed down, impoverished: "Yes, yes, of course. Don't worry so much. , yes, I'm sorry. I was wrong."

It was not about pride. He was the kind of person who was willing to give it up in order to achieve his goals. But even so, Jihong could not accept how he could so deftly hit the self-esteem of his own protégé. He made derogatory remarks, pointing out their weaknesses, while pretending to be humble.

That was why Jihong sometimes felt sorry for Han Yusung, although he didn't seem innocent either.

"Mr. Kwon Jaekyung will be in the 200m medley relay again, right?" Ignoring everyone's dissatisfaction, Kim Giseok quickly switched to Jaekyung.

And, grabbing a bottle of water, he jokingly added: "Oh, what a pity. If our Yoosung had participated in it, it would have been...

"In both," Jaekyung finally broke his own silence, interrupting the annoying guy.

"Wh-what?" Jihong asked, surprised.

Jihong stared blankly at him as if shouting, "Are you really going to do this?"

Stunned, Kim Gi-seok froze. And Jaekyung, indifferently looking at him meaningfully, clarified: "I will take part in both the 200-meter and 400-meter races.

The dumbfounded man stared at Jaekyung, forgetting to even close his mouth and put the water bottle back in its place. And the unfortunate Han Yusong's eyes widened in shock.

But most of all, Jihon was surprised. He could barely control himself so as not to ask: "When did you decide this?"

"Wh-really...?" Kim Giseok said in confusion. He quickly put the bottle on the table and turned to Jihon. "Is that true?" Kwon Jaekyung will participate in them...?

Jihong looked at Jaekyung, who was sitting next to him, and confirmed, "Yes, that's right.

Although the voice sounded calm, such a storm raged in my head.

– The 400-meter medley relay? For real? What for? Why suddenly? Kim Giseok flickered, confused. "No, why are you suddenly...

While Jihong drank cold water in an attempt to restore inner harmony, and the annoying man stuttered, Kwon Jaekyung, apparently, decided to finish off his opponent completely: "I want it that way. What's wrong with that? And he took a piece of sponge cake from his plate.

"There will be a serious fight at the qualifying stage," Jaekyung smiled as if he was interested, and put a sweet dessert in his mouth.

Probably because of the nuts on top, there was a characteristic crunch every time he chewed. After swallowing the cake whole and slowly licking his lips, Jaekyung looked at Han Yoosung and said in an even tone.

"I'm looking forward to this moment.