As soon as Kwon Jaekyung confirmed his participation in the 400-meter medley relay, Spoin began issuing press releases. They published articles praising the endless aspirations of the swimmer and his sportsmanship, and also used a variety of epithets and pathetic expressions to emphasize the importance of this competition.

The irony was that while watching the hype in the community and media following Spoin's statements, Jihong realized why Kava was so eager to send Han Yoosung to this competition.

Of course, there would be those who would remind you that Kwon Jaekyung has already won a medal in the individual medley, but even this can be easily objected to: "So it was in the 200 meters, and Kwon Jaekyung never tried his hand at 400 meters."

And if Jae-kyung did not express his desire to participate, then this would give Kava a reason to create a high-profile PR campaign in the style: "Han Yoosung challenges in the 400 meters, where Kwon Jae-kyung himself decided not to meddle."

In addition, since no one expects Han Yoosung to achieve great victories in such a difficult discipline, even if he doesn't make it to the finals, they will most likely distribute articles along the lines of, "Let's applaud the athlete, this is the true spirit of wrestling, not to give up knowing that the chances are slim," which will only increase his popularity.

After all, if he could not guarantee himself a place in the final at a distance of 1500 meters, then why not put him on the complex relay in order to at least create a positive image and, perhaps, make money on a couple of commercials? This is a typical Kava strategy, there is nothing to be surprised about.

"Kwon Jaekyung ruined all their plans, didn't he?" It's no longer just 'sprinkling ashes', it's knocking over an entire ashtray," Director Kahn concluded with a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

Jihong was also pleased, because knowing about Kava's previous exploits, it was not difficult to guess that they were not going to be satisfied with some kind of promotion of Han Yoosung alone.

Probably, they will try in every possible way to implicate Jaekyung in another scandal in order to use him in their own interests and trample him in the mud. In this sense, Jaekyung's decision to compete in the 400m was an unexpected challenge for them and a great opportunity for himself. However, despite this, there were also things that caused concern.

"Now Kava is probably being torn and thrown. If there is even the slightest reason to reproach Kwon Jaekyung, then they will attack ten or even a hundred times more powerful," Jihong said.

— Of course. These bastards do not change. They only know how to do dirty things like this," Director Kahn cursed furiously. Apparently, still experiencing the consequences of their machinations, he was angry at the very thought of them.

"But at the moment, they are being held back by the KSC, so they will not be able to attack. Seeing what has become of the federation, it is unlikely that they will risk intervening again," Jihon said.

And Jaekyung isn't alone anymore, and if something happens, Spoin will do everything they can to protect him, and Kava has already figured it out. Moreover, due to the scandal with the federation, there was an opinion that any fault with him would be perceived as an attempt to shake the morale of the athlete before the Olympics. Therefore, the Kava will not act rashly, because they understand better than anyone that every wrong rustle will turn against them.

"And Kava may start following not his personal life or petty gossip, but his results," Jihong concluded. – Because for athletes, they are the only ones that matter. And everything else is already secondary things. No matter how terrible the character is, they turn a blind eye to it when there are victories. And if there are no medals, then criticism is inevitable. And it doesn't matter if you did something bad or not.

Jihong did not even doubt him, he is absolutely sure that Jaekyung will perform great at the Olympics. The only thing that really caused concern was the tight deadlines before the qualifiers.

Although Jaekyung used to say as if it was as simple as, "Why not eat both champon and jajanggmyeon?", but in fact, including another competition is not a trivial task at all, no matter how it sounds.

[ "자장면도 먹고 짬뽕도 먹죠, 뭐." is used as a metaphor to express the idea that doing both things at the same time is easy.]

Especially considering that at the Olympics there are three races in each discipline, which is significantly draining. Jaekyung is already a jack of all trades, competing in most styles - freestyle, backstroke, butterfly. The addition of one hundred-meter swim would be a problem, and here we are talking about the 400-meter complex relay.

"The training schedule and nutrition plan will have to be completely revised.

– He did everything himself at the Pan-Pacific Championships, didn't he?

— Yes. But when he returned to Korea, he already had a period of reduced workloads. Then he only had to follow the established recommendations, but preparations for the Olympics should begin right now.

But it's too late to look for a new coach, is it? Principal Kang asked cautiously. "And there's no guarantee that he'll work well with Kwon Jaekyung.

"Besides the fact that it's late, the biggest problem is his temper," Jihong agreed.

CEO Kang, of course, was also well aware that if Jaekyung didn't like the coach, he would immediately voice his dissatisfaction.

"Yes, that's why I've already discussed it with Mrs. Shim, and we decided that it would be better to invite Oliver Bale to Korea. This is the one who worked with Kwon Jaekyung in Australia," Jihong suggested.

Kwon Jaekyung and Oliver met when he was living in Australia as part of a program for young talents. Since then, they have developed a close relationship, and they have been collaborating for 7 years. Of all those who knew and understood this bulldozer, it was Oliver Bale who was the best.

"Yes?" Will he agree to come?

"The thing is, Mrs. Shim recently called him to see how he was doing, and asked him about it at the same time. Oliver replied quite positively. However, his wife had undergone a major operation two months ago, so he wouldn't be able to stay here for long.

Therefore, it was decided that Oliver would stay in Korea for a month to assess Jaekyung's condition and draw up a training plan and diet with an emphasis on the all-around. Director Kahn immediately approved the idea. Although he hesitated a little after hearing the estimated cost, when he learned that Jaekyung's trip to Australia would cost four times as much, he immediately insisted on contacting Oliver.

While Jihon was coordinating the schedule with Oliver, a specialized staff was formed, which included a fitness coach, a massage therapist and a sports doctor at the insistence of Director Kahn: "Only the best specialists, even the most expensive, they should have experience working with national athletes, those who are cooler than all of them combined, both our employees and those from Kava."

As a result, we managed to create a real dream team, despite its small composition. Thanks to the support provided by the Gwacheon Sports Complex, Jaekyung was able to resume training at the end of October, much earlier than Jihong expected.

Oliver will arrive by mid-November, so until then the main goal is to recover the muscular apparatus as much as possible.

Of course, it includes not only strength training. Swimming is always the basis.

Jaekyung, like in Australia, got up every day at six in the morning and was already in the pool by seven. He swam until nine, after which he had breakfast on the way back. And then the "quiet hour", at four I went to the gym again. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, he worked out with weights, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he learned medicine ball and Pilates exercises to engage muscles he wouldn't normally use.

Ji-heon hoped that Jae-kyung would soon get tired of such an intense schedule and stop showing up at his house, but unfortunately, this did not happen. Moreover, Jaekyung brazenly stated, "Hyun, it's hard for you to get up so early to give me a ride. Maybe I'll stay with you for the night and go straight to Gwacheon in the morning?"

At first, Jihon saw him off, swearing: "Don't talk nonsense", but a week later he realized that he could not sacrifice these 15 minutes of sweet morning sleep, and gave up: "Okay, stay at my place tonight..."

Despite all these minor inconveniences, the preparation went smoothly, and Jaekyung's physical condition quickly recovered to pre-competition levels.

Jihon was looking forward to Oliver's arrival, but the sudden offer took him by surprise.