DASH-Chapter 172
The second selection round for the Brisbane Olympics national team took place in Incheon in the first week of April. Unlike the first round, which was also a national competition, the second round was solely for selection, so the number of athletes participating was much smaller. For many sports, Olympic qualification was mostly determined in the first round, leading some athletes to skip the second one.
So, unlike the first round, there was no accommodation war this time. In fact, most athletes stayed in a single hotel closest to the stadium, which turned out to be less comfortable than expected.
To be precise, only Jiheon felt uncomfortable. People recognized Jiheon and Jaekyoung everywhere they went. Since the first round, they had become a semi-public couple, and everyone they encountered would strike up conversations and greet them with meaningful smiles.
While their relationship was semi-public, the attention during the first selection round wasn’t as intense, perhaps because they mostly met at the stadium.
But now, everyone seemed thrilled to meet Jiheon and Jaekyoung outside the stadium and inside the hotel. People close to Jiheon in the industry would greet him with questions like, “Are you getting married? Will you do it this year?” or “Why do you look so good lately? Is something good happening?” or such. And junior swimmers who knew Jiheon but had never spoken to him before would say hello and then quickly retreat when they saw Jaekyoung standing next to him.
Thanks(?) to that, Jiheon and Jaekyoung were always able to eat comfortably at a table for six, even in crowded hotel restaurants like the athlete’s village restaurant. Although Jiheon felt a slight sting on his skin due to the attention, it wasn’t unbearable since all he did was eat. And more than anything, Jaekyoung seemed to enjoy the stares, so much that he couldn’t bring himself to go to a different restaurant.
So, Jiheon thought they would just enjoy solitude in the crowded place and eat alone until the end of the selection round. However, on Monday morning, as the first race started, two familiar faces bravely approached them.
“Oh, sunbae-nim! Hello!”
“Hello!”
The cheerful voices belonged to Junhwan and Haejung, whom they had met at Incheon Airport.
“Yeah, it’s been a while. Good to see you here.”
In response to Jiheon’s greeting, Junhwan and Haejung smiled while holding their trays. They approached Jiheon and Jaekyoung after a brief chat, showing themselves to be very sociable kids, unlike someone. Or maybe it was because this was the only empty table right now, so they had no choice but to show off their sociability.
As expected.
“Do you want to sit here?”
Junhwan’s eyes lit up at Jiheon’s suggestion.
“Oh, is that alright, sir?”
“Of course.”
Jiheon moved his suit from the seat next to him. Junhwan was so eager that he was about to land his butt against the chair.
“You.”
Jaekyoung suddenly spoke to Junhwan in a low voice.
“Yes, sir...?”
Junhwan stopped midair and answered awkwardly.
“Don’t sit there.”
At Jaekyoung’s words, Junhwan quickly stood up with a puzzled look on his face. Jiheon was about to intervene, but Jaekyoung stood up first and directed him.
“Sit here.”
“Oh....”
“And you sit next to here.”
Jaekyoung assigned another seat for Haejung and then moved to the seat next to Jiheon.
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“.......”
“.......”
Junhwan and Haejung quietly put down their trays and sat across from the two. Their expressions suggested they would never come this way next time no matter how crowded the space was.
To lighten the mood, Jiheon spoke to them again.
“But why are you up so early? It’s not even breakfast time. And neither of you has a race today.”
It was just past six in the morning. Although the hotel usually didn’t serve breakfast at this hour, they decided to open the restaurant a bit early during the selection round for the athletes’ convenience. As a result, the food options were kept simple, with items like cereal, bread, and soup available. Athletes with morning races usually couldn’t eat much anyway, and those without races had little reason to wake up early for a meager meal.
“Oh, we’re just sticking to our routine, sir.”
“Yes, we’re not really hungry, so we’re skipping breakfast.”
True to their words, their plates held very little food. Junhwan had some cereal and bread, while Haejung only had a glass of orange juice.
“Why are you two already like that? It’s not your first time in a selection round, is it?”
Jiheon asked, prompting Junhwan to respond:
“No, it’s not. We’ve been backup members for the past two years, and we first joined the Pan-Pacific selection last year.”
Haejung nodded with a smile.
“Back then, I wasn’t too nervous, probably because I knew I wouldn’t be selected... but wow, it’s driving me crazy this time.”
The 50m freestyle event in which Junhwan competed would be held tomorrow, and the 100m freestyle in which Haejung competed would be held on Thursday, the fourth day.
Junhwan had come in second place after Jaekyoung in the first selection round, and his record was pretty good. So, unless there were any unexpected changes, he would easily be able to secure a ticket to the Olympics tomorrow.
Haejung had taken third place in the first selection round, 0.06 seconds behind second place. Maybe that was why he seemed more nervous and anxious about this second selection round.
It was at that moment.
“You don’t have to eat for 50m.”
Jaekyoung said, picking up one of the slices of bread on his plate.
“If you’re competing in the 50m, it’s better to not have a full meal. Instead, have an energy bar 30 minutes before the race. A sports drink is good too. And have some glucose candy ten minutes before.”
After that, Jaekyoung tore his bread in half and dunked it into his cream soup. Finishing it in one bite, he continued while dipping the remaining bread into strawberry jam.
“But you’ve got to eat a full meal for the 100m. Always have rice or bread three hours before, and grab energy bars ten minutes beforehand, not glucose candy. If you can’t, eat a banana.”
Jaekyoung neatly wiped off the strawberry jam left on his plate with a piece of bread. While wiping his crumb-covered hand on a napkin, he spoke to Haejung.
“Lee Taejung, you didn’t eat last time and ended up sagging, so make sure to eat this time.”
“Ah, yes sir.”
Haejung probably didn’t expect this advice from Jaekyoung, so he straightened up as he answered. Junhwan’s eyes widened as he watched the conversation and then spoke cautiously.
“Uh, excuse me, sunbae-nim. His name is Lee Haejung, not Lee Taejung.”
“.......”
Jaekyoung frowned silently, his expression seemingly asking, ‘Since when did your name become like that?’
Jiheon quickly intervened, sensing that he might end up giving help but then giving trouble. [1]
“I think it’s a nickname. When Jaekyoung gets closer to someone, he usually makes up a name on his own and calls them that.”
“Wow, that’s so nice!”
Junhwan immediately became envious upon hearing that it was a nickname. Haejung glanced at Jaekyoung with a flushed face.
“What nickna—”
“Let’s get going if you’re done eating.”
Fearing that Jaekyoung might be unnecessarily honest, Jiheon quickly patted him on the back and encouraged him to stand up.
Both of them took a break in their room and left the hotel just before 7 o’clock. The morning warm-up started at 7, but when they reached the pool, it was empty.
While Jaekyoung changed in the locker room, Jiheon checked the day’s race schedule on the locker room wall. As he read thoroughly the entries and lane numbers for each event, he spotted Han Yuseong’s name in the 1500m freestyle and muttered without realizing.
‘What the... he’s really in it.’
He had heard about it from the coroner, but after searching for the article, he found nothing, so he let it be, thinking it was just a rumor or a misunderstanding by the coroner. But it turned out to be true.
“.......”
For some reason, Jiheon felt uneasy. He stared at Han Yuseong’s name for a while and then turned around. Whether he participated or not, he felt fortunate that the 1500m was an afternoon race. Meeting that guy in the waiting room would have been uncomfortable.
Like the 1500m where Han Yuseong competed, the 400m freestyle in which Jaekyoung participated today was scheduled only for the finals due to a lack of participants. The 1500m was in the afternoon, and the 400m was in the morning.
Jiheon had been quite nervous because the first race was the 400m, but fortunately, Jaekyoung seemed to be in good shape. No, he looked better than he had in the last few months.
He went through the pool alone before the other swimmers arrived for warm-up, excitedly enjoying some solo swimming.
“I really like it here. This swimming pool is special to me.”
Jaekyoung had a reason for saying this. The venue for the second selection round was none other than the Incheon General Gymnasium swimming pool, where the Pan-Pacific Championships had been held in August last year.
“Do you have a jinx like that too?”
“Jinx?”
“Isn’t it because you achieved the Grand Slam here?”
Jaekyoung looked at Jiheon, seeming puzzled about what he was saying, but then he said with a broken-hearted look.
“This is where I first kissed you.”
Jiheon was taken aback by the unexpected remark and chuckled.
“Hey, what is that? It was just a peck. Honestly, it’s not even a peck. You just smacked your lips on your own.”
“It was a kiss.”
Jaekyoung quietly insisted. After a moment, he added in a softer voice.
“It was my first kiss.”
Unfortunately, his morale seemed to be dropping before the first race. Jiheon draped a towel around Jaekyoung’s shoulders and said:
“Yeah, that was my first kiss with my husband too.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m serious. This is my first time marrying someone who kissed me. You’re the first one in my life.”
Jaekyoung chuckled at Jiheon’s words, looking a bit dumbfounded. Yet, it seemed like he wasn’t too upset, as the corners of his mouth, once lifted, didn’t come down.
No, seriously, Jaekyoung made a pretty solid record in the 400m freestyle final two hours later. It was his first race after the injury, and Jiheon had some concerns, especially because it was a middle-distance event. However, Jaekyoung finished with a time of 3:40.76 seconds, just a bit shy of his personal best and world record of 3:40.05.
“Are you sure his shoulder was injured? I really can’t tell.”
CEO Kang, who made the trip all the way to Incheon for the first race, applauded enthusiastically. Team Leader Lee and Manager Yoon also praised Jaekyoung, noticing improvements in his movements compared to the first selection round.
While everyone was relieved not to spot any signs of injury on Jaekyoung, Jiheon couldn’t say the same thing such as, “That’s why I’m worried. He didn’t have to overdo it like that.”
“I just hope it doesn’t continue to hurt like this.”
Jiheon spoke almost like he was saying a prayer.
Note:
[1] giving help but then giving trouble: it is actually from an idiom 병 주고 약 주다 which literally means “giving disease and ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) giving the medicine”, but in Jaekyoung’s case, it’s the other way around
