DASH

Chapter 1

"Among all things...", thought Jihon. But he wasn't sure if his misadventures had been orchestrated by someone or if they were just a series of random events. It was more like a small twist of fate than a streak of failure. However, the coincidence is too accurate, because everything happened just on the day of welcoming new employees.

[The upcoming event is the final of the men's qualification swim for 200 meters at the Olympic pool in Cairo. The representative of our country, Kwon Jaekyung, is going to take part in this long-awaited competition.

The voice of the presenter spread throughout the space, and the swimmers began to take their seats. The camera slowly changed the angle, capturing the presence of eight people in the distance. Eventually, the operator zoomed in, showing a close-up of the player heading towards the middle track.

Inside the noisy pub, many familiar faces were broadcast on a large screen, and the atmosphere became more exciting as a group of female patrons burst into applause. However, it was the table at which the college students had gathered that attracted attention, their enthusiastic shouts and stamping of feet reverberated throughout the institution.

"Hey, if anyone hears you shouting like that, they'll think they've already taken the gold!"

"I know, I know, okay? Seriously, I thought that Kwon Jaekyung had already managed to surpass the world record!"

"If he doesn't get medals, then the fuss that you have made here, girls, will be to blame," the guys booed them, but the ladies remained unperturbed.

"Don't panic. His face alone deserves a gold medal."

"That's for sure! If we ranked them by appearance, Jaekyung would have won 24 times already."

"At the end of the day, he's the most valuable player"

At other tables, laughter rang out when the girls' words hit the bull's-eye.

[The camera has been pointed at Kwon Jaekyung for quite some time now.]

Even the host spoke in a voice saturated with laughter. There was another reason why he was so happy.

[Undoubtedly, he is considered one of the main contenders to win and win the gold medal in this championship.]

The commentator politely explained the reason, his words filled with pride.

[Our Kwon Jaekyung took first place in the preliminary round, setting a new record across Asia. Currently, Noah Kenny from Australia is in second place. Although breaking his previous record by 0.4 seconds, he was behind Kwon Jaekyung.]

[The two athletes trained together in Australia, right?]

[Yes, that's right. Since last year's competition, Kwon Jaekyung has been training in Australia, particularly at the Aquatic Centre, where Noah Kenny is also trained.

The commentator continued his monologue, adding phrases like "shaving buddy" and other unnecessary remarks that lengthened his own speech too much. At times, he even tried to create a sense of closeness by familiarly referring to Kwon Jaekyung as "our Jaekyung", as if he had forgotten about the official introduction of "athlete Kwon Jaekyung".

[Let's not forget that he has already won the gold medal in the men's 200m all-around at the Asian Competitions. Kwon Jaekyung was only 17 years old, attended Osford High School in Australia, and is 188cm tall.... But it's still growing, isn't it?]

The commentator answered the host's question with pride, as if it was about his own child.

[I heard that he was 186 cm tall last year, which is quite a jump considering that he was only 183 cm tall during the competition when he was in his third year of high school.]

[Our swimmer Kwon Jaekyung is getting taller and taller, and his records are becoming more and more impressive. In this Olympics alone, he has already won gold medals in the 200m and 400m freestyle, 50m backstroke and silver in the 200m butterfly. If he manages to win gold in this individual event, he will accumulate a total of four gold medals. It seems that the competition is about to begin.]

Before the presenter could finish speaking, the signal sounded, and the swimmers took their positions. The camera quickly switched back and forth, catching glimpses of swimmers and the enthusiastic crowd in the stands. As soon as the list appeared on the screen, the presenter continued his speech in a calm and collected tone.

[South Korea's Kwon Jaekyung is on the fourth track.]

When the list disappeared, the swimmers were already lined up and ready to start. There was a rumble at the moment when they all dived into the water at the same time.

[Starts!]

In an instant, silence reigned in the room, enveloping everything around. Even those who used to be busy laughing and idle chatter paid attention to the screen installed on one of the walls of the pub. In the reflection of Jihon's desk, the following picture could be seen of some of his colleagues turning their chairs to the screen, admiration frozen on their faces. Fortunately, Jihon didn't need to move around, as his chair was originally turned toward the panel. He clutched his glass of warm beer, his eyes fixed on the screen. As he took a sip, the sound of beer sliding down his throat resounded distinctly in his ears. Perhaps it was the silence that made the sound more noticeable.

[At the beginning of the competition, swimmers compete in a butterfly style. Noah Kenny, starting from the fifth lane, immediately takes the lead.]

[The main style of the athlete is butterfly. At these Olympic Games, he also took gold medals at distances of 100 and 200 meters butterfly.]

[And Kwon Jaekyung's main style is free, right?]

[Yes. But he is also good in butterfly. This time he took the silver medal in the 200 meters.]

[Attention! Noah Kenny on the fifth track was the fastest, followed by Kwon Jaekyung on the fourth and Phil Abramson of the United States on the third.]

[Abramson is the world record holder in the 200-meter backstroke, and he won the championship yesterday too.]

[But in the 100 meters, he lost 0.05 seconds to Kwon Jaekyung and took the silver medal, didn't he?]

[Yes, Kwon Jaekyung's run was intimidating in the last 10 meters.]

While the presenter and commentator spoke in detail about the race, the swimmers quickly covered half of the distance of the 50-meter pool, performing a backstroke. Then, in an instant, the three swimmers in the middle lane reached the touch panel, their hands touching near-perfect synchronicity.

[Noah Kenny on the fifth lane, Kwon Jaekyung on the fourth, almost simultaneously reached the 100-meter touch panel.....! Changed! Kwon Jaekyung is in the lead on the fourth track!]