DASH Chapter 1

"Among all things...", thought Jihon. But he wasn't sure if his misadventures had been orchestrated by soone 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 n's qualification swim for 200 ters 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 swimrs began to take their seats. The cara slowly changed the angle, capturing the presence of eight people in the distance. Eventually, the operator zood 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 beca 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 dals, then the fuss that you have made here, girls, will be to bla," the guys booed them, but the ladies remained unperturbed.

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

"That's for sure! If we ranked them by appearance, Jaekyung would have won 24 tis 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 cara has been pointed at Kwon Jaekyung for quite so ti 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 dal in this championship.]

The comntator 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 comntator continued his monologue, adding phrases like "shaving buddy" and other unnecessary remarks that lengthened his own speech too much. At tis, 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".

Jihong's smile faded as he heard the comntator try to demonstrate his connection to the athlete. It was obvious that the comntator was indeed Kwon Jaekyung's forr coach, although he had only worked with him for a year in elentary school before he was fired. Kwon Jaekyung's parents filed a complaint, claiming that the coach often ca to the pool drunk. Jihong vividly rembered witnessing the coach dozing off in the living room several tis, with the sll of alcohol floating around him.

Initially, Jihong thought that the trainer was enthusiastic about teaching Kwon Jaekyung because of the young prodigy's exceptional talent. However, his reckless behavior and inability to overco his habits ruined him. Now, dressed in a suit, he took on the role of comntator. They say that when the star appears, even neighbors and kindergarten teachers will be invited for interviews. Jihong considered the coach's behavior shaless, because he was just using the opportunity given to him. Jihong raised his glass of beer, a smile playing on his lips as the TV presenter re-described current events.

[Here it is, the Cairo Olympic Stadium. The long-awaited final of the n's 200m swimming championship is coming soon. Our country's swimr Kwon Jaekyung is aiming for victory.

[This type of competition involves overcoming equal segnts of the distance by different swimming styles, such as freestyle or butterfly, alternating in a strict sequence. However, in complex swimming, there are all four styles that are perford in a certain order.]

[Butterfly – backstroke – breaststroke – freestyle, in that order?]

[Exactly. Swimrs must adhere to this order. Although there are distances of 400 and 200 ters, Kwon Jaekyung will participate in the 200 ter swim.]

[So the distance for each style is 50 ters?]

[That's right: Swimrs usually specialize in a particular style. However, the water all-around requires all four techniques. It is considered the most difficult competition for swimrs, as it requires a combination of strength, endurance, skill and flexibility.

"Ah, that sounds difficult," the colleague from the general affairs departnt muttered to himself as he sat across from Jihon. His voice sounded as if he had never known such a thing existed. Such ignorance is not surprising, given that swimming has always been an unpopular sport in South Korea. In the past, the competition only attracted attention when an athlete took a gold dal, but that was only once. Swimrs have never won Olympic dals, and Korean athletes have rarely reached the finals of the World Championships or the Sumr Olympics. Only a few broadcasters bothered to broadcast the finals of the less popular competitions live, leaving most Koreans oblivious to the existence of the all-around. However, it was a little strange that even an employee of a sports agency did not know about such a significant event.

"Well, that's not surprising, he's from the general departnt," Jihon thought, casually taking so rice and bringing it to his mouth.

Suddenly, the screen took on a bright shade of blue, and a bird's-eye view of the 50-ter pool appeared on it. Below, where there had been a calm expanse of water, there was now a continuous stream of voices from the host and the comntator.

[Historically, Western athletes have taken first place in the individual competition, don't you agree?]

[Yes, as I ntioned earlier, although skills play a special role, physical strength is also important. Swimming is a sport in which physical qualities greatly affect performance. It is not surprising that Arican and Australian athletes excelled in this competition. Usually, everyone is 190 cm or 2 ters tall.]

[Haha, that's quite impressive, but haven't Asian swimrs achieved outstanding results?]

[Absolutely. Ye Xuan of China won two won's gold dals at the London 2012 Olympics, instantly becoming a national hero of China. At that ti, she even broke the world record. In addition, the Japanese athlete won the gold dal in the all-around swimming in the individual at the World Championships, which caused a huge stir.]

[Is it because such achievents are rare?!]

[Exactly: People thought that athletes from the United States or Australia would claim gold, but it was an Asian athlete who did it.]

[However, our country has yet to win a gold dal at the Olympic Gas.]

[That's right. We have high expectations this year. Kwon Jaekyung reached the finals for the first ti and took first place in the qualifying stage.]

[Let's not forget that he has already won the gold dal in the n'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 comntator 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 swimr 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 dals 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 dals. It seems that the competition is about to begin.]

Before the presenter could finish speaking, the signal sounded, and the swimrs took their positions. The cara quickly switched back and forth, catching glimpses of swimrs 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 swimrs were already lined up and ready to start. There was a rumble at the mont when they all dived into the water at the sa ti.

[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 so 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, swimrs compete in a butterfly style. Noah Kenny, starting from the fifth lane, imdiately takes the lead.]

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

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

[Yes. But he is also good in butterfly. This ti he took the silver dal in the 200 ters.]

[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-ter backstroke, and he won the championship yesterday too.]

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

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

While the presenter and comntator spoke in detail about the race, the swimrs quickly covered half of the distance of the 50-ter pool, performing a backstroke. Then, in an instant, the three swimrs 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-ter touch panel.....! Changed! Kwon Jaekyung is in the lead on the fourth track!]