DASH-Chapter 173

Perhaps because he had snacked some pieces of chocolate during the massage and had four energy bars in the car, he didn’t seem hungry right away.

“Then you should just sleep then eat.”

Jiheon said as he pressed the elevator button.

“You should sleep too, hyung.”

“I’m not really feeling sleepy.”

“Still.”

“.......”

While Jiheon stayed quiet, the elevator showed up. Getting in, Jiheon sought confirmation.

“We’re just gonna sleep, right?”

“Of course. It’s the selection round.”

Jaekyoung frowned, questioning Jiheon’s thoughts. Clicking his tongue, he joined Jiheon in the elevator, leaned against the wall, and spoke once the doors closed.

“But it’s the 14th week now.”

“So...?”

“I’m just saying.”

Jaekyoung said with a blank face. And as the elevator started to move, he added again:

“It’s been a long time since the 12th week.”

“Not that long. Not even 10 days.”

Jiheon chuckled. Jaekyoung must have sensed from that laugh that he was wrong, so he didn’t say anything more. Pushing one more time would make him act like he couldn’t win.

The elevator arrived at the room floor just in time as Jiheon clicked his tongue at Kwon Jaekyoung.

‘Yeah, let’s quit thinking nonsense and get some sleep. What am I even thinking about in such an important time?’

Jiheon, gathering his thoughts and preparing to leave the elevator, was surprised by the face he encountered as soon as the doors opened.

“Oh.”

The other person must have been quite surprised too as he openly flinched and took a step back. Jaekyoung frowned at that blatant attitude. Jiheon quickly spoke to Han Yuseong in a casual tone, not wanting to cause another pointless argument.

“Are you heading to the stadium?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, good luck.”

Han Yuseong just bowed his head in silence and stepped into the elevator.

“What good luck? What is that bastard up to?”

Jaekyoung asked as soon as the elevator doors closed.

“There’s a 1500m race today.”

“Is he joining that?”

“I heard so.”

“He’s using everything he can. Tsk.”

Jaekyoung clicked his tongue. Jiheon thought about playing dumb, but his conscience got the better of him, so he said:

“I told him to.”

“...Why on earth?”

Jaekyoung looked utterly confused.

“He was gonna fail in the 400m individual medley anyway.”

Jiheon unlocked the room door with the card key.

“Better to give it another shot in his main event while there’s still a chance in the second selection round.”

“So why the hell are you pushing him for the Olympics, hyung?”

Jaekyoung questioned, following Jiheon into the room.

“If anyone’s got the potential, might as well have one more person go.”

Jaekyoung still seemed unconvinced. Jiheon took off his suit and hung it up, letting out a sigh.

“Yeah, I know. I’m sick of his company too, but I figured the company and the athlete are separate. Since he seemed to have been kicked out of the company, I gave him this advice for the last time. I thought if he still had the desire to be an athlete, he’d take on the challenge.”

Despite Jiheon’s explanation, Jaekyoung remained in a sour mood. He sat down on the bed and said:

“I don’t know. Even if that cultist competes in the 1500m, it won’t be because of his determination as an athlete. It’s more about advertising.”

“If that were the case, wouldn’t they have made a big deal about it already? They’d be shouting about Han Yuseong’s bold decision to win or something like that.”

“They’ll probably do some media play once he’s confirmed to go to the Olympics. If they were to do it now, they would only hear about him being a guy who messed up the first selection round but is still talking big.”

“Is that so?”

Jiheon crossed his arms, muttering bitterly. Jaekyoung glanced at him, took off his jersey, and tossed it on the bed, saying:

“People don’t change.”

“But you have.”

“I haven’t.”

“No, you’ve changed a lot.”

Jiheon said with a smile.

“You’ve become a lot more mature, and sometimes you even consider things from other people’s perspectives.”

Jaekyoung snorted, finding it absurd. His expression seemed to say, “What makes you think so?”

Jiheon chuckled and then sat down on the bed.

“I think Yuseong has changed at least once already. When he first started swimming and breaking records, he probably never thought about something like this. Back then, his only goal would be to improve his record even by a second.”

However, after achieving his goals over and over again and finally reaching the top with great difficulty, he realized his position was much shabbier than he expected.

“I think that’s where many good and talented athletes stumble. Especially in unpopular sports that don’t rake in much money. They’ve put in the effort their whole lives, but even with good performances, they can’t earn as much as the average person’s salary. Finding sponsors for unpopular sports is tough too.”

“Not my concern.”

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Jaekyoung spoke plainly, showing that he didn’t want to delve into it or sympathize much. He continued:

“I also have no intention of saying naïve things like sports shouldn’t be used as a means.”

Jaekyoung sighed as he got off the bed. Then, he grabbed water from the minibar, drank half of it in one go, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and continued.

“Some people make a living from this, so why can’t others use sports to make money? Even I prefer joining competitions with more prize money for the same level. After doing commercials, I can see how much money athletes can make, and I come to understand why they’re desperate to do commercials. But that’s why I don’t understand those manipulative bastards. I don’t think they should be treated as athletes.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

Jiheon nodded in agreement.

“I also hate it when those kinds of people outshine hard working athletes.”

“No, hyung, I don’t hate that bastard for trying to take away what is mine.”

Jaekyoung responded right away.

“Because it won’t be taken away from me. Never.”

He emphasized in a firm yet calm voice, finishing the water. Then, after crumpling the empty bottle, he continued.

“But the more those bastards run rampant, the dirtier the water gets, and I don’t like it because only the right hard-working people in that water are going to suffer.”

Only then did Jiheon realize what Jaekyoung really wanted to say, and he burst into laughter.

“Why are you laughing? I don’t find it funny at all.”

Jaekyoung finally got upset.

“Hyung, listen. Even now, you’re still trying to save an innocent athlete. But do you think he’s really innocent? Just keeping his mouth shut while that company is making such a mess means that the bastard is guilty too. He’s no different from them. There’s no need to protect a guy like that just because he’s an athlete.”

Jaekyoung looked like he was about to explode with anger and tossed the crumpled water bottle into the trash can.

“If you quit this job, I won’t care about what he says or does. It has nothing to «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» do with me. Whatever that bastard uses won’t work on me anyway.”

“But you don’t like it because the longer I continue this job, the more I suffer because of people like Han Yuseong?”

“Yes.”

Jaekyoung answered promptly.

“Hmm. So? Are you telling me to quit my job?”

“Not necessarily, but yes.”

“What the hell?”

Jiheon burst into laughter again. Jaekyoung still didn’t smile. He didn’t get angry like before; he just tried to speak as calmly and maturely as possible with the calm energy he had gained from his core.

“I really didn’t want to say something like this, hyung. I didn’t want to tell you this because I was afraid you might think I’m acting all high and mighty just because I’m making some money.”

“I don’t see it that way.”

“Yes, it’s really not like that, absolutely not.”

Jaekyoung emphasized this multiple times, clearly wanting to avoid any misunderstanding.

“I like it when you work, hyung. I think you’re cool when you make decisions based on the situation and act accordingly. But I hate that you have to please the shitty people in this industry and play both sides. Everyone here just says, ‘If things go well, it’s my doing, and if things go wrong, it’s your doing.’ I don’t like seeing you being criticized for doing your job, and I just hate when you have to deal with people like that.”

Although, until recently, he had been dropping hints like, ‘I’m not saying you should quit the company, but can’t you at least move departments, hyung?’ Now, it seemed like he just decided to speak up.

“That’s right. People in this industry can be a bit uncooperative.”

Jiheon nodded, to which Jaekyoung replied:

“For real. There’s only thugs and gangsters here.”

“I know.”

“No one’s doing the sport right. Except you and me, hyung.”

“Sure, sure.”

Jiheon responded eagerly, but Jaekyoung shot him a dissatisfied look, then sighed and brushed his bangs.

“I know. Even if I say this, you won’t quit anyway. I won’t push you to quit either. Because everyone has something they can’t give up.”

“Yeah.”

Jiheon grinned. After realizing his attempt to convince Jiheon to leave the company hadn’t worked, Jaekyoung clicked his tongue and turned around. As he was about to lie down on the bed, Jiheon called out, “No, not there.” He then went onto his bed, lay down, and gestured to the side.

“Come here.”

Jaekyoung just stood between the two beds, giving him a sullen look. Jiheon grinned and patted the spot next to him.

“Hurry up. At times like this, we shouldn’t sleep separately.”

He thought Jaekyoung might resist a bit longer, but this guy immediately lay down next to him despite his grumpy expression. He even used the narrow single bed as an excuse to hug Jiheon.