ATGRA 62

“Where did you hear that I’m going on a blind date?”

“Ha, I have my ways. But is it really true?”

“…”

“Oh, come on, I won’t tell anyone.”

Moon Yeonghwa didn’t believe Kim Miyoung’s ‘I won’t tell’ for a second. No matter how trustworthy a colleague she was, there was always a reason not to trust them. He’d find the story about making meju from red beans more credible.

“Director, you don’t trust me?”

Of course, he didn’t.

If it were Nam Jungyoon, maybe, but Kim Miyoung’s lips were too loose.

Not that he completely trusted Nam Jungyoon either. Anyway, if he told Nam Jungyoon something, there was a 90% chance Kim Miyoung would find out too.

If he answered that it was true here, Kim Miyoung would probably tattle not only to Nam Jungyoon but also to Jung Pureum.

Moon Yeonghwa racked his brain as best he could. He didn’t care if Nam Jungyoon found out. But it would be a bit of a problem if Jung Pureum found out.

The whole reason Moon Yeonghwa decided to go on a blind date was because of Jung Pureum. He had decided to go on the date to confirm that his feelings for him were an attraction caused by the change in his trait.

He felt sorry for Jung Pureum, but Moon Yeonghwa didn’t want to become anything special with him. To be precise, he was scared of becoming that kind of special.

He was afraid he would stand in the way of his future, and he was worried that Jung Pureum was feeling the wrong emotions simply because he was familiar with him when there were so many better people in the world. He thought he would be too upset if Jung Pureum later regretted having liked him.

Above all, the worst part was the thought that once they became something special and then broke up, they would never be able to return to their current relationship.

“It’s a secret.”

Kim Miyoung looked at Moon Yeonghwa, who had replied cryptically. The corners of her wrinkled eyes narrowed with suspicion. Moon Yeonghwa took in her gaze with his whole body and pretended not to notice, just brewing some herbal medicine.

“O-kay. So you are going on a blind date, is that it?”

“I said it’s a secret. Nurse Assistant, please go and do your work.”

“Alright. It’s your secret, Director, of all people, so I have to keep it for you.”

Inwardly, Kim Miyoung thought that Moon Yeonghwa was a terrible liar. How could he say it’s a secret here? It was a response no different from admitting he was going on a blind date.

Anyway, Moon Yeonghwa was the type to be easily scammed. Kim Miyoung looked at her director with pity. Oh dear, our naive Director. I’ll have to look after you for the rest of my life.

At the same time, Jung Pureum was sitting in the athletes’ waiting room, listening to his coach’s nagging like it was a Buddhist scripture. It was called a waiting room, but it was an open space, so the other athletes were also being mentally attacked by the coach’s nagging.

At this point, one would think he’d read the room, but the coach’s attention was solely on Jung Pureum. The coach looked at the noticeably tense Jung Pureum with a pleased expression.

Jung Pureum’s success was the coach’s success. Jung Pureum was now an alpha, not a beta, but that didn’t erase his past as a beta.

If he became a national athlete and achieved excellent results, beta athletes would also have more opportunities than before. The coach meticulously observed Pureum, who, unlike the other bustling athletes, sat with a straight posture, staring only at the lane.

It would have been easier to control and wield him if he had remained a beta. It was a little disappointing that he could no longer say, “You’re just a beta, after all.” This was because, besides his trait, there were few things to belittle Jung Pureum for.

Still, it was a relief that he wanted to become a national athlete. I thought he had the skill but not the ambition. The coach opened his mouth for some habitual gaslighting.

“Listen up. You may be number one among the so-so guys, but here, there are plenty of guys just like you.”

There are many who are better than you. You’re a player who can be replaced at any time. Guys majoring in arts and physical education were helplessly broken by such words. The coach himself had been deeply hurt by such words during his own athletic career.

A knife wielded by someone who has been stabbed is the most painful. Jung Pureum finally raised his eyes and looked at the coach.

“If you slip up once, there’s no next chance. Got it? This could be the highlight film of your life.”

“…”

“In this field, twenty isn’t even young. You’re already late. So…”

“Coach.”

Jung Pureum rarely cut the coach off.

He himself was used to such words and was fine, but he could see the other athletes around them frowning as they heard the coach. No matter how good the coach’s connections were, standing out like this was not a good thing.

“You know I don’t get hurt by words like that.”

He had heard them so many times that they no longer had much of an effect on him. The coach looked down at Jung Pureum with a strange expression.

“Instead, just cheer for me and tell me to do well and come back.”

What on earth is a trait? Jung Pureum sometimes felt sorry for the coach who spoke so harshly to him. It was a sentiment that others would call crazy if they knew.

Jung Pureum didn’t like the coach either, but it was hard to just stand by and watch a person run headlong towards the negative like that.

It was even more so because he knew why he was like that. What he envied, what he regretted… it was mostly circumstances that ruined a person.

However, apart from his sympathy, Jung Pureum had no intention of staying with the coach for long. If the opportunity arose, he planned to fire his coach first.

It’s foolish to waste emotions on a relationship that won’t last long anyway. That’s what Jung Pureum thought. No matter what results he produced, the coach wouldn’t be able to be genuinely happy, so why should he dwell on his words?

“…Right, do well and come back.”

When Jung Pureum was classified as a beta, the coach had grabbed him with trembling hands and said this.

‘From now on, you have to work even harder. No matter what others say, whether anyone laughs at you or not, you have to work yourself to death. Understand?’

Jung Pureum, the person in question, was fine, but everyone around him acted as if there had been a death in the family. Among them, the coach was the most dramatic.

From that moment, Jung Pureum instinctively knew that the coach was projecting his own past onto him. At the time, Moon Yeonghwa was the only one who had actively congratulated Jung Pureum on his beta classification, so it wasn’t surprising.

‘Still, you have to fall after reaching the highest place. That’s your only way to survive.’
‘If you can’t do it, quit quickly. Among betas, you might be the best. But among alphas, there are plenty of guys like you.’

At first, Jung Pureum was also quite hurt by such words. Because they sounded like criticisms disguised as objective evaluations and facts.

The silence of his parents, who had thought their son would surely be an alpha, his alpha sister who was already showing results in her own field. It was true that such things had a brief effect on Jung Pureum.

However, Jung Pureum got over it very quickly. His nature was inherently resilient, and besides, there was someone close to him who believed he would succeed.

Even though only one person believed in him, Jung Pureum recovered quickly because of that one person. With just a small word of encouragement, he could start over as many times as he needed.

‘Don’t ever give up, it’s humiliating.’
‘…’
‘If you think you can do it, then you really can.’

Jung Pureum sometimes wanted to ask Moon Yeonghwa. How could you believe in me so much when you couldn’t even believe in yourself?

People who failed to love themselves usually acted like Jung Pureum’s coach. They wanted to hurt others as much as they had been hurt.

But Moon Yeonghwa, while not believing in himself, believed in Jung Pureum. He thought he would succeed, and he hoped he would. Whenever he felt that firm belief from him, Jung Pureum recalled the first time he had breathed in the water.

The first time he thought he could do anything as he cut through the currents. Moon Yeonghwa was the person who always reminded Jung Pureum of that ‘first time’.

He had come to like him because he was that kind of person.

Because he was a person who did his best in the present for a better future. Because he was a person who believed that if he worked hard, it would be enough, instead of putting others down.

“He’ll be happy if I become a national athlete…”

If Jung Pureum was selected for the national team, Moon Yeonghwa would be happier than the person himself. Thinking about how he would smile at him, saying he was proud, always gave Jung Pureum the confidence to achieve good results.

It was the same this time. Even before the whistle signaling the start blew through the swimming pool, Jung Pureum had an early premonition of his victory.

And usually, premonitions like this were never wrong.

Jung Pureum was surely born under a star of talent. Otherwise, there was no way a result like this could have happened.

It was only because the lady next door had a calm personality, unlike my mom; if it had been my mom, she would have already hung a banner in front of the house. Congratulations! The son of Gangnam, Jung Pureum, to compete in the 100m, 800m, and 1,500m freestyle events!

Isn’t this crazy? The 800m and 1,500m were one thing, but the 100m was beyond everyone’s expectations.

As far as I knew, even within the same sport, short-distance and long-distance were worlds apart. It was even more surprising that Jung Pureum was selected for the 100m since his main event was long-distance in the first place.

The 100m and 1,500m must use completely different muscles, yet he was selected for the national team in every event he entered. Indeed, talent knows no muscle groups.

It truly felt like an Olympic gold medal was right in front of us. If he performed like this in the main competition, military exemption wasn’t just a dream.

“I’m so proud of you.”

“Hyung, that’s the twelfth time you’ve said that.”

“But, I’m just so proud.”

“Now it’s the thirteenth.”

What can I do when I’m so proud? Hey, people of the neighborhood! Our kid, you know, he’s a swimming genius!

Since the lady next door will stay quiet, I have to be the one to make a fuss. It’s by celebrating things like this extravagantly that self-esteem grows. I stroked Jung Pureum’s head over and over. Whose next-door little brother is this great?

Even though I was rubbing his head vigorously as if petting a dog that had performed a trick, Jung Pureum was docile without a single protest. If anything, he was a bonus, giggling and cuddling up to me.

“The time has finally come for me to buy you a meal. Today, eat as much as you want. Hyung will buy you an assorted beef platter.”

So proud! So admirable!

I was about to go to a nearby meat restaurant and put something in Jung Pureum’s mouth right away, but Jung Pureum grabbed my wrist.

“Hyung, not meat, but…”

“Ah, are you still on a diet?”

“I want to go on a date with you, hyung.”

“…”

“Can’t I?”

Of course you can, if our Pureum wants it! Name your ideal date course… is what I wanted to say, but it was a bit difficult.

Because I had to go on a blind date in just three days. Going on a date with a younger acquaintance before a blind date, and on top of that, with the very acquaintance who caused me to go on the blind date in the first place, didn’t seem like the right thing to do as a human being.

When I subtly avoided his gaze, Jung Pureum’s spirits fell immediately.

“I won three events so I could go see a movie with you, hyung, have tea at a nice place, take a walk together, and go for a drive…”

“Uh…”

“I endured the tough practices and worked really, really hard, thinking you would hang out with me, hyung…”

“Um…”

But, do I really have to uphold human decency at this point?

I was conflicted. It didn’t seem right to say no when Jung Pureum had worked so hard.

“Alright. What wouldn’t I do for a triple-crown winner?”

“Wow!”

“Let’s go.”

Seeing Jung Pureum laughing gleefully, saying it had been a long time since we’d gone on a date, my already hairy conscience screamed in pain.

He’ll cry his eyes out again if he finds out about the blind date, won’t he?

Thinking of Jung Pureum being openly disappointed made me feel uneasy. I must absolutely not get caught going on the blind date.