DASH-Chapter 158

Jiheon paused while scooping up the yogurt.

“What do you mean by that......?”

“I think Kavva brought him there on purpose.”

Jaekyoung delivered the conclusion straight away.

“And I don’t think he intentionally picked a fight with you there. I think he would come into the waiting room trying to pick a fight with me.”

For some reason, Jiheon suddenly lost his appetite. But it was clear that he would soon feel nauseous if he didn’t eat now. Jiheon spoke as he sprinkled nuts for salad topping on top of the yogurt.

“Why do you think so?”

“The cultist.”

Of all things, a name he least wanted to hear at that moment came up. Jiheon sighed and asked, “Why him?”

Jaekyoung, unaware of the mixed reaction’s meaning, stared at Jiheon for a moment and then spoke in an indifferent tone.

“I had my earphones on at the time, so I couldn’t hear anything outside. But the cultist kept glancing at me. Like a fucking do... I mean, like a ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) puppy really needing to poop.”

Jiheon chuckled while eating yogurt, finding Jaekyoung’s struggle not to use profanity cute.

“So, I took out my earphones and asked him what the hell he was doing, and he was like, ‘I think there’s a fight outside,’ and then I can hear your voice.”

“That’s... because he was sitting right in front of the waiting room entrance at the time. Of course he could hear a fight outside. But since he heard my voice, he let you know first.”

When Jiheon asked what was odd about that, Jaekyoung crossed his arms and sighed. That sigh subtly said, ‘Yeah, I knew you’d say this.’ Jiheon felt uneasy for no reason. He wondered if this made it sound like he was taking Han Yuseong’s side. He expected Kwon Jaekyoung to get mad again, so he mentally braced himself and waited. Surprisingly, Jaekyoung didn’t.

“Think about it carefully, hyung. If he heard that noise from outside, it’s common sense to run out first and stop the fight instead of looking at me.”

Rather, he explained it in an unusually calm tone, and honestly, Jiheon was shocked. Considering Jaekyoung’s usual attitude, the fact that the words “common sense” came out of his mouth was especially shocking. Besides, the argument made a lot of sense, leaving Jiheon even more shocked.

“I don’t know if that guy was like me, someone who doesn’t care whether the person next to him lives or dies, but no. It doesn’t make sense for him to just sit there and listen to the fight, pretending to be polite and minding his own business. Besides, if he knew it was your voice, he would’ve run out faster. He’s a guy desperate to impress you.”

It was a pretty reasonable argument. Yes, if Han Yuseong had sensed that level of commotion, he would’ve gone out first. Probably not out of a sense of justice, but more because he cared about what others thought of him, especially the officials.

“And it’s weird that the vice chairman was there at that time. He’s not even the vice chairman of the federation anymore since he was fired a long time ago. He’s not even an official, so why was he there? No one except officials could enter that area, and you have to have a pass to enter.”

“Well, he could say he was there because he had someone to meet.”

Even though the vice chairman had been fired, he had spent a decade as an executive in the Swimming Federation. With a massive network, if he claimed he got a pass through contacts to meet someone, it wouldn’t be strange.

However.......

“So, Jaekyoung, you believe Kavva purposely sent the vice chairman right before the race?”

“We’ve got no choice but to think so in such a situation, right?”

Jaekyoung still spoke with a poker face.

“It was just 15 minutes before the race, right before the first call. After the call rang and the swimmers moved to the waiting room, from then on, no one except staff and family could come in. So that guy made sure to pull off his stunt right before that. If I got into a fight with him, ignored the call, and kept fighting, I’d be immediately disqualified. Even if you or others tried to stop me and forced me into the waiting room, I’d have to start the race all riled up. They probably thought it would be beneficial if it could mess with my performance even a little.”

At that moment, Jiheon remembered what Manager Yoon had said on the phone yesterday. Kim Giseok had been making a fuss and insisting that the race shouldn’t be delayed and must start right away, so he thought that man was laying the groundwork in case Han Yuseong’s performance wasn’t good.

To think that some people were using all their resources now... but that wasn’t it. It seemed like they didn’t even give Jaekyoung time to calm down. Yeah, the story felt much more natural that way.

In the end, Jiheon’s appetite completely vanished. He said as he spoon-fed the yogurt to Jaekyoung.

“Yeah, after hearing what you said, it definitely doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”

Maybe because he was proud that his reasoning skills were recognized, or because he was happy Jiheon fed him yogurt, Jaekyoung shrugged his shoulders with an expression of great satisfaction. Jiheon also picked up a piece of chicken breast from the salad and fed it to him.

“Anyway, I will discuss this matter with the company and handle it, so don’t worry about it anymore.”

Jaekyoung’s face suddenly turned grim again. Where was the baby bird that had been patiently waiting for Jiheon’s food? Now, some kind of bird of prey was staring with chicken in its mouth, chewing on it. If things didn’t work out, the bird seemed ready to get rid of everything, including the vice chairman’s scream, drowning it in its own predatory scream.

“I’m giving you a heads up; I’m not saying this to make you stay out of it because it’s none of your business. Don’t misunderstand.”

Jiheon said, feeding more yogurt to Jaekyoung before he could finish chewing the chicken and swallowing it.

“I’m just asking for your cooperation so I can do my job.”

“Oh, then do your job, hyung.”

Jaekyoung said as soon as he could barely swallow the food in his mouth.

“Who told you I don’t like it?”

“Exactly, I will do my job. So please leave this to me. Let me take care of it. And you do your job too. Let’s each do our job.”

Jiheon spoke calmly.

“It’s your job to put in the effort and perform well in competitions, and my job is to ensure you can focus on training without any extra worries.”

“So?”

Kwon Jaekyoung asked crookedly.

‘......Why are you saying this when you already know everything?’

Jiheon resisted the urge to playfully pinch Jaekyoung’s cheek and sneak a paprika, dipped in kiwi sauce, into his mouth.

“But how would I feel if I saw you constantly worrying and stressing out because of me? Ah, I can’t help but think that my athlete is having such a hard time because I didn’t do my duties as an agent properly. You don’t want me to blame myself and suffer like that, do you?”

As Jiheon fed him something sweet, calming him down like a kindergarten teacher, Jaekyoung couldn’t openly show his temper anymore. But he still struggled to hide his dissatisfaction; it was clear from the persistent pout on his face.

“It’s true that you’re my agent, but you’re also my husband.”

“Hey, we’re not even married yet. Why am I already your husband?”

Jiheon deliberately teased with a chuckle. Jaekyoung looked momentarily bewildered, then responded, “Oh, right, well, that’s true.”

“You’re not my husband yet, but you will be, of course.”

Jaekyoung snorted in annoyance. In response, Jiheon said with an innocent tone:

“Really? So, you will marry me?”

“What......?”

This time, Jaekyoung looked at him as if asking, ‘What is this guy talking about?’ Jiheon pretended not to notice and changed the subject.

“You never answered my proposal.”

“Well, why would I say that....”

Jaekyoung, muttering in confusion, suddenly stopped. And then—

“Hyung, now that I think about it....... Why did you propose to me?”

“Huh...?”

“Why did you propose?”

Before Jiheon could ask what that meant, Jaekyoung jumped out of the chair and exclaimed.

“I told you I would do it. I said I would definitely win a gold medal at the Olympics. Why did you steal someone else’s proposal?”

Kwon Jaekyoung was upset.

“Oh, no, you can do it too. You can.”

Jiheon stammered in bewilderment. He thought he had jumped from the frying pan into the fire, but while trying to change the topic, he stepped on a landmine instead.

“Do we really need just one person to propose? Both can do it. It’s better that way.”

Jiheon tried to speak calmly, throwing in phrases like, “I’d like to be proposed to as well,” and “I’m looking forward to your proposal,” but it didn’t work.

“No. For something like this, I have to do it first. Doing it later is not cool.”

Jaekyoung seemed to have given up the fight and slumped into the chair helplessly. Finally, he buried his face in his hands and muttered in a pained voice.

“Even your proposal is too fast. How can I compete with an ultrasound when I only have an Olympic gold medal?”

“Hey, what do you mean by that?”

Jiheon looked at him seriously.

“How can you say the Olympic gold medal isn’t enough? It’s the highest achievement an athlete can attain.”

Jiheon tried to reassure him, but Jaekyoung didn’t seem to be listening.

“Yes, the first selection round was the one with more impressive achievements, right?”

Jaekyoung continued to mutter in a gloomy tone, and only after a while did he lift his head, look at Jiheon, and say:

“But just in case, hyung.”

“Yeah.”

“If I propose after the Olympics.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll pretend to be moved and surprised.”

“......You have to be really moved, not just pretend. Don’t pretend.”

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Jaekyoung gritted his teeth as he spoke.

“Don’t act half-heartedly. You have to be genuinely touched with all your heart and soul.”

Jaekyoung made a somewhat absurd statement, but Jiheon couldn’t bring himself to say anything because he knew it was unreasonable.

“Okay. I’ll forget about today’s events and be truly touched when you propose. I’ll try to shed tears if I can.”

“.......”

“Jaekyoung-ah, if I’m doing this much, you have to work hard.”

Jiheon spoke calmly. Kwon Jaekyoung must have sensed that it would only be to his loss if he pushed further, so he quickly nodded his head.

“Okay, I understand. Let’s stop talking about this.”

“Yeah. And about the things we were talking about earlier.”

Jiheon decided to use Jaekyoung’s calm demeanor to quickly discuss the vice chairman’s case.

“I get that you’re upset and angry. Who wouldn’t be? Even I would lose my mind if someone messed up your face. I’d kill that son of a bitch, no matter who they are.”

Jiheon deliberately added a profanity for emphasis. Needless to say, Jaekyoung was secretly happy to see Jiheon saying something unusually harsh, but he pretended not to show it and advised, “Hyung, you’re pregnant now. Watch what you say.”

Despite the polite advice, Jiheon now found dealing with Kwon Jaekyoung surprisingly easy.

“Yeah, it’s definitely infuriating. But anger alone won’t solve the problem. I’d leave handling it to the experts. I’d hire a good lawyer to ensure they get a heavy sentence. It might be tempting to hire a thug and beat them up, but that won’t solve anything. Responding to a crime with another crime will just repeat the cycle.”

“So, you’re saying I should let the lawyer handle it and not stress about it?”

Jaekyoung spoke in a slightly annoyed manner, not as aggressive as before.

“Yeah, that’s the best approach. I hope you can do that for me, even if you’re not thrilled about it.”

Jiheon made his stance clear.

“Anyway, I’m the biggest victim here, and I’ll be filing the complaint. Since I know the damage best, I’ll work with the company to ensure the vice chairman faces some consequences. So, don’t stress about this anymore. Focus on your training, and I’ll keep you updated on the progress.”

“...Alright.”

Jaekyoung answered reluctantly, then quickly got irritated again and clicked his tongue.

“Oh, by the way. You said the maximum punishment might just be a fine or house arrest. I don’t like that. I want to see that bastard go to jail.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.”

Jiheon took another large spoonful of yogurt. Then, as before, he sprinkled some nut toppings, added a drop of kiwi sauce on top, brought it to his mouth, and continued.

“I remembered from yesterday, with all the talk about extenuating circumstances and retaliation. I think we can make sure that the vice chairman ends up behind bars.”