DASH

Chapter 35

Well, it's not just today, Jaekyung has been in a good mood for the past few days. His stroke is excellent as always, and he has surpassed his own records every time. And the daily routine remained the same - training, eating, resting, training. But why did his condition suddenly improve? After all, there had been no change, except that Jihong had also started to visit the pool. However, this could not be the reason.

He just swam for about 40 minutes alone on the farthest lane so as not to disturb the athlete. There were no sudden clashes or conversations.

Usually, during a break, Jaekyung, covering his head with a towel, would lie on a bench, pretending to be dead. And after ten minutes, he dived back into the water. But when Jihon was next to him, he behaved somewhat differently: leaning on a cable or a wall, he motionlessly looked in his direction. As soon as the rest time came to an end, he immediately dived into the water and, as if nothing had happened, focused solely on honing his skills. Jihong wanted to know why he continued to watch him, but he was afraid to provoke a conversation that could disrupt the athlete's training rhythm. He was worried about what might be getting in Jaekyung's way, but apparently it wasn't. In any case, the athlete's performance has improved.

"Should we stop going to the pool together? There are about 15 days before the competition, it is wise to minimize any potential distractions," Jihon mused.

Suddenly, the door opened and a staff member walked in, "Mr. Kwon Jaekyung, you can get out."@@@@

"We'll start soon

The makeup artist's pace accelerated. Finally, she finished her work by touching up the color of her lips.

"How do you like it?" Isn't it wonderful?

As she gathered all her belongings, a proud smile never left her face.

"That's definitely the case

Jihong was worried that makeup might make her already beautiful features look too feminine. But the light shade of his lips and dark eyebrows completely changed the impression of Jaekyung. Boyish charm transformed into a mature, masculine aura. However, he felt a little embarrassed, frightened by the reflection in the mirror and after the makeup artist left the room, blurted out abruptly: "This is strange."

"Why?"

"Why the hell did she put on my lips?"

"Otherwise, they would look too pale in the video.

Smiling, Jihong added, "This is new to you. But you actually look cool." Which made the guy quiet for a moment.

"Shall we go?"

Jaekyung finally loosened his grip, as if coming to his senses.

"Walk carefully, hyung.

Jaekyung's voice was tinged with disappointment, "Why rush if you know the floor is slippery?"

"I'm sorry

Although it was due to a moment's carelessness, the guy remained adamant. Even the furrowed eyebrows indicated dissatisfaction. To be honest, Jihong didn't quite understand why he was so angry and decided to try to soften the corners in a joking manner: "How did I manage to dodge to fall into the pool, isn't it impressive? If I landed on the tile, I would definitely break something."

"Why the hell do you think that?" I'm not going to let you fall to the floor, hyung.

Sighing, Jihong crossed his arms over his chest as his heart skipped a beat over and over again. He was so discouraged that he was speechless. All he could do was mutter, "Oh... okay..."

Regaining his composure, he was about to say something, but he only looked away, avoiding eye contact with his savior. Fortunately, they were called by the assistant director: "Mr. Kwon Jaekyung, are you ready?"

"I've been ready for a long time

The harsh answer slightly puzzled the man. Jaekyung followed him irritably without saying a word. Walking quietly beside him, Jihon whispered, "Next time they ask if you're ready, just say yes."

"Hmm... Don't bother. I hope you don't slip again, hyun

Since this is the athlete's first promotional video that no one expected to perform superbly, they abandoned complex concepts. Jaekyung performed the butterfly swim for 30 minutes. Compared to his usual training, it wasn't too difficult. They redid the jump scene ten times to get the perfect shot, but even then there were no complaints. Most likely, Jaekyung had a hard time in the third frame. In this scene, he must swim to the end, touch the tile with his hand, and then, breathing heavily, take off his glasses. But he failed to demonstrate it. He did not get out of breath even after 50 meters at full speed. In the end, the director suggested, "Think of the moments when you were really exhausted."

Jaekyung tried his best to feign shortness of breath until his shoulders trembled. In the end, everything was resolved after Jihong intervened: "Imagine that you have just completed the 800-meter freestyle marathon. Let's say you gave 100 percent without slowing down."

Jaekyung seemed to be thinking about how he would feel after such a distance, and then returned to the water. And after a while, the director saw how the guy portrayed "a man breathing heavily after a swim of 800 meters," and muttered to himself: "Yes, it worked."

The last scene, in which "he takes off his hat and lowers his glasses around his neck," went smoothly. And from time to time, exclamations burst out from the employees. As they watched the footage, they began to excitedly discuss, "This is crazy, seriously. I'm not even kidding. He's cool", "Damn, Kwon Jaekyung is very good. Where did he get such thick hair?", "Oh, damn. He has everything, doesn't he?"

Even Manager Yun, who was standing in the back, whispered, "This is a huge success. Advertising will definitely make a splash."

Jihon experienced something similar. To be honest, he doubted success. However, after studying the final result, he realized that his fears were unfounded. As expected, the last shot, in which Jaekyung's face clearly flaunted, turned out to be the best, but all the other scenes also turned out great. Since all the videos were pre-edited, watching in slow motion without any additional effects was still a delight.