My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 94

I said I’d just sleep a little, but I ended up passing out completely in the taxi. Thanks to that, Nam Jungyoon said he had to carry me on his back into the accommodation.

“You’re buying dinner tonight, sunbae.”

“I said I would, alright? You’re making such a big deal out of carrying me once. Stop nagging already.”

“Do you know how heavy a grown man is? Carrying you while holding suitcases in both hands—it was like a circus act.”

“You could have just woken me up….”

Because I’d been carried all the way to the accommodation, Nam Jungyoon was giving me a hard time.

Making such a fuss over carrying me once. Jung Pureum carried me all the time, yet he never complained. Even if they’re both younger, this is exactly why Nam Jungyoon doesn’t get the same affection.

But since it was true that I’d caused him trouble, I bought all the snacks Nam Jungyoon asked for without complaint. He grabbed a whole handful of cup-shaped konjac jelly, saying he wanted to try it, looking so smug it was irritating.

“Deputy Director, you can’t take cup konjac jelly back to Korea. We have to eat it all here, so buy just a little, okay?”

“That’s what I said. Leave a few behind.”

“Come on, we’re staying at least a week—can’t we eat this much? I could finish one pack right now just sitting here.”

Right, this kid is a Taeyangin….

Not all Taeyangin eat a lot, but Nam Jungyoon ate just as much as Jung Pureum.

“Keep that up and you’ll roll around. You even said you gained weight since Seonghyeon sunbae came.”

“Even if I gain a little, I’m still at average weight.”

“Fine, if you can eat it all, I’ll buy it.”

Olympic swimming preliminaries tend to be held earlier compared to other events. The preliminary heats were scheduled for the very next day after the opening ceremony.

Jung Pureum was the only male South Korean national swimmer. Originally, a few more were supposed to participate, but right before the preliminary competition, they failed doping tests and dropped out one by one.

For South Korea as a whole, it wasn’t a good thing, but thanks to that, Jung Pureum was able to get a single room.

I thought about how tough it must be for national team athletes—even taking cold medicine could risk a doping violation. Swimming, especially, is as sensitive to drug use as track and field or weightlifting.

“Pureum’s preliminaries are tomorrow, right?”

“Mmhm. I think he does the 100 meters first.”

“He really needs to manage his stamina well. Then he has to swim the 1,500 meters the next day.”

As Nam Jungyoon said, once the preliminaries ended, the next preliminaries were waiting in a killer schedule. No matter how fit Jung Pureum was, his stamina would surely be tested.

Maybe I shouldn’t have done the video call. Even though I knew logically that Jung Pureum wouldn’t be flagging like I was, I was still a little worried.

As the Olympics opened, my desire for a gold medal kept growing. It wasn’t that I was enticed by the idea of dating, bonding, and getting married—I just wanted Jung Pureum to get the results he deserved for all his hard work.

Still, I couldn’t expect him to win all three events, going for both sprint and distance. Swimming isn’t Korea’s main sport, unlike archery.

“Archery’s on today, right? They’re doing it early.”

“Team archery, I think?”

We wandered around a bit and decided to watch the archery competition at the right time. After all, we could see three gold medals from archery.

∞ ∞ ∞

Every time the Olympics rolls around, my patriotism surges. It’s a strange thing. Normally, I don’t love Korea all that much, but during the Olympics, there’s no bigger patriot than me.

“Do all Koreans shoot bows well?”

“I thought that too, so I visited an archery café in high school, but it wasn’t true.”

“The team archery event won all three gold medals.”

“It’s archery, after all. People around the world probably expected Koreans to win gold.”

Especially archery—it really stirs up patriotism. Regardless of gender, whether women’s, men’s, or mixed, South Korea won all the gold medals. Every shot seemed to hit an X-ten, so how could you not get hyped?

We lounged or sat in comfortable positions in the hotel room, watching the Olympics. Even though it wasn’t swimming, it was a nail-biter.

“At this rate, I hope Pureum comes in first in the preliminaries.”

“Then suddenly they’ll over-schedule swimming broadcasts.”

“He’s considered a promising prospect even now, isn’t he?”

“Swimming powerhouses aren’t Korea—they’re the US, China, those places….”

Our country only shows the events we’re good at. Unless you make it to the semifinals, broadcasts are often cut. Everyone thinks there’s no point if you’re not first.

Unfortunately, right now I was also a Korean who thought there was no point unless it was first place. Military exemption only comes with a gold medal!

“The preliminaries are right before the semifinals, right?”

“Yeah. The 100 meters preliminaries are in Heat 3.”

“What place does he need to get to advance to the semifinals?”

“You need to be in the top 16 overall to advance to the semifinals.”

“Ah, I thought it was top 3 in each heat.”

“Usually, being around that range gets you through.”

Since we’d swept the team archery gold medals, I could imagine the atmosphere in Korea without even checking. If Jung Pureum came in first in the 100-meter preliminaries here, he’d receive all kinds of attention.

Then, as a sports star, advertisement offers would pour in from all sides. Just getting first in the preliminaries can get you global attention. Especially in swimming, where it’s tough for Asians, except for the Chinese, to perform well.

In this 100-meter freestyle, numerous athletes over 2 meters tall were competing. Among them, the American swimmer was the gold medalist from the last Olympics. Among the other Asians, the only notable swimmer was a Chinese athlete who’d done well at the Asian Games.

Jung Pureum had Asian Games competition records too, but back then, he was a beta, so he’d been filtered out in the preliminaries. His records were outstanding, but his designation had blocked his advancement.

Sports, which claims to be about fair play, is actually one of the most unfair fields. People are inevitably born with different physical abilities.

But now Jung Pureum was an alpha. The days of being banned from competing or not making the national team because of a beta designation were gone.

I suddenly felt proud of myself.

Right after the Gongjindan development, I was shaking in my boots, but looking back, it was a good thing. Even if being a beta—the overwhelming majority in the world—is better for everyday life, being an alpha is beneficial for an athlete.

“Usually swimming preliminaries are in the morning and finals in the evening, but Japan is holding preliminaries in the afternoon.”

“I looked that up—apparently the American broadcast network asked them to change the competition time for their broadcast.”

“Typical Americans. They think they’ll win the gold again this time.”

I checked the profile stats of the American swimmer on my phone. Kevin or whatever his name was—I’d be watching closely to see just how good he was.

As I burrowed into the bed, Nam Jungyoon shook me, asking if I was already going to sleep. Of course, I needed to sleep early to watch Jung Pureum’s competition in top condition. I wouldn’t be watching in person, but still—just on TV.

“Go have a nice meal with Kim Miyoung.”

I fished out my wallet and handed over my card. To be precise, it was a corporate card used for the clinic’s operating expenses.

Taking the card, Nam Jungyoon excitedly dragged Kim Miyoung out. He’d apparently been searching online and had made reservations for an omakase meal.

Thanks to the two of them leaving to have a fantastic dinner, I was able to fall asleep quickly in the quiet hotel room.

The next day, 2:40 PM.

Starting 30 minutes before the swimming preliminaries began, I twisted and turned in various angles, consumed by anxiety.

“Sunbae, please sit still.”

“I’m so nervous I think I’m going crazy.”

“Come on, it’s just the preliminaries. Why are you so tense?”

“The 100 meters isn’t Jung Pureum’s main event, so even if he fails to advance, it’s not because he’s bad, but because he’s saving his energy….”

“Please just calm down.”

But it’s a sprint, not the distance events that are Jung Pureum’s specialty. I heard that the 100 meters is decided in an instant. Doesn’t it get settled in around 50 seconds?

After a long, long series of TV commercials, the screen filled with the dazzling blue of the swimming pool. The eight lanes and the athletes preparing nearby were captured by the cameras.

Since we were watching the Japanese broadcast, Jung Pureum only appeared when Heat 3 was called.

Even setting aside my subjective opinion, Jung Pureum, half-dressed in his form-fitting full-body swimsuit and warming up, was ridiculously handsome.

“Pureum’s going to get some fans, I think.”

“Even if his results aren’t good, people are probably already going crazy over his face.”

Nam Jungyoon said he’d check the reaction and opened social media. Sure enough, a brief clip of Jung Pureum warming up had already been edited and uploaded.

If it was this much in Japan, not even Korea, it must have been a frenzy in Korea too. I’d expected this, but I felt a bit of a crisis.

I hope he gets lots of ads! I hope he gets lots of compliments on his looks! But, I hope he doesn’t get too popular! I hope people aren’t curious about Jung Pureum’s Outstagram account!

I curled up with complicated feelings. Jung Pureum was scheduled to compete in Lane 5 of Heat 3.

“It’s starting.”

“Director, please stop shaking your hand.”

“I feel like I’m going crazy right now.”

Whether I trembled or not, the preliminary heat was over in an instant. It really took less than 50 seconds. The preparation time was longer than the race itself.

And then.

“…He crushed it.”

I stopped shaking my hands and covered my mouth with both hands, nearly screaming. No matter that it was a hotel, I couldn’t cause a noise disturbance.

Jung Pureum’s 100-meter time was 47.77 seconds. A Korean national record and first place in Heat 3. The American in Heat 1—Kevin or whatever—had 47.74, overall first, but that didn’t matter at all.

“I thought Pureum’s main event was the long-distance freestyle.”

“Geniuses don’t have main events.”

“About 10 minutes ago, you were saying even if he didn’t advance, it was just because it’s not his main event.”

“But, failure doesn’t exist for Jung Pureum.”

“Oh my, anyone would think he’s already won the gold.”

“Even if it’s not a gold medal, Korea must be in an uproar right now?”

The archery team had swept the gold medals, and now, in what was considered a barren field, a new Korean record had suddenly been set in swimming. And in a sprint, where Asians are at a disadvantage!