My Alpha Era Began with Gongjindan Chapter 96

Living up to everyone’s expectations, Jung Pureum grabbed his first gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle. It was a feat achieved by a mere 0.01-second margin over Kevin Somebody from the United States.

His time of 47.79 seconds was somewhat disappointing compared to the preliminaries, but because Kevin Somebody came in at 47.80 seconds, after several VCR reviews, Jung Pureum’s victory was confirmed.

Until the gold medal was confirmed, my heart was so tight I thought I would die. It was obvious to the naked eye that Jung Pureum had touched first, but Kevin Somebody kept protesting that he had been faster.

Anyway, with this, Jung Pureum’s military exemption was confirmed. It was a truly fortunate development. It was as good as having achieved the most important goal.

In the subsequent 800-meter and 1,500-meter events, Kevin What’s-his-name did not compete. It seemed Kevin couldn’t mix long-distance and short-distance events like Jung Pureum. Instead, the Chinese swimmer we’d seen in the 100-meter preliminaries emerged as a strong competitor.

Well, whether he was there or not, those two events were Jung Pureum’s specialties, so the results were much more decisive than in the 100-meter. He recorded 7:42.01 in the 800-meter and 14:39.91 in the 1,500-meter, both for first place.

Naturally, Korea was turned upside down once again.

Many people had thought Jung Pureum would win gold medals as he went through the preliminaries and semifinals, but anticipation and actual excitement are always different things.

Having won three gold medals in swimming following archery, it was only natural that the whole world was paying attention to Jung Pureum. In particular, because he had beaten Kevin Whatever-his-name, even the American media seemed to be watching Jung Pureum closely.

It made sense. Jung Pureum was on the shorter side for a swimmer. While 185 centimeters isn’t objectively short, swimmers are usually over 190 centimeters. Although height isn’t as absolutely essential as in basketball, physical specs are still important in swimming.

After all, the stroke range itself differs between someone with 185-centimeter arms reaching out and someone with 210-centimeter arms reaching out. That’s why it’s been difficult for Asians to achieve good results in swimming.

But Jung Pureum completely ignored the height gap. In long-distance events, endurance is more important than height, so that could be understandable, but in short-distance events, it was a remarkable outcome.

It’s the natural order that a seal can’t beat a killer whale no matter how much it flails, but Jung Pureum disregarded the natural order entirely and seized victory.

This alone made him prime material to be treated as an ecological disruptor. And from the start, since Jung Pureum wasn’t a born alpha, he became even more of an issue. A beta diagnosis followed by an alpha presentation at nineteen is a truly rare case.

Anyway, I was watching the Korean flag being raised at the swimming venue with a choked-up feeling. I was only watching on television, but my heart was already in a corner of that stadium.

“Your Pureum is truly amazing… He actually pulled this off.”

“I know, right. To be honest, even though Pureum is so good, I thought he’d struggle because of the height difference.”

It’s unbelievable that someone this good was cut from the Asian Games because he was a beta.

I thought once again how fortunate it was that Jung Pureum had become an alpha. Now this would draw renewed attention to the fact that Jung Pureum had been excluded from the Asian Games.

The beta coach might be the first to speak up and spread the word. Saying that Jung Pureum had always been an outstanding talent regardless of his designation. Then perhaps, even for a brief moment, opportunities might open up for beta swimmers too.

It was a bit infuriating that so much had to be sacrificed and achievements shown first for even a small change, but it was still a remarkable accomplishment.

―Athlete Jung Pureum! Winning three swimming gold medals is an incredible achievement. Could you say a few words?

A swarm of reporters followed Jung Pureum as he came down from the podium with the gold medal around his neck. The coach tried to block them, but it was impossible to drive away all the reporters starving for a story.

Jung Pureum looked at the reporters with a smiling face, showing no sign of discomfort. The camera zoomed in on Jung Pureum’s face. Water droplets were falling from his wet hair.

―Yeonghwa hyung!

As soon as I heard that energetic voice, I had a feeling. A feeling that something enormous was about to happen next….

―Please marry me now.

Jung Pureum’s face on the television felt strangely unfamiliar. There’s always a difference between seeing someone up close and facing them from a distance.

A face smiling so happily.

Whenever Jung Pureum thought of me, whenever he spoke about me, he always smiled brightly. Every time that struck me anew, I felt something swell up inside me.

Even at the moment when he’d won the gold medal and the cheers around him were at their peak, Jung Pureum looked for me first. Even after becoming a sports star overnight through the Olympics, Jung Pureum remained consistent.

He gave me endless reassurance in this way. Even if I pretended not to notice or failed to perceive that reassurance, he never gave up.

Jung Pureum, wiping his wet cheek with the back of his hand and grinning, looked like the male lead of some youth film.

Nam Jungyoon sprang to her feet and shrieked on my behalf.

“No way, he’s actually proposing?”

It’s definitely a super-special public proposal. Everyone would be sitting in front of their televisions to see the Korean flag raised at the Olympics hosted by Japan. A lot of people would be watching that interview in real time.

I felt a little embarrassed. But more than that, I was happy. It’s not every day you get a proposal like this, even if you’re reborn.

I averted my gaze awkwardly. Kim Miyoung was looking at me with a very pleased expression.

“Director, how does it feel to receive a proposal in front of the whole world?”

“…Can I be honest?”

“Of course.”

“It’s fucking awesome.”

I felt fantastic.

Of course, it wasn’t all happiness. All sorts of realistic problems hadn’t disappeared.

There were all kinds of issues between Jung Pureum and me. It would be great if love could solve everything, but reality usually doesn’t work that way.

From now on, I was really going to hear all sorts of things. People would casually gossip about my personal information and engage in heated debates about whether I was worthy of Jung Pureum.

All the predictable scenarios naturally played out in my head.

They’d criticize me for being too old, or make an issue out of me being a devoted omega rather than a normal one… or else they’d use my academic background and assets as leverage to say, ‘Well, at least he’s decent enough.’

Perhaps I had been reflexively putting up walls because I was afraid of that. Even though I knew I just had to look at Jung Pureum without being swayed by others’ opinions, I couldn’t perfectly put that into practice.

Repeated experiences and the reactions of those around me made me defensive every single moment. The fact that I was even thinking this at a moment when I felt so fantastic meant this was a yoke I’d have to carry for life.

“Where are you having the wedding? Gangnam?”

“Grandfather said he wants a traditional ceremony near the family home.”

“A traditional ceremony? That’s tough. It’s so dependent on the weather if you do it outdoors.”

“Really? It’s my first time getting married, so I’m lost….”

“You should listen to someone with experience. In my opinion, there’s that wedding hall in Gangnam – I hear their buffet is really good….”

Nam Jungyoon and Kim Miyoung, with me right in front of them, were discussing the wedding venue more passionately than anyone.

Wouldn’t a traditional ceremony be nice? I shyly imagined Jung Pureum throwing dates. Cute.

I switched my phone settings from vibrate to silent, as it was buzzing as if an earthquake were happening right next to me. I knew who was contacting me without even looking. My family would be charging in like hyenas, demanding explanations. If I took this call now, they’d book everything from the venue to the honeymoon destination.

Complicated thoughts were still swirling in my head, but I wasn’t as scared as before.

Whatever problems arose, we could solve them together.

I now knew that I didn’t have to endure the discrimination and criticism directed at me alone. Just as Jung Pureum believed in me, I now believed in Jung Pureum.

∞ ∞ ∞

He did it in the end.

The moment the buzzer sounded and the gold medal was confirmed, Jung Pureum felt an immense thrill. An excitement so intense his hair stood on end and his toes tingled.

It was true that because he’d shown good results in the preliminaries, everyone had expected him to win gold. However, some people had been talking about Jung Pureum’s ‘potential.’

Self-proclaimed sports experts tenaciously harped on Jung Pureum’s designation and height. He’s too short, he won’t make it, he’s not a born alpha so he won’t make it… the more I heard, the more absurd it sounded. Since when was the Olympics only for ‘qualified’ people?

Then when Jung Pureum actually won gold in the 100-meter, people quickly changed their tune. Those who had agreed with the critics of his height and designation now turned to condemn them.

[I never liked those people from the start lol how good are they at swimming themselves]

└[Agree. All those ‘analysis’ broadcasts, but aside from one person who made that remark, none of them have ever been selected for the national team]

└[They’re feeling threatened as alphas. They’ve been monopolizing things, but now they’re shaking because of JPRL, afraid that betas might join their ranks]

[But JPRL is an alpha now anyway]

└[He’s not a born alpha]

└[Are you a designation discrimination advocate?]

The coach was moved by the achievement Jung Pureum had accomplished. He was acting so enthusiastically that anyone would think he, not Jung Pureum, had accomplished it.

“I knew you could do it.”

Just as strangers online had changed their tune in an instant, the coach also flipped his words like turning over his hand.

“I recognized your potential since you were young.”

It was laughable that this was coming from the same person who had been cursing at Jung Pureum so harshly that the surrounding athletes frowned. Jung Pureum showed no particular reaction to the coach.

“The fact that you’ve produced these results is all thanks to me. Don’t forget that. I….”

“Coach.”

But the more he heard, the more ridiculous it got.

Winning a gold medal was thanks to the coach? That was nonsense. The coach constantly wanted to break Jung Pureum’s spirit. The training was coercive, and he had the bad habit of projecting himself onto the athlete.

The reason he could win a gold medal wasn’t because of that coach, but because of his parents, who had endlessly supported him, and Moon Yeonghwa, who had persistently told him ‘I believe in you’ so he wouldn’t give up.

Jung Pureum turned to look at the coach with a forced smile.

“Do you really believe in my potential?”

“Of course.”

“Even though I’ve been seeing the omega you told me not to meet this whole time?”

“…What?”

“I’m going to propose after the medal ceremony too.”

“…Jung Pureum, have you lost your mind?”

The coach, who had been speaking calmly, immediately raised his voice. It was obvious that he had planned to latch onto Jung Pureum once he established himself as a sports star.

“No, I’m perfectly sane.”

Now he didn’t have to grovel to the coach just to compete in the Olympics. Jung Pureum knew that very well. He’d been waiting for this moment.

“Coach, you should start looking after the other athletes now too.”

As Jung Pureum, who had always been obedient, changed his attitude, the coach’s pupils shook violently.