Jeon Jungkook is Korea's next gymnastics hopeful, preparing himself for the 2012 London Olympics. With the competition months away, Jungkook's coach pushes him into an American training camp in the state of Arizona where he will train alongside only...
Oh, there it is. He caught me thinking too heavily about certain things. Things I'm not supposed to be imagining, but their presence is undeniable, like lurking chalk plumes after a rancid bar routine. I can't get Leo away from my cycling mind! I can't!
"Yes, Coach?" I squat down once more, lifting the weight above my head. My legs tremble with exertion, failing to keep up with the rapid pace of the order Kan has made for my conditioning today. One hundred jump squats with a fifty pound weight. One hundred tears locked in my chest aching to pour out for Leo, my poor Leo-
"What are you doing?"
I focus on myself in the mirror. What AM I doing?
"I'm conditioning. I'm on my 85th squat. Almost to one hundred-"
"No, I don't mean that. I mean, you don't have your water bottle with you." Kan motions to the empty ground at my ankle. My water bottle is no where to be seen. No wonder I've been so dizzy, I've been dehydrating for the last half hour. But I've been too distracted to sense it.
"Oh...I must have forgotten it in my room. I can just use the water dispensers here. After I'm done with this rep, I'll go grab some."
Kan stares hard at me. I do my best to ignore that deep evaluation of my person. If I could personify the glare that I'm receiving, I'd say that the glare was pulling me apart with its prying hands, laying bare all of my mind with an overcurious scalpel and accompanying magnifying glass. The imagery is so vivid that I flinch, startling Kan's brown aura.
"What's the matter now? Are you dehydrated? Ah, shit. I'll grab some water...actually, I might as well go to the apartment to grab yours. I have to grab your routine sheets so you can study the elements of your difficulty after conditioning, anyway. Yeah, I'll make a trip to the apartment."
I dip my head in a dizzy, lopsided nod before squatting again. "Oh...thanks. Could you also grab my roll-on menthol in the locker room? My ankle is bothering me..."
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
~
~
~
Kan exits the room swiftly, carrying his entitled body through the doorway with the empowerment of his mission. The door swallows the Korean coach, closing with a gentle thump. As the door closes, something else falls too.
Jungkook releases the weight, collapsing on fatigued and shaky legs. His exhausted back crumples on the mat in a heap of numb heartbeats and heavy panting. His vision drifts to and fro, bouncing from one fluorescent ceiling light to the other. Studying them takes too much energy for his mind to muster, so he's left with zoning out on the strip of lights. Sweat drips down his brow into his eyes, but he's too distracted to feel the burning sting of salt hitting his pupils.
