Chapter 42
When Jungkook met Coach Brown, the coach told him, "Jeon, you can race against Samuel this afternoon. I'll be cheering for you."
Jungkook nodded calmly, "Okay. Thank you."
Coach Brown had never hidden his fondness for Jungkook. Right then, seeing how subdued Jungkook was, Coach Brown was a little confused. From his interactions with Jungkook these past few days, Coach Brown felt that the young man had a very healthy mindset. Jungkook would never become discouraged at his opponent's strength.
Perhaps because there was very little in the way of entertainment for the athletes, Jungkook and Samuel's friendly match stirred up the majority of the club. Many people came to spectate. The ladies were split into two groups — one cheering on Samuel, while the other was on Jungkook's side. Based solely on personal best times, Samuel had the advantage, but this lead was less than 0.1 seconds so it was not indicative of anything. Furthermore, men from the East just had that sense of mystery about them. The ladies liked him, and even Coach Brown liked him... Taking all these miscellaneous things that had nothing to do with racing itself into account, Jungkook's support rating actually managed to match that of Samuel's.
Jaehyun was leading a group of people in yelling Jungkook's name: "Jungkook! Jungkook! Jungkook!"
Only his bro of many years Jungkook could stir his majesty Jaehyun to personally come and be a cheerleader. The girls around him shouted along with him, very quickly picking up Jungkook's full name. Later on, many of them would realise that the first Chinese phrase they learned was not 'hello' or 'thank you', but was instead 'Jungkook'.
Jungkook stood on the starting block, looking down at the rippling surface of the water. He took in a few deep breaths, gathering up his jumbled thoughts. Well, it's time to race. Even though this was an inconsequential race.
As soon as the starting gun sounded, the two swimmers dove into the water with astonishing alacrity. Upon entering the water, Jungkook did not feel the usual tension of competition nor was his heart pounding with excitement. His emotions were rather chaotic — he was unable to focus no matter how he tried.
Coach Brown stood beside Jaehyun. He shook his head and sighed, saying to Jaehyun, "Jeon's not in good form. His start should have been faster than Samuel's."
Jaehyun: "???"
Coach Brown: "..."
The two of them stared at each other helplessly for a long moment. In the end, Jaehyun smiled politely at Coach Brown with a nod, and then he turned back and continued to shout, "Jungkook! Jungkook! Jungkook!"
Coach Brown: =.=
The national team had actually hired a local translator for Jaehyun and the others, but the translator was not present right then. Coach Brown had been hoping to analyze the situation with the world champion Jaehyun, but now he had no choice but to nurse his thoughts in solitude.
Coach Brown's premonition was not wrong. Jungkook was off his game. In the end, Samuel won the race with a large lead, clocking in a time of 47.82 seconds, almost rewriting his own personal best time this year. In contrast, Jungkook finished at 48.30 seconds, which was a rather large disparity from his usual performance at present.
Jaehyun pulled him out of the water.
Back on land, Jungkook wiped his face. His expression was rather troubled. Samuel walked over. As the winner, he was gleeful to see Jungkook's troubled expression. He was just about to openly taunt the other when Jungkook stretched his right hand out at Samuel.
Samuel paused, stunned.
Somewhat impatient, Jungkook reached and clasped the other's hand. "Congratulations. You performed well." After that, he turned to leave without waiting for a response.
This was very basic sporting etiquette — Jungkook didn't even have to think to go through the motions — but this simple action earned him a round of applause.
Jaehyun chased after him and asked worriedly, "Are you okay? Victory and defeat are equally common in warfare. Don't worry too much about it."
Despite his age, the ancient sayings Jaehyun could quote could be counted on one hand. "Victory and defeat are equally common in warfare" was one of them. For him to present these words while comforting another could be taken as a sign of the utmost concern from this prodigy.
Jungkook shook his head. It wasn't the loss that was bothering him. He was just ... not in a very good mood.
Coach Brown gave some instructions for training, then he called out to Jungkook. "Jeon, let's have a chat."
"Okay."
Jungkook's conversational English level was also lacking. A simple line or two was fine, but anything more than that would require slowing down and perhaps the aid of a dictionary. There was the app installed on his phone anyway, so it was still quite convenient.
Coach Brown said, "Jeon, you're a very gifted athlete, but recently, your training performance has not been very stable. Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"You aren't focused enough."
Jungkook was silent.
Coach Brown continue to say, "You should know better than I do that an athlete needs to put in 100% of their focus. There can't be the slightest bit of slack. Yet you're not focused enough. I want to know why."
Some things could not be said to friends or parents or even a close coach, but to this coach he knew for only less than a month, Jungkook managed to say effortlessly, "I like a girl."
Coach Brown smiled. "Is it Nancy?"
"No, it's a Chinese girl. We've known each other for 8 months, but," Jungkook's face dimmed, "She went to the Aegean Sea with another man to watch the sunset."
"Are you feeling bad about it?"
Jungkook nodded.
Coach Brown shook his head and said, "Child, you still don't know what your true problem is ... are you planning to date her?"
Jungkook pursed his lips. "I don't know if she'll accept."
"Jeon, I heard that your coaches in China do not allow athletes to date."
"Yes, they're worried it will affect training. Coach, are you going to do the same?"
Coach Brown smiled and shook his head. His brown hair swayed with the action; his eyes were light blue, deep and profound like the sea, and shining with the light of wisdom. He said, "I will not interfere in other's personal affairs. But I do have a bit of advice. If you just want to be an average athlete, then you can go ahead and pursue your love. But if you want to become a great, accomplished athlete, Jeon, my opinion is the same as your China coaches. You need to be able to focus without any distractions. Dating will distract you and make you unable to guarantee 100% focus. I know you have grand ambitions. You want to be a world champion. I think that before you become world champion, the right thing to do is to first set the person you like aside for a while."
Jungkook kept his eyes lowered and said nothing.
Coach Brown patted him on the shoulder. "You know, it's like you were born for the water. Although your body proportions are not perfect, you have very good sense for the water. You're like a sprite in the water. Also, you're smart. Compared to them," he pointed at a few athletes in the pool not too far away, "You're smarter than all of them combined. Do you know how rare that is? You also have excellent ability to regulate your mental condition ... Jeon, I've raised two world champions before. I believe that you will become the third."
Jungkook's eyebrows raised slightly. He looked at Coach Brown, and some emotion rippled in his eyes.
Early August. The majority of China entered furnace mode — the only difference was that some areas were being baked, while others were being steamed. City-B had already been enduring several consecutive sauna days. Many people were hiding in air-conditioned rooms; just going out for a bit would leave one with a whole body of sweat.
Lisa took a day off, specially taking the time to go to the airport to welcome Jungkook back from foreign training. As for Jaehyun, it was a buy-1-free-1 deal.
On her end, she was actually already coming with a bundled 1-for-1 deal — her lackey Bambam insisted on coming along.
Considering the fact that Jungkook also liked being high-profile, Lisa brought along two signs this time. One each for the both of them. Bambam was holding up the 'Jaehyun dominates the world forever and ever' sign Lisa had made two months ago, while Lisa now held a bigger sign which read 'The Greatest; No one can compare'. Initially, Bambam had suggested writing 'The Greatest; World Number 1', but Lisa was very skeptical about his language skills and resolutely ignored the suggestion.
Today, she was dressed in a knee-length lake-blue dress. Its fabric was light and airy, complementing her skin, making it look as white as snow and bright and lively. Her hair was tied back loosely, revealing her forehead, giving her a slightly more mature air ... even Bambam said this look looked good, so she was very satisfied with it.
Counting in detail, she hadn't seen Jungkook for two months. The internet had narrowed the distance between people — she had chatted with him regularly, but then he had become busier and busier, so they spoke less. Still, in any case, ten thousand typed words on the phone was no substitute for a spoken phrase in person.
Lisa and Bambam were both good-looking — a handsome man and a beautiful lady standing side by side at the airport, they were extremely eye-catching. Some people even mistook them for superstars and went up to ask them for autographs. Bambam did not refuse anyone who approached them; he signed his name without hesitation. Lisa was not as thick-faced; she explained with a smile that she was not a superstar.
After waiting for a while at the airport, Lisa felt that something was off. "Why are there so few fans today?"
Bambam replied, "You're being too conservative. There's only two of us fans here."
"That's odd. Where's everyone else?"
"I suspect that their itinerary wasn't made public, so the fans don't know about it."
"Ah..."
The two of them stood together foolishly, both holding huge signs in their hands, like a lone island in the middle of the wide sea. It was easier for them to act as hardcore fans among a throng of other fans, but with just the two of them there, the situation was just really awkward. Lisa quickly put the sign away and settled down to wait in a low-key manner.
Jungkook saw Lisa as soon as he stepped out. She was wearing a pretty dress and her hair was tied up. She appeared tall and graceful, like a blue lotus blooming on the surface of a lake. He stared transfixed at her — it was like his gaze was glued to her. Unconsciously, his heartbeat accelerated.
Jaehyun nudged Jungkook on the arm. "Hey, isn't that Lisa?"
Jungkook said nothing, but strode forwards with large steps towards Lisa.
Lisa grinned at them and waved, "Hi!"
After so long away, Jungkook's skin was indeed tanner, but not to the extent where he could be called Jeon Yi-Hei. Right now, his skin was just slightly darker than the colour of wheat. Perhaps due to the darker skin tone, his facial features appeared even more three-dimensional and his eyes were even brighter.
Jungkook's lips moved, but in the end all he said was, "Lisa."
Jaehyun nodded, and cast a rewarding look at Lisa. "Looks like you're pretty loyal to me."
The two athletes ignored Bambam. Jungkook was ignoring him because he wanted to, while Jaehyun was ignoring him because he considered Bambam to be Lisa's lackey. Since Lisa was his loyal fan, Bambam was an inconsequential character in his eyes.
Jungkook stared silently at Lisa. She was really beautiful today. The neckline of the dress was not too big and not too small. It clung to her snow-white skin, revealing delicate collarbones. Her bangs were combed back, revealing her clear forehead. Some fine hairs still slipped loose around her hairline, playfully clinging to the edges of her forehead. His gaze swept lightly across her face, a trace of greed within it. However, when she finished speaking with Jaehyun and turned towards him, he quickly looked down to hide his eyes.
A deep sense of loss suddenly surged up within him, as thick and stubborn as fog.
"Let's go," said Jungkook, and he left dragging his suitcase behind him, without even sparing Lisa another glance.
Lisa was left at a loss. She stood in place, staring dumbly at his back, and muttered to herself, "Is it because I'm not dressed plainly enough...?" She was so stupid — how could she forget this most important point!
Her loyal lackey was standing beside her and heard her mutterings. He said, "No."
Lisa's spirits rallied. She looked at him and waited for his reasonable explanation.
He said, "It's because he doesn't like you."
Lisa: QAQ