DASH-Chapter 37

Although he agreed to fulfill the CEO's request, it is not an easy task to convey this to Jaekyung. More precisely, it was the personality of the guy that complicated everything. If Ji-heong suggests that he postpone the announcement of his retirement, then Jaekyung will probably reply, "No. I have to report it as soon as possible so that they stop bothering me about the Olympic Games."

The advertising contract includes and agrees on various points of cooperation, as well as describes the policy of the agency itself. Jihong is sure that the contract contains only a theoretical answer, and nothing is indicated about the postponement of this application. And Jaekyung will still be in a winning position. The date at which the official announcement was to be made should have been initially discussed during the negotiations. And returning to this delicate issue now will cause inconvenience to each of the parties. Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, he doesn't want to say anything that Jaekyung won't like. They have just recently begun to communicate more casually. And now they even exchanged jokes from time to time, and Jihong also caught a glimpse of the grumpy boy's smiling face. There is no desire to return to the previous tense atmosphere. Days passed, and Jihon delayed and delayed. Naturally, if the guy resigns, the number of commercials will decrease. And some brands may demand compensation for violating the terms and conditions. But others will probably still want to follow the plan. However, Kwon Jaekyung is now the hottest star of the sport, whose achievements will not disappear with his passing. Had Jihong been more greedy, he would have been able to increase the company's profits.

As he watched Jaekyung swim, he realized that it was a waste of time to explain anything to this stubborn man: "Why the hell, why does he want to leave when he's so good at it?"

Judging by his physical condition and skills, the prime will definitely come next year. Why did he make such a choice? It doesn't look like he's bored, rather, he's still madly in love with what he does."

As Jihong, standing by the pool, was lost in his thoughts, Jaekyung, who had been silently crossing the pool for a long time, said at one point, "Will you join me today?"

— No, I don't

He took off his glasses and looked at Jihon as if he wanted to know why.

"Just focus on training

"I feel better when you're around, hyun

"Oh, not

Jihon smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm serious

"Okay, let's do it tomorrow?"

"And maybe you can buy yourself a swimsuit?"

"Why?" You don't want to lend me yours anymore?

Well, joking teasing, Jaekyung gave him a quick glance and then slid back into the water.

***

They, leaving the gym, saw a Porsche parked in the parking lot. Jaekyung immediately recognized who owned this unfamiliar car. Suddenly, the window rolled down and a gorgeous, sparkling man poked his head out, greeting them, "Hello, baby."

When Jaekyung sighed, Cha Sunghyun laughed and walked out.

"Handsome manager!" We met again.

"Yes, hello

Nodding, Jihong shook hands with the actor.

"Wow, hyung-nim. You're the same height as me

The playful guy widened his eyes, speaking in awe. He then abruptly turned to his car and exclaimed, "Hey, we're the same height! Isn't it amazing?"

Only then did Jihong notice through the tinted windows a young man sitting in the passenger seat. He looked about the same age as Jaekyung, wore glasses, and was reserved. When their eyes met, the man smiled shyly.

"Is he his manager? Why then on a passenger road? Cha Sunghyun drives himself?" thought Jihong. He bowed his head to greet the stranger, but then...

"What are you doing?"

Jaekyung intervened, grabbing Cha Sung-hyun's arm.

"No, it's so amazing

"Come in quickly

Jaekyung opened the door and practically pushed Cha Sunghyun back into the car. And then he spoke to Jihyun: "Hyun, today I will go separately"

— Yes, of course

A few moments later, they drove out of the parking lot. Jihon, as he got into his car, realized that he had forgotten to mention something important: "I should have warned him to be as careful as possible, especially with reporters."

He clicked his tongue and reached for his mobile phone. He began to compose a message for Jaekyung, but he was immediately overcome by the agony of choosing whether to send or not. But remembering Jaekyung's reaction when he first raised the same topic, he immediately changed his mind.

«.......»

Jihon, anxiously deleting the message, turned off the screen and threw his cell phone on the empty seat. Muttering something to himself, he started the engine: "It doesn't matter, I'll take care of it later."

***

"< Kwon Jaekyung and his unquenchable urge to love right before the competition > "Really? Check out the article," Manager Yun laughed as he glanced at the cell phone screen.

"These bastard reporters never follow the rules. There are only ten days left before the championship. Why do they care?" a member of the management team blurted out irritably.

— Is it difficult to wait? Is it really worth spoiling the competition, shattering the athlete's psyche like this? They are Koreans!

"I think they knew that Kwon Jaekyung would not react, so they went for such an audacity

Another employee intervened, trying to calm down a colleague.

"I didn't pay much attention to it. They already have a semi-public relationship with Cha Sung-hyun, so I wondered what would happen if we gave an official comment.

Jihon was thinking the same thing. This is not the first time their photos have appeared online, and rumors have been circulating since last year. By the way, there is not a single reason for journalists to slow down and turn on empathy. He couldn't say with certainty if there was anything really provocative about these photos, as they were just sitting at the same table in the pub and talking.

Despite some crappy headlines like:

< Kwon Jaekyung ♡ Cha Sunghyun: Happy time to relieve tension before upcoming competitions >

< Countdown to the Incheon D-10 Pan-Pacific Swimming Championships: Kwon Jaekyung spotted on a date right before going to > Sports Camp

< The secret of Kwon Jaekyung's success at the Grand Slam tournament is revealed: the support of his beloved >

There was practically no negativity. If you collect statistics on comments, then in general, the majority supported Kwon Jaekyung.

They wrote the following: "What difference does it make if he goes on a date before the competition or not? Athletes also have life! Journalists, are you dumping all this information because you don't have a loved one?"

Jaekyung was loved by everyone, regardless of age and gender, and many friendly comments were devoted to him under publications on the Internet, which is a rarity in the industry. But there was an old truth in the world: athletes need to focus only on training. But Kwon Jaekyung is not just a swimmer; He is number one in the world. He was recognized as the best, so who could find fault with him? And these days, while others were trying to achieve popularity by appearing on television or participating in some entertainment shows, Jaekyung seemed like an eccentric against their background: having won medals at the Olympics, he did not show his nose either in magazines or in interviews. While others starred in commercials, he stayed in Australia to prepare for the next qualifiers. That's why Jaekyung couldn't help but be liked by the fans. Clickbait headlines appeared with the aim of creating a buzz, but most of the responses had the following content:

[ Do not touch the great athlete ]

And when posts appeared saying that he could do nothing but swimming, the forum participants each time furiously refuted what was written:

The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓.

[Hey, being an absolute professional in your field is already impressive]

People have been watching him since he was a child. And when the love scandal happened last year, the reaction of the public was as follows:

[ What? He's a child..? ]

[ Photo of him leaving the hotel with a man...? Kwon Jaekyung? ]

[ Wait, is he of legal age?]

At first, they were in a wild shock. But when they found out that he was 20, they almost immediately changed the tone of the melody:

[ Okay, then no problem ]

[ It's time for him to start dating ]

But also on the Internet, armchair experts scribbled all sorts of nonsense:

[ Athletes tend to get married pretty quickly ]

[ My tonsen has a very good taste for men ]

[ Our future son-in-law is a Taiwanese national treasure ]

[ Yes, and his face is a national treasure ]

Useless comments also crept in:

[ Seriously, what happens if they have a child? For example, what country will he be a citizen of? Both parents are on the national team, so the kid will definitely become a genius, right?

[It will suck if a child ends up deciding to represent Taiwan]

[ But Taiwanese Athlete – Beta ]

[ Damn... ]

[ Sigh... ]

[ Kwon Jaekyung is great, but here he loses points ]

[ They should prohibit members of the national team from wasting their genes, seriously ]

In any case, the Cha Sunghyun scandal wasn't much different from the previous one. At first, everyone thought:

[ Wait, where did the water polo player go??! ]

[ Since when did they break up? ]

[ Jaekyung, you're nimble, bro ]

Many were discouraged by such dynamics on the personal front, and then, they seemed to resign themselves:

[Well, if it's Cha Sunghyun, there's nothing you can do]

[ What about Cha Sunghyun? ]

[ Cha Sunghyun? My Respect ]

[ Kwon Jaekyung's taste hasn't changed at all, huh? Lol ]

[This guy's eyes light up when he sees him, right?]

In addition, the Korean people rejoiced this time:

[ It's okay, they're both Korean ]

[ At least there will be no debate about the child's nationality ]

[ Yes, the child will probably represent the Korean national team ]

[ Damn, Cha Sunghyun and Kwon Jaekyung's child will have a face at the national team level ]

[ Although Cha Seonghyun is a beta ]

[If it's beta, how will they have a baby?]

[ ***obscene language***, he beta ]

And some added fuel to the fire:

[ Damn, again??? ]

[ This is not possible if it is beta ]

[What if Alpha?]

[ Kwon Jaekyung possesses a beta magnet... ]

[He should at least donate his sperm]

As a result, everything returned to talking about his genes.

"It doesn't matter. Let's ignore this mess. We just need to sort out a few articles," concluded team leader Lee Yujong as she quickly collected the papers on her desk.

—  Мистер Чон, нам пора идти

Jihon stood up silently. They are scheduled to have two meetings today regarding Jaekyung's endorsement deals. As they left the office, Team Leader Li began to calm him down.

"Don't worry. We can't fix anything. In addition, Kwon Jaekyung made it clear from the very beginning that his personal life was prohibited. Even if you had advised him not to go yesterday, he still wouldn't have listened.

"Yes

"It's not your fault. Why are you so upset? If more scandals emerge, Cha Sung-hyun's leadership will intervene.

Jihon agreed. After all, an actor is a more sensitive person to rumors. His management team will definitely cope with everything.

Jihong was just a little worried if Jaekyung was okay.