DASH-Chapter 163

｢When I heard you talk yesterday, I felt you might be secretly stressed about this. That’s not good. Even if something’s bothering you, just set it aside, and you’ll be okay. It’s a crucial time. You understand what I mean, right?｣

“Yes, of course. I understand.”

Jiheon said with a smile.

“Thank you for calling me on purpose, ma’am.”

｢Alright then, enjoy your break, and let’s talk again next week before the awards ceremony. Until then, rest well. Just don’t roam outside and end up getting your picture taken.｣

Jiheon bowed his head at Team Leader Lee’s joke until the end.

After the call, Jiheon slipped his cell phone into his suit pocket. Leaning on the veranda railing, he took a deep breath, and he thought of a cigarette for the first time in a while.

‘I see. Han Yuseong went to KoSF-A.’

If true, it wasn’t particularly bad news for Jiheon. No, maybe it was even good news. As Team Leader Lee said, at least Kavva wouldn’t sacrifice Jaekyoung to keep Han Yuseong afloat. However.......

“.......”

Thinking of Han Yuseong sitting alone in the waiting room left him oddly confused. If things were going this way, he might as well give up on the 400m individual medley and aim for the 1500m freestyle. That way, he could have at least secured a spot in the Olympics.

But in the end, it was Han Yuseong’s decision and the result of his own greed. Pitying him wouldn’t change anything, and perhaps it shouldn’t.

So, Jiheon concluded, ‘I hope he can use this as a chance to come to his senses and start fresh.’ After that, he decided not to dwell on the matter. He immediately applied the technique Team Leader Lee had taught him.

****

However, there was a silver lining in the article about the impending marriage.

｢Okay. By the way, what does athlete Kwon Jaekyoung like to eat?｣

Jiheon’s mom immediately threw this question at him when he told her, “I’ll go on Friday instead of Wednesday, and there’s someone I want you to meet,” on the phone.

“H-how did you kn...ow?”

Jiheon stammered in surprise, and his mom responded as if it was an odd question.

｢Is there anyone in Korea who doesn’t know you two are dating?｣

So, Jiheon thought, ‘Well, at least that makes things easier. They already know everything, so we don’t have to go into every detail.’

Surprisingly, however, there was one Korean who didn’t know. It was Jiheon’s dad.

“Who in the world is this? Isn’t this athlete Kwon Jaekyoung?”

When Jiheon’s dad saw Jaekyoung entering the house {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} with his son, he shouted, dropped the magazine he was reading, and stood up.

“Welcome, athlete Kwon Jaekyoung. Here, let’s shake hands. I’ve never seen athlete Kwon Jaekyoung in person before.”

While he was excitedly shaking hands and taking pictures together with his cell phone, it didn’t quite seem like how someone would treat their child’s future spouse. So, Jiheon thought, ‘No way, is this even possible?’

But sure enough, despite happily looking at the photos he had taken with Jaekyoung, Jiheon’s dad suddenly scolded Jiheon.

“Hey, if you were bringing such a big shot, you should have given me a heads-up.”

“What? I did tell you, dad.”

“When you said there’s someone you want us to meet, of course I thought it’s your lover. Who would’ve thought you’re coming with the athlete you work with? Your mom thought her son-in-law was coming today, so she went out with Jisoo to buy cakes.”

‘As expected.’

Jiheon felt down.

‘Dad doesn’t seem to think he’s my lover at all.’

He was contemplating how to make it less surprising, but then Jaekyoung unexpectedly spoke up.

“It’s true that I’m an athlete working with Jiheon hyung, but I’m also your son-in-law, sir.”

“What?”

Jiheon’s dad looked at Jiheon, puzzled, and just at that moment, the front door swung open, and Jiheon’s mom and Jisoo walked in together.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Wow, our living room seems so tiny.”

Jiheon’s dad appeared even more shocked as he witnessed the two casually exchanging greetings and welcoming Kwon Jaekyoung instead of being surprised to find him standing in the living room.

“Did you guys all know?”

“What?”

Jiheon’s dad gestured toward his son and the self-proclaimed son-in-law. Jiheon’s mom said to her husband:

“Are you blind? You saw it on TV, didn’t you? Joining the Enemy.”

“That’s just because he’s the manager, right?”

This time, Jisoo turned to her still skeptical dad.

“How is that just a manager? They totally look like they’re in a relationship.”

“If they get along well, does it always have to be romantic? Isn’t there something like camaraderie among colleagues?”

“Well, I don’t know. That level of closeness is already a romantic one. There’s no such thing between colleagues, dad.”

“Why not? Take the military. It’s a place where juniors build loyalty under their senior names.”

“Oh, that’s just a survival struggle.”

Jisoo was frustrated and said that she couldn’t be a soldier because of that.

“Hey, what do you mean by that? I’ve never disciplined my subordinates in my life, but everyone was going crazy about devoting their lives to loyalty and single-mindedness.”

It seemed that Jiheon’s dad brought up his experience to promote the true and noble camaraderie of soldiers, but Jisoo seemed doubtful about her dad’s military life. Jiheon also wondered about his dad’s subordinates who used to visit frequently when he was an official, and even composed a dansimga [1] dedicated to him, but he never really wanted to know.

“But you’re really handsome.”

Meanwhile, Jiheon’s mom gave Jaekyoung praises again, appreciating the gift from him.

“I think you look even more handsome in person.”

“Not at all, ma’am. It just looks that way because I’m big.”

Jaekyoung humbly bowed his head.

“Jiheon hyung is much more handsome than I am.”

Then Jaekyoung looked at Jiheon’s dad next to Jiheon.

“But I was surprised that hyung looked exactly like his dad.”

Even though Jaekyoung had the line memorized, Jiheon was surprised when he said it more naturally than expected. Perhaps Jaekyoung genuinely thought so himself that, “Hyung and his dad look very similar.” Since these words came from the heart, they sounded extremely sincere.

Sure enough, Jiheon’s dad said with great joy.

“Really? Do we really look that similar?”

“Yes, sir. When you are standing side by side, it’s hard to tell who is who.”

‘......Anyone could tell that was a lie.’

Maybe that was why, unlike before, Jaekyoung’s tone was pretty awkward. Nonetheless, Jiheon’s dad was already in a good mood, so he just burst into laughter, satisfied.

“Hey, seems like athlete Kwon Jaekyoung has a good eye. You know how to read people.”

“Thank you, sir. My vision is 1.5 on both sides.”

“Is that so? Our athlete really is flawless.”

Jiheon’s dad chuckled and patted Jaekyoung on the back. Back when Jiheon was an athlete and achieved good results in competitions, his dad would excitedly call him “our athlete.” Seeing Jaekyoung get that title, his dad seemed to be in a very good mood today.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

“Hey, you must be hungry. Let’s eat first.”

Finally, his dad threw an arm around Jaekyoung’s shoulders, guided him to the table, and had him sit right next to him at the head of the table. The table was already loaded with food.

“I don’t know if there is anything that suits your taste.”

Jiheon’s mom mentioned, placing the braised ribs from the cooker on the table.

“He’s not picky about food, mom. He eats everything.”

At Jiheon’s words, Jaekyoung immediately nodded his head.

“Yes, I like everything.”

“I heard you like hamburgers, but I don’t know how to make them, so I just decided to make what the family usually likes.”

As soon as his mom finished, Jisoo chimed in.

“At first, Mom tried to make hamburger steak.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Jiheon laughed and stopped them.

“What he really likes is just hamburgers. And not just any homemade ones. It has to be McDonald’s.”

“Then let’s just order some burgers next time.”

At the dad’s joke, Jiheon’s mom rolled her eyes, wondering how he could suggest that.

“No, I like it.”

Jaekyoung said quietly.

“Cooking is cumbersome and difficult. I like all kinds of food, but hamburgers are my favorite. Right now, I can’t have them because I have to eat specific foods to maintain my muscles. But later, when I get married and retire, I’m definitely having hamburgers for all three meals a day.”

Jaekyoung smoothly slipped in the topic of marriage before retirement. It wasn’t a random comment, but it seemed like he wanted to reassure them that, at least, he wouldn’t be a bother to their precious son about meals.

“Then what does my brother eat?”

Jisoo asked playfully, sensing his intention.

“.......”

Jaekyoung may not have thought about it before, so he couldn’t answer immediately. He blinked for a moment, then looked at Jiheon and spoke calmly.

“I’ll buy hyung a burger too.”

Jisoo laughed, seemingly dumbfounded, but her dad said seriously:

“Hey, what’s wrong with burgers? It’s a complete meal.”

“That’s right. Have lots of complete meals between you and eat this today.”

Jiheon’s mom personally served some braised ribs on Jaekyoung’s plate. Jaekyoung bowed his head and took the plate. He picked up a piece of the softest-looking meat, examined it, and placed it on the plate in front of Jiheon.

“Hyung, this meat looks tender.”

At that moment, everyone at the table widened their eyes and looked at Jaekyoung. Jiheon felt even more awkward and quickly explained.

“I just got my wisdom teeth out recently, so....”

“Ooh, I see. That explains it.”

Jiheon was concerned that people might worry about the compress on his cheek, so he had already mentioned that it was due to bruises from his wisdom teeth removal. However, he didn’t expect to use it in this situation.

“I mean, you can just eat on the other side....”

When Jisoo, oblivious to the situation, tried to say something, her dad sternly scolded her.

“Jisoo, don’t start trouble. Even if it’s a joke, from your brother-in-law’s perspective, it’s all his sister-in-law’s fault.”

It seemed Jiheon’s dad had fully embraced Jaekyoung as his son-in-law.