Read Knowing Brother - Chapter 3

Knowing Brother-Chapter 3

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Episode 3

- They passed almost at the same time as Saudi Arabia! We'll have to wait for the exact reading to come out, but there's a high chance they'll win the gold medal! Isn't that a personal best for Won Dae-young? I think he came in under 45 seconds.

- Wow, that was an amazing game! I can't even calm down, ah...! Won Dae-young is having such a wonderful comeback. Looking at it now, Um Joo-bin's record is also really good. Um Joo-bin's personal record seems to be a new one, right now!

- When there's a competitor... .

The surroundings became very noisy. While the exact reading was being announced, the broadcast showed a replay of the game. When I watched the scene of them crossing the finish line in slow motion, it was clear to my naked eye that Won Dae-young had crossed the finish line first. The federation secretary put his sports goggles on his head and looked around.

"Did the official record come out?"

"It's out. Look. Wow!"

People cheered so loudly that the office was about to leave. It was a huge commotion that was deafening. Choi Seol-woo took a deep breath and wiped his face with both hands. The official results were announced on the broadcast screen.

South Korea - Gold Medal

Rank ⏐ Lane ⏐ Name ⏐ Affiliation ⏐ Record

1st ⏐(3)⏐ Won Dae-young ⏐ South Korea ⏐ 44.71

2nd ⏐(5)⏐ ... ... ⏐ Saudi Arabia ⏐ 44.90

3rd ⏐(1)⏐ ... ... ⏐ Japan ⏐ 45.03

4th ⏐(7)⏐ ... ... ⏐ Japan ⏐ 45.17

5th ⏐(2)⏐ ... ... ⏐ India ⏐ 45.74

6th place ⏐(6)⏐ Um Joo-bin ⏐ South Korea ⏐ 46.34

7th place ⏐(4)⏐ ... ... ⏐ Sri Lanka ⏐ 46.71

Even after the applause died down, the stadium was filled with excitement. Some people sighed belatedly, some stared blankly at the track after the fight, and some watched the replay video and exclaimed in admiration again. There were various ways to calm down the rising competitive hormones.

Won Dae-young walked out of the track with a slight frown on his face.

— The 400m is the most difficult event for track and field athletes. I’m not saying that because it’s my event, but it’s true. It doesn't take just momentary muscle strength, but it requires various physical skills such as cardiopulmonary endurance and core strength. Long distances like 1,500m and 5,000m can be run while controlling the pace, but 400m is a short distance. After all, it's a short distance where the results are immediately visible. Even if you control the pace, you can't not give it your all. If you run like that,

The coaching staff rushed to Won Dae-young, who was panting heavily and smiling. Eom Joo-bin also patted him on the shoulder to congratulate him.

Eom Joo-bin also set a new personal record, but it couldn't compare to the record that Won Dae-young set. Eom Joo-bin, who always maintained a calm and indifferent poker face that made it hard to read, still had an indifferent expression.

Choi Seol-woo looked at Won Dae-young, who was receiving congratulations from the players. Won Dae-young's cheeks were covered in sweat as he caught his breath.

— It was okay until 200m, and I gritted my teeth and ran somehow until 300m, but after that, my body felt like it was being torn apart. My breathing was all messed up, my throat and stomach were burning, and my head was turning white. I was sprinting the last 100m with my mental strength in the midst of the pain of not having oxygen. Aren’t I amazing?

The excited people talked about the reactions pouring in from the media and the internet of the countries participating in the Asian Games. Meanwhile, Choi Seol-woo was putting away his tripod and standing up.

— Who is the most vicious and evil determines the final winner.

The moment the thoughts of ‘This is enough’ and ‘I can’t go any further’ dominate you, that’s when it ends. Won Dae-young was a person who didn’t know how to succumb to such things.

- Won Dae-young! Our Republic of Korea’s first! He won the right to advance to the 400m Olympics!

- Um Ju-bin also ran well in the final. He recorded a record of 46 seconds, which is hard to find in Korea.

- Yes, of course. If you desperately wish for it, it will come true, right? The result of the entire nation cheering with one heart and one mind has become a reality.

If you wish earnestly, it will come true?

Choi Seol-woo laughed with all his might.

It's all nonsense. <The Secret>? <Watching>? The maxims shouted by famous self-help books and religions sounded like sly sugarcoating to Choi Seol-woo's ears. He couldn't understand people who sold hope or bought illusions with such irresponsible words.

Life doesn't go as planned. This was especially true when it came to important issues.

Choi Seol-woo was the proof of this, so he could assert it even more clearly. There were things that could not be obtained no matter how earnestly one wished for them.

- Proud Won Dae-young! He greets the camera.

"......."

There was a time when he wanted to have someone. There was a time when he thought he would go crazy if he didn't make it his, if it didn't go his way, if he imagined that he would be someone else's.

However, Choi Seol-woo is not the kind of person who is easygoing and romantic enough to cling to an impossible dream. That was all buried long ago in a whirlwind of a time. Furthermore, Choi Seol-woo was extremely skeptical of the concept of love.

Love is nothing more than a hormonal response designed for humans, genetic survival machines, to reproduce, so sexual desire is the most trivial of desires. It was a belief he had maintained since birth. Therefore, it made no sense for Choi Seol-woo to love Won Dae-young.

Seol-woo’s feelings for him were more genuine than the illusions the world calls ‘love.’ Friendship, compassion, sympathy, respect, empathy, belonging, things like that.

... ... But what if, what if.

Today, if I were the first person to call right after this historic game ended.

Then I thought I would believe in the illusion of love a little. I wondered if the various feelings I had for him over a long time might not be ‘real love.’

Seol-woo counted the seconds while looking at the black screen of her phone. One second. Two seconds... Five seconds had passed until she left the office door. I was talking to myself.

If I get a call right now, I’ll believe it. It’ll be proof that Won Dae-young thinks of Choi Seol-woo as special. It’ll be clear that he puts Choi Seol-woo first. Then, I’ll confess my feelings after I return to Korea... .

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a video call came. Choi Seol-woo felt the heat burning his eyes as he walked down the hallway.

“.......”

No matter what, I’m getting a real call!

He felt embarrassed as he recalled the monologue about confessing. He quickly hid his embarrassment and answered the call.

“What.”

Won Dae-young looked down at the camera with a sweaty face. He could still hear his panting breathing.

Choi Seol-woo kept thinking in his head. What should he say first if he really wants to convey his feelings?

‘I’m definitely not talking in a fit of anger. I don’t believe in love, but I thought I’d try believing in you. ‘I told you this is the first time you’ve had this thought?’

“What? If you’re calling, then talk. Why aren’t you talking?”

Won Dae-young, who was exhaling into the distance, was still rude. He made the call first and just stared at the camera with his eyes wide open.

“The screen is shaking so much, hang up.”

Choi Seol-woo’s head still had lines that sounded like they’d come out of a drama. ‘I’m not confessing to anyone without fear, I’m not being nice to you, and I’m not deluding myself because I’m lonely. How many years have you been deluding yourself? I’m serious about you.’

“Hang up?”

Won Dae-young narrowed his brows at Seol-woo’s sternness. He glared into the distance with a stuffy expression and put his palm to his ear. Choi Seol-woo blurted out the words he wanted as if he was being kind.

“Congratulations. You did really well.”

He swept his sweaty nape with his thick palm. He seemed annoyed at shaking his head.

“Oh, what. That was awesome. That was cool. I feel great. I’m proud. I’m happy. Okay?”

His face shook again, his annoyance now evident.

Yes... Actually, there was another answer. In fact, there was something he had promised to do if he won first place in the Asian Games finals.

Choi Seol-woo, who had a firm belief that he would recover his record from his prime, but never thought that he would break his personal record, readily promised. However, when he tried to say the humiliating words, his mouth wouldn’t open.

Won Dae-young, whose patience had reached its limit, frowned and waved his hand. He was acting insolent even though there were reporters waiting in front of the interview booth.

“Hang up and go quickly. What are you doing!”

He must have been planning on getting what he wanted without saying a word. If it were someone else, he wouldn’t have picked up the self-centered phone call, so Choi Seol-woo looked around and opened his mouth.

“I’ll respect my brother for the rest of my life. I’ll obey him. I’ll do whatever he says. Do whatever you want with me.”

He finished it off mechanically and quickly, faster than the AI voice. It was the worst humiliation that made his hands and feet curl up.

Won Dae-young narrowed his eyes and smiled, then nodded his head as if satisfied. A faint Indian dimple was etched into the upper part of his cheek.

“You pervert.”

This is the true face of a person that the media holds up as the crown prince of the track. No one knows this true face of Won Dae-young. In other words, the thrill of only Choi Seol-woo knowing the secret made his toes curl up again.

“Now....”

He was about to ask if he was going to enter the local athletes’ village, but the screen blew off.

[The call ended.]

“Haa......!”

Even after years of experiencing this, it was hard to get used to this recklessness. Choi Seol-woo held the disconnected cell phone and paced the empty stairs for a while.

Although he had experienced a few seconds of humiliation, his excited determination remained the same. After all, this call seemed like a definite green light and a trailer.

The past where they overcame Won Dae-young’s long dark period together, the revenge battle, and the moment of glory they regained... A trailer for a melodrama where they overcome all obstacles and reach a happy ending. Hope rose that they might become the main characters of that drama. Choi Seol-woo and Won Dae-young were written as the main characters instead of supporting characters who were just friends or acquaintances on the character relationship chart. As the two main characters who come together after a long unrequited love... ... .

Episode 3

- When there's a competitor... .

The surroundings became very noisy. While the exact reading was being announced, the broadcast showed a replay of the game. When I watched the scene of them crossing the finish line in slow motion, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° it was clear to my naked eye that Won Dae-young had crossed the finish line first. The federation secretary put his sports goggles on his head and looked around.