Chapter 57
Seo Hye-ju, the section chief, had marveled at how incredibly fast my recovery was, and sure enough, I was back in the pool as an athlete after just one day.
“I’d heard the reports, but damn, Moon-soo, your stamina is no joke. Your lung capacity could probably go toe-to-toe with a dolphin.”
“Thank you.”
“If only Seon-yeong had inherited even half of your traits. That girl thinks speed is all that matters.”
“Ha, ha...”
Coach Jang Seo-yeon grumbled about how her daughter’s nagging was getting out of hand. Caught between Song Seon-yeong and the coach, I could take neither side, so I was utterly stuck.
How did it come to this?
I could guess why the knotted muscles in both my shoulders wouldn’t loosen up, no matter how much stretching or massaging I did.
“This is weird.”
“What is?”
“Your times. I know 4000m is your main event, but at this rate, you could compete in 2000m too. But can someone improve that dramatically all of a sudden?”
“Must be thanks to your great coaching.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere—I know it’s impossible to change that drastically in just a few days.”
“Well...”
It had been a bit too short a time, true.
“Besides, my aptitude is for coaching swimmers, not being one myself. Looks like you were just born with it, Moon-soo.”
“If you put it that way, then my aptitude isn’t for swimming either.”
“Guess shamans have to be good at swimming too, huh.”
“Uh... yeah.”
I had no choice but to nod at the coach’s straightforward logic.
“Today, we’re timing that 10km marathon you collapsed during and had to postpone.”
“Finally...”
“A rescue boat will be standing by nearby, so don’t worry too much.”
“I’ll get right to it.”
I’d had way too many close calls lately to feel any worry.
That was real recklessness!
I’d swum straight through a typhoon-ravaged sea, pitch-black with zero visibility, right into enemy territory where I couldn’t even catch my breath properly. Compared to that...
Splash, splash~
Clear skies, gentle waves, a relatively close destination, and a rescue boat ready for any mishap! No room for worry at all.
“Moon-soo, don’t get cocky. The open sea isn’t like a 10km pool swim.”
“Got it.”
“...Amazing. Even the toughest athletes hesitate and feel fear their first time out.”
“No fear here.”
After getting crushed like a bug and having my limbs torn off without anesthesia, anyone would end up like me.
“Is that so? We’ll see. Go!”
Splash!
The moment Coach gave the signal, I shot straight toward the distant cruise ship.
This is easy.
The 10km open-water marathon went exactly as I’d expected. And it wasn’t just that—the vast, open sea felt way more comfortable than the cramped pool where I had to turn every 100m.
The freedom of the wide-open ocean!
Recalling my days as the “Sea God” in the romance fantasy novel world of I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count, I swam with abandon.
Thud.
Already?
It hadn’t felt like long at all, but I’d already reached the cruise ship anchored in the middle of the sea.
Vroom~
The rescue boat carrying the coach and safety officer pulled up right behind me.
“Coach, where to next?”
“This... doesn’t make sense.”
“Coach?”
“Crossing 10km in under two hours! That means you barely tired at all over two straight hours!”
“Wasn’t too bad.”
I hadn’t worn a watch to avoid messing with the record, so I had no idea how long it took. But under two hours?
The world average was under three hours, so this was utterly ridiculous.
Splash-!
Climbing aboard the rescue boat, I saw the coach’s face—like a lamb beholding a divine miracle.
“Do you seriously have a nuclear power plant in there? How do you not tire after two hours?”
“Beats me.”
My parents weren’t around to ask anyway.
“Just take care of your health, and you’re a lock for world—no, universe number one in freestyle 10km marathon. Congrats in advance on that gold medal pension I’ll never touch!”
“Ha, ha...”
I laughed it off amid Coach Jang Seo-yeon’s over-the-top excitement, but inside, I was pumping my fist. Hell yeah! Olympic pension...!
My heart raced at the thought of securing the pension every athlete dreamed of.
A full hour faster than the world record! At this rate, I’d have to worry about doping accusations or alien conspiracy theories.
Coach Jang Seo-yeon seemed to think the same.
“Moon-soo! Let’s ride this momentum into a 100km land marathon too!”
“Suddenly?!”
Not even close.
“The more pensions, the better, right? Trust me on this one.”
“Ah... yeah, you’re right.”
Olympic medals meant more pension money, after all.
“Athletes don’t obsess over medals just for the pension. It’s barely enough for living expenses.”
“Really?”
About the same as my convenience store gig?
“Way short. You couldn’t even cover diapers and formula with that.”
“Ah...”
Marriage! And kids! I’d never even considered it, buried under living costs my whole life.
...Not that.
The worry-free “Molrang Count” had daydreamed about the future with his escort knight.
Valentine. Just thinking of her, tearfully parted, weighed heavy on my heart.
“The real reason athletes chase medals is the explosion in appearance fees and endorsements.”
“That much?”
“At least a hundredfold.”
“Whoa!”
“Unless you’re an Olympic medalist, sports brands won’t even consider you for ads.”
“What about Seon-yeong?”
Song Seon-yeong modeled swimsuits.
“Bikinis that slip off if you swim just a bit faster aren’t sports gear.”
“R-right.”
Maybe because she’d been an athlete herself and not some innocent coach, Jang Seo-yeon knew all the useful insider info.
“If I’d been a medalist, I’d have raked it in! Pretty medalists are rare, you know~”
“True...”
P’s aptitude test didn’t pick athletes by looks.
“So it’s real, huh.”
“What?”
“I was testing if it was just guy bravado, keeping the convo going. But your breathing’s steady. Not tired at all.”
“Yeah. I could do another 10km right—”
Grrrowl!
My stomach rumbled, cutting off my boast.
“The body doesn’t lie, huh?”
“......”
“Let’s head to the ship. You finished an hour early, but after showering and prepping, it’ll line up fine.”
“Okay.”
A lavish buffet worthy of a luxury liner awaited us.
* * *
Bliss!
I’d sampled fancy noble cuisine as an aristocrat in the I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count world, but it couldn’t top modern variety and cooking techniques.
Lobster cheese bake, smoked salmon, eight-treasure stir-fry, sushi, crab bisque, short ribs, sea cucumber veggie stir-fry, tropical fruits... My tongue screamed in real-time happiness.
“10km in the one-hour range? Get real...!”
“Swimming two hours straight without tiring? Ha!”
“Come on! There’s a limit to the bluffing if you want us to buy it!”
“Coach Jang Seo-yeon? No faking what gets exposed that fast!”
The coaches at the next table hollered, but it wasn’t enough to ruin my joy.
Whoa, first-team treatment is on another level!
I’d thought the second team at the Sports University pool was great, but compared to this, it was modest. Still, I’d bet the athletes’ happiness index was lower here.
What’s with those faces?
Watching them mechanically chew this amazing food killed my appetite too. We’d train together for a while, so I figured I’d break the ice.
“Hi. Honored to be training with the legendary first-team athletes. I’m Kang Moon-soo.”
“......”
“......”
Their gazes naturally turned my way. But no one returned the greeting.
Awkward!
I hadn’t expected full intros, just some reaction.
“No need for names. Results are everything here.”
“Ah, right.”
Totally unexpected—and refreshingly blunt!
The woman who spoke had the least sour face among the first-teamers at the table. She tossed out casually,
“What’s your event?”
“10km and 4000m. Eyeing 2000m too.”
“Three?”
“Not allowed?”
“I get it. You just came up from second team, so you wouldn’t know.”
“......”
Felt like I’d been dissed.
“First team is two men and two women per event—the best ones. Slack off, and you’re swapped with second team immediately.”
“Ah-ha! So that’s...”
The male athletes’ faces split on hearing my main events: relief or tension.
Regardless, they started chiming in one by one.
“Women’s 100m here.”
“Men’s 300m.”
“Hi, women’s 300m.”
“Women’s 300m too.”
“Men’s freestyle 1000m.”
“......”
“......”
Meanwhile, those whose events overlapped with mine kept silently eating.
Over-the-top rivalry! That’s why Song Seon-yeong hated her “swimmer” aptitude.
“Moon-soo.”
“Yes!”
I perked up at Coach Jang Seo-yeon’s call.
“Forget everything today and rest up on the ship. Promotion match tomorrow at 9 a.m. for 10km.”
“...Okay.”
Promotion match. Out of me and two others, one drops to second team.
Tomorrow decides that one. My overwhelming record killed any nerves—just a twinge of unease at shoving someone else down for my gain.
“Don’t get too cocky, though. Behave.”
“Ha, ha... will do.”
I scratched my head at her pointed words.
* * *
Seo Hye-ju, the section chief who’d pushed through an overseas trip to help Kang Moon-soo, waited for her flight at the airport.
Muscle loss, impaired functions... Her efforts had played a huge role in him shaking off those dream-aftereffects so quickly.
“Excuse me.”
“What?”
Sipping coffee at the airport cafe, she glanced at the stranger approaching.
Visibly annoyed!
“I’m from here.”
Whoosh—but he flashed a cheeky smile and slid his business card onto the table.
Entertainment division director at a major corp... Still gonna play hard to get?
Seo Hye-ju smirked derisively. “I’m a doctor.”
“Ah! Med student, huh!”
“Practicing physician.”
“S-sorry. You look so young, I assumed. A working doc is even better—lots promote hospitals on TV.”
“Go for it.”
“Great opportunity, you... Huh?”
Thud.
She placed her own card on the table.
Elmolrans Hospital. World-class med corp with endless patients despite the infamous bills.
“Still think the same?”
“S-sorry...”
“Keep the card. It’s not for random show-offs.”
“Y-yes!”
She felt nothing—this happened often in crowded spots. Sipping her now-cold coffee, she killed time...
Ring♪
“......”
Unknown number. She never handed out her work contacts casually, so this was rare.
Maybe a patient’s acquaintance?
Likely. But with her schedule backed up from the sudden trip, new patients weren’t welcome...
“Hello.”
She picked up anyway, just to hear them out.
(Is this Section Chief Seo Hye-ju of Elmolrans Hospital’s Neurosurgery?)
“Yes.”
Surface title—she doubled in genetics and biochem too.
(International Swimming Federation.)
“For athlete health support, I’ll connect you elsewhere.”
(Do you know Kang Moon-soo?)
“Very well.”
Reason she’d flown here.
(The federation suspects him of misconduct.)
“Because a shaman swims better than a swimmer?”
She asked with blatant mockery.
(...Just because the records are unrealistically good.)
“How good?”
(In 10km marathon where 1-second differences decide rankings, he shaved off a full hour.)
“......”
She mentally apologized for the federation’s reasonable suspicion.
Still, odd. Common sense: Suspect an athlete? Hire a doc with no ties.
(And we have a patient we’d really like you to see.)
As expected—ulterior motive.
“I’ll recommend a good doctor.”
Elmolrans had plenty of stars besides her. More work here meant skin issues at best, overwork death at worst!
(We need the doctor who treated Choi Kang-min.)
“......”
(Section Chief Seo Hye-ju. The emperor’s life hangs on you.)
“The emperor...?”
(Yes.)
“...When do they arrive?”
She had no choice but to cancel her flight.