Chapter 58
The first-string athletes from the nation's top Sports University—where all the talents converge—earn their spots as national representatives by holding onto those elite positions until the Olympics every two years. But even accounting for that, the treatment for first-string swimmers stood out as exceptionally generous...
"It's all about the investments," Coach Jang Seo-yeon explained while checking my condition.
"Why's that?"
"Nam Hae-su, the man they call the Swimming Emperor, pours massive sponsorship funds into the International Swimming Federation every year."
"Ah!"
The Swimming Emperor, Nam Hae-su. A legendary figure who'd racked up more Olympic medals than anyone in swimming history.
"That's why they also call him the Pension Emperor."
"Makes sense."
The more Olympic medals you win, the fatter your pension gets! What a life to envy.
"But if it were just that, he'd get more jealousy than respect, right?"
"Yeah, now that you mention it."
"Nam Hae-su takes all that pension money and wealth and funnels it into nurturing the next generation. Even this luxury cruise ship belongs to him."
"Whoa... he's the real deal."
I felt a pang of shame. Here I was, planning to squirrel away every penny of my pension for a comfy retirement.
"Moon-soo, you over your fatigue?"
"Yeah."
More accurately, I hadn't been fatigued to begin with.
"...Your stamina is insane. Most people crash for days after a marathon."
"Even pros?"
"Of course! To shave even a second off your time, you have to pour everything into it."
She said the difference between pros and amateurs was just finish time—the exhaustion was the same.
In other words...
"Not thrilled about this."
They weren't giving us enough rest before shoving another 10km swim down our throats.
If I were a normal athlete, my times would tank, or worse, I might drop dead mid-marathon. A reckless demand.
"Want to postpone it?"
"We can do that?"
"Sure. Just ignore the coaches and athletes parroting 'doping' like mindless parrots."
"Hm... It's annoying hearing it at every meal, so let's just get it over with."
"You sure you're okay?"
"Yeah."
"Don't push yourself. Get cocky and wreck your health, you'll end up like me."
It was advice from a former national rep who'd missed a medal by 0.1 seconds.
"Got it."
Splash! Splash! Splash!
The first-string swimmers, myself included, lined up in the water facing the sea.
Twenty-five of us... that's everyone.
Even the sprinters from shorter events like 100m and 300m freestyle had shown up without exception.
Vrooom~
The coach on the lifeboat blared through the megaphone.
"Any athletes feeling off—don't play hero. Speak up now!"
It was advice for everyone, but why was he staring right at me...?
I disliked every coach except mine.
Just you wait!
With the rule of two per event, everyone would struggle—but I'd make sure half the athletes and coaches packed their bags for second-string purgatory.
"......"
"......"
"Looks like no takers. Ready... go!"
Splash! Splash! Splash!
The signal dropped, and every swimmer bolted toward the island.
"Puha!"
"Puhuu!"
The pack spread out fast from the start, and I quickly fell to last place.
It's fine.
I'd expected it. Even the top second-stringers were faster than me.
And first-string? These were the cream of the aptitude crop, honed by endless effort, cutthroat competition, top-tier support, and coaching.
Dolphins in human skin.
But then...
"Hoo..."
"Puhuu..."
The female swimmers, not needing to race a guy like me, eased off to conserve energy.
Whoosh~
I overtook them one by one, my pace steady from the jump.
That's weird.
But the men showed no signs of closing the gap.
Were they overflowing with stamina like me? Just as worry crept in about dropping back to second-string...
Vrooom!
The distant lifeboat approached.
"Hurry!"
"Over there!"
Splash! Splash!
Safety divers in wetsuits leaped from the boat into the sea.
What's going on?
The urgency piqued my curiosity, but it was mid-race. Focus.
Slosh slosh!
I powered through the rough waves and currents churned up by the boat.
First time I'd felt my stamina dip.
"Puha!"
But this was nothing compared to the world of The Youngest Daughter of the Count's Family, where I'd been worshipped as a sea god with statues built in my honor.
Bob bob.
Male swimmers adrift, barely moving forward, started appearing.
"......"
"......"
They could only watch helplessly as I passed.
Reckless idiots.
Failed energy pacing meant they wouldn't finish 10km and were at the mercy of the lifeboats.
Miss the pickup? Dead meat.
Not pro-level mistakes.
Splashhh—!
"Arrival...!"
I shouted triumphantly at the designated beach.
The waiting coach glanced between me and his stopwatch.
"Y-you're... human?"
A massively rude question.
"What about my time?"
"...Did you hop on a lifeboat mid-race after collapsing, then get dropped off?"
"What coach would allow that?"
"You expect me to believe this absurd record?"
"Don't like it? Quit. Reality won't change."
"Insolent...!"
That was my line.
I've put up with enough!
I locked eyes with the fuming coach.
"Coach-no-name. Can you handle what you just said? What if I emigrate and rep another country because of you?"
"Th-that...!"
"Think I can't?"
The nation would pick an Olympic gold over some coach any day.
"...Athlete Kang Moon-soo."
"Yes."
"I misspoke. I'm truly sorry."
His face drained to dirt-gray as he bowed deeply.
"Forget I heard it."
"Th-thank you!"
I'd wanted smooth relations at first, playing nice.
But after seeing first-string reality and their inflated perks? Mind changed.
Medals are king.
First-string was a hive of medal-obsessed machines.
Friendships? Bonds? Camaraderie? Trust?
Swimming wasn't a team sport like soccer or baseball. Same gender? Everyone's a rival thorn.
No efforts to bond. Not even a thought.
Vrooom~
About an hour after I arrived, lifeboats started appearing offshore one by one.
"......"
"......"
The ferried athletes slunk onto the beach like criminals, heads hung low.
Another thirty minutes later...
"Hoo-ha!"
"Pua!"
The women who'd paced themselves early finished the 10km safely.
Coach Jang Seo-yeon arrived too, responsible for their safety.
She reacted to my record like she'd known it all along.
Of course...
"As expected of my son-in-law!"
...not in a blasé way.
"Coach. Don't say stuff that'll make Seon-yeong mad in front of everyone..."
"It's fine, it's fine. There's a saying: a mother-in-law's love for her son-in-law runs deep, right?"
"Ahem!"
Until now, the shaman stigma had overshadowed me. Now, I was drawing eyes.
* * *
"Section Chief. Didn't you say you were heading home to rest?"
"I wanted to."
Seo Hye-ju let out a deep sigh and explained her call with the International Swimming Federation.
"Doping talk again?"
"You were too extreme. Shaving an hour off the world record? Anyone would suspect."
"Does that drug even exist?"
"Nope. Even athletes and coaches get it wrong sometimes. Doping doesn't strengthen the body—it deceives it. Like how numbing pain doesn't make you healthy."
"Ah!"
Doping tricked the body temporarily, pushing past limits via overexertion for better results. But it couldn't create stamina from nothing—hence its limits.
"Normal athletes doping still couldn't match you. They'd collapse from unseen fatigue and die."
"Scary."
"Tough it out."
"Yes."
Poke.
The needle pricked my arm, drawing a bit of blood.
"Suck it up even if it stings. It's because you're unusual."
"Exceptions exist, right?"
"Not really. Athletes excel in non-aptitude sports beyond normals, sure."
"Hm..."
"Hard to link shaman ghost-busting to swimming."
"Catching water ghosts needs stamina and swim skills," Coach Jang Seo-yeon theorized.
"Oho! That's a solid logic. Test results... negative across the board, as expected. If they still don't buy it, sue for defamation."
"No need..."
"The settlements are hefty."
"Then let's do it!"
"Um..."
A federation rep who'd been quietly observing chimed in.
"Find any cheating?"
"Not at all, but..."
Seo Hye-ju's question made him frown.
"Talking defamation against a federation fighting illegality for fairness and common sense... Isn't that too dismissive of us?"
"You dismissed me like I didn't exist."
"...I meant no need to worry about it."
"Satisfied now?"
"Of course. The International Swimming Federation recognizes Athlete Kang Moon-soo's record, despite the doping allegations. Athlete Kang Moon-soo, we apologize for the inconvenience."
"Hm... sure."
His sincere apology shut me up. It was my killer record causing the fuss anyway.
I'd chalk it up as a mental debt to the federation.
"We classify likely Olympic medalists as zero-string with various perks."
"Ah!"
A measure to keep top talent from defecting abroad.
"However... a surefire medal case like you is unprecedented. Needs internal review."
Likely? No—guaranteed!
Barring health issues, the 10km freestyle marathon gold was in the bag.
"Feels like pressure now."
"We'll accommodate you as much as possible. Ah! We can swap your coach immediately."
"I like Coach Jang Seo-yeon."
She felt more like an understanding big sis than a coach.
Only flaw: Song Seon-yeong's mom!
"I see... Ah! Dr. Seo Hye-ju, His Majesty arrives soon—we'll speak then."
"Yes."
The rep bolted once done.
And I asked...
"Section Chief. The Emperor's coming to this island?"
"That's what I wanted to tell you."
"Me? Suddenly getting chills..."
"The Swimming Emperor, Nam Hae-su. You've heard the name."
"Yeah."
Coach Jang Seo-yeon had mentioned him recently. His sponsorship made swimming first-string perks better than others...
And that buffet had turned me into a happy pig.
If he shows, gotta thank him properly!
Exciting.
"When's he arriving?"
"He can barely move, so it'll take a while."
"What?! Is he sick?"
Worried for such a great man.
"Diagnosis pending, but brace yourself."
"No way...?"
"Not curious? What dream does the Swimming Emperor dream?"
"Not at all."
"Maybe he was born a dolphin..."
"Section Chief, don't jinx it. How do you even convince a dolphin?"
God, I hoped not.