5
### Chapter 5
“National team? Mom!”
Jiyoung shouted loudly.
Her expression clearly said, What kind of nonsense are you talking about?
“What national team? Most kids who start in elementary school can’t even make the reserves!”
“Honestly, doesn’t Hangil have what you’d call... physicality? He’s not lacking in that department, is he?”
“Physical condition isn’t the problem. It’s the sheer amount of training. You’ve heard of the ten-thousand-hour rule,
right?”
“The ten-thousand-hour rule? What’s that?”
“To become an expert, you have to invest at least ten thousand hours in one field. Kids who pursue sports or the arts
practice like crazy. Even the best of the best are constantly terrified of falling behind. If Hangil starts swimming
now, all those other kids will already be far ahead while he’s just standing at the starting line. He won’t stand a
chance.”
“Are you saying Hangil doesn’t train?”
“...Has he ever actually swum?”
“He swims all the time. In the sea.”
Unless it was raining or snowing, Hangil went to see the sea.
He did not just go diving. He also swam constantly.
Even the stories Bokja had heard secondhand were enough to make her blood pressure rise.
He had gone diving or swimming countless times on rainy and snowy days, and he had even once gotten trapped inside a
cave and nearly ended up stranded.
“Mom!”
“You’re going to make my ears fall off, you brat.”
“How can splashing around in the sea be the same as swimming under professional training?”
“It’s different?”
“Of course it is!”
“Did you eat a firecracker or something?”
Just as Jiyoung sighed and tried to figure out what to say, Han Seobang interrupted.
“Mother-in-law. The national team will be difficult. It’s already too late.”
“Ah, Han Seobang, you said you graduated from Korea National Sport University, right? Is it really that difficult?”
“Yes. I started training when I was nine, and I even won a gold medal at the National Sports Festival when I was in high
school. I quit because of an injury, but... there are so many incredibly talented people. Why not aim for a less popular
sport instead?”
“A less popular sport?”
“There’s rowing or canoeing. I heard surfing has only recently been adopted as an official sport too.”
“That thing you mentioned, Han Seobang... You do it in deep water, right?”
“Uh... yes.”
“Then that won’t do.”
“Oh, Mom’s stubbornness is showing again.”
“You want me to train the boy only to have him fall into the water and die?”
“What about swimming? Swimming pools are pretty deep too.”
“He’ll do it indoors! Indoors!”
Bokja’s mind seemed to be firmly made up.
Han Seobang stroked his chin before speaking.
“If it has to be an indoor sport, there’s also diving or water polo.”
“Diving? What’s that?”
“You jump from a high place...”
“Absolutely not!”
“Then what about water polo?”
“That’s the ball game you play while swimming?”
“Yes. He’d probably have a better chance of making the national team than in swimming.”
“Hmm... Is that so...”
“But from what I know, for water polo in Korea, getting into a sports high school and then a sports university is
practically essential...”
They were already worrying about which sport to choose even though nobody had asked the boy what he wanted yet.
Han Seobang exhaled through his nose before continuing.
“Mother-in-law... I think Hangil should choose the sport himself. For now, you want us to take him to a swimming pool,
right?”
“That’s right. Can you do it?”
“If he says no, we can just drag him there.”
“Drag him?”
At Bokja’s question, Han Seobang pulled up his short-sleeved shirt, turning it into something resembling a sleeveless
shirt, and flexed his arm muscles.
“Oh my, honey. Are you giving me a signal? How can you do that in front of Mom?”
“...I used to be a judo athlete, remember? I’ll take responsibility for getting him to the swimming pool.”
Bokja looked at Han Seobang, Han Sangmook, with an expression of complete confidence.
At that very moment, a chill ran down Hangil’s back.
=
2 p.m.
Due to the early worsening of the weather, Jiyoung and Sangmook were on their way to the beach to pick up Hangil.
Hangil had been unreachable while diving, but the moment he checked his phone and saw the message, he replied.
[Thank you, Auntie haha. You know this is a secret from Grandma, right?]
The secret had already been completely exposed.
Apparently, only Hangil himself did not know.
Jiyoung asked her husband,
“Honey. I promised Mom, but how are we actually going to get Hangil to the swimming pool?”
Hangil loved water.
But that did not mean he loved the water in a swimming pool filled with the smell of disinfectant.
Hangil loved the sea.
The salty scent of the ocean, the wind, and that vast, overwhelming sensation.
What kind of reaction would Hangil have when someone who remembered the sea encountered the water of a swimming pool?
It was hard to expect a particularly positive reaction.
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it.”
“What? You were really planning to just drag him there?”
“Not exactly. Well... honey. You don’t need some grand reason to start exercising.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When I was in elementary school, I was really short.”
“Yeah.”
“I think I was in second grade. I got beaten up by some fourth-graders at the playground, so my mom forced me into a
judo dojo. At first, I hated it. I cried and made a huge fuss, asking if I really had to go. But once I started, I found
it fun and eventually became an athlete.”
“Oh, right. You said you really hated judo when you were younger.”
“Yeah. I think Hangil might enjoy swimming too if we just get him to try it. If he doesn’t, then he doesn’t have to
swim. We shouldn’t force him to do something he doesn’t want to do.”
Sangmook rubbed one of his cauliflower ears with one hand, perhaps remembering his past.
Jiyoung still looked dissatisfied.
She pouted before speaking.
“I agree with you, but Mom seems really determined this time. You know how single-minded she can be.”
“Your mother-in-law... Well, she is rather stubborn.”
“She’ll probably keep pestering Hangil about swimming. And if that doesn’t work, she’ll find some other way to stop him
from going to the sea.”
“But you don’t think your mother’s idea is necessarily bad?”
“I’m on Hangil’s side.”
“So am I, but...”
“Exactly. So we need to approach this strategically.”
“Strategically?”
“If we suddenly drag Hangil to a swimming pool, what do you think he’ll feel?”
“He’ll hate it.”
“Exactly. Making him swim while he already has negative feelings about it will only backfire. Our nephew may be a good
kid, but he’s just coming out of his middle-school rebellious phase, you know?”
Jiyoung was DINK and had no children of her own.
But she had been a child herself once, so she understood the psychology of middle-schoolers fairly well.
“We need bait.”
“Bait?”
“We set conditions. Something like telling him that if he makes the national team, Mom won’t be able to say anything
about him going to the sea.”
“Would that really work on a kid who already sneaks off to the sea?”
“Hangil’s still innocent. If we make him feel guilty, he’ll at least reluctantly give it a try. The important thing is
making sure Hangil doesn’t develop an aversion to swimming pool water, right?”
“Right.”
“Five or six times should be enough. During that time, we give him something he can’t experience in the sea.”
Sangmook glanced sideways at Jiyoung.
Something he could not experience in the sea.
How exactly were they supposed to persuade a fish born and raised in the ocean to willingly enter a fish tank?
“Competition.”
“Ah, we can’t leave that out.”
“Yeah. Have him compete against someone, take him to watch competitions. Nothing more than that. If even that doesn’t
work, we just give up.”
“Hmm... It sounds good, but aren’t you busy? It seems like you’ll have to stick with him for at least a month.”
“Who said I was going to do it?”
Jiyoung looked at Sangmook with a subtle expression.
A sly smile appeared on her lips.
Sangmook understood exactly what that smile meant.
“Ah... My precious vacation...”
“Think of it as something you’re doing for your nephew. I’ve already felt guilty about him, so I want to pay off some of
that debt while I have the chance. You’ll help me, right?”
Jiyoung carried a great deal of guilt toward her nephew because of her older sister’s death.
Sangmook understood her feelings well, so he readily agreed.
“Fine, fine. I’ll do you a favor.”
“Thank you. Oh, I heard your two best friends settled down in Jeju too. Why don’t you take advantage of the chance to
drink until you can’t see straight without worrying about your wife for once?”
“That’s only fun for a day or two. Not being able to see my wife tears my heart apart.”
Sangmook showered her with cheesy words, but he was clearly pleased with the situation deep down.
“I’ll come down once every two weeks. You’re pretending not to like that.”
Jiyoung chuckled, leaned back against the seat, and spoke.
“Who knows?”
“Who knows what?”
“What if Hangil really becomes a national-team athlete and mentions his uncle in an interview?”
“Come on, no way.”
“Honey, never underestimate what seems impossible. Prepare a line for him. Something cheesy enough to tempt a
middle-schooler.”
And so began the Jang Hangil Project: Getting Him Away From the Sea, which had started with little more than a faint
hope.
That faint hope would eventually cause a sensation throughout the entire world.
=
The red Sonata was parked against the backdrop of the crashing sea.
Jiyoung waved through the open window, wearing sunglasses.
Hangil smiled brightly at the welcoming gesture.
He had just finished showering and changed into his regular clothes.
“Auntie!”
“My little rascal! Have you been well?”
“I’ve been great~ Have you been well?”
“I’ve been great too~”
Hangil and Jiyoung saw each other three or four times a year.
While Bokja had cut ties with Hangil’s mother, Jiyoung had continued seeing her eldest sister.
She had quietly helped Hangil’s family in many ways and had made an effort to build an emotional bond with Hangil.
So it was only natural that Hangil approached Jiyoung without hesitation.
“How many days are you staying this time?”
“I’m staying for three days.”
“Three days? Uncle is staying longer?”
“Yeah. I’m planning to stay a little over a month.”
“What kind of wind blew you here?”
Hangil muttered in surprise.
A month.
The couple had never stayed there for such a long time.
“Oh my, listen to him. He sounds like an old man already.”
“What’s wrong with my Jeju accent? Did you come here for work?”
“I’m taking a break from work for a while. Jeju is nice, isn’t it? Let’s go to the sea as much as we want with your
uncle. Without Grandma knowing.”
Hangil’s face immediately lit up.
“Look at you. You got excited the moment I mentioned the sea. I’ll tell Grandma we’re going sightseeing in town.
Speaking of which, how about lunch tomorrow?”
“I’m free whenever!”
“When the rain stops, let’s go surfing. You tried surfing for the first time last year and even rode a few waves by
yourself, didn’t you?”
“Yes. It was really fun. I actually bought a surfboard too.”
“What? You did?”
“Yes.”
“Where did you get the money... Anyway. Then we’ll go tomorrow...”
Sangmook dragged out his words before exchanging a glance with Jiyoung.
Hangil looked at the two of them suspiciously.
A meaningful smile spread across the faces of the man and woman.
“How about pork cutlet for lunch?”
“Pork cutlet?”
“To catch a whale... Ahem. Pork cutlet is the best thing to eat before going surfing.”
Something about this felt ominous.
But Hangil was simply delighted that they were talking about the sea.
Completely unaware of what was about to happen, Hangil climbed into the car and smiled, showing his perfectly white
teeth.
“I saw a really good restaurant on Stargram. Can we go there?”
“Sure.”
Why wouldn’t they?
Click.
Sangmook locked the car door, hiding the ulterior motives of a scheming adult.