Chapter 57 – Swimming Emperor (1)
[Chapter 4 – Verse 1] A Reasonable Suspicion
My recovery was so fast that even Section Chief Seo Hye-joo called it miraculous; I returned to training as an athlete in just one day.
“I’d heard the reports, but Moon-soo, your endurance is truly incredible. Your lung capacity could compete with a dolphin.”
“Thank you.”
“If only Sun-young had even half your stamina. She thinks everything’s done if she just goes fast.”
“Ha, ha…”
Coach Jang Seo-yeon grumbled about her daughter’s nagging. I was caught in the middle, unable to side with either Song Sun-young or the coach.
‘How did things end up like this?’
No matter how much I stretched or got massaged, the knots in my shoulders wouldn’t loosen. I think I know why.
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
“Your records. 4000 m is your main event, sure, but at this rate, 2000 m looks doable too. Can you really improve this suddenly?”
“Thanks to your great coaching.”
“I appreciate the pretty words, but I know it’s impossible to change dramatically in just a few days.”
“Well…”
It was an absurdly short time.
“Plus, my aptitude isn’t swimming coach—it’s swimmer. We have to chalk this up to you being a natural.”
“But then my aptitude isn’t swimmer either?”
“Then I guess shamans have to be good at swimming too.”
“Uh… yes.”
I had no choice but to nod at Coach’s straightforward logic.
“Today we’re measuring the 10 km marathon that got postponed when you collapsed.”
“Finally…”
“There’ll be a rescue boat nearby. So don’t worry too much.”
“I’m ready.”
I’d had far too many dangerous experiences lately to be anxious.
‘That was truly reckless!’
Swimming through a raging typhoon, pitch-black seas with zero visibility, right into the heart of enemy territory where I couldn’t even breathe properly.
Compared to that…
Splash, splash~
Clear skies, calm waves, a relatively close destination, and a rescue boat on standby!
There was no room for worry.
“Moon-soo, don’t let your guard down. The ocean is different from a 10 km pool.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“…That’s amazing. Even the toughest athletes hesitate and fear it at first.”
“I’m not scared.”
After being crushed like a bug without anesthesia and having my limbs torn off, anyone would end up like me.
“Really? We’ll see. Go!”
Splash!
The moment Coach gave the signal, I shot straight toward the distant cruise ship.
‘Easy.’
The 10 km open-water marathon was exactly as I expected.
And that wasn’t all.
The ocean felt far more comfortable than the cramped pool where I had to turn every 100 m.
The freedom of the wide-open sea!
Recalling memories of being called the “Sea God” in the world of the romance fantasy novel <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count’s Family>, I swam to my heart’s content.
Tap.
‘Already?’
It felt like I’d barely swum, yet I’d reached the cruise ship anchored in the middle of the ocean.
Vroom~
The rescue boat carrying Coach and the safety officer arrived behind me.
“Coach, where to next?”
“This… doesn’t make sense.”
“Coach?”
“Finishing 10 km in under two hours! That means you barely tired in two hours!”
“It really wasn’t that hard.”
I hadn’t worn a watch to avoid interfering with my record, so I didn’t know exactly how long it took.
But,
‘Under two hours?’
Considering the world average is “under three hours,” this was an absurd result.
Splash—!
Climbing onto the rescue boat, I saw Coach wearing an expression like a lamb witnessing a divine miracle.
“Is there a nuclear reactor inside you or something? How do you not get tired for two hours?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
I don’t have parents to ask—they made me and left.
“If you stay healthy, the 10 km freestyle marathon is yours—world number one… no, universe number one. Congrats in advance. The gold medal pension I never touched!”
“Ha, ha…”
I laughed off Coach Jang Seo-yeon’s over-the-top excitement.
But even while pretending to be calm, inside I was,
‘Hell yeah! Olympic pension…!’
My heart raced at the prospect of receiving the pension every athlete dreams of.
A one-hour gap from the world record!
At this level, shouldn’t I be worried about drug suspicions or being an alien?
Coach seemed to have similar thoughts.
“Moon-soo! At this rate, let’s challenge the 100 km ultra-marathon on land too!”
“Suddenly?!”
Nope, not at all.
“The more pensions, the better, right? Trust me just this once.”
“Ah… you’re right.”
The more Olympic medals, the higher the pension.
“Athletes aren’t obsessed with Olympic medals for the pension. It’s nowhere near enough to live on.”
“Really?”
It’s about the same as my convenience store part-time pay?
“Way not enough. With that money, forget a newlywed home—you’d struggle to cover diapers and formula.”
“Ah…”
Marriage! And kids!
I’d never once thought about it, always buried in money worries.
‘…Maybe not.’
The “Amolang Count,” who had no financial concerns, had dreamed of a fairytale future with his escort knight.
Valentine.
The moment I recalled her—crying as we parted—my heart grew heavy.
“The reason athletes fight tooth and nail for medals is that appearance fees and ad deals skyrocket.”
“How much?”
“At least 100 times.”
“Wow!”
“To begin with, if you’re not an Olympic medalist, you won’t even get picked as a sports gear ad model.”
“What about Sun-young?”
Song Sun-young is a swimsuit model.
“A bikini that comes off the moment you swim a little faster isn’t sports equipment.”
“I-I see.”
Maybe because she’s a former athlete, not just a pure coach?
Coach Jang Seo-yeon knew a lot of info useful to athletes.
“If I’d become a medalist, I’d have raked in the cash! Beautiful medalists are rare~”
“For sure…”
The P aptitude tester doesn’t pick athletes by face.
“Looks like it’s real.”
“What is?”
“I kept talking to test if it was a guy’s bluff. But your breathing’s perfectly even. You’re not tired at all.”
“Yes. I could swim another 10 km right now—”
Grrrowl!
A thunderous rumble from my stomach cut off my bravado.
“Your body’s honest, huh?”
“…”
“Let’s head up to the ship. We arrived an hour earlier than expected, but after showering and prepping, it’ll line up.”
“Yes.”
As befits a luxury cruise, a lavish buffet awaited us.
***
‘I’m in bliss!’
In the world of the romance fantasy novel <I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count’s Family>, I tasted plenty of fancy noble cuisine, but it couldn’t compare to modern variety of ingredients and advanced cooking techniques.
Lobster cheese bake, smoked salmon, eight-treasure dish, sushi, crab soup, pork ribs, sea cucumber stir-fry, tropical fruits…
My tongue screamed in real-time happiness.
“10 km marathon in the 1-hour range? That’s nonsense…!”
“A human swam for two hours straight without tiring? Ha!”
“Come on! There’s a limit to bragging!”
“Coach Jang Seo-yeon? Don’t fake something that’ll get exposed instantly!”
The coaches at the next table were yelling, but it wasn’t enough to ruin my joy.
‘Wow! First-string treatment is on another level!’
I’d thought the second-string training mainly at the university pool was nice, but compared to first-string, it was modest.
Yet I’d boldly claim the athletes’ happiness index is lower than second-string.
‘Why do they look like that?’
Watching them mechanically eat this amazing food made even my appetite drop.
Still, we’ll be training together for a while, right?
I decided to break the ice.
“Hello. It’s an honor to join the first-string athletes I’ve only heard about. I’m Kang Moon-soo.”
“…”
“…”
The first-stringers’ eyes naturally turned to me. But no one returned my greeting.
‘Talk about awkward!’
I hadn’t expected a reply, but some reaction would’ve been nice.
“No need to introduce yourself. Here, results are everything.”
“Ah, yes.”
What a refreshingly blunt response!
The female athlete who spoke to me had the least sour expression among the first-stringers at the table.
She tossed out casually,
“What events?”
“10 km and 4000 m. Aiming for 2000 m too.”
“Three?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“I get it. You just came up from second-string, so you might not know.”
“…”
I felt oddly dismissed.
“First-string consists of the top male and female per event—two each. If results slump, you’re immediately swapped with a second-stringer.”
“Aha! So that’s why…”
Hearing my main events, the male athletes’ faces split into extremes.
Relief or tension.
Separately, athletes started speaking one by one.
“Women’s 100 m.”
“Men’s 300 m.”
“Hello. Women’s 300 m.”
“Women’s 300 m here too.”
“Men’s 1000 m freestyle.”
“…”
“…”
Meanwhile, those whose main events likely overlapped with mine silently focused on eating.
Excessive rivalry!
The reason Song Sun-young hated her “swimmer” aptitude.
“Moon-soo.”
“Yes!”
I responded cheerfully to Coach Jang Seo-yeon’s call.
“Today, just relax on the ship and don’t think about anything. Tomorrow at 9 a.m. there’s the 10 km promotion match.”
“…Yes.”
Promotion match.
Among the three athletes including me, one has to drop to second-string.
Tomorrow’s match decides that one.
Thanks to my overwhelming record-based confidence, I felt no tension—just a slight discomfort at having to push someone else down for my success.
“But don’t sleep too much. Behave.”
“Ha, ha… I will.”
I scratched my head at Coach’s pointed remark.
***
Section Chief Seo Hye-joo, who had forced an overseas business trip to help Kang Moon-soo, was waiting for her flight at the airport.
Muscle loss, decreased bodily function…
Her efforts played a huge part in Kang Moon-soo shaking off those aftereffects so quickly after waking from the dream.
“Excuse me.”
“What is it?”
Section Chief Seo Hye-joo was sipping coffee at an airport café.
She glanced at the stranger addressing her, openly showing annoyance.
“I’m from here.”
Schwick—
But the man flashed a cheeky smile and placed his business card on the café table.
Head of entertainment division at a famous company…
As if asking, ‘Still gonna act high and mighty?’
Section Chief Seo Hye-joo smirked as if it were laughable and said,
“I’m a doctor.”
“Ah! A med student!”
“Practicing physician.”
“S-sorry. I mistook you for being young. If you’re practicing, that’s even better. Many doctors do broadcasting to promote their hospitals.”
“Leave.”
“You caught a great oppor—huh?”
Tap.
Section Chief Seo Hye-joo placed her own business card on the table.
Elmolance Hospital.
A world-renowned medical corporation where patients never stopped coming despite infamous fees.
“Still think the same?”
“S-sorry…”
“Leave your card. It’s not a bluff item to hand out to anyone.”
“Y-yes!”
It was something she occasionally experienced just sitting in crowded places, so Section Chief Seo Hye-joo felt no particular emotion.
She sipped her now-cold coffee, passing the time…
Ring♪
“…”
An unknown number.
She didn’t hand out business cards with her work contact to just anyone—this was extremely rare.
‘An acquaintance of my patient?’
Highly likely. But with work piling up from the rushed trip, Section Chief Seo Hye-joo wasn’t thrilled about a new patient…
“Hello.”
She answered, figuring she’d at least hear them out.
(Is this Section Chief Seo Hye-joo of Elmolance Affiliated Hospital Neurosurgery?)
“Yes.”
She also handled genetic engineering and biochemistry, but on paper, that was it.
(This is the International Swimming Federation.)
“If you need support staff to manage swimmers’ health, I’ll connect you to another department.”
(You know athlete Kang Moon-soo, correct?)
“I know him well.”
The reason she flew all the way here.
(The federation suspects foul play by that athlete.)
“Because a shaman swims better than a swimmer?”
Section Chief Seo Hye-joo asked with blatant sarcasm.
(…We’re simply requesting an evaluation because the records are too unrealistic.)
“How much did he shave off?”
(In the 10 km marathon where rankings are decided by average 1-second differences, he cut the time by a full hour.)
“…”
She mentally apologized for the federation’s reasonable suspicion.
Still,
‘Something’s off.’
If an athlete is suspected, common sense says to request a doctor with no personal connection to the athlete.
(And there’s a patient we’d specifically like you to examine.)
As expected, there was another motive.
“I’ll introduce you to a good doctor.”
There were plenty of excellent doctors at Elmolance besides her.
Plus, if more work piled up here, forget skin damage—she might die of overwork!
(We need the doctor who treated Choi Kang-min.)
“…”
(Section Chief Seo Hye-joo. The Emperor’s life is in your hands.)
“The Emperor…?”
(Yes.)
“…When does he arrive?”
She had no choice but to cancel her flight.