Chapter 69 – Swimming Emperor (13)
Every person is different. Absolute equality is impossible.
Talent, sex, constitution, intelligence…
Humans aren’t mass-produced parts from a factory.
Yet far too many forget this obvious truth.
“Kill him…!”
“Die!”
An athlete’s body is practically a mutant; the very “class” is different.
Muscle fibers, bone density, skeletal structure, reflexes…
Of course, the superior areas vary by sport, but in every aspect they surpass the average person.
I’m no exception.
Whoosh.
“Huh—? Argh?!”
I easily dodged the iron pipe and drove a taekwondo kick upward into the guy’s wrist.
Grab.
The pipe was now mine.
A little disappointing it wasn’t a blade, but against unarmored civilians it was more than enough.
‘You want to kill me?’
I don’t know how many people these guys have killed,
But they couldn’t have killed as many as I have.
I’ll teach them what it really means to kill someone.
Shaaaa—
My killing intent spread in all directions.
Master Gomushin warned me not to rely on it, but could these conscript-level thugs block it?
“What…?”
“What is this…?”
The men who had been charging with pipes raised froze.
Survival instinct.
Their bodies were rejecting their brains’ orders, screaming that attacking me meant death.
“A-Attack!”
“He’s just a kid!”
“No need to be scared!”
But they suppressed instinct with numbers and charged again, swinging their pipes…
“Too slow.”
Snap!
I aimed only for limbs, not vital points.
Crack!
“Gyaah?!”
“Agh! My arm—?!”
“Guh! My leg…!”
If I swung freely, even the second-hardest part of the human body—the skull—would shatter in one hit.
Instant death.
“Devil!”
“He’s a monster!”
“Ughhh…!”
It took less than a minute to drop them all.
Cat and mouse?
Some tried to run, but I caught them instantly and shattered their legs.
“I can’t kill them… maybe pop one eyeball each?”
“Eek?!”
“Spare me!”
“We’re sorry!”
They realized my mutter wasn’t a bluff but genuine intent.
Without exception, they begged for mercy.
“Too annoying. I’ll just cripple their legs—”
Beeeep—
Whistles sounded from behind as bodyguards and police swarmed in.
“Good heavens…”
“What on earth…?”
“My God…”
They were speechless at the bloodied men sprawled everywhere.
Fling~
I casually tossed the blood-soaked pipe aside and said,
“You’re late. I died about fifty times before you showed up.”
“…”
“…”
No one could argue.
“I was going to leisurely investigate whose orders—”
“Athlete Kang Moon-soo. We’ll take it from here.”
The man who seemed to be in charge stepped forward and said something strange.
“From here? I don’t recall dividing duties with you.”
“All matters concerning your protection fall under our jurisdiction.”
“What exactly did you protect?”
“…We are in the process.”
“What process? I subdued them, and you just arrived.”
“We’ll treat the injured—”
“Treat them? They came to kill me.”
I cut him off coldly.
“And you’re going to treat the guys who tried to murder a national athlete?”
“That’s not—”
“Then arrest them. Right now.”
The man shut his mouth.
The police behind him were already handcuffing the groaning thugs.
I looked down at the leader crawling on the ground and asked,
“Who sent you?”
“…”
He turned his head away.
Fine.
I lifted my foot and slowly pressed it down on his unbroken arm.
Crack.
“Aaaargh!”
“I asked who sent you.”
“I-I can’t say…!”
Crack.
The other arm.
“Gyaahhh!”
“Last chance.”
“…It was… an anonymous request… through the dark web…!”
“Details.”
“That’s really all…! They just said to make sure Kang Moon-soo can’t compete in the Olympics…!”
I removed my foot.
As expected.
Someone terrified of me sweeping all the gold medals.
And there was only one person in this dream world who would be that afraid.
Nam Hae-soo.
I looked toward the distant stands where spectators had begun to gather.
He was surely watching from somewhere.
‘Did you see that?’
This is the difference between you and me.
I smiled faintly and muttered to the air.
“Next time, come yourself.”
Because the warm-up is over.
“As you can see, you’re not injured at all.”
The flustered head of security spouted even more nonsense.
“You made contact with them. You could be infected.”
“…Ha?”
“We need to quarantine you immediately and move you to a safe location.”
“And if I refuse?”
“If you catch the virus and can’t compete in the Olympics…”
“Ha! So the virus is a national crisis, but getting beaten to death with iron pipes is fine?”
“That’s not what I meant, Athlete Kang Moon-soo.”
The man’s face twisted in displeasure.
‘This bastard…’
I picked up a fallen iron pipe and warned him.
“Stop right there. Don’t touch them. I caught them, and I’m the one who’ll interrogate them.”
“This is overstepping your authority.”
“You failed to protect me. You don’t get to talk.”
“The roads were bad; we had no choice. And you’re unharmed, aren’t you? Stop being unreasonable.”
“Unreasonable…? Fine. Then I’m suffering extreme mental trauma. I’m not competing until someone here loses their uniform.”
“Wha—?!”
His eyes nearly popped out.
“You think I won’t?”
“…Please don’t do this.”
His voice turned servile as he realized how bad the situation was for him.
“I think you’re an accomplice.”
“That’s a misunderstanding.”
“You deliberately arrived late. You only tracked my movements like stalkers. The moment something happened—zero bodyguards.”
“We went to call for reinforcements.”
“Reinforcements? One gun would’ve ended this. You didn’t need an army.”
“We didn’t know the situation.”
“So you show up after the person you’re supposed to protect is dead?”
“You’re safe.”
“Speak properly. It’s not because of your protection that I’m safe. Hey! Don’t take them away yet!”
I shouted at the police who were quietly loading the handcuffed thugs into patrol cars.
“Athlete Kang Moon-soo, this is clear obstruction of justice.”
“Report me. I’ll tell the court I almost died because of you and now have PTSD.”
“Why are you doing this to me?!”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Talking to this wronged-looking man was pointless.
“I’m only doing my job.”
“And you failed at it.”
“Everyone makes mistakes.”
“Asking for a second chance after almost getting someone killed is the real unreasonable thing.”
“You didn’t die!”
“I’m losing my mind.”
I started doubting whether I was even talking to a human.
“What do you want?”
“You to stay out of my way.”
“We’ll inform you as soon as the investigation is complete.”
“Just stand there quietly. I’m handling the investigation.”
“I’ve told you multiple times that you can’t—!”
I ignored the man who seemed incapable of understanding human language and walked past him.
“Hey.”
“Eek?!”
I approached the thug being loaded into the ambulance, relief on his face.
“Who ordered you?”
“I-I don’t know anything! I just did what big bro told me to!”
“Where’s that big bro? What’s his name?”
Grab.
The security chief put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
“You can’t do this.”
“…Last warning. Interfere one more time and your life is over.”
“That kind of threat…!”
“If you’re not an accomplice, shut up and watch.”
“Athlete Kang Moon-soo! Please stop this! You’re putting me in a terrible position!”
Thud.
The once-arrogant man dropped all pretense and fell to his knees.
I ignored him cleanly.
“Answer.”
“Big bro’s name… I can’t say.”
“You think that big bro will protect you? Without cameras around, he could kill a nobody like you anytime.”
“…”
“…Speak. Unless you want to lose the arms your parents gave you forever.”
“Eek?! I-I’ll talk!”
“Good choice.”
Let’s go meet the person who wants me dead.
‘Another country? A jealous athlete? Or…’
Nam Hae-soo?
I was extremely curious.
***
Modern Earth’s criminal investigations proceed with terrifying speed…
When the prosecutor or detective decides it’s a crime.
No superior’s approval, no complicated procedures—just pure, unilateral action.
Why is that possible?
Absolute trust in “aptitude.”
Only those who would never succumb to bribes or power can become detectives or prosecutors.
But the old era… well, it can’t help itself.
In an age that distrusts government and politicians, corruption is prevented through mutual checks and surveillance.
The famous separation of powers!
Legislative, judicial, executive—three independent branches bound in a rock-paper-scissors relationship.
At least on the surface.
“I don’t like it.”
Rock beats scissors, but what if the rock takes a bribe and lets scissors win?
Or if rock threatens scissors into throwing paper?
That’s old-era politics.
“Moon-soo… are you okay?”
Park Han-hee looked at me anxiously as I scrolled through the news on my phone.
“Not even a little.”
The “big brother” who ordered the attack on me was arrested five whole days later and brought to court.
And that was it.
<Jealous of Athlete Kang Moon-soo…>
<Mentally unstable…>
<Admitted guilt and is reflecting…>
With a fancy human-rights lawyer, he claimed to be a psychiatric patient asking for leniency and tried to wrap the whole thing up as a lone-wolf crime.
Does that even make sense?
Unbelievably, the court was buying it.
“Your face is bright red.”
“I’m burning up.”
“Don’t tell me… you caught it…?”
“No. I’m furious.”
If this were the world of <I Became the Youngest Daughter of the Count’s Family>,
He’d be in the torture chamber confessing everything within half a day.
‘The human rights of a murderer?’
Why protect the rights of someone who trampled an innocent person’s rights?
It made no sense to me.
‘Cutting off the lizard’s tail.’
A gangster who runs an adult playground got jealous of an athlete and tried to kill him?
Even a passing slime would laugh.
“Molang~”
“…Yeah. I know.”
Government officials were busy passing the blame around, trying to bury the case as fast as possible.
Why?
Rock-paper-scissors.
Someone was blocking a fair investigation.
And that someone had to be a person in power.
In this country, there was only one person with power who hated me enough to want me dead.
Nam Hae-soo.
I recalled the warning note he had slipped under my door.
“Athlete Kang Moon-soo. You are being deceived by Park Han-hee. Ignore my warning and you will regret it.”
Regret.
A meaningful word.
Until now I thought it meant Park Han-hee would betray me.
But what if betrayal wasn’t the issue?
“Why?”
“Because you’re pretty.”
“S-suddenly saying that…!”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize! And say stuff like that more often. Surprise attacks are bad for my heart.”
“Hmm…”
Park Han-hee was blatantly showing, from her expression to her lines, that she liked me.
It started around the same time Nam Hae-soo began paying attention to me.
‘Is the Olympics pointless now?’
No.
If I hadn’t cared about the Olympics, I would never have met the “Nam Hae-soo’s wife” who dreamed of being a track athlete.
And even if I had, she wouldn’t be throwing this kind of affection at me.
“Han-hee.”
“Yeah?”
“For a change of mood… want to go on a trip, just the two of us?”
“Just us?!”
“If you don’t want to, fine.”
“Of course I want to! But… can we even go?”
Her cheeks flushed; she seemed worried about the virus.
“I’m going to a resort to treat my mental health. Who’s going to stop me?”
“Ah!”
“So? Think about a nice, leisurely 2-night, 3-day trip.”
“2 nights, 3 days?!”
“What, too long?”
“No, long is good… but… does that mean we share a room?”
“Naturally.”
That’s the whole point of this trip.
“Ummm…”
“If you don’t want to, fine.”
“You oblivious idiot! Give a girl time to pretend she’s thinking about it!”
“Do you need that time?”
“Yes!”
Let’s see if Nam Hae-soo can cut off his tail again this time.
‘You’re targeting my life?’
There is no happy ending in this dream.