Chapter 70 – Swimming Emperor (14)
[Chapter 4 – Verse 6] Who Are You?
If another man showed excessive interest in my girlfriend or wife, how would I feel?
‘I’d be furious!’
I’d want to cut his throat. I’m no different.
If anyone had approached Valentine, I would have hanged him in the name of Count Amolang!
‘But this is different.’
In reality, Nam Hae-soo and Park Han-hee are married, but here they’re nothing to each other.
And claiming “she’s mine” while hiding in the shadows? That’s just pathetic.
Emperor of Swimming?
He’s a petty coward who doesn’t deserve the title.
“Wow!”
“…”
“Moon-soo! Look at that! The sea is emerald! So pretty!”
“…It is.”
I’m sick of the ocean now.
“It would be perfect if we could walk that beach just the two of us…”
“Can’t help it.”
Park Han-hee looked a little disappointed from the back seat of the luxury car, escorted like royalty by a police car behind us.
Still, her face had been glowing with excitement ever since we left.
She knew how to enjoy a trip.
‘A trip, huh…’
Does searching rivers and cabins with Valentine for the legendary sword from <I Became the Youngest Daughter of the Count’s Family> count as a trip?
Back then I was so obsessed with finding the sword that I couldn’t relax and enjoy it.
“Athlete Kang Moon-soo.”
“Yes.”
The bodyguard driver glanced at me through the rear-view mirror.
“Be careful.”
“Is there another playground boss jealous of me?”
“Just be careful.”
“I will.”
I smiled back at the eyes in the mirror.
‘Well, well.’
I can’t drive at all, so we were planning to take public transport, but the moment the government heard about our trip, they lent us this car and attached a “driver/bodyguard.”
The problem Is the car itself.
Can I be sure there are no bugs?
Proof: the driver only repeats the cliché “be careful.”
And his eyes.
He’s clearly conscious of an unseen watcher.
“Han-hee.”
“Hm?”
“Let’s have fun.”
“Of course!”
This trip was going to be far more entertaining than I expected.
***
According to government quarantine rules, crowded places were off-limits even for “free travel.”
Beach, amusement park, public pool…
We finally made time for a trip, only to be told we can’t leave the hotel.
‘Still, better play it safe.’
I didn’t want to miss the Olympics through carelessness and get cursed out, so I obeyed.
More importantly,
“This is ridiculous! Locked inside the hotel?!”
“The Olympics are close. No choice.”
“I know, but…!”
Park Han-hee bit her lip in frustration.
‘This is deliberate.’
Telling us to stay inside the hotel because of the virus is excessive interference.
This isn’t a trip—it’s house arrest.
But I went along with it.
Because this is exactly the scenario the man who lost his future wife wanted.
“The room is amazing.”
“Wow! There’s an outdoor pool too!”
“It’s an open-air bath.”
“Ah! First time seeing one.”
“They tried to make up for trapping us inside.”
“Looks like it!”
The real world’s top suite.
Private cinema, open-air bath, billiards table, gaming PC, king-size bed the size of a small room, huge bathtub…
The price was astronomical, but thanks to government support I only paid 10%.
“Hmm~”
Park Han-hee hummed happily as she explored every corner of the suite.
I watched her and smiled faintly.
‘Come.’
Nam Hae-soo.
I’ve set the stage perfectly.
Now it’s your turn to move.
I naturally scanned every corner of the suite.
‘Of course I can’t find anything…’
I suspected hidden cameras or bugs somewhere, but an amateur like me had no way to locate them.
Or maybe there really weren’t any.
I might just be overly sensitive because of the bodyguard’s warning.
“Moon-soo! Come here quick! The view is insane!”
“…It really is.”
The hazy sky and sea polluted by fossil fuels in the old era.
In the modern age, where only ideal politicians exist, global cooperation and effort had restored Earth’s environment.
Non-polluting fuels, poaching bans, space development, water purification, eco-friendly power plants…
So no matter where you went, the scenery was guaranteed to be more beautiful than in the old days.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, Moon-soo, I get to enjoy this luxury.”
“Don’t mention it. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have come either. What’s a guy supposed to do alone?”
“T-that’s true…!”
Whoosh~
Park Han-hee’s face turned bright red and she whipped her head toward the window.
“Han-hee, mind if I shower first?”
“Sh-shower?! Why?!”
“We came from outside, even if it was just the car.”
“…Oh! Right! Yeah! Go ahead! I’ll go after!”
“Thanks.”
I stripped immediately and walked into the bathroom.
‘Are you listening carefully?’
Let’s test the patience of the man hiding behind power.
***
Ring~♪
My phone rang just as I stepped out of the shower, roughly dried off.
An unknown number.
My number had been spread everywhere after they ransacked the athletes’ village, so it wasn’t exactly top secret.
‘But right now?’
Every single person in the village knew I was on this trip.
Even random civilians could find out through the journalists obsessed with my private life.
They might not know exactly where, but they knew I was traveling.
“Not gonna pick up?”
Park Han-hee asked, looking at me in just underwear with a towel over my shoulders.
“I’m on vacation.”
“It could be important…”
“If it’s really important, they’ll come to the hotel.”
“That how it works?”
“That’s exactly how it works.”
“I envy that about you. I get stiff all over whenever Coach calls.”
“Because she scolds you?”
“No… she just always sounds disappointed.”
“Hmm…”
Her results weren’t Olympic-level yet. And her aptitude isn’t “track athlete” either.
But it’s not hopeless.
She just graduated high school, where she spent far more time at a desk than running.
She’s basically taking her first real steps as an athlete.
If she diligently builds strength and flexibility that she neglected for studies, she could become an excellent athlete in four years.
I believe that.
“So lately I keep thinking… do I even deserve to be Kang Moon-soo’s girlfriend?”
“I think that depends entirely on Kang Moon-soo’s taste.”
“What is it?”
“…Definitely not an Olympic national athlete.”
“Anything else?”
“I’d prefer my girlfriend not to be in debt.”
“That’s not taste.”
Park Han-hee gave me an utterly exasperated look.
I know, but seeing her gloomy face brighten up made it a success, right?
And the topic wasn’t exactly in my favor!
“Aren’t you gonna shower?”
“I’ll shower after I hear your taste.”
“…”
“Spill it.”
“Hmm… then let’s hear Miss Park Han-hee’s taste in men first.”
“M-me?!”
“You go first.”
I thought it was strange the moment I heard Nam Hae-soo rejected someone at the cram school.
How could the Emperor of Swimming not know his own wife’s type?
There had to be a reason Park Han-hee accepted his confession and married him.
Looks, ability, personality…
Yet he confidently asked her out and got shot down hard.
“You got me there.”
“If it’s a secret, never mind.”
“No, I’ll tell you. Because I really want to know yours.”
“O-okay.”
I felt cornered.
“I… um… it’s embarrassing to say all of a sudden!”
“You don’t have to—”
“No! I’m saying it!”
She took a deep breath, cheeks burning.
“I like… guys who are a little dense… but actually really considerate… and strong… and cool when they fight… and… and…”
Her voice got smaller and smaller until it was almost a mosquito whine.
Then she suddenly shouted,
“And someone who makes my heart race just by existing!”
Silence.
Park Han-hee covered her face with both hands, steam practically rising from her head.
I quietly turned around, picked up the hotel phone, and dialed room service.
“Hello, yes. Could you send up one fire extinguisher? There’s someone on fire in the room.”
“MOON-SOO!!!”
The trip had only just begun, and the bait was already perfectly set.
Now.
Come, Nam Hae-soo.
Show me what the Emperor of Swimming is really made of.
“I’m telling you.”
“…”
“I don’t know how to explain it properly, but… I think I’m drawn to guys with a mysterious aura.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Usually, just from the way a guy talks or looks at me, I can tell why he likes me.”
“Hm.”
Probably because she’s always been pretty and popular with guys since she was little.
She starts with the assumption that every man likes her.
“But with you… I can’t tell.”
“With me?”
“You’re definitely interested, but you never try to dig into who I really am. Normally, when that happens, it’s just a wolf who only saw my face…”
“I’m a wolf too.”
Song Sun-young and Valentine are proof, even if it was brief.
“But for a wolf, you barely look at my body. Chest, hips, legs… nothing.”
“I look politely, in secret.”
“And you never try anything sleazy.”
“I held your hand.”
“Listen here, Mr. Kang Moon-soo. I’m way past the age where holding hands makes me go ‘kyaa~’.”
“Cough!”
Of course. I’m only using her to find Nam Hae-soo.
‘I know.’
I’m a really bad guy.
“…But it’s okay. I decided to understand. It’s because you can’t forget your ex, right? I can wait until then. But I won’t forgive flirting with other girls.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I don’t plan on becoming total trash either.
“Now your turn.”
“Wait! That wasn’t a proper answer! Are you saying any guy who’s not interested in you is fine?”
“Confidence.”
“Confidence?”
“Yeah. Looks and ability matter, I won’t lie, but the most important thing is confidence.”
“Why?”
“I’m not attracted to timid guys. Oh, but not arrogance. I hate fake bravado.”
“Ah!”
Now I really don’t understand why Nam Hae-soo got rejected.
“Satisfied? Your turn!”
“Ugh…”
“What’s your type?”
Park Han-hee stared at me with eyes burning with determination—she was not letting this go.
I looked up at the ceiling and answered slowly.
“A woman who teaches me.”
“What?”
“I’m attracted to women who are professionals at something I can’t do and teach me.”
“…A teacher?”
“Except office workers.”
Song Sun-young, a former national swimmer whose aptitude is swimmer, taught me swimming.
Valentine, who overcame physical disadvantages to become a master swordswoman, taught me swordsmanship.
“Appearance?”
“Wolf.”
“Details.”
“I’m exercising my right to remain silent. I don’t want to be canceled.”
“I’ll keep it secret.”
“Still no.”
I absolutely cannot say it here, where bugs might be hidden.
“…Then just answer this one thing.”
“Shoot.”
“Between your ex and me… who’s prettier?”
“…Similar.”
“Similar means your ex is prettier.”
“…”
“I’m going to shower now! And don’t peek. I’m not pretty anyway!”
Hurt, Park Han-hee grabbed a towel and stormed into the bathroom.
Click!
The sound of the lock was thunderously loud.
“She’s sulking.”
Rrring~♬
Right then, my phone rang again.
Same number.
“Molang?”
“Why aren’t I picking up?”
My friend, who had been staying perfectly still like a hat so Park Han-hee wouldn’t notice, let out a quiet molang from the bed.
“I want to see his face.”
“Molang molang.”
“Not him? Did I guess wrong?”
“Molaang~”
When I kept ignoring the call, the phone finally went silent.
‘We’ve reached the exact situation I planned…
Now, how will Nam Hae-soo move?’
With nothing else to do, I stood by the window in just underwear and a hotel bathrobe, admiring the view.
A sky hazy with fine dust.
An ocean tainted by radiation.
And, out of nowhere, a helicopter.
“…A helicopter?”
At first I thought it was mountain rescue, but it wasn’t moving—just hovering.
Filming something?
I was about to shrug it off when—
“MOLANG!”
Flinch!
My body reacted before my brain.
‘Please…!’
I rolled across the floor and hid behind the wall where the helicopter couldn’t see me.
Pak!
A nail-sized hole had appeared in the window that had been perfectly fine a second ago.
“…”
“Molang?”
“…I’m fine. Thank you. You just saved my life.”
“Molaang~”
The helicopter, having completely lost sight of me, fled like it was running away.
‘A sniper!’
Cold sweat poured down my forehead at how close I’d come to dying for nothing.
“Moon-soo! What was that noise?!”
Park Han-hee called from the shower.
“…It’s not nothing, but you can finish washing slowly.”
“What does that even mean? Wait—I’ll be right out!”
“Hm…”
I had to rethink everything.
Nam Hae-soo.
Just how big had this guy become to pull something this insane?
Gangsters, a helicopter, a sniper…
This was happening in a Korea so safe that women could walk the streets freely even in the dead of night.
‘Does he think he’s a god now?’
He’s nothing more than a weak human drunk on a sweet dream.
And very soon,
“I’ll make him realize that.”
“Moon-soo, what are you making someone realize… Why is the window like that?!”
“A bug came in.”
“A b-bug?! What kind of bug breaks a window?! We have to call the police right now…!”
“Wait. No need to report it—”
Ding-dong!
The suite doorbell rang.
“Police! Athlete Kang Moon-soo, open the door!”
How did they know something happened?
The stench of conspiracy was overwhelming.
“Huh?”
“Han-hee. Start recording video on your phone right now.”
“You already called the police?”
“As if.”
“…”
Park Han-hee, sensing something wrong, raised her phone.
“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m opening it.”
From this moment on, it’s a battle for public opinion—with my life on the line.
I pulled the door open wide.
Four men in police uniforms stood there, hands inside their jackets.
Their eyes were ice-cold.
The moment our gazes met, I smiled brightly and spoke first.
“Wow, you guys are fast. The bullet barely missed me ten seconds ago.”
And behind me, Park Han-hee’s phone camera was already rolling.
The real game begins now, Nam Hae-soo.