Tiêu đề DASH - 03 ✅

DASH * Chapter 3 That kid was always alone. It wasn’t just the kid. Jiheon was alone, too. There were eight lanes in the 50-meter pool of the municipal sports center’s second floor, which was quite unusual in Korea, but seven of them were always empty. It might be full at other times. No, surely it would. Except for individual training sessions, it was usually filled with group lessons or grade training.
But during Jiheon’s training, it was empty from 4 PM to 6 PM on weekdays. There was only one person in the large pool. Jiheon’s coach had been next to him while he was preparing for the competition, but as the rehabilitation was prolonged and his own season’s skip was decided, it became harder to see his face. In contrast, the kid swimming in the pool was in a different situation. Unlike Jiheon, who was nearing the end of his career, the kid was just starting out, and his coach was filled with enthusiasm. Yet, the coach had a tendency to drink excessively and would often miss training sessions due to hangovers. Consequently, while the coach slept in the lounge, the kid would swim alone several times around the 50-meter pool. Jiheon often saw that kid swimming alone. He didn’t mean to observe him. There was a day when physical therapy ended quickly and he arrived at the swimming pool early. At that time, Jiheon changed into his swimsuit in advance and sat on the poolside bench waiting for the training to start, but he was forced to see the kid swimming. Despite having the option to look away, Jiheon chose not to. The kid's swimming abilities were impressive—excellent stroke and amazing speed. It was astonishing to witness such skill from a fifth-grader, even more so considering the kid's height of over 170 cm. Jiheon began to understand why the swimming center had been abuzz with excitement upon the arrival of this prodigious talent. It also became clear why Coach Lim had suggested individual training for the kid. Nevertheless, Jiheon sometimes felt part of his mind sink down when he watched the kid wandering in the pool alone. Especially that day. He didn’t know why, but the swimming pool felt unusually vast that day. And it was so quiet. The sound of the kid cutting the current was heard nonstop, but it was too much to fill the large space. Rather, it echoed more emptily as it was wide. So Jiheon waited for the kid to complete the 400m freestyle and talked to him on purpose.

Sunlight poured in through the few windows as the sun went down in the afternoon, and it was reflected on the surface of the water. In the middle of the large swimming pool, Jiheon murmured quietly as he saw the still flickering light. — But sometimes I feel lonely. * Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep. The repetitive mechanical sound jolted Jiheon awake, causing him to open his eyes. His immediate instinct was to locate his cell phone upon rising from bed. After silencing the alarm, a distant sound from the living room seeped in through the partially ajar door. ‘Oh god.’