The fans of the RF Sharks are all celebrating and throwing water and their various drinks onto my in the middle. Thankfully, I was still in my swimsuit so it wasn't too bad.
I do have a theory that the girl fans and the girls from the RF Mantas, the female middle school swim team, made this up.
They wanted to make my swimsuit even more wet with some sticky juices so it would stick to my chest and stomach more.
...but! That's just a theory. A swimming theory.
While cheering and smiling along with the rest of the people, I was starting to feel a bit disgusting with all the orange juice, apple juice and other juices poured on me.
I slip out of the celebrate and replace myself with some first year swimmer from the RF Sharks. I do have to apologize, but I won't. I'm their senior and this is their job!
They take whatever I give them and they do it with a smile! It's the unwritten rule of not just swimming, but most sports.
If you are the rookie or the youngster team member, be ready for some hazing. I'm not sure if this is the same for the women's team, but I'd assume it's more mental than physical punishment.
Girls are just ruthless like that. Men will beat you black and blue, but girls would make fun of you until you wish you were beaten instead of this torture.
Once I reached the showers, it was completely empty with myself being the only person in the bathroom. It was eerily quiet, but still peaceful.
The calm sound of the shower running and hitting my body while the muffled cheers are going on outside contrasts and fits together like music. It felt like I achieved something.
At first in the district tournament, it felt like I was just swimming and swimming to win, and yeah, I was swimming to win.
It felt great having 3-4 medals on my neck weighing me down, but it still felt empty. Like the tournament lacked substance.
However, moving to the national tournament felt...bigger. It felt like whenever I won, I wasn't winning for myself, but I was winning for my team and my coach.
Like I was winning for So-young, A-yeong, Jung, mom, dad and everyone else in my life. It feels much more rewarding when you are winning for someone else.
I unknowingly let out a satisfied smile on my face as the water drips down my face and some tears of joy fall as well.
'...I really made it, huh? I guess I'll have to thank you, Feelie, no?'
[damn right. Great swim though]
I remember to check my status and I add some more stats onto all of my status categories and now, I'm very clear from my debt scare.
'Hmmmm...Feelie, status'
—————————
Name: Kim Min-chul
Age: 15
Titles:
Cutest Meat Shield (Charm x1%)
Little Snitch (Charm -10%, Social Skills -5%)
Sailor! (Charm x20%, Social Skills x5%) [IN USE]
Pirate (Charm x10%, Social Skills x5%)
HP: 48/48
STR: 75+31 (LOCKED) RES: 75+15 (LOCKED)
SPD: 75+17 (LOCKED) STAMI: 75+15 (LOCKED)
INT: 125+4
₲Coins: ₲23,950 (TAX 25% OF EARNINGS)
———Gear———
Head: Slightly Larger Brain ┃ INT +4 ┃ Charm x2%
Torso: Steel Cast Abs ┃ (Steel Set) COMPLETE +2 ALL STATS┃ STR +11 RES +9 ┃ Charm x12%
Arms: Steel Molded Arms ┃ (Steel Set) COMPLETE +2 ALL STATS┃ STR +14 ┃ Push x22% ┃ Pull x22%
Legs: Steel Made Thighs ┃ (Steel Set) COMPLETE +2 ALL STATS┃ SPD +11 STAMI +9 ┃ Kicking Power x10%
—————————
Due to the tax on my earnings, the ₲20,000 coins I was supposed to get from winning gold in the 100 meter and the 200 meter were sliced by 25%.
With that, minus the cost of buying the stats, I got a bit less than I won.
However, it was still enough and more than I could ever want. I won't ever not accept any free money.
It's like winning the lottery and getting angry that the government took 30%. I mean, one billion won minus 30% is still 700 million won. Not that bad if I say so myself.
Feeling satisfied with my earnings today and the total haul of these past few days, I walk out of the shower without my shirt and a towel over my shoulder.
Even though this is the men's bathroom, I still don't feel right taking my swimming trunks off during showers and in the changing room.
It just is embarrassing, no matter what happens. Even if there isn't any comparing, it's embarrassing to see other men glance dow at my crotch. They are checking me out, but it isn't what you think!
It's more of a "hey, decent size" rather than "may we sleep together?" Nothing is suspicious about this, nothing at all. But I'm still not comfortable going commando.
When I entered into the changing rooms, there were some swimmers from the other schools that were chatting and laughing.
They were the competitors of the 400 meter medley and possibly other races. Despite this friendly atmosphere, they go berserk during the competition.
All of them stop their talking momentarily and stare right at me like I'm a deity. Their eyes were full of awe and shock about what just transpired recently. They understand that my 200 meter time was most likely some sort of world record.
If not the fastest amongst all of earth, the fastest for U-18 or U-21. It's a completely shameful time for the rest of the competitors that make them feel hopeless.
"What? Like my abs?"
"...pftt!"
"Hahaha! Shut up, Min-chul, damn!"
"Boooo! Narcissistic asshole!"
The joking atmosphere suddenly returns and they continue talking and joking around while occasionally including me. I quickly return outside with my full outfit this time.
I was wearing a striped t-shirt, grey shorts and crocs. It isn't the most appealing fit nor was it the best looking choice of clothing, but I didn't care about that.
I wasn't here to dress-up, I was here to win and win I did. I was comfy in my shorts and crocs and while I was all airy and comfy, the rest of the swimmers were tight up, trying to show their body shape to the sponsors.
As I was leaving the stadium, I was interrupted by the two people from JW Sports as they were anxiously looking around for me.
"Umm, excuse me! Kim Min-chul sshi?"
"Yes? That's me. Is there something you want?"
This is the first step when meeting a sponsor who you know wants you badly. This is my situation.
You need to act a bit coy and ask why they are there. If you scheduled the meeting with the sponsor deal in mind, then this is just disrespectful.
This is for when they ask you abruptly or have an impromptu meeting. When you ask them and they answer, you act surprised and politely follow them.
This puts you in a better position in their mind, being polite while being a good candidate for their business. The first step also makes it feel like they are want you more than you don't want them.
"We'd like to schedule a meeting with you sometime in the near future"
'Well, that's the first step out the window'
I feel a bit dejected that the first step won't work for now, but this is still good for me. Now, I can act polite and they'll get a good view of my character.
"Oh, that's great! How does tomorrow after the medley sound?"
"That would be around 4:30 p.m right? Just let me check a bit~.....aaandddd, it seems free!"
"Then, I'll be meeting you by the exit and we'll go to a cafe to discuss more"
"Then, that's great. Have a good day"
Both of them bow their heads lightly and leave. After watching them leave, the slight smile on my face gets replaced by a toothy grin.
'Wow. They approached me? It seemed like the most likely thing to happen though, seeing my performance this race'
I feel very proud with myself being appreciated by some sponsors. It's a milestone that I would cherish for a long, long time.
Little did Min-chul, or JW Sports for that matter, know, he was about to be their golden boy. Even more golden than their veteran, Won-shik. It's the Min-chul Magic baby~.
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(A.N) yo! Another chapter for you beautiful and handsome readers and I hope you had a wonderful day today and that tomorrow will be even better! I also hope you enjoyed this chapter today!
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