TGMND 40

First day of swimming. Yeo-woon had to practice floating in a low pool and learn basic breathing techniques at the same time. The swimming instructor, who had scoffed at Yeo-woon’s claim of not being able to float, was taken aback when Yeo-woon’s lower body began sinking. With a flustered expression, the instructor advised Yeo-woon to relax his body completely.

After diligently practicing kicking for thirty minutes while holding onto the pool edge, Yeo-woon realized it was time to leave and sat on the pool floor, lifting his head. He watched people swimming in adjacent lanes.

The swimming instructor was teaching ladies who were practicing kicking with a kickboard, and in the lane next to it, someone Yeo-woon knew was swimming freestyle to the end. Although Yeo-woon didn’t know when he started swimming, the man was quite skilled. At least, that’s how it appeared to Yeo-woon, who knew nothing about swimming.

“Why are you here, oppa? You’re not even children?”

“This area is for children only.”

“Eh. My older sister is in the sixth grade of elementary school and is already in the intermediate class, but this person is an adult and practicing breathing in the children’s pool!”

The elementary school students, who had previously kept their distance and observed from afar, gathered around Yeo-woon, teasing him. When they said, ‘Oh, you’re an adult,’ he responded by saying, ‘Oh, you’re a kid,’ and they seemed to feel a sense of familiarity, exchanging playful banter. The youngest boy among them asked for Yeo-woon’s attention, wanting to demonstrate how to wear a swimming cap. Filling the cap with water, he demonstrated his skill of putting it on while creating a water bomb on his head.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

When Yeo-woon gave a thumbs up, the children looked proud and wiped under his nose. The reactions were so cute that he just laughed.

Then, a splash sounded as the man from the neighboring lane surfaced. He seemed to be alone, taking a slow-motion glance in the neighborhood pool. He wiped his face with his hand from afar and glanced around, looking in Yeo-woon’s direction.

“…”

“…”

The gazes of the two people intertwined in the air. Yeo-woon blinked. Droplets of water fell from the man’s skin. Strangely, their eyes seemed to meet more frequently today. Whenever Yeo-woon lifted his head after practicing breathing underwater, he found the man next door looking at him. Of course, it was only for a moment, and Yeo-woon quickly turned away.

There was a rumbling sound. Just then, the eight o’clock class students were entering the pool one by one. The kids who had been playing together gathered and walked towards the intermediate lane, calling out to their moms and sisters. Seeing some people heading back to the shower rooms, Yeo-woon stood up and walked out of the pool area.

The man who was standing quietly at the end of the lane he was using raised his head. Yeo-woon, realizing his gaze was on him, stopped in front of him and squatted down slightly.

“Why?”

“…”

As Yeo-woon spoke first, the man’s pitch-black eyes flickered faintly. It was amusing to see him flustered after staring intently for so long. Although they had crossed paths several times before, today was the first time they met at the swimming pool. Even wearing casual training clothes, his broad shoulders were noticeable when he took them off. He seemed to be good at swimming too. Had he been exercising for a long time?

“…!”

The man next door suddenly crossed his arms in an X shape in front of his chest and held his forearms tightly. He submerged himself in the water up to his chin and looked up at Yeo-woon. Seeing him quietly staring back, he seemed to have nothing to say. Yeo-woon sat on the edge of the pool and asked.

“How old are you?”

“Oh, um… Why are you suddenly asking about my age?”

“Then when can I ask?”

He seemed ready to retort sharply with “You don’t need to know,” but after hesitating for a while, he muttered softly.

“…Twenty-three.”

“Huh?”

“I’m twenty-three. How about you?”

What’s going on? Why is he answering so obediently? Is he in pain or something?

“I’m four years older.”

“Haha. You’re so old!”

The man smirked and tilted his chin. It seemed like he was deliberately picking a fight.

‘Well, to someone who’s twenty-three, it might feel that way.’

College students often see someone who’s just one year ahead as quite senior. Yeo-woon nodded in understanding at the man’s words. He seemed even more flustered by Yeo-woon’s reaction than Yeo-woon himself.

“Aren’t you going to shower?”

“…Why would I shower with you?!”

The strangely obedient man has now returned to his normal tone. Yeo-woon felt relieved at the guarded expression on his face. He thought there was something wrong with him again…

“I never suggested we shower together….”

“Ha, you’re really funny!”

He took a few steps back, not even bothering to listen to Yeo-woon’s response, and swam away to the other end of the lane. Watching him leave like that, Yeo-woon went to the shower room, washed up, and came out. As Yeo-woon left the pool wearing clothes, the man didn’t follow behind.

「Earth Star: I’ll be a bit late today, go ahead and start without me -_-」

「?Okay」

Walking home alone, Yeo-woon suddenly realized that he hadn’t asked the man next door for his name. He vaguely remembered seeing a name tag on his café uniform, but he couldn’t recall it clearly.

‘I’ll ask for his name next time we meet.’

Two days later, back at the swimming pool, the man next door appeared wearing a full-body swimsuit.

“Why are you wearing a full-body swimsuit when it’s so hot out?”

“Are you an instructor?”

“It’s cold.”

Yeo-woon glanced back. The man who had followed him in was wearing a different swimsuit than the one he wore the other day. It didn’t strike Yeo-woon as particularly odd, but people who were already in the water chatting amongst themselves seemed to find it noteworthy. From what Yeo-woon overheard, wearing a full-body swimsuit in this swimming pool was something instructors did or when it was cold in winter.

‘Cold? It’s almost summer. Strange. Does he feel the cold a lot?’

Yeo-woon tilted his head in confusion. While the water was a bit cold, it was normal for swimming pool water to be like this. Besides, if he had been swimming for as long as someone in the master class, feeling cold from just this…

The man suddenly walked briskly toward Yeo-woon, stopping in front of him and staring intently. He seemed to be in a suddenly good mood. Earlier, when they had met in the locker room, he had quickly turned away without even saying hello after changing his clothes, but now he was exchanging eye greetings first…

‘Is he moody?’

He seemed like a strange person. Yeo-woon nodded and said hello to his neighbor.

“Hello.”

“… I saw you earlier, why are you saying hello again?”

“I couldn’t say hello to you because you suddenly ran away outside. You came in quickly?”

“…”

The man squinted at Yeo-woon, looking down at him. Due to their considerable height difference, there was a slight sense of intimidation. He looked like he might be around more than 180 cm.

Beyond his broad shoulders, Yeo-woon noticed the children’s pool. The elementary swimming instructor hadn’t come out yet to start the warm-up exercises, so Yeo-woon had intended to stay out of the water until then. However, the elementary school kids splashing around in the pool waved and greeted Yeo-woon as if they knew him.

“Oh, it’s the adult again!”

“Hyung. Why didn’t you come yesterday?”

“Hyung, Hyung! I know how to swim very fast. Would you like to see it?”

As Yeo-woon walked past the man, the kids grabbed onto his ankles and urged him to come in quickly. Taken aback, he was dragged into the water until his toes lightly touched the surface, when someone grabbed his wrist firmly and pulled him back.

“Oh!”

“Hey.”

The person who held Yeo-woon’s hand was the man next door. He waited for Yeo-woon to regain his balance and stand properly, then let out a deep sigh.

“If you go into the water without doing warm-up exercises, accidents can happen, you know?”

“… It’s a children’s pool.”

“…It’s the children’s pool.”

“Why are you going there if it’s for kids?”

“It’s shallow…”

“Even if it’s shallow, suddenly going in can startle your body. Don’t you know even these basic things, seriously.”

What on earth did you learn on the first day? He grumbled and pouted his lips. Yeo-woon wondered why this man, who was so cautious around him that he would even avoid him, would worry about something like this. The warmth of his body clung to Yeo-woon’s slightly clenched wrist. Yeo-woon stared at the man and asked quietly.

“Are you worried about me?”

“…Worried? Me? Why would I be.”

He expected as much.

“Never mind then…”

“Did you expect me to worry about you? Geez, you expect too much, seriously.”

As he said that, he threw away Yeo-woon’s wrist. You would thought I worried about you again… Yeo-woon asked, scratching his wrist where his body temperature still remained.

“You mentioned being twenty-three last time.”

“You remembered that too.”

“A college student?”

“What do you care? What if I didn’t go to college? Could you please stop asking such biased questions based on age? It’s annoying.”

“A jobless person…”

“…I’m a college student!”

He answered, frowning dissatisfiedly. Well, if he’s a college student, then he should just say it. Why did he make it so complicated to say?

“What is your name?”

“You don’t have to know.”

“You don’t have to know, is that your name?”

“Oh, come on!”

He didn’t seem to like his name very much. Yeo-woon now felt like he had a rough idea of how to handle the man. He seems to get really annoyed with this kind of wordplay. His reaction seemed like a freshly caught fish, making Yeo-woon want to prod him even more.

“But that brother has a really big pen*s!”

At that moment, the elementary school student who had been eagerly waiting for Yeo-woon to pay attention to him murmured. Both Yeo-woon and the man’s gaze turned to the child. The child, feeling awkward under their gazes, simply lay down and swam away to the other side.

“…”

“…”

Yeo-woon tried not to look, but gradually, his head turned uncontrollably. When Yeo-woon’s gaze reached between the man’s legs, a large palm covered Yeo-woon’s eyes abruptly. Yeo-woon’s shoulders flinched slightly, startled by the suddenness.

“What, what are you looking at.”

“I haven’t seen yet….”

“Haven’t seen yet? Do you want to see?”

He chuckled sarcastically.

“Yes? Will you show me?”

“It’s not like I’ve got a gun pointed at my head, so why should I!”

“…A gun?”

The man pulled his hand away from Yeo-woon’s face as he muttered. After being obscured the entire time, his vision became bright again and he was met with a face glaring at him, lips tightly pressed together.

“Fuck, really.”

Was it an illusion that the nape of the man’s neck and ears turned red even while he was swearing?

The man turned around and started walking as far away from Yeo-woon as possible. The swimming instructor, who was just getting out of the shower room, almost collided with the man who was running away and let out an exclamation, “Oh my gosh.”

“Are you acquainted with that member?”

“He lives next door. We’re not particularly close….”

“Wow. So, you and that member coincidentally met here?”

“Yes. It turns out our schedules coincided.”

“How fascinating! The world seems so small.”

Indeed. The world could feel quite small at times. Even though they were in the same neighborhood, he never expected to run into each other so frequently.

“By any chance, Instructor, do you know that person’s name?”

“Well, I’m not sure about that either…”

The instructor assisted Yeo-woon in stretching, providing a very normal response as expected of a socially adept creature. He directed Yeo-woon to practice kicking against the wall in the children’s pool, and once again, Yeo-woon found himself surrounded by elementary school kids. As children tend to be simple, a quick game of rock-paper-scissors helped Yeo-woon blend in with their rhythm, almost to the point of fainting from exhilaration.

In the end, he couldn’t tell if the man’s thing was really big or if the elementary school student was lying to get his attention. This was because the man deliberately wrapped a long towel around his waist and washed himself in the shower room he went into together.

Anyone who saw it would think it was all about them. Did he really have to go that far? I won’t look. It’s gross. I won’t look… Yeo-woon chuckled nervously as he casually passed by the man, who was covering himself with his body all tensed up.