Mr Mermaid | LK Adaptation

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

This Asian Games was Jungkook's first major competitive event. Before this, he had never even participated in the National Games. Even though his time in the 50-metre free was also very good, he still wasn't completely matchless in Asia. Furthermore, taking into consideration the fact that he was a rookie to major competitions and rookies tended to perform erratically, the local media did not dare to expect too much from Jungkook's 50-metre free. It would be great if he could obtain the gold, but he could not be faulted even if he did not manage to do so. It was fine as long as he made his way onto the podium.

That said, Jungkook's results in the preliminaries was surprisingly very good, ranking first, holding a lead of near 0.1 seconds over Japan's Yuda Matsushima as they headed into the finals.

And so many people began to hold new hopes for this grand battle of the flying fish.

Lisa was looking through the pictures she had taken one by one, and when she saw the one of Jungkook looking up towards the digital screen after he reached the finish line, she suddenly felt a little melancholic. She had personally witnessed his journey over the past year making his way to where he was now. A year ago, he was a relative unknown, being besieged and interrogated by the media, pushed into the teeth of public opinion, unbelievably domineering within the water... no matter what he faced or what he experienced, he was always calm and composed, taking steady steps towards his goal. He had never been disturbed by the chaos and clutter of the outside world.

He would not overstretch himself for public approval, and neither would he become demotivated under public censure.

That was him, the Jungkook she knew.

Watching him grow into the high-profile rookie he was today, Lisa was simultaneously proud of him and yet, she also felt slightly sour. This man... would eventually become a radiant star of sports. He would gain many, many fans, and he would be chased by many, many reporters for interviews. At that time, would the distance between them just grow wider and wider?

Would it grow so much that they would return back to where they started?

At the thought, Lisa felt rather frustrated.

The finals were all scheduled to be after 6pm; the afternoon period before that was break time for the athletes. Lisa was hanging out at the temporary office of Sports Weekly in the media area for the event. She was sorting through her images and materials, and drafting her manuscripts as she waited for the finals to begin.

Bambam suddenly called her out of the office, his expression shifty and mysterious — who knows what was going on? No matter what, it definitely wouldn't be anything official.

Lisa followed him out and the two of them came to a secluded corner. Bambam then took out a long rectangular velvet box and handed it to Lisa. "Lisa, happy birthday."

Lisa's mouth fell open. She only just realised herself that it was her birthday today. Usually, she would never have forgotten her birthday, because the National Day holiday was on October 1 and her birthday was the very next day. However, this time, due to the Asian Games, she had been so busy that her head was spinning, so all thoughts of holidays or birthdays had been shuffled to the back of her mind.

She was surprised Bambam remembered.

Lisa was rather touched. She accepted the velvet box. "Thank you."

"Why so polite? You're my boss! Open it and see if you like it."

"Ok." Lisa nodded and opened the box. She saw a blue gemstone pendant laying inside — it was the one she had liked when she had been window shopping with Bambam but yet could not convince herself to buy. She was a little torn. "This is too expensive. I can't accept this."