Love, Betray & Crash (Jeonghan)

𝔸𝕔𝕥 𝕆𝕟𝕖: 𝕊𝕔𝕖𝕟𝕖 𝟙𝟟

It was right after lunch when Emily realized what Coach Shin and Yejune were probably discussing and why Coach Shin warned her to be on her best behavior. 

Emily received an email from the Ministry of Sports and upon opening the email, she found the names of the three swimmer that have been selected to represent Korea in the upcoming East Asian International Swimming Competition. 

Yoo Minseo 

Kim Eunmi 

Cho Yerin 

She wasn't sure how to react or even think for a few minutes at first. All she could think was how pissed Yejune probably is right now. 

Emily took one more glance at the email to make sure she read the contents correctly. 

Great. 

Minseo Unnie is an obvious choice since she is the best swimmer they have in Korea right now and especially excels at long distance swimming. 

Yerin, though just turned eighteen, is the strongest swimmer in the butterfly category currently and is also very good at the backstroke. They clearly are trying to make the most of her international senior debut this year. And then there is Emily. Its no brainer to her that the only reason her name is written down on that list is because of her rather successful performance at the collegiate events these past few days. 

Otherwise, it was no secret that Yejune was going to go. And now Emily has replaced her. 

Boy, was Yejune going to be upset. 

Emily sighed and put her phone away. Frankly, she could care less for Yejune's feelings. If anything, Emily truly believes she earned her position on that list. She had been taught from a young age that nothing in this world is free and that you have to work hard for anything you earn. 

And she has done exactly that. 

Emily got up and put on her swimming cap. She wasn't alone in the changing room but Yejune wasn't here either, for which Emily is grateful for. As much as she doesn't care about Yejune's feelings, she certainly doesn't need Yejune to come and create a scene right before the match. 

Much to her delight, Yejune made her appearance just moments before they had to head out to the pool, not leaving them any time to interact. 

By now Emily was used to the image that laid out in front of her every time she went to compete. She knew her friends are watching but did not try to search for them as it would add to the pressure. In fact, she did not look up even once to the crowd because she knows that once she sees familiar faces, she'll start feeling nervous. 

Joo-hyuck must probably be there too, right? 

She walked up to the lane that is assigned to her and took her position to dive in. This part is always the worst. The pin drop silence that surrounds the area while everyone holds their breath waiting for the referee to blow the whistle. Emily has always thought this particular part of the routine feels like a hundred years. 

When the whistle finally blew and Emily dived under the blue, crystal water, her nerves disappeared and she finally felt at home. As odd as it sounds, Emily often felt more comfortable under the water than she felt on the land on her two feet. Her younger sister always called her a fish on land when she was younger. 

Before she even realized, Emily had finished her laps and her hand touched the wall. She knew she had won. She had realized she was in the lead in the middle of the race when she couldn't sense any of the other swimmers in the lanes surrounding her. 

And sure enough, she did win. 

It wasn't a national record, but Emily came very close to beating the national record and certainly did set a personal best record. She smiled. She feels as if a heavy weight has been lifted off her shoulders now that all of her races are finished.