Nice to See You — Chapter 18

HELLO?

J-JAEYI...! YOU'RE NOT AT SCHOOL YET, RIGHT? W-WELL...

WHAT THE...? DON'T TELL ME YOU STILL HAVEN'T GONE IN?

COME ON... YOU ALREADY BOUGHT A SWIMSUIT AND EVERYTHING... GET ON WITH IT ALREADY.

TH-THAT'S TRUE, BUT...

HONESTLY, I DON’T GET WHY I EVEN NEED TO LEARN HOW TO SWIM... MY IMAGINATION IS MORE THAN ENOUGH-

BECAUSE THE REAL DEAL IS WAY BETTER.

YOU KNOW THAT BETTER THAN ANYONE...

YOU ALREADY MADE IT ALL THE WAY THERE, SO JUST PUSH YOURSELF A LITTLE MORE, OKAY?

99 SWIM

STEP

NGH

I KNEW IT...

I CAN'T DO THIS...!!!

THAT AUTOMATIC DOOR OPENS SO EASILY FOR EVERYONE ELSE...

...BUT TO ME, IT'S A LOCKED IRON GATE.

I CAN'T MOVE MY FEET...!!!

WHAT'S UP WITH THIS GUY?

HE'S GORGEOUS...!

THIS IS TRICKY. SHOULD I BACK OUT NOW, OR STICK IT OUT A BIT LONGER-

I-I'M GONNA MAKE A RUN FOR IT...

CAREFUL...

?!

UNIV

WHOA...

O-OH!...

I-I'M SO SORRY...

S-SO HANDSOME...!

...WERE YOU TRYING TO SKIP CLASS AND RUN AWAY?

HUH...?

YOU'RE A STUDENT HERE, RIGHT? LET'S GO IN TOGETHER.

AS AN INSTRUCTOR, I CAN’T JUST LET A PRECIOUS PUPIL RUN OFF.

H-HEY, WAIT! I, UH- HUUUH?!

I-I’M INSIDE...!

LOOKS LIKE I DRAGGED THE NEW GUY IN, HUH?

HAHA

YOU SAID YOU’RE IN THE BEGINNER CLASS?

AH...! Y-YEAH...

IT’S ACTUALLY MY FIRST DAY TEACHING TODAY, TOO! HAHA. I HANDLE THE ADVANCED CLASS, BUT SINCE WE’RE BOTH IN THE MORNING BLOCK, WE’LL PROBABLY SEE EACH OTHER A LOT...

BUT ANYWAY, WHY WERE YOU TRYING TO RUN AWAY?

AH... WELL, I DIDN’T EXACTLY COME HERE OF MY OWN FREE WILL...

SOMEONE FORCED YOU? SWIMMING IS FUN, THOUGH...

I MAY BE RETIRED, BUT I JUST CAN'T LEAVE THE WATER ALONE.

"RE...TIRED?"

I USED TO BE A COMPETITIVE SWIMMER.

THE NAME'S KWON JISEONG. I WAS SOMEWHAT FAMOUS FOR BEING HANDSOME, YOU KNOW? HAHA...

AH...! I-I HAD NO IDEA. BUT YOU REALLY ARE HANDSOME-

EEK!

YOU HAVE TO PRESS THIS AFTER THE NUMBERS.

OH...

HUH?! AH, IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE A STAR, SO I THOUGHT IT WAS THE OK BUTTON...! I SEE...!

TH-THANK YOU...

YOU KNOW, IDEUM. YOU'RE REALLY...HOW SHOULD I PUT THIS...?

NGH

... ...A BIT OF A KLUTZ, RIGHT? I CAN BE PRETTY CLUMSY...

NO, IT'S JUST...

YOU SEEM A BIT NAIVE AND INNOCENT, I GUESS...?

OR IS THAT THE SAME THING?

ALRIGHT! NOW THAT WE'VE FINISHED OUR WARM-UPS, WE HAVE A NEW STUDENT TODAY!

IDEUM HERE WILL BE JOINING US FROM NOW ON!

HE'S SO PRETTY, I THOUGHT HE WAS A HIGH SCHOOLER!

FINALLY, SOMEONE NEWER THAN ME IN THE CLASS! BUT WHAT'S WITH THE RASH GUARD? YOU EMBARRASSED?

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU'RE GUARDING, KIDDO? HAHA!

I'M THE ONLY ONE IN ALL BLACK... IT FEELS LIKE I STAND OUT EVEN MORE...

IF IT'S HARD TO WALK BECAUSE OF THE WATER RESISTANCE, YOU CAN HOLD ONTO THE WALL!

NOW, LET'S GO THE OTHER WAY!

SHOULD WE TRY RUNNING? SPREAD OUT!

OH, IDEUM! YOU’RE DOING GREAT FOR YOUR FIRST TIME!

THE WATER PARTING SO SMOOTHLY...

...FEELS SO REFRESHING...

"BECAUSE THE REAL DEAL IS WAY BETTER."

HAHA... YOU CAN TAKE SHORT BREAKS IF IT'S TOO TIRING...

SO, HOW IS IT? THINK SWIMMING IS WORTH LEARNING?

I KEEP INHALING WATER THROUGH MY NOSE WHEN WE PRACTICE BREATHING... IT'S REALLY HARD...

HAHA... THAT'S A RITE OF PASSAGE FOR BEGINNERS.

BUT YOU'RE FOLLOWING ALONG REALLY WELL, AREN'T YOU?

I WAS ACTUALLY A BIT WORRIED BECAUSE JAEYI WAS SO SPECIFIC WITH HIS REQUESTS.

JAEYI WAS...?

YEAH! DOWN TO THE LAST DETAIL. HE ASKED ME TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE COMFORTABLE AND WELL TAKEN CARE OF...

HE REALLY WENT OUT OF HIS WAY FOR YOU, SO YOU'LL DEFINITELY COME TO THE NEXT CLASS, RIGHT?

Y-YEAH...

WHEN YOU TURN, DON'T GRAB THE WALL! YOU GOTTA PUSH OFF IT!

IT'S BEEN A WHILE, JISEONG! I HEARD THE MANAGER ASKED YOU FOR A FAVOR AT THE LAST MINUTE? YOU DON'T USUALLY DO THIS SORT OF THING.

I WAS GETTING KIND OF BORED ANYWAY... AND THREE MONTHS ISN'T TOO MUCH OF A COMMITMENT.

MUST BE NICE TO HAVE SO MUCH FREE TIME! I'M JEALOUS.

OH, BY THE WAY... THAT GUY IDEUM IN YOUR CLASS? WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT RASH GUARD...?

WHAT, YOU KNOW HIM TOO, JISEONG?

HUH?

JAEYI RECOMMENDED HIM...PRACTICALLY CALLED ME AND BEGGED ME TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF HIM...

APPARENTLY THERE'S A WHOLE REASON HE'S GOT THAT THING ON.

I NEVER KNEW JAEYI WAS SUCH A CARING GUY.

AHH...

LOOKS LIKE YOU ACTUALLY WENT AND LEARNED.

I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE THOSE TWO KNOW EACH OTHER.