"Okay, okay, boys, 800 metres warm-up, do whatever you want. I am going to start weak, because you may have a jetlag.", the coach screams, pipe tangling around his wrist.

Hyunjin jumps in first, without even hesitating for a moment. The adrenaline of the situation is high, his ambition to win is higher. He swims what feels like seconds, padsing his team members multiple times. He knows- no, everybody knows he is the best in their team. He is their ace for relay. But Hyunjin also knows, looking at it internationally he is still nowhere near the best. The boys swim for good two hours before the coach calls it an end and tells them to get lunch.

"So, the girl yesterday told me about this amazing restaurant in the city. I think we should check it out...", Sanha spilled. He skips over a little wall between two parking spots.

Dawon and Mingi agreed in the second while Hyunjin just nonchalantly lifts his shoulders. He really doesn't care. His mind is with more important things, like the rules for the upcoming competition, the competition itself, the other competitors, their strengths and their weaknesses, blonde locks, shiny eyes, dimples, ...

Hyunjin shakes his head.

"Let's check it out.", he told Sanha. The Australian swimmer already annoys him more than he should. Hyunjin needs to concentrate on the competition.

The restaurant isn't big. It seems more like a secret spot, but the food already smelled amazing, before it even was at their table. The boys sat in a corner, Mingi's tablet replaying a relay video they took back in South Korea. They are reviewing and analyzing the video and searching for mistakes which may have costed them time. All in all they have a pretty good time, they probably would win every competition back at home, but this here is another league. And they are not the best anymore, so they need to get even better. They have today and tomorrow left for training.

"So, now that you guys know what you can do better, I want you to get a grip on it today, get the best out of tomorrow and then we are going to rock this shit!", Hyunjin nodded in question. The other mumbled back a sign of appreciation.

"Aye, Cap!", Sanha answering, grinning again.

Back to the hall, they sadly weren't alone anymore. In the lane next to them swims another team. Four young boys about their age.

"It's the home team.", their coach murmured, his eyes fixated on the enemies swimmers. Hyunjin has known their coach long enough to know he will tell them all the strength and weaknesses of the other team after watching them for just half an hour.

Hyunjin turns around to. The Australian team. That means...

His eyes caught brown, far too familiar ones, if you ask him. It's a warm brown and like at the last time they mirror the sunrays that shine through the glass walls of the hall. The team leader of the Australians shot him a cheeky grin. Anger bubbles up in Hyunjin's chest. His cheeks get hot and his view blurry. Oh, how he wants to bet this guy! Hyunjin climbs up the base and starts the warm up laps before his coach can say anything else. In the lane next to him, the water dips about the same time. The other leader is way smaller than Hyunjin, but he was at least as fast, if not faster. It nearly seemed as if he was born water, as he glids through the little waves like he never belonged anywhere else. It's the first time Hyunjin sees him swim. When he saw him in the night, he expected to other one to choose crawlstroke, maybe breaststroke. But the other swims butterfly in the most elegant way Hyunjin has ever seen. He regrets looking at the other guy, because the guy has now won a few seconds and is already kn his way back, while Hyunjin is still rollturning. He hisses in his mind and concentrates on fast and efficient strokes. His mind is hazy and blank and he only sees red, even tho it's not even a competition yet.

The silent comparing between him and the Australian leader never ended for him and it was by far Hyunjin's mist exhausting training. He coughs out the water from his last length and crawls out of the pool. He hears the Australians laugh and chatter while running of to their changing room. Hyunjin's coach towers over him. His glance screams disappointment.

"Mind to explain what that was?"

Hyunjin ignores the question and walks past his coach to get his towel.

"I trained.", he then answered lazily.

"You did not TRAIN? What do you mean you trained?! You COMPETED, Hwang! You competed somewhere where no competition exists! That's not only dumb and dangerous. It's also inefficient and- and- what have you thought?! No, wait, right, you couldn't have thought anything. Because this was just mindlessly dumb!"

His coach turned to him, breathing deeply.

"Utterly dumb...", he whispered. "Hyunjin, fucking calm down. I need you serene and concentrated tomorrow. Because that's also how I need you when we actually compete!"

Then he turns away and walks off.

Dinner was boring and quiet. The boys are exhauted. After dinner they had one and a half hour reviewing and talked about strategies. Sanha, Mingi and Dawon stayed in the common room and watched a movie, whereby one after another fell asleep in the first twenty minutes. Hyunjin instead sneaks out. His training back over the shoulder, he's found himself by the pool again. He lets the bag slide down his arm and jumps into the water. He lets it surround him, the quiet, mediating sounds fill his ears. He swam a few lanes before the gorgeous boy came back. He again just sat at the base silently. At least at the beginning. Then he began to talk. Loud and clear enough to be heard in the whole empty hall. The stranger's voice was as beautiful as his looks. But Hyunjins ignores his talking completely. He shutted him out and dove extra longer to not hear this annoyingly stunning voice. Because, he is pissed. For Hyunjin it's clear that it's this guys fault, that Hyunjin himself got chastised by his coach. One hours this was going on like that. The stranger was talking, sitting on the base and Hyunjin was swimming lanes.

One whole hour.

A/N: 1079 words

Sorry guyyys, that this one is published a week late ^^