Chapter 275

The Quarterfinals, where 40 athletes are divided into 5 groups of 8, competing fiercely.

Due to the allocation based on records and rankings, athletes with good preliminary records avoid strong opponents. Given the stage, it’s clear that every athlete is a formidable competitor. However, in a race where even a hundredth or a thousandth of a second matters, small differences can indeed be called differences in skill.

In the van heading to the stadium, Jin Hyuk praised Jin Seon-kyu as the top sprinter.

– “I want to hear the goal of the world’s strongest first.”

Jin Seon-kyu, who was tapping the starting block with his Taeguk King Foot, chuckled.

‘What a cheeky brat…’

The more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t help but laugh.

He throws out unfunny jokes and then checks the senior’s reaction, his eyes as innocent as a child seeking praise for doing something good.

Big in size, big in heart, and… well, big in other ways too—what a huge cheeky brat!

Anyway, despite being big all around, he’s so cute that Jin Seon-kyu couldn’t help but laugh at his terribly unfunny grandpa jokes. Because he’s like a child.

– “Senior, since you like bets, how about we make one? There are questions that are hard to ask even if we’re close, right? The person with the better record can ask any question, and the other has to answer. How about it?”

Even after making the proposal, Jin Hyuk slightly lowered his head and looked up at Jin Seon-kyu with wide eyes, like a curious child.

Why not make a bet? What’s the big deal that makes my heart race and this so fun?

It feels like when I enjoyed silly bets with Carl Lewis, Jonathan, and other U.S. team athletes, laughing like a fool during a long jump for drinks.

‘Cheeky brat. You know me too well.’

After finishing the warm-up, my blood pressure, which had settled, feels like it’s rising again.

If I measured my pulse now, it would probably be around 120 bpm.

One of the reasons Jin Seon-kyu could be called a genius from a young age.

A body that doesn’t take damage even with a rapid rise in blood pressure.

Any athlete runs after sufficiently raising their body temperature and blood pressure, but once they stand at the starting line, their pulse usually gradually calms down. But Jin Seon-kyu’s lasts longer.

‘It’s hard to raise it, that’s why.’

Even though he knows it’s controlled by psychological factors, it’s not something he can easily control. People’s hearts and thoughts don’t change easily.

‘I don’t need hints like ‘you can do it,’ right?’

The cheeky brat said that.

Jin Seon-kyu is the type of person who just does it.

Stupidly, foolishly, ignorantly. He just does it.

He said that people trapped in the frame of being a genius, burdened by others’ expectations, let themselves go and live carelessly. That’s how they become lazy geniuses.

– “Many people think I suddenly fell from somewhere, but if you look for someone who’s run more than me on Earth, it would only be marathon runners. And even among them, there wouldn’t be many. I’m not a genius like you, senior. I’m just someone who ignorantly clings to one thing.”

Cheeky brat.

Just how much has he run?

That insane recovery must have come from running and running.

– “I ran to survive.”

As he said that, Jin Hyuk’s eyes glazed over.

Sprinting.

The most primal exercise for survival, chasing prey or fleeing from predators.

Humans only realize and appreciate the existence of their heart, lungs, and muscles when they run.

‘Thank you.’

Huff! Huff-!

Hopping lightly, relaxing his arms and gathering his feet, he bounced using only the elasticity of his ankles.

Come on, gas. Pushik-.

The fatigue from the morning was overshadowed by the freshness gained from recovery training and the sauna.

‘Taeguk King Foot, ready.’

Jin Hyuk, who hadn’t answered the question about his goal, asked again.

[On your mark.]

Placing his hand on the track, he felt the temperature difference in Atlanta, unlike the morning.

– “Do we need to wait until the Asian Games?”

Cheeky brat.

[Get set.]

How dare this brat act like a drill sergeant to a senior like the sky…

[Bang-!]

“Nyaaa-!”

Rurururuk-.

With a cat’s roar, Jin Seon-kyu’s quarterfinal sprint began.

***

Watching Jin Seon-kyu dash out like a colt stung by a bee, Jin Hyuk’s lips curled into a smirk. If you were to find the closest comparison in a movie, Jin Seon-kyu resembles a centaur, a mythical creature with the upper body of a human and the body of a horse. Not in appearance, but in his running style.

Even the way he rumbles like a horse at the starting line is similar.

‘He runs well indeed.’

He watched Michael Johnson’s 200m race from the last World Championships several times.

He marveled at how someone could run in such a posture. It was a style that even seasoned sprinters couldn’t easily mimic.

‘I almost hurt my back trying to copy it.’

But Jin Seon-kyu also runs in a form that’s impossible to imitate.

Like most Korean athletes, he starts with a crouch, but the upper half of his body, including his chest, remains completely still, as if fixed in place.

The Taeguk King Foot cuts through the wind in that exact posture.

‘No loss of power. All that power goes straight to his legs.’

Jin Seon-kyu’s confidence, fully charged, feels like it’s firmly locking his upper body in place.

Like King Kong showing off his chest.

‘Run, run.’

From behind, it’s hard to tell who’s ahead.

That’s why athletes watching from behind focus on the feet racing across the track when observing the progress of the group ahead.

Whose feet are in front.

‘Nice! 2nd place!’

If the straight had been longer, he would have taken 1st.

The blue shoe on the left and the red shoe on the right spun like a can in a game of catch before crossing the finish line. Right after the 1st place finisher.

[Bang!]

Jin Seon-kyu touched the ground again.

Jin Hyuk applauded the crouched figure of someone who gave their all in every moment, every race.

Quarter 1.

1. Boldon. TRI. 9.95s

2. Jin. KOR. 10.10s

3. Asahara. JPN. 10.19s

4. Nkansah. GHA. 10.24s

5. Aliu. NGR. 10.26s

···

···

0.15 seconds behind Trinidad and Tobago’s Ato Boldon, but not bad.

The somewhat cool temperature might have had an effect. Ato Boldon also seemed to have given his all, but his record was lower than usual.

Jin Hyuk had secretly rated Ghana’s Eric Nkansah as a dark horse, but Jin Seon-kyu confidently took 2nd place, surpassing him. Just securing a spot in the semifinals is a historic event.

Everyone rated Jin Hyuk as a dark horse, but he rejected such evaluations.

‘I’m not dark.’

It was a match that dispelled Kim Hyeong-tak’s concerns. Before Jin Hyuk appeared, Japan’s Nobuharu Asahara, the strongest in Asia, was pushed by Jin Seon-kyu and barely secured a spot in the semifinals.

In the quarterfinals, where 15 athletes advance directly to the semifinals from 5 groups of 3 each, only one 4th place can be saved.

Nkansah, with a good record, can hope to advance to the semifinals after comparing records with other athletes.

Nigeria’s Aliu, who competed with Jin Hyuk in the group preliminaries, improved his record from the preliminaries but narrowly missed out in 5th place.

‘Korea must be going crazy.’

Almost all citizens must be watching the live broadcast, right?

With a national athlete competing, the group preliminaries were naturally broadcast live, and even after the race, they replayed it several times in special segments.

‘What’s a festival?’

When everyone enjoys, cries, and laughs together, that’s a festival.

With a content heart, Jin Hyuk’s lips showed no sign of coming down.

Kyaaaa-!

Now a signal of the Centennial Stadium, the lion’s roar.

Yoo Jin is so noticeable wherever she is.

Jin Seon-kyu, who had stood up at some point, was waving his hand in that direction.

‘See, you can do it if you try.’

After sharing the excitement with the coaching staff through hugs, Jin Seon-kyu turned his body toward Jin Hyuk.

Thumbs up.

The highest praise Jin Hyuk could give.

Jin Seon-kyu raised a thick thumb, befitting his King Foot, in response.

Thumbs up.

***

Britain’s Linford Christie.

The grandfather sprinter.

A monster.

[Bang-!]

Old soldiers never die.

But they also don’t disappear.

He started off heavily competing for the lead, but at the finish line, he locked eyes with Canada’s Rocket Man, Donovan Bailey, and they crossed the line simultaneously.

‘Donovan’s mid-race acceleration is scary.’

His ability to push forward after 60m is remarkable.

If he hadn’t slowed down at the end, 1st place would have undoubtedly gone to Donovan.

Quarter 2.

1. Christie. GBR. 10.03s

2. Bailey. CAN. 10.05s

3. Drummond. USA 10.17s

4. Tuffour. GHA. 10.18s

5. Wymeersch. BEL. 10.37s

6. Adeniken. NGR. 10.38s

7. Guims. FRA. 10.43s

8. Madonia. ITA. 10.43s

Even though it’s the second preliminary, it’s unique how all the track and field powerhouses are gathered as if it’s the final.

Moreover, the lineup is filled with strong competitors, with no one to dismiss.

Following the monster and the Rocket Man, Jin Seon-kyu’s close friend Jonathan Drummond dramatically secured a spot in the semifinals.

‘Jonathan seems to have given his all, but he still can’t catch up.’

To those watching without running themselves, the gap is clearly visible.

Group preliminaries, quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. Which athlete is ahead, which is behind.

But no matter how much you watch, that difference of 0.01 seconds is hard to comprehend.

‘Dark horse Nkansah is out.’

2nd group 4th place, Ghana’s Emmanuel Tuffour, has a better record.

It’s ironic that both athletes are from the same country.

Quarter 3.

1. Fredericks. NAM. 9.93s

2. Ezinwa. NGR. 10.08s

3. Thompson. BAR. 10.14s

4. Stewart. JAM. 10.19s

···

···

In Quarter 3, Namibia’s Frank Fredericks, a favorite to win, easily marked 9.93 to take 1st place, while Nigeria’s Davidson Ezinwa, who always gives his all, succeeded in finishing with a comfortable distance from 3rd place. His record was also lower than in the morning, likely affected by the temperature.

Barbados’ law student Thompson also secured a spot in the semifinals without allowing the 4th place athlete to catch up.

‘Hehehe-, this is fun.’

The Chinese athlete who finished in 7th place and had to pack up looked at Jin Hyuk, who was grinning, with dissatisfaction, but Jin Hyuk had no interest in him.

Was his name Chen? Zai Jian, Xiao Mi-.

Since the quarterfinals don’t have many participants, they wait while warming up behind the starting zone.

While other athletes try to ignore the race, Jin Hyuk, with his arms crossed, activated tourist mode.

Perhaps finding Jin Hyuk ridiculous, Michael Marsh, who was also in the 5th group, passed by and muttered.

“Sean, warm up. You’re too tense.”

“······Yeah-.”

I’m tense?

Wondering what he meant, Jin Hyuk looked around and made eye contact with some spectators who were looking at him worriedly.

‘Ah, I guess it could look that way.’

Athletes doing knee lifts, taking deep breaths with arms wide, cracking their necks, rotating their shoulders.

Among them, Jin Hyuk stood alone, watching, which could easily be misunderstood.

He smiled at them and waved lightly.

‘Everyone! It’s much more fun watching from here!’

TV viewers only see the uniform footage captured by cameras, while spectators see from their fixed angles in their seats.

‘I feel like I came to the Olympics just to watch this.’

Jin Hyuk, who can move around the stadium without any disturbance, can enjoy the dynamic backs of the athletes racing.

The front and side views can be seen later in replays.

– “I’ll find meaning in being able to watch the Olympics from inside the stadium.”

That’s what Odar da Costa from the 8th group preliminaries said.

The country’s name is Sao Tome and Principe Democratic Republic? I’ve never heard of it in this life, but it’s a small island nation off the coast of Africa.

Costa couldn’t overcome his poor condition in the group preliminaries and was eliminated after running over 11 seconds. But it was surprising that even a small island nation with a population of 200,000 had an athlete in the Olympic 100m event.

“Sean, it’s my turn.”

Dennis Mitchell from the 4th group passed by and tapped Jin Hyuk’s butt.

“Alright, do your best-.”

“What?”

“······Good luck, Allen.”

He covered his mistake by calling him by his middle name in a friendly manner.

‘Geez, why does my English come out like a dialect.’

At the not-so-special mistake, the 31-year-old ace of the U.S. team smirked, raised his thumb, and walked away.

Quarter 4.

1. Mitchell. USA. 10.09s

2. Green. JAM. 10.11s

3. Markoullides. CYP. 10.23s

···

···

Group 4 was bland.

Athletes of 175cm and 176cm led the race, but Dennis Mitchell, 1cm shorter but with longer legs, took 1st place. Dennis Mitchell didn’t push his speed from the start and managed the race skillfully, staying just half a step ahead of the 2nd place athlete.

Michael Green from Jamaica, nicknamed ‘Cockroach’ and the world’s strongest in indoor 60m races, showed a rabbit-like initial spurt, but it wasn’t enough to catch up to Dennis Mitchell’s consistent pace from start to finish.

‘If senior had been in group 4, he could have taken 1st place.’

No matter how you look at it, chasing the tyrant Ato Boldon would be a hopeless task for Jin Seon-kyu, who’s so mood-driven.

Jin Seon-kyu is 177cm tall, similar in height, so lining up the three would make a perfect picture.

While taking in all the races, excitedly like a child, and engraving various impressions in his mind, a sound that calmed Jin Hyuk’s mood was heard.

[Quarter five, ready.]

Here we go.

[We will now proceed with the final race of the night.]

Lady and gentleman this and that, continue blah blah.

As he passed lane 6 and headed to his assigned lane 5, the real ace of the U.S. team, who had been sitting quietly, unexpectedly opened his mouth.

“Good luck, Sean.”

“You too.”

Michael Marsh.

An athlete he’s bound to meet in the 200m as well.

Jin Hyuk’s lips curled slightly.

He could clearly feel Marsh’s tension, having to race against someone stronger than himself.

‘An easy group.’

Perhaps because he’s seen and interacted with them so much.

They’re clearly world-class athletes, but at some point, they started to seem ordinary.

[We will resume the race shortly-.]

Hey, hurry up!

Short and slow, even their entrance is slow.

Toward the competitors slowly moving into their zones, the youngest and tallest guy in the back of the starting zone sent a bored look.

That look was like Jang Gun-i looking at an acorn.