It was the lunch break and Hyo-bin and Soo-bin were walking inside a sports store at the mall. 

Crowds of people walked past the glass windows outside. A voice echoed from the speakers in the ceiling.

Soo-bin picked out swimming goggles and metal weights for himself. Then they found two swimsuits for Hyo-bin.

As they stood in front of the cash register, Soo-bin's phone rang. Hyo-bin looked at the phone screen and read the name Su-yeon.

Soo-bin pulled a credit card from his wallet and gave it to Hyo-bin. 

"Can you pay for these?" he asked. "Su-yeon is calling." 

Then he walked outside the store.

Hyo-bin looked at the black card in his hand. While the cashier scanned the items, he thought about the national team trials. 

He wanted to succeed more than anything.

He turned his head and watched Soo-bin through the glass. His friend was talking on the phone with his girlfriend in the middle of the walking crowd. He laughed at something, and his face turned red. He looked completely happy.

Hyo-bin watched him for a quiet moment.

I wanna love someone and be loved too, he thought.

After the cashier put the clothes in plastic bags, he walked outside and gave the card back. Soo-bin took the card and grabbed his own bags from Hyo-bin's hand.

"Thanks a lot, Soo-bin," Hyo-bin said. "I can't repay you for this."

"Don't be ridiculous," Soo-bin said. "Let's head back to school before we are late."

—

When they got in the car, they threw the plastic bags into the back seat. As Hyo-bin put on his seatbelt, he could not hold it in anymore.

"Ya," he said. "Something interesting happened this morning."

"What?" Soo-bin asked curiously as he drove the car out of the parking lot. 

"That asshole Seung-ho told me he could beat me if he wanted to," Hyo-bin said.

"Yeah? Then why hasn't he won yet?" Soo-bin asked.

"I don't know," Hyo-bin said. "We met about the project. Then he got really mad and said he's gonna wreck me tonight."

Soo-bin felt surprised. As the captain, he knew Seung-ho had never wanted to race Hyo-bin before.

"Who knows how you made him mad," Soo-bin said, and he laughed. "The guy was just talking nonsense."

Hyo-bin did not smile. He felt restless inside. 

"What if he really beats me, Soo-bin?" he asked.

Soo-bin did not say anything until he stopped the car at a red light. Then he asked, 

"Do you think he can beat you?"

"I don't know," Hyo-bin said. "He was really good in high school, but even back then he couldn't beat me. Then again, we were just friends and didn't really care. But then—"

He stopped and he turned his head to the window. A heavy rain had started to fall again.

"Yeah?" Soo-bin asked. "What happened then? Tell me."

"Nothing," Hyo-bin said. He watched the street for a while and stayed quiet. Then he turned to Soo-bin. "We were actually really good friends," he said.

"Ya, seriously? Then why did you guys fight?" Soo-bin asked. "Can you tell me now? I'm really curious, Hyo-bin-ah."

"Then… I beat the shit out of him, Soo-bin-ah," Hyo-bin said. "After that, we didn't talk again until we met on the college swim team."

"But what was the reason?" Soo-bin asked as he drove forward with the green light.

"His—" Hyo-bin said. "A little weird." 

Then he suddenly sat up straight in his seat. 

"Can we drop this? It's really stressing me out."

Soo-bin didn't push it. He knew Hyo-bin would tell him everything one day.

"Then let's wait for tonight and see if he can beat you, okay?" 

Hyo-bin did not answer. He was already thinking about the evening practice.

—

When Hyo-bin and Soo-bin walked into the locker room, Seung-ho had already put on his swimsuit and he was closing the metal locker. 

Soo-bin and Seung-ho said hello to each other. Seung-ho did not look at Hyo-bin, and Hyo-bin did not look at him either. 

Soo-bin felt the tension in the air just from that missing greeting.

Seung-ho was very calm. He grabbed the goggles and the towel from the bench. As he walked toward the door, he passed behind Hyo-bin.

"I'm waiting for you, Choi Hyo-bin," he said quietly.

Soo-bin turned and looked at Seung-ho. 

Hyo-bin could not even look back. 

"Come on, get dressed, Hyo-bin-ah," Soo-bin said. "We're gonna be late."

When Soo-bin walked outside the locker room, Kwon Ji-woong was talking to Seung-ho in the hallway. As soon as Ji-woong saw Soo-bin, he bowed his head.

"Good evening, Park Soo-bin," he said.

Soo-bin bowed his head back to him. After Hyo-bin caught up with them, Soo-bin turned to talk to his friend.

"I never understand why this guy comes here every night," Soo-bin said. "I don't think Seung-ho goes to his practices at all."

He wanted to ease Hyo-bin's stress, but he saw it did not work. 

—

The coach waved everyone in. 

As the swimmers walked toward him, Hyo-bin was stretching his shoulders near the starting blocks. 

After the coach called the first eight swimmers, Hyo-bin walked to the edge and stepped on the block. On his left, Soo-bin was jumping on his heels and shaking his arms. On his right, Seung-ho stood completely still. He was looking straight at the water.

The whistle blew.

As Hyo-bin dove into the water, he kicked his legs and pushed himself forward. When he came up to the surface, he heard the splashing water and the voices in the room. He moved his arms fast to pull the water. He felt his lead in the first few meters.

He reached the wall fast. He turned and pushed his feet against the tiles. When he came back up to the surface, he turned his head to breathe. He only saw splashing water in the next lane. Then he felt a strong wave against his side as someone swam right next to him.

Hyo-bin put his head down and kicked his legs harder. His legs felt tired, and he needed air. But he pulled the water with all his power. He put everything into the last ten meters. As he reached his hand out for the wall, a heavy wave crashed over his head.

When Hyo-bin hit the wall a second later, he pulled his goggles off and breathed hard. Then Soo-bin touched the wall on his other side.

As Hyo-bin held onto the edge, he heard his own loud breathing. The water was hitting his neck. Then he heard the loud voices from the deck.

"Did you see that?" a swimmer asked.

"Seung-ho just beat him," another guy said.

Hyo-bin looked up. A group of swimmers was standing at the edge, and they pointed at the lanes. One of them shook his head slowly.

When he looked at the coach, the man was standing next to the assistant.

"What's going on here?" the coach asked. He looked completely surprised.

As Hyo-bin turned in the water, he looked at the digital board. Seung-ho was first. He was second, and Soo-bin was third.

The talking on the deck did not stop. While the swimmers still pointed at the board, Hyo-bin looked at Seung-ho in the next lane. 

Seung-ho climbed out of the water and, without looking at Hyo-bin, said, 

"See you on the project, bitch."

Then he grabbed his towel, and walked toward the locker room.

"Seung-ho!" the coach yelled.

Seung-ho did not look back. He did not slow down as he walked through the door.

Hyo-bin looked at the wet tiles. Water was dripping from the edge of the starting block. Then he heard Soo-bin's voice behind him.

"What the fuck? Did he just beat us?"

Hyo-bin climbed out of the water. As he walked fast across the wet floor, his hands turned into fists. He pushed the locker room door open and walked inside.

"Hyo-bin!" Soo-bin yelled.

Hyo-bin did not stop. When Soo-bin climbed out of the pool, he breathed hard. He looked up at the stands and saw Ji-woong.

Soo-bin moved his head toward the locker room door. Ji-woong ran down the stairs fast and went through the door.

Then Soo-bin ran after them. When he opened the door, Ji-woong was standing near the lockers. The locker room was completely quiet. Soo-bin only heard the dripping water.

Hyo-bin and Seung-ho stood face to face. Water was dripping from their hair to the floor. They just stood there, breathing, looking at each other. 

Something between them had changed, and all four of them could feel it.