Mr Mermaid | LK Adaptation

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Long Legs Are Also a Problem

In the subsequent days of the competition, Lisa gradually found her groove and did not make any more mistakes. She produced quite a few decent manuscripts which were accepted by the news agency, while several more of her manuscripts were published on the website of Sports Weekly.

Besides that, that candid photo she had snapped, which included Jaehyun, Jungkook, and Soobin in the frame, had also been selected for use by the agency, becoming the final picture in the series of photos illustrating the summary of the tournament.

In this competition, Jaehyun was as dominant as ever. He had signed up for 4 solo events and 2 group events, and had netted 4 golds and 2 silvers, perpetuating his legend as the King of Swimming in China.

Coincidentally, both of his silvers had been gained through losses to Jungkook.

As for Jungkook himself, he had signed up for 2 solo events and 2 group events in total. These were, respectively, the men's 50-metre freestyle, the men's 100-metre freestyle, the men's 4x100 metre freestyle relay, and the men's 4x100 medley relay. He achieved gold for the first three, but lost in the fourth event to Jaehyun's team, earning a silver.

Based solely in terms of the number of medals, Jungkook was no match for Jaehyun, but judging by their actual encounters, it was really hard to tell who was better or worse.

In fact, in Lisa's opinion, this comparison was untenable because their strengths laid in different areas. Jungkook had great explosive power and so was good at short-distance events, while Jaehyun had great stamina more suited for long-distance events. The two were not at all comparable.

However, some media outlets were doing so with relish. A possible reason for this was that their lives were really too empty and lonely, so they constantly needed to find something to talk about ...

Then there was another small group of media — mainly those represented by Lisa's 'enemy' — who criticised the aforementioned comparison with a great deal of malice. They believed that Jungkook and Jaehyun were completely incomparable, but not because of their differing specializations, but because these two people were not of the same level. Jaehyun was an Olympics champion, and as for Jungkook? He had never even participated in a world championship before.

This was not without logic, but what was infuriating was how they used it as a springboard to overextend their points and make vague inferences. Although they did not clearly state anything outright, reading between the lines would bring readers to a specific understanding: Jungkook was stepping on Jaehyun to promote himself.

Jungkook himself happened to read this report, and he was left unsure whether to laugh or cry. "Even when I do nothing I'm dragged into it."

Jaehyun consoled him by saying, "There aren't many who are compared to me in discussion. Be content!"

These words were rather aggravating, but they were also true.

Aside from those discussions, more of the media focused on some manner of objective analysis. Quite a number of people thought that Jungkook started quick, had very powerful explosive power in the water, performed even better during team events ... and so on. As for shortcomings, he was not quick enough during turns. This was his most obvious weakness.

When Lisa once again interviewed Jungkook, she managed to ask a properly professional question. "What do you think is the reason for your mediocre speed when executing turns in the water?"

Jungkook pressed his lips together briefly, and then, in a mildly embarrassed tone, he said something that would incite envy among the average people. "My legs are a little long."