Changmin was always a bit different from the other swimmers in the athlete's village.

The other athletes had their medals and the Korean flag hung up next to their beds and pictures of their families and their favourite swimmers on their cubbies. They often sat on their beds after training with their eyes closed, going over their swim in their heads. Some of them had strange rituals, for instance, hanging their goggles on the right side of their bed as they slept, or putting on their swimsuit inside out first before taking it off and putting it on the right way around. Even Yunho had a lucky gesture before he began every practice or before a meet, tapping his forehead and both of his shoulders in turn with his right hand.

Changmin was different though. His bed and his cubby were always completely bare, and even though Yunho was his roommate, he had never seen Changmin spend any time at all visualizing. He was always on his phone, playing games with his earphones in, or chatting and laughing with his teammates, or doing homework at his desk. And he certainly didn't bother with superstitions.

But, almost definitely, that made Changmin the most normal of all of them.

Changmin didn't talk much about his background, preferring to gossip about the newest computer game or that new girl group with that super cute member, but Yunho remembered how much of a stir he caused when he first made the National Team.

The first time Yunho saw Changmin in any memorable circumstance was soon after the new National Team was chosen for the year. Yunho knew that Changmin was one of the new members, but barely remembered seeing him at all. This Shim Changmin had come onto the scene unexpectedly, and placed within the top five in all six events he entered, even winning a silver medal in the 200-metre freestyle at Nationals.

It had been a shock to say the least.

The swimming community was quite small. Since they were children, all of the athletes grew up competing against the same athletes. Since they were juniors, they were all vying for those National Team spots, going to swim training camp every year, training day and night, barely ever getting out of the pool, and if they did, only to do dry land training.

Yunho would have thought it would have been downright impossible for someone to come into the sport so late.

But this Shim Changmin – before this season, he had never been seen before in competitive swimming. He had apparently passed the elite qualifiers with flying colours that year, won four medals at Classics, and was invited to Nationals for the first time. And somehow, miraculously, at his first Nationals, managed to nab a spot on the National Team.

Everyone, everyone who knew anything about the sport, was shocked.

It had instantly become a story that was plastered all over the papers and the Internet, a Cinderella story of a seventeen-year-old homeless boy who made it all the way to the National Team that the whole country had been waiting for. Of course, it helped that Changmin was impossibly good-looking, face so handsome that it was a wonder that he wasn't recruited by some entertainment company who wanted to make him an actor or an idol.

Even Yunho, who won the most golds at National this year, didn't get half the publicity that Changmin did. In fact, a reporter had come up to Yunho for an interview just after the meet, and when Yunho was standing in front of the camera, asked, "What do you think about Shim Changmin? Is he a threat to you?"

It was clear that Changmin had given up his amateur status as soon as he could, because he accepted sponsorships and ads, filming commercials for energy drinks and cereal even before he moved into the athlete's village with the rest of the National Team.

In fact, the whole team was eating from a cereal box with Changmin's face on it for breakfast.

"I wonder if he has any idea what he's doing with that," muttered Soonil, one of Yunho's closest teammates had said. "He can't get scouted by colleges because he started accepting sponsorship, plus, his popularity isn't going to stay if he doesn't perform as well as everyone wants him to. Apparently he's given up his amateur status already and he doesn't even have an agent."

Yunho raised his eyebrows. Even Yunho hadn't yet given up his amateur status, even though he was the National Champion for the two years in the running. He had committed to swimming for Seoul National University, but he had deferred his acceptance until after the Olympics. Maybe Changmin had other goals though, what would Yunho know?

"He was picked up by a community instructor at his local pool. I read in the papers that he still lives in a group home," Soonil said to Yunho. "He's never gotten real training before. I wonder if he'll be able to keep up here."

"The only thing is, Soonil," said Yunho, pained, "records don't lie. And the fact is that he's been swimming really, really well this entire season, in a lot of events. Better than at least half the National Team. He's not a fluke."

Soonil pouted. "If he makes the World Team this year and I don't, I'll probably throw something." Yunho had to give him a pat on the head to soften him up before the morning run.

Needless to say, Yunho was kind of ready to hate this kid – except, Changmin was likeable.

Really, really likeable.

Yunho met Changmin for the first time after he was finished with his workouts for the day a couple of weeks after Nationals. He had just stepped out of the shower and that was when he saw his new roommate unpacking his things from the duffle bag he'd brought.

Yunho continued to towel himself dry and approached the new athlete. "Hey."

The bright smile, with the bright eyes folding into half-moons, right eye becoming smaller than the left, he got in return was a bit unnerving. "Hey! I saw you at Nationals. Or, more like, I watched you at Nationals. You're really good. I'm Shim Changmin, nice to meet you."

In Yunho's defense, it wasn't that Yunho didn't like the kid; it was that Changmin's attitude was not conducive to survival here.

Training at the athlete's village was tough if put lightly, and downright Hell in reality. Training was waking up at 4:30 AM every morning, going for 15-kilometre runs every morning with weights around their ankles, swimming until there was not a single breath left in your lungs only to go to dry land training until there was not a single muscle in your body that wasn't on fire, all under a tough coach who didn't hesitate to force them through impossible exercises or raise his hand to the athletes if ever they didn't perform up to his exorbitantly high standards.

"You should just quit now if you're just here to check this place out."

The younger's smile faltered a bit. "What?"

"I'm just warning you. This isn't a playground," said Yunho seriously. "If you don't show that you want it, life's going to get really hard. So quitting now may be the best option for you."

At the words, Changmin's body language completely changed. He drew himself up to his full height, looked right into Yunho's eyes and spoke.

"I appreciate the warning," said Changmin clearly. "But I know how to take care of myself, thanks."

Yunho turned his back on his new roommate and got dressed. When he finished and turned back, he saw Changmin sitting on the edge of his bed with his legs swinging back and forth, looking at Yunho.

"What?" asked Yunho.

Changmin smiled again. "Nothing. Just wondered if you wanna share a chocolate bar," he said, holding one up.

After a hard day of practice, Yunho couldn't resist.