"Yunho," said his coach after the medal ceremonies and they'd just returned to the back.

"Yes, coach," Yunho replied automatically.

"Come with me. We need to talk."

Yunho dropped his bouquet with the rest of his things, took off his silver medal and dropped it into his bag, too. He was brought out of the gym area as Changmin watched. Yunho was led into an empty hallway upstairs, and then the coach turned around to face him.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Fine," Yunho replied.

Apparently, that was the wrong answer; the coach shook his head, looking very, very frustrated. "This is exactly what's wrong with you lately, Jung Yunho," he said. "How could you feel fine about that? This kid who never even had a proper coach in his life until last year just beat you at Nationals, and you feel fine? You don't even care about winning anymore."

Yunho flushed.

"I still want to win," said Yunho.

"You're not acting like it," snapped the coach. "I don't know if it's Shim's layback, I-don't-give-a--about-any-of-this attitude rubbing off on you, or if you just don't care anymore either, but your performance today was pathetic. You've been slacking all year."

If this had been last year, Yunho would just have put his head down and listened to the lecture. He wasn't sure what changed, but today –

Yunho clenched his teeth. "I worked hard for this meet, and I had a good swim today. Changmin just had a better one."

"You had a good swim, everyone else was just better? Is that the excuse that you're going to use when you don't even make the cut to compete in the Olympic heats? This isn't a joke, Jung. Your parents didn't send you to the Village so you could be mediocre. This is you, a kid who wants Olympic gold, not even being able to top the podium at a Korean Nationals."

"I know I can still do it," said Yunho through gritted teeth.

"You can do what? Win Olympic gold?" snorted the coach. "Keep dreaming. It's not going to happen unless you buckle down and start taking this much, much more seriously, Jung. Actually, even if you do, I don't know if you can do it. You lost the moment you just accepted that Shim's a better swimmer than you."

Yunho let out a breath.

"If you'd worked harder, you would have won that race," said the coach harshly. "You lost because you stopped caring. And I don't mind giving you a reason to care."

"I already care," snapped Yunho. "I care, and I work hard. And this is my dream, not yours."

Yunho turned and tried to walk away, but the coach took him by the front of his jacket.

"And just to help you achieve your ing dream, a lot of other people are behind you, working their off for you." He gave Yunho's jacket a small shake. "We work harder than you do, Jung. Don't you ever forget that."

Yunho didn't say anything, he was just so mad; he just grabbed his coach's wrist, pulled his hand away from his jacket and made his way back to the hall, smoothing the front of his jacket down, fully knowing that his coach was following just behind.

Once he got to the warm-up gym, he saw that the cameras had followed Changmin there. He worked his way around the cameras, gathered his things into his bag as fast as he could and more or less ran out of the hall.

Yunho attended the light workout that was scheduled for him afterwards, having to hear all sorts of abuse being said to him throughout the whole thing, in front of the team by the coach, no less. He really struggled through the workout, the half-hour workout feeling like days – and as soon as they were dismissed, he hid out in his room.

He tucked himself into bed and for the first time in ages, it felt like – he actually closed his eyes and focused in and visualized his swim for tomorrow.

It really wasn't so much that he felt the need to be National Champion, or that he felt that he was a better swimmer than Changmin was. In fact, he was, he really, truly was happy for Changmin. But if he couldn't even be the best in the country, how will he be the best in the world? Had he been slacking off? Would he be better than Changmin if only he'd worked harder? Sure, he'd been working towards Worlds, not Nationals like Changmin had been, but what would be the point in peaking for Worlds if he doesn't peak in time to be selected to compete at Worlds?

He dismissed those thoughts clouding his mind and stayed in bed, just visualizing, going over his swim over and over in his head. He was so focused, in fact, that he didn't even hear it when Changmin came into the room. It wasn't until Changmin actually spoke that Yunho realized that the younger had finally entered the room.

"Hyung…? Hyung, there's –"

"Don't talk to me right now," said Yunho tersely, still with his eyes closed.

There was a short pause, and then Changmin spoke again.

"Hyung… are you… actually mad at me…?"

Yunho finally fluttered his eyes open. He saw that Changmin was standing at the foot of his bed, looking very guilty.

"Why would I be mad at you?" said Yunho with a frown. "What did you do?"

Changmin looked down at his feet. "I don't know."

"Okay then. No. I'm not mad at you."

Yunho closed his eyes again.

Not long after though, Changmin spoke, from his bed now.

"Hyung…"

Yunho was starting to get annoyed now.

"What?"

"I have a question."

Yunho sighed and opened his eyes again.

"What is it?"

"Hyung… that note… in my locker."

Yunho looked at him. "Yeah?"

Changmin hesitated, but then he looked at Yunho and ploughed on.

"Did… Did you write it?"

"What?"

Yunho almost choked on his own spit.

"You think I would do something like that? To you?"

"No!" said Changmin quickly. "No, hyung, no. I don't think you would."

Yunho felt blood rush into his face, and the room starting to spin, because he was just so angry – "How could you even ask that? After everything?"

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant," said Changmin, looking at Yunho. "I just… can you just say yes or no?"

"No!" shouted Yunho, so, so upset – "How can you even – you –"

"Okay," said Changmin quietly. "That's all I wanted to know."

"Why would you ask that? Why?"

"Don't get mad," said Changmin. "Like, I understand if you don't feel happy for me. I'd understand. I'd feel the same way. You don't have to pretend."

"I'm not –"

Yunho was so angry that he couldn't find the next words to say – he thought he might explode.

"You know what, Changmin, you just think whatever you want," snapped Yunho. "I don't care. I have no idea what you're even talking about, but you know, I don't even ing care anymore. Just don't talk to me for the rest of the meet. I don't need this from you too. Of all people."

Changmin spoke timidly. "It's just –"

"You think I'm joking?" said Yunho, glaring at the younger. "Don't talk to me."

Yunho continued to glare as Changmin shrank away and after some hesitation, got into his own bed slowly.

Changmin stayed there, in the corner of his own bed, unmoving and silent for the whole night like he had been on that first night when he went to Yunho's house – but Yunho barely even cared.