My kind of love .....

Henry got ready a little early in the afternoon because he's excited to swim with Chaewon at the pool.

Standing outside unit 1203, he straightened his shirt and lightly knocked on the door thrice then David opened the door.

"Good afternoon kuya (older brother), is Chaewon available to play?"

"Uhm..... yes she has been waiting for you, I'll let her know you're already here," David closed the door and after a couple of minutes, Chaewon opened the door.

"Hi, Henry let's go?"

"Hello Chaewon, sure," and they walked together on their way to the outdoor pool.

When they got to the pool there were already a few people in the area and since this is the first time that Henry will swim in a pool he felt overwhelmed thus he sat on a bench nearby.

"Are you not swimming today?" asked Chaewon.

"Ah..... this is the first time that I'll be swimming in a pool and it seems to work differently."

"Well, the social protocol is different. The way you breathe is different. Even the way you act is different– personality traits may surface you don't even recognize. So, it can be a rather perplexing experience but don't worry I'll help you out."

"Oh..... where do I put my feet in the changing cubicle?"

"Hahaha, right, once you're in the cubicle and if the floor is a bit wet just stick a towel on the floor I have a spare here," and Chaewon handed Henry a spare towel.

After they have both changed, they went closer to the water ready for a swim and the floor just gets wetter. Henry is looking across the swimming pool, trying to discretely eye up the pace of each of the lanes. The slow lane is mainly packed with kids and their parents. He scans over to the fast lane. There's a swimmer, well over six foot, doing absolute power lengths, swinging their hefty arms like they're machine powered and chasing a world record, emptying half the swimming pool with every stroke.

"Middle lane it is then," he said.

"Hehehe, relax. Start off in a slower lane, warm-up, and find your speed. Remember you're not here to try and keep up with the best swimmer in the pool. Let your speed decide your lane, not your ego."

"Uhm..... ok, let's race?" and they both swam away, having a nice time, enjoying themselves, and then, bam, another swimmer of their age joins their same lane. Neither of them has explicitly said that they want to be in a race with others, and yet, they both know that it's happening. Before they know it, they're at the other end of the pool, resting, grabbing a breather, and waiting for the other swimmer to set off so they can try and beat each other again. It's a staredown. But it's best just accepting it. They're in a race.

"Henry just..... don't lose even if we're not in the same lane!" They're in the slower lane, throwing out their best freestyle, and there's their arch-nemesis in the middle lane, doing the butterfly and going at a decent pace but, somehow, they're keeping up. They're determined to keep this going, bursting out lungs in the process. It's not big and it's not clever. But there they went. They're racing. And they're winning.

"Ah..... if you must race someone in a faster lane, why not set a target? We'll finish a length and a half by the time they've done two," said Henry.

"Oppa they're catching me up," their butterflying rival has left the pool and the middle lane is all theirs. All is going well until, suddenly, another swimmer has appeared behind Chaewon. She can feel in her shadow, breathing down her neck. Her heart is pounding as she tries to stay ahead and she's lost all her form.

"Huh?" Henry didn't understand what Chaewon meant.

"Oppa, older brother. Can you be my oppa?"

"Oh.... of course. My younger siblings also call me kuya (older brother) by the way you can try and keep this up or move back to a slower lane. Wait until you get to the other side and take a short breather so they can pass. We'll have a far more pleasant experience without being hassled. And if you do find them catching you up again, swiftly move back to a slower lane."

Suddenly they're held up behind somebody who's swimming slowly. Very slowly. In fact, the swimmer is nearly at standstill.

"Should we overtake, oppa (older brother)?"

"Uhm..... potentially. But then what if you can't keep up the pace? We might not be as quick as we think. If you really want to pass the swimmer, you can always tap on the back of their toes to let them know you want to pass. Or, we could have a scan for another, emptier lane. Normally, if you're going to catch someone, you can tell before you start your length."

"Oppa (older brother), I am so so so tired."

"Ah..... you've only done four lengths. How is that other swimmer, who's been going for hours, isn't stopping for a breather? Have you ever wondered why is it so hard to travel through water?? Do you still want to swim longer??? Pace yourself. Do you want to take a break in or out of the pool????"

"I'm so tired, oppa (older brother) and I am incredibly, incredibly hungry."

"Oh..... is it acceptable to eat a sandwich at the side of the pool? Or maybe in the pool?? I'll ask the lifeguard– oh no, he's just on his break. Okay, do you want to leave the pool??? All this swimming is hungry work. No wonder sharks are always eating things. You should have a big feed in the morning before a swim. One staple of my diet is bananas because they're easy to digest in the water, so that could make a great break-time snack also to keep those energy levels topped up."

"Oppa (older brother), do you think I'm breathing right?"

"Uhm..... okay, so always remember to exhale while your head is in the water but also always remember to inhale when you're above the water and turning your head. Exhale. Exhale. Turn head. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale."

"Wait, what oppa (older brother)? Okay, now I'm suffocating. Since when was breathing so difficult??! I've been managing fine with it up until now."

"Ah..... If you don't exhale fully when your face is in the water, you cannot take a full breath when you turn your head out of the water and once you fall into this pattern, your breathing becomes short and labored, and it will slow down your stroke."

Their swim is done, and all showered and set up to go back home.

"Oh..... what do we do with our soggy swimwear and towel Chaewon?"

"Oppa (older brother), that's a microfibre towel it will dry quickly– plus I have a decent swim bag with a waterproof compartment to store our swimwear."

Walking together on their way back to their home they both feel they finally know each other.