7 Chapter 7

The next morning, Ivan was wearing his swimwear that reached up to his knees while he was training in a swimming gym near the hotel where he was staying. He was smiling like a fool while remembering the things that happened between himself and Dino from the day before today. Mark, his assigned Filipino swimming coach, noticed this, making him feel puzzled.

[Hmmm...For some reason, Ivan is smiling right now.] Mark thought while observing Ivan's facial expression closely as the latter went towards the edge of the pool in preparation for the training. [Could it be that something good happened to him? Anyway, I'll talk to him about that later. Right now, we're in training.]

"Okay, get ready, Ivan!" Mark announced, making Ivan wear his swimming goggles and bend over in preparation for the dive.

It took a few seconds before Mark blew the whistle, making Ivan dive into the pool afterwards. Since he was feeling inspired from thinking about Dino, Ivan felt that he was swimming faster than usual. He was swimming in the freestyle stroke, his fastest stroke so far.

[Dino, I'll continue swimming for you!] Ivan thought while swimming as fast as he could with Dino's face inside his mind. [I'll make sure that I'm worthy enough for you!]

Once Ivan had finished and got out of the pool, Mark checked his timer. To his utter amazement, Ivan's speed had improved by about one second compared to the usual.

[Wow!] Mark thought in amazement. [He's faster now compared to before! It's great that he keeps on improving!]

Then Mark approached Ivan and said, "Well done, Ivan! You're now faster than the average of your previous records so far!"

"Thank you, Coach Mark!" Ivan answered with a bright smile before wiping himself with the towel that Mark gave to him.

"By the way, I've noticed that you were smiling earlier," Mark declared with a grin.

"Oh, really?!" Ivan asked in a surprised tone yet he was still wearing his smile. "Was it that obvious?"

Mark laughed and replied, "Yes! It was so obvious! So...could you tell me why you were smiling? Could it be that you met a beautiful and sexy girl?"

Ivan chuckled and answered, "Something like that."

"Oh really?! What's she like?" Mark inquired curiously while also feeling excited to hear how Ivan would describe the girl. "Is she a pretty one? Or a cute one?"

Dino's face came into Ivan's mind before the latter replied, "A cute one!"

"Nice one, man!" Mark exclaimed joyfully. "So, do you know her name already? And did you get her number?"

"Yes and yes!" Ivan exclaimed in a jolly tone.

"Wow! Looks like you've won the jackpot, man!" Mark declared happily. "Good luck with this new girl you've met!"

"Thanks, man!" Ivan answered before bumping fists with his coach. "I'll introduce that person to you once the two of us are officially together!"

"Okay! Best of luck to you, man!" Mark declared with a grin while patting Ivan's back.

"Thank you!" Ivan responded cheerfully.

[And I'll be meeting Dino at the fan meeting later!] Ivan thought in excitement. [Oh my God...I really can't wait to see him again!]

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Meanwhile, Eric and Dino were walking together while they were on their way to the university. Eric noticed that Dino was smiling by himself, making the former wonder about what the latter was thinking. Knowing Dino, Eric had guessed that his friend had experienced something great.

[Dino's smiling.] Eric thought while wearing a puzzled look as he gazed at Din secretly. [Could it be that something incredible had happened to him? And he doesn't plan to tell me about it?]

"Hey, Dino," Eric called.

Dino turned to look directly at Eric's eyes and said, "Yeah?"

"What's up with you today?" Eric inquired curiously. "You seem to be really happy."

"Oh, was it that obvious?!" Dino asked while smiling innocently. "Well, it's a secret for now. I'll tell you some other time!"

"Come on, man, tell me," Eric said in a persuading tone. "I've been your friend for thirteen years already. Don't you trust me?"

"Don't worry, man," Dino replied in a reassuring tone while grinning. "I'll tell you about it soon."

"Okay then, Dino. I'll be looking forward to that," Eric answered in his nice deep voice.

"Thanks for understanding!" Dino declared cheerfully.

"No problem, man!" Eric replied while grinning gently.

[Well, yeah...Everything that happened yesterday was so sudden that I can't even bring myself to tell Eric about it yet.] Dino thought while also recalling everything that happened between himself and Ivan. [Plus, the fact that Ivan had kissed me and told me that he likes me is making me go crazy! And if I don't tell Eric about that detail, he might also notice that I'm hiding something! But...that is if he would believe me!]

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During their class, Eric had also noticed that Dino, who was seated right next to the former, was smiling as the latter continued to take notes of their professor's lecture.

[He's thinking about it again.] Eric thought while observing Dino closely. [Now I'm even more curious about what happened to him. And to think that he doesn't even want to tell me about it yet, it must mean that it could be something embarrassing.]

[Oh my goodness...Eric is looking at me!] Dino thought as he felt Eric's gaze. [Could it be that he noticed that I was smiling like a fool? Damn it...I should stop wearing this smile and act serious like a diligent student now!]

At that moment, Dino tried his best to get Ivan and everything that happened between them out of his own mind. Eventually, Dino managed to wear a more serious facial expression.

[Okay...Looks like I've made it!] Dino thought in relief. [I hope that Eric will stop staring at me now!]

[Hmmm...His usual serious facial expression during a class is back.] Eric thought as he noticed the changes in Dino's facial expression. [I'm glad that it's back. But still...I'm curious about whatever he's hiding from me.]

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Once their final class for the day was finished, Dino said, "Eric, let's go to the fan meeting now!"

"Oh, yeah! We'll be going there today!" Eric exclaimed as he looked at his phone for the time. "What time was it again?"

"Six o'clock," Dino responded.

"I see," Eric replied while feeling relieved. "We've still got one hour before the event. Shall we book a Grab car or taxi?"

Dino shook his head and replied, "No need. We can just ride a jeepney* to the mall."

"Okay then," Eric answered with a friendly smile. "Let's go!"

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Definition of Terms

*Jeepney - Also known as jeep, this is a popular mode of public transportation in the Philippines that is similar to a minibus. (Source: Wikipedia)