1990s : The Switch
Prologue
Prologue
Philippe Ahn and William Yi have been best friends since their undergraduate years fencing for Queen's. Since then, they have gone their separate ways as Philippe established a new powerhouse in Carleton and William cementing his legacy in the perennial powerhouse USC.
Now, they are in their second year coaching respectively their second programs after a drastic switch of positions that landed William Yi at his alma mater and Philippe Ahn only kilometres away from his elderly parents. And of course they're bound to clash for the recruiting of one sabreuse who's bound to join either school - Charlotte Watson. They're certain she will arrive in one of the two, but which of the two?
----
Six Months Ago....
Six Months Ago....
It was the very first day of Spring in Quebec. But, of course, it flurried in Gaspesie Peninsula.
Quietly, Philippe Ahn entered the street while trying to heat his own body from the spring frost that remained in the air. All the other suit jackets he had were currently on dry cleaning, so he was left with the one he owned since his early twenties. It was the graduation gift from his late maternal grandmother, who made sure they were red and flashy and everything a fancy gentleman she saw in her eldest grandson (out of only two). While he did not mind wearing this jacket, given its history to the woman she had respected and loved, there was a good chance it would have caused his potential recruits to possibly not take the lucre he offered on a recruiting trip.
But there was no time for any reconsideration of clothing, so leaving his small Perce apartment, only five minutes walk away from his elderly parents, was a no-brainer. He was already short of time and with the next train only available around noon, it would absolutely screw his recruiting trip to his familiar ground of Ottawa. One of the major destinations that he's travelled to in the past two years was his family still back in Ottawa, the fact that was only emphasised by the recruiting trips he still made for the club and school teams he coached in Mount Ross Secondary and Ahn Foundation.
Guess I do have many homes, Philippe Ahn said to himself as he dashed through the streets of Perce, an uncontrolled mix of traditional Korean houses with more modernised shop buildings. One of the downsides of having a downtown railway station in a small city is that often voitures and the pedestrians would be caught by the traffic lights and whatever there is of traffic in the morning. Philippe recalled very well of how in his younger years, he had missed at least 4 times for the train back to Quebec City (where he would often transfer to another train that would take him to Cornwall, Kingston or Ottawa). Fortunately enough, he made sure when buying his apartment to have it close enough to
Besides, he was a fast walker by this point of his training. Thus, it proved to be a no problem as he landed at a small, stone-built train station. He had arrived five minutes before the train's arrival time on 8:05. He was going to get to Quebec City by 14:30, and hopefully to his Epee recruit, Jean-Noel Borduas, at his place at 15:30, when he could surprise the family with an unexpected visit. It was not the most conventional of a fencing coach's recruiting tactic, of course not, but it worked. And that's where the beauty lied. And afterwards, he will depart to Ottawa and arrive home by 21:30, when his wife Lise and his 3 kids Yannick, Michelle and Laurent would be welcoming him home. Oh the joy of a March reading week.
----
"Thank you for the dinner coach," Joel-Lynn said to his fencing team coach, William Yi, as they were having a dinner in a buzzing, Italian restaurant just downtown.
It was the Tuesday Night Jazz in Berrè's, so it was going to be busy and all that in a relatively constrained space with red wallpaper, dimmed lights on the wall (just for occasions like this) and the wooden tables chained to make sure they were not going to be moved else they cracked. It wasn't the restaurant with best atmosphere in town - no way that would ever happen - but it was the best Ristorante in town and part of it was because of the events they had.
The longstanding Cornwall tradition, the Tuesday Night Jazz concert has been running since 1947, 5 years before the coach Yi (and his rival Philippe Ahn, whom we'll get to read more about down the road) was even born. Usually the tuesday night gigs were reserved for those of older musicians, some of whom William had the privilege of acquainting with each other back in his undergraduate days.
But tonight there was a concert by a relatively young, female vocalist named Janice Kasaboski, who was said to have made her return to Cornwall earlier this year. Aged roughly twenty five to twenty six, she mostly looked like she was still in her early twenties, though if you looked closer, one could tell that she's aged a little bit more than that in her facial lines.
Of course, that's not what Joel-Lynn had in mind, as he was struck in awe. He's already known her twin Eunice through work and he's seen her a couple of times on campus before the night at opera, but that was not the point. Joel-Lynn was still a nervous self when in presence of the other sex, and that showed as he struggled to eat and look at the same time. I have terrible memory and while I don't know her name no more, but god, she is a goddess descended upon this earth, he thought to himself as he stared at her as she was leaving the stage, before the intrigued look on Coach Yi forced him to quickly look back.
For a brief while, Joel-Lynn was worried that his coach caught him staring at her. It would have been totally embarrassing. But the coach instead just continued to speak. "Don't thank me, McCarthy. Thank Francisco the owner for keep running this tradition," Coach William responded, as he smiled at his student before chugging down a shot of vodka he had in a separate jar he brought outside in all occasions. "His father, Gianluca that blessed soul, started it, and he's just continuing from where he picked off. I know Frankie's disappointed Diane's not here, but I know he'll like you when he comes by. He knows I don't bring rascals here anyway."
"Indeed, thank you for helping out so much the past two years," Joel-Lynn said in mere appreciation, before proceeding to the sudden change in the topic. "Sir, is it fine if I may ask you a request?"
The Coach's eyes twitched slightly. "What is it? I am talking to you."
"Is it possible if I may ask for a special request to miss out on thursday afternoon practices for a possible choral ensemble practice in Swann Hall, if I may ask?" He asked, fear evident in his face. Coach William Yi, while a generous person, was also infamous to be hotheaded, and Joel-Lynn did not want to get on the bad side of his coach. "I know it's been a couple of years since I last spent singing and one day there was a change in mind, calling me back to the sound of music. I know it is a lot of commitment and you expect the same with the team as the Men's Sabre captain, so I'd like to make this request to you in advance."
"Mmmmmm," William quickly cleared his throat, before proceeding to speak. "If I were you I would take any possible opportunity you may be given," William Yi responded, just-finished cigarette in his ashtray still producing some smoke. "You are a sophomore, so how long do you have remaining here? Not a lot of time, if you ask me on that. I still remember how my thoughts about my wife had only occurred and solidified late in my junior year, and if it weren't for us both ending up in USC for Master's."
"Indeed, sir," Joel-Lynn nodded to himself, as he kept on staring at the vocalist standing in the stage. "Thank you for your generosity and whatnot. Without you I would not have adjusted as well."
"Speak for yourself, boy! Both Philippe and I love kids like you, always looking for more than just fencing," Coach Yi chuckled as he watched his star-recruit's face turn red. william Yi was never the one to run out of poking fun at his athletes, and the beauty of his situational humour always captivated the other athletes. "That said, you look awfully happy for someone who's had to handle the weight of being the team's ace so young. Is there someone special within the music program? Or is she someone of exquisite taste?"
That nearly caught Joel-Lynn offguard, as he tried to calm himself down and speak. "No, no, no, sir," Joel-Lynn responded in a hurry. "It's just I wanted to pick up where I had once left off and my friend, a former don of mine, recommended me to look beyond the options. And after working in the Annalise Swann (Hall) for a year, I felt like I wanted to do it again."
"That's a good friend of yours you have," said Coach William, as he slowly gobbled down the huge piece of chicken in front of him. "Such companions take you long ways. For me, she's the one I've been sharing the bed with for past two decades! For others, it can just mean lifelong friendships. They challenge you and because of that they last forever...."
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