Chapter 2

"So, Dino, did you watch Ivan's freestyle race last night?" Eric asked while grinning as both he and Dino were already near the university.

"Yeah!" Dino exclaimed cheerfully with a nod. "He's awesome as usual, don't you think?"

"Yes, he is," Eric answered with a nod and a grin.

"There's another amazing thing that happened last night," Dino declared with his eyes shining in joy.

"What is it?" Eric interrogated curiously.

"I also won my bet against my brother when I placed my bet on Ivan!" Dino exclaimed cheerfully.

Eric laughed and replied, "Wow! Congrats! So, how much did you win from him?"

"Five hundred pesos," Dino answered with a smirk.

"Wow! That's a big amount, man!" Eric answered in a lively manner. "Congrats again!"

"Thanks!" Dino replied also in a lively manner. "And because of that, I'll treat you to lunch later!"

"Oh, really?!" Eric inquired with his eyes sparkling in happiness and excitement.

"Yeah!" Dino responded with both a nod and an innocent smile.

"Thanks, man! I'm looking forward to it!" Eric replied.

"No problem!" Dino answered before he and Eric did a brotherly fist bump with each other.

Both Dino and Eric have been fans of Ivan for five years. They had first watched him in a swimming competition in Russia, with both of them feeling captivated with Ivan's beautiful swimming style. Since then, they have also been watching Ivan's swimming competitions. They would also watch his interviews and buy magazines that featured him. Moreover, both of them have dreamed of meeting Ivan personally someday.

"Say, Dino, what would you do if we ever get the chance to meet Ivan?" Eric asked once they entered the university grounds.

"Of course I'd be taking lots of pictures with him and get his autograph!" Dino replied cheerfully. "I would even hug him! What about you?"

"Same as what you would do," Eric answered with a gentle grin.

"Glad to know that!" Dino answered in a jolly tone before looking at the time on his Android phone. "Oh, we still have fifteen minutes before our first class!"

"Yeah. Let's hurry," Eric declared before both he and Dino quickly made their way to the classroom.

Eric and Dino managed to make it to the classroom with the professor still not there. When Dino checked the time, there were two minutes left before the start of the class.

"Thank goodness we made it just on time," Dino declared while sighing in relief.

"Yeah," Eric responded while also letting out a sigh of relief. "Let's go and find seats for ourselves."

"Yeah, let's go!" Dino replied before both he and Eric proceeded to find seats.

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After taking their lunch at the canteen, Dino browsed through his Facebook Newsfeed and saw a news article entitled 'Ivan Sadovsky Will Come to the Philippines Next Week'. The title itself was more than enough to spark his interest so he tapped on the link to read it.

[No way! Is this for real?!] Dino thought in excitement before proceeding to read the article.

Dino became much more excited after reading the contents of the whole news article so he decided to tell Eric, who was seated across the table in front of the former, about it.

"Eric, you won't believe what I'll tell you!" Dino exclaimed in excitement.

"What is it, man?" Eric inquired curiously.

Dino showed the news article and answered, "Look at this! Ivan is coming to the Philippines next week!"

"Really?!" Eric blurted out in excitement while also beginning to read the same news article. "No way!"

"Yes way!" Dino answered cheerfully. "We'll finally get the chance to meet him!"

Eric read the news article carefully and said, "Yeah. Aside from the training, he'll be having a fan meeting and autograph signing too as mentioned here. We'll have our chance by then!"

"This is...so unbelievable!" Dino exclaimed with his fists clenched and his eyes sparkling in excitement. "I never imagined that this chance would come!"

"Me either!" Eric replied. "Let's go there then, man!"

"Yeah! We're definitely going to meet him and get his autograph!" Dino exclaimed in excitement before bumping fists with Eric.

"Looking forward to that, man!" Eric exclaimed in a lively manner.

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A week later, while he and Eric were in the university canteen taking their time to rest after eating, Dino saw a news article on his Facebook Newsfeed, in which it was reported that Ivan had finally arrived in the Philippines. This made Dino feel even more excited so he tapped on the link to read it.

In the news article, it was mentioned that Ivan Sadovsky had arrived in the Philippines around 11:00AM, and that he will be having a fan meeting and autograph signing session in a mall on Wednesday.

[Wow! So it's this Wednesday!] Dino though in excitement.

"Hey, Eric!" Dino called in an excited tone.

"Yes? What is it, Dino?" Eric asked curiously as he temporarily put his Android phone down on the table.

"Let's go meet Ivan this Wednesday!" Dino declared excitedly. "He will be having an autograph signing session this Wednesday!"

"Really? Let's go there then!" Eric responded in a jolly and excited tone. "But what time will it be?"

"It's at 6:00PM," Dino replied with a smirk. "And it will be in Greenbelt."

"That's great!" Eric exclaimed merrily. "We've got plenty of time to get to that event after our class!"

"Yeah!" Dino answered excitedly. "Oh, I can't wait to meet him!"

"Same here!" Eric blurted out with his eyes shining in excitement. "Let's take lots of pictures with him!"

"You're right! Let's do it!" Dino answered while smiling innocently.

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The next day, Dino and Eric were already on their way home when the former remembered to buy some groceries that his mother asked him to buy.

[Oh, right. I need to buy something.] Dino thought.

"Eric, I'll be buying something, so just go on home without me," Dino declared.

"I can join you if you want me to," Eric answered while smiling in a friendly way.

"No, it's okay," Dino replied with an innocent grin. "It will take me some time since I'll be buying some groceries."

"Okay then," Eric replied. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye!" Eric declared while waving his hand as he walked farther and farther away from Dino.

"Bye! See you tomorrow!" Dino answered while waving back at Eric.

[I have to go to the comfort room first.] Dino thought as he quickly made his way to the nearest comfort room.

A few minutes later, Dino arrived at the comfort room. He had just closed the door of the men's comfort room when another man suddenly came in and slammed the door. Curious about why the man suddenly closed the door, Dino turned around and saw that the man was like pushing the door back.

The man was taller than Dino and possessed blonde hair. He was standing at a height of 190 centimeters, and his hair was long enough to reach the middle of his nape. He was wearing a cap, a striped T-shirt, and a pair of casual shorts.

[This guy isn't a Filipino.] Dino thought before approaching the guy carefully from behind.

"Excuse me, sir, what's wrong?" Dino asked curiously.

The blonde-haired man turned around, and Dino saw his familiar handsome face. To his utter amazement, Dino knew who it was.

"Ivan?!" Dino asked after gasping in amazement.