Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 102

Unlike the main tournament, where a long series of interviews and events awaited after the match, the end of the preliminaries was simple. It was common for the athletes from both sides to hug and shake hands as a sign of accepting the outcome, and after a final check of the results according to proper procedure, it would conclude just like that. Athletes who were eliminated in the preliminaries would usually return to their home countries immediately, or they would stay at the athletes’ village accommodation until all events were over, enjoying the global festival that is the Olympics before returning with their country’s team.

The athlete Taehyun faced today seemed to have chosen the latter. I thought he looked young, and when I saw the bag his coach had fumbled to bring him, there was a key ring with the logo of a K-Pop girl group attached to the bag strap. Getting to the Olympics itself was a miraculous feat, but perhaps he did not expect to be eliminated from the very beginning due to such bad luck, for as soon as the results were announced, he covered his face with his arm and cried. Taehyun also knew well how resentful and unfair he must be feeling right now.

Anything I say here will sound like condescension. Just as Taehyun hesitated, unable to approach him readily. The athlete who had been sobbing suddenly lowered his arm, sniffle, blew his nose on a tissue handed to him by his coach, and, with his tears stopped, approached Taehyun. What is this? Is he going to protest or something? Taehyun tensed up for a moment, but the opposing athlete fumbled to take something out of his bag.

“……?”

And what was held out in front of Taehyun was a white sketchbook and a thick pen. For a moment, Taehyun flinched in surprise, and the opposing athlete shouted in awkward Korean.

“Sign, please!”

Of course, in Korea, it was not uncommon to receive a sudden request for an autograph during daily life, but this was the first time he had received a request from an opposing athlete after a match like this. At most, they would ask to take a picture together, or want to hug one more time, but he had never been asked for an autograph like this. The opposing athlete also seemed unfamiliar with this kind of thing; even though Taehyun was the one being asked, he himself had a more desperate and flustered look on his face, squeezing his eyes shut.

“……”

Although it was resentful and sad to be eliminated from the very first preliminary match in his first Olympics, I could feel an affection for taekwondo that was even greater than that. It felt strange to watch that quietly from a third person’s perspective. What is so great about this? For him, it was a sport with a long history since childhood, and since Korea is the country of origin, it was natural for him to have pride or affection for it. But for that foreign friend, it was just a martial art from another country, which, on a global scale, would be considered an unpopular sport, so it was just amazing how he came to learn it and even become an athlete. Of course, looking at the key ring on his bag, I could guess what might have sparked his interest. But while learning it as a hobby has a low hurdle, it is quite rare to go as far as becoming an athlete.

Whether Taehyun was suddenly curious about his story or not, the opposing athlete was holding out the sketchbook, trembling with a quite desperate expression. Taehyun finally came to his senses and took the sketchbook and pen that the opposing athlete held out.

Scribble, scribble, after the black script of his name, hastily scrawled, was engraved on the white sketchbook, Taehyun picked up the pen again to write the opposing athlete’s name, then paused again. What should I write in front of it? Usually, when giving an autograph in Korea, he would write something like ‘Thank you,’ but in this situation, writing ‘Thank you’ felt a bit too much like ‘Thank you for letting me advance because you lost,’ so he hesitated. It would be better to cheer for his future development instead. Taehyun quickly added ‘Good luck’ in front of his name. The face of the athlete who received the autograph from Taehyun lit up. Taehyun also smiled lightly.

“Thank you, very much!”

It was an intonation full of the kind of fighting spirit unique to foreigners. Taehyun looked at him and offered a final greeting.

“Yes, have a good day.”

It was a strange and peculiar experience. It made him think that his younger self must have also approached matches with that kind of heart. It was a little sad that he could no longer do so now that his shoulders had become heavy, but he also felt that it was something that could not be helped. The opposing athlete, who had run quickly to join his coach, chattered away in simple English that Taehyun could also understand.

<Did you get his autograph?>

<Yes. Look at this!>

The coach asked him as he smiled brightly.

<Aren’t you disappointed?>

Then, the opposing athlete shouted cheerfully again.

<It’s okay, because I’ll do better next time!>

That image was so dazzling that he could not easily look away. There was a time when Taehyun himself had also been eliminated unexpectedly in the early stages and could not control his resentment. As Taehyun was on the verge of tears, angry at himself and unable to contain his frustration, the head of the dojang comforted him.

‘Well, it was a shame today, but…. Wouldn’t it be cooler to meet the opponent you narrowly lost to today next time and completely crush their spirit? It’s no fun if you’re only good from the beginning.’

He was not sure if that was something to say to a child he was teaching, but it was clear that it had been a comfort to Taehyun. That sparkle that could promise a next time was so beautiful.

“What are you doing? Not coming.”

Taehyun, who had continued to watch the opposing athlete’s back even after he had disappeared to the other side of the arena, soon nodded at his coach’s urging and moved his feet. Thanks to that, he was glad that he could go meet Sejin in a good mood.

🤺

10:03 PM

I’ll go out to the lobby now.

Late at night, after all the events were over, and the other athletes were taking it easy and resting in their accommodations outside the athletes’ village one by one. Taehyun slipped away, saying he had to meet someone at the athletes’ village for a moment. He was not actually going to the athletes’ village, but when he went down to the first floor, he saw a car he had never seen before in the parking lot, as if someone had rented it. The tint was so dark that he could not even see if anyone was inside.

Knock, knock. Just in case, Taehyun knocked on the window before opening the passenger door, and Sejin’s face appeared through the slightly opened gap in the window.

“Get in.”

Why did that short phrase sound so good? Taehyun grinned and opened the door. As soon as the door, thud, closed, Taehyun sat down on the seat and asked.

“You arrived this afternoon, you should just rest. Aren’t you tired?”

In truth, it was something he did not mean. Even though he knew he was tired, even though he could clearly predict that it would be tough, he wanted to see him right now. If Sejin had not offered to come here first, he would have called an U○ and gone to the athletes’ village himself. While cursing up and down about how the Fencing Association could not even get them one external accommodation when it is not like they are that short on money. However, since Sejin readily rented a car and said he would come, the matter was easily resolved. At that moment, as Taehyun, who had put on a hat just in case when leaving the accommodation, placed it on the glove box and waited for Sejin’s answer.

“……!?”

Suddenly, his chin was grabbed and a warm temperature pressed down on his lips. Taehyun did not resist and obediently parted his lips. A soft tongue immediately burrowed through the parted teeth. The kiss was still a mess, but just the act of kissing itself felt good. As Taehyun slightly opened his mouth wider to accept Sejin deeper and also flexibly rubbed his tongue and sucked the inside of his mouth, the hot breath on his face grew stronger. Am I going to get hard here? Taehyun, thinking oh no, quickly pushed Sejin away. Sejin, pushed away in a daze, looked at Taehyun with a bewildered expression.

“This is a parking lot, not a motel.”

At those words, Sejin’s face, whoosh, turned bright red. He seemed to have realized that he had gone a bit too far, and his embarrassed appearance was quite cute. Taehyun liked that childlike side of him too. Sejin, who had barely managed to compose his shame, said with a reddened face.

“I missed you.”

“Me too.”

Taehyun answered briefly and stroked Sejin’s disheveled hair. Having already crashed their lips together, it was too late to go back without doing anything. Once the pheromone levels had risen ambiguously, there was a risk of it becoming a problem even tomorrow if it was not resolved. It was a ridiculous form of torture that if they were not going to go all the way, they should not have any sexual contact at all. Normally, it would be fine because he would take suppressants to prevent the secretion of pheromones, but since he was not taking any medication, it could not be helped.

“Where are we going? All the motels nearby are fully booked.”

As Taehyun tried his best to hold back from getting hard down there and asked, Sejin quickly put the hat back on Taehyun, shifted the gear, turned the steering wheel, and pulled out of the parking lot.