Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 113

He had won. The moment he confirmed it with his eyes on the electronic display, his body swayed. Stagger, just as Taehyun was about to fall backward, it was the opposing athlete who caught him. His eyes were red as if he was chagrined. However, he did not loosen the grip of his hand on Taehyun’s shoulder. Only when Taehyun barely regained his balance and stood up did he let go.

“Thank you.”

When Taehyun looked at him awkwardly and expressed his gratitude, the man muttered a few words in a language he did not know. He seemed to be angry. Unfortunately, Taehyun could not understand a single word he was saying.

‘What does he want me to do….’

While his mind was dizzy, Taehyun furrowed his brow, and the man spun around and went over to his support team. Soon after, a medical official from the committee approached and helped support Taehyun.

“Are you okay? Would you like to go to the hospital right away?”

Then, the coach and the head coach also surrounded Taehyun, looking at him with worried eyes. Taehyun frowned for a moment and then shook his head.

“No, I’m fine.”

Then he asked the interpreter who was waiting with a special name tag on his chest.

“I’m sorry, but do you happen to know what Mar… tinez? said earlier?”

The interpreter would have likely volunteered to handle English and Korean interpretation, so it would be a useless question if he did not know what language it was. As Taehyun looked at the interpreter, barely enduring the fatigue that felt like it was pressing down on his head, the interpreter let out a short exclamation, “Ah!”

“Just a moment. I’ll go and ask.”

There was still some time left before the match officially concluded anyway. The result of the match was already out, but it would not be over until the final judgment and supervision of the referees and officials were declared complete. While the remaining athletes and support teams were sitting in their respective waiting areas, the interpreter, who had briefly disappeared, reappeared with a much brighter expression.

“Um…. It seemed to be a personal story, should I relay it to you?”

Did he go and ask him directly? Or did he ask a colleague among the people who were there who could speak the opposing athlete’s language? Either way, it did not seem like it would hurt to hear the answer. Taehyun readily nodded his head. Then, the interpreter glanced at Taehyun’s expression before speaking.

“He said he really wanted to compete against you at your best, and he was very disappointed that he couldn’t. He asks you to do your best in the finals for his sake.”

“Ah…. Yes, thank you.”

No matter how I look at it, it didn’t seem like that’s what he said. It definitely looked like he was cursing and getting annoyed. Even if it meant the same thing, it would have been more like, ‘How dare you show up in such a messy state for a match against me? And you still aim for the champion’s spot?’ or something with that kind of nuance. Taehyun looked at the opposing athlete again. He thought their eyes met for a moment, but he quickly turned his head away, so he could not tell. Soon after, the official who had finished the review declared the final victory and defeat results. Along with the roar of cheers that was so loud it made his ears feel numb, Taehyun turned around and bowed his head to the audience. He tried his best to show a faint smile, but there was already no sensation in his left foot.

It was only natural. He had put a temporary measure in place to prevent him from even feeling pain in a leg that would not be strange if it snapped right at that moment. In the meantime, it must have swollen up again, because the swelling filled up along the taping line, and the area below his left shin tingled intensely as if he had a cramp. If he had his way, he wanted to massage his leg right on the spot, but he was reluctant to do so, thinking it would draw the attention of those around him. In any case, with this, he had secured a medal, so that was that. He returned to the waiting room to rest before the match that would take place in six hours, and as he ripped off the taping, everyone simultaneously gasped in horror.

“Oof…. How did you endure this?”

It was obvious at a glance that the swelling was so severe it was an emergency situation. On top of that, there was the trembling that started the moment the taping was removed. Just standing on both legs, putting strength into them in this state, seemed like a miracle. Moreover, once the excitement of the match subsided, Taehyun’s condition, which had seemed manageable just a moment ago, had plummeted to its worst.

“You’ve done enough to get this far. We all know how much you’ve suffered. There isn’t a single person in the entire country who doesn’t know.”

At a glance, it might have sounded as if the head coach had some ulterior motive in urging Taehyun to withdraw, but everyone present knew that was not the case. Rather, sending the athlete out onto the arena any further was close to something a coach should not do.

Besides, although he was trying hard to pretend he was fine, cold sweat had been pouring down Taehyun’s forehead like a waterfall for a while now. Physically, he was at his limit. In this state, if an attack hit him wrong, and he got hit in the chin or head incorrectly, or failed to break his fall and ended up collapsing on the floor with his neck bent, there was a risk of sustaining an even greater injury. Therefore, after making a comprehensive judgment, he had recommended withdrawal.

“Right, you really worked hard. Let’s rest now, okay?”

“Taehyun-ah.”

However, the more everyone added a word with worried eyes, the more a sense of rebellion somehow welled up inside him. He thought it had all died out a long time ago, but like an ember that had been holding its breath and then burst out again, it heated the blood pumping from his heart. Taehyun smiled wanly and thought. Head Coach, I guess I really can’t help it. You taught me to be such a good kid, but it seems like the more everyone tells me not to do something, the more I want to do it, it’s just in my nature. I can’t do anything about it, this. As Taehyun smiled wistfully and wiped away the flowing sweat with the towel around his neck, the head coach let out a sigh as if he was dumbfounded. Taehyun took it a step further and made a request to the medical staff.

“Please re-tape it. Tighter than before.”

The forcibly bound leg felt a piercing pain with every step, like a mermaid who had just come ashore for the first time. The sensation, like being cut with a knife, as if shouting that there was a limit to what painkillers could block, made Taehyun bite his lip hard. He understood in his head why the head coach and coach were telling him to stop here.

It was not polite to the opposing athlete who had to fight against someone who clearly did not look well, and there would be no sight more disgraceful than collapsing on his own shortly after the match started. However, even if everyone in the world pointed fingers at his last, ugly appearance, he did not want to back down. Even if he were to fall into the abyss, if just one person would not turn their back on him and would hold his hand, that was enough to give him the courage to be stubborn one last time.

The waiting time, during which he did not even know how time was passing until the final match, ended, and an official knocked on the waiting room door to take Taehyun to the arena again.

“Could I make just one phone call for a moment?”

There was still some time left until the designated entrance time, so the volunteer readily nodded. Taehyun, without hesitation, pressed the number that he had long since memorized and made a call, and as soon as the call connected, he made a blunt request.

“Tell me to do well.”

At this moment, no other words were needed. Despite Taehyun’s abrupt request, the person on the other end of the line did not refuse and obediently complied.

Do well.

“Yeah.”

With that short conversation, the call ended. His steps toward the arena felt much lighter.

🤺

After being taken in by the head coach, Taehyun had always been on a safe track. Even when he felt the impulse to deviate from time to time, he always enjoyed minor acts of rebellion within a safe boundary. In a way, he was a contradictory person, straight as if measured with a ruler, yet at other times, extremely careless and even roguish. The people around Taehyun liked that side of him. Taehyun liked that people liked him. He felt a sense of satisfaction, as if he were proving, one by one, that he could live a different life from his mess of a father.

On the other hand, there was a doubt that constantly lingered in a corner of his heart. Do I really want to do this? Am I not just following what people expect me to do? Then what is it that I really want to do? Even in a situation where everyone acknowledged that Taehyun, though just an uncrowned king, was in fact the number one who had long defended the throne, he lacked conviction. In the first place, he felt that it would not have been much different even if he had done a different sport instead of Taekwondo. He himself was doubtful.

Does that mean I was pushed all the way here? The moment his head cleared as if a spotlight had been shone right on the crown of his head. Taehyun was standing, having set foot in the middle of the arena.

‘Ah.’

No sooner had Taehyun flinched and frowned than a sharp kick flew toward his chin. He barely shifted his center of gravity backward to avoid it, and it was only right before he was pushed out of the line that he came to his senses with a jolt. That’s right, I’m in a match right now. His eyes were already half-closed and he had almost no strength left, so he could barely avoid the opponent’s attacks, let alone attempt an attack himself.