Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 115

“Thank you. You two should also go inside and get some rest. I’m sorry to keep you up this late because of me.”

“What are you talking about, if our athlete gets hurt, of course we should come along. Do you think we’d just send you off alone to handle it yourself? You don’t need to thank us, so just hurry up and rest. Once we go back to Korea, you won’t even have time to rest even if you want to.”

“That’s right, every broadcasting company will be in a frenzy trying to scout you, do you think you’ll even be able to sleep? You should get all the sleep you can now.”

At the pleasantries of those around him, Taehyun let out a small laugh.

“It’s not that big of a deal. My face is already plenty well-known, so the athletes getting the spotlight for the first time will probably be the priority.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Want to bet?”

“Let’s save the jokes for later, we should head in too.”

The coach calmed the director’s rebuttal, bringing the conversation to a close.

“Right, right. You, don’t even think about doing anything else and just go to sleep.”

“Yes, sir. Good night.”

Once the two who had been nagging away so noisily left, the room became completely silent. The other athletes were staying in their lodgings within the athletes’ village, each for their own reasons, whether it was to continue with the remaining competitions, or because they had finished all their scheduled events but wanted to fully enjoy the Olympic atmosphere. He couldn’t go back to the athletes’ village lodging now, and his mind was actually wide awake from having a whole cluster of needles stuck in his arm for nutritional IVs and fluids while he was getting checked up. Now, what should I do… Mumbling up to that point, Taehyun jolted in surprise as he recalled something he had forgotten while being held onto like a paper doll and dragged around here and there by several people.

‘I’m in big trouble.’

He made such a fuss, telling me I had to contact him right after the match ended. In truth, it wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of Sejin until now. However, surrounded on all sides by staff, the coach, and even the director, with everyone focused solely on him in a one-versus-many situation, he couldn’t possibly ask them to step aside because he had to make a call. When his victory was first confirmed, he was busy bowing in thanks to the audience and receiving the flood of gifts and cheering slogans from the stands, and when he was moved to the medical room after the award ceremony, all sorts of people rushed up and blocked his path asking for autographs, so he couldn’t do anything. It went without saying that it was even more impossible when a cluster of needles was stuck in his arm in the treatment room.

‘Oh, dear… He’s going to be so mad.’

If Sejin had also been watching the broadcast, he would know what the situation was, but that didn’t change the fact that it was a bit late to be calling. Getting an earful to the point of his eardrums bursting was one thing. But what was simply wonderful was the fact that he could now reveal the person he loved to the world without anything holding him back. He wanted to pat Sejin’s pouting bottom, pull him into a tight hug, and kiss his pouting lips. He quickly snatched the phone he had put in his jersey pocket and turned on the screen, and just as he expected, an enormous number of missed calls were displayed. This time, before a new call could come in from Sejin, Taehyun pressed the call button first. The dial tone didn’t even ring three times before Sejin answered the phone.

What time do you think it is…

“I miss you.”

And with that, Taehyun abruptly cut Sejin off.

…….

As silence continued from over the receiver, Taehyun continued speaking.

“I said I miss you. Right now.”

He knew it was a foolish complaint. His own competition had ended long ago, but the fencing team had various sub-disciplines and just as many participating athletes, so there was still a long way to go in the schedule before their events were over. He knew that whining to Sejin, who was in that situation, that he missed him wasn’t something a senior athlete should do, but his heart was just so full that he couldn’t bear it. Still, no answer came back from Sejin. Only the sound of a hastily drawn breath was transmitted through the phone line. Taehyun’s shoulders hitched as he spoke.

“What should I do. Should I pick the lock on the back gate of the athletes’ village and sneak in right now?”

Even for Taehyun, this was an impossible feat. He said it hoping to at least convey just how much he missed him, but the immediate response made Taehyun’s heart drop.

Where are you right now? I’ll go to you. Hyung must be tired, so I’ll just see your face and head right back.

No, what do you mean you’ll come. That was absolutely out of the question. At this point in time, getting permission to leave was impossible without a reason like needing urgent outpatient treatment, as was the case for Taehyun. Even for Sejin, hailed as the Prince of Épée, that wouldn’t be possible. Besides, if they saw each other now, there was no way they could stop there. It was obvious just from looking at their track record of hooking up so far.

“No, no, no, I just meant I miss you that much, don’t come. If it affects your performance in the slightest, I’ll feel so sorry I won’t be able to stand it. I’m fine because I rested while getting my check-up earlier. But you’re not. Just seeing your face would make me want to die from guilt.”

As Taehyun, startled, spouted out a stream of extreme sentences, Sejin went silent again. Then, after a long stretch of silence, he uttered a single phrase.

I’ll look into it. As long as there’s no penalty for me, it’s fine, right?

“What? No, forget it. Even if there’s no penalty, don’t come out! Don’t you know you have the team preliminaries tomorrow?”

As Taehyun, horrified, wracked his brain to come up with reasons why Sejin absolutely must not come to see him, Sejin immediately retorted.

That’s in the afternoon, so it’s fine. I’m hanging up. Please wait just 10 minutes.

And with that as his final word, he really did hang up the phone.

“Hey, what the… What is he trying to do…”

Did he intend to bribe the Olympic Committee or something? There was no way that would work. It’s ridiculous. However, when Taehyun received another call from Sejin a moment later, he couldn’t help but be flabbergasted.

“Hey, what on earth were you thinking…”

I got permission.

“What?”

I said I got permission. Give me the address, I’m leaving right now.

How on earth he had managed to get permission in such a short amount of time was a mystery, but as he had briefly mentioned, it wasn’t a problem that would be fine just because he had permission. For the past few days, worried his pheromones might spike before a match, they hadn’t even brushed against each other, and it had been building up. If he saw his face, he would want to touch him, and it would definitely not end with just holding each other and kissing. Even if Sejin pushed him away saying no, he himself was the problem. He wanted him so much that he himself was flustered, wondering if he had always been this lewd, despite having just broken his leg.

So, he would surely do more than that. Would he just do it? He would probably pound and thrust into him until he collapsed from exhaustion, so there was no way it wouldn’t affect his match the next day. Even if it was the preliminaries, that was unacceptable. As long as there was even a one in a million chance of a variable, he could never allow it. Taehyun firmly blocked Sejin.

“Still no. I can’t call you out for my own satisfaction when I know perfectly well you have a match tomorrow. My conscience won’t let me do something like that. Don’t come, please.”

Just then, as Taehyun desperately pleaded. A sound like a chuckle, like air escaping, brushed past Taehyun’s ear. He’s laughing? Now? He finds this funny? It was so unbelievable that he was thinking, has this guy lost his mind, when Sejin opened his mouth again.

No can do. The moment you said you missed me, hyung, I got turned on. I’m super hard right now, how can I enter the stadium tomorrow like this?

“…!?”

For a moment, his brain refused to comprehend what the hell this guy was saying. As Taehyun tilted his head, Sejin continued his explanation with a smile.

My pheromone levels have probably already risen above the allowable limit for entry. What do I do if I take medication now and get side effects? There’s no way but for you to solve this, hyung.

Whether the statement about his pheromone levels already having risen was true or not, Taehyun had no way of verifying its authenticity at this moment. Grr, his face flushed at the thought that he had once again been nicely played by Sejin, when Sejin spoke again.

So hurry up and tell me where you are. If you don’t want to see me actually get kicked out for failing to manage my pheromones.

He said he’d just see my face and go earlier. Seeing him now expertly blackmailing him with pheromones, he really felt like he had helped raise a tiger cub. Seriously, this guy’s stubbornness. I’ll pinch his cheek until a mark is left when we meet. Vowing this internally, Taehyun ultimately raised the white flag.

“I’ll send the address by message, so you figure it out.”

Sigh… Is this really the right thing to do? Taehyun tore at his hair, having completely lost the peace of mind he had found after winning the gold medal. Well, he’s probably coming because he’s confident he can handle it. But still. His heart continued to waver like it was in a period of storm and stress.