Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 116

He had gotten excited over things he wasn’t supposed to do as if he had a fetish for them, yet he was being so talkative now, but it couldn’t be helped. This was, after all, an issue related to athletic performance.

‘There are stories, and I’ve even experienced it myself, that… if desire is well-resolved, your condition might actually improve…’

Still, this wasn’t right. My leg is in this state, any excitement I had has already cooled down. While his mind continued to waver back and forth, it wasn’t long before the sound of a car’s exhaust was heard from the parking lot attached to the lodging building. Taehyun, startled at the thought that someone might see Sejin, shot out of the front door. Then, before Sejin could even turn off the ignition and get out of the driver’s seat, he jumped into the passenger seat.

Perhaps his claim about his pheromone levels being high wasn’t a lie, because as soon as he opened the car door, that unique, fresh scent tickled the tip of his nose. Surprised, Taehyun studied Sejin’s expression and saw his face was flushed with a color full of heat.

“You…”

Before Taehyun could finish his sentence, Sejin gripped the steering wheel first.

“I’ll drive straight to the villa.”

“…Okay.”

Seeing his face, no more words would come out. Ah, fuck. What am I going to do? It’s not like I’m a twenty-year-old having sex for the first time. Despite having nagged about how he could do something that might affect his performance, the moment he saw his face, his lower abdomen tightened. It was pretty much a conditioned reflex. Seriously, it’s not like my ego is located in my lower body. Taehyun felt so embarrassed by his own thoughts that he ended up blushing.

While he deliberately avoided his gaze and looked out the car window, his mind went blank about what he should say. Well… what is there to say. It would be funny to ask for praise because I won a medal, and it would be absurd to start begging for a prize now after I already said, “What kind of reward is dating you just because I win a gold medal?” As Taehyun covered his face with his palms and cautiously observed him, Sejin, who was gripping the steering wheel tightly, suddenly spoke up.

“I knew you would do it, hyung. I’m sorry my congratulations are late. I meant to say it, but the timing kept being a bit off.”

To think that the words he struggled to bring out in this awkward atmosphere were congratulations. For a moment, it was so funny wondering why Sejin was also being so cautious around him that he almost burst out laughing, but then Sejin revealed the reason.

“Is your… foot okay?”

Ah. Taehyun finally realized it again. It was weighing on his mind because it wasn’t just good news. He could feel that Sejin was being carefully considerate, just in case Taehyun had heard some shocking results. The fact that this blunt and quirky guy was exercising his own brand of delicacy was both funny and cute, and Taehyun barely managed to hold back the laugh that almost escaped him.

“Yeah. They said it seems to be a clean break, so it should be fine. It’s pretty swollen for now, but they said it was a huge relief that it didn’t shatter into pieces.”

That was exactly what they had said. The worst-case scenario Taehyun could have faced when he competed in the final match, ignoring the medical staff’s recommendation, was the ankle bone shattering into multiple pieces. He had been explained that in such a case, not only would it be difficult to expect natural reconstruction and recovery, but the area of bone that wouldn’t regenerate would have to be replaced, which would create that many more limitations on his activities.

When he first got a proper look at his ankle, which began to swell at a terrifying rate right after the match ended, he had even predicted that he might have to live with the aftereffects for the rest of his life. However, after barely getting through the temporary treatment and the award ceremony, when he received the X-ray analysis results and was given the opinion that it could be resolved with a simple surgery, Taehyun felt like he had received a surprise gift on top of the medal.

“Then you don’t have to have surgery?”

At Sejin’s subsequent question, Taehyun shook his head.

“No, they said the surgery to scrape out the inflammation would have been necessary anyway, even if the bone hadn’t broken. They said I could let the swelling go down first and have the surgery slowly in Korea, so I decided to do that. They told me they can’t do anything until the swelling subsides. Still, it’s better than getting metal pins put in and having major surgery.”

There was a big difference, from the recovery time after surgery to the prognosis. Either way, just the fact that it wasn’t the worst possible outcome made him feel nothing but happy right now. It was an answer Taehyun had given in a relatively good mood, but Sejin’s expression wasn’t very bright, as if it was bothering him.

“Then today… shouldn’t you not overdo it?”

Perhaps not wanting to become the trash who gets horny over an injured person, Sejin flinched, his hand on the steering wheel twitching. Catching that momentary movement, Taehyun once again suppressed the laugh that almost burst out and answered in a relaxed voice.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I wonder how many painkillers they gave me earlier, it probably won’t even hurt if you press it with your hand.”

Actually, that was a lie. How could it not hurt? It was still so swollen he couldn’t even tell where his ankle was. However, it was true that the sensation had dulled to the point where it wasn’t bothersome as long as it wasn’t touched directly, so it wouldn’t be a major hindrance to whatever they did next. Ahem, Taehyun cleared his throat, deliberately not voicing the thought that had just crossed his mind.

“Well, that’s a relief, but…”

Sejin mumbled in a voice as small as a crawling ant. In the meantime, the distance to the villa had steadily closed, and the parking lot was already in view. Perhaps because of anticipation, or perhaps because his tension had eased, his forehead felt strangely hot.

‘It’s not like I’m having sex for the first time…’

Why do I feel this embarrassed? As soon as Taehyun unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, he felt even more shy seeing Sejin already waiting to support him. It was inconvenient, but it wasn’t like he couldn’t walk on his own if there was no one to help him. As he wrapped his arm around Sejin’s shoulder for support with an awkward feeling, a strange thought occurred to him. When I first saw this kid, he was definitely shorter than me. It wasn’t a huge difference, not like he was a whole head taller, but going from looking down at him slightly to the opposite, having to look up at him slightly, felt new. Even though the actual difference might not have changed, since he went from below to above, it meant Sejin alone had grown about 10 centimeters.

Will he grow even more? Among some athletes, there were cases where they grew little by little until they were twenty-five, so there was a possibility that Sejin too could get a few centimeters taller from here. I don’t want him to look down on me to the point of getting too cocky. As he was thinking that now was just perfect and looking into Sejin’s face, Sejin’s earlobes turned bright red. It’s not just me, this guy has a lot to be shy about too. Just as Taehyun was about to swallow another laugh, their faces drew closer.

“Mmm…”

And then their lips gently met. It wasn’t a reckless charge of the mouth, but a cute kiss that gently enveloped his lips and lightly sucked on them as if asking for permission. He could even feel how careful he was being, as if he would break if touched wrong. It’s not like my ankle is attached to my face. Taehyun wrapped his arm firmly around Sejin’s waist and whispered.

“Let’s do it inside, okay?”

As their faces got closer, the scent coming from Sejin pierced his mind more intensely. Taehyun too was reacting sensitively, his body hot with anticipation for the pleasure this lovely person would give him.

“Yes.”

At Taehyun’s request, Sejin didn’t even look properly at the door lock, fumbling to press the keypad with his hand as he kissed Taehyun again. This time, his soft tongue slipped between their parted lips. For some reason, Taehyun tilted his head, feeling that Sejin’s tongue, which usually felt slightly hot, seemed faintly cool today.

“…?”

Sejin, who had hastily opened the front door in the meantime, was surprised by Taehyun’s tilted reaction and met his eyes to ask.

“Hyung, don’t you have a fever right now? If it’s because of your foot, I think we should stop and go to the hospital right away…”

As he said that, thud, the moment the front door closed, he placed a hand on Taehyun’s forehead. He definitely had a fever, unlike usual. It was only when Sejin’s eyes widened as he faced Taehyun that Taehyun realized he hadn’t taken his birth control pill before coming to meet Sejin. Since birth control pills have a different mechanism of action from pheromone suppressants, they can’t stop an omega from getting excited by an alpha’s pheromones, but they did have the effect of blocking them from going into heat, craving pregnancy in response to those pheromones. Safe sex was important, but whether or not a heat was induced by an alpha’s pheromones was also a pretty important point, so until now, he had always taken birth control pills in advance when he was intimate with Sejin. The fact that this kind of reaction appeared immediately just from not taking that one pill was suddenly embarrassing.

“…”

When Taehyun couldn’t give any answer and his face just turned bright red, Sejin asked again.

“Are you okay? Are you sure you’re not really sick somewhere?”

Even with Sejin’s question, Taehyun found the scent coming from him so good that he wanted to bury his face in the crook of his neck.