Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 124

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Having barely succeeded in escaping after meeting a junior he knew well, Taehyun now had to endure a barrage of questions about when he would treat them to a buffet now that he had won a gold medal. “It’s not like that yet,” he lied without batting an eye, but his mind was constantly filled with thoughts of Sejin. Would he be very surprised? Well, it wasn’t like he hadn’t given him any warning. The problem was that he kept forgetting he was with his junior and was about to break into a silly grin. Taehyun managed to compose his expression and waited for the spectator admission time. Then, as soon as the start time arrived, the junior, seeing Taehyun jump up from his seat, asked.

“Hyung, is your leg okay?”

Just standing with the weight off his foot was fine now. Taehyun quickly nodded his head, grabbed his crutch, and left the room again.

“Yeah. It’s time, so I’m going now. See you next time.”

And with that, he briskly got up from his seat and headed to the familiar stadium.

‘Will he spot me right away….’

However, contrary to his expectations, the first person to recognize Taehyun was not Sejin, but Seoyoung.

“Oh…!”

From a distance, Seoyoung, who recognized Taehyun immediately by his physique, attire, and crutch, widened his eyes, drawing the attention of all the nearby athletes to Taehyun. Sejin was nowhere to be seen in that vicinity. Taehyun quickly placed his index finger to his lips, asking Seoyoung to be quiet. Where is Sejin? He first took a seat in the spectator section and looked around the stadium, and he saw Sejin on the opposite side, talking with an official.

‘Oh….’

This was the first time he had come to see Sejin in person like this, in the middle of the stadium. This was the quarterfinals, so the individual events would all be over by tomorrow, he’d said. Although the team event still remained, it would naturally be less pressure than the individual event, so tomorrow could be called the biggest challenge.

‘He’ll do well, but I hope there are no surprises….’

While Taehyun was worried, he also knew it was a groundless fear and shrugged his shoulders. Inside the stadium, various people were busily running around. From the volunteers assisting with the minor proceedings to the staff from the Olympic committee, the referees, the athletes, and other officials. Perhaps because it was the stadium where Taehyun himself had stood with desperate determination just a few days ago, the feeling was even more poignant. From now on, all that’s left is to watch like this, I guess. The fact that his days of standing in that spot as an active athlete were over was bittersweet. Though he had no intention of revoking his decision to retire now.

‘Watching is enough now.’

As he looked down at Sejin, who had picked up his mask with the start of the match just around the corner, the corners of his mouth naturally formed a gentle arc. If he wins, I’ll go down right away and congratulate him. As he was thinking to himself and looking down at Sejin with a warm smile, at that moment. Seoyoung smoothly approached Sejin and abruptly pointed to where Taehyun was.

Ah. No, I told you not to tell him. And at the same time, Sejin spotted Taehyun and his eyes widened. He seemed quite surprised by Taehyun, who had suddenly appeared without a word.

Taehyun looked down at the rabbit-eyed Sejin and waved his hand lightly. Belying his nervousness that a camera might capture this direction, it seemed that since it was still a preliminary match, the live broadcast was only available online. Occasionally, a camera would take a full shot of the entire spectator section, including Taehyun, but it didn’t seem to recognize him and single him out for a solo shot. A short while later, Sejin, guided by an official, headed to his designated position. It didn’t seem to have a major impact on his performance that Taehyun was watching, but in the process of picking up his mask to put it on, he almost dropped it, fumbling with his hand, which made everyone in the stands hold back their laughter.

However, once the match finally began, no one could laugh. Sejin, who rarely rushed from the beginning, for some reason, charged aggressively as soon as the whistle signaling the start blew. The opponent, who had not expected Sejin to come out like this at all, collapsed helplessly and gave up points. Sejin maintained that pace until the final set, quickly securing his victory.

Fortunately, the opponent was not an easy pushover and held on until the end; if he had been an athlete who had advanced through a lucky draw, he would have been humiliated in front of everyone. After the match ended, he roughly threw off his mask, revealing a bewildered, bare face, as if he had not expected this situation at all. Sejin, regardless, took his hand to show customary respect and then quickly left the stadium.

“Why did you come!?”

Since it was a match without an awards ceremony, they were able to meet face to face right away in the officials’ waiting area, and the first thing he says is such a rude remark. Taehyun let out a hollow laugh and replied.

“I came because I wanted to see with my own eyes if you were doing well. Can’t I even cheer you on as I please? It’s not like I came somewhere I’m not allowed.”

At that, Sejin, at a loss for words, blushed and fumed. Taehyun sneered and added another remark.

“Why, are you unhappy that I came? Was I a distraction to your match?”

When Taehyun asked bluntly, Sejin fidgeted and then shook his head.

“Of course not.”

“Then it’s settled. You seemed to do well earlier, so what’s the problem.”

“…….”

As Taehyun neatly summed it up, Sejin was at a loss for words again. However, as if he had to say what was on his mind, he mumbled and answered.

“It’s because I don’t want you to be tired, hyung. And your leg is not well….”

“I told you I’m fine.”

“I’m not fine with it.”

“I’m fine, so it’s fine.”

Taehyun looked at Sejin, whose lips were parting to find another rebuttal, and found a way to end this tedious, childish argument. It was to suddenly pinch and pull Sejin’s cheeks.

“What are you doing—!?”

If he had his way, he would have devoured those lips right then and there, but it wasn’t the right place, and he couldn’t raise the pheromone levels of a guy who still had a match left. As Taehyun’s brakes worked properly and he paused, letting go, Sejin said with a face that was clearly nervous.

“Are you… not doing… more?”

His expectant eyes were wavering, as if he had expected more and was disappointed that it didn’t happen. More what? Taehyun was about to let out another chuckle, but he met Sejin’s gaze and said.

“You still have a match left, so I can’t.”

As Taehyun gave a wry smile as if he couldn’t help it, Sejin immediately replied urgently.

“No, my pheromones are barely rising, so it’s fine. Even if they do, I can just take medicine.”

At that one sentence, Taehyun was once again dumbfounded. At one point, he had threatened him, saying, ‘Can you make me take my medicine?’, and now, right before the most important match, he says he can just take medicine. Was this something to say? As Taehyun furrowed his brows and glared at Sejin, Sejin added nonchalantly.

“So please continue.”

And with that, he leaned in for a kiss before Taehyun had a chance to push him away. His parted lips were softly covered, and their tongues met. By the time Taehyun hurriedly pulled his tongue back and tried to step back from Sejin, both his shoulders were already held firmly.

“Hey, wai—.”

The movement exploring the inside of his mouth was urgent. Just a little, just a little more. At the greedy kiss, Taehyun’s heart also began to pound rapidly. At that moment.

“Hey, Sejin. What are you doing? We’ve packed everything up, so we have to go now.”

Startled by the coach who burst in without knocking, Taehyun pushed Sejin away with all his might and pressed himself against the wall. Sejin, who was suddenly thrown backwards, scrambled to regain his balance and barely stopped himself by grabbing onto a cabinet handle. Both of them managed to calm their breathing, but their hearts were pounding as if they would leap out of their chests, just like a couple of kids.

“Ah, yes.”

While Sejin answered calmly, Taehyun smiled and smoothed over the situation.

“Hello, coach-nim. It’s been a while.”

They weren’t particularly close, but since the other man was also a big shot who had been in the sports world for a long time, they had been dragged to various events and had exchanged light greetings before. Does he remember me? Although Taehyun was a popular and famous person, if he was someone with zero interest in other sports, he might have let it go in one ear and out the other, so it wouldn’t be strange if he had long forgotten. People who are completely absorbed in their own fields can be indifferent to athletes in other sports. He smiled and greeted him without much expectation, and the coach smiled cheerfully and patted Taehyun’s shoulder.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Sung Taehyun! Wow, to meet the star of this Olympics here? Did you come to cheer this guy on?”

With that, he abruptly grabbed Sejin’s shoulder and shook it lightly. Sejin, momentarily unable to contain his displeasure at someone else touching his shoulder, but unable to bring himself to defy the coach in front of Taehyun, quietly gritted his teeth. Taehyun, sensing the tense atmosphere, prepared to make a quiet exit.