Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 22

“…….”

Sejin gently brushed his fingertips against Taehyun’s cheek, who had closed his eyes at some point, motionless. Taehyun’s eyelids fluttered slightly. He didn’t seem likely to wake up, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep. Sejin leaned closer, bringing his face near Taehyun’s, and observed his sleeping features. He looked a little tired, but peaceful. The face he was able to see properly again after four years was still annoyingly handsome. A sudden urge to kiss him arose, but he managed to suppress it. He couldn’t do anything too conspicuous, lest Taehyun stir and wake up.

It should be okay to just touch him a little like this, right? Sejin gently kneaded Taehyun’s firm cheek. Taehyun mumbled in his sleep, letting out a small groan. Even that insignificant act of his handsome face creasing was so endearing that Sejin couldn’t help but smile. I wish this person would look at me with the same feelings I have for him. A lost wish echoed in his heart. However, Taehyun, despite his outwardly bold appearance, was actually suspicious and cautious by nature. If Sejin wanted to keep him in his embrace, he had no choice but to restrain himself for now.

‘…I like you.’

Sejin swallowed the confession he couldn’t yet voice and smiled. Taehyun wouldn’t even dream of how long he had waited for this moment. He shouldn’t know. The moment he knew, he would immediately withdraw and run away. As long as he could continue looking in the same direction as Taehyun, moving forward together, Sejin could endure an even longer wait.

So please, don’t run away now. Until the time came when Taehyun could no longer escape him, this act of playing the sullen child had to continue. That was the only way Taehyun would see him as pitiful.

“…….”

Sejin smiled softly again, laying his head beside Taehyun’s. The warmth of their bare skin touching was comforting. Let’s just lie down a little longer before cleaning up. While Sejin lingered, admiring Taehyun’s face, Taehyun remained fast asleep, oblivious to the world.

🤺

“Ugh….”

Taehyun woke up about five hours later. He woke up thirsty, searching for water, only to find himself lying in an unfamiliar bed, not even properly dressed. How did I fall asleep here? Taehyun opened his eyes in surprise, and the first thing he saw was a firm, pale chest.

“….?”

Huh? Chest? Taehyun’s eyes widened in disbelief as he lifted his head to see Sejin sleeping peacefully, holding him in his arms. Oh shit, what is this guy doing? Startled, Taehyun pushed Sejin away and scooted back with his hips. Suddenly jolted awake, Sejin blinked his eyes open. Why am I in bed with this guy? For a moment, Taehyun couldn’t accept reality and panicked, then he barely managed to recall what he had been doing just before he fell asleep, and his face turned pale.

“….? What’s wrong?”

Sejin asked, his face still sleepy, and Taehyun was speechless. Why are you with me like this? Well, obviously because they had been connected as one, doing everything they could until he passed out, right? There was no need to ask a question when he already knew the answer. Taehyun was momentarily at a loss for words and stammered,

“Ah, no…. Yesterday, after… I don’t remember cleaning up….”

He managed to utter a sentence that wasn’t entirely false, to which Sejin replied with an impassive expression,

“I took care of it. You looked tired.”

At those indifferent words, Taehyun was so embarrassed that he wanted to bury his face in a dish of water and die. That meant Sejin had seen all of his intimate parts while he was asleep. It was a bit ridiculous to be embarrassed after already having been stimulated and played with, but the belated shame made Taehyun blush. Sejin added casually,

“It wasn’t difficult or anything, so you don’t have to worry.”

His expression was so calm. It was absurd how he spoke of cleaning up after sex as if it were an announcement about skipping recycling day. But what was the point of arguing about it? Taehyun wondered if there was any point in discussing common sense with this guy, so he rubbed his face and got out of bed.

“Oh, okay…. Thanks….”

But was this something to be thankful for? The reason he had passed out was because this guy had worn him out. And yet, Sejin was looking down at him with a smooth, almost gleaming face, making Taehyun feel somewhat wronged.

“…….”

But again, he didn’t think arguing about it here would be a meaningful debate. Either way, it was true that it had been good.

“…….”

Is it always like this with alphas? Taehyun dredged up old memories, knowing it was quite rude to Sejin. It didn’t seem that good. There were times when the other person’s pheromones suddenly became repulsive, making it a chore. Yesterday, on the other hand… Honestly, it had been so good that he wondered if it was even a normal reaction.

Do pheromones work better if they’re compatible? Taehyun suddenly became curious. Just as Sejin’s pheromones had been an irresistible temptation to him, had it been the same for Sejin? Since they had only slept together out of necessity, there was no romantic meaning to it, but in any case, wasn’t it better to have good compatibility? They would have to be stuck together for almost three months until the games, so it would be much better to have good chemistry than bad.

However, the moment he raised his head to satisfy his curiosity and met Sejin’s eyes, he couldn’t say anything. A composed face devoid of any humor. His calm and collected expression made Taehyun wonder if this was the same person who had been so passionately entangled with him just last night. Taehyun couldn’t say a word.

“….?”

Only when Sejin, sensing Taehyun’s gaze, looked at him with questioning eyes as if asking what was wrong did Taehyun clear his throat and look away. In any case, what he had done with Sejin yesterday was definitely not bad. It wasn’t just not bad, it was so good that it was a problem. It was so intense that he was afraid something might actually break. So, it was absurd to blame Sejin now. However… he couldn’t help but feel bothered. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was using Sejin for his own pleasure.

‘What nonsense. That guy held onto me and wouldn’t let go yesterday.’

He tried to rationalize it by recalling how Sejin had held onto him and relentlessly kept going, but a heavy sense of guilt continued to weigh on his chest. The reason this guilt towards Sejin continued to hold him back was because when Taehyun first met Sejin, he had seemed like such a fragile child.

Sejin was different now. He was no longer that young and naive, nor was he in a position to be manipulated by adults. He was the previous Olympic champion, the undisputed number one in the world rankings for four years, and everyone was certain he would win the gold medal again this time. How could he be the same as that young child from back then? Even as he thought this, Taehyun still couldn’t feel at ease.

Perhaps Sejin noticed that Taehyun was worrying unnecessarily again. He stared at Taehyun, then abruptly pulled up the blanket and covered Taehyun’s face with it.

“What? Suddenly.”

As Taehyun tried to remove the blanket with a puzzled look, Sejin held it firmly and said,

“You must be tired, get some more sleep.”

There was no need for further explanation; it would be better to do so. It wasn’t even six o’clock yet, and when they arrived back at the training facility around 10, the dreaded interval training would start, followed by the rest of the training regimen. The fact that he didn’t feel as tired as he thought he would was probably a temporary illusion due to waking up from a restless sleep. Once he started moving his body properly, a hellish fatigue would surely follow.

“Yeah….”

Taehyun mumbled his reply and obediently closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep. Was this also because of the pheromones? He drifted back to sleep, accompanied by a pleasant, fragrant grassy scent.

And during the following two hours of sleep, Taehyun recalled a very old memory. He was a young child, just starting Taekwondo, hesitating and unable to enter the training hall. As Taehyun kept looking inside at the children chattering noisily, lingering outside, someone spotted him and shouted,

‘Don’t just stand there, come on in, you rascal.’

The clear, cheerful voice of a middle-aged man. A deeply nostalgic voice that had almost faded from his memory.