Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 31

The boy obediently followed the man into the restaurant. When they were walking apart, his height made him appear not so thin, but up close, he definitely had a gaunt frame. If he had just eaten properly, he might have actually looked like a middle schooler, as the rumors suggested. The man watched intently as the boy, unlike a typical child, effortlessly climbed onto a chair meant for adults and sat down. He had large hands and feet for his age. At a glance, it was a physique that evoked a sense of mission: This child needs to be doing sports.

“Eat slowly, you’ll get indigestion.”

The boy devoured his food as if he hadn’t heard the man’s repeated offers to order more if he wasn’t full. After the boy polished off an amount that most adult men couldn’t finish in the blink of an eye, the man accepted the bill with wide eyes.

“Your total is 49,000 won.”

“Okay.”

After paying the sum, which by no means looked like the amount two people, a child and an adult, would have eaten, they left the restaurant. The boy, seemingly choking, immediately crouched down next to a drain and started throwing up. Seeing the boy struggling, torn between the agonizing stomach pain that demanded he vomit and the regret of throwing up the food he had just eaten, the man, flustered, patted him on the back.

“Oh man, I knew you were eating too much. No one’s chasing you, kid. Eat slowly.”

After finally vomiting everything he had eaten, the boy started sobbing pathetically, a sight so pitiful that the man worried about the environment the boy lived in.

“If you meet me again tomorrow, I’ll buy you something delicious. Come out tomorrow, too.”

Having emptied his stomach, the boy, seemingly embarrassed, nodded without lifting his head. And indeed, the next day, at the same time, he was waiting for the man at the playground.

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Humans are complex yet simple creatures. They sleep when tired, eat when hungry, fight when they dislike something, and stick together when they like something. Those who take what’s mine are bad guys, and those who share what’s theirs are on our side. Taehyun believed that even now, with life incomparably more diverse and complex than in primitive times, things weren’t much different. Those who give food are good guys. This hadn’t changed from ancient times to the present.

If he lived abroad, he probably wouldn’t be used to Korean food. Even if he lived with a Korean guardian, he might be somewhat accustomed, but eating it every day like this wouldn’t be normal, and unless his guardian made it, Korean food might not suit his palate. People naturally become sensitive and irritable when they lack food. Thus, the first strategy Taehyun devised was ‘feeding.’

“He’s in a growth spurt and seems to be consistently training, so he must be hungry, naturally.”

If someone was picking a fight while he was forcing down food he didn’t like, the natural human instinct would be to punch them.

“I thought if he ate something he liked, his mood might improve…”

So, Taehyun started searching for restaurants near the center that served French cuisine, trying to find something as close to authentic French home-style cooking as possible. Most places either adapted the recipes to Korean tastes, or the prices were exorbitant, far from the local home-style cooking Taehyun was looking for.

“There aren’t many restaurants like that…”

There were plenty of Korean-style Western restaurants serving pasta, steak, and fried rice, but he hadn’t realized there would be so few authentic French restaurants. The restaurant Taehyun finally chose after hours of searching was a 30-minute taxi ride away. Do I really need to go to this much trouble? He briefly considered giving up due to the inconvenience, but something bothered him.

“It seems like his only guardian is his mother.”

Not all parents should be obsessed with their child’s athletic performance. There were many guardians who sacrificed themselves to support their children, but there were more who didn’t. Just as children have their own lives, guardians have their own lives too. Sometimes, circumstances were so difficult that they barely had enough to put food on the table, let alone worry about their children. And often, they were simply absorbed in living their own lives, without considering their children.

Taehyun didn’t want to judge which was right or wrong. Even when guardians were excessively invested in their child’s achievements, the children often felt suffocated, complaining that they felt like their parents’ puppets.

However, since Taehyun himself had received little support from his parents, he couldn’t simply ignore this boy who had come to a foreign country alone. Of course, even if Taehyun wanted to help, he couldn’t force it if the boy refused. But the boy’s prickly demeanor, pushing others away and casting himself as the villain, seemed strangely familiar.

Perhaps all those immature actions stemmed from simple loneliness. He was just a stranger who had encountered the boy once and heard stories about him from others, but having had similar experiences, he couldn’t just leave him alone.

“First, I need to gain his favor.”

Gamers called this kind of thing “affinity farming.” What Taehyun was trying to do was similar, except that his goal wasn’t to seduce the other person. Taehyun, sacrificing nearly an hour of travel time each way, headed to the address Hoyong had given him, carrying a warm French stew and baguette in an insulated lunchbox. The baguette was from a bakery opened by someone who used to work at a famous bakery in France, so he figured it would taste somewhat authentic. At any rate, it was made by someone who had experienced the real thing, so it had to be better than the dry, hard baguettes that could be used as weapons, which were the only ones he’d ever had. He could only hope it would suit the boy’s taste.

“Is this the place….”

Sejin’s accommodations, a small studio near the center, were in a rather dilapidated villa-style building.

“Oh….”

The building, which looked like it was about to collapse, was covered in ivy, creating a bleak rather than charming atmosphere. He couldn’t help but think, Of all the places to find him a place, they found him this?

Later, he learned that there was a shared dormitory for the national team, provided for athletes whose families lived far away or who had other circumstances that prevented them from living at home. Sejin, however, had been forcibly evicted due to his misconduct, and this place had been hastily arranged by his agency. Even so… No matter how nicely the interior was renovated, with an exterior like this, how much would a young kid who just arrived from abroad want to go home? Taehyun clicked his tongue and climbed the stairs.

Sejin’s room was the last unit on the 5th floor. With a building that looked ready to crumble, there was no way there would be an elevator. The structure clearly meant struggling to carry even a bottle of water up, making Taehyun sigh.

“This is ridiculous…”

By the time Taehyun reached the 5th floor, suppressing his complaints, he was sweating profusely from using only one leg and his arms on the railing to climb, trying to avoid putting weight on his injured foot. He had, however, succeeded in reaching the 5th floor. Taehyun exhaled deeply, caught his breath, and pressed the doorbell of apartment 509, the address Hoyong had given him.

Ding-dong. A cheerful chime rang out as Taehyun gently pressed and released the button.

“…….”

However, there was no response from beyond the tightly closed metal door.

“…….”

Is he really not there? Taehyun pressed the button again. Ding-dong. The clear sound echoed through the hallway again, but still, there was no answer. Taehyun casually pressed the bell once more. Then, he immediately put his ear against the metal door, listening for any sounds from inside.

Rustle, rustle, thud, thud.

He could hear the sounds of someone moving around inside, so it seemed like he was just ignoring him. Look at this. He’s clearly home, pretending he’s not there. Taehyun pointedly rang the bell again.

Ding-dong.Let’s see who wins, you or me. As Taehyun pressed the bell again, he heard the sound of someone getting up abruptly inside. Taehyun pressed the bell again. Finally, after fifteen rings, at the point where Taehyun was prepared to face complaints from the neighbors, the seemingly unyielding door clicked open.