Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 4

“Ah…”

As Sejin’s large, warm hand finally enveloped Taehyun’s, rubbing and stroking his palm, Taehyun squirmed again, his lower body thrumming with excitement. Pheromones were truly something. Even with someone he found this uncomfortable, his entire body was on fire. His attempts to resist the pheromones with sheer willpower were futile. The sweet scent, wafting towards him again, drew his face involuntarily towards Sejin’s chest.

It wasn’t the first time he’d smelled an alpha, yet the scent tickling his nose kept pulling him in. Did they have good chemistry? This intense attraction, unlike anything he’d experienced before, kept disrupting his thoughts. He wondered if Sejin felt it too.

Whenever Taehyun had asked alphas who knew he was an omega, they described his scent as unexpectedly light. Not sweet or fragrant, but rather, like the comforting smell of sun-dried sheets. “That doesn’t sound arousing at all,” Taehyun would retort with a dry laugh. The responses were always similar:

“That’s why, even though it’s nothing special, I think of you sometimes. Lying down on freshly laundered sheets reminds me of your scent.”

Back then, he’d dismissed it as meaning his scent was pleasant rather than overtly sexy. He was curious if Sejin felt the same.

‘Well, it can’t be that repulsive…’

His core throbbed, fully aroused in Sejin’s hand, teetering on the edge of climax but never quite reaching it. The tantalizing sensation finally prompted Taehyun to speak, his forehead pressed against Sejin’s, “Touch me down there too. I want you inside me…”

Ten minutes ago, he would’ve been horrified by his own words. But it didn’t matter. From the moment he inhaled Sejin’s scent deep into his lungs, his rationality had vanished. He took Sejin’s startled hand and guided it towards his already slick entrance. Sejin hesitated again, feeling the moisture. Taehyun buried his face in Sejin’s shoulder and pleaded, “Ha… Quickly… I want you inside.”

Pheromones were truly terrifying. Even as he spoke, Taehyun reiterated this thought. He wouldn’t be saying these things if he wasn’t under their influence. They were more potent than alcohol. Dismissing the silly thought, as Sejin’s straight finger finally touched his puckered hole…

“Huh…?”

A warm liquid, thicker than water, trickled down Taehyun’s back. He felt Sejin’s body stiffen like a mannequin and his own arousal abruptly recede. He reached back, his hand probing the strange sensation. A metallic scent, different from Sejin’s, briefly permeated the air.

Plop. Plop. As the continuous dripping finally registered as blood, Taehyun saw the crimson staining his hand and immediately pushed Sejin away to look at his face. Sejin’s pretty face was flushed crimson, as if about to explode. He covered his face with both hands, flustered and frozen, which was absurd.

“You, what the…”

Taehyun was speechless. Sejin, still fully erect, scrambled off the bed.

“W-wait!”

He flung open the bathroom door, slammed it shut, and locked it. Leaving Taehyun covered in blood, his hand sticky and bare. “What am I supposed to do now?” he thought, exasperated. All that remained was the lingering scent of fresh grass mingled with the coppery tang of blood. His half-hardened cock dripped precum down his thighs.

What was this? He was both bewildered and dumbfounded. Was this even okay? A wave of dizziness and a strange sense of emptiness washed over him.

🤺

A while later, when Sejin finally emerged from the bathroom, his nosebleed stopped, Taehyun was fully dressed. Sejin faltered, taking a step back at the sight of Taehyun in perfect street clothes. Taehyun let out a hollow laugh.

“Since someone decided to lock themselves in the bathroom, I couldn’t exactly clean myself properly, could I?”

Leaving arousal fluids was unpleasant enough, but letting someone else’s blood dry on his back and hand was even worse. Taehyun rummaged through his bag with his unbloodied hand and pulled out a promotional wet wipe. Squeezing out most of the moisture, he scrubbed his body. The bloodstains disappeared, but the sticky feeling and faint metallic scent remained. Taehyun turned his back on the frozen Sejin and headed for the bathroom, adding, “Wait there quietly. I’ll be out after I clean up.”

Continuing anything today seemed impossible. While he hadn’t expected to reunite like this, he couldn’t deny a flicker of warmth. He had so many questions: How had Sejin been? How did he end up seeking a mating partner?

‘Well, I’ve… been thinking about it too.’

Four years ago, while everyone celebrated Korea’s record-breaking performance, Taehyun made a somewhat irresponsible choice to survive. He hadn’t earned the right to join the celebrations, having failed to win a medal. But as a rising star, he knew the press would hound him, rubbing salt in his wounds with questions about his performance.

So, he decided to avoid all contact and return home quietly. He booked a flight with his own money and called his agency as soon as he landed. He informed them that he wouldn’t be able to participate in training or media appearances due to personal reasons and would focus on recovery. He hung up abruptly and turned off his phone. He vanished for nearly six months.

During that time, he communicated with his agency only through email. Overwhelmed and unable to face even comforting messages from friends, he’d cancelled his phone plan. Except for twice-weekly, heavily disguised trips to the hospital for rehabilitation, he spent his time helping his mother, his only family, with chores. After six months of seclusion, he finally found the courage to re-emerge.

Reappearing at the training center with a new phone number after a prolonged absence, Taehyun seamlessly slipped back into his routine with his usual affability. While others were surprised, they understood his need for time, and Taehyun’s easygoing nature allowed them to assume he’d had a difficult time with rehabilitation. Six months after his return, having regained his skills and resumed his athletic career after a year-long hiatus, the incident became an unspoken, almost forgotten period for those who cared about him.

While everything seemed back to normal, one thing had changed: Sejin. Unlike Taehyun and other Korea-based athletes, Sejin, originally an expat, had returned to his parents in France shortly after the Olympics. He insisted on training individually in France, except for team events, so Taehyun hadn’t seen him since.

There had been other international competitions in the past four years. If he’d wanted to, and if the timing had been right, he could have seen Sejin during the Asian Games team training. But Taehyun hadn’t encountered Sejin since the Olympics four years prior. He felt ashamed for disappearing after encouraging Sejin, especially after his own performance had fallen apart. Four years had passed without him reaching out.

‘I never imagined we’d meet like this…’

Even if the situation was frustrating, what could he do? He had to face the consequences of his past actions. He just hadn’t imagined they’d manifest in this way.

‘Ha…’

Heaving another sigh, Taehyun finished a quick shower, dried himself, and dressed again in street clothes before returning to the bedroom.

“…….”

Sejin sat on the sofa, his expression unreadable, somewhere between sullen and blank. Unable to bear the awkward silence, Taehyun spoke first.