Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 49

The old man asked for only two things in return for supporting Sejin’s training costs. That if he were to ever compete as a national representative, he must do so with the Taegeukgi on his chest. And that he would occasionally be his conversation partner. Without any further hesitation, his mother signed the sponsorship contract. There was no reason not to agree, as not only would she get someone to look after Sejin all day, but all the costs would also be covered for free.

After their mutual interests aligned like that, Sejin was glad that he no longer had to walk on eggshells around his mother. Once the immediate problem of his training expenses was resolved, his mother was able to continue her own work more freely. Since Sejin was no longer an obstacle to her work, his mother became much more lenient. There were even days when she would prepare snacks for Sejin or pick out his clothes for him in her spare time. For his mother, once Sejin changed from a hindrance holding her back to a housemate who occasionally needed to be taken care of, many things changed.

‘You know… when I first found out I was pregnant with you, I was just going to get rid of you.’

It didn’t seem like something to say to a son who was only twelve, but his mother had a rare, serious expression on her face.

‘My father was in an uproar, asking who the baby’s father was. My mother was crying her eyes out, the whole house was a wreck…. My father thinks I’m keeping my mouth shut to protect a married man I was seeing, but actually, I don’t know either. There’s more than one person I suspect…. So I can’t find a real father for you either. Anyway, yeah, my mind was a mess.’

He still felt it wasn’t something she should be saying to her young son, but Sejin did not have the right to interrupt his mother.

‘Anyway, I was only twenty-two and didn’t want to become a mother, so I went around looking at clinics with my friends. But on the way to my friend’s house after scheduling the surgery, I saw a mother and daughter. The little kid and her mom were wearing the same clothes and had the same hairstyle, and they were taking pictures of each other.’

His mother said she suddenly felt envious of that sight. So she thought that if the baby in her belly was a girl, it wouldn’t be so bad to give birth and raise her. Sejin’s grandfather was firm in his opinion that she should get rid of the baby if she wasn’t going to get married, so his mother scraped together all the money she could and fled to France. By the time she found out that the child she had protected was a boy, it was already too late. How unfortunate for you. As Sejin looked up at his mother with a precocious and dry expression, as if speaking with his eyes, his mother, hooh, took a deep drag of the cigarette in her hand and stroked Sejin’s head.

‘Still, you’re prettier than most daughters, so I’ll let it slide.’

His mother was a strange person. She seemed impulsive and irresponsible, yet she was passionate about her work, and though countless crises arose while settling in a foreign land with a newborn baby, she never gave up on Sejin. And yet, if you asked if she was a devoted mother to her child, that wasn’t it either; she treated Sejin more like a childish noona with a large age gap than a mother, and she was the kind of person who would pick up trash while jaywalking. She was fundamentally different from Sejin. It was a point his mother also acknowledged. She had marveled at it, saying it was the mystery of her life how a dry kid like him could come from her.

Sejin’s personality was mostly innate. It was partly because his environment from a young age was not one where he could throw tantrums and be demanding, but he also rarely cried even as a child, so his mother said she had put her ear to a sleeping Sejin’s chest a few times, wondering, ‘Is he dead?’ He wanted nothing, and there was nothing he particularly desired. The only thing such a Sejin could immerse himself in was fencing.

It was bound to be fun, as talent led directly to results. He instantly won against hyungs who were several years older than him, and he brought back awards every time he entered a competition. Even when he went to school, he found it more interesting to watch videos of adult athletes’ matches than to hang out with the other kids. And so, fencing became the most stimulating presence in Sejin’s life.

That was still the case even now. He couldn’t even imagine what else he would have done if not for fencing. At school, Sejin was a student who always spent his time quietly, as if he were there and not there, and disappeared without a trace as soon as his mandatory classes were over. There was nothing that caught Sejin’s interest besides fencing.

Except for this man, who was now in front of Sejin’s eyes.

“……”

Sejin was constantly bothered by Taehyun. The way he kept hovering around him and meddling, and the way he kept approaching with a nice-guy face as if to say he could be trusted. As Sejin trailed off and avoided his gaze, Taehyun grinned and asked again.

“Then is there any other sport you like besides fencing?”

There was really nothing he could say to that question. He had never looked at anything else besides fencing, nor had he ever properly learned anything else.

“Not really….”

“Really? I like playing badminton. Ah, table tennis is fun too. If you go to a neighborhood public gym, there are so many hidden masters, it’s fun. The middle-aged ladies and gentlemen with potbellies are the best players, I tell you.”

“……”

Sejin listened to Taehyun’s unsolicited TMI with a dubious expression. A new question immediately shot in.

“Then do you have any other hobbies? Like something you do when you’re home alone, or maybe an entertainment show you’re interested in these days.”

There was no way he would have something like that.

“I don’t.”

“Ah.”

At Sejin’s utterly firm reply, Taehyun pondered for a moment, then suddenly declared with a rather serious face.

“Alright. Then give me just one day of your time tomorrow. You’re on a training suspension anyway, so neither the coach nor the director can really say anything.”

“……?”

At Taehyun’s random words, Sejin narrowed his brow again and asked.

“Why?”

However, Taehyun didn’t give a proper reason and just pushed ahead.

“There’s a reason, you can look forward to it. Anyway, tomorrow at 9, I’ll come pick you up directly at your dorm, so just plan on spending the day with me.”

“What kind of….”

He was being so pushy, even though Sejin hadn’t even given him permission to do so. Sejin was completely bewildered, but the truly absurd events began in earnest the next day.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Taehyun, who had invaded Sejin’s dorm in the morning as promised, was not in his usual workout clothes but was dressed in jeans, a neat graphic tee, a messenger bag, and even a cap on his head. It was an outfit that suited Taehyun’s characteristically prominent upper body physique frighteningly well. While Sejin, somewhat dumbfounded, was blinking at Taehyun, wondering what this situation was, Taehyun strode into Sejin’s room and rushed him.

“Hurry up and get ready to go. Wash your face, and change your clothes.”

Then he looked at the rack where Sejin’s clothes were hanging and exclaimed in admiration.

“What’s this? Why do you have so many clothes?”

Sejin was about to explain that they were things he received from being forcibly dressed up like a doll because his mother worked in that industry, but then he thought Taehyun would just annoyingly pry into this and that, so he stopped. What on earth is he planning to do? While suspicious, he roughly picked out an outfit similar to Taehyun’s, changed in the bathroom, and when he came out, Taehyun smiled playfully.

“Hey, you can just change, why are you being so formal and distant?”

Regardless of what he said, Sejin ignored Taehyun’s words and asked.

“What exactly are you trying to do?”

Taehyun replied with a bright face.

“I’m trying to take you somewhere nice, that’s what.”

Then, he practically kidnapped him, put him in a taxi, and the place they headed to was an amusement park near the metropolitan area.

“……”

Because it was a weekday, the amusement park was not crowded. There seemed to be some students who had probably come for a school field trip, and other than that, there were small family groups of mothers with young children or couples who looked like university students. It seemed there were few groups on field trips today, as Taehyun marveled that it was the first time he had seen this place so empty.

“We’re lucky. The weather today isn’t too hot either, it’s just right.”

Then, with a face that looked happy the entire time, he dragged Sejin around. Sejin, with no time to resist, rode the rides as Taehyun pulled him along. Something was strange. Sejin, who was better than anyone at refusing things, kept getting helplessly dragged along whenever Taehyun pulled him. Later, his stomach was constantly churning. By the time he realized the reason was not motion sickness, he was already unable to take his eyes off Taehyun.

“……”

“Oh, the photo came out great. Look. We both have our eyes closed.”

How on earth could the photo have come out great when their eyes were closed? It was just amazing how he could say the picture, taken with their eyes practically flipped back by the wind, came out well. Regardless of whether Sejin was having such thoughts or not, Taehyun printed two copies of the same photo, put one in his bag, and handed one to Sejin.

“Here, keep it safe. This is a memory too.”

The face that said so with such confidence was just dumbfounding.