Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 59

“Taehyun-ah!”

A table tennis athlete who had not only won gold medals at the last Olympics and Asian Games but also served as an ambassador for various campaigns.

“Oh, long time no see, noona,” Taehyun said, greeting her with a slightly reluctant expression behind Mr. Chungwon’s back. Her face noticeably brightened as she pulled Taehyun into a hug.

“Man, it’s been way too long! No contact at all, I was worried, but your face looks even better now?”

“Really? Lately, people keep commenting on broadcasts that I look older.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, you look like a celebrity walking in! Are you gonna start filming dramas now?”

They bantered, seeming delighted to reunite after a long time, but the exchange in their eyes told a different story.

‘Noona, what’s this? Why are you here?’

‘I don’t know, I just got dragged in too.’

After the brief greeting, Mr. Chungwon, watching them fondly, took the head seat, spread his legs wide, and got to the point.

“Good, good. Sung Taehyun and Ms. Jo Bora, you two are the talents leading Korea’s sports world. It’s heartwarming to see you together. I have high expectations for both of you.”

“Oh, sunbae, you’re hyping us up so much I can’t even look up,” Taehyun replied.

“I’m still far from good enough, but thank you for always speaking so kindly,” Ms. Bora added.

So what do you want us to do? Both of them stayed on edge. Then, Mr. Chungwon’s words hit like a bombshell.

“…So, for the sake of unity, I was thinking it’d be great to have an event where everyone comes together. What do you two think?”

Mr. Chungwon’s plan was a so-called friendly sports festival mobilizing all the competing athletes. With the facility newly equipped to accommodate up to 1,300 people, and over 700 athletes scheduled to arrive next week, he proposed holding a massive team-building event to show off the facility’s capacity. What did they think? Taehyun screamed internally. Why would you do something so crazy? But Mr. Chungwon looked serious.

“Uh…”

Ms. Bora spoke first. Taehyun looked at her, hoping she’d shut it down with, “Sunbae, what kind of nonsense is this?” But what came out of her mouth was the complete opposite.

“Sounds amazing, sunbae! It’ll be so fun! Right before serious training, it’d be perfect to loosen up, maybe with prizes and low-injury-risk activities. Taehyun-ah, what do you think?”

In that moment, Taehyun almost shouted, “You traitor!” She’s all for it and then throws it to me—what am I supposed to do? It seemed like she expected him to firmly oppose it, but no such luck. Ugh, this is insane no matter how you look at it. Crying inside, Taehyun forced a bright smile and responded.

“Yeah, it sounds good, doesn’t it? It’ll be nice to reconnect with our inner child. Have you thought about any specific events?”

Taehyun, throwing caution to the wind and jumping in with both hands raised, prompted an excited ramble from Mr. Chungwon, who looked genuinely thrilled.

“Right? Ha, I may be older, but I live young, so I totally get you young folks. I’ll look into getting some corporate sponsorship, so I’d love it if you two could handle the detailed planning. Of course, our staff will help with budgets and rules, so you just need to come up with ideas! Just ideas, and maybe a bit of rallying the athletes. Sound good?”

To Mr. Chungwon’s continued requests, Taehyun responded with a smile that didn’t reach his dead eyes.

“Yes, haha… ha…”

Sound good? He was already overwhelmed with training, so why this ordeal too? Was this year cursed or something? He wasn’t even close to his forties, yet with injuries, babysitting, and all this chaos, his head spun.

“Alright, then. I’ve got work to do, so I’ll head out. You two brainstorm some ideas and talk with our staff. Good luck!”

Mr. Chungwon left Taehyun and Ms. Bora in the reception room and walked out. The moment the door clicked shut, Ms. Bora practically screamed.

“Hey, how could you just say it’s fine!”

“What about you, noona! Why’d you push it onto me? We should’ve both said no!”

“How could I? You know getting on sunbae Chungwon’s bad side does no good. And you, what, are you gunning for athlete committee or sportsman of the year or something?”

Her sharp words made Taehyun clear his throat and look away. He couldn’t exactly deny it. It’s not like it’d be the end of the world if he didn’t get it, but still, after all he’d done for Korean sports, wouldn’t it be fair to get some recognition? He wasn’t desperate enough to grovel for a title, but he wouldn’t refuse if offered. Seeing Taehyun subtly admit his ambition, Ms. Bora playfully slapped his arm.

“Look at this guy, what a schemer! You’re making bank from commercials, and now you’re after titles too?”

Taehyun didn’t back down.

“Let’s call it friendly competition, noona. I wanted to sit this out, but you dragged me into it.”

“Ha, fine. Let’s do this.”

Ms. Bora said it with a hint of amusement. Despite her words, she wasn’t a bad person. That’s probably why so many athletes followed her. As if she’d never complained, she started sketching ideas at a terrifying pace. Since they’d agreed to do it, half-hearted effort wasn’t an option. Asking athletes to join a poorly planned event wasn’t appealing either. The training center staff would handle the specifics, so Ms. Bora and Taehyun’s job was to rule out anything athletes would absolutely hate.

“First, no high-injury-risk stuff. We’re here to prepare for a major competition, not get hurt.”

Keeping only light, fun, and accessible activities, they came up with a decent draft plan even Taehyun thought was pretty good.

“Participation should be voluntary for individual events, but for team events, we can split people up and make it mandatory. Still, everyone should join at least one…”

“Yeah, that’s better. For team events, maybe tug-of-war or balloon popping?”

“Something like rolling a ball uphill could work too, right? Keep it light to avoid injuries.”

As the unprecedented group sports festival took shape, the training center dorms started filling up. With some events’ qualifiers still ongoing, excluding those with scheduling conflicts, about 600 athletes were counted. It was a scale bigger than most school sports days, and Taehyun, suddenly appointed as the white team captain, shouldered a heavy responsibility.

‘Whatever. Just no injuries. Please, no injuries.’

That was Taehyun’s fervent wish. After a month’s rest, his ankle was fully recovered, and he was confident in his skills. All that remained was mental control and repetitive training. He hoped the recent hardships were a form of bad-luck cleansing, leaving only good fortune for the competition day. With that prayer, Taehyun completed all preparations.

Finally, the day arrived. Standing on the podium as team captain, rallying athletes despite their grumbles, Taehyun stood side by side with Ms. Bora, supporting Mr. Chungwon’s opening speech. Looking down, he saw athletes with all sorts of expressions—some excited for the childlike event, others eager to skip training, and a few with faces practically screaming, “Why are we doing this nonsense?”

‘I feel the same way…’

But what could he do? The higher-ups were desperate to show off the facility’s capacity and claim they’d done something for the athletes. Caught in the middle, all Taehyun could do was ensure the athletes were as comfortable as possible.

‘Well, at least some people look like they’re enjoying it.’

Sighing internally and glancing down from the podium, Taehyun’s gaze landed on a familiar face. Jet-black hair, pale skin almost translucent, delicate features, and red lips. Even from a distance, there was no mistaking who it was.