Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 61

A warm sensation transferred to his palm. Taehyun lifted his hand to his own forehead, then placed it back on Sejin’s forehead.

“It feels like you might have a slight fever. Do you want to go to the infirmary? Or you could rest at the dormitory.”

At those words, Sejin quickly shook his head. The last thing he wanted was to seem weak in front of Taehyun. As Sejin rapidly shook his head, a faintly sweet, warm, and soft scent brushed past his nose.

“Uh…”

In that moment, Sejin felt a strange sense of unease. Something was different from usual. The churning in his stomach when he saw Taehyun was familiar, but the heat rising in him was new. On top of that, a scent he had never noticed before, as if Taehyun had suddenly sprayed perfume, hit him strongly, causing his body to stiffen and his eyes to widen involuntarily.

“Sejin?”

Taehyun called Sejin’s name again. At that moment, an unbearable wave of nausea surged, and his heart suddenly tightened. It was a sensation similar to when he pushed himself too hard during cardio, feeling like his heart might burst. For a moment, he couldn’t hear anything.

“Sejin, Joo Sejin!”

Only when Taehyun urgently grabbed Sejin’s shoulders and shook him did Sejin snap back to reality. Seryoung, startled, approached Sejin and asked.

“Are you sick? Are you okay?”

Sejin immediately shook his head. However, Taehyun’s face had already hardened with concern. Taehyun quickly turned to the staff and said.

“I’m going to take him to the infirmary for a bit. Sorry about this.”

Then he promptly supported Sejin. It seemed like if Sejin didn’t walk properly, Taehyun might carry him. Sejin, barely regaining his senses, shook off Taehyun’s touch.

“I’m fine. It’s just a bit of dizziness. There are too many people…”

Even Sejin thought it was a lame excuse. However, such symptoms were quite common for others. In fact, at the fencing club Sejin attended, one athlete preparing for a competition had fainted during a waiting period simply because there were too many spectators. So, it wasn’t an entirely absurd excuse. Seryoung, who had been closely observing Sejin’s personality, momentarily gave a look that said, What kind of nonsense is this guy spouting? But seeing how pale Sejin’s face was, she quickly shut her mouth.

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to lie down? No one will care. If you’re sick, health comes first, obviously.”

Sejin’s face flushed bright red again. He didn’t want to look weak in front of Taehyun like this. Squeezing out his strength, Sejin stood upright and said.

“I’ll just sit on a bench. Go.”

Then he firmly pushed Taehyun’s back.

“But leaving someone who’s sick…”

Taehyun, still worried, mumbled reluctantly. Sejin furrowed his brow and glared at Taehyun.

“I said go.”

If Taehyun lingered any longer, it felt like Sejin might end up resenting him. Reluctantly, Taehyun left, but not before repeatedly asking Seryoung to look after Sejin, causing Sejin to blush again and snap at him to hurry up and leave. Only after Taehyun was dragged away by a staff member to the event area did Sejin regain his composure. Seryoung, who had watched the entire scene, bluntly commented.

“I’m something else, but you’re really something too.”

“What are you saying?”

When Sejin shot back, Seryoung curled the corners of her lips as if amused.

“Taehyun oppa is insanely popular. You probably have ten truckloads of competition.”

As if someone like you, throwing a tantrum like a kid, could be more than just a little brother. Seryoung’s playful teasing made Sejin retort inwardly. Look who’s talking. She was the one who’d already been rejected. Besides, Sejin didn’t even like Taehyun. He was just a bit bothered by him. It was closer to irritation. Taehyun kept closing the distance on his own, acting overly friendly, and it annoyed him. Or maybe it wasn’t annoyance—maybe he was just confused, not knowing how to react because it felt awkward. Even he couldn’t tell the difference.

“Do your own thing.”

Sejin snapped and leaned back in a seat near the wall. Unfortunately, it was the spot with the best view of the event area, so he could clearly see Taehyun moving around restlessly. Sejin’s gaze followed Taehyun blankly until Seryoung dragged him to the field shortly after.

The only event Sejin had signed up for was balloon popping. Dozens of adults scrambled chaotically, stealing beanbags from the opposing team to pop their own team’s balloons first. Why on earth were they doing this? They weren’t kids; they were grown adults… Sejin found it absurd, but the athletes were all excited. Depending on the event, some athletes in their 40s were mixed in, and those with young elementary school kids seemed to be enjoying themselves the most.

“When we go to kids’ sports days these days, all they make us do is run. I wanted to try this too!”

Wasn’t the team assignment supposed to be random? The blue team had a lot of track and field athletes, including shot putters, and unfortunately, the event ended with the blue team’s victory.

“Ah, that was fun!”

Sejin glanced at Seryoung, who was saying it was fun despite losing, with a look of disdain before turning away. The hamburger voucher he received as a participation prize seemed utterly ridiculous. What was so great about this that everyone was laughing? The most absurd of all was Taehyun, who competed in an arm-wrestling contest in front of everyone and made it to the runner-up spot.

Sejin had already seen more than enough of how loved Taehyun was, but hearing the cheers in person was almost overwhelming. Taehyun narrowly lost to a weightlifter, and as soon as his defeat was confirmed, the disappointed groans echoing through the venue left Sejin dumbfounded. Taehyun’s opponent burst into hearty laughter, joking that he felt like the villain.

Why is he acting like that out there? Taehyun ended up taking third place in arm-wrestling and wore a flimsy-looking medal badge on his chest. As the lackluster award ceremony ended, Taehyun suddenly looked up, perhaps feeling a piercing gaze, and locked eyes with Sejin.

“…!”

Sejin hurriedly turned his gaze away, pretending he hadn’t been looking, but Taehyun grinned at him. Why was he smiling? He lost the runner-up spot, so what was there to smile about? How many people had Taehyun greeted like this today? The thought suddenly made Sejin angry. If he was so popular, wasn’t he just flirting with everyone? Sejin’s mood soured. If Taehyun’s popularity and his rumored relationships with famous celebrities were so widely known, how many people had he been involved with? And thinking about how Taehyun had touched him with those hands today made his stomach churn again. He just felt bad. The displeasure was unbearable. Sejin finally stood up and headed to the bathroom.

“Ugh…”

After throwing up everything he’d eaten for lunch, Taehyun was nowhere to be seen. Sejin stayed holed up in the bathroom until the entire event was over. Only after Seryoung called him about five times did he step outside, but the festival had already ended. Seryoung, who had called, had already packed up and left for the dormitory. As Sejin was about to leave the auditorium, a familiar voice came from behind.

“Yes, thank you so much for your hard work today! Take care!”

“I owe you a lot, Sung, and I’ll never forget this. I’ll make it up to you, okay?”

“Oh, your words are more than enough. When else would I get to do something like this? I had fun too.”

It was Taehyun’s voice, engaging in social pleasantries with the staff. Why not just grovel while he’s at it? Listening to Taehyun’s polite, clean voice bidding farewell irritated Sejin for no reason. An older staff member kept holding Taehyun’s hand for a while before finally leaving through the opposite exit.

What’s so great about him? Is he trying to be a celebrity or something? Scoffing, Sejin was about to show himself to Taehyun to clarify that he wasn’t actually sick when footsteps approached from the other side.

‘What’s that?’

Sejin wasn’t fully hidden but was standing awkwardly behind a pillar. He had been about to step out and greet Taehyun when an unexpected visitor made him hesitate. Then he heard Taehyun greet the newcomer first.

“Wow, oh… It’s been a while… How have you been?”

In that fleeting moment, Sejin had a bad feeling. And his gut instincts were never wrong in moments like this.