Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 62

“You seem to be doing well.”

“Um… I’ve just been training hard, as usual.”

At Taehyun’s response, the other person fell silent for a moment. In the awkward atmosphere, both spoke at the same time.

“I’ll get going…”

“I’ve been thinking.”

Taehyun seemed eager to leave the situation, but a sound came as if the other person had grabbed some part of Taehyun’s body. Before Sejin could fully process what was happening, the other person spoke again.

“I think I was a bit harsh back then. I must have been out of my mind for a moment. I said things to you that I didn’t mean.”

Taehyun responded in an awkward tone.

“You’ve been worrying about that all this time? It’s fine. You know I don’t get hurt by things like that. You weren’t even wrong. So you really don’t need to worry about it. No need to feel sorry either. I didn’t take it to heart in the first place.”

“That’s a lie.”

“It’s not a lie. Let’s just stop talking about this and call it a day.”

Taehyun kept trying to end the conversation, but the other person was persistent. Sejin considered interrupting but wasn’t sure if that was appropriate. If he understood correctly, this seemed like a very private conversation. Was it okay to be caught listening in on it? Even Sejin had some sense of tact. Meanwhile, the other person started rambling again, holding onto Taehyun.

“I regretted letting you go like that. I didn’t do enough for you, and hearing that you haven’t been with anyone since we broke up makes me feel like it’s all my fault. All I can think about is how badly I treated you…”

Finally reaching the end of his patience, Taehyun raised his voice.

“No, I’m telling you, you don’t need to think like that! I don’t have a partner because I’ve been too busy recovering from my injury, not because I’m hung up on anything. Even if you told me now that you were forced to date me, I wouldn’t care, and it wouldn’t hurt me. I’m telling you I don’t care, so why are you doing this, Da…”

But unfortunately, his words didn’t make it to the end.

“Ugh…!”

Taehyun let out a muffled sound as if his mouth had been covered, followed by a thud—a punch landing.

“Argh…!”

“You crazy bastard. I let it slide once because I thought your pheromones were making me lose it, but get lost while I’m still being nice. Go take some pills and sleep it off. If you pull this again, I’ll crush your nose, no matter who’s watching.”

At the same time, a foul stench pierced Sejin’s nose. He had smelled something similar before.

Once, a man who seemed high on drugs was giggling in the middle of the city, bumping into things, and suddenly exposed himself, starting to pleasure himself until the police rushed in and took him away. Sejin didn’t know much about it, but athletes around him who had manifested said it was probably someone who couldn’t control their pheromones and was in heat. Of course, they also said it was likely due to some illegal pheromone-related drug… That same revolting smell from back then was now wafting through the air. As Sejin stood frozen in shock, the other person hurriedly left the auditorium. Now, only Sejin and Taehyun remained in the venue.

“…….”

Sejin held his breath, unable to react. If Taehyun found out he was here, it would mean he’d witnessed the disgraceful scene that had just unfolded, and Sejin wasn’t sure if Taehyun’s pride could handle that. Honestly, who wouldn’t be humiliated by having such a scene exposed, not just Taehyun? Who could be unbothered by an ex-lover showing up out of nowhere, acting clingy, and even assaulting them in front of someone else? Sejin decided to stay still and wait for Taehyun to leave the auditorium before moving. He pressed himself against the pillar. At that moment, the back of his neck prickled. Before he could fully register the strange sensation, a familiar voice came from behind.

“You heard everything, didn’t you?”

“…!”

Startled by the sudden presence behind him, Sejin dropped the bag he was holding. With a thud, the bag containing simple belongings and his uniform hit the floor. Taehyun gave an awkward smile and picked it up for him.

“…….”

Sejin immediately lowered his head to avoid eye contact. He didn’t want to know what expression Taehyun was making. Was he angry? Embarrassed? Would he despise Sejin more for eavesdropping than the person who’d just done something crazy? Sejin felt a bit wronged. He hadn’t meant to hide in the first place—he was just coming out of the bathroom after everything had ended, intending to tell Taehyun he wasn’t sick. But that intruder had interrupted, leading to this mess.

So this wasn’t his fault. Sejin thought so, but whether Taehyun would agree was uncertain. As Sejin braced himself for what Taehyun might say, closing his eyes tightly like a prisoner led to the gallows, a soft chuckle escaped Taehyun.

“Why do you look like you’ve committed a crime? It’s not like you wanted to hear any of that. If anything, you’re probably annoyed after witnessing some melodramatic homo nonsense.”

At Taehyun’s self-deprecating words, Sejin quickly shook his pale head.

“…It’s fine…”

His words came out strained, omitting a lot of thoughts, but truthfully, it wasn’t fine at all. The fact that Taehyun had dated a man. That he currently had no partner. That the other person was likely an alpha, and Taehyun was also a manifested individual. So much information flooded in at once that Sejin was overwhelmed. As he struggled to avoid Taehyun’s gaze and mumbled, Taehyun looked closely at his face and suddenly said.

“Really? Thanks for saying that.”

And once again, the pleasant scent from earlier wafted from Taehyun. Startled, Sejin looked up, and Taehyun smiled as if relieved to finally meet his eyes. Then, as if explaining the earlier conversation, he added.

“I’m an omega, believe it or not. I usually take suppressants diligently and keep it a secret, so it’s not something you need to think about…”

In that moment, Sejin felt his heart drop again.

“…Does that bother you?”

Noticing Sejin’s awkward reaction, Taehyun added hesitantly. Sejin’s heart was racing so fast that he felt dizzy, wondering if Taehyun could hear it. His stomach churned, and he felt like he might vomit. But if he actually threw up now, it would seem like he found Taehyun disgusting, so he desperately held it in.

“No.”

He didn’t know why it was so hard to spit out that short, curt word.

🤺

Back at the dormitory, Sejin was so exhausted that he was on the verge of passing out, as if possessed. Taehyun, an omega? The social stereotypes Sejin had learned began filtering onto Taehyun. Of course, the real Taehyun wasn’t like that. But images of a Taehyun in heat, seducing anyone to satisfy him, or a Taehyun overwhelmed by an omega’s heat cycle, flooded his mind in a chain of lewd, embarrassing thoughts.

He reminded himself that athletes take pheromone suppressants 365 days a year, so that would never happen, but it wasn’t enough to stop the inappropriate imaginations of a healthy teenage boy. Finally, to rein himself in, Sejin pinched his thigh hard enough to leave a mark. Then he grabbed his phone and impulsively searched for something random.

How to become an alpha

How to manifest as an alpha

But the search results only said that traits are innate and some people never manifest. Frustrated, Sejin closed the browser, sighed, ruffled his hair, and flopped onto the bed. He was beyond grateful that the athlete village guaranteed single rooms. Sure, it was just a small bedroom, and he shared a bathroom with the room across the hall, making it half a shared room, but the separate entrance made it fine. At least it meant no one would witness his pathetic state.

“Ha…”

Sejin sighed again and rolled around on the bed. In the process, he missed a crucial piece of information that had come up in the search results.

Chills, nausea, and vomiting often accompany trait manifestation. If you experience any physical abnormalities, please visit a nearby clinic or emergency room immediately.