Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 75

There’s no way Taehyun would come to him now. After that slip of the tongue, Sejin had been certain everything was over, waiting for the death sentence. The idea that Taehyun had come all this way to help him was likely just a fantasy born of his own hopes. No matter how much he missed Taehyun, to dream so vividly… As Sejin thought this, he suddenly jolted like a cat seeing a cucumber for the first time, startled by the warmth beside him.

“Umm…”

It wasn’t a dream. The real Taehyun was sleeping beside him, his face exhausted. Why? Since when? Where did reality begin? Sejin swallowed a silent scream. The movement stirred Taehyun from a light sleep, and he slowly blinked his eyes open. Rubbing them with the back of his hand, he looked up at Sejin and asked.

“…You awake?”

His hoarse, cracked voice clearly showed how much Taehyun had been through the previous night.

“…….”

Sejin was so shocked he couldn’t even scream. It was over. Everything was ruined. As despair washed over him, Taehyun let out a sigh and said something unexpected.

“…I’m hungry. Let’s order some food.”

At the same time, a loud gurgle echoed from Sejin’s stomach. It made sense—he hadn’t eaten properly for nearly two days. When Sejin, still gauging Taehyun’s mood, couldn’t respond, Taehyun drove the point home.

“Order pizza. Bacon potato with cheese crust and extra mayo, twice.”

At Taehyun’s request, Sejin, still pale with shock, quickly grabbed his phone from beside the bed and opened a delivery app. Pop-ups about discounts, returning customers, and loyalty programs flooded the screen, but Sejin ignored them and stubbornly ordered at full price. After confirming the order, he looked at Taehyun with a tense expression. Taehyun suddenly asked.

“When’s it coming?”

Sejin, startled again, his eyes wide like a rabbit’s, checked the app. Seeing the “delivery within 30 minutes” notice, he stammered.

“Within, uh, 30 minutes…”

Every second felt like a decade to Sejin. What was he supposed to say now? “Sorry” or “I’m sorry” wouldn’t cut it. He didn’t know how Taehyun got here, but it wasn’t like he had clairvoyance—there’s no way he’d show up without any contact. Had Sejin called him while out of it? As he stared at the app screen, the pile of missed call notifications caught his eye.

Missed Calls

Taekwondo Sung Taehyun (24)

“…….”

Seeing Taehyun’s call log, Sejin’s face went from pale to blue. Checking the time and date, he wanted to die right there. Taehyun, glancing at what Sejin was looking at, let out an exasperated huff.

“Did you just check the date?”

“…….”

Sejin had no words, even if he had ten mouths. As he hung his head in silence, Taehyun added bluntly.

“Thanks to you, I missed two days of training.”

That short sentence made Sejin spring up like a coil.

“B-but is that okay!?”

Taehyun responded calmly to Sejin’s panicked question.

“No? Of course it’s not okay. The staff probably heard all about it, and the guy getting the most attention and support has already blown two chances and is on his third try. They’re probably tsk-ing, thinking I’m some arrogant, half-assed trainee who’s lost his mind. If I don’t win a medal, I’ll get chewed out for slacking and not being able to lift my head.”

His voice was calm, but the content was heavy. Taehyun knew it was venting, but he couldn’t control himself. It was just… self-deprecating frustration. What was he even doing in this situation? He shouldn’t have done this in the first place, but his foolish actions led to this mess. After blurting it out, he quickly added.

“That was a joke. Well, half true, maybe.”

He tried to take it back, but the words couldn’t be undone. Taehyun sighed heavily, holding his forehead. What good would blaming Sejin do now? It takes two to make a sound, and he felt disgusted with himself for lashing out. What irritated him more was that, despite knowing it was a mistake, he kept piling on excuses.

“Sorry. I misspoke, so don’t mind it. I was just frustrated with myself.”

Why was he even justifying it? The silence grew heavy with his troubled thoughts.

“…….”

As Taehyun let out another heavy sigh, Sejin, after watching him carefully, mumbled.

“…You’re not pathetic.”

But Taehyun wasn’t in a state to hear it. This time, he stayed silent. When would the pizza arrive? Hoping the delivery would break the awkward silence, Taehyun suddenly grew curious. The talk of pregnancy could be dismissed as an alpha’s instinct-driven nonsense, but the confessions poured out during their intimacy couldn’t be entirely baseless. After yesterday’s reactions, he couldn’t deny it anymore. Since when? Where did it go wrong? Since things had come to this, he decided to clear his doubts and asked directly.

“Since when?”

Sejin clamped his mouth shut like a clam, saying nothing. Taehyun pressed again.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

Trying to keep his voice emotionless, Sejin muttered.

“…Because answering now feels pointless.”

Taehyun let out a hollow exclamation at the unexpectedly wise response.

“Yeah. It’s pointless.”

“…….”

Taehyun broke the ensuing silence. The water was already spilled, and he had to stop it from spreading further.

“Sorry, but you know I’m not in a place to date right now. It’ll be the same after the Olympics. Today happened because it couldn’t be helped, but it’s better if we stop this going forward.”

An unreciprocated confession would only hurt both sides, so Taehyun chose to cut it off before hearing it. Since things had come to this, denying it further was impossible. He was about to declare they’d go back to managing things with suppressants when Sejin suddenly said something unthinkable.

“No. That’s not going to happen.”

“What?”

Taehyun doubted his ears, wondering if he’d misheard. Surely, if Sejin had any sense, he wouldn’t say something so brazen when he should be apologizing. Staring at Sejin in disbelief, he saw Sejin looking back with an unnecessarily resolute expression.

“You saw me yesterday. It’s not just me—you’re in a state where you need me too. Suppressants won’t fix it.”

Those words hit Taehyun like a hammer to the head. Unable to retort as he doubted his ears, Sejin continued.

“Both of us have adapted to managing with each other’s pheromones. How do you reverse that in two months with drugs? The rebound will increase pheromone production, and the dosage needed would be unmanageable.”

“…….”

Taehyun was stunned again. So, this whole situation was him walking into a trap he set for himself? Was Sejin confessing that Taehyun had stepped into a snare he’d laid? Confusion swirled. His head spun so much he wanted to pass out again. Holding his throbbing forehead, Taehyun asked.

“I think I’m misunderstanding, so let me be clear.”

Though he was already certain, Taehyun desperately hoped for a denial.

“Did you plan this from the start when you showed up there?”

Sejin would know what “there” meant. Please, tell me I’m wrong. As Taehyun asked, his emotions a tangled mess, Sejin gave a cruelly disappointing answer.

“If not…”

“…….”

“Why would I need a mating partner?”