Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 82

The one who captured everyone’s attention was none other than Sejin.

“……?”

What is he suddenly doing. Sejin opened his mouth before Taehyun could even be surprised and flustered.

“Anyway, don’t we just have to film a video that introduces and promotes the facilities used by the athletes? The number of people mobilized for the video doesn’t matter, right?”

At Sejin’s question, Chiwook seemed to think about something for a moment with a reluctant face, then answered with a doubtful expression.

“Yes, well, that is correct, but…. still, it would be better if it included a picture that our citizens would want to see….”

But unfortunately (?), Chiwook’s remark could not be finished smoothly this time either. It was because Sejin did not wait for Chiwook to finish his words.

“Then I will do it. This is my second time entering the village, but I’ve only been going back and forth between the physical training room and the event training room, so I was just thinking that I wanted to take a proper look around if I had the chance.”

The inside of the office stirred once again at Sejin’s statement. What is it? Did he eat something bad? Regardless of athlete Joo Sejin’s achievements or match results, what was the reason that the individual Joo Sejin was practically veiled in secrecy? It was because he had minimized group training until now, and not only did he barely stay in Korea in the first place, but he also rarely did media interviews or broadcast appearances, so there was no opportunity for exposure itself.

And there was no one who did not know that this was the result of his own intentions. Everyone held their breath at Sejin’s sudden volunteering, as he had a strong image of a reclusive athlete who refused and secluded himself, even though he could receive attention that would put celebrities to shame if he only wanted it. Taehyun was the same.

‘Why… is he doing that?’

Even though Sejin had been doing things unlike him recently, that was only limited to issues with him. There was no way he would suddenly be so cooperative with an off-site event like this. The moment Taehyun sensed some ominous sign, Sejin smiled brightly, with a face he had never shown to the public before, and added.

“Instead, I would like a sunbae-nim who is more familiar with the facilities to help me. I think we can proceed in a way that another sunbae-nim explains the athletes’ village facilities to me, what do you think?”

At that moment, Taehyun intuitively felt that his bad premonition was about to become a reality. Ah, no way. Ah. And tragically, that “no way” was correct.

“Ooh, yes…! Wow, athlete Joo’s idea is great! I couldn’t think of that. Representative, how nice would it be to see seniors and juniors pulling each other along. It’s a really good idea.”

From the management’s side, there was nothing to lose. Rather than having a bunch of athletes with vaguely low recognition appear and make people wonder, ‘who are they?’, it would be a guarantee in terms of ratings for a high-profile athlete like Joo Sejin, a veiled figure who hadn’t even shown his face in other entertainment shows, to be spotlighted alone. Not that ratings would be that important for a special-feature mini-documentary, but the important thing would be to create a plausible picture, so for Chiwook, it was something to welcome with open arms. But now the problem was… it was so obvious who the person in question would point to as the sunbae who would take him around.

“……”

As Taehyun looked at Sejin, hoping that his never-wrong prediction would be incorrect for once, Sejin answered while looking only at Chiwook, completely ignoring Taehyun’s gaze.

“I’m sorry, but I tend to be a bit shy. I’m somewhat acquainted with Sung Taehyun sunbae-nim since we are under the same agency, so would it be possible to proceed with Sung Taehyun sunbae-nim?”

Simultaneously with Sejin’s remark, everyone’s eyes turned to Taehyun. No, I… I don’t want to! Taehyun wanted to refuse immediately, but because he had gotten on Chiwook’s bad side with the previous stay-out incident, he could not afford to be disliked any further here. As Taehyun awkwardly raised the corners of his trembling mouth, with a faint smile that seemed to have ‘I don’t really know?’ written on his face, Chiwook suddenly patted Taehyun’s shoulder and said.

“Oh, you two are close like that? Athlete Sung must be used to filming too! You frequently go on that Running Friends or Mates or whatever it is, and you filmed that Solo Life thing just fine. This kind of thing will be a piece of cake for you, a piece of cake! Just perfect!”

Saying that, he abruptly pulled Taehyun—swoosh—as if pulling a radish from a field, and stood him next to Sejin.

“Since athlete Sung has more experience than the other athletes, it would be great to film it with a sense of a generational shift. Is that all right?”

Then he stared at Taehyun with eyes that were smiling but not smiling at all, and Taehyun could not say no even if he had ten mouths.

“……I understand.”

Damn it. I wanted to reduce my involvement with this guy as much as possible. So this is how you are going to play. Taehyun barely finished the pre-meeting with a smiling face and left the office, completely drained of energy. As he was trudging back to the dormitory building, a small head that was about half a head taller than others came into his view. This bastard, seriously. Taehyun quickly approached and grabbed Sejin.

“Let’s talk for a moment.”

He had been avoiding Sejin, hoping not to run into him, but now he could not help but say a word. Sejin obediently nodded and followed Taehyun. Taehyun found a moderately empty meeting room, opened the door, and locked it without turning on the lights. All athletes living in the athletes’ village followed the official training schedule provided by the village, so most facilities were turned off after ten o’clock when all official training ended.

The building where the management office Sejin and Taehyun had just left was also the same, so most of the lights were off except for minimal equipment, including the hallway. Of course, not a single soul could be felt. Only after confirming that no one was visible beyond the translucent window did Taehyun corner Sejin.

“What’s with you. Why did you suddenly step up and make a scene? Did someone ask you to?”

When Taehyun asked with a deep frown, Sejin calmly shook his head.

“No. Of course not.”

Only then did Taehyun start to notice Sejin’s complexion. It seemed he had overexerted himself, separate from having volunteered on his own, as his expression did not look very good. Taehyun became more flustered and raised his voice.

“Then why did you suddenly overdo it there. Are you crazy, do you want to ruin your condition?”

Even though Taehyun had spewed out quite sharp words, Sejin answered steadfastly as if it was nothing.

“If I don’t do that, you won’t stay with me. Except when we are doing that thing. And I wanted to show a side of me that you would like, in front of you, hyung.”

“That I would?”

“Am I wrong?”

What is this about now. Taehyun, with genuinely no idea what he was talking about, asked with a dumbfounded face.

“What are you talking about, what do I like.”

As Taehyun asked bluntly, genuinely curious himself, Sejin said with a surprised expression, as if he had ‘Is this not it?’ written on his face.

“Stepping up to solve things when others are in trouble, that kind of thing… don’t you like it?”

“What….”

What kind of misunderstanding is he having on his own. Taehyun still replied with his eyebrows twitching.

“It’s not like that. It’s just that I can’t stand seeing others in a difficult situation, not that I want someone else to step up for me….”

“But if no one wanted to do it, you would have stepped up, hyung.”

“Well, that… I suppose so.”

That was Taehyun’s unavoidable nature. When a problem arose within a group, naturally trying to solve it by sacrificing himself was a personality trait he had now given up on being able to fix. Because he hated being disliked. Because he hated when the atmosphere soured. He ended up stepping up because he liked becoming a person needed by everyone, being told that they overcame a crisis thanks to him when a problem arose in the group.

Thanks to that, he was able to build a good image, but there were many mentally and physically tiring things, so he knew he had to do it in moderation, but it did not go as he wanted. It would have been the same this time. If no one wanted to step up, he would have eventually tried to step up and solve it on his own. He was at a loss for words at the undeniable fact. Sejin took advantage of that gap and pressed Taehyun again.

“See. I didn’t want to let you struggle alone if you were going to have a hard time anyway. And while I’m at it, I wanted to show you, hyung, a cool side of me… well….”

He seemed to be embarrassed by the last sentence even after saying it himself, and it was absurd to see his face flush with a reddish blush.