Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 83

“Why?”

To Taehyun’s incredibly stupid, hollow question, Sejin snapped back as if he was a little angry.

“Isn’t it obvious that you want to show your cool side in front of the person you like?”

At that one phrase, Taehyun felt his heart drop with a thud. It was true, actually. Who would want to show their pathetic side to someone they like. Taehyun, who had thought the same thing, had no intention of denying that obvious statement. However, the fact that the reason Sejin did something so unlike him was himself, made his stomach feel like it was turning over, no, not churning, but perhaps ticklish, so words he did not mean to say came out of his mouth.

“Is there… a need to do something that doesn’t suit you? If it’s someone you’re meant to be with anyway, they’ll like you even for your flawed sides.”

Then, as if he had been waiting, Sejin’s expression completely changed as he pulled the corners of his mouth up into a smile.

“Me too.”

“What?”

“I like you even when you’re not cool, hyung. So you don’t have to only show your cool side in front of me like you do with other people. You can lean on me anytime.”

“What… are you talking about.”

Taehyun was so flustered for a moment that he almost hiccuped. By a stroke of immense luck, he did not show such an unsightly appearance. Taehyun quickly covered his mouth, but he could not stop his face from burning up.

Wait a minute, was he leading this long-winded nonsense to say this just now? Being certain that I would say this if the conversation flowed this way? Taehyun looked up at Sejin, who was now smiling triumphantly, and was fed up. That is to say, the thought that his tired expression a moment ago was not because the situation was genuinely overwhelming or taxing, but was a buildup to draw out the conclusion he just heard from his own mouth, gave him chills.

“Crazy bastard. You’re a real psycho, you are.”

Taehyun could not stand the embarrassment of feeling like he had been played in the palm of Sejin’s hand. He did not even want to exchange any more words with Sejin. He was annoyed and angry and did not want to see that brazen face for even a second, but his heart kept beating fast as if it was broken. It was absurd that he had fallen for such a transparent trick. As Taehyun quickly shook off Sejin and tried to leave the meeting room, Sejin, far from stopping him, personally undid the lock for Taehyun. Click, as the manually turned lock button opened, Sejin naturally opened the door as if he were a butler and saw Taehyun off.

“But I didn’t lie about a single thing. Go on in. See you tomorrow.”

Then he saw him off so calmly, and that grated on his nerves even more, so Taehyun did not answer and walked with long strides towards the corridor that led to the dormitory building. The building, with most of its lights turned off except for the minimal ones, was dark, somehow like a scene from a movie. Normally, he might have thought it a slightly creepy sight, but now he just hastened his steps without any capacity for such thoughts. Finally, after barely returning to his room, Taehyun threw his body onto the bed, tearing at his innocent hair again.

What was that? Isn’t he just toying with a person? Or is that what they call being foxy? It was absurd that he fell for such a transparent ploy. What was more infuriating was that his heart had unknowingly fluttered at that ridiculous and obvious act. What, so what. What if you like even my ugly sides (though he did not go that far). What do you want me to do. Taehyun spat out sentences full of resentment inside his head as if firing them off wildly, then writhed in a new wave of self-doubt. Are you a nine-year-old kid? Unfortunately, Taehyun was an age on the verge of turning twenty-nine soon.

He could not sleep because he was so vexed about something. If someone’s going to say something cool, it should be me, why are you doing it!? A childish thought sprang up, and then he was ashamed of what a disgraceful sight this was. Still, his anger did not subside. At this rate… aren’t I just accepting everything while saying with my words that I won’t? Taehyun despaired, tearing at his hair again. Far from being mature, he was acting like a child throwing a tantrum who did not seem to know where he had spent his years, but in any case, Sejin was not here. That was the only comfort.

“Grrr.”

Taehyun punched the blanket again and, unable to overcome his anger, wrapped the blanket tightly around his whole body and looked at the ceiling. Let’s act our age, Sung Taehyun. But the heart that had started to beat fast once did not know how to calm down. Something was definitely wrong.

🤺

The next morning. Taehyun woke up feeling more sluggish than usual. As soon as he opened his eyes in the morning, he checked his pheromone levels, and as expected, they were at a precarious level. It seemed he would have to resolve it this evening one way or another. Is it okay to be sticking with Sejin from the morning? With a slight concern, he washed his face and got ready to go out, and the parking lot was already bustling. Most of them would leave as soon as the press meeting, the last schedule of the morning, was over. He had been told that only one team filming the mini-documentary video would remain until the afternoon. It was not a long shoot, and since it was a video that would be edited down to about 10 to 15 minutes, there was no reason to film for hours on end.

‘It’s not like a professional variety show in the first place.’

Whatever Sejin did, it probably would not become a huge topic of conversation. There was nothing he could do that would be an unexpected action either. Taehyun took a deep breath—hoo—and left the dormitory. The other athletes were in the middle of preparing for training according to their original schedule. He briefly looked at the view of the facilities seen through the large windows of the corridor, then hurried his steps.

“…and so this time, we are doing our best to repay you with good results as we have supplemented our lacking power.”

The press meeting finished a little later than scheduled. Since it was an event hosted by a newly appointed manager in a bad situation, it was glaringly obvious that he was desperate to package and show off the situation in a better light somehow. Due to the needlessly long opening remarks, some reporters could not hold back their yawns. The person the reporters’ attention was focused on was, naturally, Taehyun.

“This is your third Olympic challenge. Do you have any special resolutions?”

“You are considered the most promising gold medal candidate in the -80kg weight class for this Olympics. Do you think you will succeed in winning the gold medal this time?”

“I understand that you withdrew due to an injury during the last Olympics. Is it correct that you are sailing smoothly without any particular problems this time?”

He had expected it, but it seemed to take up almost five times more time than for the other athletes. Taehyun answered only exemplary responses like a parrot with a smiling face. As of now, there are no other problems such as injuries or poor condition, and I am focusing only on training. I will not be arrogant and will work harder this time to be sure to show you the results you have been waiting for. I think of it as a fight against myself and am striving to face a result without regrets. Among those countless sharp questions, the one that pierced Taehyun’s heart the deepest was a separate one.

“There are rumors that you are planning to retire after this Olympics, is that true?”

The question was thrown just as the question and answer session was almost over, and right before the officials tried to cut off the questions that were being too focused on Taehyun. For a moment, Taehyun felt like he had been hit over the head. What should I say.

It was a matter of course that this would be Taehyun’s last Olympics. Considering the risk of injury recurrence, as well as his physical strength and public standing, this was the best he could do. People around him tried to dissuade him, asking if it would not be better to at least compete until the next Asian Games before quitting, but he did not want to. He had already failed to leave when the applause was still there and was in a situation where he was pathetically sitting in a seat where others were urging him to get out of the way quickly. He wanted to shake it all off and feel relieved, without needing to be conscious of others’ opinions or tormented by pressure anymore.

However, thinking about it himself and being asked like this in a formal setting held different meanings, so Taehyun unknowingly became nervous at the first official question about his retirement. Though he quickly came to his senses. Taehyun forced a gentle smile and opened his mouth.

“I am considering various possibilities. I will do my best to ensure my athletic career can be one without regrets until the very end.”