Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 91

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“Alright, we’re almost there now, so let’s get it together! We can do it! Fighting!”

As the training resumed with the middle-aged coach’s shout, Sejin took a deep breath, huu, and corrected his stance. As if to prove that the statement about this being the very end was no exaggeration, Sejin’s schedule now only had the individual semi-finals, finals, and the team competition left. This was thanks to the individual fencing events, which had been scheduled relatively early after the opening ceremony two days ago, finishing in a flash.

For the team competition, it would not be a bad thing if there were good results, but there was also nothing to lose if the results were not particularly good. He had somehow become the only one among the four members of the men’s épée team to advance to the semi-finals, and though people around him were chattering about how he, the youngest, had taken on the role of defending the national team’s pride, it did not matter to him at all.

‘Whatever others say, what does that have to do with me….’

Sejin was already satisfied with having defeated a strong gold medal contender, whom he had been conscious of, in the preliminaries. Personally, that was the case, but in any event, if he won a medal, the way people around him looked at him would change, regardless of his age. There was a high probability that they would treat him not just as a cute kid like they did now, but as a proper, respectable adult. In that sense, it was good to leave his mark from his very first appearance, regardless of the medal’s color. However. Sejin tried hard not to become too conceited by not being conscious of it, but he could not erase a certain thought.

If I win a medal, will Taehyun be happy? Won’t he congratulate me as if it were his own achievement? He had no intention of competing for someone else rather than for himself, but thinking of Taehyun genuinely cheering for his win made somewhere deep inside his chest ache. It’s not like his intention to do his absolute best was changing anyway. Therefore, this is not an action he is taking consciously for him. Sejin, trying hard to achieve a mental victory, tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword.

Finally, two days later, when Sejin, swept up in the whirlwind of last-minute training and various events and schedules, grasped the gold medal. Sejin was unknowingly left dumbfounded by the roar of cheers that echoed as if the heavens and the earth were shaking. In fact, when you get down to it, winning the medal was purely a personal achievement that was only good for Sejin himself. Yet, the celebratory atmosphere that unfolded, as if he had performed some great military feat representing the country, just felt awkward.

For Sejin, who was born in Europe and had always lived as a foreigner, it was a sense of belonging he had never felt before. He was grateful, but it was also awkward and embarrassing, as if something was wrong. Startled by the dozens of microphones and cameras suddenly thrust at him, Sejin did not know where to place his gaze and fumbled, which prompted screams of admiration from those around him.

“Wow, he’s really handsome….”

“Oh my gosh, he’s such a baby.”

The bewildered expression of the young-faced champion, unaccustomed to interviews, seemed to be perceived as quite lovely. The coach sat Sejin down at the press conference venue and, with a beaming smile, took the barrage of questions from the reporters on his behalf.

“This is your first appearance, were there any points where you felt nervous or pressured?”

When Sejin, without realizing it, sat there tensely like a narrow-mouthed toad and looked at the coach, another burst of laughter erupted. Sejin felt displeased, feeling that contrary to his expectation of being treated like an adult if he won a medal, he had instead become a laughingstock to be teased. He did not care about the reactions of the public or other people. He was not even that curious about his own mother’s reaction. She was, after all, a person who valued the results of her own training more than her son’s achievements. There was no reason to feel hurt by that now.

“I believe there was no such pressure as Joo Sejin is a very bold and tenacious athlete. The young athlete did a very calm and excellent job.”

Sejin was curious about the reaction of only one person. He wanted to finish this troublesome event quickly and go back to his accommodation. He had not been able to contact him first until now, fearing he might seem like a nuisance while he was preparing for his match, but the mere fact that Taehyun was somewhere in this huge athletes’ village had been a source of comfort for Sejin. What would Taehyun say when he told him the news of his win? He might already know. The moment he thought of Taehyun, Sejin’s heart began to beat fast again, just like it did during the match.

However, what greeted Sejin, who had been waiting with a trembling heart to return to his accommodation, was a shocking result.

The customer’s phone is currently turned off and cannot receive calls. Please try again later.

“……?”

Having never had a reason to call anyone in the first place, Sejin scowled with a bewildered expression at the power-off message he was hearing for the first time in his life. His phone is turned off? Is it broken? Or was he pickpocketed? For a moment, Sejin pictured Taehyun, with a dazed look on his face, being flustered after a pickpocket snatched his phone. It was a plausible enough scenario. Just in case, he tried calling a few more times, but after confirming he still was not answering, he quickly checked the taekwondo match schedule posted on the official website. Taekwondo was scheduled about two days later than fencing, and the tournament bracket up to the semi-finals had already been released.

‘……?’

And after checking the bracket, Sejin doubted his eyes and stared at the screen. Nowhere in the list of athletes who had advanced to the quarter-finals, meaning the semi-finals, could he see Taehyun’s name. Didn’t they say he was a strong gold medal contender? Why…. Surprised, he scrolled down to the round of 8 bracket, but Taehyun’s name was still not there. Startled, he scrolled down to the round of 16, and only then was Taehyun’s name present. And the moment he saw the result of that match, Sejin felt his heart drop with a thud. It was a shock he had never felt even when he was at risk of losing a point in his own match.

Withdrawal Loss

Why? How…. When he searched for Taehyun’s name on a portal site again, articles were already pouring out.

Taekwondo -80kg Gold Medal Prospect Sung Taehyun, Withdraws Due to Injury, Unable to Hide Disappointment

Asian Games Gold Medalist Sung Taehyun’s Olympic Conquest Ends in Failure

Sung Taehyun Fails to Win Medal at the 202X Istanbul Olympics

Reason for Sung Taehyun’s Withdrawal? Close Associate Says He Will Focus on Recovery from Ankle Injury

Injury. With that one word, Sejin felt the blood in his entire body run cold. He clicked on one article and read it in detail; it contained information that he had a chronic problem with his ankle from before, and during the round of 32 match, the injury progressed to a serious level, so for the sake of his future athletic career, he would first withdraw and focus on treatment. Startled, Sejin hurriedly tried calling again, but similarly, only the message saying the phone was turned off came through.

Is it because he’s on a plane back to Korea right now? The congratulatory words from his fellow athletes and officials did not even register in his ears. He needed to get in touch with Taehyun quickly. At the very least, he wanted to ask what had happened and offer some comfort. He did not know if doing so would mean anything to him, but he could not just leave him be. He stayed up all night with his eyes open, and regardless of whether there was a team competition schedule or not, he tried calling Taehyun again, but the phone was still turned off. It was the same even after Sejin safely finished the team competition schedule in a half-dazed state.

“Wow, still, it’s a relief that we came all this way and aren’t going back empty-handed, really, what a relief.”

Whatever Dongcheol muttered was none of Sejin’s business. Why does he keep not answering the phone? Even if he had returned via a connecting flight because he could not get a direct one, it was strange for it to take this long. With an anxious heart, Sejin called Taehyun whenever he had time. In the meantime, one by one, the events for each sport were finishing, and the closing ceremony was fast approaching.

Outgoing Calls
Sung Taehyun (39 times)

As the number of unanswered calls piled up, he could not help but feel that something was strange. Is he intentionally not answering? Is he avoiding my calls? Why? There shouldn’t be a reason. I don’t think I did anything to be disliked like that. Unable to figure out the reason at all, Sejin was confused, and finally, on the day he arrived in Korea, he urgently asked Hoyong, who had come to Incheon Airport to greet him.

“What about Sung Taehyun sunbae-nim?”

When he asked after his well-being using the formal title he had learned through his épée teammates, Hoyong’s expression, which had been bright to congratulate Sejin, turned dark. With an awkward face, Hoyong glanced at Sejin and then hesitantly trailed off.