Strategic Mating Partner Chapter 97

In a world where every visible metric ultimately leads to fame and commercial opportunities, they would not want to miss a chance for promotion that could increase their followers even a little. What’s so hard about tagging someone anyway. Taehyun readily held his phone up high. When Taehyun got up from his seat and moved forward to fit everyone in the group into the frame set to the front lens, the coach immediately waved his hands in refusal.

“Oh, I’m good. You guys just take it.”

As he tried to subtly back away, the coach and the rehabilitation manager, who had been posing to be in the frame until just a moment ago, also started looking around with awkward expressions, wondering if they should back out too. Taehyun smiled and said to the coach.

“Don’t be like that, coach, you come too. It’s only meaningful if we all take it together, what’s the fun in leaving someone out just because they’re not an athlete.”

At that, the other athletes chimed in one by one.

“That’s right, hurry up and come!”

“Quickly!”

Seeing him subtly push his chair closer at those words, it seemed he had wanted to be in the picture after all. As Taehyun adjusted the angle here and there again and managed to fit the rather large group into the screen, click, a picture was taken in response to the designated motion. Normally, a click shutter sound should have echoed, but one of the athletes let out a sound of admiration, finding it strange that the screen just blinked silently.

“Wow, it really doesn’t make a shutter sound?”

“It’s a setting that’s only enabled in Korea and Japan. They say it doesn’t make a sound when you’re roaming and connected to an overseas carrier.”

“Aah….”

As if they could roughly guess the reason, the expression of the athlete who had been marveling turned strangely awkward. Be that as it may, the rare fast food eaten outside for the first time in a while was so delicious it made his mouth water continuously. When the meal finally ended, a wave of fatigue and drowsiness from the long flight washed over them, and everyone became quiet.

“I wish every day was like today….”

The junior, who was enjoying a sweet evening rest with the news that training would resume the next day, muttered in a languid voice. It’s not exactly a great situation, is it. Taehyun was trying hard to forget it, but with the round of 64 preliminaries starting before the opening ceremony just around the corner, his nerves were constantly on edge. Even so, his personality had a compulsion to ‘not cause trouble for others,’ so he was managing it, pretending not to be as much as possible.

‘Well, I did take my anger out on Sejin once though….’

The moment he said it and regretted it, he realized how pathetic and irresponsible it was, and he felt that he should never repeat it again. It was fortunate that Sejin had let it pass nonchalantly, but once words are spoken, they cannot be taken back. Even if he says he is okay on the outside, you do not know what he is thinking on the inside, and with that one mistake and choice, in that person’s mind, you could remain a thoughtless person who always blames others for their own problems. So, Taehyun was once again acting tough and composed in front of his colleagues.

“I know, right. I hope things continue to go well without any trouble, just like today.”

At Taehyun’s light agreement, the other athletes also slowly nodded their heads. In about a month, everything would be over. The feeling of being on the verge of the end of his long, long athletic career was both relieving and bittersweet. Fearing he would fall into sentimentality again, Taehyun quickly opened his messenger app on the way back to the accommodation.

8:01 PM

(Photo)

Then he organized all the pictures he had taken since leaving the airport and sent them to Sejin at once. Because the data was slower than in Korea, a spinning loading icon appeared on the screen the entire time the pictures were being sent. After he finally managed to organize a little less than ten pictures, a reply came from Sejin as soon as he entered his room.

No, has this bastard now decided to just stare at his phone even during training? Taehyun, dumbfounded by the almost immediate reply, let out a hollow laugh and checked it. Sejin was talking nonsense again, as if something had irked him.

I don’t like this person

8:13 PM

When he looked to see what nonsense he was spouting, it seemed he had already seen another junior male athlete with his hand on his shoulder in the group photo he had sent to Sejin. It was not even a significant act of physical contact. It was a hand placed for balance because it was not easy to stand without holding onto anything when a crowd of people was crammed into a small space. There was no way there was any lecherous intent or purpose.

8:14 PM

Stop talking nonsense

8:14 PM

If you’re going to look at that, just look at my face instead

When Taehyun sent a message telling him not to talk nonsense, Sejin immediately retorted back.

I already saw that

8:14 PM

Once I look, I can only see you, hyung, what else is there

8:15 PM

At that one short sentence, ugh, goosebumps broke out all over Taehyun’s body without him realizing it. Ever since he had done this and that with Sejin in the athletes’ village dorm, a mood like that of a couple in the early stages of dating had continued. Taehyun found that subtly grating on his nerves, yet he did not dislike the ticklish feeling, so he let out a hollow laugh as if in disbelief, heo, and briefly placed his phone down on the bed. Then, after shaking his head from side to side, he picked up his phone again.

8:16 PM

I almost blocked you just now

8:16 PM

You’re not Joo Sejin, are you

To be precise, it was Taehyun who had started the cheesy talk first, but that was not particularly important. It was one thing for him, but wasn’t Sejin not the type of person to say such things? Taehyun was the type of person who could offer at least minimal lip service without difficulty. It was the same with the lovers he had dated briefly and casually in the past. It’s not like saying it meant you had to take responsibility for life, how hard could it be to say a few words.

He did not do things like calling them ‘honey’ or ‘wifey’ that would make others think he was being cringey, but he was the type to frequently say things that his partner would be happy to hear. So, he should have been used to receiving sweet nothings he did not particularly want in return for a casually and smoothly thrown sentence. And yet. The fact that the other person was Sejin gave him goosebumps first.

‘Isn’t this a bit… strange?’

My prospective boyfriend says he can only see me, so why is this so embarrassing? Taehyun felt like he knew the reason all too well. It was probably because it was awkward and out of character for that sullen and indifferent guy to write such words. At the message of shock Taehyun had sent, Sejin immediately replied again.

If you’re really tired, get a good night’s sleep soon

8:18 PM

(Photo)

8:18 PM

He did not know if it was meant to say not to worry about him, but in a corner of the picture, which seemed to have been taken at a fencing stadium during daytime training, a young child who looked to be about three years old was asleep, hugging a doll as big as her own body. So this is Eunsol. He did not know how she had gotten permission to enter, but it must be quite boring in a place with only adults and no one her age, yet it seemed she was doing well without whining or fussing. Taehyun, seeing the chubby cheeks unique to a young child that looked like they would fold, unknowingly pulled at the corners of his lips and then typed on the keypad.

8:20 PM

Yeah. Good luck with your training

8:21 PM

See you again soon

Sejin was scheduled to arrive in LA in about four days. The moment he unconsciously thought that he wanted to see him in person, not just in some picture like this, Taehyun was so surprised that he threw his phone onto the bed without realizing it. Wow, crazy, did I just have such a cheesy thought? The shock was brief, as the junior sharing a room with Taehyun, having finished his shower first in the bathroom, came into the room with a bewildered expression.

“What’s wrong? Did you see something strange?”

At the junior’s innocent question, Taehyun was shocked for a second time and his heart nearly dropped.

“Huh? No, no, no, I just got the schedule mixed up for a moment.”

“Ah~.”

After throwing out just any excuse, the sound of his heart pounding continued to echo loudly. It was a good thing only he could hear this racket. If the people around him could hear it too, he might have been so embarrassed he would have wanted to jump out the window.

‘Stop thinking useless thoughts and let’s just get some sleep.’

Taehyun sprang up from his sitting position, grabbed a change of pajamas and a towel, and headed for the bathroom. He washed his hair, scrubbing it as if he were mixing vegetables, beok beok, and brushed his teeth so vigorously his gums felt sore, and when he lay down on the bed again, the displeased face from the picture Sejin had sent in what was morning his time came to mind. No, seriously, if you are going to take a picture, at least smile. This is not some hostage photo for a threat like, ‘I have your daughter, give me a billion won right now,’ it was absurd how sullen his expression was.