* * *
Even though Taehyun was tormented by a problem with no solution, nothing had changed.
The world was inherently unfair, absurd, and full of heartbreaking things.
Yet, the lesson he learned from the director was to never lose hope and always do his best.
That “best”… included moments like this, which made his face flush with embarrassment, but oddly enough, Taehyun felt incredibly comfortable at the moment.
Sure, the muscles in his back and inner thighs, which he rarely used, were so tense that he expected them to scream tomorrow, but otherwise, his body felt surprisingly different.
‘Is it because I didn’t take my meds?’
He didn’t expect immediate results, but even if it was just a placebo effect, it wasn’t a bad thing.
After all, anything that felt real was helpful.
As he casually borrowed Sejin’s shampoo and body wash, dried himself off, and stepped out of the bathroom, Sejin had already finished his cup of coffee.
“Where do you train? If you’re taking a taxi, I can give you a ride on my way,” Taehyun offered, thinking it wouldn’t take long to drop him off if it was nearby.
Since he was already out with his car, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
However, Sejin simply shook his head indifferently.
“I have a home gym set up. When I said ‘in an hour earlier,’ I was referring to the time my coach is arriving.”
“Oh.”
It was then that Taehyun once again realized just how different Sejin’s life was from his own.
Sejin was the proud grandson of a pharmaceutical company owner, and Taehyun could only marvel at the vast difference in their financial worlds—too vast to even feel jealous.
“Must be nice. You always hated sharing facilities with other people.”
It wasn’t a comment loaded with any deeper meaning.
Taehyun was simply making an observation, knowing how much Sejin hated sharing space with others.
Sejin, still expressionless, replied calmly, “Yeah. It’s more convenient using it by myself.”
And just like that, their conversation ended again.
“……”
There wasn’t much else to talk about, was there?
Taehyun had plenty of questions—how Sejin had been in France, his upcoming training schedule, the national fencing team’s group training, and so on.
Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to ask.
It felt awkward now to pry when Sejin didn’t seem interested in his time spent disconnected from the world, and Taehyun didn’t want to seem like he was overstepping.
‘It’s ridiculous to expect him to be sociable anyway…’
What had brought them together in the first place?
Sejin, who had come to Korea all alone, refused to rely on anyone and ended up clashing with his teammates.
But now, Sejin no longer needed Taehyun’s help.
He was an independent, mature athlete, fully capable of taking care of himself.
So asking about this or that, anything beyond being a training partner, felt like an invasion of privacy.
Just like Taehyun might not want to answer if Sejin asked about his past.
‘Whatever… I’ve got enough on my plate.’
Taehyun got up and began preparing to leave.
“Before training starts, send me your pheromone levels through Messenger. I’ll check mine in the parking lot before I head up.”
The most important thing right now was checking whether all the effort he put in last night had been worth it.
Everything else could wait.
Taehyun shrugged, placed his empty cup down, and Sejin nodded.
“Okay. See you later.”
Sejin’s voice remained devoid of emotion.
Seriously, what a strange guy. Taehyun muttered curses under his breath as he left the house.
As soon as he stepped outside, the bright sunlight beamed down on the garden.
‘The weather’s great…’
The breeze was pleasantly cool.
A perfect day to wander around, though Taehyun knew better than anyone that he didn’t have the luxury to do so.
‘This is the last year, anyway.’
What would it feel like to no longer live as an athlete?
Taehyun glanced down at his ankle at the entrance to the parking lot.
No more grueling rehabilitation, no more exhausting cardio, no more mind-numbing repetition of drills.
This year marked the end of all that.
He prayed this would be a farewell without regret as he started his car.
A little while later, Taehyun arrived at the center’s staff parking lot, turned off the engine, and took out a portable pheromone tester from his bag.
He pricked his finger with a disposable lancet, letting a drop of blood fall onto the thread.
After inserting the kit, numbers appeared on the panel.
[07]
Seeing a level that should have been impossible without medication, Taehyun’s jaw dropped.
The effect of the Alpha injection was incredible. He hadn’t expected it to be this good and was left speechless.
Now he understood why so many athletes raved about their partners.
Taehyun felt betrayed, realizing those other athletes who had claimed they didn’t need medication because they had stable partners hadn’t been so forthcoming.
He conveniently forgot he had only told a select few about his Omega status and instead grumbled inwardly.
He’d need to monitor his fatigue during today’s intervals to gauge the true effect, but at least his pheromone levels had dropped due to his encounter with Sejin—that much was clear.
“Sigh…”
After throwing the disposable part of the kit into his car’s trash, he stored the main unit back in his bag and leaned his forehead against the steering wheel, feeling cornered with no way out.
Just as he managed to collect himself and step out of the car, his phone, set on silent, lit up.
On his way to the elevator, Taehyun checked the message from Sejin.
[09]
9:46 AM
‘Well, if it worked for me, it must have had some effect on you too, right?’
Taehyun sighed, ruffling his hair as he stepped into the elevator.
A few moments later, the elevator stopped, and the door opened to the athletes’ private training facility.
A familiar athlete, startled by Taehyun’s messy hair, greeted him.
“Taehyun… what happened to your hair?”
Startled, Taehyun quickly fixed his hair, stammering a reply before rushing to the locker room.
“Oh, I just messed it up while fixing it. Take care!”
Relieved to find the locker room empty, Taehyun sighed again.
Now all that was left was to see if his fitness, which he’d attributed to the medication’s side effects, would improve once he started moving.
For some reason, he felt conflicted.
Half of him wanted the treatment to work, and the other half hoped it didn’t. If it worked, it meant he’d found something to hold onto.
If it didn’t, then he wouldn’t have to go through this again with Sejin.
Either way, it wasn’t a loss, but deep down, Taehyun knew which outcome he wanted.
And finally.
After finishing his hour-long run, Taehyun stepped off the machine and ruffled his hair messily.
It made sense that his body was aching after pushing it so hard yesterday, but running today felt much lighter than usual—so much so that he could’ve increased the incline without any issue.
‘Aaaaaah, just tell me this is all a lie,’ Taehyun groaned internally.
As he sank to the floor near the machine, the other athletes around him rushed over, alarmed.
“Hey, Taehyun, are you okay? Did you cramp up?”
“Oppa, are you alright?”
Their worried eyes focused on him, and Taehyun wished he could just die right there.
But now wasn’t the time for that.
He couldn’t go down as a ghost who died without even winning an Olympic gold medal in the fitness room of WIA Sports’ 4th-floor training center.
“No, no, no, I just almost tripped when I got off… It’s nothing, really, I’m fine.”
“You’re sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I promise. Sorry, I think I just overreacted a bit.”
“Why are you apologizing, oppa? You just gave us all a scare.”
Taehyun forced a smile, trying to brush off their concern, and sat on a bench, stretching his legs. He swallowed his frustration and thought, ‘Now I really can’t turn down Sejin anymore. This is how it all ends, huh?’
He sighed internally, letting out another silent scream.
Sejin, who met Taehyun when they were 18, would’ve never guessed back then that four years later, they’d be in such a complicated relationship with that annoying, clingy human.
‘He used to be cute, even when he was rude,’ Taehyun thought, sighing as memories from four years ago resurfaced.
It had been one of those spring days when the summer heat arrived early.
* * *
Great
Thanks
Good
Noo