Chapter 47
I thought there wouldn’t be any more shocks today. I thought there would be no more heart-stopping moments, no more pain… but it was as if God was mocking me, saying, “Did you think this was the end?” Unbelievable.
“Oh, right. Kang Yuhan.”
“He’s famous in the Sports Psychology Department. He’s talented in many ways.”
“But how did this happen?”
They were already talking about Kang Yuhan as if it was confirmed. But Igeon couldn’t believe it. He had to see it with his own eyes. So he ran. Forgetting all his body’s pain, he ran back to the place where he had opened the door and left earlier. As far as he knew, he had encountered Kang Yuhan, but he had told him to go back, and he hadn’t sensed his pheromones until he left. But that couldn’t be possible. It couldn’t be.
“Haa… haa… huh!”
As soon as Igeon arrived at the door, he covered his nose and mouth against the strong pheromones of Han Taekyung and another person… the green apple scent that he knew all too well. He wanted to deny it. He wanted to tell someone that it wasn’t true, but these pheromones were undeniable evidence.
The inside was already cleaned up, with no one around. Seo Igeon trudged in, opening the door and looking around. The place was still a mess. There were obvious traces of intimacy. His own pheromones had disappeared, replaced entirely by those of Han Taekyung and Kang Yuhan.
“This can’t be happening.”
What could have happened in that short time? Igeon collapsed on the floor, looking at the dried semen stuck to the ground. Then, seeing Han Taekyung’s phone at the edge of his vision, he reached out and picked it up. The screen was cracked and ruined. He tried pressing the button, but the battery was dead. Holding the cold phone in his hand, Igeon sat there, feeling empty.
â—†
Rumors about Han Taekyung and Kang Yuhan spread quickly through the school. For days, the National Sports University was abuzz, and their names were on everyone’s lips, but Seo Igeon wasn’t part of those conversations. Locked up in his dormitory room, suffering for days, Igeon came to his senses after a week, which happened to be the first day of the new semester.
Greeting the morning, sitting quietly on his bed, he looked at Han Taekyung’s bed, which had remained empty for a week without any contact. Damn it, he felt like he needed to see his face to talk about what happened, but he was also afraid to see him. Part of him wished Han Taekyung would never return, that they would never have to see each other again. Where should he even start to untangle this mess? Igeon rubbed his face and got up from the bed. Fortunately, except for some bruises here and there, he could walk fine now, and his stomach no longer hurt.
“Haah…”
He felt like he could train today. He needed to move his body and sweat profusely. That would keep unwanted thoughts away. Igeon went to the bathroom, turned on the shower, washed his body, came out, and was drying his hair with a towel when he threw the towel aside and then threw Han Taekyung’s slippers from the floor onto his bed.
“You bastard.”
Damn it… where are you right now? Why aren’t you showing up?
The truth is, during that week lying in bed, he had been waiting for Han Taekyung to contact him. Since he had Taekyung’s phone, he thought he would at least come looking for it. If he did, Igeon would kill him. But knowing Taekyung, he would definitely apologize, so maybe just half-kill him and think about it. It wasn’t like Han Taekyung did it on purpose; it happened because of those cockroaches… it must have been a huge trauma for him too. So he thought about half-killing him and then talking things through… maybe they could pretend it never happened and continue their friendship as before? But the guy never showed up. Igeon considered going to the officetel, but it seemed ridiculous for him to be the one seeking out Taekyung, so he just waited. But there was no contact from Han Taekyung. He didn’t even come looking for his phone. Igeon was left alone to bear all the memories and physical pain by himself.
After getting angry and then calming down several times… Igeon finally left the dormitory, ate his meal alone with determination, and headed to the gym. He pushed Han Taekyung’s phone, visible in his bag, into his locker and changed into his uniform.
“Oh? Seo Igeon, you’re back?”
The seniors greeted Igeon happily when they saw him.
“We haven’t seen you for days.”
“Ah, I was really sick with a summer cold.”
“Summer colds are the worst. Are you okay now?”
“Yes.”
Honestly, though they were casually asking about his well-being, their faces showed they were curious about something else. In times like these, it’s best to get ahead of it.
“I don’t know anything.”
“Um, ahem, well—”
“How can you not know? You and Han Taekyung were practically joined at the hip.”
When Igeon spoke first, the seniors flocked around him as if they had been waiting for this. He tried to avoid them, but they blocked the doorway, their eyes sparkling with curiosity.
“It’s true we were close, but I was also trying to find out what happened when the situation was already over, so I don’t know. There hasn’t been any contact since that day. He hasn’t even come to the dormitory.”
Igeon showed them his phone. The messages had stopped a week ago, and there had been no calls. Seeing this, the seniors took a step back.
“Ah, then you must be frustrated too.”
Is “frustrated” the right word to describe this feeling? Each day, his mood was getting worse and darker.
“There seems to be a lot of hushing up going on. I know there were quite a few witnesses, but they’ve all shut their mouths completely. I wonder if NI paid them off?”
“Come to think of it, there’s no news article either, right? Think about it—if Han Taekyung raped Kang Yuhan as the rumors say, wouldn’t that be news? He’s one of the heirs to NI Group. Reporters would be all over it. But there isn’t a single article.”
Igeon knew this too, as he had searched for articles while he was sick. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a single related article. That was somewhat fortunate. Whatever article came out would hurt both Han Taekyung and Kang Yuhan, and it could become a topic of gossip among strangers for the rest of their lives.
“I never thought Han Taekyung would be like that.”
“We should help resolve our ruts a bit more proactively. Otherwise, there’s no guarantee something like that won’t happen to us.”
“You know, there was that incident before too…”
As the seniors were about to drift into strange topics, Igeon ignored them and left the waiting room. He had wanted to exercise, sweat, and clear his mind of distractions, but that seemed unlikely now. He wasn’t in the mood. But since he had already put on his uniform…
Quietly entering the gym, Igeon immediately recalled Han Taekyung training there with him a week ago.
“That crazy bastard.”
What the hell happened? No, what happened was between you and me. Why did a senior suddenly get involved? Explain yourself, you bastard. Explain!!
“Igeon.”
The coach, who had just entered the gym, saw Igeon and looked around before quietly calling him over.
“Come here.”
“Yes.”
The coach took Igeon to his office. He closed the door and even locked it, seeming very cautious. He was definitely doing this because it was related to Han Taekyung.
“Sit down.”
“Yes.”
But Igeon thought that the coach might know something. There was a good chance he had contacted the school.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
“Looks like you really caught that summer cold. But they say if you get really sick in summer, you’ll have a healthy winter. You know winter is more important for you, right? We have high expectations for you.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Well… that’s all. Go train. You need to move after resting for a week.”
Is that it? What should I do? Should I ask? Igeon hesitated slightly but decided to ask. The coach seemed like the only person he could ask.
“Coach, have you received any contact from Taekyung? It’s been a week without any contact. He hasn’t come to the dormitory either.”
“Hmm… I don’t know the details either. But don’t believe the rumors too much. Just wait. He’ll contact you eventually, won’t he?”
The coach patted Igeon’s shoulder and stood up first. This wasn’t the answer Igeon wanted. He hadn’t gotten any of the information he was hoping for. Igeon got up and returned to the gym to practice alone. Well, he sparred with the seniors, but his mind wasn’t clearing of unwanted thoughts as he had hoped. Still, he tried to act normal through classes, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of being stuck, unable to move forward.
Forcing himself to eat a full dinner, he sat in the park in front of the dormitory, looking at the sky. Should I go to the officetel tomorrow? As he was considering this, a phone call came in. It was an unknown number, but he had a feeling he needed to answer it, so he quickly pressed the call button.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
