Chapter 10
“You’re right… Now that I hear what you’re saying, I see. What does pheromone have to do with it?”
Thinking he wouldn’t get any more information from Instructor Jin, Igeon focused on finishing his kimbap. Later, after returning home, showering, and lying in bed, his curiosity about the day’s events resurfaced, and he picked up his phone to start searching.
‘Han Taekyung…’
Countless articles appeared. Well, that’s to be expected. He’s a junior national taekwondo representative, a dominant alpha with good looks, and above all, the eldest son of the NI Group.
‘Han Taekyung childhood’
‘Han Taekyung when young’
‘Han Taekyung kindergarten’
‘Han Taekyung hospital’
‘Han Taekyung pheromone.’
He tried various search term combinations, but nothing special came up. Even in columns or blog posts about the NI Group’s family history, there was no mention of Han Taekyung being sickly, having surgery, or even having a weak constitution. Instead, he ended up just looking at a lot of his family photos.
“Wow, he really is a 5:5 mix of both his fathers.”
His face was identical to his alpha father’s, but his hair color, eye color, and skin tone seemed to take after his birth father. Moreover, as if he had inherited only the best features, Han Taekyung appeared to be the most handsome among his family members.
“Hmm…”
After wandering through the internet with his fingers until he was tired, Seo Igeon put down his phone.
“What am I doing?”
He wasn’t sure who he was asking. It wasn’t like he was talking to himself. It was just that he was a tiny bit, just a little bit, concerned. What a waste of time. All because of Han Taekyung suddenly approaching him.
â—†
“Instructor, why aren’t you here yet?”
The second test was scheduled to start at 10 AM, and registrations had to be done that morning. Since numbers were assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, Igeon wanted to get an early number, finish quickly, and prepare for tomorrow’s tournament. So he had been waiting in front of the school since 8 AM, but when Instructor Jin didn’t show up, he called him.
[Ah, Igeon, I’m sorry. Can you handle it alone today?]
“Why? Are you sick?”
[I think I have an upset stomach.]
“Your gastritis is acting up again.”
[No, my stomach just hurts.]
“It’s nervous gastritis. Instructor, you always get stomach aches before my competitions.”
Instructor Jin didn’t say anything. He couldn’t. It was the truth.
“There’s nothing special today. I’ll go by myself.”
[I’m sorry, Igeon.]
“Instead of saying that, just go to the hospital.”
[Alright. Call me when you’re done.]
“Yes.”
After hanging up, Igeon looked at the large entrance of the National Sports University. Is it because I’m alone today? It looks even more massive. But if he passes, he’ll have to come and go thousands of times by himself. So, stand tall and go in. Igeon straightened his back and entered the testing venue.
The second test was the fundamentals test, just like last year. Since these fundamentals were what Instructor Jin valued more than anything, Igeon passed the judgment easily and simply, as if it wasn’t even a warm-up. After relaying the good news to Instructor Jin, he was leaving the waiting room when he heard people murmuring. Since he had moved early and had time to spare, and was curious, he discreetly went to take a look and found Han Taekyung taking the fundamentals test.
“Wow, he’s really handsome.”
“He looks even better in person.”
“That guy will pass, right? Next year’s taekwondo will be interesting.”
“Why did he choose taekwondo instead of becoming a celebrity?”
Various comments were being exchanged, but the subject was obvious without asking. It was evidence that Han Taekyung was receiving all the attention of everyone present. The same was true for Seo Igeon. Han Taekyung’s movements visible through the window were the perfect fundamentals one would only see in textbooks. They were disciplined, resolute, and clean. His movements were so free of excess that it was enviable. If Instructor Jin had been there, he might have nagged Seo Igeon to learn from Han Taekyung.
“He’s a dominant alpha, but I can’t feel his pheromones at all.”
“I heard he ranked first in the pheromone control test. They say not even 0.00001 leaked out.”
“Wow, he’s really perfect.”
First place? Then why did he cause all that commotion? Seo Igeon scratched his cheek.
“Ah, looks like it’s over now.”
“Kyaa!! Han Taekyung!!”
Yikes, that startled me! Some people who had been sitting quietly in the audience suddenly stood up and began to shout as if they had been waiting. Even the judges seemed surprised and looked toward the door with wide eyes, but the person in question appeared to ignore it as if he couldn’t hear, waiting for the judges’ decision.
Well, the result was obvious without even looking—it would be a pass—so Igeon turned around.
“Ah.”
But he didn’t see the person behind him properly and ended up bumping into them.
“Oh! I’m sorry!”
“Ugh…”
The man, who was about a hand span shorter than the 185cm tall Igeon, seemed to have hit his forehead against Igeon’s chin and was groaning while rubbing his forehead.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Are you okay?”
“Yes, yes. I’m fine. You don’t need to apologize so much. It’s partly my fault for not watching where I was going.”
“Ah…”
The man looked at Igeon with tears welling up in his eyes. Igeon was surprised. He was a beautiful person. Light brown eyes and light brown hair that suited him very well. Plus, his pheromones had a certain freshness to them… Since he hadn’t received pheromone control injections after yesterday’s test—he was scheduled to get one this afternoon—he could immediately sense the man’s pheromones. This man is an omega.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m really fine. If you apologize so much, I’ll feel even more sorry…”
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
Igeon truly had nothing else to say. It was his mistake, after all. At Igeon’s repeated apologies, the man smiled. Igeon thought that smile matched his pheromones perfectly.
“Kang Yuhan!! The professor is looking for you!!”
“Ah, yes!”
After responding loudly to the voice calling from a distance, the man bowed slightly to Igeon and ran toward the voice calling him. So his name is Kang Yuhan… His name suits him well too. Since a professor was looking for him, he must be attending this school. Does that make him my senior? Seo Igeon became very curious about the man who had just passed by. So curious that he wanted to follow and catch up to him. What is this feeling…
“Excuse me…”
As he took a step forward, someone grabbed Igeon. When he turned around, there were people he had never seen before, but they were wearing what looked like university jackets from the National Sports University. Since they seemed to be his future seniors, Igeon looked longingly once more in the direction Kang Yuhan had run off to before turning his attention to them.
“You’re Athlete Seo Igeon, right?”
“Ah… yes, that’s me.”
“Wow!”
Everyone there seemed surprised and examined Seo Igeon’s appearance from various angles.
“Athlete Seo Igeon looks much better in person too.”
“Yeah… Is he about the same height as Han Taekyung?”
“According to their official profiles, they’re the same.”
“I’ve been watching your matches well, Athlete Seo. I was wondering when you’d enroll, and here you are finally.”
“We’re first-year students in the Sports Psychology Department. We came for an observation. We’re curious about our future juniors who might become our pairs.”
It was helpful that they introduced themselves, as Igeon had been curious about who they were.
Sports Psychology Department. It was one of the few non-sports departments at the National Sports University, which mostly consisted of athletes. It was a place that trained counselors for athletes, especially alphas and omegas who occasionally experienced psychological instability, and the National Sports University produced the most talent in this field.
“Ah, then you might become my seniors. I apologize for my rudeness. Let me introduce myself again. Hello, I’m Seo Igeon.”
Since these people would become his seniors if he passed the tests, Igeon greeted them respectfully, and everyone applauded his polite manner.
“I really hope you pass. We’ll cheer for you a lot.”
“Both Athlete Seo Igeon and Athlete Han Taekyung will definitely pass. Let’s make sure you become our juniors!”
“Fighting!”
It made Igeon truly happy and grateful to receive such encouragement from people he was meeting for the first time.
“Wow, look how firm his body is.”
One of them abruptly reached out and grabbed Igeon’s arm. It was surprising, but since there were occasionally people like this, he left it alone without thinking much of it.
“Can I touch too?”
“Sure.”
It’s not like it’ll wear out. When Igeon nodded, the people there began to pat and touch Igeon’s chest and arms, expressing their admiration.
“His body is really solid. But in clothes, he looks slim.”
“Is he sokbacheok?”
“Sokbacheok?”
What does that mean? When Igeon asked with genuine curiosity, the seniors started laughing.
“It means crispy and firm on the inside, moist and soft on the outside. It’s just a joke we make among ourselves, so don’t read too much into it.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Wow, he has abs too!”
“Yes, I do.”
“Can you show us?”
“Ah, just a moment.”
As Igeon put down his bag and was about to lift his t-shirt, suddenly a large hand shot out and grabbed the clothing.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
