Chapter 12
“It’s impressive.”
“Thanks. My smaller father carefully designed the interior himself.”
“Smaller father?”
“Yeah, that’s what I call the father who gave birth to me.”
“Ah, I called mine ‘Dad’.”
“I used to call him ‘Dad’ when I was younger too… but somehow, as I grew older, it became harder to say ‘Dad’.”
“I suppose if my dad were still here today… I might have called him that too.”
They got to know each other, sharing ordinary concerns and stories. Talking with Han Taekyung was enjoyable. Or rather, it was fascinating. Though he came from a world so different from Igeon’s, Taekyung showed no arrogance or pride about it. Everything flowed naturally, and that naturalness eliminated any sense of discomfort.
‘Ah, so this is how Han Taekyung really is.’
Thinking that way, it seemed only natural that he was the son of a wealthy family, a dominant alpha, and handsome. As this strange state continued, Seo Igeon found himself blending into it too.
As soon as they arrived at the 24th floor, a waiting staff member guided Han Taekyung to their table. Once seated in a small private room, Taekyung selected the menu, and soon the dishes began to arrive one by one. And then the highlight, the ribs… The beautifully marbled beef was placed on the grill, and they waited patiently as the server cooked it for them. When single pieces were placed on the serving plate, Igeon swallowed his saliva and put the meat in his mouth.
“Wow. The meat is melting!”
How is this possible? Instructor Jin once said that when you eat really delicious meat, it melts in your mouth, and it was true. Igeon was so amazed that he unintentionally spoke loudly, causing the server grilling the meat to chuckle. At that laughter, Igeon momentarily wanted to hide from embarrassment. Had he spoken too loudly?
“I’ll grill it. Would you mind stepping out?”
“Ah, but…”
“It’s fine.”
“…Yes, of course.”
After the server bowed politely and left, Han Taekyung picked up the tongs. He placed the grilled meat on the plate in front of Igeon.
“The meat melts in your mouth, doesn’t it?”
“Huh? Oh. Sorry. This is my first time eating meat like this… Should I not have said that? Did I embarrass you?”
“Not at all. Actually, I thought the same thing. I said exactly the same thing the first time I came here.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Of course. It’s amazing how meat can melt in your mouth.”
“Wow, so I’m not the only one who felt that way.”
Han Taekyung smiled and placed another piece of meat on Seo Igeon’s plate.
“You eat too.”
“I am eating.”
It seems like he’s only had one piece since earlier… Watching Han Taekyung concentrate on grilling the meat, Seo Igeon placed a piece of lettuce and a perilla leaf together, wrapped some meat, and held it out to Han Taekyung.
“Here, eat.”
“You eat it. I’m already eating.”
“Don’t you like ssam?”
“…No, I do.”
“Well then, eat it.”
When Igeon held out the wrapped meat, Taekyung opened his mouth. The perfectly sized meat wrap went right into his mouth, and Taekyung chewed.
“Two alphas doing this might seem a bit odd, but it’s delicious.”
This time, Igeon wrapped his own meat ssam and put it in his mouth, smiling happily. So this is what meat really tastes like. And now he understood why Han Taekyung said this place was delicious. With this level of taste, he thought he could eat with only alphas for the rest of his life.
“Did you know that person?”
Suddenly, Han Taekyung, who had been grilling meat, asked a question out of nowhere.
“Hmm? Who?”
“The person you bumped into earlier.”
“Earlier?”
When did I bump into someone earlier? Did I bump into a server? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t remember, so he asked Han Taekyung instead.
“Did I bump into someone?”
“In front of the testing room. You bumped into someone. You kept looking at them.”
Testing room…
‘Ah!’
With those words, someone flashed through his mind. The omega he had momentarily forgotten…
“Ah, that was someone I don’t know.”
“Really? You kept looking, so I thought you knew them.”
“Ah, it’s just… there was something peculiar about them… That’s why I was looking, but we don’t know each other. Anyway, were you watching that embarrassing situation? I clumsily bumped into them without looking ahead.”
“I looked up after finishing my test and saw you. I was going to greet you, but you were staring at that person.”
“Really! I don’t know them. But… um…”
“But?”
“I think I’d like to meet them again.”
“For you to say that about someone, I’m curious.”
“I might see them if I get into the university.”
At Igeon’s words, Han Taekyung nodded and concentrated on cutting the meat. Thinking it might be too much to have the person who was treating him to meat also grill it, Igeon belatedly reached out to say he would grill it, but Han Taekyung said it was fine and continued grilling until the end. They ate meat until they said they were too full to eat anymore, or rather, until their stomachs were about to burst, and then Han Taekyung drove Igeon home in his car.
“Thanks.”
“Sleep well. And let’s do our best in the match tomorrow.”
“You know it’s a tournament, right? We can’t lose early.”
“Of course.”
When Seo Igeon raised his fist first, Han Taekyung blinked and then also raised his fist, bumping it lightly. He thought it was a greeting that suited Seo Igeon perfectly. And Han Taekyung was really happy that he could receive such a greeting.
Yes, finally tomorrow, he would face this man. It had been a long-awaited time.
â—†
Strictly speaking, since the selection had already started with document screening based on national tournament and other competition results, even though there weren’t many participants, it still felt overwhelming to begin with 32 contestants. Nevertheless, Igeon arrived at the National Sports University gym with Instructor Jin at 8 AM, took a look around, and then sat in the prepared waiting room to get ready.
“What? You were with Han Taekyung yesterday?”
Throughout the waiting time, Seo Igeon told Instructor Jin about how he spent the day with Han Taekyung the day before, lavishing praise on the melt-in-your-mouth ribs. Instructor Jin looked at his disciple with envious eyes.
“Didn’t you think of your master while eating?”
“Surprisingly, I didn’t think of you at all. That’s how much it melted in my mouth.”
“This kid!”
Instructor Jin shouted and smacked Igeon on the back. Normally, he would have hit him hard enough to make a loud slap, but he seemed to be going easy since today was an important day.
“How’s your stomach?”
“The hospital was right on target. It doesn’t hurt at all now.”
“Still, be careful with what you eat.”
“You be careful not to get injured today.”
“Yes, yes.”
Just as he was thinking about trying on his dobok, a text message arrived. At this hour, there was only one person who would contact him by text message rather than messenger.
– See you later.
How straightforward it sounded. Han Taekyung was certain they would meet, and so was Seo Igeon. He had first checked the tournament bracket to see if they might meet before the finals, but to meet Han Taekyung, he would have to reach the finals as if by fate. It felt like a stage created just for Han Taekyung and himself, but he didn’t bother saying it out loud. It was enough just to think it to himself. Igeon put on his dobok and tightly gripped the black belt in his hand.
“Instructor, I’m off.”
“Right. Just do what you always do. Got it?”
“Yes.”
With his instructor’s encouragement, Seo Igeon headed to the gymnasium. To the very place where his parents’ dream and his own dream resided.
â—†
As expected, the tournament became increasingly difficult as it progressed. Not just because of skill, but because all the opposing athletes were people with dreams and goals, fighting desperately. Igeon felt a sense of kinship with them and, while showing respect, won cleanly and decisively to leave no regrets about the match results.
By around 7 PM, he was finally facing the semifinals. Admission to the National Sports University was already a foregone conclusion, and he had earned the qualification for the senior national team selection tournament. All that remained was the scholarship, but for Seo Igeon, the fact that he could finally spar with Han Taekyung loomed larger. As time passed, he became more excited. He wanted to quickly get through the semifinals and advance to the finals.
Since there were only four people in the semifinals, the matches took place simultaneously in the gymnasium. With the starting signal, Igeon started by scoring 4 points with a roundhouse kick to his opponent’s torso area. However, as expected of a semifinalist, his opponent was no pushover. The opponent immediately scored 2 points with a straight kick to Igeon’s torso, and they continued the match in a tense, evenly matched state. As a result, the three rounds ended in a tie, leading to a golden point—a fourth round. The longer it dragged on, the more tiring it was for Igeon. The forced march that had begun in the morning was exhausting even for someone as young and fit as Igeon. And the same was true for his opponent. Not missing the moment when a very slight opening appeared, Igeon struck the head area with a roundhouse kick, scoring 5 points and finally ending the match.
As the referee announced Igeon’s victory, Igeon bowed respectfully to his opponent and left the ring.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
