Chapter 18
“Ah!”
As Han Taekyung left the bathroom deep in thought and hurried back toward the banquet hall, he bumped into someone. Startled, he looked up to see a rather slender man who had collided with him and was now staggering, about to fall. Taekyung quickly reached out his hand to catch him, which helped the man save the tray full of empty glasses he was carrying.
“I’m sorry. I should have been watching where I was going.”
Han Taekyung quickly apologized to the man. The man stared at Taekyung blankly. A beautiful face. And from the slight fresh apple-like scent, Taekyung knew he was an omega. No, that wasn’t all. It was a face he’d seen somewhere before.
“Ah, th-thank you. And I’m sorry. I should have been more careful.”
The man apologized very politely. Judging by his uniform, he seemed to be working for the company handling today’s banquet. Had Taekyung met someone like him before? No, Taekyung rarely met outsiders except at occasions like this. Then perhaps at school? That couldn’t be it either. Most part-timers here were adults. High school students couldn’t work here. Where had he seen him before?
“Excuse me…”
The man raised his head, sensing Taekyung’s gaze. As soon as his eyes met Taekyung’s golden ones, his face turned red and he bowed his head deeply.
“Have we met somewhere before?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Taekyung asked, but the man shook his head.
“Probably… not.”
Probably? Why add “probably”?
“I know you well, Taekyung-nim, but you probably don’t know me.”
The manager of the catering company might have instructed him to memorize names, or perhaps he had seen Taekyung in competitions or news. But why did something still feel off?
Just then, Taekyung’s phone vibrated in his hand. Checking it, he saw a text message from Seo Igeon: “Came in as an emergency replacement today, and there are so many people.” Ah, so that’s why he hadn’t mentioned any part-time job yesterday, Taekyung thought. Then suddenly, someone flashed through his mind.
On the day of the National Sports University selection tournament, after finishing the second test—the fundamentals test—Taekyung had looked up and seen Seo Igeon. Just as he was about to wave happily, he noticed Igeon’s gaze. Seeing him looking at something with an expression Taekyung had never seen before, Taekyung naturally followed his line of sight. Yes, that’s it.
The omega Seo Igeon had been watching with his eyes.
“Are you a student at the National Sports University?”
At Taekyung’s question, the man looked at him with surprised eyes.
“How did you…”
“Ah…”
So it was him. The omega Seo Igeon had been looking at back then.
“I think I saw you when I went to take the selection test.”
“Ah, I see. That’s possible. I, I’m a first-year student in the Sports Psychology Department at the National Sports University.”
The man smiled brightly and quickly introduced himself.
‘I’m not interested.’
Truly, not at all.
“So you’re my senior. Nice to meet you.”
But since he couldn’t show his lack of interest, Han Taekyung extended his hand in greeting, and the man quickly held the tray with one hand and took Taekyung’s hand with the other. As soon as he touched the large hand, the man’s face turned red.
Faintly sensing the man’s pheromones again, Han Taekyung quickly let go of his hand.
“Then I’ll see you at school.”
“Ah, yes.”
Han Taekyung nodded slightly in greeting. Then, seeing his fathers in the distance, he thought of a good excuse to leave this place.
“Father.”
At Taekyung’s voice, Jaekyung, who had been talking with Taeseok, turned his head.
“Yes, Taekyung, are you enjoying yourself?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
“That’s good. You’re the main character today, so do whatever you want, but don’t forget to greet people politely. They’ll all be your strength later on.”
“Yes, but fathers, may I go buy some coffee?”
“Coffee? Isn’t there coffee here?”
“I want coffee from that cafe. I’d like to buy some for smaller father too.”
When Taekyung looked at Jaekyung, who had given birth to him, while speaking, Jaekyung nodded with touched eyes.
“Come to think of it, I would like coffee from that cafe.”
“Then I’ll have someone bring it for us.”
Seeing Taeseok hurrying to act as soon as Jaekyung said he wanted coffee, Taekyung quickly stopped him.
“I’ll go buy it. I want to buy father Jaekyung’s coffee with my own hands.”
“Taekyung.”
His father, touched a second time, held Taekyung’s hand tightly and stroked it. Taekyung felt a slight heaviness in his heart. Of course, he was going to buy coffee for his beloved father, but that wasn’t the main reason. He just… wanted to see Seo Igeon.
“I’ll be back.”
After saying goodbye to his fathers, Taekyung walked slowly out of the banquet hall, but as soon as he got off the elevator, he started running. The timing was perfect as the pedestrian signal changed, allowing him to keep running. He was so grateful for his healthy body. In the past, he would never have been able to run like this. He wouldn’t have been able to rush to where he wanted to go in one breath. This too was possible because of Seo Igeon, who had promised to fight alongside him.
When he opened the cafe door and entered, there were indeed many people. The manager wasn’t visible, but he could see Seo Igeon diligently taking orders at the counter. Standing in line behind the customers waiting to order, he watched Seo Igeon work. Perhaps sensing his gaze, Igeon looked up and his eyes met Han Taekyung’s. He looked surprised to see Taekyung, but then slightly smiled.
“What’s this? Were you nearby?”
When it was Taekyung’s turn to order, Igeon spoke first. It was a satisfying improvement compared to when they first met here. Fortunately, there was no one waiting behind Taekyung at the moment.
“I had something to do at my father’s company.”
Igeon was about to ask what business a high school student would have at a company, but seeing Taekyung’s formal attire, he decided not to ask further.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Five Americanos.”
“To go?”
“Yes.”
Taekyung held out his card, and after Igeon processed the payment and passed on the order, unfortunately, customers had lined up behind him, so he had to step aside. Soon after, the coffee was ready, and Taekyung had to return to the banquet hall without being able to continue their brief conversation.
He gave the coffee to his fathers and brothers, and Taekyung also drank his. It was still the best coffee for him.
◆
“Finally.”
After graduating from high school, he stood in front of the main gate of the National Sports University. After going through various complicated admission processes, the feeling of standing here proudly as a scholarship student was truly the best. Igeon looked at the school where he would be living from tomorrow, silently greeted it asking for its guidance, and headed towards the dormitory. The dormitory was right behind the gymnasium. In some ways, it could be seen as telling them to focus only on sports and nothing else, but for Seo Igeon, a training maniac, it was the perfect environment. All first-year students admitted to the National Sports University had to live in the dormitory. Of course, the dormitory was free for the first year. If you wanted to stay in the dormitory after becoming a second-year student, you could, but from then on, you had to pay dormitory fees in the form of monthly rent. Even though it was cheaper than outside rates, the competition was fierce, making Igeon sigh already. But rumor had it that they cut based on academic performance, so it would be up to him.
“Hello. My name is Seo Igeon.”
He went to the prepared freshmen reception area and stated his name. The person in charge checked the list and gave Igeon a key.
“Room 304. It’s at the end of the right corridor on the third floor.”
“Excuse me, has my roommate already checked in?”
“Hmm… Yes, he checked in 30 minutes ago.”
“Thank you.”
Who would his roommate be and what kind of person? He prayed that it would be a good person—it would be fine if they snored, ate a lot, or were noisy. After reaching the third floor, Seo Igeon took a deep breath in front of the door and rang the bell.
Shortly after, the door swung open.
“Hello, I’m— Huh?”
“Hello.”
What are the odds of this? The person who opened the door was none other than Han Taekyung. Igeon wondered if he had the wrong room, but it was indeed room 304.
“Are you in room 304?”
“Yes.”
“We’re in the same room?”
“Hmm, it seems so.”
“Wow…”
“Don’t you like it?”
“No? Why wouldn’t I! Do you know how much I prayed to get a good roommate on my way up here? I called on Jesus, Buddha, Allah, Confucius, Mencius, everyone.”
“So do you think God answered your prayer?”
“Well, I don’t know? We’ll have to see after living together? For now, I’d say about 30% of it was answered. What about you?”
“I think about 10% of mine was answered.”
Upset by his comment, Igeon gave Taekyung’s leg a swift kick and entered the room. The room was more spacious than expected. There was even a terrace, and on either side of it, beds and desks were placed in perfect symmetry. Unlike his expectation of bunk beds or two cramped desks pushed together, it was a truly cozy space. There was a bathroom and even a small sink where they could prepare simple meals. This seemed like it would be more than adequate for living.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
