Chapter 32
“Seo Igeon.”
“Taekyung.”
They both opened their mouths at the same time. After a brief hesitation of a few seconds, Taekyung gestured to Igeon to speak first.
“Let’s go drink.”
“What?”
“Alcohol.”
“You can’t even drink, what are you talking about?”
“But in this mood, shouldn’t we be drinking? Anyway, there’s no training tomorrow, so it seems like a good time to drink. Unfortunately, you’re the only friend I have to drink with, so I have no choice. But if you don’t want to, I won’t force you. I’ll go drink by myself.”
Igeon waved his hand and walked ahead. He was heading toward the school bus, not in the direction of the dormitory. Is he really planning to go out? Taekyung quickly followed behind him.
“Let’s go together.”
Igeon nodded, and the two waited for the bus. Throughout their time at the bar, Igeon didn’t say much. He just kept drinking and drinking. And then he passed out after just one bottle of beer, which Taekyung watched with disbelief.
He brought the drunk Igeon back to the dormitory with difficulty and laid him on the bed. Since it was the first time he’d drunk alcohol since the initiation ceremony when they entered school, it seemed quite overwhelming for him, and soon he started groaning. Thinking that he would need to buy hangover medicine first thing tomorrow morning, Taekyung looked down at Igeon, who was breathing with the smell of alcohol. Carefully, he raised his hand and brushed Igeon’s hair aside. Igeon always told Taekyung he was handsome. Enviably handsome, but Taekyung thought Igeon was much more handsome. The face Taekyung had always wanted—manly and refreshing—Igeon just happened to be fixated on Kang Yuhan right now, but he didn’t realize how many omegas were around him. They were all trying to catch Igeon’s attention, but he wasn’t interested so he didn’t notice, and Taekyung didn’t feel the need to tell him about it either.
“Taekyung…”
While breathing out deeply with his eyes closed, Igeon called Taekyung’s name.
“What?”
“Let’s~ have a sparring match?”
“A match?”
“Yeah, and if I win… Sunbae… no. Sunbae isn’t an object. And Sunbae doesn’t have feelings for me. This is just my selfishness. I know. I know, but… it’s so sad? My chest feels so tight and sad.”
After not saying a word while drinking earlier, he finally exploded. He was spilling out words he’d been holding back, but Taekyung couldn’t tell whether they were directed at him or at Igeon himself. So he didn’t feel bad or angry. He just felt sorry for him.
Taekyung stroked Igeon’s hair.
“You don’t need to lower yourself so much for that one person. You don’t know how much I… how much effort I made to be here, just to see you.”
“Don’t lie. You’re good at everything.”
“Even that requires effort.”
“So you’re not denying that you’re good at everything. Jerk. But why don’t you accept Sunbae? If you had accepted him, I might… give up. I might try to let go.”
After saying this, Igeon started breathing deeply again and passed out. Taekyung smiled as he watched. He probably wouldn’t remember any of this tomorrow morning.
“Have you… ever liked… someone?”
Even until the moment of passing out, he was spilling his curiosity. And if he wants an answer, I can tell him anytime. OR. Neither YES nor NO, but OR.
“Sleep well.”
Taekyung carefully tucked Igeon’s blanket around him and went out to his terrace for a while to look at the night sky. Sometimes when his classmates asked if he ever felt like smoking, he didn’t understand, but now he felt exactly that way, which made him feel complicated.
*Rustle*
Hmm?
While looking at the sky, something felt off, so Taekyung looked down. He could see a black shadow disappearing through the trees toward the park. Somehow, it gave him a bad feeling. It didn’t feel right to think it was just a student taking a walk. Taekyung quickly went back into the room, locked the terrace door, and closed the curtains. Anxiety began to pound at his heart. The cockroaches had started to move again.
â—†
“Hyung.”
“Oppa.”
As Taekyung entered the banquet hall, Tae-eun and Jae-woo, who had been waiting, approached him. At the same time, everyone in the hall looked at Taekyung with admiration. With his hair swept back and wearing a dark gray suit with white stripes that could be called classic, he looked very sophisticated and it suited him well. Having just turned 20, he didn’t have a mature feeling yet, but somehow everyone whispered that he had something overwhelming about him that made them think he would be the one to lead NI in the future. The twins realized that everyone’s attention was focused on Taekyung and shrugged.
“Are you not hurting anywhere?”
Regardless of whether people were looking or not, he was busy taking care of his lovely siblings.
“Stop asking already. That happened so long ago. I’m fine now.”
“There haven’t been any suspicious people since then, right?”
“No, there haven’t been. Just like you said, we always have bodyguards with us, and both Tae-eun and I are learning self-defense now, so don’t worry.”
“Okay.”
Taekyung patted his reliable siblings once each and went to where his fathers were. The two of them, who had been busy attending to the honored guests, approached their grown-up son with proud faces.
“You look so handsome today, Taekyung.”
“You both look very handsome today too, Fathers.”
“By the way, it seems like you’ve grown taller again.”
“Yes, I’m 189 cm now.”
“You keep growing. Don’t get too tall. It’ll be hard to pat your head.”
Taekyung laughed at Han Taeseok’s words. That wasn’t something he could control. And Seo Igeon was still growing taller too. So his own height had to grow as well. He wanted to be at least the same height as him. He wanted to always be at the same eye level.
“Everything okay?”
At Park Jaekyung’s question, Taekyung wondered how to answer. Actually, the black shadow he had seen in front of the dormitory recently had not left his mind for days. He had been contemplating whether to tell his parents about it or not, and was still debating. But it didn’t seem right to mention it in the current atmosphere. Today was the company’s founding anniversary, a good day. He couldn’t darken their faces.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
So he decided to just let it pass for now and tell them after it was over. Distinguished guests began to approach his fathers one by one, and Taekyung stepped back to greet those who came to him, or approached his teachers and those who had helped him to greet them first. Among them was Instructor Kim.
“Instructor.”
“Oh, Taekyung. It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“Yes. How about you, Instructor?”
“I’ve been fine. The gym is doing well too. Don’t worry.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“How’s school life? The senior national team selection is this winter, right?”
“Yes, so I’m training hard.”
“You’re roommates with Seo Igeon, right? You both got admitted together, so when you think about it, it must be fate. Training together every day will really stimulate each other.”
“Yes, I think so too.”
“But how’s your body doing?”
“Ah, Taekyung.”
While talking with Instructor Kim, Taekyung’s attending physician also greeted him. Professor Park knew Instructor Kim, so he naturally joined them.
“I was just asking Taekyung how his body is doing.”
“Ah, I was about to ask that too. How is your body?”
“It’s fine. The suppressant is working without issues.”
“You haven’t been releasing pheromones, right?”
“No, no issues with pheromones either.”
“Haa… while that’s good, I wonder if this is the right thing to do. Suppressing rut and pheromones at such a vigorous age.”
“All athletes have to do it. It’s not just me.”
“That’s true, but the suppressants for athletes and the ones you take are different. You’re completely suppressing and killing everything. Even your sexual urges. At the very least, the kids who train with you probably still feel sexual urges.”
“Hmm.”
Is that so? Looking at Seo Igeon, it didn’t seem that way at all. He didn’t even seem to masturbate, let alone engage in sexual banter. Come to think of it, he doesn’t think he’s ever seen him with a natural morning erection either. Suddenly, he’s worried. Could there be something wrong with that guy’s sexual function?
“Since there are no side effects… let’s continue with that medication for now, and then let’s try adjusting it little by little. I think we should… loosen the reins once, or it might go out of control. That’s my opinion.”
“If that’s what you think, Professor, it must be right. But if possible, I’d like to stay in this state until the Olympics.”
“Alright. I understand.”
While talking with Professor Park and Instructor Kim and drinking wine, Han Taekyung scanned the banquet hall with his eyes. He could see bodyguards disguised as distinguished guests. Detectives and police officers were also noticeable. Plus, whether for security reasons or because they were worried about Taekyung, they had invited only familiar faces, which made Taekyung think his fathers were quite meticulous people. Now, could he relax a little?
“Excuse me, I’m going to the restroom for a moment.”
“Okay.”
Taekyung went not to the restroom in the lobby but to the one inside the VIP room at the back of the banquet hall. It was for precaution.
Sure enough, there was no one there. He washed his hands at the sink and then washed his face. He wanted to cool his head for a moment. His shoulders were aching from being tense for the past few days. He was so worried about what might happen to Seo Igeon at school. Today, when Igeon said he was going to meet Instructor Jin, Taekyung told him to take care and assigned a few people to protect him. Cutting off even the slightest bud of anxiety would give Taekyung peace of mind as well. But…
“As expected, no matter how much you disinfect, cockroaches keep appearing.”
In the mirror above the sink, Taekyung spotted feet visible under the bathroom door behind him. He quietly loosened his tie, and as he did, the door flung open and a man rushed out, charging at Taekyung. Taekyung easily dodged to the side, tripped the man’s leg, and while the man was staggering, he wrapped the tie he had in his hand around the man’s neck and pulled back. The man struggled, choking and gasping for air.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
