Chapter 50
“Igeon. Seo Igeon.”
Cold sweat ran down Han Taekyung’s face.
“You need to go to the hospital.”
“No, I only have today.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I got permission to see you just for today. I took medication. I can’t control my pheromones. I’m constantly in rut. So I took some strong medication. Injected it directly into my pheromone gland. But even this… only works for two hours. After two hours, the security guards around me will give me an injection. Then it’s over. I won’t be able to see you again. That’s why I asked to see you. Because I have something to tell you.”
“You have security guards around you? Security guards? Aren’t they supposed to protect you? What are they going to do?”
When Igeon got angry, Han Taekyung smiled and said, “That’s just like you.”
“Don’t be angry. I’m the one who asked them to hold me back.”
“What the hell…”
“I wanted to see you, even like this. Seo Igeon… I wanted to meet you… to apologize.”
Han Taekyung grabbed Igeon’s shoulders. Sweat was already pouring down his face like rain, but he looked at Igeon with an expression far more anguished than that.
Apologize? Does he remember what happened then? How should I respond? Should I say it’s okay? That alphas can make mistakes like that? Should I tell him not to worry about it and that we can continue to get along well? Igeon’s feelings became complicated in an instant. And he hoped that Taekyung would speak slowly. He wanted to choose the right response.
“I don’t think… I can go to the Olympics with you.”
“Ah…”
Right. This was also part of it. Yes, that’s right. He said he didn’t remember that incident. I heard it just now and forgot. Well, this is a bigger issue than that story. This feels more like betrayal.
“Why?”
“My pheromone gland is completely damaged. In this condition, I won’t even qualify for the senior team.”
“Really… is there no way? Seriously?”
“There isn’t. We’ve already tried every method available in Korea. There’s no solution…”
“But NI owns a famous pharmaceutical company too. What was it called? I’ve read articles about how they developed good medicine for omegas and many other beneficial drugs. If you talk to your fathers…”
“The medicine that’s been protecting me until now was developed there. And I’ve already taken all the medicines currently being tested. They were useless. I’m sorry.”
“Ha.”
Igeon couldn’t help but laugh sarcastically.
“Then what do we do? What will you do now? Do you have to live like this? If your pheromones are this out of control even after imprinting… then the imprinting was useless too.”
“I’m sorry about that too.”
“What else are you sorry for?!”
“…He’s a sunbae you like… the imprinting… I really didn’t want to do it. That’s for sure. I would never have tried to imprint with him. I can be certain of that. Because I- I…”
Han Taekyung gripped Igeon’s shoulders painfully. There was something he wanted to say, but he moved his lips without being able to spit it out, swallowing the words down his throat in agony.
“I’m going to break the imprinting.”
“What…?”
“I’ve already discussed it with Kang Yuhan. He agreed. But because my condition is like this, a natural imprinting break is impossible, so I need to have a procedure. That’s why I decided to go to Germany. I’m going to the hospital that saved my life when I was younger to start over from the beginning.”
“…Can they fix it there?”
“I don’t know. But going there is the only option right now. I’ll try to fix my pheromone gland if possible, and I plan to break the imprinting too. Then… I’ll come back. Seo Igeon. At that time… be with me again. That’s what I came here to ask.”
Han Taekyung’s hands were trembling. This guy is scared right now. He’s more afraid of never being with Igeon again than of his dream being shattered. Igeon wanted to cry. He felt so sorry for Han Taekyung. He wanted to catch and beat up those hooded guys who had caused this situation. But right now, he thought he should comfort Han Taekyung rather than rage against them. So this time, Igeon was the one who grabbed Han Taekyung.
“I’ll take the Olympic gold medal.”
When Igeon spoke with determination, Han Taekyung looked up.
“You saying that means it won’t happen in a day or two, right?”
“That’s right. They say it will take at least a year.”
“Then you won’t be able to compete in the Olympics. So I’ll bring home the gold medal. In exchange, I’ll give way to you for the next Olympics, so you can win the gold medal.”
At Igeon’s words, Han Taekyung’s eyes widened for a moment, and then he suddenly smiled.
“You’re… giving way to me?”
“Of course. I could be a two-time champion, but I’m giving way to you. And let’s talk as fellow gold medalists. How about that?”
“…Will you wait for me?”
“What’s so difficult about that? When you’re running to win a gold medal, time flies by. One or two years will pass quickly. Oh, but if I become famous after winning the gold medal… it might be hard to meet?”
As Igeon shrugged his shoulders, Han Taekyung patted him on the shoulder.
“That won’t do… Don’t go too far. Only go as far as I can follow you.”
“That’s a difficult request. Considering you’re the one asking the favor.”
“Haha, I guess so.”
Han Taekyung laughed again, then suddenly staggered. Igeon quickly supported him. He could feel Han Taekyung’s pheromones becoming more concentrated than before. And he could also feel those pheromones slowly wrapping around him. Despite the pheromones being potent enough to give him goosebumps, he wasn’t scared after experiencing it once before. And he didn’t think these pheromones would crush him or harm him. Even though Taekyung was in rut, he didn’t seem like he would pounce on him, and his eyes didn’t look crazed.
“Igeon.”
“Yes.”
“Seo Igeon.”
His voice had deepened and was calling Igeon’s name with difficulty, so Igeon continued to respond.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I wanted to stay with you. With you… if possible…”
He felt like Taekyung was swallowing something he wanted to say again, but Igeon didn’t ask. He decided to wait until Han Taekyung was ready to talk. But in the end, Han Taekyung couldn’t say it, and as his body slowly collapsed, his pheromones became stronger. Han Taekyung tightly grabbed the hem of Igeon’s clothes.
“No.”
And in an instant, Han Taekyung separated from Igeon’s body. Han Taekyung barely maintained his balance and stood up straight, then staggered off somewhere. Soon, security guards appeared from somewhere, approached Han Taekyung, supported him, and injected something into his arm.
“Han Taekyung.”
He called his name. But Han Taekyung’s body collapsed instantly, and the security guards bowed to Igeon and took him away. And that was it. Igeon never saw Han Taekyung after that.
He waited for contact, but there were no calls or messages. It was as if he had ceased to exist, with communication cut off abruptly. Still, Igeon continued to wait. He occasionally sent messages to Han Taekyung himself, but Han Taekyung never responded. Before he knew it, the senior team selection competition had arrived. Igeon trained hard alone, and as a result, he became the national taekwondo senior representative with first place. After that, he entered the athletes’ village to train, and sometimes sent messages to Han Taekyung, whom he never saw, saying it was tough. But still, there was no answer.
– You don’t have to reply, but please don’t be sick.
After sending that single line, Igeon looked up at the sky. He hoped that the imprinting breaking procedure would go well, and that Han Taekyung would appear with a smile. To be able to hold his head high when he saw him, Igeon needed to win a gold medal, so he gave it his all. After all the preparations were complete and his condition was at its best, the Olympics were held. He thought it would be cold since the Olympics were being held in Russia, but the weather was surprisingly nice, and the temperature, wind, and even the stadium were to his liking. Igeon sent a message to Han Taekyung.
– I’m going to win the gold medal first.
Then he got up energetically and headed to the stadium. He poured energy into the competition like never before in his life. Throughout the competition, he tried not to think about anything else. Not his fathers, not his instructor, but he did think about Han Taekyung alone. He gritted his teeth, thinking that he had to win the gold medal so that guy could have a goal. So that he could have a dream to rise again. And then-
– Hey,
– Han Taekyung.
– Do you see it?
– Isn’t it cool? I bit it.
⁝:
– Are you not contacting me because you’re jealous?
– Don’t be jealous. You’ll have one soon (in 4 years? ^^)
⁝:
– I’m back in Korea. When will we be able to contact each other?
– Did the imprinting break go well? How are you feeling?
⁝:
– …Han Taekyung.
– …You are alive, right?
⁝:
– What do you mean 2 years? It’s already almost 3 years.
⁝:
– I heard the Olympic selection is coming up… what happened to you?
– Are you going to miss the second Olympics like this? Then you’ll never catch up to me in your lifetime. I’ll tease you about it forever. Are you okay with that?
– Fuck… please contact me.
⁝:
– If it was going to be like this, you should have never entered my life. Bastard.
⁝:
– Let’s stop this. The one who asked me to wait is somewhere else, why am I doing this?
– Take care.
⁝:
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
