#64

“…What did you just say?”

Without realizing it, Gwi-ran half-rose from the sofa. Her wide-eyed expression was an added bonus.

“You said he’s your son. Jung-hyun is a Beta and a man…. Could you have mistaken something…?”

“That son of mine is an Alpha.”

“Ah….”

“So there is no problem.”

If one was a trait-bearer, same-sex couples could legally become spouses. In other words, as long as one person in a legal marriage was a trait-bearer, same-sex marriage was recognized.

Of course, since Alphas preferred marrying Omegas, cases where the partner was a Beta were very rare. Let alone between the same sex. An instinctive feeling of repulsion surged, and Gwi-ran’s face stiffened awkwardly.

However, a very satisfied smile played on Kwon Myung-chul’s face.

There were barely five months left until the date written in the will.

Regardless of the performance Kwon Jung-hyun was achieving as the representative of the sports team, it was time to proceed with the contingency plan in case he failed to manifest as an Alpha.

Of course, he had been working behind the scenes since the moment he checked the will, but a suitable marriage partner had rarely appeared. It was because the Myeong-jeong Group had grown too large.

To gain an advantage through an arranged marriage, the company had to be of a similar “class.” Naturally, the daughters of companies of that caliber did not want Jung-hyun, who was a Beta and carried a bad reputation. The remaining options were to lower the class by one or two levels or find a partner with some kind of flaw.

Then, unexpectedly, a proposal came first from the Vice Minister of Transportation. A vice-ministerial level, and in the Ministry of Transportation no less. For Myeong-jeong, which operated aviation and transport businesses, it was a crucial government department they had to maintain close relations with at all costs.

He had arranged a blind date with the daughter of that family back when it was Ki-hyuk’s turn, but it didn’t work out. That daughter had married an Alpha from another company around the same time as Ki-hyuk, and since only the youngest son, an Alpha, remained, Myung-chul had been left merely longing for an opportunity. He never imagined they would take a liking to Jung-hyun first.

To Myung-chul, the fact that the two were of the same sex was not a problem at all. Rather, he was simply grateful for the peculiar taste of that youngest son who took a liking to his Beta son.

“It’s worked out well. An unexpected blessing has rolled in. I plan to arrange a meeting for the two of them as early as next week.”

“Yes…. That really is wonderful.”

Myung-chul’s eyes flashed sharply. He had noticed the reluctance mixed into Gwi-ran’s voice. Gwi-ran quickly lowered her eyes and answered again.

“I’ll make sure to tell Jung-hyun. That this is a meeting he absolutely must not ruin.”

“Hmm.”

Only then did Myung-chul nod.

* * *

The next day, in the interview room of the Suwon Ice Arena, a press interview was being conducted with Shin Ho-jae, who had won the MVP for two consecutive days.

“Hello. I’m reporter Park Ha-na from Daily One. I enjoyed the game. First, congratulations on rising to 3rd place in the league. May I ask a few questions right away?”

“Yes.”

As Ho-jae nodded, reporter Park Ha-na smiled brightly and began her questions.

She was a reporter who had recently appeared at Daily One at the start of the season. He had heard that reporter Kim In-jung had suddenly resigned.

The players and team staff were all welcoming of the change. Apparently, Kim In-jung had been subtly abusing his power, calling players at all hours to invite them to drinks or subtly demanding kickbacks from the staff.

In any case, the new reporter seemed to be a completely different type from Kim In-jung. On the first day she met Ho-jae, she had even apologized on Kim In-jung’s behalf for his misreporting. He himself had never even heard a simple “I’m sorry” from the man.

“By the way, Player Ho-jae, I heard you have a special connection with the main sponsor, Myeong-jeong Group.”

After the cliché questions about the team’s noticeably rising performance and the remaining games, reporter Park Ha-na brought up another topic.

For a moment, a look of bewilderment appeared on Ho-jae’s face. A special connection? His first thought was how this reporter knew about him and Jung-hyun.

“I found out while researching before coming here that you received personal sponsorship from Chairman Kwon of Myeong-jeong during your childhood. I saw the footage of your interview back then, and you were so cute.”

“Ah.”

She had guessed completely wrong. The area under his cheeks felt hot for no reason.

“Since then, you never failed to express your gratitude to Chairman Kwon in every interview. But in the MVP interviews yesterday and today, you thanked Representative Kwon Jung-hyun of the MJ sports team. Would it be fair to say that Myeong-jeong practically raised Player Shin?”

“Yes…. I think so.”

“Could you tell us a bit more specifically? Representative Kwon mentioned that he was a fervent fan of Player Shin when you played for the Montreal Heights.”

“…Did the Representative say that?”

“Yes. He said he once waited in the parking lot for a long time because he wanted an autograph on a jersey.”

“…….”

“I guess Player Shin doesn’t remember. Well, you do have so many fans.”

Ho-jae awkwardly rubbed his cheek with the back of his hand. As she said, the puzzle piece that Kwon Jung-hyun was ‘86’ had only just fallen into place yesterday. There was no way he had any other memories of Jung-hyun from that time.

Perhaps because he was Asian, many of his fans were also Asian, and there were female fans who regularly attended games and left letters, but no matter how much he searched his memories, he couldn’t recall meeting a conspicuous adult male like Kwon Jung-hyun.

“Then I’ll move on to another question. There’s exactly half of the Asia League left; do you think there’s a chance of winning the remaining games?”

“Yes. We will win the championship.”

“May I ask why you are so confident?”

“Because we have to win the championship for the team to survive as the MJ Blue Wolves next season.”

After finishing the short interview, he shook hands with reporter Park Ha-na and parted ways.

His movements as he packed his things were slightly more hurried than usual. Ho-jae left the interview room and entered the nearby restroom.

Since about an hour had passed since the game ended, there were no players using the restroom. Ho-jae glanced at the mirror while washing his hands.

He had showered after the game, so he didn’t look sweaty, but unlike other players, he didn’t carry things like wax or lotion. He felt his unkempt hair was sticking up, which bothered him.

Ho-jae combed his hair back with his wet hands, then opened the zipper of his hoodie, closed it again, agonized for a while, and finally left the restroom with it zipped up.

“Ah, here you are.”

As soon as he stepped out of the restroom, he ran straight into Kwon Jung-hyun.

He was holding a phone in one hand, as if he had been trying to call Ho-jae. A beat later, the phone in Ho-jae’s pocket vibrated and then stopped.

“Did the interview go well?”

“Ah, yes.”

“How was reporter Park Ha-na?”

“She was fine.”

Ho-jae tried to say something, but Kwon Jung-hyun was faster. Ho-jae could only manage short, one-word answers.

“That’s a relief. It was worth requesting that a careful selection be made for the new assigned reporter.”

Kwon Jung-hyun walked ahead and then turned toward Ho-jae with a slight smile. He was speaking in a joking tone, but Ho-jae, whose heart momentarily skipped a beat at that smile, failed to catch the nuance.

“Requesting?”

“I’m joking, of course. Though it’s true I appealed strongly. We’re leaving now, right? Do you happen to know the address?”

“Ah, yes. Suwon-si, OO-gu, OO-dong….”

Jung-hyun didn’t scold Shin Ho-jae for suddenly reciting the address when he had only asked if he knew it; instead, he said, “Wait a moment. Can you tell me again from the beginning?” and opened the navigation app on his phone to enter the address.

Shin Ho-jae was scheduled to attend Yuk Du-min’s housewarming party with Kwon Jung-hyun today.

Du-min and Min-chul had left first, saying they would get things ready as soon as the 4th game against Sakhalin ended (they won 4:2. Since two of those goals were recorded by Shin Ho-jae, he stood before the interview wall as the MVP again today. This time, he wasn’t late). Ho-jae had his individual interview, Jung-hyun handled business with the team staff, and they agreed to travel together in his car.

“It takes 15 minutes. Fasten your belt.”

Click. As he buckled in, he felt the belt crossing his chest tighten snugly against his body.

“I don’t really like these.”

“Pardon?”

Because his mind kept drifting elsewhere, he ended up asking back in a silly voice.

“The automatic belt adjustment. I find the feeling of my body being tightened suffocating.”

Looking beside him, he saw that Jung-hyun was indeed holding the belt with his hand to slightly increase the distance from his chest, just as he had said. When he let go, it was visible to the naked eye that the belt remained slightly loose.

“Are you okay with it, Ho-jae?”

“I’m okay.”

“I see. Since your body is much larger, I thought you’d find it more suffocating. Let’s head out.”

Vroom—. With the sound of the accelerator being pressed, the car glided smoothly. It had been broad daylight when the game started, but now complete darkness had fallen over the surroundings.

The parking lot barrier displayed the words ‘Authorized Vehicle’ and lifted. Ho-jae, who had been pondering his words, spoke only after the car had fully entered the road.

“Do you dislike feeling suffocated?”

Jung-hyun answered while looking straight ahead.

“Yes. I’ve been like that since I was a child.”

“But you always wear a tie.”

“That’s unavoidable because it’s work. A representative can’t show up looking shabby on the day of his own team’s game.”

Is that so? It felt like he wouldn’t look shabby no matter what he wore. Even when he was wearing nothing but a tourist hotel’s bathrobe, far from shabby….

Shin Ho-jae suddenly cleared his throat while staring into space. It was part of an effort to hold onto his consciousness, which was strangely trying to drift away. He was glad it had a slight effect.

“Are you cold?”

Thinking he had coughed because he was cold, Jung-hyun adjusted the heater’s airflow. Soon, a blast of air hot enough to be stifling blew toward his face.

Since his body temperature was on the higher side, he immediately felt hot, but he didn’t show it and spoke up. He had been inwardly curious for a while.

“Did you also ‘strongly appeal’ for reporter Kim In-jung to resign?”

“I didn’t directly demand his resignation, but in the process of reaching a settlement for the lawsuit, the atmosphere must have become uncomfortable for Reporter Kim to stay at the company, right?”

“…….”

“If someone publishes a misreport about a player’s private life without consent, they should naturally take responsibility. Not to mention Du-min’s case.”

Ho-jae looked at his profile as he drove.

His tone carried a firmness that suggested there had been no other way. Seeing this, another possibility bloomed in Ho-jae’s mind.

Perhaps Jung-hyun would have handled things the same way even if Ho-jae hadn’t knelt and asked him to solve Du-min’s problem.

“By the way, have you decided to trust me now?”

65 – Puck Drop