SPW 26

He was Sarang’s guardian, but not his parent; was it right to go this far?

Feeling awkward for no reason, Florian lay on his side and looked down at Sarang. It was a more comfortable position than before, but just this much contact wasn’t enough. Recalling even the nanny who had shared her pheromones with him instead of his parents when he was young, Florian reached out his hand and wrapped it around Sarang’s back.

“Ngh…”

Moaning softly, Sarang burrowed into Florian’s embrace. In terms of heat alone, he was like a piece of burning firewood. For a kid who usually had a low body temperature to have a fever this high, he must have been in considerable pain.

“Didn’t I tell you to call if anything happened?”

“Urgh…”

“I told you to call even if nothing was wrong, and here you were, being sick all on your own.”

Whispering quietly, Florian’s slender legs wrapped around Sarang’s lower body and pulled him in tight.

“No. Sarang is not at fault. I should have taken care of you beforehand, I’m sorry.”

“…”

“Sarang. Are you always this reluctant to be coddled?”

It wasn’t a question he expected an answer to, directed at Sarang who was painfully exhaling hot breaths. At a time like this, there should have been a name for him to call out, but Sarang didn’t call for his mom, his dad, or Colin. He just whimpered softly, occasionally gasping out hot breaths. Since he was pressing deeper into his embrace, Florian let him be and opened his palm to gently stroke Sarang’s back.

The pheromones, gradually released, had now completely filled the small room. The pheromones released by a dominant omega with intent were dense and deep. Florian, skilled at handling his pheromones, controlled them so they wouldn’t escape the room. Florian’s pheromones were kindled solely for Sarang.

“…”

Pat, pat, rub, rub. Florian’s brow furrowed slightly as he stroked and soothed the back of the not-yet-fully-grown alpha. The noise from another room could be heard through the thin wall.

No matter that this is a state institution, this is a completely unsuitable environment for a minor, Sarang.

In the first place, it was incomprehensible that they had called up a kid who wasn’t even an adult to be a national representative.

In case Sarang might hear, Florian covered his exposed ear and took his cell phone out of his jacket. Soon, a beautiful piano melody filled the space. It didn’t help much with the soundproofing, but Florian’s mind felt much more at ease.

Pat, pat. After the 40-minute-long piano piece had repeated about twice, Sarang’s fever began to subside a little. The noticeable muscle spasms had also greatly reduced. Looking down at Sarang’s slightly flushed cheeks, Florian let out a sigh of relief.

Having caught his breath, Florian also closed his eyes to try and sleep. Being like this seemed to relieve his accumulated fatigue as well.

The noise from the other room was still there. Thinking of Sarang, who must have been hearing that sound every day for the five days he’d been here, made him feel bad.

There’s a kid here, they should show some restraint.

Muttering his complaint softly, Florian also drifted off to sleep.

Sarang opened his eyes in an unfamiliar embrace. It was unfamiliar, but not unpleasant. In fact, he wanted to be held even more. Sarang, who was about to close his eyes again at the comfortable scent of figs, paused.

Huh.

“…”

Lifting his gaze, Sarang’s eyes gradually widened.

Huh, huh?

Startled, Sarang shot up and ended up rolling off the bed. Despite the commotion, the deeply asleep Florian didn’t move. The sound of his regular breathing echoed clearly in the quiet room.

“…”

Sarang, who had properly rolled off and landed on his bottom, didn’t even notice the pain as he tiptoed closer and rested his chin on the edge of the bed. The faint sound of breathing sounded strangely loud to Sarang’s ears. The gently rising and falling chest, the golden eyelashes where the morning sunlight had settled, and the handsome face buried deep in the pillow all seemed unreal.

It’s not… a dream, is it?

It didn’t feel real, so he was about to pinch his own cheek when the eyelashes, more sparkling than the sunlight, slid open.

“…”

Sarang held his breath without realizing it. The bright blue eyes seemed to stare intently at Sarang, and then a pale, elegant hand patted the spot where Sarang had been lying. Tsk, tsk. Sarang, who had been staring at the blue eyes as if captivated, slowly moved his awkwardly seated body onto the bed.

Tsk, tsk.

At the signal to come and sit closer, Sarang, who had barely managed to close the distance by shuffling on his knees, felt his heart drop.

“…”

A hand shot out and covered Sarang’s forehead.

“Hmm. The fever’s gone down, Sarang.”

The hand that had covered his forehead slid down to cover Sarang’s cheek and then his nape before pulling away. Florian, who had failed to notice Sarang’s cheeks flushing with a fever brought on by that very touch, sat up and stretched. His whole body was stiff from sleeping in the same position without moving all night.

“Come here.”

Sarang, who had been staring blankly at Florian who looked impeccable despite having just woken up, moved a little closer. Finally, the bright blue eyes met Sarang’s. As Florian’s eyes slowly examined Sarang, a look of satisfaction spread across his face. The dark, round pupils were as bright as usual, and the clear whites of his eyes showed no signs of heat or fine blood vessels.

“How are you? Do you still feel sick?”

“What?”

“You were moaning in pain all night yesterday and couldn’t sleep.”

“…”

“Has it been like this for the whole call-up?”

“That’s… not it.”

It was a lie. Ever since entering the training center, Sarang had struggled with adjusting to the time difference and had spent his nights wide awake. The moans seeping through the thin walls made it even harder to fall asleep. Someone, in their excitement, had even let their pheromones leak out of their room. Unable to stand it any longer, Sarang had slipped out of his room and, after wandering around outside, had settled down on the lobby sofa.

The autumn nights in Korea were as cold as winter. Sarang, who was always sensitive to the cold, sniffled as he leaned back and lay on the sofa. Sleep still wouldn’t come, so he returned to his room around 4 a.m. Fortunately, neither moans nor pheromones were leaking into the quiet hallway.

Sarang’s condition, after only getting a little bit of light sleep after 4 a.m., did not recover all day. Due to his lack of focus, he had his instep stepped on by an opponent during a mini-game. It wasn’t a major injury, but it was too much for him to go through a full day of training the next day. By the judgment of the coaching and medical staff, Sarang focused only on recovery training indoors.

Naturally, he showed nothing but a terrible performance in the first evaluation match. He started the game, but after failing to properly finish a hard-earned shot, he was substituted with 5 minutes left in the first half. After being replaced by a far more senior player, he sat on the bench before quietly slipping away with the excuse of needing the restroom. He felt like he was about to burst into tears.

I really wanted to do well.

He was coming out of the restroom after washing his face when he happened to run into a senior player who smiled warmly.

‘The little one was upset, huh?’

It seemed his crying had been obvious. Sarang, who had thought about his eyes but not his reddened nose, felt a little better after the senior player’s comforting gesture of lightly pinching his cheek. Fortunately, they won thanks to the captain’s deciding goal, but criticism poured down on Sarang, saying it wasn’t a game that should have been that difficult to win.

Sarang, who had no domestic connections, was young, and had secured a starting position in a big club right after his debut, had been drawing particular attention recently thanks to his relationship with Florian. In the midst of that, he had ruined his senior national team A-match debut, so there was no better target to tear into than Sarang.

The senior national team players, the staff, and the coaches all comforted him, telling him not to worry, but Sarang’s mood didn’t improve. He finished the training that had now become a daily personal routine and entered his room, but he just couldn’t fall asleep. After debating whether to turn it on or not, Sarang finally picked up his phone and went to a portal site. Even without checking the sports category, news about the evaluation match was plastered right on the main page.

「Kim Sarang, Disappointing Performance」

「Talent That Doesn’t Work in the Senior National Team」

「Premier Leaguer’s Level a Disappointment?」

「Kim Sarang’s National Team Selection Was a Bad Choice!」

「The Rising Star’s True Face Revealed in a Devastating Way」

Sarang, unable to even finish reading the headlines that were hurtful just to look at, quickly tossed his phone aside and lay down on the bed again.

‘Call me if anything happens.’

As a soccer player, it was something he had to endure.

‘And call even if nothing is wrong.’

The second thought didn’t last long. He didn’t want to be a burden to Florian in that way.

Unable to even touch his phone, he tossed and turned before falling asleep, and then a fever started to develop in his body. He thought he would be fine since he hadn’t even finished the first half, but his body, which had run around 정신없이 for 40 minutes while dealing with jet lag and poor condition, was now crying out in pain without fail.

In truth, Sarang had been so lacking in composure on the pitch that he couldn’t even recall what to review from the game. He had been extremely nervous, and his field of vision had narrowed as much as he was nervous, making him unable to help anyone. Thanks to his diligent training, he hadn’t made any ridiculous mistakes, but that was all.

He already wanted to cry, but when his body also began to suffer from the aftereffects of the match, Sarang felt a little sorrowful.

Colin.

Colin was always by his side at times like this. Colin, who was a recessive omega, had pheromones that weren’t much help for physical recovery, but they were a great source of mental comfort. Not even realizing that the tears rolling down the bridge of his nose were soaking his pillow, Sarang fell asleep and suffered all night. If Florian hadn’t come, he wouldn’t have been able to participate in today’s training, let alone the final friendly match.

He had been unprofessional. Not at all, not one bit. If the reporters found out, they would…

“Sarang.”

Looking into Sarang’s increasingly gloomy face, Florian didn’t give him any more time. At the low, soft voice, Sarang lifted his gaze and met the bright blue eyes.