JADE 28

The battle of nerves between the two continued until they were done brushing their teeth.

Due to the start of the semester, Coach Hong and the college student staff had their working hours drastically reduced, and the director also had many outside commitments of his own. Jin Yiseo was at school too, and the children wouldn’t start arriving until the afternoon, so the two of them were left alone until noon.

He was so bored that Jin Sejun, who normally didn’t even play games on his phone, ended up cleaning the staircase landing.

‘Should I go home and come back in the afternoon….’

Kwon Joowan was holed up in the room with the usual printer and bed. He didn’t want to disturb him if he was really busy, but on a human level, he was just too bored.

“Teacher John, what are you watching? Are you busy?”

“Ah, videos from the last international competition. Even if we get advice from a choreographer, basic monitoring is necessary.”

“Aha.”

When he tried to squeeze in behind the computer chair, Kwon Joowan gave up his seat. Instead of standing behind him, Jin Sejun lightly perched his thigh on the chair’s armrest.

It was a tight fit for two large men in the dimly lit room, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

“This is a promotional reel for the College Nationals… It has both pom dance and stunts. There’s hip-hop and jazz too.”

“I can tell just by looking that the ones in ties are jazz and the baggy pants are hip-hop.”

The next video that played was a performance by a university team. Jin Sejun didn’t have a trained eye, but he could clearly see that the athletic ability of the young people on screen was incredible.

He had heard an explanation about stunts from Kwon Joowan, but he had never looked them up on his own while waiting for an opportunity like this, so this was his first time properly watching.

Normally, he would have focused on the flyers, who were mostly Omegas wearing uniforms with little fabric. But for some reason, he found himself intently watching the base, which was mostly made up of Alphas.

As expected, they all had great physiques. It was a series of acrobatics that, if Jin Sejun were to try it right now, he would immediately injure his back and be rushed to the hospital.

“…You used to do this, Teacher John.”

“I only coach now.”

Each performance was very short, and videos of other teams followed one after another like flowing water. After watching about three teams, he started to be able to make out the moves to some extent.

“You really did crazy shit like five consecutive tumbles and then lifting and throwing an Omega here? You, Teacher John?”

“Haha, yes…. Shall we watch some of the pom dance Yiseo does?”

“No, let’s watch some more stunts. Stacking two levels is amazing enough, but how do you stack people three levels high? That’s incredible.”

“The highlight of stunts is the pyramid sequence… Hahahaha.”

Why is this person so shy? He’s not even watching a video of himself.

But his squirming with pleasure wasn’t a bad sight. He couldn’t stay still whenever Jin Sejun opened his mouth, and his body kept brushing against the butt perched on the armrest.

“If you did it until college, don’t you have any competition videos like this, Teacher John? I’m curious.”

At the perfectly reasonable question, Kwon Joowan’s smile stiffened slightly.

“Ah, I…. I made it to the starting lineup, but I quit midway.”

“Aha….”

Come to think of it, he had said he injured his ex-fiancé once. It seems he really does have a scar on his heart. Though that probably wasn’t the only reason he was rejecting Jin Sejun.

Maybe their personalities just didn’t match, or he wasn’t mentally ready to meet someone. It could just be a matter of timing.

If not that, then there must be some fatal flaw with Jin Sejun….

Though it had been happening often lately, Jin Sejun wasn’t originally a person accustomed to self-deprecation. Jin Sejun cut off his deepening thoughts and shut down his curiosity about things Kwon Joowan hadn’t mentioned first.

As the fast-beat music played, only the sound of their breathing continued. Just when it seemed like a good time to start watching pom dance videos, the two continued to watch stunt cheerleading videos.

It seemed like Jin Sejun was the only one conscious of the subtly awkward atmosphere. He was about to spout some nonsense like “You could have legally seen an Omega’s panties while supporting them from below,” but instead, he expressed his honest admiration.

“…The performance is brief, but they must have practiced until they threw up blood.”

“That’s right.”

Swallowing the nonsense was the right choice. Jin Sejun was relieved as the atmosphere immediately softened. Regardless, Kwon Joowan continued calmly.

“Since you’re not doing it alone, you can’t rest just because it’s a little tough, but if you really mess up your condition, you can hurt others, so I think responsibility and judgment were also necessary.”

“You must have been really close with your teammates.”

“They’re not just friends. We were… comrades-in-arms, I should say.”

“I see….”

Not just an ex-fiancé, but a comrade-in-arms too? To be honest, the reason he had asked earlier if there were any videos left was partly because he wanted to see Kwon Joowan’s performance in his prime, but also because he was curious about the Omega who was his partner.

But in the end, he thought it was a good thing he didn’t watch it.

“I’m an exception, though.”

Kwon Joowan added in a slightly subdued tone. Jin Sejun, realizing Kwon Joowan’s mood had darkened, started chattering again.

“None of them are ever just standing still. How good must everyone’s stamina, strength, and flexibility be? I can’t even do the splits on the floor.”

“It’s an event where you have to show everything in a short amount of time. And you can do the splits too if you practice, Mr. Sejun.”

He talks so casually because it’s someone else’s body. Jin Sejun shrugged and muttered.

“The stage floor is like a frying pan, and the cheerleaders are like popcorn. I think you would have been a pretty noticeable piece of popcorn, Teacher John. Though thinking about you now, Teacher John, I can’t really imagine you doing dance moves, aside from skills like tosses or tumbles.”

“Heh… Hahahat.”

Hearing the laughter, Jin Sejun relaxed a tension he hadn’t even known he was holding and looked back at Kwon Joowan. A smile that revealed his signature canines had spread across his face.

But it wasn’t a smile that gave off the same strange pressure as before. Seeing that, he felt not just at ease, but very happy….

“What, is the stupid remark of a layman funny?”

“Not at all. Your impressions are always interesting, Mr. Sejun….”

Interesting? And always? Then let’s date, you bastard.

Out of Kwon Joowan’s line of sight, Jin Sejun rolled his eyes self-deprecatingly, then nonchalantly pointed at the screen.

“This school here has a different style. They’re being quite seductive, the Omegas and even the Alphas.”

“See, you’re surprisingly sharp. I think it might be because you look at trait-users with a keen eye.”

“I’m being serious, and you treat me like a pervert again.”

“Haha… each team here has its own color too. There are also quite a lot of Alphas who drifted in from other sports.”

“Like you, Teacher John?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not an Alpha.”

At the trivial nitpick, Kwon Joowan was so startled his shoulders jumped.

“Ah, that’s right.”

“…What’s with the surprise? You really hate it if someone’s an Alpha.”

“….”

He won’t say he doesn’t hate Alphas, even if it kills him. It might not be a strange reaction for a Beta who had been pushed around in a field full of Alphas.

Jin Sejun tried to brush it off nonchalantly and attempted to change the subject again.

“Stunts are really… they’re moves I’ve never once thought of trying in my life, so it just doesn’t feel real. It’s like a circus. I’d probably feel acrophobia even at that height.”

“Speaking of which, want to do some stretching?”

“Suddenly? No thanks….”

“Why, afraid you’ll start moaning again?”

“I did not moan.”

“Look who’s being coy, the man who supposedly seduces and lays every client he counsels.”

Suddenly? It was a bit bewildering, but he felt he had a right to be offended. Though he wouldn’t make a serious face about it. Jin Sejun took his butt off the armrest and crossed his arms.

“Says the jerk-off artist. Don’t people who run sex accounts have a lot of hookups?”

Kwon Joowan, who had been silent with a sour expression, reluctantly affirmed.

“Well, yes.”

And then he added this.

“We’re the same type.”

He wasn’t sure what he meant by the “same type,” but it was Jin Sejun who had pretended to be just that. Then again, he did recall saying something to Kwon Joowan in the past about him being used to getting attention from others, implying that people in the know are like that.

“Same type, my ass. A Beta.”

“I told you that’s a discriminatory remark.”

Now that it had come to this, Jin Sejun didn’t want to lose to Kwon Joowan in anything.

“Aah, so you played hard to get like that because you wanted to leave a blemish on my shining winning streak?”

“To write a thesis on the correlation between baldness and virility, you must have needed a great many samples.”

“Betas might not know, but I’m the type that Omegas really can’t leave alone. I didn’t even have to go looking for samples, they just kept flocking to me.”

“I feel like you would even eat up an ugly person, Mr. Sejun. Perhaps because you’ve played around so much, living up to your handsome face, that you can’t be satisfied with someone who is just ordinarily handsome.”

“No? I like handsome people. I could fuck you right now if you bent over.”

“…Ugh.”

“Not that I mean I like you in a pure-hearted way.”

Right, it was just a little power struggle, he definitely wasn’t seriously seducing him after being rejected twice. Jin Sejun wondered if he had gone too far with his words, but seeing the speechless face felt gratifying. Kwon Joowan’s gaze darted all over the place before he seemed to calm down a little and glared at Jin Sejun.

“Mr. Sejun, you really are… a true Alpha.”

“What, did you think I was an Omega?”

He retorted with a joke, but the sharp contempt in Kwon Joowan’s words pricked his skin. Jin Sejun might not seem smart usually, but he was definitely not an idiot….

‘No, fuck, was I the only one in this slut battle?’

Right, the talk about fucking him was a bit much. As Jin Sejun quickly reflected on his mistake and was about to patch up the argument one way or another, it happened.

“Damn Alphas….”

“….”

There were more than a few people who disliked Alphas because of their image of being ruled by their belligerent and libidinous instincts. Jin Sejun didn’t think it was an entirely baseless statement, so he had never really gotten worked up over such things.

That was because there were far more people who liked that aspect of Alphas, and a successful Alpha was unlikely to become unsuccessful.

But Kwon Joowan driving the nail in felt a little different….