Chapter 71: A Strange Feeling

“Doesn’t it bother you that the team members keep glancing at you?”

“Not really.”

“You don’t like it when people you’re not even close with suddenly cling to you.”

Wooju whispered in a small voice.

It might look different when he was in front of fans, but among these muscular guys, who would actually be a sincere fan of Won Ji-tae?

“Not true.

What exactly do you think of me?”

“A brat.”

“That’s you.”

“A person with a terrible personality.”

“You’re the same.”

“Hey, even if I’m a bit rude, my personality isn’t that ruined.”

“Who said so?”

The argument between Wooju and Ji-tae flared up again.

At first the surrounding team members weren’t interested.

But now they all pricked up their ears and started watching the two of them.

“What’s with that childish conversation?”

Choi Seok-hyun muttered while drinking water, watching with amused eyes.

“Seriously.

Their conversation level is pretty low.”

Baek Yoon-kwon slowly walked over beside him.

“Was actor Won Ji-tae always like that?”

“Not at all.

When you see him on TV he’s really quiet.”

“But isn’t that the same with our Wooju?”

This time Lee Yoo-seok joined the conversation.

“Look at that.

I think this is the first time I’ve seen that kind of raw expression from him.”

Lee Yoo-seok grinned while looking at Wooju.

Then Choi Seok-hyun and Baek Yoon-kwon also began focusing on Wooju rather than Ji-tae.

Kang Wooju wasn’t exactly the most easygoing person.

But he wasn’t particularly difficult either, so he got along well with his teammates without any trouble.

He could become a bit sensitive during matches.

But that was natural for any athlete.

Usually he joked around well, accepted jokes well, and behaved seriously when the situation required it.

Within the team, he was respectful to his seniors.

He acted like a good older brother to juniors.

And he maintained peaceful relationships with those his own age.

But the Kang Wooju who was currently snapping at Won Ji-tae looked… different.

It was clearly not the same way he treated seniors, juniors, or ordinary peers.

He looked irritated.

But he also looked like he was enjoying himself.

He was desperately trying to win the argument.

But he looked comfortable doing it.

“Hmm, that’s true.”

“Yeah.”

To their eyes, Won Ji-tae and Kang Wooju looked like immature students wearing school uniforms.

After finishing the weight training, they had to move to the court for the next training session.

It was time for actual ball training.

As they walked down the hallway after leaving the weight room, Ji-tae handed Wooju a towel.

“Sweat.”

“Ah, thanks.”

He had just finished exercising in there.

And every time there was a chance, he had been arguing with Won Ji-tae.

Wooju felt like his energy had drained twice as fast.

He wiped his face here and there with the pure white towel Ji-tae handed him.

That was when he realized he had sweated quite a lot more than usual.

“…Hey.”

“Yeah?”

Ji-tae answered while rummaging through the bag he had brought.

“Walk a little farther away.”

“Why?”

At the cold remark, Ji-tae’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“I’m sweating a lot.”

“So what?”

So what?

Of course it mattered.

Sweating a lot meant there might be a smell.

How could that not bother him?

Once he started thinking about it, the idea that Ji-tae might smell his sweat filled his entire mind.

It was never something he worried about when training with his teammates.

But for some reason, right now it bothered him a lot.

“It smells.”

“It doesn’t.”

“How would you know?”

“Come on, be reasonable.”

Wooju clicked his tongue and stepped slightly to the side while walking.

As the distance between them grew, Ji-tae pouted.

“I like it.”

“What?”

“The smell from you.

I like all of it.”

His voice trailed off toward the end.

But this time Ji-tae’s words clearly reached Wooju’s ears.

Just like earlier, Wooju felt his heart drop with a heavy thud.

“Hey.”

Wooju suddenly placed his hand on Ji-tae’s shoulder.

“You… have a pretty unique taste.

Saying you like someone else’s sweat smell.”

“That’s not what I meant…

Ah, forget it.

I’m used to it now.”

Ji-tae brushed Wooju’s hand away and walked ahead as if sulking.

Wooju watched his broad shoulders, which were easily comparable to the athletes beside him.

Then he bit his lip slightly.

It felt like he had just taken an unexpected hit.

His head felt blank.

And somewhere inside his body, something kept tingling.

“Wooju hyung, what are you doing? Aren’t you coming?”

“Huh? Yeah, I’m coming.”

Yoon-kwon, who had approached from behind, stared at him standing alone in the hallway.

“What?”

Yoon-kwon’s gaze was so obvious that Wooju had to ask.

“Hyung, aren’t you making it too obvious that you haven’t trained in a while?”

Baek Yoon-kwon suddenly burst into laughter.

“Obvious how? What do you mean?”

“No, go look in the mirror in the restroom.

Your face is completely red right now.

Like a carrot.

Did the weight training exhaust you that much?”

“…….”

Wooju was known for never changing his expression no matter how intense the training was.

So Baek Yoon-kwon laughed excitedly as if he had discovered a rare creature.

He then ran down the hallway, saying he had to tell the others quickly.

Normally, Wooju would have jokingly scolded a junior for teasing a senior like that.

But this time he was so shocked that he could only stand there frozen.

After the rest of the training finished, Wooju headed to the showers.

While running, the words Ji-tae had said and Yoon-kwon’s teasing kept swirling around in his head.

It made his mind completely chaotic.

“I like all the smells from you.”

So hearing that made his face turn red?

But why?

Of course he had been surprised.

He had never heard someone say they liked the smell coming from another guy.

Especially sweat.

Back in high school, whenever the boys returned to class after P.E., the girls would wrinkle their noses and complain about the smell.

Everyone probably had memories like that at least once.

But turning red because of that was another matter entirely.

Was it embarrassment?

Or, as Yoon-kwon said, was it because he hadn’t trained for a while?

But Wooju had always been confident in his stamina.

He hadn’t even taken that long of a break from training.

Just a few weeks at most.

“Hey, Choi Seok-hyun.”

After coming out of the shower and changing clothes, Wooju called Seok-hyun beside him.

“What?”

“Do I smell like something?”

“Smell?

You just showered, so probably shampoo.

Why?”

“Then what about usually?”

“Usually?”

Seok-hyun pulled his socks up to his ankles and thought for a moment.

“I don’t know.

Do I need to know what you smell like?”

Seok-hyun suddenly snapped irritably.

He must have realized how ridiculous it was that he was even thinking about that question.

At his friend’s irritation, Wooju shut his mouth.

“Hey, then…”

“What now?

Don’t you have to go?

Isn’t the filming team waiting?”

“They’re probably interviewing other team members by now.”

Before entering the shower earlier, one of the writers had told him that they wanted to film short interviews with some Baekyoung Construction players.

Choi Seok-hyun had volunteered enthusiastically.

So he had already done his interview before even showering.

“So what now?”

“Have you ever thought someone else’s sweat smelled good?

Like mine, for example…”

“Kang Wooju.”

At that moment, Seok-hyun finished putting on both socks and grabbed Wooju’s shoulders with a sympathetic expression.

“You’ve been pretty stressed because of the broadcast lately, haven’t you?

Should we go to the hospital or something?

I can look one up for you.”

Seok-hyun looked at him as if even thinking about that question meant he wasn’t in his right mind.

“Hey, that’s not it.

I’m just asking.”

Wooju clicked his tongue and slapped his hands away.

“Then let me ask you something.

Do you also like the smell of my sweat?”

“Are you crazy?

I’d rather block my nose forever than smell something like that.”

“I agree, my friend.”

As if that answered everything, Seok-hyun said he’d see him later and left the locker room.

After his friend, who had seriously answered his question, disappeared, Wooju finished getting ready to leave.

Yes.

That kind of reaction was the normal one.

Then why had Won Ji-tae said something like that?

Usually he liked picking fights and teasing him.

So why did he react so strangely just then and leave Wooju’s mind in such chaos?

Wooju sighed deeply and walked out of the showers.

As he walked down the hallway, water droplets dripped onto the white floor.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t properly dried his hair while talking with Choi Seok-hyun.

For a moment he considered going back.

But it felt too bothersome.

So he simply shook his hair roughly with his hand and turned the corner.

The showers were located at the very end of the second floor of the gym.

The filming team and Won Ji-tae were probably on the first floor.

He needed to head down there.

He slowly walked down the stairs and looked around.

But the inside of the building felt rather quiet.

It seemed like they had finished interviewing the players and were preparing to leave.