Alpha Trauma Novel - Chapter 13. Black Knight (4)

Through the brim of his hat, neat lips were visible. The slightly twitching cigarette seemed somehow salacious. Wooyeon, his gaze fixed on the reddish lips, slowly began to speak.

“Well, if you have one…”

A faint scent of pheromones wafted. It wasn’t Dohyun’s; it was the smell of the cigarette he was smoking. The artificial presence imitating pheromones couldn’t compare to what emanated from him.

“Do you have a wish?”

Wooyeon only lifted his eyes to ask Dohyun. Dohyun, removing his hand from his hat, held the cigarette between his index and middle fingers. Whoosh, the exhaled smoke scattered into the air.

“Hmm, what should I ask for?”

It felt like anything he asked Dohyun for would be fine. Asking him to run errands, or to do annoying tasks, or even to lend money—it all felt okay.

It was the others who were startled.

“Senior, are you really going to make a wish?”

“You cheap bastard, after drinking that, you’re going to make the kid run errands?”

“Hyung, I didn’t see you that way…”

At the stream of accusations, Dohyun, with a troubled expression, bit down on his cigarette. Seeing that even he was smiling, it seemed it had been a joke after all. Dohyun extinguished the shortened cigarette butt by rubbing it against the wall and ruffled Seongyu’s hair.

“You should have said that to the problematic senior.”

Seongyu couldn’t say a word. Even though the person himself wasn’t there, it was still true. His peer also lowered his head, but only Garam sighed, lighting a cigarette.

“Talking like that makes the juniors uncomfortable.”

Dohyun silently shrugged. His gaze briefly passed over Wooyeon. Garam took a long drag from his cigarette and exhaled towards the sky.

“Just say whatever you want. If you don’t want to drink, don’t drink. If a senior tries to act superior, tell them you’ll put it on the internet. What era is this for such behavior? That jerk is nobody once he leaves society.”

After finishing his words, Garam shouted ‘Kim Jinsang, you son of a bitch,’ telling them to imitate him. It was loud enough to make others smoking elsewhere turn their heads. Of course, no one followed suit.

“Well… it’s hard for a first-year student to stop that in that situation.”

“This bastard, after I took all the boomer talk for him, he’s just going to slip out of it.”

Garam unhesitatingly kicked Dohyun’s hamstrings. Dohyun, accustomed to it, dodged sideways and ran a hand through his hair. His still-wet hair was fixed, revealing his forehead.

“You don’t have to drink alcohol if you don’t want to.”

Wooyeon thought that was directed at him. And he also thought Dohyun looked displeased. His gentle eyes and well-groomed eyebrows were slightly tilted askew.

“You’ll have plenty of those situations in society, so why bother in college?”

“Hyung…”

Seongyu, with teary eyes, opened his arms. Dohyun took a step back at the sight, as if he was about to be hugged. His peer also looked touched, but Garam flared up.

“Hey, I said the same thing, why is your reaction different?”

“Noona…”

“Too late, you idiot.”

Wooyeon felt lucky that Dohyun had put the hat on him. His face was burning, and he was sure his expression must have looked strange. It would be nice to naturally say thank you, but it felt like emotions would just burst out if he opened his mouth.

“Anyway, with that in mind, I’ll drink all the alcohol that comes Wooyeon’s way later.”

He didn’t even hear Garam’s boastful words. It wasn’t important that he would be in a position where no one could offer him drinks once he entered society. Only one thing mattered: that Dohyun had worried about him.

“Noona, what about me?”

“Are you going to drink mine too?”

“You guys fend for yourselves.”

“Wow, look at how quickly she changes her tune.”

Wooyeon stole a glance at Dohyun, wiggling his hand in his pocket. His other hand habitually stroked his earlobe. What was he doing, acting so cool? His throat kept itching.

“Can’t drink anymore, urgh.”

Garam covered her mouth and bowed her head deeply. Her neatly tied hair was now messy and disheveled. She looked like a ghost from TV, making Wooyeon unconsciously flinch and move aside.

“Hey, hey, someone put her in the loser’s room.”

A second-year student familiar with the situation supported Garam. She swayed unsteadily, completely drunk. However, even as she was being dragged away by the second-year, she reached out her hand towards Wooyeon.

“I told that kid I’d… uwuuaagh.”

“Argh, unnie! Don’t throw up!”

It had already been two hours since the drinking session began. Those who wanted to play drinking games gathered in the living room, while those who didn’t sit at the dining table in the kitchen. Wooyeon wanted to sit at the dining table but, following the freshmen, reluctantly took a seat in the living room. And the first casualty to sprawl out was Garam.

“Was it that hard to call me ‘Noona’…?”

Seongyu asked Wooyeon, watching Garam’s humiliating exit. Wooyeon couldn’t refute it and avoided his gaze. When he showed a rare apologetic face, Seongyu awkwardly scratched his cheek.

‘Today, I, Sun Wooyeon, will be the black knight.’

There was a short history behind Garam’s current state. After boldly declaring herself a black knight, Garam sat next to Wooyeon to keep her word. Just then, the senior who had returned from military service was across from them, and they led the drinking games with a strange psychological battle.

‘Wooyeon got caught!’

‘Unnie, are you going to drink for him?’

‘Bring it all to me, he won’t drink a single drop today.’

Garam, as boldly as she had declared, gulped down every drink that came her way. Sitting cross-legged with her back straight, she looked like a general. But it wasn’t long before she fell ignominiously.

‘Wooyeon again… caught?’

‘Is Senior Garam going to drink it this time too?’

‘…Bring it. I keep my word once I’ve spoken.’

Wooyeon, truly, boasted near-zero learning ability. Even when taught one thing, he only managed half, and when taught two, he forgot what he had learned before. Moreover, with the senior openly targeting only Wooyeon, Garam bore the full brunt of the damage.

‘Unnie, do you owe Wooyeon something?’

When she had drunk over two bottles, a senior asked worriedly. The earnestness with which she took on the role of black knight was like a debtor who had taken out a loan shark. Garam, with hazy eyes, shook her head and answered stubbornly.

‘I’m going to make him call me Noona.’

“…I’m not smart, I can’t do this.”

Wooyeon didn’t intend it. He didn’t have ill feelings, nor did he dislike the term ‘Noona.’ It was just that he was new to drinking games, and there were so many rules to memorize that he found it incredibly difficult to adapt.

“Alright, alright, since Moon Garam has valiantly fallen, it’s Wooyeon’s turn to drink, right?”

The senior, thinking the obstacle was gone, happily poured more alcohol. Everyone was half-drunk, so no one was there to stop him. The game immediately resumed, and predictably, Wooyeon was caught again.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Wooyeon drank the soju under Seongyu’s worried gaze. He had drunk beer before, but this was his first time with soju, and the first taste wasn’t too bad. The senior seemed pleased that Wooyeon didn’t back down and even clapped in delight.

“You drink well! Must have been frustrating not being able to drink because of Moon Garam, huh?”

The next drinking game also landed on Wooyeon. Wooyeon started it and Wooyeon got caught; Seongyu thought this was a talent in itself. Wooyeon silently drank again this time.

“Alright, Wooyeon again!”

One glass, two glasses. The amount of alcohol they had consumed was slowly approaching a whole case. Of course, Wooyeon wasn’t the only one drinking. Occasionally, Seongyu would act as a black knight, and others also got caught in the game. It was just that Wooyeon’s proportion was overwhelmingly high.

“Wow, I heard Sun Wooyeon can’t drink, but he’s doing perfectly fine!”

The senior’s eyes had also glazed over at some point. The only ones who seemed fine were Seongyu, who was good at drinking games, and Wooyeon, who sat upright. Seongyu fidgeted nervously as the amount Wooyeon drank increased.

“Are you really okay?”

“I said I’m fine.”

Wooyeon appeared outwardly unaffected. His complexion was perfectly normal (rather, paler than usual), and he answered well. It was just that his clear eyes seemed a little hazy.

“Alright, alright, no time for snacks!”

At the senior’s words, the drinking game resumed. This time, it was an image game. For ‘the person whose family seems well-off,’ Wooyeon got all the votes, and for ‘the person who seemed to have partied the most in high school,’ the majority pointed to him.

“Still playing drinking games?”

Dohyun came out to the living room just then. He sat in Garam’s empty seat and brought an empty paper cup. The drunkards asked if he would play, but he firmly refused and poured himself a drink.

“Where did Moon Garam go…? Who got caught now?”

“Me.”

Wooyeon stared sullenly at the soju. At his terse reply, Dohyun tilted his head in confusion. Under Dohyun’s close scrutiny, Wooyeon pleaded in an aggrieved voice.

“They said I look like I partied a lot.”

“…Image game?”

Nod, nod, his head nodded. Dohyun, with an ambiguous expression, took the alcohol placed in the center. Then, he discreetly asked the senior for his understanding.

“I can drink it, right?”

“Hey, why would you…”

“…It’s fine.”

In a fleeting moment, Wooyeon snatched the paper cup from Dohyun. And before anyone could stop him, he gulped it down. The senior laughed heartily, as if to say ‘See?’.

“He drinks just fine, and yet from earlier…”

“Senior, please stop.”

The one who stopped him was Seongyu, with a fed-up expression. He had gained a little courage from Dohyun’s appearance. Whoosh, Seongyu sighed and spoke a little more forcefully.

“Wooyeon is uncomfortable.”

“…No, you f*cking bastard, why is everyone else making a fuss when he’s quiet? Wooyeon, you tell them. Are you uncomfortable?”

Wooyeon placed the paper cup on the floor with an expressionless face. Even after drinking so much, his face was still pale and clean. He slowly blinked his eyes and replied in a casual tone.

“No, I’m not uncomfortable.”

“See? He said he’s fine…”

“It’s not uncomfortable, it’s annoying.”

Those who had gathered in a circle stopped moving. The same went for Dohyun, who was beside him. Amidst the gazes pouring in, Wooyeon looked directly at the senior.

“Seriously, just stop it. Just because I’m staying quiet doesn’t mean you can treat me like a doormat.”