Alpha Trauma Novel - Chapter 15. Black Knight (6)

When morning broke, Wooyeon opened his eyes in a small room inside the pension. A few Omegas were in the room, sleeping pitifully without even pillows. Wooyeon slowly roused himself, his eyes vacant as he looked around.

“……”

Dazzling sunlight streamed through the window crack. His eyes felt gritty, his head throbbed, and his throat was parched. Only then did Wooyeon realize he was the only one who had been provided with a sleeping mat, and he quietly slipped out from under the blanket.

“No wonder it was hot……”

The floor was blazing, yet he had slept fully dressed, covered by a cotton quilt. It was a miracle he hadn’t been steamed to death overnight; he almost suffered heatstroke instead of freezing. Wooyeon blinked and yawned, then took off his hoodie.

“Oh, you’re up?”

Just then, Seongyu opened the door and entered. He immediately turned on the light and nudged the groaning figures with his foot. Then, looking at Wooyeon’s hair, he exclaimed in genuine surprise.

“Wow…… How does your hair get like that? A magpie could build a nest in it.”

“Ah, it’s dyed hair……”

His brightly dyed hair was sticking out in all directions. It was especially thin, and he had just taken off his hood. It wasn’t tangled, so combing it would help, but untouched as it was now, it was surely a mess.

“Hangover?”

“Only my head hurts.”

Instead of fixing his hair, Wooyeon simply put his hood back on. He was too lazy to look in the mirror, and even lazier to carefully tidy it. As Wooyeon hunched his head and swayed, Seongyu quietly approached him.

“More than that, I really saw you in a new light.”

“What?”

The back of his head throbbed. Soju hangovers manifested as headaches, he realized. Perhaps it was fortunate that his stomach hadn’t been upset. Just as he lifted his head, thinking this, an excited voice answered.

“What else? You really put Kim Jinsang senior in his place.”

“……What?”

The words instantly chased away his drowsiness. Wooyeon snapped to attention, staring at Seongyu with wide eyes. At his reaction, Seongyu, in turn, widened his own eyes.

“You don’t remember?”

Wooyeon, with a blank face, rummaged through his memories of last night. He remembered Garam leaving and playing drinking games, but after that, his memory was vague. The senior who had returned from military service had smoothly offered him drinks, and he’d drunk about three glasses of soju laced with pheromones. And…… what happened after that?

“Were you really that drunk? With such a clear face?”

“Don’t tell me I hit him?”

“Wow, you really don’t remember, do you.”

Seongyu let out a hollow laugh and scratched his head. In the process, he didn’t forget to nudge the sleeping guys again. One by one, they squirmed and woke up, making zombie-like noises.

“You said that his actions towards you weren’t uncomfortable, but annoying.”

“……”

“You told him to stop being a nuisance and asked why he kept putting pheromones in the drinks.”

Wooyeon covered his head with both hands. No matter how much he tried to remember, his mind was as clean as if bleached. He had tried so hard to act unfazed while drinking the penalty shots, but it seemed everything had gone back to square one.

“……Anything else?”

“Hmm, not really?”

Seongyu shrugged nonchalantly. Wooyeon, who had been about to ask for more details, soon changed his mind and groaned. Ignorance was bliss, wasn’t it? Perhaps there was no need to dig his own grave.

“It’s fine, man. It was exhilarating. When that annoying senior got angry, I felt so refreshed.”

Seongyu roughly ruffled Wooyeon’s hair. He also added a piece of advice: to be a little more careful next time. Perhaps Wooyeon, with his small stature, charging at the bear-like senior seemed quite precarious.

“But what did you say in English? Was it all curses?”

“I…… cursed in English?”

This time, Wooyeon looked at Seongyu with a truly horrified expression. Seeing his small face turn pale, Seongyu made an ambiguous expression. He looked like he was smiling, but also a little sorry.

“You shouldn’t drink, you know……”

Wooyeon inwardly agreed with the mumbled words. Come to think of it, he felt like he’d heard that from someone else before. Again, the memory was hazy.

“And then you just went to sleep?”

Wooyeon frowned, sending a pitiful gaze. His expression earnestly wished that what had just been said was the end of it. Seongyu scratched his cheek and turned his head to the side.

“Uh…… well, that’s all I saw, but.”

It wasn’t a very welcome opening. Wooyeon felt a sense of dread and clutched the rim of his hood. ‘That’s all I saw, but.’ The words that would follow were incredibly tense.

“You just walked right outside, so Dohyun hyung followed you.”

His eyes darted wildly. Wooyeon felt like he was about to faint and made a tearful face. His drooping eyes looked terribly pitiable.

“Well, nothing happened. Dohyun hyung brought you back right away, saying you were drunk and fell asleep.”

“……”

“If you’re really worried, just ask Dohyun hyung.”

With that, Seongyu got up without regret. He patted Wooyeon’s gloomy head and added, ‘I told you it’s fine.’

“And that annoying senior went home at dawn. He must have been pretty embarrassed. Seeing as he left when no one else knew.”

Wooyeon just nodded and ran a hand over his face. In truth, what happened to the senior didn’t matter. He hadn’t said anything he shouldn’t have, and he probably would have said similar things sober someday anyway. He was just bothered that he might have caused an unintentional commotion.

“If you’re done, come out and wash up. Check-out is at 11.”

In the living room, students with haggard faces gathered. Some had already left on the first bus, and the remaining ones were busy preparing breakfast. Wooyeon, who had nervously washed his face and brushed his teeth, received everyone’s attention as soon as he came out of the living room.

“Oh, our brave freshman is awake.”

“Did you sleep well? Feeling better?”

“Have some ramen. We put all the leftover meat from yesterday in it.”

Fortunately, there were no reactions he had feared. No passive-aggressiveness, no strange looks, no being ignored—none of the worst-case scenarios.

“Hey, Wooyeon! I heard Jinsang was giving you a hard time yesterday!”

Garam, in particular, was fuming, busy cursing the senior since morning. Asking what that crazy guy did after she passed out, apologizing for falling asleep first. Wooyeon glanced at her when she told him to tell her if that jerk ever tried anything.

“Um, about yesterday.”

“Hmm?”

The words wouldn’t come out. Wooyeon awkwardly touched the back of his head, avoiding Garam’s gaze.

“Thank you for drinking in my stead.”

“……That’s just basic!”

Even though she said that, Garam seemed inwardly pleased. Her long, monolid eyes curved charmingly. Wooyeon declined the wooden chopsticks she offered and quietly began.

“Noona.”

Thunk, the wooden chopsticks fell. Her frozen, blank face looked like a statue. Wooyeon thought such cheesy behavior didn’t suit him at all, and decided to put out the most urgent fire first.

“Where’s Dohyun senior?”

The March morning was still chilly enough for breath to turn to mist. Wooyeon, having barely managed to pull himself away from a tearfully grateful Garam, swiftly fled outside the pension lest she follow him. Dohyun was sitting on a bench in front of the pension, smoking a cigarette.

“……Senior.”

Dohyun slowly raised his head. The cigarette smoke, dissipating like heat haze, suited his expressionless face quite well. He confirmed it was Wooyeon who had spoken and gave his usual gentle smile.

“You’re up? How’s the hangover?”

“Only my head hurts a little.”

Wooyeon approached Dohyun as naturally as possible. When Dohyun asked if he wanted a cigarette, he gratefully accepted one. Dohyun then offered a lighter, but instead of taking it, Wooyeon immediately got to the point.

“I didn’t say anything weird yesterday, did I?”

The thought that immediately came to mind when told he was with Dohyun was the worry that he might have called him ‘Teacher.’ Since he was drunk and had blacked out, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have said anything.

“You did.”

Dohyun answered nonchalantly and smoked his cigarette. As if knowing or not knowing that Wooyeon felt like crying, he exhaled a long stream of smoke and tapped the ash. He leisurely curved his eyes and asked Wooyeon a question.

“Do you want to know?”

“Yes.”

Even if it meant digging his own grave, he had to hear it this time. If he had called him ‘Teacher,’ he would have to make excuses related to that.

But what came from Dohyun’s mouth was completely different from Wooyeon’s worries.

“……”

Unbelievable English flowed out. His voice alone was as sweet as a serenade, but Wooyeon knew it was all ‘profanity.’ Wooyeon, startled that his teacher was cursing, was horrified as soon as he finished speaking.

“I said that?”

“Yes.”

Ah, this time, was withdrawal the answer? Perhaps this university just wasn’t the right place for him. Damn you, Danny, this is all your fault. While Wooyeon blamed the innocent Daniel, Dohyun smiled brightly and comforted him.

“It’s okay, most people probably didn’t understand.”

It was clearly meant to be comforting, but Wooyeon felt he was being teased. His usually gentle eyes seemed to hold a hint of mischief. Wooyeon slumped down and covered his face with both hands.

“Did you understand everything?”

He asked, hoping it wasn’t true. Of course, given that he remembered everything, he probably had.

“Would you like it if I said no?”

Wooyeon shook his head, making a tearful face. He had never been so embarrassed in his life, but now he understood what it felt like to want to die from humiliation. Dohyun chuckled softly and asked lightly.

“Is cursing in English your drunken habit?”

“No…… I don’t know either.”

It was the first time he had ever been in that drunk, drunken habit or not. Wooyeon was still a minor in America, and the occasional beer he drank was secretly brought by Daniel. Rather than cursing being his habit, it was more likely that he wanted to curse but only knew how in English.

“Ah, I don’t usually do that.”

His voice was resentful as he mumbled. Dohyun watched the cowering Wooyeon and stubbed out his cigarette in a nearby ashtray. He inclined his head slightly and spoke in a low voice.

“You did well.”

Wooyeon only lifted his eyes to look at Dohyun. His hoodie kept obstructing his view. With no other choice, he stood up, and Dohyun’s gaze followed him.

“It’s fine even if you cursed worse than that.”