Alpha Trauma Novel - Chapter 16. Black Knight (7)

Wooyeon stopped, having been about to take off his hood. He hadn’t expected to be praised, let alone scolded, but Dohyun’s voice was too gentle. Without stopping, he added in a soft, calm tone.

“It was a situation worth cursing over. He gave you alcohol, and who knows what he might have done? You were quite lenient, really.”

His neat eyebrows were deeply furrowed. His somewhat tired eyes were filled with annoyance. Dohyun ran a hand through his hair as if disgusted and looked directly at Wooyeon.

“A guy like that deserves to be cursed at.”

‘Wow.’

Wooyeon’s lips parted, his hand still covering his mouth. His teacher was badmouthing someone else. And with a clearly annoyed expression. It was a rare sight, one he hadn’t easily seen even when he was being tutored, or now that he wasn’t.

“He’s always been known for his bad habits. I was relieved he wasn’t coming this time, but he still ended up driving his car here.”

“……”

“If he tries to retaliate because of yesterday, tell Moon Garam or me immediately……”

Dohyun, who had been speaking, suddenly narrowed his brows. It was because Wooyeon was looking at him with such bright, sparkling eyes. At the gaze, like a puppy looking at its owner, he asked in a calm voice.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen you badmouth anyone.”

Dohyun’s face instantly became subtle. He clamped his mouth shut and averted his gaze, adjusting his disheveled hair. Then he mumbled in a small voice, as if to himself.

“You talk as if you’ve known me for a long time.”

“……”

Oops, Wooyeon turned his head to hide his embarrassment. Junior Sun Wooyeon had not known Kim Dohyun for even a month. Yet, he had used the extravagant expression ‘first time I’ve seen.’ Wooyeon put the cigarette Dohyun had given him in his mouth and fumbled in his pocket, pretending to look for a lighter. Fortunately, Dohyun, without suspicion, moved on to a different topic.

“Is your home far from school?”

“No. It’s nearby.”

Even without lighting it, the cigarette smelled of pheromones. It was a faint scent, but artificial and off-putting. How did anyone smoke this? Wooyeon frowned and subtly took the cigarette out of his mouth.

“Throw it away. It’ll be irritating for an Omega.”

Wooyeon obediently threw the cigarette into the ashtray. Meanwhile, Dohyun took out a new cigarette and lit it, speaking.

“If your home is close to school, you can ride in my car later. Don’t bother with the bus.”

It was a statement that made him feel inexplicably hopeful. It also made him wonder again why he was being so kind to him. But Dohyun exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke without giving him time to anticipate.

“Normally, when we come to MTs or things like this, I drive the club members around. I meant to pick you up when coming too, but I forgot to mention it during the morning lecture.”

“You could have just called.”

Wooyeon inadvertently revealed a hint of disappointment. Thinking of the people who had been standing in front of Dohyun’s car yesterday, his stomach twisted for no reason. If he forgot during the morning lecture, he could have contacted him later. What was so hard about that for someone living in the 21st century?

“Seongyu didn’t answer his phone.”

Dohyun shrugged with an unenthusiastic face. Then, with the cigarette held between his fingers, he looked at Wooyeon.

“And I didn’t have your number.”

“……Why not?”

It was a reason so absurd it left him speechless. Wooyeon had clearly exchanged numbers with Dohyun. He had received his number as soon as they first introduced themselves, and his own number was written on the club application form. So, for him to say he couldn’t contact him because he didn’t have his number, it made no sense.

“Because you didn’t call me?”

Dohyun answered, his eyes curving. ‘You have to get the number directly.’ At his gentle voice, Wooyeon was momentarily dumbfounded. He stared with his mouth open, then pulled out his phone from his pocket.

“Does that make sense?”

It was truly an absurd reason. At the very least, he could have asked Garam for his number. If Wooyeon didn’t call him, was he planning to never know his number for the rest of his life?

“You could have just saved it……”

Kim Dohyun Senior. The words on the screen felt unfamiliar. Specifically, the word ‘Senior.’ There was a time when he had saved him differently. As the number changed, so did the registered name and the relationship.

“Did my call go through?”

Dohyun didn’t answer, frowning around his eyes. His face, as he stared at his phone screen, felt a little different from usual. Trrrr, trrrr, when the dial tone had rung more than five times. He let out a small, hollow laugh.

“Yeah, it came through.”

At that moment, Wooyeon felt an inexplicable sensation run down his spine. He reflexively hung up the call, and Dohyun also put his phone away. He stubbed out the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray and got up from the bench.

“Let’s go inside, we need to clean up.”

The brief feeling vanished in the blink of an eye. Wooyeon, trying to convince himself it was just his imagination, followed Dohyun. Then, he suddenly remembered one forgotten fact.

In the end, he still hadn’t heard what had happened between him and Dohyun yesterday.

As Dohyun had said, Wooyeon rode in his car on the way home. Before getting into the car, the words ‘Kim Dohyun doesn’t like having anyone in the passenger seat’ came to mind, but he couldn’t confirm that fact. Dohyun threw the car keys to Garam and immediately fell asleep as soon as he got into the back seat.

“Hyung must not have slept last night.”

Seongyu sat in the passenger seat, and Wooyeon naturally ended up in the back. At Seongyu’s quiet question, Garam looked at Dohyun through the rearview mirror.

“Well…… he probably didn’t. He was sitting in the living room all night.”

“Couldn’t he sleep?”

“Who knows. I saw him when I went to the bathroom.”

Wooyeon subtly observed Dohyun’s sleeping form. His arms were crossed, and his head was leaning against the window, looking rather uncomfortable. It would be better if he lay down more comfortably, but with his tall stature, any position would be awkward.

“If he sleeps like that, he’ll hit his head on the window.”

At Wooyeon’s mumbled words, Garam let out a faint hum. He thought deeply, then frowned and clicked his tongue.

“What can you do? It’s not like he can lean on you, Wooyeon, to sleep.”

Wooyeon didn’t mind, but others would think differently. Seongyu also seemed to pity Dohyun, grabbing his seatbelt and looking back.

“We should have just had hyung sit here and recline the seat.”

“He never sleeps in the passenger seat. Says it’s bad manners to sleep next to the driver. That’s why he purposely took the back seat first.”

“Seriously…… so I can’t sleep either?”

“Were you even thinking of sleeping? Getting all comfortable while the senior is driving.”

Wooyeon lowered his eyes, listening to them bickering. Dohyun’s neat fingers still looked a joint longer than Wooyeon’s. His clean fingernails, his refined bone structure—there wasn’t a single unkempt part from head to toe.

“Wooyeon, there’s a blanket back there. Can you put it under Kim Dohyun’s head?”

As Garam said, a blanket was rolled up in the back. Wooyeon folded the blanket to make it comfortable and subtly moved closer to Dohyun. Now all he had to do was place it between the window and his head, but seeing him sleeping soundly made it incredibly difficult to touch him.

“Just push his head and put it there. It’s better than getting a lump on the side of his head.”

Wooyeon very carefully extended his hand. An unusually strong thirst rose, as if his throat was tightening. His heart seemed to pound faster, and it felt harder to breathe.

After several difficulties, the moment his hand touched Dohyun’s head,

“……”

“……”

Dohyun’s gently closed eyelids slowly opened. His half-sleepy eyes gazed blankly at Wooyeon. A span, or even narrower distance. From that distance, the teacher felt dangerously breathtaking.

“……Ah.”

Dohyun let out a short gasp and blinked. Wooyeon, who had been holding his breath and widening his eyes, slowly widened the distance. And as naturally as possible, he tucked the blanket beside Dohyun’s head.

“I was going to do