Alpha Trauma Novel (Completed) - Chapter 25. Teacher (2)

“……A reward?”

Wooyeon’s eyes sparkled. Seeing him suddenly vibrant again, as if he hadn’t been sulking moments before, Dohyun readily nodded. Wooyeon didn’t miss the opportunity and quickly confirmed.

“What kind?”

A reward, just hearing the word made his heart flutter. What on earth was he planning to give? Many things flashed through his mind. Dohyun let out a faint groan, then tilted his head, his eyes slightly crinkling.

“Hmm, how about that chocolate from before?”

At the mention of ‘chocolate,’ the white ribbon-tied wrapper came to mind. The one he had received as a reward from his teacher in middle school. And the one Dohyun, as his senior, had bought him from a dessert shop recently.

“I’m not a child……”

Wooyeon grumbled a little, sounding dissatisfied. The chocolate had been delicious, but he didn’t want it as a reward for his midterms. Moreover, the thought that the reward given to him in the past was being handed out so carelessly now, honestly, didn’t sit well with him. It had been a memory just between him and his teacher. The idea that it was the same now, when he was merely a junior, felt wrong.

“Then what do you want?”

“Hmm……”

Wooyeon fell into deep thought, his face serious. He seemed to have completely forgotten that he had been sulking earlier. Pondering various things, he suddenly lifted his head and met Dohyun’s gaze.

“Will you give me anything?”

A curious light flickered in Dohyun’s eyes. As if guessing his thoughts, Dohyun covered the cigarette pack he was holding with his hand.

“No cigarettes.”

“……I don’t want them.”

Anyone would think Wooyeon was a minor and couldn’t buy cigarettes. Wooyeon shook his head unenthusiastically, then subtly raised his eyes.

“Buy me a drink.”

A long, long time ago, they had made such a promise. If he got into the same university as his teacher, he’d ask him to buy him a drink as his senior. At his words, Dohyun had laughed amusingly, then gently stroked Wooyeon’s hair.

‘If you get into university, I’ll buy you a drink.’

“A drink?”

Dohyun subtly tilted his head. His neat eyebrows twitched, and his lips curved slightly. Wooyeon realized his words might be misunderstood and hastily waved his hands.

“No, that’s, it’s not for any other reason, it’s just that I’m not very good with alcohol.”

It hadn’t been a statement with any ulterior motive, but upon replaying it, it sounded strange. Asking for a drink, didn’t it sound like he was making a move? Seeing him shake his head, his face flushed, Dohyun let out a soft huff.

“You want to be good at drinking?”

Wooyeon nodded vigorously. His excessive affirmation made it seem like there was an ‘other reason,’ but Dohyun smiled, as if giving him a pass this time.

“We’ll drink together anyway. We’ll have a party after the exams.”

“A party?”

“Yeah, both the club and the department will have gatherings. Of course, attendance is optional.”

He had been to a party once during the semester’s opening assembly. There were many unfamiliar faces, and Wooyeon had spent his time in a corner, only managing to strike up a conversation with Seongyu. This time, he wouldn’t be alone, but conversely, many people would also be around Dohyun.

“And you, senior?”

“I’m the club president, so I have to go.”

“Department gathering too?”

“I’m thinking about that one.”

The faces of the alphas from the same department flashed through Wooyeon’s mind. Among them was, of course, the returning student who had bothered him during the MT. Wooyeon seriously closed his mouth, then slowly nodded.

“Then I’ll go too.”

“……Again.”

Dohyun looked quite troubled. He parted his lips, as if he had a lot to say, then spoke in a remarkably serious tone.

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

Wooyeon nodded again. Dohyun looked unconvinced but didn’t raise any objections.

“So tell me something else. You can drink anytime, can’t you?”

Anytime, indeed. He would never drink with him if he suggested it. Consequently, Wooyeon, whose request for alcohol was denied, reluctantly began.

“There isn’t anything else in particular……”

“Alright, then let’s do this.”

Dohyun subtly suggested. The corners of his lips, curled up in a faint smile, looked surprisingly confident.

“I’ll take you to a movie.”

It was completely unexpected. Wooyeon fidgeted with his fingers and asked again.

“A movie?”

“Yeah, a movie.”

He didn’t dislike movies, but he wasn’t particularly interested either. He had most films at home, and if an affiliate company invested, he could even watch them before release. As Wooyeon was about to ask if there was a specific movie he wanted to see, Dohyun quietly elaborated.

“We’ll watch it at a movie theater.”

“……”

Wooyeon’s eyes widened. Confirming his sudden interest, Dohyun gently curved his eyes.

“I’ll buy you popcorn and drinks too.”

It was like that time he suggested cake. “Let’s get caramel popcorn.” At those words, his pale cheeks flushed pink. A movie theater – it was a place Wooyeon had never been to.

Wooyeon accepted the offer with a face full of excitement. He had to do well on the exams anyway, and either way, it was a benefit to him. Moreover, he belatedly realized that watching a movie alone with him would feel like a date. A date with his teacher – it was an unbelievable stroke of luck, something he dared not imagine.

Feeling happy, Wooyeon stopped by the club room to pack his things. In the meantime, Garam had woken up, and Seongyu, who had returned, was reserving a study room. Wooyeon left the club room for his liberal arts lecture, hearing them say to meet at the main gate this time.

And the moment he entered the classroom, he realized another fact he had forgotten.

“……”

“……”

A heavy silence busily passed between them. Junseong, who was sitting in the back of the classroom, made an ambiguous expression the moment his eyes met Wooyeon’s. Wooyeon frowned intensely, recalling what he had said last time.

‘I really hate guys like you.’

He had truly, completely forgotten. So perfectly that he wondered how he could forget to such an extent. Since that day, his mind had been so full of Dohyun that he hadn’t had time to think about nobody like Junseong.

Wooyeon first pretended not to know him and walked inside. Fortunately, there was one empty seat left far away. As soon as he put down his bag and sat down, the professor entered the classroom.

And the lecture that began was unbelievably lacking in content. Most of it was the professor’s travel stories, and very occasionally, there was talk related to assignments. Wooyeon ignored the gaze that lingered on his profile and occasionally responded to the professor’s English jokes.

About an hour later, the professor wished them luck with their midterm assignment and left the classroom. There had been many comments in the course evaluation saying ‘the professor is kind,’ so it must have been because he let them out early.

“Hey.”

Someone stood in front of his desk as Wooyeon was busy packing his bag. Wooyeon slowly lifted his head, and his face crumpled as he realized it was Junseong. Junseong frowned, looking somewhat reluctant.

“You don’t have another lecture, do you? Spare me some time.”

Wooyeon was about to ask why he should, but he stopped himself. He wanted to ignore him, but Junseong was someone he had to work with on a group project, and he was even the group leader. With only two weeks left until the presentation, he couldn’t avoid it if it was related to that.

“……Why?”

Perhaps he wanted to create a group chat now? Or was it about PPT production (Wooyeon was in charge of the presentation, so PPT was excluded)? Setting aside all his predictions, Junseong stated the most basic issue.

“We need to have an idea meeting for our invention.”

They first created a group chat and headed to a cafe near the main gate. There were about 40 minutes left until their study session, so meeting now would fit the timing. Wooyeon even sent a message just in case he might be late, then put down his phone and looked up.

“So, does anyone have an idea?”

Junseong looked around at his group members with a somewhat sullen expression. His gaze ambiguously excluded Wooyeon, making the group members look awkward and uncomfortable. Of course, they only looked uncomfortable; no one offered a good idea.

“Ha…… Seriously, you pathetic idiots.”

The ice-thin air choked him. The already doomed atmosphere also chipped away at Wooyeon’s motivation. Wooyeon took out his notebook and pen from his bag and wrote, ‘Inventions in the Global Era.’ After writing that much, surprisingly, there was nothing more to write.

“How can no one have a single good idea?”

Junseong incessantly complained, asking them to say something, or if they were mute. When he even started saying they should at least show some sincerity, Wooyeon couldn’t hold back and snapped at him.

“Hey, you’re the same, so stop blaming others.”

His habit of blaming others hadn’t changed at all, then or now. He had no ideas himself, but he was condemning others simply by acting as the group leader. Of course, the group members’ silence was frustrating, but Junseong’s behavior was even more unpleasant.

“……Ha.”

Surprisingly, Junseong didn’t retort or shout back aggressively. He merely kept his mouth shut and stared at Wooyeon with unreadable eyes. Wooyeon picked up his pen again and began to write in his notebook.

“Since it’s an invention, we should focus on inconveniences, right?”

Time difference, language, racial discrimination. Wooyeon wrote down a few other things he had felt, but the group members remained silent. Wooyeon genuinely thought it might be better to just give up on this course and take an F.

Their unproductive meeting continued until the study time approached. During that time, Wooyeon alone came up with about three ideas, while the other group members either admired or remained silent. Junseong just kept his mouth shut in protest, so Wooyeon, after enduring it, put down his pen and said:

“Let’s just disband and come up with three ideas each by tomorrow. I have to go for my study session.”

Just in time, a call came in. The caller was ‘Kwon Seongyu.’ Wooyeon suppressed his annoyance towards the group members and answered the phone.

“Hello?”

—Oh, Wooyeon! We’re heading to the cafe now, so if you’re late, just come straight here.

Seongyu’s distinctively light voice came from the other end of the phone. It was a very welcome sound for Wooyeon, who had been stuck in frustrating silence. Seongyu offered small words of comfort about the difficulty of group projects, then said they were almost at the cafe.

Cling, the bell rang at that exact moment. Wooyeon unconsciously turned his head to look in the direction of the sound. And then, the words that should have been coming from his phone came from right nearby.

“We just entered the cafe……”