Alpha Trauma Novel (Completed) - Chapter 26. Teacher (3)

—We just entered the cafe…….

After a slight pause, the same words flowed from the phone. Wooyeon blinked, looking at those who had just entered the cafe. The others also seemed to have spotted Wooyeon, their eyes wide.

“Oh? Oh, Wooyeon!”

Garam was the first to light up. With her hair tied high, wearing a denim jacket and jeans, Garam waved her long arms to greet Wooyeon. Wooyeon involuntarily half-stood from his seat.

“Everyone……”

It was Seongyu, Garam, and Dohyun. Was this the cafe where they had reserved the study room? For Wooyeon, who had only heard “near the main gate,” it was surprising.

“Wow, what a coincidence. Were you doing your group project here?”

“I was so surprised when I was on the phone.”

Each of them added a comment as they approached Wooyeon. Dohyun only gave a nod and headed to the counter, but Wooyeon couldn’t take his eyes off the back of his head for a long time. The moment he saw that neat profile, his mood lightened, as if he had never been annoyed.

“Still have a lot to do?”

It was amazing how just seeing a face could do this. His straight neck, his broad shoulders. His neat walk and even the clean nape of his neck—he couldn’t take his eyes off any of it.

“No, I’m done.”

“Perfect timing. We can go straight to the room and start studying.”

The unpleasant feelings were washed away as if by magic. Wooyeon nodded, gathering his notebook and pen from the table. The meeting was practically over anyway, and no one was enthusiastic enough to insist on continuing it. But as he lifted his bag, a harsh voice stopped him.

“What are you doing?”

Wooyeon lifted his head, still holding his bag. Junseong was looking at Wooyeon with an expressionless face. The other group members, who had subtly started to pack up, also hesitated and looked around uneasily.

“You’re leaving even though the meeting isn’t over?”

His tone was quite irritating. Garam and Seongyu, sensing the atmosphere, awkwardly moved away, saying they’d wait in the study room. Wooyeon took his eyes off him and slung his bag over his shoulder.

“What more meeting is there when there are no ideas? I told you to bring three ideas each by tomorrow.”

“Are you the group leader?”

At those words, Wooyeon’s face instinctively contorted. Junseong’s face twisted savagely as he chewed out his words.

“Who decided that? Hey, you guys, tell me. Can you bring three ideas by tomorrow?”

Naturally, there was no answer. He predicted that even if tomorrow came, no one would actually bring any ideas. Wooyeon felt his chest tighten and put his bag down on the table.

“Then continue. I’m not leaving.”

Thump, Wooyeon slumped back into his seat. The group members, who had been standing awkwardly, hesitated, unsure what to do. Wooyeon crossed his arms and leaned back against the chair.

“Go on, meeting.”

Junseong glared fiercely at Wooyeon, and Wooyeon met his gaze head-on.

“Excuse me… since we don’t have any ideas anyway,”

“Aren’t you sitting down?”

A group member who couldn’t stand it anymore opened his mouth, but Junseong cut him off decisively. Having no choice, they all sat back around the table like Wooyeon.

“……”

“……”

Naturally, no words were exchanged. With Wooyeon, who had been leading the meeting, also silent, only heavy silence remained between them. One minute, two minutes. The slowly passing time felt like an eternity. If not for the soft music playing in the cafe, it would have been quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

Wooyeon quietly blinked and indifferently turned his gaze. He didn’t know what Junseong was unhappy about, but he was used to his spitefulness. Even in middle school, he had bothered Wooyeon with ridiculous things. In such cases, the best way to infuriate him wasn’t to get angry or argue, but simply to ignore him.

“Ugh, damn it. Hey, quit it.”

As expected, after a short while, Junseong frantically ruffled his hair. His bleached yellow hair scattered messily. Wooyeon looked at him indifferently and spoke in a dry voice.

“Quit what? You said, “Let’s have a meeting?”

“……”

He seemed to hear the sound of teeth grinding. He also saw Junseong clenching his fists, unable to control his anger. He closed and opened his eyes a few times, then commanded his group members.

“Hey, you guys leave.”

The group members looked bewildered but quickly got up. Seeing them dash away, Wooyeon also gathered his bag and stood up. No, he tried to stand up.

“Damn it, where are you going?”

Junseong roughly grabbed Wooyeon’s arm. Enraged pheromones spread along his captured wrist. Wooyeon twisted his arm to pull his wrist free and irritably slapped Junseong’s hand away.

“Don’t touch me.”

“……”

Shivers. It felt like goosebumps. A sensation as unpleasant as insects crawling spread across his skin. Junseong briefly wore a bewildered expression, then quickly raised his voice, his face flaring up.

“Why do you hate me so much?”

For a moment, he lost his words. He had never expected such a question from Junseong. Wooyeon stared at him with a bewildered look and asked in an incredulous voice.

“You grabbed me to talk about that right now?”

If he were to explain why he hated Junseong, three days and three nights wouldn’t be enough. He was disgusted that Junseong had ruined three years of his middle school life, and he was angry that he had gotten into a good university and was living a normal life. He didn’t even have the energy to explain why he disliked him now, and he wanted to avoid such a meaningless argument.

“Hey, I’m just frustrated.”

But Junseong didn’t seem to think so. He truly looked wronged, raising his eyes and even slamming the table.

“Did I curse at you? Did I hit you? Or did I do anything to make you feel bad? If not, why are you doing this to me?”

At that moment, Wooyeon swallowed a bitter laugh. It wasn’t because everything Junseong said was something he had done in the past. It was just that his last words were the same as what he himself had said five years ago.

‘Why are you doing this to me?’

Wooyeon had uttered those words a year later. He had endured and endured, and then, when he couldn’t understand it anymore, he had asked. But Junseong, after only three meetings, was accusing Wooyeon. And Wooyeon hadn’t even done anything to harm him.

“We’re in the same group anyway, and we have to do a group project. We could just get along well, couldn’t we? Why are you so determined to pick on me?”

Every single word was what Wooyeon had wanted to say in middle school. We’re in the same class anyway, and we have to live together, so why can’t we just get along well? Why are you so determined to torment people?

“……I came here to meet for the idea meeting, as you said.”

Wooyeon managed his churning stomach and opened his mouth. He still felt Junseong’s pheromones on his wrist.

“As you said, I didn’t curse at you, and I didn’t hit you, so what exactly is your complaint?”

“Damn it, you keep……”

Junseong, who had raised his voice in a fit of pique, looked around and shut his mouth. The gazes that had gathered the moment Wooyeon stood up had now become more explicit. Junseong huffed and caught his breath, then spoke in a heavily suppressed voice.

“You keep……ignoring people. It’s pissing me off.”

That was truly an absurd reason. He had just been spouting all sorts of insults, calling them mute and what not, and now he was upset by Wooyeon’s actions. He had been the one to look down on the group members first, using his position as group leader, so it wasn’t something he should say with such a wronged expression.

“Then you ignore me too.”

Wooyeon spoke in a cold tone. The more Junseong spoke, the more the memories of the past stuck to him like grime. Thinking of what he had done to him, his emotions fluctuated wildly.

“I told you, I hate guys like you.”

Whether he was bewildered or not, it had nothing to do with Wooyeon. He didn’t want to tell him the reason he disliked him, nor did he want to be friendly. They were just going to be together until the group project was over anyway, and even facing him like this was unpleasant.

“Don’t hold onto someone who says they hate you and argue. You just ignore me too. We can just pretend not to know each other.”

“So why do you hate me? I saw you for the first time in this liberal arts class. What did I do to you to make you act like this? Did I bother you?”

Thump, something felt like it snapped inside him. It felt as if his forcibly composed mind was breaking. Unnoticed, pheromones began to leak out, and only one thought came to mind.

‘You pig, I feel like throwing up every time I see you.’

And you, why did you hate me so much when I didn’t do anything? What was the reason you belittled my appearance, shattered my spirit, and dragged me down into endless despair?

‘Reason? What the hell is there a reason for?’

“What reason is there?”

It seemed his heart, which he thought had healed, was actually festering. A filthy scab was stinging and threatening to peel off. The situation and their positions had changed, but again, Wooyeon was the one whose heart was getting hurt.

“I just hate you. I hate you cursing, I hate you talking behind my back, and I hate you grabbing me like this.”

“……”

“Stop looking for reasons and just leave me alone. I have nothing more to say, so I’m leaving.”

Saying that, Wooyeon immediately tried to leave the cafe. He had a study session scheduled, but getting out of this place was his priority. If Junseong hadn’t stood up to follow him, he would have surely walked away without looking back.

“Hey, I’m not done talking……”

Thwack, something collided. To be exact, it was the sound of hands meeting. Familiar pheromones softly wafted, and a gentle voice cut between them.

“I was just going to wait, but……”

Dohyun’s dry, autumn-like pheromones gently lingered in the air. The unpleasant, crawling sensation vanished in the blink of an eye. Wooyeon’s eyes widened, and he slowly turned to where the sound had come from.

“It seems group projects are done this way these days.”

Dohyun, who had spoken without any inflection, released Junseong’s hand. The hand, which had been caught close to Wooyeon, seemed to have been intended to reach his shoulder or bag. Dohyun glanced at Wooyeon, then asked in an incredibly gentle voice.

“The meeting isn’t over yet?”