Alpha Trauma Novel (Completed) - Chapter 28. Teacher (5)

Wooyeon knew how much the three of them worried about him. He also knew that he hadn’t failed so badly as to be this depressed, and if anything, he knew his midterm grades would probably be good.

However, that didn’t change the outcome of the last test. Dohyun had said he’d show him a movie if he did well on the test, so there was no longer any justification to ask for a movie. More than messing up the content he had diligently studied, he was upset about being deprived of time with Dohyun.

“Wooyeon, you cheer up too. You can make up for it in the final exam.”

Garam led the disheartened Wooyeon and gathered the club members. She booked a pub for an after-party, comforting Wooyeon by telling him to drink and let it all out. Wooyeon politely said, “I’m fine now,” only to be put in a headlock by Seonggyu who told him not to lie.

“Alright, let’s clink glasses with Noona. If you don’t want to drink, don’t.”

Wooyeon fiddled with the small soju glass and nodded. Garam filled Wooyeon’s glass to the brim with soju. As they raised their glasses, club members nearby one by one joined in.

“What, are you guys toasting without me?”

“Oh, me too!”

“Me too, me too!”

The wave of toasts spread naturally, reaching where Dohyun was. Wooyeon felt Dohyun, who had been talking with other club members a little distance away, look in their direction.

“Kim Dohyun! Aren’t you going to say something as the club president?”

“Ohh, a toast!”

“Senior, you’re so cool! Say something!”

“…You guys must have had a drink before coming here.”

No alcohol had been consumed, but everyone was already in a tipsy mood. Dohyun, accustomed to his club members, raised his soju glass. The atmosphere shifted towards Dohyun, but the actual toast came from Garam’s mouth.

“I’m doing this for the sake of the classics. Got it? The classics!”

“For!”

Wooyeon clinked glasses with Garam and then put his soju glass down. The memory of his previous mistake made him very reluctant to drink. Garam saw him put down the glass but didn’t say anything, instead pointing a finger at others.

“Hey, look at these guys trying to skip out on their drinks.”

“Ah, unnie, please. You’re like an obnoxious oppa.”

“Hul… How could you say that…”

Garam, with a hurt expression, began to mimic an upperclassman who had returned from military service. Seonggyu shivered, telling her to stop, but she didn’t. Her act of pushing the soju bottle, asking how they could avoid a senior’s drink, was truly like a veteran upperclassman.

Wooyeon let out a silly laugh and leaned against the wall. At the orientation, it had just been awkward, and at the MT, he had only been annoyed, but now it was just chaotic. Of course, even so, Dohyun’s figure, though some distance away, was clearly within his sight.

“…so…”

As soon as Dohyun entered the drinking party, he was seated in the center before anyone else. After a group formed around him, Wooyeon and Seonggyu were forced to sit in a corner. If Garam hadn’t come over, he would have been like a scarecrow at the orientation.

“…”

After listening to a junior for a while, Dohyun smiled and picked up a soju bottle. He filled the junior’s glass and then his own before naturally toasting. The moment he saw Dohyun’s uniquely gentle smile, Wooyeon felt his stomach twist and turned his head away.

“Who wants to play a drinking game!”

An inexplicable unpleasantness churned and vibrated within him. It wasn’t the usual fluttering excitement, but something much more intense. No matter how close he was to Dohyun, the raw truth that he was ultimately just one of his juniors suddenly hit him.

“Wooyeon, want to play a drinking game?”

Garam twirled the soju bottle cap cheerfully and asked. Wooyeon, who had been gnawing at the inside of his cheek, blinked blankly.

“Drinking game?”

“Yeah, if you want to play, Noona will make you the kkakdugi (a player who gets special rules).”

“What, why are you showing favoritism to Wooyeon!”

“Hey, you guys don’t know. If we make him drink a penalty shot, we’ll have to close this place for the night.”

Actually, he wanted to drink, but he couldn’t forget the time he swore in English. It would be nice if he could moderate his drinking, but unfortunately, Wooyeon still lacked that ability.

“Are you really okay not drinking?”

“Of course, of course. Just drink water.”

Garam readily nodded and brought a large water bottle. Since the incident with the upperclassman who returned from military service had somehow spread, there were no club members who really objected.

“Starting with the bottle cap!”

At Garam’s words, the bottle cap passed around to the next person. Wooyeon carefully observed what Garam did and then flicked the bottle cap with his finger just as she had. The bottle cap that was passed snapped cleanly off when it was Seongyu’s turn.

“Oh, Seongyu got caught? Chug it down.”

“Huh? Aren’t I supposed to pick someone to drink?”

“Who cares, you’re the youngest.”

Seonggyu, with a bewildered expression, obediently drank the soju. He seemed to have anticipated his fate, no matter how much he argued. Wooyeon learned the mistaken notion that drinking games were originally like this.

Besides that, the games continued endlessly. Wooyeon was more sober than anyone, yet he drank more water than anyone. At first, club members doubted Wooyeon’s skill, but later they genuinely couldn’t help but admire him.

“Being this bad is a talent…”

“No, it’s okay to be bad at drinking games.”

“That’s right, Wooyeon, you’re handsome, so it’s fine.”

Wooyeon drank water, confused whether to be happy or sad. Still, it was his second drinking game, and it was still hard to adjust. There were so many rules, and each game had a different theme song, and then trying to do the motions too, his head felt like it would explode.

“Moon Garam.”

When they had finished more than three bottles of alcohol, Dohyun approached from behind Garam. Garam, who had been pointing at a junior with her chopsticks, tilted her head back slightly.

“Why?”

The words were directed at Garam, but the tension was Wooyeon’s to bear. Wooyeon clutched his chopsticks, his face stiff. The pheromones that had been distant were now close by.

“Go down for a bit. The seniors are here.”

Even though the drinking party was in full swing, Dohyun’s voice was just gentle. His soft, quiet voice made the inside of his molars itch intensely.

“What, tell them to come up themselves.”

“Minjeong Noona is here too.”

Garam shot up as soon as the words were out. She swore, saying he should have told her earlier, and then frantically straightened her clothes. Finally, she untied her loosely bound hair and neatly tucked it behind her ears.

“Hey, am I good?”

Even under the dim lighting, her flushed, nervous face was clearly visible. Dohyun indifferently observed Garam and then asked back with a lack of sincerity.

“Do you want my honest opinion?”

“No, just shut up.”

As if she hadn’t expected anything, Garam hopped over the chair. She looked utterly excited as she left the pub, her hair fluttering. Wooyeon blinked, watching her retreating figure, then averted his gaze when he saw Dohyun looking at him.

“…”

Again, he felt upset. Dohyun would move away again, and he wouldn’t return until this drinking party was over. Curiosity about who “Minjeong Noona” was mingled with an inexplicable sense of resistance. His mind replayed the image of him talking to another junior, when suddenly a gentle voice spoke.

“Did you drink a lot?”

Dohyun observed him intently. He scrutinized Wooyeon from the top of his head to his ears, then casually stepped over the chair. It was the exact spot where Garam had been sitting just moments ago.

“…Drink?”

“You played a drinking game.”

Dohyun replied and took the soju glass. He sniffed it slightly, as if checking whether it was alcohol or water. Wooyeon, with a blank expression, answered dazedly.

“It’s water. Garam Noona made me the kkakdugi.”

“Kkakdugi?”

A faint laugh escaped him. He readily returned the glass and muttered, “That’s a relief.” He looked genuinely relieved, so Wooyeon found himself asking without realizing it.

“Are you worried I’ll swear in English?”

Dohyun didn’t answer, but his gaze held a subtle light. As if it didn’t matter, Dohyun narrowed his eyes and vaguely mumbled.

“I am worried you’ll get drunk.”

The word “worried” made his stomach tingle. The fact that Dohyun sat next to him and took his glass to check it all because he was “worried” made him feel excited. Dohyun probably said it without any particular meaning, but Wooyeon felt like he was overthinking things excessively.

“Hyung, by the way, who is Minjeong Noona?”

While Wooyeon was fidgeting, Seonggyu from across the table asked. The seniors didn’t ask, which suggested she was already a well-known figure among them. Dohyun nodded and replied briefly.

“A senior who graduated from the club.”

“H-huh, how much of a senior?”

“She’s four years ahead of me, I think…”

Wooyeon subtly observed Dohyun’s profile. His expression remained unchanged, and he looked perfectly fine, making it hard to believe he had been drinking. Dohyun reassured Seonggyu, saying they were good people, and added in a sweet voice,

“They’re good seniors.”

He looked genuinely happy. It was different from the smile Wooyeon considered artificial. The moment he saw the gentle curve of his lips, his throat stung and twitched.

“…Why ‘seniors’ plural?”

Wooyeon suppressed his sharp emotions and feigned a neutral expression. Dohyun rolled his eyes and looked at Wooyeon.

“One more is coming. The former club president is a senior.”

The words “former club president” reminded him of what Garam had told him last time. That he had resurrected the dying club by calling in the “Management God.”

“Is the Management God not coming?”

“That hyung…”

He asked without thinking, but Dohyun’s expression changed. He slightly furrowed his brow, then, as if nothing had happened, he softened his expression gently. It was a rather unnatural smile.

“Why, curious about what he looks like?”

Wooyeon shook his head without thinking deeply. Garam had called him a god and said his face radiated light, but Wooyeon wasn’t particularly interested. Besides, if he was the teaching assistant’s lover, wasn’t he the owner of those intense pheromones?

“Even so, he’s probably just an Alpha…”

At Wooyeon’s words, Dohyun’s lips parted slightly. And just as he was about to say something, the entrance of the pub became noisy. He sighed, muttering that the hyung was always the same, and turned his head towards the sound.

“Looks like they’re here.”