Alpha Trauma Novel (Completed) - Chapter 29. Teacher (6)

“Oh! Juniors!”

The timing was astonishingly perfect. At the loud sound that reverberated through the pub, Wooyeon instinctively grabbed Dohyun’s collar. Peeking out from the side, he saw a man as big as a bear.

“Heh, long time no see, everyone!”

“Senior, long time no see!”

“Hyuung, I can’t forget the drinking games we played with you.”

“Yeah, yeah. I knew that, so I came.”

He was about the same height as Dohyun, but his build looked twice as big. He wasn’t fat, but his physique was just massive. Despite that, his eyes were soft and kind, so he didn’t have a scary image for his size.

“Park Seongjae, you’re too loud.”

Behind him was a small-framed woman. Her hair barely reached her shoulders, and her expressionless face gave off a cold impression. Wooyeon saw Garam clinging to her side and immediately knew she was “Minjeong Noona.”

‘They’re both Betas.’

The tension that had stiffened his shoulders slowly eased. He would have disliked it if they were Alphas, and felt unnecessarily concerned if they were Omegas, but thankfully, both of them were Betas. The two, who had been bickering (one-sided nagging), soon noticed Dohyun and approached them warmly.

“Hey, Kim Dohyun! For a maknae, you didn’t even come out when your seniors arrived…”

The man laughed heartily, then his eyes widened. His beautifully double-lidded eyes slowly shifted to Wooyeon. Wooyeon blinked awkwardly, then snapped back to attention when the woman also looked at him.

“…”

At some point, he had been holding onto Dohyun’s clothes. He awkwardly let go, but the stiff shirt material was already creased with handprints. Wooyeon couldn’t smooth out the shirt, nor could he ignore it, so he awkwardly apologized.

“I’m sorry, the mark…”

“It’s fine.”

Dohyun replied indifferently and stood up. He then approached the man and familiarly grabbed his arm.

“Hyung, how do you seem to have gained more weight? Didn’t you say you lost weight while studying?”

“…Hey, I lost over 5kg.”

The man immediately bristled and retorted. Dohyun said it was a joke and seated the man among the people. The problem was that the woman, who had been standing with an unimpressed look, snorted.

“Thief.”

It was a small voice, but Wooyeon heard it clearly. Dohyun must have heard it too, but he pretended not to hear and made a space for them. The woman smirked and lightly poked Dohyun’s arm.

“You’re trying too hard. I’ll sit by myself, so you sit too.”

She said that and took a seat across from Wooyeon. Garam pushed Seongyu aside and quickly sat next to the woman. Dohyun briefly ran a hand through the back of his hair and then returned to the seat next to Wooyeon.

As soon as they sat down, the man from the other side started gathering people for a drinking game. Dohyun called a staff member to bring glasses and plates, and the woman asked Dohyun a question in a calm voice.

“How many freshmen are there this year?”

“Four. There were many applicants, but no one could write the English title correctly.”

“Was Les Misérables there this year too?”

“That’s every year.”

Wooyeon thought that “teacher speaking politely” was really unfamiliar. On the day they first reunited, he also used polite language with him, but it didn’t feel like this then. Now, it was almost like he was truly the youngest.

“Unnie… Have you been well?”

“I’ve been well. Did you do well in your midterm?”

“…Let’s not ask about that.”

Garam tucked her hair behind her ears, looking incredibly prim. Seongyu’s mouth fell open, seeing her like a noble lady. Dohyun, accustomed to Garam, placed soju and beer in front of the woman.

At this, the woman raised an eyebrow with an expressionless face.

“Did you call me to mix soju and beer for you?”

“Then why else would I call you? Seongjae hyung is enough for the bill.”

“Does Park Seongjae know that?”

“He’ll probably know by tomorrow morning.”

The woman’s eyes crinkled with amusement. Even though he was openly saying he’d exploit him, she didn’t seem to have any intention of telling the man.

“Well… Park Seongjae will handle that.”

The woman picked up the soju bottle and skillfully began mixing soju and beer. She poured soju, then beer, and then stirred it with chopsticks to create foam. Her control over the pouring, ensuring it didn’t overflow, showed she was no amateur.

And the woman handed the perfectly mixed soju-beer cocktail to Wooyeon.

“You look young, what’s your name?”

“…”

Wooyeon, who had been watching them, was startled. He hadn’t expected her to talk to him. He was about to take the drink from the woman when Dohyun suddenly reached out his hand.

“It’s Seon Wooyeon. Not a single syllable name, but Seon Wooyeon.”

Dohyun replied and put the glass to his lips. Then, just like at the MT, he gulped down the contents. The woman said, “That’s not yours,” but he didn’t care at all.

“As expected, the soju-beer cocktail Noona made is delicious.”

His gentle smile was utterly disarming. The woman seemed to feel the same, clicking her tongue briefly, saying he had grown up a lot. Soon, the woman, holding the soju bottle again, subtly gestured towards Wooyeon with her eyes.

“Aren’t you a freshman?”

“Yes.”

“You look really young.”

“I guess so. I’m twenty.”

“You weren’t like that when you were twenty.”

“…Are you insulting me now?”

Wooyeon held the soju glass filled with water and sullenly closed his mouth. It was still good that Dohyun was next to him, but the fact that he was talking about him as if he were someone else was uncomfortable. And what was with this strangely familiar atmosphere?

“Unnie, mix me a soju-beer too.”

“Do you guys think I’m a soju-beer mixing machine?”

“Ah, I’m curious too…”

“Oh, now even the freshmen.”

The woman quickly became friendly with Seongyu as well. She was an odd person, with an expressionless face and a cold tone, yet she wasn’t unlikable. She mixed two soju-beer cocktails and handed them to Garam and Seongyu, then smiled and looked at Wooyeon.

“Want a glass too?”

“Noona.”

Dohyun called her softly. The woman slowly turned her gaze, then looked back at Wooyeon.

“I’m not forcing you, so feel free to say no if you don’t want it. Can you not drink?”

“No.”

Wooyeon answered immediately without looking at Dohyun. He felt Dohyun looking back at him. When he extended a brand-new beer glass that had never been used, the woman’s eyes lit up.

“I’ll drink too, please give me one.”

He could say it was half stubbornness. He didn’t want to drink, and he had never tried a soju-beer cocktail, but he didn’t want to just sit there either. The subtle atmosphere that excluded him felt very strange to Wooyeon.

“Just taste it. Someone’s glaring, so I can’t mix much.”

The woman chuckled, mixing the soju-beer cocktail as before. The amount was about half of what she had first offered. Wooyeon received the beer glass back and chugged it down in one go, just like Dohyun had.

“…”

For a moment, expressions crossed paths. Unlike Dohyun, who furrowed his brows, Wooyeon looked into the beer glass with a surprised expression. After looking at the empty glass once, then at the woman across from him, Wooyeon slowly turned his gaze, and the woman asked confidently.

“Delicious, right?”

Wooyeon nodded as if possessed. He had tried soju at the MT, but perhaps because of the beer mixed in, it didn’t taste like alcohol at all. The first taste was refreshing, and the aftertaste was savory, making it the most delicious drink Wooyeon had ever tasted.

“…How did you do it?”

“It’s all from years of working experience.”

The woman winked and took Wooyeon’s glass again. Then she curled her lips and muttered to herself.

“This is a big problem. The freshmen fell for soju-beer.”

“…”

Dohyun sighed and stood up. Wooyeon was so engrossed in the soju-beer that he didn’t even notice Dohyun looking at him. Dohyun, with a complex expression, looked at Wooyeon and the woman alternately, then ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m going out for a smoke.”

Wooyeon only looked at him after he turned his back. The sight of him walking away without looking back was somehow regrettable. The woman cleared her throat and spoke softly.

“Garam.”

“Yes, yes?”

The woman, with mischievous eyes, placed a soju-beer cocktail in front of Wooyeon. A peaceful voice flowed from her still-curved lips.

“Go have a smoke with him.”

It was exactly 30 minutes. The time it took for his address for the woman to change to ‘Noona’ and for Wooyeon to open his heart to her.

“So you messed up the exam?”

“Yes… I really didn’t know anything.”

“That must have been upsetting.”

The woman, who introduced herself as Kim Minjeong, radiated a strangely comfortable aura. She led the conversation without saying much, and even though she didn’t laugh often, Wooyeon felt drawn to her. Perhaps because of this, after about four glasses of the drink she mixed for him, Wooyeon babbled out his story.

“I just wish I hadn’t taken English Phonology.”

“Right, how did a freshman end up taking that?”

“Well, actually, I registered for it…”

At some point, Minjeong was sitting next to Wooyeon. Seongyu had long since disappeared to play drinking games, and Wooyeon, sipping the soju-beer cocktail she mixed, wore a tearful expression.

“So I just decided to take it, but…”

Minjeong rested her chin on her hand and nodded. She even let out a faint laugh, as if Wooyeon’s muttering was cute. Wooyeon, with her expressionless face, somehow thought she resembled the teacher.

“So you grew to like Dohyun?”

At some point, the topic of conversation had flowed to his feelings for Dohyun. Wooyeon, with a look that seemed to say, ‘Did I say that?’, nodded blankly. He didn’t remember, but if he hadn’t said it, Minjeong wouldn’t have known.

“But the teacher doesn’t like me…”

“Teacher?”

As Minjeong asked back, a faint pheromone was felt. Wooyeon slowly lifted his head and, seeing Dohyun approaching from a distance, put his index finger to his lips.

“That’s a secret.”

“What’s a secret?”

It wasn’t Minjeong who asked, but Dohyun. He had clearly been far away, but in the blink of an eye, he was right in front of him. Wooyeon slowly blinked and shook his head from side to side.

“Nothing.”

Dohyun’s eyes narrowed. From his eyes to his nose, from his nose to his mouth. He meticulously observed Wooyeon, then suddenly turned to Garam. Garam was covering her mouth, her eyes wide as if they were about to pop out.

“…This is driving me crazy.”

He muttered that and immediately unbuttoned his shirt. Minjeong frowned as he took off his shirt, leaving only a t-shirt. Dohyun placed the shirt on Wooyeon’s head and spoke to Minjeong.

“He’s an Alpha.”