Alpha Trauma Novel - Chapter 5. Late Winter (4)

A shiver ran down my spine. His voice was no different than usual, yet it felt like a death sentence. The subtle, gentle pheromones, to Wooyeon, felt intensely sharp.

“Oh, Kim Dohyun, you’re here? See, I told you, you can’t quit smoking.”

“Do you think I’m you?”

Dohyun walked past him and approached Garam. His jet-black coat fit him as if tailored. Dohyun pulled out a cigarette pack from his inner coat pocket, put a cigarette in his mouth, and tilted his chin.

“Give me a lighter.”

“Ordering me around, you bastard.”

Whoosh, the lighter flew. The lighter, drawing an arc, landed precisely in Dohyun’s hand. He lowered his gaze, shielded the wind with his hand, and lit the tip of the cigarette.

“Why aren’t you in that alley, and here?”

Pffft, cigarette smoke dispersed. Wooyeon, seeing that, was surprised by exactly two facts. First, how familiar he looked smoking. And second, that it was a pheromone cigarette.

“There are too many people. Is there a need to be huddled together like thugs?”

“Here and there, it’s pretty similar.”

He didn’t smoke when he was twenty, did he? No, he might have smoked, and I just didn’t know. What’s so hard about not knowing about one cigarette when I didn’t even know he was an Alpha?

“Did you not hear that?”

Seongyu lowered his voice and whispered secretively. Wooyeon, who momentarily didn’t understand what he meant, recalled what he had said and nodded.

“……Right.”

Beyond his gaze, Dohyun exhaled cigarette smoke without even looking at him. For some reason, the smell of the pheromone-laced cigarette was very unpleasant.

Didn’t hear a thing? What a load of crap.

“……Do you have anything to say?”

The corner of his lips trembled. Wooyeon asked as politely as possible, looking at Dohyun. Dohyun, who was propping his chin and watching Wooyeon, shook his head, saying it was nothing.

Why does a person who claims it’s nothing keep staring? But Wooyeon’s courage was too small to utter those words.

‘Senpai?’

On a Friday morning, Wooyeon, who had arrived at school excessively early, encountered Dohyun in an empty lecture hall. Why is the teacher here? That thought lasted only a moment. Dohyun, too, blinked in surprise.

‘Why are you here?’

That question contained various meanings. Half horror, wondering if he was really taking this lecture, and half denial, saying there’s no way. And a little surprise at Wooyeon’s sudden appearance.

‘My schedule got messed up……’

At those words, he received a sympathetic gaze, however brief. To be a first-year, first-semester student and fail course registration, ending up taking a major course meant for third-years. It was a miracle he hadn’t decided to drop out.

‘Hang in there.’

It was encouragement filled with pity. At that, Wooyeon truly felt like crying. Is dropping out the answer this time? As he thought that and was about to leave the lecture hall, a low question stopped him.

‘Where are you going?’

‘Huh? Oh, I was just going to get a drink.’

It was a lie. He just felt burdened being alone with him and wanted to avoid it.

‘Really?’

Dohyun replied indifferently and stood up from his seat. His broad shoulders and straight gait were cool enough to make one admire him anew. While Wooyeon was momentarily lost in thought, he approached, leaving one step, and held something out.

‘There’s a cafe at the end of the first floor.’

It was an ordinary credit card. The rectangular one used for calculations.

‘Get a small Americano and whatever you want to drink.’

Wooyeon’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. His bag, which he had been carrying, was already in Dohyun’s hand. Dohyun smiled kindly.

‘If you don’t know the way, I’ll go with you.’

Naturally, Wooyeon went to the cafe alone. Someone sending him on an errand, and buying him a drink in return, was a first in Seon Wooyeon’s life. Having his bag taken hostage was even more so.

‘You came back fast.’

Dohyun received the drinks with a slight eye-smile. Wooyeon awkwardly collected his bag, which was placed next to him, in response to the thanks. Dohyun, once again, held him back.

‘Just sit. There’s no one next to you.’

Of course there wouldn’t be. Not just the seat next to him, but the entire lecture hall was empty. He felt absurd, but he had no words to retort.

“……”

The silence that began like that had lasted for about 10 minutes. Wooyeon felt like he was going to vomit from the awkwardness, diligently operating his phone. He was typing a message, ‘Danny, what do you think about dropping out?’ when Dohyun finally opened his mouth.

“Do you like sweet things?”

He was looking at the drink Wooyeon had bought. The pink strawberry smoothie was untouched. When Wooyeon nodded with an ambiguous expression, he offered his own drink as if he understood.

“Everything there except Americano tastes bad.”

‘Want to try it?’ He refused the offer. For some reason, the strawberry smoothie didn’t taste like strawberries at all. Wooyeon decided never to go to that cafe again. The message he was typing was successfully sent to Daniel.

“Wooyeon.”

Gasp, his body flinched. It was because the name Wooyeon felt excessively unfamiliar. Dohyun smiled at him as he turned his head like an un-oiled robot.

“Am I uncomfortable for you?”

Without a doubt, it was the correct answer. It was surprising that the question had only just come out. Wooyeon didn’t explicitly answer, but Dohyun took his silence as an affirmation.

“Why?”

He wasn’t asking for a reason. It was merely a prelude to the words that would follow.

“Because my smile looks fake?”

“Cough!”

Wooyeon coughed loudly and turned his head. He wasn’t even drinking water, but he choked on air. Cough, cough, while he coughed a few times, his pale face flushed red as if it would burst.

“Ah, not uncomfortable, but you said you disliked it, didn’t you?”

Dohyun casually patted his rounded back. When Wooyeon sprang up at the touch, he removed his hand and shrugged his shoulders. Wooyeon was still coughing and making small coughs.

“Why are you so flustered?”

“……That’s not it.”

His throat felt raspy. The coughing was so violent that tears welled up in his eyes. Dohyun, who was observing him with a relaxed gaze, subtly stretched his lips.

“Just by looking at you, you have no guts. What made you say such a thing?”

“……I’m sorry.”

Wooyeon apologized softly and sat down. He wanted to move to another seat, but students were starting to trickle in. If he caused a commotion and drew attention, then dropping out would truly be the only answer.

“It’s fine. I was joking.”

“……”

“Don’t look at me like that. I was just messing around.”

What on earth had happened in those four years? Dohyun, Wooyeon knew wasn’t someone who would act so childishly. And he certainly wasn’t someone who would beat around the bush with what he wanted to say.

“You’re really bad at controlling your expressions.”

Dohyun seemed to find the situation endlessly amusing. Wooyeon’s flustered state, his inability to make eye contact and his awkwardness, seemed to be nothing more than entertainment for him. At that, Wooyeon bristled.

“……Do you often hear that you have a bad personality?”

Though he snapped back, he furtively drank his strawberry smoothie, watching Dohyun’s reaction. It tasted like ice water with just a tiny hint of strawberry. Dohyun’s eyes widened, then he smiled faintly.

“It’s my first time as a junior.”

His expression showed that he was pleased by that fact. The corners of his eyes crinkled gently, and his well-formed lips curved into an arc. His teeth, subtly revealed, were white and even. It was a world apart from the artificial or intentionally put-on smiles.

“You must be happy to hear that for the first time.”

Wooyeon mumbled and touched his earlobe with his fingertip. Even without a mirror, he knew his face was red. This is because I choked, it’s definitely not because of the teacher. Only after brainwashing himself like that did the heat on his eyelids subside.

Fortunately, after that, Dohyun didn’t talk to him either. He didn’t stare persistently like before, nor did he laugh unnecessarily. He simply had a notebook open, twirling a pen, lost in thought. It was like the way he used to blankly wait while Wooyeon solved problems.

“Seo……”

Teacher. Wooyeon, who was about to call him that, swallowed his voice. The unspoken words were replaced by a different form.

“Senpai.”

The gracefully spinning pen clattered to the floor. Dohyun picked it up casually.

“You can call me hyung.”

His dark eyes turned towards Wooyeon. Wooyeon thought his expressionless face looked like a different person.

“You don’t seem to be used to calling me senpai. You can call me hyung.”

‘Call me teacher.’

That was the first thing Dohyun had said. To Wooyeon, who was worring about what to call him, he had spoken in a firm voice. His expression was feigned strictness, but the words that followed were warm.

‘When you become a university student, I’ll let you call me hyung.’

“……Later.”

Wooyeon became a university student and got the chance to call him hyung. It was a much closer title than teacher and student, but their relationship had grown more distant.

“Well…… whatever’s comfortable.”

See? It doesn’t matter if I call you that or not.

“So? Do you have something to say?”

“Can I ask you something?”

It was a very cautious question. Dohyun blinked as if to say, do as you please. A sense of tension arose as he calmly waited for what would follow.

“At what age did you present as an Alpha?”

That was the only hope Wooyeon had left after realizing he was an Alpha. Though rare, there were cases of people presenting as adults. He wasn’t an Alpha when he tutored him, but perhaps he presented after they parted ways. Wooyeon hadn’t given up on that possibility yet.

“Presented……”

Dohyun only lifted his eyes to look at Wooyeon. He met his light-colored eyes, and frowned as if searching his memory. From his soft lips came an even softer voice.

“Fourteen… no, was it fifteen?”

He wasn’t disappointed. He had believed it wouldn’t be the case, so he had no energy to be disheartened anew.

“I presented when everyone else did. What about you?”

“Me too, around that time……”

However, he did feel a sense of regret. That the precious memory he cherished was, in the end, merely romanticized. He felt so disappointed that all his energy drained away.

So Wooyeon, forgetting Dohyun’s presence, looked glum. As the corners of his eyes drooped, Dohyun murmured softly.

“……That’s strange.”

“What is?”

It was a reply out of politeness. Honestly, he wasn’t really listening. Dohyun slowly scrutinized Wooyeon’s face and blinked slowly.

“I thought you were pretending not to know.”

Pretending not to know? He didn’t ask that back. Dohyun, staring intently at Wooyeon’s face, asked this:

“Don’t you remember me?”