Alpha Trauma Novel (Completed) - Chapter 79. Kim Dohyun (4)

There was no time to say anything more. As soon as he heard those words, the other person turned and walked away without looking back. Her long strides made her look almost angry. Dohyun stood rooted to the spot, blankly watching the direction she disappeared.

‘Why are you so late?’

Garam couldn’t wait and approached, scolding Dohyun. Saying things like, ‘Do I have to come all the way here?’ or ‘Would it kill you to come a little earlier?’ After pouring out complaints to the point of distraction, she quickly spoke in an excited voice.

‘Hey, you saw that person just now, right? She’s a new freshman who just joined, isn’t she super cute?’

She looked young, so she must have been twenty. Her fair face and delicate features perfectly matched Garam’s taste.

‘Is she in our department?’

Dohyun asked, turning off his interest in her. No matter what her face looked like or what her pheromones were like, if she was a freshman in the same department, it was a different story. If he got involved badly, his school life would be very difficult.

‘Yeah, I told her to come to the after-party, but she said she was busy and just left. She gave off such a cold vibe, I couldn’t even talk to her.’

‘She probably doesn’t like drinking parties.’

‘Ah, damn it, but…’

‘Are you shameless? She’s a freshman.’

‘Do you think I’m trying to hit on her? I just want to bring her into the club.’

Garam even mentioned physiognomy, which she didn’t even know how to read, saying she looked very diligent. She must have liked her so much that she couldn’t hide her regret, wishing she had at least gotten her number.

‘I heard from the TA oppa that her name is pretty too.’

‘What’s her name?’

If it had just been that far, Dohyun would have just vaguely agreed and it would have ended. He thought that since they were in the same department, they would run into each other at some point and at least get to know each other’s faces.

The problem was the name that came out of Garam’s mouth.

‘Wooyeon, Seon Wooyeon.’

‘…’

His hair stood on end. His pupils dilated greatly, and his breath hitched. After the pheromones that had been flowing naturally abruptly stopped, Dohyun ran without hesitation in the direction she had disappeared.

‘Hey, where are you going! Hey, Kim Dohyun!’

It was almost like the behavior of a madman. He ran until he was out of breath, searching near the main gate as if hunting for a mouse. He grabbed several people wearing similar clothes, but unfortunately, Wooyeon was not among them.

‘…Ha.’

Opportunity always comes at unexpected moments. The unannounced encounter became a turning point in his repetitive daily life, like a turning wheel. The connection he thought he would never meet again appeared within arm’s reach.

The memories he thought he had forgotten were, in fact, things he had buried because he couldn’t bear to revisit them. Seeing himself jump out, desperate to grasp at straws, as soon as he confirmed the possibility of untangling the twisted threads.

If asked what he was thinking, he had no proper answer. He knew it was ridiculous to act this way now, after he was the one who left first. Just simple joy, or perhaps a lingering attachment beyond that. A belated regret for a relationship ruined in his youth.

One thing was certain, though: even if he desperately wanted it, it wasn’t romantic affection.

First, Dohyun decided to wait. He waited until the new semester began, waited until Wooyeon appeared before his eyes, and waited for Garam to recruit him into the club.

This time, he hoped it would start with a natural encounter, one he hadn’t intended.

‘Do you know Seon Wooyeon?’

When Yoon-woo asked that, Dohyun truly wanted to shout with joy. He hadn’t thought he was mistaken, but even the slightest lingering distrust turned into certainty.

‘She knows you. I thought she wanted to join the club, but it doesn’t seem like it. If you know her, Garam invited her to the general meeting today, so…’

He absolutely had no intention of acting rashly. Since it was a relationship he had already ruined once, he intended to approach it carefully and cautiously. If Garam hadn’t flirted with him while drunk, Dohyun wouldn’t have spoken first.

‘Oh, Wooyeon made a lot of friends, huh?’

Garam’s drinking habit had some annoying aspects. She would act friendly with anyone, regardless of who they were, and if she felt like it, she would even make physical contact. That day, her pheromone control was poor, and it was obvious that Wooyeon was very uncomfortable.

‘This unnie was just about to…’

‘Moon Garam, stop being a boomer.’

His tightly tensed shoulders were small. The way he covered his mouth with his sleeve and pressed himself against the wall was like a hedgehog with its quills fully raised. He still hated Alphas. Dohyun made sure to remember that fact.

‘She’s uncomfortable.’

Dohyun, pretending not to know anything, squeezed between Garam and Wooyeon. He blocked Garam’s pheromones with his body and poured water for Wooyeon, who had started hiccuping. Wooyeon, who had been stiff, only took the glass of water after Dohyun told him to drink.

‘…Thank you.’

His voice, now lower, was different from before. Unlike the thin, high-pitched voice of then, it was calm and mature. Four years, it had been such a long time. That fact was both a relief and a regret.

‘That’s her.’

Garam, with a flushed face from drinking, spoke rudely in front of the person concerned. ‘Didn’t I tell you?’ Dohyun, knowing it was rude, still examined Wooyeon’s face when she asked that question.

Under the dim lighting, his pale face was clear. He had lost a lot of weight, but his basic features hadn’t changed much. He still didn’t resemble Soohyang, and his shiny eyes were the same.

‘…Indeed.’

What did Garam say? That he was super cute? If one didn’t know the difference between cuteness and beauty, that statement wasn’t wrong. Dohyun had known his big eyes and prominent nose for four years already, though.

‘Can I speak informally?’

He wondered if he could talk about the past now. He thought that since it was all in the past, he could confess openly. Then, perhaps, he could be remembered as a good connection, or at least someone he had relied on at one point.

‘What’s your name?’

‘Seon Wooyeon.’

But unlike Dohyun, Wooyeon seemed to have no intention of acknowledging him. Just in case, Dohyun confirmed his name, but he pretended not to know him. The voice correcting him, saying it was ‘Seon Wooyeon’ and not ‘Seon-woo Yeon,’ sounded quite firm.

‘Ah, Wooyeon.’

What were the chances that a student he taught four years ago would come to the same university, in the same department? He heard he had studied abroad in America, but he could have easily continued his studies there.

‘It’s Wooyeon.’

If it was truly a coincidence, he wished it was an irresistible force. He would rather re-button the first button and pretend not to know him, as he wished. If they built their relationship step by step, perhaps one day Wooyeon might even call him ‘Teacher’ first.

‘…Not really.’

The fact that he smoked was unexpected, but it wasn’t particularly surprising. He also knew that he had followed him out partly because he was uncomfortable. What was truly baffling was the single remark that came from Wooyeon’s mouth.

‘I hate your smile, it seems fake.’

It was a shock. He felt a little hurt, perhaps. It was as absurd as it was surprising, and as surprising as it was perplexing.

Four years. No more, no less, exactly four years. A long enough time for Wooyeon’s appearance to change and even his voice. And now, after such a long time, Wooyeon saw his smile and called it fake.

He didn’t think it was just a casual remark. Dohyun himself was aware that his smile could be perceived as fake, so it wasn’t something he could simply brush off. However, the fact that ‘Wooyeon’ had seen through it was what made him flustered.

Dohyun had never once faked a smile in front of Wooyeon. Not four years ago, and not now. He was always sincere when dealing with him.

Perhaps that was why. That one remark sparked a stubbornness in him. Knowing it was childish, he wanted to be acknowledged that it wasn’t fake. If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t care, but he didn’t want to bear such a stigma from Wooyeon.

Fortunately, there were many opportunities to clear up the misunderstanding. Luckily, their Friday classes overlapped, and Wooyeon even joined the ‘English Classics Reading’ club. Occasionally, he would openly show discomfort, but it was cute that he couldn’t bring himself to answer when asked if he was uncomfortable.

‘…Do you often hear that you have a bad personality?’

He heard that question only twice. Once from Soohyang, and once from Wooyeon.

For several weeks, Dohyun gave Wooyeon everything he could. He helped him with course registration, helped him study, and even bought him cheap food that Soohyang would have been horrified by. The young master, who had never even opened a car door himself, loved simple chocolates and cheap tteokbokki the most.

It was a continuous stream of meaningful days. Wooyeon adapted to the club, his cheeks flushing as he touched his earlobes, and even him swearing in English when drunk—everything was enjoyable. Occasionally, his chest would tingle, but he dismissed it as mere excitement.

‘Then let’s do it at Wooyeon’s house today.’

The study session was, in fact, a rather impulsive decision. He was annoyed that Wooyeon had been avoiding him since the MT, and the Alpha who had given him a note in the library was also bothering him. He had felt it since the general meeting after-party, but Wooyeon was unnecessarily popular.

‘Is this… a model house or something…’

A penthouse with a magnificent, open view. Wooyeon there exuded a similar atmosphere to four years ago. It was better than his family home, which felt like a prison blocked by high walls, but he couldn’t shake the thought that he was an isolated loner in a high place.

‘What are you looking for?’

‘A cup. It’s a bit much to just give it to him like that.’

Dohyun was surprised that he thought of bringing out drinks, and he inwardly laughed at the fact that he didn’t even know where the cups were.

There must have been cups on the lower shelves, but it was typical of Wooyeon’s simplicity to first open the cupboards at eye level. He’ll break it if he does that. And just as he thought that, he dropped a glass.

‘Whenever I see him…’

His reflexes were surprisingly quick, even to himself. He expected it to drop, but he didn’t think he could actually catch the glass. Startled, his pheromones burst forth, and his wide eyes clearly reflected his own image.

‘He makes it impossible to take my eyes off him.’

It was about a span’s distance. During tutoring, they had been even closer. But why did that familiar distance suddenly feel so tense?

‘I, um, I… I really need to use the restroom…’

Wooyeon hastily left, but Dohyun couldn’t move from that spot for a long time. The faint lingering pheromones left a trace deep in his lungs. He felt that the reason his heart was beating fast wasn’t because he almost broke the glass.

On the way home, Dohyun organized his thoughts with all sorts of complex emotions. When he closed his eyes, Wooyeon came to mind, and his heart fluttered at the emotions he had shown. His feelings, which had gradually begun to change, finally changed their name as well.

It was romantic affection. It was attraction, and it was love.

However, without even time to be flustered by the sudden realization, Dohyun immediately sought a way to kill his feelings. It was because of a phone call he received from Driver Yoon the next day.

—‘The President wants to see you.’