Alpha Trauma Novel (Completed) - Chapter 80. Kim Dohyun (5)

It was like a death sentence. He had never disliked Soohyang’s calls, but that day, he had a bad feeling. An ominous premonition constantly assailed him even as he finished his lecture and headed to the company.

‘Sit down there. Don’t listen while standing up.’

Soohyang neatly omitted any pleasantries. The secretary brought a cup of tea, and Dohyun looked at Soohyang instead of taking the cup. The face he saw for the first time in four years hadn’t changed much from four years ago.

‘You know why I called, don’t you?’

It was a direct question. Dohyun, who couldn’t answer for a moment, ambiguously averted his gaze. He hadn’t committed a crime, but the timing just wasn’t good.

‘Well… roughly.’

At that answer, Soohyang calmly opened her mouth.

‘Four years ago, after you left like that, Wooyeon was very sick.’

‘…Sick?’

It was the first time he had heard that. It was natural, as he had no one to tell him about her recent condition. Soohyang didn’t mind Dohyun’s surprised face.

‘They said it was a kind of lovesickness.’

Thud, his words were cut off. The Wooyeon he saw yesterday and the Wooyeon he saw four years ago flickered and overlapped. The face at the moment of their breakup was still vividly remembered.

‘He didn’t eat well and just slept like a sick chicken. It’s no wonder he got sick when he cried so much and didn’t even drink water.’

Her cold voice stabbed him mercilessly. It was clearly a monotonous tone, but listening to it made his skin tingle. Perhaps it was because Soohyang’s pheromones had settled heavily.

‘I sent him to America because I thought a change of environment might help him forget you.’

Come to think of it, that was true. Wooyeon’s goal had been to enter a foreign language high school, and there were no plans for studying abroad. There was no reason for him to suddenly leave Korea.

‘And that child came back to Korea after four years.’

‘…’

‘Tell me yourself.’

Her voice carried pheromones. A heavy atmosphere clung to his shoulders. Soohyang stared at Dohyun with chillingly cold eyes.

‘If you were me, could you keep you by my child’s side?’

Dohyun bowed his head like a guilty person. His mind was blank, and he didn’t know what to say. Even if her intention wasn’t to reprimand him, just listening like this was torture.

‘It was my mistake to put you there in the first place.’

Even though Dohyun didn’t answer, Soohyang continued. She slowly lowered her gaze and then raised it again.

‘But you were the one who ended it.’

Her clasped hands rested on the desk. Soohyang slightly pulled back her chin and spoke in a gentle tone.

‘I hope our connection doesn’t end as well.’

It was a truly roundabout expression. It was also a warning that she wouldn’t tolerate it this time. Dohyun couldn’t answer, and the conversation ended there.

The probability of reuniting after four years is very low. With that much wealth and having studied abroad, there’s no reason to specifically return to Korea. Coming to the English Literature department, and asking Yoon-woo, ‘Do you know someone named Kim Dohyun?’ – Dohyun interpreted it all as having one meaning.

But ultimately, it was a conclusion he reached alone. Wooyeon hadn’t even acknowledged him, and recently, he had even shown signs of avoiding him. Perhaps he simply wanted to put the past behind him.

After much deliberation, Dohyun decided to let go of his feelings for him. He turned his back from a distance, and pretending not to, took a different path. But on days when their classes overlapped, his gaze would endlessly be drawn to his small head from behind.

He thought he could stop now. Since Wooyeon was avoiding him, and his own feelings were still in the initial stage, he thought it would be okay. But before long, Dohyun realized that was arrogance.

It was the day he bought hamburgers for the club members to cheer them on for midterms. It also happened to be a Wednesday, the day he had a study session with Wooyeon. He regretted making such a promise, but Dohyun still reserved a study room near the school.

‘Oppa!’

‘Hyung! I missed you!’

‘I can see right through you guys.’

An unusually large number of people had gathered in the club room. Everyone was eating hamburgers and greeted Dohyun with welcoming faces. Dohyun habitually smiled and scanned the room.

‘Only when you buy food…’

Wooyeon was sitting on the sofa. His large, white hoodie made his fair face appear even whiter. Holding a hamburger with both hands and silently pouting, he was so welcome that Dohyun couldn’t take his eyes off him for a long time.

‘Oppa, what’s wrong?’

Because he was cute, and also because his stomach hurt. Because it was funny that he was having a staring contest with an innocent hamburger.

But Dohyun soon ignored Wooyeon, who was looking at him, and averted his gaze.

‘It’s nothing.’

It was just a glance. A gaze so fleeting it was embarrassing to even call it a meeting of eyes. But his quiet heart began to burn fiercely as if it had been set on fire.

Dohyun, pretending not to, took a seat farthest from Wooyeon. And still pretending not to, he secretly watched Wooyeon. The young master, who had probably never even seen fast food before, ate his hamburger, head bowed, as if forcing it down.

‘Excuse me, but I have to go.’

He clearly thought he had indigestion. His expression wasn’t good, and his complexion was pale. Having swallowed something that didn’t suit his taste, it was unlikely he would digest it properly.

‘The study room…’

‘I already reserved it.’

But Dohyun couldn’t ask if he was okay. He couldn’t offer words of concern, nor could he meet Wooyeon’s eyes. He merely feigned composure in a soft voice, as he always did.

‘There’s a spot left at the cafe in front of school. Come to the main gate after class.’

He felt a sorrowful gaze. His fresh pheromones were tinged with gloom, just like the weather. Wooyeon left the club room saying he would see him later, and Dohyun couldn’t even look at his retreating figure.

Dohyun, during his free time, was drawn to a convenience store as if possessed. Dark clouds were gathering, and it looked like it would rain any moment. He bought the digestive medicine in a glass bottle incidentally while buying an umbrella.

‘You guys go to the cafe first.’

He had been uneasy all along, and Wooyeon didn’t appear at the main gate even after the scheduled time had passed. His lecture should have ended a long time ago, but there was no contact on his phone. Dohyun sent Garam and Seongyu to the cafe and strode across the campus.

It was simply an instinctual movement. Raindrops fell, so he opened his umbrella, and he walked wherever his feet took him. ‘Global Leadership,’ the name of the lecture Wooyeon was taking, floated in his mind as if etched there.

As expected, Wooyeon was sitting on a bench near the lecture hall building. His hunched body beneath the scattered cherry blossoms looked particularly frail. One step, then another. As he approached him, his heart began to beat irregularly.

‘…I wondered why you weren’t coming.’

If asked when it started, he would want to say he didn’t know. It had permeated him without him noticing, and by the time he realized it, it was uncontrollable. He couldn’t even properly distinguish if it was from four years ago, or from the moment they met again.

‘You’ll catch a cold.’

He liked him. He liked the clear gaze that looked at him, he liked that blind affection, and he loved the clumsy and young Seon Wooyeon.

‘Tea…’

Teacher. He missed the voice that called him that. He couldn’t forget the warmth of being embraced while shedding tears. Even after all this time, Dohyun was still tamed by Wooyeon.

‘…Senior.’

That one word became a catalyst that brought him back to reality. Soohyang’s face came to mind, and the story of him being hurt by her came to mind.

‘Sometimes.’

Sometimes, a single choice dictates the future. Whether to extend a hand or withdraw it, the crossroads of their relationship was still difficult, even four years later.

‘It’s not easy.’

Wooyeon silently averted his gaze from Dohyun. He placed his hands on his knees and rested his chin on them. Raindrops slid down his slightly angled nose.

‘Should I give you a piggyback ride?’

‘…’

It was an impulsive remark. But as soon as he blurted it out, his heart leaned towards it. Giving up, ignoring, and pretending not to know—he had done enough of that four years ago.

‘I’ll take you home.’

Without hesitation, he knelt down and almost forcefully carried Wooyeon on his back. How much he had been in the rain, his thighs felt cold to his touch. Was it fortunate that the warmth of his arms around his neck was still there? He didn’t want to miss any of it—the occasional breath, the whispered voice in his ear.

‘Why are you so nice to me?’

Wooyeon’s pheromones were as fresh as if they would burst with juice if bitten. They still had a hint of youth, and that’s why they calmed his heart even more.

‘I just want to be nice to you.’

The apology was merely an excuse to hide his true feelings. The desire to re-button the first button was also a greed he couldn’t hide.

Dohyun simply didn’t want to lose this precious connection again.

‘…Then keep being nice to me.’

He didn’t want to disappoint him. He didn’t want to hurt him, make him cry, and then be abandoned. He hoped their barely connected relationship wouldn’t be ruined like it was the first time.

‘I missed you.’

The remark, wrapped in playfulness, revealed its entire content through the gaps. Joy, longing, soft affection, and an unspoken confession.

‘…That’s a relief.’

He had hurt him so much, he had struggled so much, and yet he said he missed him. But how could Dohyun not reach out to him?

That day became a turning point for both of them in different ways. Wooyeon opened his heart as he had four years ago, and Dohyun admitted that he would ultimately not be able to let him go. And that there was something he had to resolve first to do so.

‘I will make sure I don’t hurt Wooyeon.’

Soohyang didn’t kick out Dohyun, who had suddenly appeared. She merely stated, with a dry gaze, ‘I don’t trust you.’ Dohyun took a deep breath and spoke in a low voice.

‘I’m going to tell him everything.’

He had to tell the truth before it was too late. He planned to tell him everything honestly and even beg him not to abandon him. Wooyeon, who was subtly soft-hearted, might give in and let it slide.

‘That’s quite confident of you.’

Soohyang dismissed Dohyun’s courage with a single remark. A flat question was thrown at Dohyun, who had silently fallen silent.

‘Do you think Wooyeon will like you even if he knows everything?’

It was always the part he lacked confidence in. As if she knew, Soohyang lightly clicked her tongue.

‘If it’s just a clumsy romance, I have no intention of stopping it. However, whatever the outcome, you’ll have to bear the consequences.’

He didn’t know why he considered those words Soohyang’s permission. Perhaps it was because her reaction was milder than expected, or he was confident that she wouldn’t interfere.

However, her last words were as cold as frost.

‘Because I will do anything to protect my child.’