Omega Complex Novel (Completed) - Chapter 12

It was hard to believe. Who would join a club that was on the verge of disbanding every year, just to see me? Besides, I hadn’t had any contact with freshmen since the freshman welcoming party.

Park Sungjae complained, still lying down. He mumbled about how it was already ruined so what did it matter who it was, and if he told me, would I join the club? I was about to tell him to forget it if he didn’t want to tell me, but at the same time, Park Sungjae opened his mouth.

“Kim Dohyun.”

It was a random name. No, since it was the only name I knew among the freshmen, perhaps it was less surprising.

“Why him?”

“He probably wants to get close to you, Hyung.”

Park Sungjae’s voice was calm. He waved his hand in the air, adding an explanation.

“You know, the day we had the freshman welcoming party. The seniors kept making Kim Dohyun drink a lot because he was handsome, but you took him to your side and didn’t let them, right?”

“……Did I?”

“Hyung doesn’t remember again.”

I slowly tried to recall, but the details didn’t come to mind. On the day of the freshman welcoming party, most of my memories were hazy due to the shock of meeting Choi Taegyeom. It felt like it might have happened, or not. I did make Kim Dohyun sit next to me, but it wasn’t to protect him.

“There are many people who like you, Hyung.”

Park Sungjae sat up and suddenly spoke with a serious expression. At that, I involuntarily let out a chuckle. His serious expression was so amusing.

“Huh? You don’t believe me?”

It wasn’t a matter of believing or not. Choi Taegyeom and Park Sungjae, how did they know about my popularity, which I didn’t even know about? Did it make sense that they knew who liked me, but the person I liked didn’t?

“You’ve received a lot of confessions, Hyung.”

“I’ve never received one.”

“What? Really?”

I nodded in affirmation. In elementary school, middle school, high school. And even after coming to college, I had never once received a confession from anyone. Though I had seen Choi Taegyeom receive many confessions.

“Dating? Have you ever dated?”

“I’m sorry, but I’ve never dated anyone.”

Park Sungjae looked at me with wildly shaking eyes. He looked flustered, as if it couldn’t be true. Well, I guess it might be a bit surprising to have never dated anyone at twenty-five.

“Wow… No way.”

Park Sungjae, covering his mouth, muttered, wondering what was so surprising. His gaze wasn’t unpleasant, so I just waited for him to continue. Park Sungjae let out a gasp and opened his mouth.

“Minjeong likes you too, Hyung.”

“You’re being rude to Minjeong.”

“Ah.”

There was a brief silence. He looked away as if he had made a mistake, then cleared his throat. I didn’t intend to point it out, so I pretended not to notice and took the drink Park Sungjae had given me. Park Sungjae didn’t miss the opportunity and cut in.

“If you drink that, you’re joining the club.”

“You’re talking nonsense again.”

Instead of opening the can, I lightly tapped Park Sungjae’s head. He let out a wail and collapsed onto the table again. His intermittent twitching suggested he was probably feeling bitter at the thought of losing two people (Kim Dohyun and me) at once.

Whoosh, I let out a deep sigh. That club, there was only about a year left, so why was he so enthusiastic? Well, he had built something up since his first year, so it would be hard to give up easily.

“How many members are you short?”

I asked, opening the can with a hiss. At that, Park Sungjae sprang up. His sparkling gaze was utterly burdensome.

“Three. If you join, Kim Dohyun will join too, so then one.”

“You really don’t have to participate in club activities, right?”

“Yeah, you don’t have to. You don’t even have to attend. I’ll take care of everything.”

Park Sungjae didn’t miss the chance. He even gestured with both hands, urging me to drink the beverage. ‘He’s like a meerkat,’ I thought to myself and took a sip of the drink. The apple-flavored drink was too sweet for my taste.

“I love you, Hyung… You’re the best, Hyung. I really think I’m going to fall for you.”

Park Sungjae grabbed my hand, his eyes glistening. His appearance was a bit repulsive, so I pulled my hand away as naturally as possible. Park Sungjae let go without much resistance and pretended to wipe away tears.

“Where are you going to find the last person?”

“Ah, about that.”

A shadow quickly fell over his face. Park Sungjae glanced at me nervously, then hesitated, twiddling his fingertips.

“Well, you see…”

I had a bad feeling. The fact that he, who usually didn’t beat around the bush, was doing this was a sign that he was about to say something difficult. It was probably a request even harder to grant than joining the club.

“……Perhaps Senior Choi Taegyeom isn’t interested in clubs?”

I wanted to spit out the drink I had just consumed. As I carefully put the can down, a look of despair crossed Park Sungjae’s face. I tried to calm my stifling feelings and fiddled with the brim of the hat I was wearing for no reason.

“He probably isn’t interested in clubs.”

The worry I had forgotten resurfaced. Choi Taegyeom telling me not to hang out with Kim Dohyun, me getting angry at him, us not seeing each other for a week, and me still not having apologized.

It’s strange how fickle people are; it was fine not seeing him for five years, but after just one week, I miss him. I wanted to see his face, talk to him, and walk around campus normally. Forget drifting apart, I’m dying of thirst from not seeing him right now.

“What would management use English classics reading for?”

“He might like Shakespeare.”

“Hardly.”

This time, Park Sungjae didn’t pester either. Seeing him give up so easily, it seemed he hadn’t had high hopes from the start. He did mumble that if that senior joined, they wouldn’t have to worry about numbers, but that was just a simple regret.

“Hyung, then how about the club welcome party tonight?”

Park Sungjae made a gesture of holding a drink and clicked his tongue. He was already excited, a wide grin on his face. It seemed the reason for the club was to legally drink alcohol.

“You have a welcome party for ghost members too?”

“Of course, it’s you, Hyung, of all people!”

Park Sungjae quickly pulled out his phone and started making calls. Most were people from our department, with a few unfamiliar names mixed in. Among them, he paused at a contact named ‘Kim Dohyun, English Language and Literature’.

“I should call Kim Dohyun too. Tell him you’re joining.”

A slight sense of guilt arose. Choi Taegyeom wouldn’t like it… I tried to shake off that thought. Even though we hadn’t reconciled, there was no reason to deliberately avoid Kim Dohyun when I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“I’m not going to attend. Don’t forget.”

I added, just in case, but Park Sungjae waved his hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Once you join, what’s he going to do? Surely he won’t quit just because he can’t meet you? I’ll just say you have to do at least one activity to withdraw.”

Good heavens, he was nothing short of a con artist. What did he say earlier, a cult? No, he was closer to a multi-level marketer.

Park Sungjae seemed to have finished all his calls and put his phone away. Then he started gathering his things, saying his next class was coming up soon. I checked the time and realized my next class would also start soon.

“Then see you at the main gate at 7!”

Park Sungjae left the department office without waiting for my goodbye. It seemed he had spent a lot of time persuading me. As the boisterous guy left, silence instantly descended.

Feeling empty, I pulled out my phone, but again, I couldn’t contact Choi Taegyeom. I had neither the courage to apologize nor the shamelessness to casually talk to him. And I had no confidence that I would handle the same situation more calmly if it happened again. So, in the end, I could only run away again.

Whoosh, I let out a deep sigh and put my phone away. Main gate at 7. Kim Dohyun, whom Choi Taegyeom told me not to hang out with, would also be there.

My chest felt stifled again.

More people than expected had gathered in front of the main gate. They said the club was on the verge of disbanding, but did the minimum number of members really used to be ten? As soon as he spotted me, Park Sungjae raised one hand high and called out loudly.

“Yoonwoo Hyung!”

Minjeong was also next to Park Sungjae. Park Sungjae and Kim Minjeong. With these two, who wouldn’t let go until the very end, today’s drinking session would be very long. It was a relief that I didn’t have classes tomorrow.

“Hello, Senior.”

Among the familiar faces, Kim Dohyun was naturally there. Kim Dohyun, whom I hadn’t seen in a week, just like Choi Taegyeom, greeted me with a bow as if he had completely forgotten what I had left behind that day.

“Oh, hi.”

Awkwardness lingered at the end of my greeting. Even when I tried not to think about it, Choi Taegyeom’s words kept coming back to me. Not that Kim Dohyun liked me, but how he would feel seeing it. If he knew I was going out for drinks with them, he would probably make that displeased face again.

“Hyung, where should we go? Should we go to the place where we had the freshman welcome party?”

While I adjusted my hat, Park Sungjae busily gathered opinions. The reason was that the pub they had planned to go to was closed today. As for me, I didn’t really care where we went, since I would only eat a little of the snacks anyway.

“Just anywhere……”

So I answered half-heartedly, putting my hands in my pockets. I subtly turned my head away, feeling the burden of Kim Dohyun’s gaze following me above my hat. Fortunately, Kim Dohyun’s gaze quickly moved away, but the problem arose elsewhere.

“……”

Our eyes met. Thump, my chest felt heavy as if my heart was sinking. I was so flustered that I forgot I was in the middle of answering. My mind went blank, and I didn’t even feel Park Sungjae grabbing me.

“Hyung?”

Why, of all places, was he here? His lecture should have ended by seven. Had he failed course registration, or did he have an appointment? His gaze, meeting mine in mid-air, flickered as if it would devour me.

“What’s over there… Oh? It’s Senior Choi Taegyeom?”

Choi Taegyeom was standing not too far away. Dressed in a business administration jacket and with a bag slung over his shoulder, he stared at me unblinkingly. If it weren’t for his hair swaying in the wind, it would have looked like a still frame. His face, which I hadn’t seen in a week, and his pheromones carried on the wind, all of it felt unreal.

“Aren’t you going to say hello?”

I didn’t have the room to answer Kim Dohyun’s question.