Omega Complex Novel (Completed) - Chapter 14

The past week seemed to melt away. His hand stroking my head felt so good that I even had the sentimental thought that time should stop like this. The sorrow of the past week vanished without a trace.

I was foolish to think it would be better to cut off contact with Choi Taegyeom. How could I cut off a lingering attachment that I hadn’t been able to serve for five years in just one week? Without knowing how intensely the learned longing would ache.

“How many years have I known you?”

Choi Taegyeom laughed playfully and pressed down on my head. He added in a casual voice, asking if he wouldn’t know that. This time, I didn’t apologize, but he seemed to be generously letting it go. Grateful and sorry, I lightly held his hand that was on my shoulder.

“It was a slip of the tongue.”

His large hand was incredibly warm. As our fingers naturally intertwined, I felt him flinch. Unlike me, who always had cold hands and feet, he boasted a warm body even in the dead of winter. That’s why he easily got hot, and that’s why he was like a walking hot pack when he was young.

“So… mentioning the old stuff.”

I regretted my lack of eloquence. It would be nice if I could explain it more clearly. I was afraid of revealing my feelings for him if I said something wrong. At least I should have properly formed the sentence, ‘I’m sorry for mentioning your trauma.’

“No… well…”

Choi Taegyeom, uncharacteristically flustered, trailed off. The arm around my shoulder seemed to stiffen slightly. Ahem, ahem, he cleared his throat and slowly intertwined his fingers with mine.

“It’s okay. I said something wrong too.”

Our clasped hands quickly separated. I was disappointed by that, but I couldn’t show it. No, perhaps it was a relief. Otherwise, the pounding of my heart would have been transmitted through our touching hands. The lingering warmth on my fingertips tickled, fluttering in my chest.

The pub Park Sungjae found was not far from the school. It wasn’t a room-like structure, but each section had partitions, and the group seating was quite well-arranged. Even though it was early evening, the bustling interior was full of students who had just finished school, like us.

“Alright, everyone, to the club!”

The drinking session quickly heated up. The official reason was a club welcoming party, but of course, Park Sungjae was the most enthusiastic drinker. Park Sungjae twisted the caps off soju bottles as soon as he opened them, constantly led drinking games, and kept the party going. It was a good thing each table had partitions; otherwise, we would have been kicked out long ago.

And naturally, Choi Taegyeom and I didn’t participate in the drinking games. I didn’t like those games, and Choi Taegyeom didn’t like these kinds of drinking parties. Since no one would force us, as older students, to play drinking games, he and I naturally took seats in a corner.

“…The English Lit kids really know how to party.”

Choi Taegyeom, who had been observing them for a while, muttered blankly. He was still wearing the hat he’d taken from me. It was just a black hat, but perhaps because it was Choi Taegyeom, it suited him surprisingly well.

“Half of them are from other departments.”

“Still, he’s English Lit.”

Choi Taegyeom’s finger pointed in one direction. Just then, Park Sungjae, who had gotten a penalty, was chugging soju from a beer glass.

That damn bastard. If he gets drunk this time, I’m definitely abandoning him on the street.

“…But didn’t you have plans?”

Ahem, ahem, I cleared my throat and changed the subject. I didn’t particularly feel a sense of belonging to the English Literature department, but the drunken bear acting up was embarrassing. I’d definitely never tell anyone we were from the same department.

“I canceled.”

Choi Taegyeom answered in a calm voice. I thought there was no way he’d be standing at the main gate at that time, so he must have had plans after all.

“Your friends?”

“Which friends?”

“You know, the ones you had lunch with.”

I remembered the people I’d run into at the sushi restaurant recently. I couldn’t recall their faces, but I remembered that they were all roughly as tall as Choi Taegyeom. And that they had watched me and Choi Taegyeom for a long time, even while sitting at their table.

“Oh, them.”

Choi Taegyeom narrowed his eyes and slowly nodded. Even as he affirmed, he had a displeased expression. I wondered why he was making such a face, and then he continued, disgruntled. He asked why I suddenly remembered people.

“What do you take me for…”

I muttered in exasperation, but it wasn’t wrong. If they weren’t Choi Taegyeom’s friends, I wouldn’t have remembered them. They were naturally ingrained in my memory simply because I didn’t like the fact that he had friends I didn’t know. Even then, aside from the fact that there were three of them, I didn’t remember anything else.

“What do I take you for, you didn’t even know the class president’s name every year.”

I had no words to refute him. As he said, I had never memorized the class president’s name throughout my school days. During class elections, I’d just casually pick the first person to give a speech, and after they were elected, I’d just call them ‘class president.’ Since there was a designated title, I didn’t even try to memorize their names in the first place.

“In school, you only knew three people in your class: you, me, and the class president.”

“…”

“You probably don’t even remember who the vice-president was.”

Everything he said was correct. I could vaguely remember the class presidents, but as for the vice-presidents, I couldn’t even recall if they existed.

“You’re so smart, but why are you so bad at remembering faces?”

Choi Taegyeom adjusted his hat and pulled his lips into a smirk. His gently curved lips were so pretty. How does his mouth shape like that?

“Well… they just don’t catch my eye.”

I spoke slowly, my gaze fixed on his lips. A thought crossed my mind: perhaps he’d grown up seeing such beautiful things since birth that nothing else caught his eye.

“Sunbae, some water please…”

As we were having such a meaningless conversation, Kim Dohyun, who had been mixed in with the group, subtly slipped out. He had been drinking everything he was given as a freshman, and his face was a little flushed. As I poured him a glass of water and offered it, Choi Taegyeom clicked his tongue in annoyance. I pretended not to hear his muttering about whether Kim Dohyun had no hands or feet.

“Drink in moderation.”

“Thank you.”

Kim Dohyun politely thanked me and gulped down the water I offered. Phew, a sigh escaped him, indicating he must have drunk a lot. He put down the glass and picked up some snacks with his chopsticks, then stared at me.

“Sunbae, don’t you drink?”

“Not really a fan.”

Actually, my tolerance wasn’t weak. I could drink as much as others, but it was difficult to control my pheromones when I drank. It was best not to drink at all to avoid a disaster if Omega pheromones were to be released.

“Then at least join us for a drinking game. If you get caught, I’ll drink for you.”

“No, not really…”

I didn’t really want to hang out that much. I wasn’t good at it in the first place, and I didn’t have the confidence to mix with that noisy energy. Besides, there was no reason for Kim Dohyun to drink my alcohol for me. So I was going to refuse, but the answer came from Choi Taegyeom.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

It was a clear answer. Startled, I turned my head, and he took off his hat and put it on my head. Choi Taegyeom’s pheromones suddenly poured out.

“Since we’re here, we should join in.”

It was clearly something he didn’t mean. Since when was he the kind of person who adapted to the atmosphere? He had steadfastly stayed by my side, sleeping soundly, even when the kids stayed up all night talking during the school trip. I could clearly picture him scolding the noisy kids to be quiet.

“You don’t have to.”

I spoke disgruntledly and pulled at my collar. He, who was tidying my flattened hair, smiled and gently stroked my hat. His softly curving eyes were still the beautiful eye-smiles from his childhood.

“I want to.”

“…”

It had been like this since I was very young. When he smiled like that, and spoke like that, I couldn’t refuse anything he said. What could I do? Choi Taegyeom wanted to. I should just let him do what he wanted.

“Yoonwoo hyung too? Oh, Taegyeom sunbae too?”

Park Sungjae seemed simply happy that the number of people had increased. I could guarantee that he would have readily made space even if it was someone he didn’t know.

I was quite reluctant, but if it didn’t work out, I was truly going to dump all the penalty shots on Kim Dohyun.

“Then Taegyeom sunbae’s! Favorite! Random! Game!”

Things progressed smoothly. Park Sungjae moved his arms in a circle and immediately started the game, and the one to start the game was Choi Taegyeom.

It was at that moment that Choi Taegyeom made a meaningful expression.

“Oh, this is fun. This is exciting.”

With a familiar line, the quick-witted guys picked up their chopsticks and matched the rhythm. Choi Taegyeom’s voice had no intonation, but it was enough to understand what game it was. It was a game where you pointed at someone with chopsticks, counted numbers along the chopsticks, and the person pointed at when the caller shouted a number had to drink.

“The Game of Death!”

Chopsticks crossed in the air. I pointed at Park Sungjae, and Choi Taegyeom pointed at Kim Dohyun. It didn’t matter who else pointed at whom. Choi Taegyeom curled his lips and said:

“One.”

Kim Dohyun’s eyes widened. Choi Taegyeom dangled his chopsticks and grinned at the boy, who was flapping his lips in confusion.

“Drink.”

That was the beginning.

Choi Taegyeom made them drink in various ways. No matter what game came up, he precisely targeted Kim Dohyun, and he pushed him as much as he could without ruining the atmosphere. At first, the others were subtly watching, but once Kim Dohyun readily drank, they quickly joined in the teasing.

Of course, Kim Dohyun didn’t just take it. Although he couldn’t openly shout ‘one’ like Choi Taegyeom, he would bring out games he was confident in and make Choi Taegyeom drink a few times. While they emptied four or five bottles of soju, I couldn’t even properly participate in the game.

“…Let’s make a bomb shot.”

How many glasses had he drunk? Then, Kim Dohyun put down his soju glass and spoke with slightly unfocused eyes. No matter how strong his tolerance, he must have gotten tipsy after drinking so much in such a short time.

“If you can’t drink it, don’t force yourself.”

In contrast, Choi Taegyeom even had the余裕 to smile and refill his empty glass. He seemed to be playing the role of a kind senior, but to me, he just looked like a cunning snake coiled up. Wasn’t Choi Taegyeom the one who started this whole thing in the first place?

Well, it wasn’t my place to interfere. Everyone was an adult, so they’d adjusted themselves enough not to die. It would be a problem if they got too drunk to go home, but that could be thought about after the drinking party ended.

However, Choi Taegyeom getting drunk was a slightly different matter.

“You drink in moderation too.”

Worried, I subtly offered him water. I felt Kim Dohyun watching me. Instead of taking the water, Choi Taegyeom slowly leaned his cheek on my shoulder. And then, peeking, he lifted his gaze and let out a laugh.

“Do I seem drunk?”

“…”

The body heat touching my shoulder was hot. My face flushed with his languid smile. His warm cheek seemed similar to last time, when he drank. He seemed surprisingly fine then, so I probably didn’t need to worry yet, but his smiling eyes made me feel uneasy.

So, to check his temperature, I placed my hand on his cheek like last time. As I gently stroked his soft skin, Choi Taegyeom’s pheromones thickened even more. Under the pub lights, his face seemed to be flushed red. Perhaps he was even more drunk than last time.

“Your face…”

It was red, I couldn’t say that. Thump! Park Sungjae had put down his beer glass.

“If you get caught this time, you’re screwed!”

When I turned my gaze, I saw the beer glass placed in the middle of the table. The 500cc glass was full of a yellowish liquid. It looked like beer, but it probably wasn’t just beer. No, to be precise, it wouldn’t be only beer.

“Who mixed it in such a ridiculous glass?”

Forgetting my concern for Choi Taegyeom, I frowned deeply. I scolded Park Sungjae, asking if he’d finally gone crazy, but he didn’t listen. He was already completely drunk, truly out of his mind. Who on earth would drink that?

“The youngest wanted to make it, so we have to make it!”

Kim Dohyun, who had somehow settled into the youngest position, smiled awkwardly. He had suggested making a bomb shot, but he probably didn’t expect such a monstrous drink. It was the price of thinking too little, not knowing what kind of person Park Sungjae was.

“That…”

“Alright, Dohyun’s! Favorite! Random! Game!”

Before Kim Dohyun could speak, Park Sungjae forced the game to start. A death match with an enormous bomb shot at stake. Kim Dohyun glanced at me and stood up.

“Eye-contact game 1.”

A wise decision. After all, it was a game where the person who started could never get caught.

“2!”

The numbers went up quickly. 3, 4, 5… As the numbers went up one by one, I just watched them blankly. In an eye-contact game, if you stay still, you at least avoid the penalty. Choi Taegyeom seemed to think similarly and remained seated.

“8!”

The eighth club member to stand up let out a sigh of relief. In contrast, a worried sigh was heard.

“I knew this would happen.”

Choi Taegyeom’s muttering was clear. I blinked my eyes open, and all eyes around us were on us. I looked at Choi Taegyeom, who was still sitting, then at the guys who were all standing, and raised an eyebrow.

“…Are there ten of us, by any chance?”

Minjeong, who was nearby, burst out laughing. She also said, ‘Oppa, get up instead of doing that.’

It was unbelievable. How could an eye-contact game go all the way to the end when ten people were gathered? My jaw dropped in disbelief.

“Alright, alright, if you don’t say 9, it’s a bomb shot!”

Park Sungjae shouted, but I couldn’t stand up. If I stood up, Choi Taegyeom would get caught, and then he would have to drink that bomb shot. Wouldn’t it be better for me, who was perfectly sober, to drink it than him, who was already tipsy?