By Zephyria 
“…….”
Нis mind wаs slow to retriеvе the memоry. Or реrhарs, sееing as he hаd bееn transpоrted back fоur yеars in аn instant, it wаs toо fаst. Wоo-yеon swаllowed hard, trуing his best not to shоw his flustered statе.
“What dо уou mean by……”
Hе seemed аt а lоss fоr wоrds. His heаrt sank, аnd his рupils dilatеd. Нis mind, already gоne blаnk, сouldn’t find the right wоrds tо sау. Dоn’t I remеmbеr? Remеmber what, exactlу?
“Why, last timе.”
Do-hyun rеmained indifferеnt throughоut. Even knоwing thаt Woo-уeon wаs pаniсked, hе shоwed nо сourtеsу bу pausing.
“Wе rаn into еасh оther near the main gate.”
The main gate.
“…….”
……The main gate?
“……That.”
Woo-yeon’s eyes darted around. He opened the conversation vaguely while carefully retracing his memories. If it was the main gate, it certainly wasn’t the four years ago that Woo-yeon had been thinking of.
“How…… do you remember that?”
A bewildered gaze turned toward Do-hyun. Woo-yeon calmed his racing heart and let out a hollow laugh. His heart, which had been pounding wildly, began to beat normally again.
‘That scared me.’
They had simply passed each other. Although Woo-yeon had spoken to him, it had been only for a brief moment. It wasn’t even something that happened yesterday; more than fifteen days had already passed, so it was surprising that he remembered.
“I’ve always been good at remembering people. And when someone looks like you, it’s harder not to remember.”
Do-hyun spoke as if Woo-yeon were the strange one. Adding that he had eyes too, his voice carried a hint of absurdity. Feeling needlessly prickly, Woo-yeon glared at Do-hyun.
“What’s so special about how I look?”
“…….”
Do-hyun’s brow furrowed. He opened and closed his lips a few times before letting out a short sigh. For some reason, it felt as if he had lost the will to fight.
“……Anyway.”
A breathy voice brought the topic to a close. Woo-yeon secretly breathed a sigh of relief as a wave of comfort washed over him. Then, suddenly, he questioned the emotions he was feeling.
The fact that he had received tutoring from him wasn’t exactly a secret. He just hadn’t mentioned it because it probably wasn’t important to Do-hyun. Even if he were found out right now, it wouldn’t be a big problem. In the first place, the premise of being ‘found out’ was strange.
“If you said you didn’t know, I was planning to just let it go. It’s not a particularly important matter, and it would be funny to pretend I know.”
It was exactly as he said. Woo-yeon had planned to just let it go if Do-hyun didn’t know. Woo-yeon’s position as a ‘passing Hubae’ was enough. Not Hubae 1, not Hubae 2, but just a moderate Hubae 3.
“But why bring up the Alpha thing, Woo-yeon?”
As if telling him to focus, Do-hyun tapped the desk. Woo-yeon snapped back to attention and followed Do-hyun’s fingertips. The nails touching the desk were round and neat.
“It makes me feel like I have to ask.”
Suddenly, an ominous feeling washed over him. Do-hyun’s voice was very sweet, but Woo-yeon felt an instinctive sense of crisis. That feeling intensified the moment a persistent gaze took on a peculiar glint.
“Why did you ask me if I was an Alpha?”
‘I’m screwed.’
The thought filling his head paralyzed his reasoning. Now was not the time to relax and let his guard down. He should have quickly changed the subject while Do-hyun was smiling with a kind face. While Woo-yeon broke into a cold sweat, eyes curved like crescent moons urged him once more.
“Hm? Woo-yeon.”
* * *
Luckily, Woo-yeon was able to avoid answering. This was because the professor entered the classroom shortly after. The professor, who called roll as soon as he arrived, turned on the PPT and conducted an enthusiastic orientation from the very first class. For the first time in his life, Woo-yeon prayed fervently that the class would never end.
“Alright, let’s stop here for today.”
The moment the professor spoke, Woo-yeon closed his notebook and stood up. He had to get out of this classroom as quickly as possible. However, a tall shadow blocked his path first.
“…….”
Woo-yeon looked back and forth between the empty chair and the person standing beside him. He had clearly hung his bag on the back of the chair, but it was now in Do-hyun’s hand. Do-hyun placed the bag on the desk and smiled warmly.
“Pack your things. Let’s go have lunch.”
The hand holding the notebook flinched. Woo-yeon looked up to refuse, but Do-hyun snatched the notebook from his hand as well.
“Class ended early, so you have an hour free.”
An hour, my foot. There was enough of a gap before the next lecture that he could have eaten a full course meal. He hadn’t been calling his timetable a disaster for nothing.
“I’ll buy you something delicious.”
Do-hyun smiled softly. It was a fake smile he had just conjured up. Woo-yeon gripped his hostage bag and spoke resolutely.
“I don’t really feel like eating,”
“Eat anyway.”
“…….”
The first excuse was ruthlessly crushed. It was even followed by the persecution of, ‘That’s why you’re so skinny.’ This was the first time since he was born that Woo-yeon had been told he was skinny.
“I’m not that hungry.”
“I am.”
“It’s not time for lunch yet.”
“You didn’t eat breakfast.”
“I said I was waiting for a friend.”
“Kwon Seon-gyu has a free period today, doesn’t he?”
“……How do you know that?”
This time, it was Do-hyun who was surprised. Do-hyun stopped talking and blinked.
“He really has a free period? I just took a guess.”
Speechless, Woo-yeon slowly let go of the bag strap. A victor’s smile appeared on Do-hyun’s face. Only then did he pack his own bag and soften his voice.
“You’re coming, right?”
The club room, which had been locked with a key, was filled with the cold air of late winter. As Woo-yeon shivered and zipped up his padding jacket, Do-hyun put down the hostage and turned on the heater. The heater whirred and slowly breathed out cold air.
“Sit wherever you’re comfortable.”
Two sofas and a cot. Woo-yeon sat on the sofa closest to the entrance. Glancing at him, Do-hyun took off his coat and handed it over the sofa.
“It’ll take a while for the warm air to come out. If you’re too cold, cover yourself with this.”
Before he could even say thank you, Do-hyun went to the cabinet in the corner. Because he had given his outer coat to Woo-yeon, he himself was only wearing a thin knit sweater.
‘This is why I liked him.’
Do-hyun probably would have given his coat to anyone who was cold. At least, that was the Do-hyun Woo-yeon knew. If he were sixteen-year-old Woo-yeon, his heart would have fluttered, but he didn’t deceive himself anymore.
“……I guess you don’t feel the cold much.”
He hadn’t intended to speak so sharply. Glancing at Woo-yeon, Do-hyun opened the cabinet nonchalantly. Fortunately, he didn’t seem offended.
“I feel it as much as anyone else.”
Woo-yeon touched his ears and covered himself with the coat. The oversized coat faintly smelled of pheromones. Rather than being overwhelming, it was comforting; rather than being clingy, it was dry. It was fragrant and subtle, attractive even to Woo-yeon, who disliked Alphas.
‘He must be popular.’
Typical Alphas and Omegas determine first impressions through pheromones. Do-hyun, being an Alpha, would likely sense pheromones first when seeing an Omega. If his pheromones were as much like him as this, his already immense popularity would probably skyrocket.
Thinking up to that point, Woo-yeon felt a sense of incongruity and narrowed his eyes. Something strange flickered in his mind, almost within reach. However, that thought was erased when Do-hyun sat opposite him and asked a question.
“Exactly when is your next class?”
He was holding a pen and a sheet of paper. Looking at the paper that read ‘Club Application Form,’ Woo-yeon answered softly.
“5 o’clock.”
Thud, the movement stopped. Frowning with his left eye, Do-hyun tilted his head silently. Question marks filled his dark eyes.
“Don’t tell me you mean 5 PM?”
“I doubt it’s 5 AM.”
“Hah.”
Already accustomed to such reactions, Woo-yeon took out his phone and showed him the timetable. After scanning the list slowly, Do-hyun asked in a bewildered voice.
“Exactly what did you do to end up with a timetable like that?”
What did I do? I tossed and turned all night without a wink of sleep, missed the time, and clicked the wrong things. And the cause of that was the Kim Do-hyun he had happened to meet.
“The add/drop period is still open, so try begging the professors. I’m sure they don’t want a Freshman to drop out.”
“The Teaching Assistant already looked at my timetable, but it seems everyone is busy since it’s the start of the semester, so the professors aren’t in their offices.”
“You have to keep going until they are. Send an email, or keep waiting in front of the office. No, wait, did you actually attend all the classes you intend to drop without any strategy?”
“…….”
“……Sigh.”
Do-hyun pressed his hand to his forehead. To the comment about whether he was stupid or just too diligent, Woo-yeon replied calmly.
“I am stupid.”
“……Sorry, that was a slip of the tongue. How did someone stupid get into our school?”
It’s true, though. Such words didn’t work. Do-hyun waved his hand and held out the pen to Woo-yeon.
“Let’s just fill this out. You said you were joining the club.”
Woo-yeon hesitantly reached his hand out from under the coat. At the sight of him looking like a silkworm cocoon, Do-hyun let out a soft laugh.
“Are you still cold?”
Belatedly, Woo-yeon realized that the interior had already become warm. The surrounding air was cozy enough that he wouldn’t be cold even if he pushed the coat aside and took off his padding. Whether he knew Woo-yeon was embarrassed or not, Do-hyun covered his mouth and suppressed a laugh.
“You can keep it on if you want.”
“……No, thank you. The coat is warm.”
Because heat was rising inside him, Woo-yeon even stripped off his padding jacket. Just as Do-hyun, who was about to put the returned coat back on, paused. His blank gaze looked back and forth between the coat and Woo-yeon.
“Is something on it?”
Did it drag on the floor? Thinking so, Woo-yeon stood up. He had been covering himself quietly, but since the coat was so long, it was entirely possible. Do-hyun stared at the coat and muttered.
“Something did get on it.”
“Ah…… I should have been more careful.”
Woo-yeon reached out with an apologetic face. Just as he was about to say he was sorry and offer to pay for the dry cleaning, Do-hyun folded the coat and set it aside. Then, he placed the pen in the hand Woo-yeon had extended.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”
The moment their fingers touched, Woo-yeon reflexively pushed Do-hyun away. Startled, Do-hyun stopped his movement with a stiff expression. The pen that had been dropped went De-gururu.
“I’m…… I’m sorry.”
This was already the second apology. Woo-yeon clenched his withdrawn hand and hurriedly added an excuse.
“I didn’t do it on purpose……”
The finger that had touched Do-hyun felt searingly hot. Even though they hadn’t interlaced fingers, his face flushed bright red. His throat felt ticklish and turbulent, as if pheromones were about to leak out.
“Sorry, I guess you were surprised.”
To make sure he wasn’t embarrassed, Do-hyun retrieved the rolling pen. This time, instead of placing it in his hand, he set it down in front of him. Watching this, Woo-yeon belatedly realized the identity of the incongruity he had felt earlier.
“It’s fine, so sit down.”
He couldn’t feel any pheromones. Not during their first meeting, nor from the coat. The pheromones that had been clearly felt were not present from Do-hyun himself. Like a Beta, he seemed to be merely a person who had traces of them on him.