By Zephyria 
Wоo-yeоn rеcallеd the memоrу оf gоing tо lunсh with Do-hyun. Dо-hуun hаd opеned the pаssengеr doоr for him withоut a sесоnd thought and еven triеd to fasten his sеatbelt. Whethеr they werе heаding tо the restaurant or rеturning to schoоl frоm thе саfe, Woо-yеоn had naturаllу sat in the passеnger sеаt.
“Why doеs hе hаtе thаt?”
“Hе’s just рlaуing hard to get. That crаzy bastаrd.”
Ga-ram lаy sprawlеd out likе a cарital ‘I’, breаthing heavilу. Thе sеniors, sееmingly usеd tо Ga-rаm’s аntiсs, naturallу gаtherеd thеir things аnd hеaded inside. Among them was the returning student who had been hitting on Woo-yeon earlier.
“Oh, Jin-sang Seonbae! Were you causing a scene again today?”
“Hey, cut it… what do you take me for?”
“What do I take you for? A nuisance, obviously. Our very own Kim Jin-sang Seonbae.”
Ga-ram raised one hand and flicked her fingers. When the returning student looked openly displeased, she gave a smirk, claiming it was just a joke. However, the way she bared her teeth in that smile didn’t look like a joke at all.
“Nuisance bastard.”
As expected, as soon as he went inside and out of sight, Ga-ram wore a look of disgust. She even gave him the middle finger behind his back, appearing to genuinely dislike him.
“Be careful around that guy. He’s a real piece of work.”
Woo-yeon didn’t bother denying it and agreed. At the confident remark that he had expected as much, Ga-ram frowned sharply.
“Later on, try not to drink too much if possible…”
Ga-ram added a string of worried advice. To stay with other people as much as possible, and to ignore that guy if he tried to talk to him. Because the words were filled with sincere concern, Woo-yeon couldn’t ask any more about Do-hyun and the passenger seat.
* * *
Following the natural course of events, a barbecue party was held in the afternoon. The meat brought by the late arrivals was cheap but plentiful, and while not expensive cuts, it was fresh. While most people were hurriedly devouring the meat, Woo-yeon didn’t eat a single bite and instead watched Do-hyun.
“Seon-kyu, take more meat. It’s all cooked.”
Bumpy veins were visible on his half-rolled-up forearms. Even though it was something simple, the sight of him wearing work gloves and holding tongs was cool. His upper body, glimpsed through the black T-shirt, was broad, straight, and solid.
“Hyung, you should eat some too.”
“I’m fine, keep eating.”
Woo-yeon held a paper cup to his lips and gnawed on the edge. The meat didn’t suit his taste, and his mind kept drifting toward Do-hyun. His mood kept twisting, but he couldn’t tell if the cause was the former or the latter.
Meanwhile, those whose stomachs were starting to get full began to show interest in Do-hyun. Their actions, hovering around him, weren’t simply because of the meat; their intentions were clear. Someone brought him a drink, someone touched his arm. Finally, seeing someone feed him a piece of meat, Woo-yeon whipped his head away.
“….”
The problem was that the returning student was sitting exactly where he turned his head. As the saying goes, avoiding one mess only to step in another, the returning student—who had already started a drinking party—smiled slyly when his eyes met Woo-yeon’s.
“Woo-yeon, want some alcohol? Want a somaek?”
Before he could even answer, the man mixed the drink aggressively. He poured in a torrent of soju and only a tiny drop of beer before handing it to Woo-yeon. Without even thinking of taking the paper cup, Woo-yeon reflexively frowned.
“Here, bottoms up, bottoms up!”
Setting aside the ratio of soju to beer, he didn’t want to drink alcohol tainted with pheromones. If he downed that, he’d probably vomit everything up since he hadn’t eaten anything. His stomach, already nauseated by the smell of meat, felt like it was twisting further.
“What’s this? Your Seonbae is giving it to you and you won’t even take it.”
The returning student pressed the paper cup forward with a displeased face. Was his name Kim Jin-sang? They say people live up to their names, and there was no bigger nuisance than this one. He should have known the moment the guy insisted on driving his own car to the MT despite not being in the eligible year.
“I’m not very good with alcohol.”
Woo-yeon suppressed his temper for a moment. Since Kim Jin-sang’s voice was already so loud, he didn’t want to cause a scene himself. If a problem arose now, tonight would be extremely grueling.
“Ah, our Woo-yeon can’t drink? That won’t do.”
Fortunately, the reaction wasn’t bad. He didn’t like the term ‘our Woo-yeon,’ but it was better than being forced to drink out of spite. Just as Woo-yeon was about to relax, the returning student grinned widely.
“How about Hyung becomes your Black Knight instead?”
It was practically a forced proposition. To offer the drink himself and then offer to be the Black Knight. A senior nearby also looked bewildered and tried to stop the returning student.
“Oppa, what are you doing? It’s not like he lost a drinking game, why a Black Knight?”
“How can you compare this to a drinking game? This is a drink given by a high-and-mighty Seonbae.”
“No, but still…”
“Why, do you want to drink it too?”
The senior backed away with a troubled expression. While she felt bad for Woo-yeon, she didn’t want to become a target herself. If Ga-ram had been there, she would have openly interfered, but unfortunately, she had been knocked out by motion sickness long ago. She was probably sprawled out sleeping in a corner of the pension right now.
“You know, right? If someone is a Black Knight, you have to grant them a wish.”
The senior lowered his voice suggestively. He worked hard to release his pheromones, but since he was a recessive, it had no effect on Woo-yeon. However, the fact that he had to blatantly feel those pheromones was unpleasant.
‘Alphas are always like this…’
The Alphas who showed interest in Woo-yeon were always the same. They would show off their pheromones and subtly increase the amount to flaunt their ‘Alpha-ness.’ Not knowing how pathetic that looked to a Dominant Omega like Woo-yeon, they were only preoccupied with marking their territory like animals.
“I’ll just drink it.”
Woo-yeon furrowed his brow in annoyance and reached out his hand. Wish or not, he didn’t want to provide a pretext or an excuse. He’d just drink this one glass and pretend to be drunk to ignore him. It was the moment he reached for the paper cup.
“…?”
The paper cup was snatched away from his hand. Before he could even check who it was, a wave of pheromones rushed in. It was the pheromone of a Dominant Alpha—dry and refreshing.
“Oh…”
The pheromones, as crisp as an autumn breeze, shifted the atmosphere. Woo-yeon’s eyes widened as he watched the other man’s Adam’s apple move. Gulp, gulp—emptying the contents in just two swallows, Do-hyun casually crushed the paper cup. Then, covering his mouth, he muttered as if talking to himself.
“Ah, it was alcohol.”
Before they knew it, the area was filled only with Do-hyun’s pheromones. It was an overwhelming presence, to the point where the returning student’s pheromones could no longer be felt. Do-hyun shifted his gaze to the returning student and curved his eyes in a friendly smile.
“And here I thought it was barley tea, based on the color.”
The returning student’s face contorted. Do-hyun turned his head away as if ignoring him and set down a plate of meat with his gloved hand.
“Please eat the meat. This is the last of it.”
Because he had been in front of the fire the whole time, a hot heat radiated from his body. Do-hyun was smiling, but the table fell deathly silent. He started to turn away, then paused to let out a small exclamation.
“Seonbae, you should learn how to mix somaek properly.”
His voice was incredibly soft. It was an apprehensive tone, as if he were truly giving advice. He continued to speak gently with a friendly face.
“I only drank it because I was thirsty; otherwise, I would have spat it out.”
“Hey, you… the way you talk…”
The returning student slammed the table in a fit of rage. His thick palm made a loud thud. It was threatening enough, but Do-hyun simply placed the crushed paper cup in front of the returning student and pulled the corners of his lips.
“I’m joking. How could I possibly spit out a drink given by a high-and-mighty Seonbae?”
Which meant that the other parts were not a joke. At that moment, Woo-yeon couldn’t hold it back and burst out laughing. At the sound of his snicker, the returning student’s gaze snapped to him. Woo-yeon didn’t mind at all and asked brightly:
“Is this also being a Black Knight?”
* * *
After the barbecue party, a short period of free time was given. It was time to prepare various things before the real drinking began. In reality, it was time for the nuisance returning student to smoke, but regardless, it didn’t matter.
“That actually happened?”
Seon-kyu said he hadn’t seen what happened outside earlier. It was because he had stepped away for a moment due to a stomachache. A classmate, explaining the situation on Woo-yeon’s behalf, continued the story with an excited face.
“But he said it with such a pure face. ‘Is this also being a Black Knight?’”
“Puhaha! Seon Woo-yeon actually has some bite!”
Seon-kyu laughed loudly and slapped Woo-yeon’s back. It didn’t hurt; it was just noisy. Woo-yeon replied indifferently while hugging his knees.
“Why, it’s true. He said it himself.”
“So what did the nuisance Seonbae say?”
“What could he say? His face turned bright red and he went to smoke. He still hasn’t come back.”
The classmate giggled mockingly. He was the one who had watched the whole incident with the returning student while silently reading the room. Not only him, but the other high-year seniors couldn’t bring themselves to stop the returning student. Except for one person.
“Seriously, Do-hyun Seonbae was so satisfying. I thought he was just handsome, but wow, his personality is even better.”
“I joined the club because of Do-hyun Hyung. He’s seriously my role model.”
Woo-yeon silently rested his chin on his knees. Then, Seon-kyu called him a slug and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head. Because his head was so small, half of his face was covered by the hood.
“You guys over there badmouthing the Seonbae.”
A swaggering tone cut in between them. Seon-kyu, whose shoulders jerked, looked deflated upon confirming it was Ga-ram.
“Ah, Noona. You scared me.”
“Scared… you guys having fun on your own, huh? If you were going to curse out Jin-sang, you should’ve let me in on it.”
Ga-ram nudged Seon-kyu with her foot like a delinquent. After her nap, her complexion looked better than before. Rubbing her stomach and saying she missed the meat, Ga-ram pointed outside with her thumb.
“Let’s go smoke.”
Do-hyun was outside. Wearing a padding coat that reached his knees and exhaling cigarette smoke, Do-hyun turned around upon sensing someone’s presence. His hair was slightly damp, as if he had just showered.
“Kim Do-hyun! What, you showered already?”
“The smell of meat was too strong.”
“Still as fastidious as ever.”
Ga-ram familiarly draped her arm over his broad shoulders. Do-hyun shrugged his shoulder to shake her off. Grumbling that he was playing hard to get, Ga-ram pulled a cigarette from her pocket.
“I heard you were a Black Knight for Woo-yeon earlier?”
“Black Knight?”
His deep eyes shifted to Woo-yeon. Woo-yeon looked back at him blankly with his hands in his pockets. In his oversized coat and hooded sweatshirt, he looked like he was the only one in the middle of winter.
“Ah… that.”
A thin smile escaped. ‘He looks like a snowman.’ At that murmur, Woo-yeon quickly pulled off his hood. Do-hyun, with a cigarette in his mouth, reached out and put the hood back over his head.
“Why, are you going to grant my wish?”