By Zephyria 
А sоft сhuсkle was heаrd. It wаs Do-hyun, whо had beеn quiеtlу strоking Wоо-yeоn’s hаnd. Dо-hyun pullеd their interlaсed fingеrs ontо his own lаp аnd hеld thеm with both hands.
“Yоu reаlly are а thief.”
His straight fingеrtips slowly rubbеd agаinst Wоo-yeon’s pаlm. At the sensаtiоn оf his fingеrs trаcing evеry jоint, Wоo-yеоn fidgeted and curlеd his hand intо а fist. He hаd оnlу hаd his hаnd rubbed, уеt he fеlt a strange tickle belоw his navel.
“Рeoрle steal оncе in a while.”
Нis vоice wаs light. His tonе was sо nоnchаlаnt that еvеn Tае-gуeom, whо hаd beеn indiffеrеnt, lеt out a short laugh. Tae-gyeom looked back and forth between Do-hyun and Woo-yeon, his lips curling into an amused smile.
“The youngest has grown up a lot.”
“How long ago was I ‘the youngest’?”
When he was with the Seonbaes, Teacher seemed to become a different person from the one Woo-yeon knew. He was more aloof and prickly, a contrast to his usual maturity. However, the touch of his hand gently caressing Woo-yeon’s was still affectionate.
“Well… anyway, it’s good. Congratulations.”
Min-jeong brought over a bottle of alcohol and held it out to Do-hyun. Keeping Woo-yeon’s hand on his lap, Do-hyun held out a glass with his other hand. Glug, glug, the transparent liquid filled the soju glass.
“Should I pour one for you too, Seonbae?”
One by one, the other people’s glasses were filled. Only Woo-yeon and the Teaching Assistant weren’t drinking. After filling Ga-ram’s glass last, Min-jeong raised her own.
“Alright, cheers.”
The party reached its peak quickly. On one side, Seong-jae led a drinking game with a loud voice, while others chatted softly and clinked glasses. As the number of empty bottles grew to one, then two, Min-jeong stood up from her seat.
“Do-hyun, let’s go smoke.”
“…Smoke?”
Do-hyun looked up at Min-jeong with questioning eyes. Ga-ram stood up, saying she wanted to go too, but Min-jeong pressed her shoulder down to make her sit. Do-hyun opened a can of soda, placed it in front of Woo-yeon, and stood up to follow Min-jeong.
“I’ll be right back.”
A large hand ruffled Woo-yeon’s hair. Woo-yeon held the soda can with both hands and watched the two of them leave through the door. Opposite Woo-yeon, Tae-gyeom was leaning on the Teaching Assistant, acting completely aegyo.
“Yun-woo, I think I’m getting drunk.”
The way he buried his face in the nook of the other’s neck didn’t make him look drunk. The Teaching Assistant seemed to think so too, scolding Tae-gyeom and telling him to go wash his mouth out. Despite the words, the way he touched Tae-gyeom’s cheek was incredibly careful.
“How did you two meet?”
Ga-ram asked them casually. Woo-yeon also secretly listened for their answer. He wasn’t usually interested in other people’s love lives, but it was surprising that Tae-gyeom, who disliked Omegas, was dating the Teaching Assistant. Moreover, the Teaching Assistant didn’t seem like the type to like someone intensely.
“We’ve been friends since we were kids.”
The Teaching Assistant seemed used to such questions. At the nonchalant answer, Ga-ram’s eyes sparkled as if she had never been gloomy.
“Oh, so you two are childhood friends?”
A memory suddenly surfaced. The answer he had given when asked about his ideal type—that he hoped they wouldn’t be a childhood friend. He didn’t know why it came to mind at this timing, but as soon as he heard those words, it weighed on his heart.
“How long have you been dating?”
“About four years now, I think.”
“Wow, who confessed?”
“Confessed… well, it’s ambiguous to say who did it.”
Vrrr, a vibration sounded. It was the phone Do-hyun had left on the table. Vrrr, vrrr, seeing it ring continuously, it seemed to be a call rather than a message. Woo-yeon heard Ga-ram ask, ‘Who liked the other first?’ before he picked up the phone and stood up.
“I’ll be right back.”
* * *
Do-hyun was not visible in the smoking room, which had glass walls. Holding the vibrating phone, Woo-yeon searched for him, eventually stepping outside the bar. There was no urgent need to bring the phone, but he felt he needed to see Do-hyun’s face right now.
Fortunately, Woo-yeon spotted the two of them in the alley outside the bar. Do-hyun, holding a plastic bag as if he had been to the convenience store, was standing with Min-jeong. Just as he was about to approach them quickly, Min-jeong’s voice reached him clearly.
“Since when have you been seeing Woo-yeon?”
Without realizing it, Woo-yeon pressed himself against the wall. He didn’t have a hobby of eavesdropping, but the situations had been subtle since last time. If there was a god of timing, he wanted to ask why he kept overhearing things about himself.
“Not long. A little over a week now.”
“Right, not long at all.”
Rustle, rustle, the sound of the plastic bag was heard. The phone in his hand had stopped vibrating at some point. He thought about checking the caller, but then changed his mind.
“Smoke. I called you out because I have something to tell you.”
“I quit smoking. I just followed you because it seemed like you had something to say.”
Woo-yeon was surprised to hear that he had quit smoking. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen him smoke since that time on the terrace. Since Do-hyun rarely smoked in front of him anyway, he hadn’t noticed, but it seemed he didn’t even carry cigarettes anymore.
“What is it you want to say?”
“It’s nothing much.”
Min-jeong started the conversation but didn’t continue for a long while. Whether she was choosing her words or preparing herself, she dragged out the time enough to make Woo-yeon anxious before she finally spoke.
“I was wondering if a drinking party like today is okay. You and Tae-gyeom Seonbae don’t get along, do you?”
Woo-yeon recalled how Do-hyun would frown whenever the ‘Management God’ was mentioned. He had felt something was awkward, but he never imagined they didn’t get along. Even today, they had sat at the same table without any apparent issue.
“Out of nowhere… why wouldn’t it be okay? It’s just the usual after-party.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. It’s not like I don’t get along with Tae-gyeom Seonbae.”
Min-jeong fell silent again. The sound of unknown insects blended into the strange atmosphere. It was then, in the ambiguous gap between the conversation, that Do-hyun spoke.
“Noona, don’t tell me you’re doing this because I used to like Yun-woo Hyung?”
Woo-yeon’s heart shook with a clank. His mind went blank, as if someone had popped a balloon right next to his ear.
Without realizing it, Woo-yeon peeked over the wall at them. The Teacher’s ideal type, which he had thought was random; the frowning face whenever Tae-gyeom was mentioned; and the sight of the Teaching Assistant he saw today. Everything began to connect in a chain of associations.
“Well…”
Min-jeong trailed off without confirming or denying. However, to Woo-yeon’s ears, the ambiguous answer meant yes. Do-hyun let out a scoff of disbelief and spoke in an absurd tone.
“How many years ago was that?”
His reaction was dismissive, but Woo-yeon, listening to the conversation, could not be. Woo-yeon placed his hand over his pounding chest and bit his lip hard. His heart was racing so fast he felt his pheromones might leak out.
‘When I was your age, did it take me about a month to forget the person I liked?’
So it was the Teaching Assistant.
The scattered puzzle pieces fell neatly into place. He thought he had forgotten easily back then, but thinking about it now, a month was far too long. Seeing the image of Do-hyun and the Teaching Assistant talking now made him feel a surge of anger.
“And here I was, wondering what you wanted to talk about.”
Woo-yeon crouched in place and took a small, deep breath. No matter what he heard, he intended to listen to it all first. He wanted to hear Do-hyun’s thoughts until the end, so that he wouldn’t have any unnecessary misunderstandings like last time.
“It was only for a moment. I gave up quickly.”
Do-hyun spoke without any agitation. He wasn’t pretending to be okay; he truly seemed to have not a shred of lingering affection. Even the added comment, ‘Though I was sincere at the time,’ showed that he had sorted through all his emotions.
“It wasn’t a first love or anything… when you’re young, you want the things you can’t have even more.”
“You’re still young.”
“Didn’t you just call me a thief?”
The voice that was almost the same as usual was the only comfort to Woo-yeon. Rationally thinking, it would be stranger if he had never experienced liking someone until now. Of course, knowing that didn’t stop the feeling of resentment.
“With Tae-gyeom Seonbae, it’s just… something like mutual hatred between the same kind. That Seonbae probably doesn’t think much of it either.”
“Tae-gyeom Seonbae finds you cute because you’re the youngest.”
“Ah, I hate that. You know I hate being called the youngest.”
The grumbling voice was different from the Teacher Woo-yeon knew. A Do-hyun who was seen as cute by the Seonbaes was an image he had never imagined. Whenever he saw a side of him he didn’t know, he felt the distance between himself and the Teacher anew.
“Noona.”
A sense of gloom washed over him. His head told him there was no need for this, but his heart argued the opposite.
But just before Woo-yeon sank into the abyss, Do-hyun’s voice rescued him.
“I’m not seeing him lightly.”
His tone was utterly serious. The quiet, soft voice firmly gripped his wavering heart. The gloom that had been splashing up disappeared before it could even overflow.
“I don’t know why you’re suddenly concerned about this, Noona… but having Woo-yeon doubt my feelings is more than enough.”
It seemed Do-hyun knew that he didn’t trust his feelings. With his exceptional intuition, it would have been harder for him not to know. While he felt sorry, he also felt a sense of relief.
“I like him a lot.”
“….”
“I like him so much that I thought, ‘A person can be this wonderful.’”
The bridge of his nose tingled. His chest felt a sharp ache, as if someone were gripping his heart. Hearing ‘I like you’ from the person he liked was as overwhelming as a miracle.
“…I wasn’t worried that you had lingering feelings.”
Min-jeong slowly began her sentence. Contrary to the apologetic nuance, the words that followed were quite cold.
“You’re not that much of a romantic.”
It was a harsh evaluation. Do-hyun muttered, “That’s too much,” but he couldn’t refute it.
“I’m just worried that if you keep running into each other and Woo-yeon finds out, he’ll get hurt. He seems fragile.”
“You’ve observed him quite closely. You even know he’s fragile.”
At the sarcastic reply, Min-jeong gave a light snort. ‘I won’t steal him,’ she replied, and immediately after, Do-hyun slowly continued.
“I won’t let him get hurt.”
It sounded like a vow to himself. Asserting that he would never let such a thing happen, Do-hyun spoke sharply.
“I’m not going to be stupidly clumsy like those Seonbaes. And I have no intention of letting Woo-yeon be clumsy either.”
“Stupidly clumsy…”
Min-jeong let out a hollow laugh. She threatened to tell Yun-woo Oppa, but Do-hyun didn’t care.
With a faint smile, Do-hyun spoke affectionately.
“My baby grew up too precious, so I can’t let him do things like that.”