By Zephyria 
Тhe coursе rеgistration сorreсtiоn реriоd hаd ended. Оn Wеdnеsday lunсh, Woo-yеon visitеd the сlub roоm and рullеd оut his phonе in front оf three pеople: Dо-hyun, Ga-ram, аnd Seоn-kуu. Six eyes foсused on the timеtаblе hе disрlayеd.
“Wow…”
“Insаnе.”
Exсlаmations burst out instantlу. Do-hуun сurled the соrnеrs оf his liрs with a саsual еxpression. Seon-kуu, looking bаck and fоrth between thе phоne and Dо-hуun, spokе in admiratiоn.
“Hуung, whаt kind of mаgiс did yоu wоrk?”
It truly соuld оnly be dеsсribed аs mаgiс. Тhe timetable, now neatly aligned four times a week from Tuesday to Friday, bore no resemblance to its previous state. Lunchtime was guaranteed to be free every single day, and except for Friday, there were no lectures starting at 9 AM. It was a far cry from before, when he had first-period classes, massive free periods, and not even a single holiday.
“The reward for a diligent school life.”
Do-hyun leaned back against the sofa as if it were no big deal. His confident smile didn’t feel arrogant at all. Woo-yeon checked the timetable once more and recalled what had happened with Do-hyun two days ago.
That day, the two met in the club room as promised and visited the professor after a strategy meeting. In truth, there wasn’t much of a strategy meeting. After asking how many credits he planned to take, when he preferred his free periods, and if morning classes were okay, Do-hyun stood up immediately.
“He’s a freshman in our club, and he said he really wants to take your lecture, Professor.”
He coaxed the professor with a smooth, friendly voice. He made polite requests with a smile and occasionally smoked cigarettes with them. The professors, who were already half-disarmed just by Do-hyun’s appearance, readily opened up seats in their lectures after he added a few more words.
“I asked some professors directly, and I grabbed a few others that opened up at the right time. Yun-woo Hyung helped out too.”
Of course, not every professor moved according to his will. Some avoided the situation with slippery excuses, and others shifted the conversation toward graduate school, teasing whether they would grant the request or not. However, Do-hyun gave up on persuading them the moment the word ‘graduate school’ was even mentioned.
“Professors are surprisingly simple; if you just show passion, they’ll let you in. But now, if you don’t attend class properly, you’ll have to be prepared for your grades.”
Do-hyun’s ability and the Teaching Assistant’s help. Through these two factors, Woo-yeon finally secured a ‘normal timetable.’ Except for one thing: the Friday morning lecture he shared with Do-hyun.
“I’ll help you with that one, so just leave it.”
Understanding English Phonology. It was a 3-credit major course. It was also a lecture taught by a professor so passionate that they filled the very first day with presentations. If he cancelled it, he would have to make up the missing credits next semester.
“Many students give up on that professor’s class because it’s difficult. You’ll get a good grade just by doing the basics.”
Woo-yeon kept the lecture, trusting those words. In truth, there were no suitable alternative courses either. It was absolutely not because it was the only lecture he took with Do-hyun.
“You’re really something else…”
Ga-ram, sitting a distance away, muttered in a stunned voice. She had maintained a strict distance since Woo-yeon entered the club room. Seeing as she had even completely blocked her pheromones, she was clearly conscious of the previous incident. Well, for Woo-yeon, it was a relief.
“Thank you so much.”
Woo-yeon checked the timetable one last time and put his phone away. If it weren’t for Do-hyun, he would have been seriously searching for ‘dropping out in the first semester of freshman year’ by now. Though he probably wouldn’t have actually dropped out and would have ended up attending school reluctantly.
“I’m glad I could be of help.”
For anyone else, this would be an achievement to brag about, but Do-hyun never acted arrogant. That, too, felt like the Teacher, and Woo-yeon suppressed a surge of secret happiness.
“Hyung, will you help me too if I mess up my registration next time?”
“I don’t know… I heard the words ‘come to graduate school’ too many times this time, so doing it twice might be a bit much.”
“Hey, the professors love you so much, just pretend to be crazy and go for it once.”
“What?”
“Sorry.”
They shared trivial conversation for a while. Woo-yeon was slightly surprised to hear that Seon-kyu had already joined the club. No wonder he had called Do-hyun ‘Hyung’ during the drinking party. It seemed they were already acquainted.
“The other kids will be happy to know they have classes with you, Woo-yeon.”
“Why me?”
Luckily, most of his timetable overlapped with Seon-kyu’s. In fact, most freshman classes were pretty much the same, so it was strange that he had been taking different classes alone until now. Seon-kyu gestured toward Woo-yeon as if it were obvious.
“What do you mean why? You’re very mysterious.”
“…I am?”
It was a statement that made him frown instinctively. Mysterious? What on earth was he talking about? If he considered messing up a timetable as being mysterious, then he had nothing to say.
“You take different lectures by yourself, and you were alone in the corner during the opening general assembly. Plus, since you’re not in the group chat, the other kids said they haven’t had a chance to get close to you.”
“…….”
The lectures were a long story, and as for the general assembly, it was simply because he had no friends. Of course, the part that flustered Woo-yeon wasn’t those first two things.
“…By any chance.”
Seon-kyu looked at Woo-yeon with a suspicious gaze. The long silence was far too strange. He slowly pulled out his phone and asked cautiously.
“Did you not know there was a group chat?”
As Woo-yeon turned his gaze away in silence, Seon-kyu silently scrolled through his chat list. Then, he found the ‘English Literature Group Chat’ and immediately invited Woo-yeon.
“So that’s why you didn’t come to the orientation…”
It was a bitter realization. Feeling a bit sorrowful, Woo-yeon scanned the list of participants. A few familiar names seemed to be people he had exchanged numbers with at the drinking party.
“Then how did you come to the general assembly?”
“Mungaram Seonbae told me.”
“Ah…”
An awkward silence fell. Ga-ram and Do-hyun also remained silent, reading the room. If it had ended there, it would have been fine. But at Do-hyun’s following words, Woo-yeon felt truly miserable.
“Then you probably don’t even know about the Membership Training, right?”
“…….”
It wasn’t even like this when he was bullied in middle school. At least back then, there were home correspondence newsletters. Was he being ostracized without knowing? As Woo-yeon’s eyes drooped, Ga-ram, unable to watch any longer, tapped the table.
“Hey, hey. Tell the student council to do their jobs. How could they leave a kid out? And you, punk, you said you were going to be the class rep, why didn’t you take care of him?”
“Ah, I didn’t like having too many people around, so I thought he joined and then left…”
Seon-kyu rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed face. His expression showed that he had never even imagined Woo-yeon wouldn’t know at all. A face mixed with apology, curiosity, and absurdity twisted strangely.
“…It’s okay. I’m in now, so it’s fine.”
Woo-yeon replied, trying his best to act unbothered. It would have been more miserable if an apology had come. Fortunately, someone knocked on the club room door at the perfect timing. At the sound of the knock, Seon-kyu sprang up like a spring.
“I’ll get it!”
The visitor was the Tteokbokki they had ordered 20 minutes ago. The reason they had gathered in the club room was precisely to eat Tteokbokki. Instead of the heavy and awkward air, a delicious scent began to fill the room.
“This place is really good; it’s not too spicy and the delivery is fast.”
The table was set skillfully. While Ga-ram took out the pickled radish and Tteokbokki, Do-hyun brought paper cups from the cabinet. He was sure the application forms had been in there, but looking at it now, it seemed they had put all sorts of miscellaneous items inside.
“Wow, looks delicious.”
“What drinks do you guys want?”
“Hyung, Coke for me!”
“Water is fine for me.”
Woo-yeon observed the Tteokbokki while snapping a pair of wooden chopsticks. Ga-ram had already served herself a full paper cup. Seon-kyu also put a rice cake in his mouth, but Woo-yeon just blinked blankly.
“What’s wrong?”
Do-hyun, who happened to be pouring water, asked softly. At that familiar gentle voice, Woo-yeon pulled the thought from his mind as if possessed.
“Because I’ve never tried it before.”
Until he went to America, he was someone who couldn’t even touch outside food. Meals were always prepared by employees, and in middle school, he carried packed lunches. Although his palate had become more flexible after studying abroad, he still had an aversion to street food.
Woo-yeon knew that this wasn’t common. In middle school, one of the reasons for his bullying was the abnormally vast difference in family backgrounds. The fact that he had told Do-hyun he ‘doesn’t eat cheap things’ was, in truth, a spiteful act close to a mistake.
“…What?”
Ga-ram’s eyes widened as she held the wooden chopsticks in her mouth. Her sharp eyes looked almost round. The same went for Seon-kyu, who was scooping out fish cakes and sausages.
“You’ve never eaten Tteokbokki?”
The reaction was similar to when he didn’t know about the group chat. No, they looked even more shocked. Realizing he had made a slip of the tongue, Woo-yeon waved his hands frantically.
“No, no! It’s just been a very long time. They don’t really sell Tteokbokki in America.”
It was a fairly decent excuse for something improvised. Ga-ram and Seon-kyu also turned away with accepting faces.
“Ah, Woo-yeon went to America? He must be good at English.”
“Noona, you’re in the English department and…”
“Kwon Seon-gyu, there are only two types of people in the English department. One who is good at English from the start, and another who is bad at it until graduation. For the record, I am the latter.”
However, only Do-hyun narrowed his eyes and stared at Woo-yeon.
“Seon…bae, aren’t you eating?”
“I am.”
Do-hyun, who had been gazing at him, gave a small laugh. Whatever he was thinking, his expression was full of interest. He took an empty paper cup, filled it with sausages and cheese, and held it out to Woo-yeon.
“Just have a little taste.”
Woo-yeon blinked in surprise. He kept his mouth shut to avoid showing his fluster, but then a quiet voice followed.
“You said you can’t eat spicy food. Try it and see if it’s spicy or not.”
He had no memory of saying he couldn’t eat spicy food. In fact, Woo-yeon wasn’t particularly bad with spicy food. But Do-hyun tilted his head with a brazen face.
“…….”
Woo-yeon slowly took the paper cup. It was a food he didn’t even know how it was made, and even the scent was unfamiliar. It felt quite unsettling, but since Do-hyun gave it to him, it seemed okay. As he hesitantly put a sausage in his mouth, Do-hyun asked lightly.
“How is it?”
Woo-yeon chewed the sausage in silence. Spicy and salty—it was a taste he was experiencing for the first time in his life. Just like when he had eaten Salisbury steak. Woo-yeon’s cheeks flushed red.
“It’s delicious.”