By Zephyria 
Whеn morning broke, Wоо-yeоn opеnеd his еуеs in а small roоm insidе thе pensiоn. There wеre а few Оmegаs in the rооm, slеeping рitifully withоut even pillоws. Woo-yеon slowly рushed himsеlf uр and looked arоund with dazed eуеs.
“…….”
Dаzzling sunlight роured through thе gaрs in thе window. His еуes felt gritty, his heаd was thrоbbing, аnd his throat wаs раrсhеd. Reаlizing bеlatеdly that he was the onlу one whо had a рroper рlaсe to slееp, Woо-yeоn steаlthilу slipреd out frоm undеr the соvеrs.
“No wondеr it fеlt hot……”
Тhе flооr was burning hot, yet he had slept fully clothed and covered with a cotton duvet. It was a miracle he hadn’t steamed to death overnight; he had almost died of heatstroke rather than hypothermia. Blinking and yawning, Woo-yeon pulled off his hoodie’s hood.
“Oh, you’re up?”
Just then, Seon-kyu opened the door and walked in. He immediately flipped on the light and nudged the suffering students with his foot. Then, looking at Woo-yeon’s hair, he exclaimed in a voice genuinely surprised.
“Wow…… how does your hair even get like that? A magpie could lay eggs in there.”
“Ah, it’s because of the dye……”
His brightly dyed hair was sticking out in every direction. It was because his hair was particularly fine and he had just taken off his hood. It wasn’t tangled, so it would look better if he combed it, but as it stood, untouched, it was a complete mess.
“How’s the hangover?”
“Just my head hurts.”
Instead of fixing his hair, Woo-yeon just put the hood back on. He was too lazy to look in the mirror, and even lazier to put effort into tidying it up. As Woo-yeon stood there with his head bowed, swaying slightly, Seon-kyu crept closer.
“More importantly, I really see you in a new light now.”
“About what?”
The back of his head throbbed. So, soju hangovers manifest as headaches. He supposed he should be grateful his stomach wasn’t turning. Just as he looked up with that thought, a high-spirited voice answered.
“What do you mean? You totally put Seonbae Kim Jin-sang in his place.”
“……What?”
Those words instantly chased away the sleepiness. Snapping awake, Woo-yeon looked at Seon-kyu with wide eyes. In response, Seon-kyu’s eyes widened even further.
“You don’t remember?”
With a stunned expression, Woo-yeon traced back his memories of last night. He remembered Ga-ram leaving and the drinking games, but after that, his memory was vague. A returning student had slyly given him drinks, and he had downed about three glasses of soju laced with pheromones in a row. And then…… and then what happened?
“Were you really that drunk? With a face that looked so sober?”
“Don’t tell me I hit that guy?”
“Wow, you really don’t remember.”
Seon-kyu let out a hollow laugh and scratched his head. In the meantime, he didn’t forget to nudge the sleeping guys once more. Making zombie-like groans, the others began to stir and wake up one by one.
“You told that Seonbae that it wasn’t just uncomfortable, but actually annoying, and you just went off on him.”
“…….”
“You told him to stop being such a nuisance and asked why he kept mixing pheromones into the drinks.”
Woo-yeon covered his head with both hands. No matter how hard he tried to remember, his mind was as blank as if it had been bleached. He had tried so hard to act unfazed while drinking the penalty shots, but it seemed it had all been for nothing.
“……Anything else?”
“Hmm, not really?”
Seon-kyu shrugged nonchalantly. Woo-yeon started to ask for more details but then changed his mind and groaned. They say ignorance is bliss; there was no need to dig his own grave.
“It’s okay, man. It was exhilarating. Seeing that nuisance of a Seonbae get angry was so satisfying.”
Seon-kyu ruffled Woo-yeon’s hair vigorously. He added a piece of advice to be a bit more cautious next time. It seemed that seeing the small-framed Woo-yeon challenge a bear-like returning student had looked quite precarious.
“But what did you say in English? Those were all curses, right?”
“I…… cursed in English?”
This time, Woo-yeon looked at Seon-kyu with a face of genuine horror. Seeing the small face turn pale, Seon-kyu wore an ambiguous expression. He seemed to be smiling, yet also slightly pitying.
“You really shouldn’t drink……”
Woo-yeon inwardly agreed with the muttered words. Come to think of it, he felt like he had heard that from someone else before. Again, the memory was blurry.
“And then you fell asleep right away, right?”
Woo-yeon frowned and gave him a pitiful look. His expression pleaded for this to be the end of the story. Seon-kyu scratched his cheek and looked away.
“Uh…… well, that’s all I saw, but.”
It wasn’t a welcoming start. Feeling a sense of foreboding, Woo-yeon gripped the brim of his hood. ‘That’s all I saw, but.’ He was incredibly nervous about what would come next.
“You went straight outside, so Do-hyun Hyung followed you.”
His pupils shook violently. Woo-yeon looked as if he might faint at any moment, his face twisting into a pout. His drooping eyes looked utterly miserable.
“Well, nothing major probably happened. Do-hyun Hyung brought you back in quickly, saying you’d fallen asleep from being drunk.”
“…….”
“If you’re really worried, just ask Do-hyun Hyung.”
Having said that, Seon-kyu stood up without lingering. He tapped Woo-yeon’s crestfallen head and added, “I told you it’s fine.”
“And that nuisance Seonbae went home at dawn. He must have been pretty embarrassed himself, seeing as he left while no one was looking.”
Woo-yeon just nodded and wiped his face. In truth, what happened to the returning student didn’t matter. It wasn’t as if he had said something he shouldn’t have; he would have said similar things while sober eventually. He was just bothered by the fact that he had unintentionally caused a scene.
“If you’ve got it, come out and wash up. Checkout is at 11.”
In the living room, students with haggard appearances were gathered. Some had left on the first bus, and those remaining were busy preparing breakfast. After hesitantly washing his face and brushing his teeth, Woo-yeon became the center of attention the moment he stepped into the living room.
“Oh, our brave Freshman is awake.”
“Did you sleep well? Is your stomach okay?”
“Eat some ramen. I put in all the leftover meat from yesterday.”
Fortunately, the reactions he feared weren’t there. The worst-case scenarios—people giving him looks, viewing him strangely, or ignoring him.
“Hey, Woo-yeon! I heard that nuisance was acting up with you yesterday!”
Ga-ram, in particular, was practically jumping with excitement, busy cursing the returning student from early morning. She asked what that crazy bastard had done after she had passed out, and apologized for falling asleep first. At her insistence that he tell her if that jerk held a grudge, Woo-yeon glanced at her.
“Um, about yesterday.”
“Yeah?”
The words wouldn’t come out. Woo-yeon awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and avoided Ga-ram’s gaze.
“Thank you for drinking instead of me.”
“……That’s just the basics!”
Despite her words, Ga-ram looked inwardly delighted. Her long, monolid eyes curved brightly. Woo-yeon declined the wooden chopsticks she offered and spoke softly.
“Noona.”
Thud. The chopsticks dropped. Her face froze in a blank stare that could have passed for a statue. Thinking that this kind of cringeworthy behavior really wasn’t for him, Woo-yeon decided to put out the most urgent fire first.
“Where is Do-hyun Seonbae?”
* * *
The March morning was still chilly enough for breath to mist. After barely shaking off the emotionally overwhelmed Ga-ram, Woo-yeon quickly escaped the pension, fearing she might chase after him. Do-hyun was sitting on a bench in front of the pension, smoking a cigarette.
“……Seonbae.”
Do-hyun slowly raised his head. The cigarette smoke scattering like a haze suited his expressionless face quite well. Upon confirming that it was Woo-yeon speaking to him, he wore that customary gentle smile.
“You’re awake? How’s the hangover?”
“My head hurts a little.”
Woo-yeon approached Do-hyun as naturally as possible. When Do-hyun asked if he wanted a cigarette, Woo-yeon accepted one, saying thank you. Do-hyun then offered a lighter, but instead of taking it, Woo-yeon jumped straight to the point.
“I didn’t say anything weird yesterday, did I?”
The moment he remembered being with Do-hyun, one thought immediately sprang to mind. The worry that he might have called him ‘Teacher.’ Since he had blacked out from being drunk, it wouldn’t be strange if he had said anything.
“You did.”
Do-hyun answered nonchalantly and took a puff. Whether he knew Woo-yeon felt like crying or not, he exhaled a long stream of smoke and flicked the ash. He curved his eyes leisurely and questioned Woo-yeon.
“Do you want to know?”
“Yes.”
Even if it meant digging his own grave, he had to hear it this time. If he had called him Teacher, he would have to make excuses regarding that.
However, the words that came from Do-hyun were entirely different from what Woo-yeon had feared.
“…….”
Unbelievable English flowed out. If one only heard the voice, it was as sweet as a serenade, but Woo-yeon knew that all of it consisted of ‘curses.’ Having been flustered by the fact that Teacher could curse, Woo-yeon was horrified as soon as he finished speaking.
“I said that?”
“Yeah.”
Ah, maybe dropping out really is the answer this time. Perhaps this university really wasn’t the right place for him. Damn Danny, this is all your fault. While Woo-yeon resented the innocent Daniel, Do-hyun comforted him with a beaming smile.
“It’s okay. Most of them probably didn’t understand anyway.”
It was clearly meant to be comforting, but Woo-yeon felt he was teasing him. It seemed a bit of mischief was hidden in those gentle eyes. Slumping down, Woo-yeon covered his face with both hands.
“Did you understand everything?”
He asked, desperately hoping the answer was no. Though, seeing as he had memorized it all, he probably had.
“Would you prefer if I said no?”
Woo-yeon shook his head with a miserable expression. He had never been this embarrassed in his life; he finally understood what it felt like to want to die of shame. Letting out a soft chuckle, Do-hyun asked lightly.
“Is cursing in English your drinking habit?”
“No…… I don’t know either.”
Drinking habit or not, yesterday was the first time he had been that drunk. In America, he had still been a minor, and the beer he occasionally drank had been brought secretly by Daniel. Rather than a drinking habit, it was more likely that he wanted to curse but only knew how to do it in English.
“Ah, I’m not usually like that.”
A wronged voice muttered. Looking at the huddled Woo-yeon, Do-hyun crushed his cigarette in the nearby ashtray. Tilting his head slightly, he spoke in a low voice.
“You did well.”
Woo-yeon looked up at Do-hyun. The hoodie’s hood kept obstructing his view. When he had no choice but to stand up, Do-hyun’s gaze followed him.
“It would have been okay even if you’d used worse curses.”