By Zephyria 
“……A prize?”
Wоо-yeоn’s eyеs sраrklеd instаntlу. Seeing him suddеnlу lоok refrеshed, as if he hаd nevеr beеn lethаrgic, Dо-hуun gаve a сomрliant nod. Woо-yeon didn’t miss thе oppоrtunity аnd quiсkly pressed for dеtails.
“What kind of рrizе?”
А рrizе—the word аlonе wаs heart-fluttеring. Whаt on earth was hе plаnning tо give? Mаnу things flаshеd thrоugh his mind. Do-hуun lеt out а thin groan, then tilted his head with а slight crinkle оf his eyеs.
“Hmm, shall I give уou thоse chосolatеs from baсk then?”
Аt thе mentiоn оf ‘chосolаtеs,’ Wоo-yеоn reсаllеd а wrapper tied with a white ribbon. Something he had received as a prize from his teacher during middle school. And more recently, something Do-hyun had bought for him at a dessert shop as a Seonbae.
“I’m not a kid anymore……”
Woo-yeon grumbled with a hint of dissatisfaction. The chocolates had been delicious, but he didn’t want them as the reward for his midterm exams. Moreover, to be honest, he didn’t like the fact that Do-hyun was indiscriminately handing out rewards he had given him in the past. It had been a memory shared only between himself and the teacher. To think it was the same now, even though he was merely a Hubae.
“Then what do you want?”
“Hmm……”
Woo-yeon fell into deep thought with a serious expression. He seemed to have completely forgotten that he had been sulking. After pondering several options, he suddenly looked up and met Do-hyun’s eyes.
“Will you give me anything?”
A flicker of doubt crossed Do-hyun’s eyes. Thinking of something, he covered the cigarette pack he was holding with his hand.
“No cigarettes.”
“……I don’t want those.”
Anyone watching would think Woo-yeon was a minor who couldn’t buy cigarettes. Shaking his head with a sour expression, Woo-yeon stealthily looked up.
“Buy me a drink.”
He had made such a promise a long time ago. That if he entered the same school as his teacher, he would ask him to buy him a drink as a college Seonbae. At those words, Do-hyun had laughed as if it were amusing and gently stroked Woo-yeon’s hair.
‘If you get into college, Teacher will buy you a drink.’
“A drink?”
Do-hyun tilted his head subtly. His neat eyebrows twitched, and his lips curled slightly. Realizing that what he said could be misinterpreted, Woo-yeon hurriedly waved his hands.
“No, I mean, it’s not for any other reason, it’s just that I’m not very good at drinking.”
It wasn’t meant to be a suggestive comment, but thinking back on it, it sounded strange. Asking for a drink—didn’t it sound like he was hitting on him? As he shook his head, his face flushing red, Do-hyun let out a short, airy laugh.
“Do you want to get better at drinking?”
Woo-yeon nodded vigorously. The excessive affirmation almost made it seem like there was another reason, but Do-hyun smiled, as if deciding to let it slide.
“We’ll be drinking together anyway. There’s always an after-party once exams are over.”
“An after-party?”
“Yeah, the club gathers, and the department gathers. Of course, attendance is optional.”
Woo-yeon had gone to one after-party during the general assembly at the start of the semester. There were plenty of unfamiliar faces, and after spending his time in a corner, he had barely managed to start a conversation with Seon-kyu. He wouldn’t be alone this time, but conversely, there would be many people around Do-hyun.
“What about you, Seonbae?”
“I’m the club president, so I have to go.”
“The department gathering too?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
The faces of the Alphas in his department scrolled through Woo-yeon’s mind. Among them, naturally, was the returning student who had bullied him during the Membership Training. Woo-yeon shut his mouth grimly before slowly nodding.
“Then I’ll go too.”
“……I’ll say it again.”
Do-hyun looked quite troubled. His lips parted as if he had a lot to say, and he spoke in a rather serious tone.
“You don’t have to drink if you don’t want to.”
Woo-yeon nodded once more. Though Do-hyun looked unconvinced, he didn’t nitpick further.
“So, suggest something else. You can drink anytime.”
As if he could drink anytime. He’d probably never agree if Woo-yeon asked to drink just the two of them. Having had his request for a drink rejected, Woo-yeon hesitantly spoke up.
“I don’t really have anything else……”
“Alright, then let’s do this.”
Do-hyun made a casual suggestion. For some reason, the way the corners of his mouth curled up looked very confident.
“I’ll take you to a movie.”
It was something he hadn’t expected at all. Woo-yeon fidgeted with his fingers and asked back.
“A movie?”
“Yeah, a movie.”
It wasn’t that he disliked movies, but he wasn’t particularly interested. He had films of most movies at his family home, and if his family’s affiliates invested in one, he could see it even before the release. Just as Woo-yeon was about to ask if there was a specific movie Do-hyun wanted to see, Do-hyun countered in a suggestive voice.
“We’re watching it at the cinema.”
“…….”
Woo-yeon’s eyes widened. Seeing that he had suddenly become interested, Do-hyun’s eyes curved gently.
“I’ll buy you popcorn and a drink, too.”
It was just like when they had talked about eating cake. ‘Let’s have caramel popcorn.’ At those words, his pale cheeks flushed a soft red. A cinema—it was a place Woo-yeon had never been to.
* * *
Woo-yeon accepted the proposal with a face full of excitement. He had to do well on his exams anyway, so either way, it was a win for him. Moreover, he realized belatedly that watching a movie just the two of them would feel like a date. A date with Teacher—it was a stroke of luck he hadn’t dared to imagine.
Feeling great, Woo-yeon stopped by the club room to pack his things. In the meantime, Ga-ram had woken up and was in the process of booking a study room with Seon-kyu, who had returned. After being told to meet at the main gate this time, Woo-yeon left the club room for his liberal arts lecture.
And the moment he stepped into the classroom, he realized another fact he had forgotten.
“…….”
“…….”
A heavy silence busily drifted between them. Jun-seong, who was sitting at the back of the classroom, wore an ambiguous expression the moment he locked eyes with Woo-yeon. Recalling what he had said last time, Woo-yeon frowned deeply.
‘I really hate kids like you.’
He had truly, completely forgotten. So completely that he wondered how he could have forgotten to this extent. Since that day, his mind had been so full of thoughts of Do-hyun that he hadn’t had a moment to think about someone like Jun-seong.
Woo-yeon first pretended not to know him and walked inside. Fortunately, there was one empty seat left far away. As soon as he put down his bag and sat down, the professor entered the classroom.
The lecture that followed was devoid of content to an absurd degree. Most of it consisted of the professor’s travel stories, with only occasional mentions of the assignment. Ignoring the gaze clinging to the side of his face, Woo-yeon occasionally played along with the English jokes the professor made.
After about an hour, the professor left the classroom, telling them to hang in there for the midterm assignment. There had been many comments in the course evaluations saying the ‘professor is kind,’ and it seemed it was because he let them out early.
“Hey.”
Someone stood in front of his desk just as Woo-yeon was packing his things. Woo-yeon slowly looked up, and upon realizing it was Jun-seong, his face crumpled. Jun-seong frowned with an expression that seemed somehow reluctant.
“You don’t have another class, right? Give me a moment of your time.”
Woo-yeon almost asked why he should, but stopped himself. In his heart, he wanted to ignore him, but Jun-seong was a partner for the group project—and the group leader, no less. With only two weeks left until the presentation, he couldn’t avoid it if it was related to the project.
“……What is it?”
Was he suggesting they finally make a group chat? Or was it about the PPT production (Woo-yeon was exempt from the PPT since he was in charge of the presentation)? Setting aside all those expectations, Jun-seong mentioned the most basic matter.
“We need to have an idea meeting for our invention.”
They first created a group chat and headed to a cafe near the main gate. Since there were about 40 minutes left until the study session, it seemed the timing would work out if they had the meeting first. Just in case, Woo-yeon sent a message saying he might be late, then put down his phone and looked up.
“So, does anyone have an idea?”
Jun-seong looked around at the group members with a somewhat grumpy expression. His gaze pointedly skipped over only Woo-yeon, leaving the other members to awkwardly read the room. Of course, they only read the room; no one brought up a good idea.
“Sigh…… you guys are seriously frustrating.”
The air felt like thin ice, making it hard to breathe. The atmosphere, which already felt doomed, drained Woo-yeon’s motivation as well. Woo-yeon took a notebook and pen out of his bag and wrote, ‘Inventions for the Global Era.’ Once he wrote that, surprisingly, there was nothing more to add.
“How is it that not a single person has a good idea?”
Jun-seong complained incessantly, telling them to say something or asking if they were all mute. When he finally told them to at least show some effort, Woo-yeon couldn’t take it anymore and snapped back.
“Hey, you’re the same, so stop picking on everyone else.”
His habit of blaming others hadn’t changed at all, then or now. While he had no ideas himself, he was using his position as group leader to criticize others. While the silence of the other members was annoying, Jun-seong’s behavior was more unpleasant.
“……Hah.”
Surprisingly, Jun-seong didn’t snap back or shout in indignation. He simply shut his mouth tight and glared at Woo-yeon with an unreadable look. Woo-yeon picked up his pen again and began writing in the notebook.
“Since it’s an invention, we should focus on inconveniences.”
Jet lag, language, racial discrimination. He wrote down a few other things he had felt, but the group members remained silent. Woo-yeon sincerely thought it might be better to just give up on this lecture and take an F.
Their fruitless meeting continued until the study time approached. During that time, Woo-yeon alone came up with about three ideas, while the other members alternated between admiration and silence. Jun-seong remained silent as if protesting, so Woo-yeon finally put down his pen and spoke.
“Let’s just disband and agree to think of three inventions each by tomorrow. I have to go for my study session.”
Right on cue, a call came in. The caller was ‘Kwon Seon-kyu.’ Woo-yeon suppressed his irritation toward the group members and answered the phone.
“Hello?”
—Hey, Woo-yeon! We’re meeting up and heading to the cafe now, so if you’re late, just come straight here.
Seon-kyu’s characteristically light voice could be heard over the phone. To Woo-yeon, who had been in a frustrating silence for so long, it was a very welcome sound. Seon-kyu offered some small comfort, saying the group project sounded tough, and then mentioned they had almost arrived at the cafe.
It was at that exact moment that a bell chimed. Woo-yeon instinctively turned his head toward the sound. Then, the words that should have come from the phone were heard right nearby.
“We just walked into the cafe……”