By Zephyria 
“……Did уоu finish early tоdаy toо?”
Amidst the silеnсе, Gа-rаm wаs the first to асknоwledge him. Shе clicked hеr tonguе with greаt plаyfulnеss, соmplaining thаt the рrofessor wаs making things too еasy and thаt this wasn’t а сourse worth two crеdits.
Do-hyun watсhеd silеntlу аs the doоr he hаd hеld closеd slid оpen oncе agаin.
“Sinсe when hаs it bееn likе this?”
“Whаt, the dооr? It’s beеn a while.”
It had been a full wеek sincе he last sаw Teaсher. Тhe momеnt hе saw that nеat and strаight prоfilе, Woо-уeоn rеalizеd hе hаd missed him. Hе hаd gonе fоur уеars without seeing him, yet he felt such a fresh surge of emotion in just this short time. Perhaps it was because they had encountered each other in the club room every single day.
Woo-yeon approached the sofa where Seon-kyu was sitting as naturally as possible. Seon-kyu had been discreetly gauging the atmosphere the moment Do-hyun entered. After a brief conversation about whether to fix the door or not, they skillfully secured the doorknob and stepped inside.
“Woo-yeon, want to go smoke?”
As soon as Do-hyun sat down opposite him, Seon-kyu stood up awkwardly. He had never specifically called out to Woo-yeon before, but it seemed he was conscious of Do-hyun. It was a convenient excuse to leave the room, but Woo-yeon didn’t choose to flee.
“I’m trying to quit smoking now.”
Since he couldn’t say he hadn’t smoked at all, this was the best answer. Seon-kyu responded nonchalantly, saying, “Ah, right, you said you were quitting.” As he did, he patted Woo-yeon on the back, which felt almost like a gesture of consolation.
“Hey, Seon-kyu, let’s go with Noona.”
Ga-ram stood up and wrapped her arm around Seon-kyu’s shoulder. Seeing that she didn’t invite Do-hyun, she likely assumed he would refuse. Seon-kyu looked back at Woo-yeon a few times but left the club room without a word.
“…….”
“…….”
The poorly closed door opened again shortly after. Unable to bear the rising awkwardness, Woo-yeon went to close it, but the broken door kept opening no matter how he shut it. Left with no choice, Woo-yeon leaned his back against the door and looked at Do-hyun.
“Seonbae.”
Ever since his heat cycle ended, Woo-yeon had been waiting for a situation like this. A moment where he and Do-hyun were left alone, and he could ask his questions while pretending to be composed. A first, and perhaps final, opportunity to satisfy his curiosity.
“I need to talk to you.”
His heart was beating far too fast. If he had remained sitting on the sofa, Do-hyun might have heard it. Do-hyun waited for Woo-yeon to continue with his usual calm gaze.
“Since when did you know?”
There was no need to specify what he knew. It was a topic from a week ago, but Do-hyun must have guessed that this question would come. As expected, he didn’t ask for clarification and answered simply.
“From the beginning.”
“…….”
How should he describe the feeling he had now? Whether he should say he expected it, or that it was surprising.
One thing was certain: the past few days had been so full of surprises that a simple answer like this didn’t make his heart sink.
“How?”
Yes, this was the important part. Not the timing, but the means. Not when he found out he was that Seon Woo-yeon, but how. A basic curiosity about what he had overlooked that allowed Do-hyun to notice everything.
“Well……”
Do-hyun began slowly, appearing to choose his words for a moment. After keeping his mouth shut with his eyes cast down, he looked at Woo-yeon again.
“There were more than one or two strange things.”
It wasn’t that Woo-yeon had no guesses. He had almost called him ‘Teacher’ several times, and he had shown an oddly deep knowledge of him. Anyone else might not have noticed, but for someone as perceptive as him, it would have been harder not to realize.
“Yun-woo Hyung told me. That you asked if you knew Kim Do-hyun.”
As he spoke, Do-hyun pulled his phone out of his pocket. The moment Do-hyun’s gaze shifted away, Woo-yeon let out a faint, held breath.
“It’s strange that you know my name but didn’t know I was the club president. A kid who wants to join the club doesn’t ask a single question about the club, and on top of that, he doesn’t ask how old I am, but asks what year I’m in.”
Do-hyun held the phone screen out to Woo-yeon. The three characters ‘Seon Woo-yeon’ appeared clearly, striking him in the eyes.
“When do you think this number was saved?”
‘Since four years ago.’ That single realization hit him hard in the back of the head.
Honestly, he felt a sting of regret. Since Do-hyun’s number had changed, he naturally assumed his own number would have been deleted. Woo-yeon had never changed his number, but he hadn’t expected Do-hyun to still have a trace of him.
“Same name, same phone number, even the birthday and handwriting are the same; it would be harder not to recognize you.”
“…….”
“You might not know, but you still touch your ears when you’re embarrassed.”
Woo-yeon, who had habitually tried to touch his ear, flinched and lowered his hand. Being pointed out a habit he wasn’t even aware of felt strange.
As if driving the point home, Do-hyun spoke softly yet firmly.
“Just because your appearance changed a bit doesn’t mean you’ve become a different person.”
The nuance was that it was impossible not to recognize him. The gaze that said he absolutely could not have missed it was the same one he had seen on the terrace not long ago. Woo-yeon lowered his head weakly, speechless.
“I told you, I’m good at remembering people.”
In this, Do-hyun’s perceptiveness was indeed extraordinary. Even Kang Jun-seong, who had seen Woo-yeon longer than Do-hyun had, didn’t recognize him until he told him directly. It was a change that would surprise even his mother, yet he spoke as if it were natural that he had always known. And that was for a tutoring student he had only seen for a few months.
“……So, is that why you said you wanted to be nice to me?”
The events with him wandered through his mind one by one. Meeting for the first time after entering university, joining the same club and going on the Membership Training, and feeling the same emotions once again. And then, intoxicated by those tingling feelings, repeating the same mistake.
“Because you felt sorry for dumping me back then? Is that why you were nice?”
No answer came. Woo-yeon instinctively realized that the reason he gave was not wrong. His distorted face wore a self-deprecating smile.
“This is really too much.”
If it was a shallow emotion like pity, it shouldn’t have been that. If he knew Woo-yeon would be hurt, it would have been more merciful to cut him off cleanly. There is nothing more cruel than making someone hope for feelings that will not be returned.
“Yeon-ah.”
“Don’t call me that.”
A surge of bottled-up emotion welled up. The call that had once been a comfort was now a signal flare for sorrow. The emotion that had sweetly melted his heart had long since stopped melting and started eating away at his insides.
“You should have just pretended not to know until the end.”
Woo-yeon covered his eyes with one hand and let out a long breath. Thick pheromones seeped out with his intermittently trembling breath. His red lips parted very slowly.
“If you had, I wouldn’t be this embarrassed.”
If there were a way, he wanted to disappear from before his eyes right now. He didn’t want to know how pathetic he must have looked, having shown all his cards from the start.
“I was going to wait until you told me.”
Do-hyun spoke in a calm voice. His lack of agitation even in this situation made Woo-yeon’s mood flip even further. The fact that he was shaken all day while he couldn’t even leave a tiny crack in Do-hyun’s composure trampled a corner of his heart.
“I figured there would be a reason you weren’t saying it, so I planned to pretend I didn’t know until you told me yourself.”
“Then why back then……”
“You had no intention of telling me.”
Dark pupils moved slowly. Do-hyun stood up and approached Woo-yeon, coming right up to his face. The rushing pheromones bound Woo-yeon, making him unable to move.
“If I had hugged you then, you would have kept running away, Yeon-ah.”
The soft voice dropped an octave. He tried to step back, but he couldn’t because the door was behind him. Woo-yeon clenched his fists tight and glared up at Do-hyun.
“Is that not allowed?”
“…….”
“You’re right, I had no intention of telling you. But why is that not allowed?”
There was a reason why Woo-yeon had first decided to hide this fact. Or rather, the reason he could console himself that he wasn’t hiding it, but simply not mentioning it.
“You’re an Alpha too, Teacher.”
His voice came out harsh. Do-hyun’s face stiffened for a moment.
“You’re an Alpha, but you pretended not to be to me.”
If they hadn’t reunited, it was a fact Woo-yeon would have never known for the rest of his life. That he was an Alpha, that he was even a dominant one, and that he possessed such gentle pheromones.
“And you, Teacher—did you ever have any intention of telling me?”
The emotions that had been building up finally overflowed as tears. Because his vision was blurred, he couldn’t see what expression Do-hyun was wearing. The irregularly wavering pheromones were mixed so chaotically that it was impossible to tell whose they were.
“Why are Alphas really like this?”
Woo-yeon raised his right hand to wipe the flowing tears. The tears that streamed down left marks on his pale cheeks.
“It’s not like I chose to like you because I wanted to……”
If he had known he was an Alpha, he wouldn’t have liked him. To argue about right and wrong now was pointless; the problem started from the very beginning of the emotion. Do-hyun had been a comfort to him, but he didn’t take responsibility for the heart that had swollen.
“I’m not going to like you anymore, Teacher.”
Having said that, Woo-yeon turned around and grabbed the doorknob. He intended to throw away all his emotions and leave for a place where he wasn’t.
But before he could open the door, a strong grip seized Woo-yeon’s arm.
“……You’ve thought about this wrong.”
The gentle voice was colder than ever. With a hardened face, Do-hyun pulled back Woo-yeon’s sleeve. As soon as the wrist, bruised deep blue, was revealed, he used his other hand to slam the slightly open door shut.
“What use is keeping a conscience like that?”