By Zephyria 
Тhеre was no timе tо say аnything morе. Аs sооn аs thоse words wеrе sрoken, thе other pеrson wаlked аwaу without lооking bаck. Thе waу he strode аway madе him look almоst angrу. Dо-hyun remained standing in рlace, blаnklу wаtсhing thе directiоn in which hе disаppеаred.
‘Why are уou sо lаte?’
Ga-rаm, unаblе tо hоld baсk, аpрroached and pоured out а barragе of nagging. She сomрlained аbоut how she hаd to cоme аll thе waу hеre, аnd hоw it wouldn’t hаvе killеd him to arrivе а little еаrliеr. Аfter venting her frustrations to a dizzying degree, her voice quickly turned excited.
‘Hey, you saw him earlier, right? He’s a freshman who just joined, and isn’t he incredibly cute?’
He had looked young, and it seemed he was twenty. His pale face and delicate features fit Ga-ram’s taste perfectly.
‘Is he in our major?’
Do-hyun asked, switching off his interest in the boy. Regardless of his face or pheromones, if he was a freshman in the same major, the situation changed. If he got entangled with the wrong person, his school life would become very grueling.
‘Yeah, I told him to come to the after-party, but he just left, saying he was busy. He gave off such a cold vibe that I couldn’t even talk to him.’
‘Maybe he doesn’t like drinking parties.’
‘Ugh, that won’t do…’
‘Do you have no conscience? He’s a freshman.’
‘It’s not like I’m trying to seduce him. I just want to bring him into the club.’
Claiming he looked very diligent, Ga-ram even mentioned physiognomy, despite not knowing a thing about it. She seemed to like him quite a bit, expressing deep regret that she hadn’t managed to get his number.
‘I heard from the Teaching Assistant oppa that his name is pretty, too.’
‘What’s his name?’
If it had ended there, Do-hyun would have just played along and let it go. Since they were in the same major, they would cross paths eventually, so he figured they would at least become acquainted in passing.
The problem was the name that came out of Ga-ram’s mouth.
‘He said it’s Woo-yeon, Seon Woo-yeon.’
‘….’
The hair on his neck stood on end. His pupils dilated, and his breath swelled heavily. After his naturally flowing pheromones came to an abrupt halt, Do-hyun ran toward the direction he had disappeared without a moment’s hesitation.
‘Hey, where are you going! Hey, Kim Do-hyun!’
It was the behavior of a madman. He ran until he was breathless, scouring the area near the main gate like he was hunting for a mouse. He stopped several people wearing similar clothes, but unfortunately, Woo-yeon was nowhere to be seen.
‘…Hah.’
Opportunities always arrive in sudden moments. The encounter that came without warning became a turning point in a daily routine that repeated like a turning wheel. A connection he thought he would never meet again had appeared within arm’s reach.
It seemed the memories he thought he had forgotten were actually buried because he didn’t dare to look back. Seeing how he had rushed out the moment he confirmed the possibility of untangling the knotted thread, feeling as if he were clutching at straws.
If asked what he was thinking, he had no proper answer. He knew it was ridiculous to act this way now after being the one to leave first. It was simply a basic sense of gladness, or perhaps a lingering attachment beyond that. A belated regret toward a relationship he had ruined in his youth.
However, one thing was certain: even if he desperately wanted him, it wasn’t romantic love.
For now, Do-hyun decided to wait. He waited until the new semester began, waited until Woo-yeon appeared before his eyes, and waited for Ga-ram to recruit him into the club.
This time, he hoped it would start with a natural encounter, one that he didn’t intentionally engineer.
‘Do you know someone named Seon Woo-yeon?’
When Yun-woo asked that, Do-hyun wanted to shout for joy. While he didn’t think he had seen wrong, the tiny bit of doubt remaining turned into certainty.
‘He knows you. I thought he wanted to join the club, but it doesn’t seem like that. If he’s someone you know, Ga-ram invited him to the general assembly today…’
He had no intention of acting rashly. Since it was a relationship he had already botched once, he planned to approach cautiously and carefully. If Ga-ram hadn’t been flirting with him while drunk, Do-hyun wouldn’t have spoken to him first.
‘Oh, Woo-yeon has made a lot of friends, huh?’
Ga-ram’s drinking habits had a somewhat annoying side. She acted friendly toward anyone regardless of who they were, and if she felt like it, she would even initiate skinship. To make matters worse, her pheromone management was poor that day, and it was obvious that Woo-yeon was extremely uncomfortable.
‘This Noona is already…’
‘Mungaram is acting like a boomer again.’
His tense shoulders looked small. The way he pressed himself against the wall, covering his mouth with his sleeve, made him look like a fully bristled hedgehog. He still hates Alphas. Do-hyun made sure to remember that fact.
‘He’s uncomfortable.’
Pretending to know nothing, Do-hyun wedged himself between Ga-ram and Woo-yeon. He blocked Ga-ram’s pheromones with his own body and poured water for Woo-yeon, who had started hiccuping. Woo-yeon, who had been stiffly frozen, only took the glass after being told to drink.
‘…Thank you.’
The voice, which had lowered considerably, was different from before. Unlike back then when it was a slender, beautiful voice, it was now calm and mature. Four years had been such a long time. That fact was both a relief and a disappointment.
‘That’s him.’
With a face flushed from alcohol, Ga-ram spoke rudely right in front of the person in question. ‘Just like I said, right?’ At her question, Do-hyun examined Woo-yeon’s face, knowing it was impolite.
Under the dim lighting, his pale face was clear. He had lost a lot of weight, but his basic features hadn’t changed much. He still didn’t resemble Soo-hyang, and his glossy eyes were the same.
‘…I guess so.’
What did Ga-ram say? That he looked incredibly cute? If one didn’t know the difference between cuteness and prettiness, those words weren’t wrong. Do-hyun had known since four years ago that he had large eyes and a sharp nose.
‘Can I speak casually?’
He wondered if he could tell him about the past now. Since it was all in the past, he thought he could confess openly. Then, perhaps he could be remembered as a good connection, or at least as someone who was once a source of support.
‘Your name?’
‘Seon Woo-yeon.’
But unlike Do-hyun, Woo-yeon seemed to have no intention of acknowledging him. Just in case, he checked the name, but Woo-yeon played innocent, pretending to be a stranger. The voice correcting him that it was ‘Seon Woo-yeon’ and not ‘Seon Woo-yeon’ sounded quite firm.
‘Ah, Woo-yeon.’
What were the odds that a student he taught four years ago would come to the same university and the same major? He heard that the boy had studied abroad in the US; he could have easily enrolled there.
‘It’s a coincidence.’
If it truly was a coincidence, he hoped it was an act of fate. He intended to start over from the first button and pretend not to know him, just as the boy wanted. If he built the relationship step by step, maybe one day Woo-yeon would call him ‘Teacher’ first.
‘…Not really.’
The fact that he smoked was unexpected, but that wasn’t even among the most surprising things. He also knew that Woo-yeon had walked out partly because he was uncomfortable with him. What was truly baffling was the single sentence that came out of Woo-yeon’s mouth.
‘I hate it because your smiling looks fake.’
It was a shock. He felt a bit hurt. It was as absurd as it was baffling, and as baffling as it was surprising.
Four years. Not more, not less, exactly four years. A long enough time for Woo-yeon’s appearance and even his voice to change. And after meeting again after such a long time, Woo-yeon looked at his smile and called it fake.
He didn’t think it was just a random comment. Do-hyun himself was aware that he smiled artificially. It was just disconcerting that ‘Woo-yeon’ had seen right through it.
Do-hyun had never once smiled falsely in front of Woo-yeon. Four years ago, and even now. He had always been sincere when dealing with him.
Perhaps that was why. That one sentence sparked a sense of stubbornness. Even though he knew it was childish, he wanted it acknowledged that it wasn’t fake. He didn’t mind if others thought so, but he didn’t want to carry that stigma, at least not with Woo-yeon.
Fortunately, there were many opportunities to clear up the misunderstanding. By luck, they had overlapping Friday lectures, and Woo-yeon even joined the ‘Reading English Classics’ club. Although he occasionally showed his discomfort openly, it was cute how he couldn’t bring himself to answer when asked if he was uncomfortable.
‘…Do you often hear that you have a bad personality?’
He had heard that question exactly twice. Once from Soo-hyang, and once from Woo-yeon.
For several weeks, Do-hyun did everything he could for Woo-yeon. He helped him with course registration, helped him study, and bought him cheap food that would have horrified Soo-hyang. The young master, who had never even opened a car door with his own hands, liked simple chocolates and cheap Tteokbokki the most.
It was a series of very meaningful days. Everything was enjoyable: seeing Woo-yeon adapt to the club, seeing him touch his earlobe with flushed cheeks, and seeing him curse in English when drunk. Occasionally, his chest felt ticklish, but he brushed it off as just being excited.
‘Then let’s do it at Woo-yeon’s house today.’
The study session was actually a very impulsive decision. He didn’t like how Woo-yeon had been avoiding him since the Membership Training, and the Alpha who had given him a note in the library was bothering him. He had felt it since the after-party of the general assembly: Woo-yeon was unnecessarily popular.
‘Is this… a model house or something…’
A penthouse with a stunning, open view. Woo-yeon, standing there, gave off an atmosphere similar to four years ago. It was better than his family home, which felt like a prison blocked by walls, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the boy was like a loner isolated in a high place.
‘What are you looking for?’
‘A cup. It’s a bit weird to just give it to you like that.’
Do-hyun was surprised that he had thought to bring out drinks, and he laughed inwardly at the fact that the boy didn’t even know where the cups were.
There were surely cups on the lower shelves, but it was typical of Woo-yeon to first open the cabinets at eye level. He’s going to break it. No sooner had he thought that than a glass slipped.
‘Every time I see…’
Even he thought his reflexes were surprising. He had expected the glass to fall, but he didn’t know he could actually catch it. In his surprise, pheromones leaked out, and his own reflection was clearly mirrored in Woo-yeon’s wide-open eyes.
‘You make it so I can’t look away.’
They were about a span’s distance apart. When he was tutoring, he had seen his face from even closer. So why was this familiar distance suddenly making him nervous?
‘I, uh… I really have to go to the bathroom…’
Woo-yeon hurriedly left the spot, but Do-hyun couldn’t move for a long time. The faintly remaining pheromones left a trace deep in his lungs. He realized the reason his heart was beating fast wasn’t because he had almost broken the glass.
On the way home, Do-hyun organized his thoughts with a complex mix of emotions. When he closed his eyes, Woo-yeon came to mind, and his heart fluttered at the emotions the boy had shown. The feelings that had begun to change gradually finally changed their name.
It was romantic love. It was attraction, and it was affection.
However, before he had time to be flustered by the sudden realization, Do-hyun immediately looked for a way to kill those feelings. It was because of a single phone call from Driver Yoon the next day.
—‘The Chairman wishes to see you.’