Alpha Trauma [Novel] - Chapter 10

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The course adjustment period had ended. On Wednesday afternoon, Wooyeon entered the club room and pulled out his phone in front of three people—Dohyeon, Garam, and Seonkyu. Six eyes stared at the schedule displayed on his phone.

“Wow…”

“Unbelievable.”

An exclamation broke the silence. With a casual expression, Dohyeon raised the corners of his mouth. Seonkyu, glancing back and forth between the phone and Dohyeon, spoke in awe.

“Hyung, what kind of magic did you pull off?”

“…You didn’t know?”

Seonkyu looked at Wooyeon with an incredulous expression. The long stretch of silence felt oddly out of place. As he carefully pulled out his phone, he cautiously asked:

“You didn’t know there was a group chat?”

Without a word, Wooyeon turned his gaze away, prompting Seonkyu to scroll through his chats until he found “English Department Group Chat” and immediately invited Wooyeon.

“So that’s why you didn’t come to the freshman orientation…”

It wasn’t the most pleasant realization. Feeling a little bitter, Wooyeon scanned the participant list in the chat. Some of the familiar names were people he had exchanged numbers with at previous gatherings.

“Then how did you even know about the department assembly?”

“Sunbae Moon Garam told me.”

“Ah…”

An awkward silence lingered in the air. Both Garam and Dohyeon, too, remained quiet, sensing the tension. If it had ended there, it would’ve been fine. But what Dohyeon said next made Wooyeon feel even more miserable.

“Then, I guess you don’t know about the MT (membership training) trip either?”

“….”

Not even in middle school, when Wooyeon was ostracized, did it feel quite like this. At least back then, the school sent out notices. Was this some sort of subtle exclusion he hadn’t noticed? As Wooyeon’s eyes drooped in sorrow, Garam, seemingly unable to take it anymore, tapped the table.

“Hey, hey. The student council needs to get it together. How could they leave someone out like this? Weren’t you going to be the class president? What were you doing, not checking in on people?”

“I… I thought he didn’t want to be in the group because he doesn’t like crowds…”

Seonkyu scratched the back of his head, looking awkward. He had assumed Wooyeon had left the chat of his own accord, never even considering that he might not have known about it. His face twisted into a strange mix of guilt, confusion, and shock.

“…It’s fine. I’m in now, right?”

Wooyeon forced himself to respond casually, knowing that if they apologized, it would only make him feel more humiliated. Fortunately, someone knocked on the door at just the right moment. Knock knock. Seonkyu jumped up like a spring.

“I’ll get it!”

The person at the door was the delivery driver with their tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), which they had ordered about 20 minutes ago. After the tense and awkward moment, the savory smell of food soon filled the room, replacing the heavy atmosphere with something more pleasant.

“This place is really good. It’s not too spicy, and their delivery is always quick.”

The table was set up smoothly. While Garam set out the side dishes and tteokbokki, Dohyeon fetched paper cups from a cabinet. The same cabinet, Wooyeon realized, that likely held the club’s application forms but seemed to be stuffed with all sorts of random items instead.

“Ah, this looks delicious.”

“What does everyone want to drink?”

“Cola for me!”

“Water is fine for me.”

Wooyeon watched as Garam filled his cup with a portion of tteokbokki. Seonkyu had already started eating, but Wooyeon just blinked blankly at the dish in front of him, hesitating.

“What’s wrong?”

Dohyeon, who was pouring water, gently asked. That soft voice seemed to lull Wooyeon into speaking his thoughts aloud.

“I’ve never had it before.”

Before going to the U.S., Wooyeon hadn’t eaten any food that wasn’t prepared at home. Meals were always prepared by the housekeeper, and when he was in middle school, he brought his own packed lunch. While studying abroad, he had become more flexible with food, but he still had an aversion to street food.

Wooyeon knew his situation was not normal. Back in middle school, one of the reasons for his bullying had been the stark difference in his family’s lifestyle. The time he had told Dohyeon that he “didn’t eat cheap food” was more out of pettiness than actual snobbery.

“…What?”

Garam, with chopsticks in his mouth, widened his eyes in disbelief. His usually sharp gaze softened into round, surprised eyes. Seonkyu, in the middle of eating a sausage, also looked similarly astonished.

“This is your first time eating tteokbokki?”

It was a reaction not unlike when they found out Wooyeon wasn’t in the group chat. In fact, they seemed even more shocked now. Realizing his blunder, Wooyeon quickly waved his hands in denial.

“No, no! It’s just been a while. You can’t really get tteokbokki in the States, you know?”

It was a decent excuse, one he came up with on the spot. Both Garam and Seonkyu nodded in understanding and turned their attention back to their food.

“Ah, so you were in the U.S.? You must be great at English.”

“Sunbae, you’re in the English department…”

“Kwon Seonkyu, let me tell you, there are two types of people in the English department: those who are good at English from the start, and those who still can’t speak it by the time they graduate. I’m the latter.”

However, Dohyeon was the only one who narrowed his eyes and quietly observed Wooyeon.

“Aren’t you going to eat, sunbae?”

“I will.”

With a slight smile, Dohyeon scooped some sausages and cheese into a paper cup and handed it to Wooyeon.

“Here, try a little bit.”

Wooyeon blinked in surprise. Trying not to show his embarrassment, he clamped his mouth shut. Dohyeon then spoke in a gentle, coaxing tone.

“You said you can’t handle spicy food, right? Just take a bite to see if it’s too spicy for you.”

Wooyeon didn’t remember ever saying he couldn’t eat spicy food. In fact, he could handle it just fine. However, Dohyeon, with a shameless expression, tilted his head as if he had.

“…”

Wooyeon slowly accepted the paper cup. He wasn’t familiar with the smell, let alone how the food was made. It felt a bit unsettling, but since it was Dohyeon who gave it to him, he thought it might be okay. Hesitantly, he put the sausage in his mouth, and Dohyeon asked lightly,

“How is it?”

Without speaking, Wooyeon chewed the sausage. It was spicy and salty—a flavor he had never tasted before, similar to the time he first tried hamburger steak. His cheeks turned a rosy red.

“It’s good.”

It was truly something that could only be described as magic. Wooyeon’s schedule, neatly arranged from Tuesday to Friday, was a far cry from its previous chaotic state. All four days had lunch breaks, there were no 9 a.m. classes except on Friday, and none of the gaps from his previous schedule remained.

“It’s the reward for diligent school life.”

Dohyeon leaned back on the sofa, looking completely unfazed. His confident smile didn’t feel annoying in the slightest. Wooyeon checked his schedule again and recalled what had happened two days ago with Dohyeon.

That day, as promised, the two met in the club room and, after a quick strategy session, went to meet the professors. There wasn’t much strategy to discuss. Dohyeon simply asked how many credits Wooyeon planned to take, when he preferred to have breaks, and whether he was okay with morning classes. Then, without wasting any time, he stood up.

“He’s a new member of our club, and he really wants to take your class, Professor.”

With his smooth, friendly voice, Dohyeon charmed the professors. Smiling and politely asking for favors, he sometimes even shared a cigarette with them. The professors, already half disarmed just by Dohyeon’s presence, readily opened up the classes after he added a few more words.

“For some classes, I asked the professors directly. For others, I just grabbed them when they became available. And Yunwoo Hyung helped out too.”

Of course, not all the professors went along with his requests. Some dodged the situation with vague excuses, while others deflected the conversation toward graduate school. However, the moment the topic of graduate school even slightly veered off course, Dohyeon immediately gave up trying to persuade them.

“Professors are simpler than you’d think. If you show enough enthusiasm, they’ll let you in. But if you don’t attend properly, you can kiss your grades goodbye.”

With Dohyeon’s skills and the help of the teaching assistant, Wooyeon had finally secured a “normal schedule,” except for the Friday morning class he shared with Dohyeon.

“Just leave that one to me. I’ll help you with it.”

The class was “Understanding English Phonology,” a 3-credit major course. The professor was so passionate that they even gave a full presentation on the first day. If Wooyeon dropped the course, he’d have to make up the missing credits next semester.

“A lot of students give up on that class because it’s hard. As long as you do the basics, you’ll get a good grade.”

Trusting Dohyeon’s words, Wooyeon kept the class. In truth, there weren’t many alternative options. And it wasn’t because it was the only class he shared with Dohyeon.

“You really are something else…”

Sitting a bit farther away, Garam muttered in disbelief. Ever since Wooyeon had entered the club room, Garam had kept her distance. Judging by the fact that she had completely suppressed her pheromones, she was clearly still conscious of what had happened last time. It was a relief for Wooyeon.

“Thank you so much.”

Wooyeon checked his schedule one more time before putting his phone away. Without Dohyeon’s help, he’d probably be seriously googling “How to drop out in the first semester of freshman year” right now. Though in the end, he wouldn’t have actually dropped out; he’d have just reluctantly continued with school.

“I’m glad I could help.”

For anyone else, this would have been a huge achievement, but Dohyeon never once acted arrogant about it. That calm demeanor, so teacher-like, filled Wooyeon with a sense of quiet gratitude that he kept to himself.

“Hyung, if I mess up my course registration next time, will you help me too?”

“Hmm… I’ve already been asked to join the graduate program so many times, I’m not sure I want to do it again.”

“Come on, the professors love you. You should just go for it.”

“What?”

“Sorry.”

They exchanged a few lighthearted jokes. Wooyeon was a bit surprised to learn that Seonkyu had already joined the club. No wonder he had called Dohyeon “hyung” at that drinking party—they had already known each other.

“The other guys will be happy to hear that you’re taking classes with them, Wooyeon.”

“Why?”

By coincidence, Wooyeon’s schedule overlapped with Seonkyu’s in most places. Since first-year classes were all similar, it was strange that Wooyeon had been taking different ones on his own until now. Seonkyu naturally motioned toward Wooyeon with his chin.

“Why do you think? You’ve got that whole mysterious vibe.”

“…Me?”

The comment made Wooyeon frown unconsciously. Mysterious? What a ridiculous thing to say. If messing up a course schedule was considered mysterious, then sure, he had nothing to say.

“You’ve been taking different classes on your own, sitting off to the side during the freshman assembly, and you’re not even in the group chat, so people haven’t had a chance to get to know you.”

“…”

He didn’t have to explain about the classes, and during the freshman assembly, he had sat alone simply because he didn’t have any friends. What surprised Wooyeon wasn’t those two things, though.