Alpha Trauma [Novel] - Chapter 26

-We just entered the cafe….
After a short pause, the same words flowed from their phones. Wooyeon blinked and looked at those who had entered the cafe a little while ago. The other person seemed to have noticed Wooyeon and was looking at him with rounded eyes.
“Oh? Oh, Wooyeon!”
The first to react was Garam. Garam, with her hair tied high and wearing a denim jacket with jeans, waved to Wooyeon with a smile. Wooyeon, almost unknowingly, stood up halfway from his seat.
“Everyone…”
It was Seongyu, Garam, and Dohyun. They must have come to the cafe where they had reserved a study
room. Wooyeon, who had only heard the words “near the main gate,” was surprised.
“Wow, meeting like this. Were we going to do the group project here?”
“I was surprised when I called.”
They approached Wooyeon, each adding a word. Dohyun only exchanged eye contact and went to the counter, but Wooyeon couldn’t take his eyes off him. It was because his mood lightened as soon as he saw Dohyun’s neat face as if asking when he had gotten annoyed.
“Is there still much to do?”
So, you can feel this way just by looking at a handsome face. From his straight neck to his broad shoulders and even his clean back, Wooyeon couldn’t take his eyes off him.
“No, we’re done.”
“Great timing. Let’s go into the room right away and study.”
The uncomfortable feeling washed away as if it had been rinsed. Wooyeon shook his head and picked up the notebook and pen he had placed on the table. The meeting was already in its final stages, and no one was enthusiastic enough to insist on having more discussions. But just as he was about to enter the room with his bag, a sharp voice stopped him.
“What are you doing?”
Wooyeon lifted his bag and looked up. Junseong was looking at him with a stern face. Awkwardly, the members who had been preparing quietly also hesitated, glancing at each other.
“The meeting isn’t over and you’re leaving?”
It was an annoying tone. Garam and Seongyu, who were checking the atmosphere, awkwardly distanced themselves, saying they would go into the study room. Wooyeon took his gaze away from Junseong and put the bag on his shoulder.
“You don’t even have ideas, and you want to have more meetings. We agreed to bring three ideas each by tomorrow, didn’t we?”
“Are you the leader?”
Even Wooyeon couldn’t help but grimace at those words. Junseong twisted his face harshly and spat out as if chewing on something.
“Who decides that? Hey, tell me. Can you bring three ideas by tomorrow?”
Naturally, there was no response. As expected, even tomorrow, there would be no one bringing ideas. Feeling suffocated, Wooyeon put his bag on the table.
“Then finish it. I won’t go.”
Wooyeon slumped into his seat. The members who were standing awkwardly couldn’t do anything. Wooyeon leaned back against the backrest with his arms folded.
“Do the meeting.”
Junseong glared at Wooyeon fiercely, and Wooyeon met his gaze with a straight look.
“Excuse me… we don’t have any ideas anyway-“
“Aren’t you going to sit down?”
Joo Won, one of the inexperienced members opened his mouth, but Junseong decisively cut him off. Helplessly, they sat around the table again like Wooyeon.
Naturally, no words were exchanged. Even Wooyeon, who had been leading the meeting, closed his mouth, leaving only a heavy silence among them. 1 minute, 2 minutes. The slow-flowing time felt like an eternity. If it weren’t for the calm music coming from the cafe, it would have been so quiet that you could hear the sound
of insects crawling.
Wooyeon blinked silently and turned his gaze indifferently. He wasn’t sure what the dissatisfaction was about, but he was familiar with Junseong’s temper. Even in middle school, he had tormented Wooyeon for unreasonable things. At such times, the most effective way to irritate him was not to get angry or argue but
simply to ignore him.
“Ha, fuck. Hey, stop it.”
As expected, not long after, Junseong vigorously shook his head. His dyed yellow hair scattered untidily. Wooyeon looked at him indifferently and spoke in a dry voice.
“Stop what? You said we were going to have a meeting, didn’t we?”
“”
There seemed to be a clicking sound of displeasure. Junseong, who couldn’t control his anger, clenched his fists. He closed his eyes a few times and then commanded his team members.
“Hey, you guys go.”
The team members, wearing bewildered expressions, reluctantly stood up. Watching the team members run
away, Wooyeon also grabbed his bag and stood up. No, he tried to stand up.
“Fuck, where do you think you’re going?”
Junseong roughly grabbed Wooyeon’s arm. The angry pheromones were transmitted along his wrist. Wooyeon twisted his arm to pull it away and impatiently brushed off Junseong’s hand.
“Don’t touch me.”
The atmosphere became eerie, sending shivers down the spine and a sensation of discomfort spread across
the skin like bugs crawling. Junseong briefly wore a startled expression before quickly raising his voice with a
fierce look on his face.
“Why do you hate me so much?”
For a moment, he was lost for words. He never expected Junseong to say such a thing. Wooyeon looked at him with a bewildered expression and asked in disbelief, “Are you trying to talk about that now?”
If he were to explain why he disliked Junseong, even three days and nights wouldn’t be enough. Ruining Wooyeon’s three years of middle school was unpleasant enough, and the fact that he managed to get into a good university and live an ordinary life also angered Wooyeon. At this point, he didn’t have the energy to explain why he disliked him, and he wanted to avoid meaningless arguments.
“Hey, I feel wronged.”
But it seemed like Junseong didn’t see it that way. He furrowed his brows as if genuinely feeling wronged, then slammed his hand on the table.
“Did I curse at you? Hit you? Or make you feel bad? I didn’t do any of that, so why are you treating me like
this?”
For a moment, Wooyeon swallowed a bitter laugh. It wasn’t because every word Junseong said was about the fact that Wooyeon had done something wrong in the past. It was simply because his last words were similar
to what he had said five years ago.
‘Why are you like that to me?’
It took Wooyeon a year to spit out those words. After enduring, enduring, and enduring, he finally asked when it became clear that understanding was out of reach. Yet, Junseong was pressing Wooyeon after only three meetings. And Wooyeon hadn’t even done anything to him.
“Anyway, we’re in the same group, and we have to do the group project. Let’s get along peacefully. Why bother people because you can’t pick a fight?”
From one to ten, it was what Wooyeon wanted to say when he was in middle school. We’re in the same class
anyway, we have to get along, so why not get along peacefully? Why bother people because you can’t pick a
fight?
(TL/N “From one to ten” is a phrase that indicates a complete range or spectrum of something, from the lowest to the highest degree. In this context, it implies that Wooyeon’s statement encompasses everything he wanted to say, covering all aspects or levels of his feelings or thoughts on the matter.)
“….We came here for an idea meeting, right?”
Wooyeon opened his mouth, trying to control the uneasiness inside. The feeling of Junseong’s pheromones
still lingered on his wrist.
“As you said, I haven’t cursed at you or hit you, so what exactly is the problem?”
“Fuck, you keep…”
Junseong, who had raised his voice, abruptly closed his mouth, glancing around. The gazes that had been
gathering since Wooyeon stood up had become more overtly judgmental. Junseong, breathing heavily, spoke
in a suppressed tone.
“You keep… ignoring people. It feels like shit.”
It was truly an absurd reason. After pouring out all kinds of insults just a while ago, he was now upset over Wooyeon’s mere actions. He hadn’t said anything implying injustice for treating his team members disrespectfully due to being the leader, nor did he say anything about feeling unfairly treated.
“Then, you ignore me too.”
Wooyeon spoke in a cold tone. The more Junseong talked, the messier the memories of the past stuck in his
mind. Thoughts of the actions Junseong had taken against him flooded back, causing emotions to swirl
chaotically.
“I said I dislike guys like you.”
Whether he was taken aback or not, it didn’t matter to Wooyeon. He didn’t want to explain the reasons, nor
did he want to act friendly. Even after finishing the group project, the end was near, and facing each other like this was unpleasant.
“If you hate someone, just ignore them. Act like you don’t know each other and get along.”
“Then why do you hate me? I saw you for the first time when we took the elective together. What did I do to
make you act like this? Did I bother you?”
There was a feeling inside as if something had snapped. It felt like the forced composure was going awry. Unnoticed, Wooyeon’s pheromones flowed out, and only one thought dominated his mind. ‘You damn pig, every time I see you, I feel like vomiting.’
You, who are you to hate me like this? What did I do to make you hate me so much? Criticizing my
appearance, ruining my feelings, and casting me into an endless abyss-what is the reason for all this?
‘There’s no fucking reason for this.’
“Is there even a reason?”
It seems that his heart, which he had thought was all better, was actually further hurt. The shabby bandage
was about to fall off, stinging sharply. Even though the situation and the positions had changed, once again,
it was Wooyeon who ended up with a wounded heart.
“I just hate you. I don’t like cursing, gossiping, or I don’t like people touching me like this.”
“Stop looking for reasons and just leave it. I have nothing more to say so I’m leaving.”
Saying that, Wooyeon tried to leave the cafe immediately. If Junseong hadn’t stood up to follow him, he
would have certainly walked away without looking back.
“Hey, I haven’t finished talking yet…”
There was a sound, like something colliding. More precisely, it was the sound of two hands touching. The
familiar pheromones gently wafted through the air, and a warm voice blocked their path.
“I was just going to wait…”
Autumn-like dry pheromones faintly surrounded them. The uncomfortable sensation that had been lingering
disappeared in the blink of an eye. Wooyeon widened his eyes and slowly turned toward the source of the
sound.
“So we’re doing group projects like this nowadays.”
Dohyun, who had casually spoken, released Junseong’s hand. The hand that had been grabbed close to
Wooyeon seemed like it was intended to reach his shoulder or bag. Dohyun glanced at Wooyeon for a
moment, then asked in an incredibly gentle voice.
“Hasn’t the meeting finished yet?”