Alpha Trauma [Novel] - Chapter 27

Wooyeon’s eyes widened in surprise. Just like when Dohyun entered the cafe a while ago, the lingering emotions hesitated as their gentle gazes met. Even the pheromones lingering on his wrist from Junseong were no longer detectable.
“No, who are you….”
Junseong awkwardly stepped back with a bewildered expression. He seemed quite taken aback by Dohyun’s sudden appearance. Anyone could see that he was a senior; it wasn’t unreasonable to be shocked, especially considering Dohyun was taller than him. Wooyeon, ignoring Junseong, grabbed Dohyun’s coat.
“The meeting is over.”
He didn’t spare a glance for Junseong, didn’t add any further comments, and didn’t show any discomfort while looking at him. He just lowered the corners of his eyes and looked up at Dohyun with a pleased expression.
“Let’s go, senior.”
This time, Junseong couldn’t catch Wooyeon either. Dohyun followed Wooyeon silently, subtly observing Junseong’s face.
After entering the study room, they had a hard time dealing with Garam and Seongyu. They ranted about what that ‘bright yellow head’ had done and were in shock at Junseong being chosen as the group project leader. After a while of silence, he seriously suggested, “Let’s freeload,” and Wooyeon found himself involuntarily laughing at that.
“But how did you know and come out?”
Wooyeon, clutching his bag, looked around and checked the window. Perhaps hoping to see the outside, he noticed that there was a half-opaque film attached to the lower part of the wide window. It was difficult to know the outside situation as only a silhouette was barely visible.
“I just had good timing.”
Dohyun said that while pointing to the cigarettes he had taken out. It seemed like he stood up to smoke, and it looked like he glanced outside through the transparent part above. Garam stood up, rummaging through her bag, and burst into laughter.
“Hey, I thought Kim Dohyun suddenly went out because he needed to poop.”
“Noona, I want a cigarette too.”
They stood up and looked out the window for a while. They remarked that it seemed like the guy was gone now, and if he had been there, they wouldn’t have let him off easily. While having such a random
conversation, Dohyun casually spoke to them.
“Air out the smell before you come back.”
It seemed like he had no intention of going. Garam looked at him with a puzzled face.
“Aren’t you going?”
“I don’t feel like it.”
“What about Wooyeon?”
“He quit smoking.”
“Wow, I didn’t notice that.”
They left the study room, leaving Wooyeon to concentrate solely on studying. The two who came back after smoking were amazed at Wooyeon’s concentration. Except for occasional moments when Dohyun told him to take a break to cool his head, Wooyeon didn’t take his eyes off the book for three hours.
“Thanks to Wooyeon, I studied a lot today.”
“Me too. Just got motivated for no reason.”
As the reserved time was coming to an end, Wooyeon took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Due to being
so absorbed, English words crawled like worms in his mind. Dohyun, packing up, looked at Wooyeon and chuckled playfully.
“There’s a mark from your glasses.”
What did that one sentence mean? His face turned bright red. He covered his ears with his hands, but the flushed neck couldn’t be hidden. It was a peaceful day as if nothing had happened.
***
A date with Dohyun. Just thinking about that one thing, Wooyeon tried his best. Apart from eating and sleeping, he spent most of his time sitting at his desk, occasionally drifting off in thought about Dohyun. It was a focus akin to the days long ago when he wanted to impress his teacher, a concentration that said, “Get lost, exam stress.”
So, Wooyeon received a perfect score on the essay he wrote in English for the first exam. It was precisely because of the information Dohyun provided, but Seongyu, who had received the same information, had his score reduced. Suppressing the immediate desire to brag, Wooyeon prepared for the next exam.
The second exam was also successful. Given a blank sheet and told to write down everything he memorized, Wooyeon did not hesitate and filled the paper to the brim. For Wooyeon, who studied without much strategy, problems that only required recitation were much easier and simpler.
The third and fourth exams were not difficult either. Sometimes, the content was memorized just before the exam came out, and on some occasions, all the questions were based on the points Dohyun pointed out. Furthermore and fortunately, the liberal arts class with Junseong became a free period to ‘prepare for the midterm exam,’ although there was no contact with the team members. Wooyeon decided to focus on the exams for now.
And finally, the long-awaited Friday. Wooyeon organized the memorized content in his notes before the last exam. The class on English phonology that he took with Dohyun was difficult, and grasping the concepts was not easy. Though Dohyun helped a bit, Wooyeon still wasn’t confident.
“Do you think you’ll do well?”
Wooyeon raised his head weakly, looking sullen. Dohyun squinted his eyes at Wooyeon’s lack of confidence. Then, with a short hesitation, he reached out his hand to the back of Wooyeon’s head.
“Don’t be nervous and relax.”
Long fingers tousled his hair. The disheveled hair clung to Dohyun’s fingertips. Wooyeon straightened his back and looked at Dohyun with slightly squinted eyes.
“Just read the questions carefully. Got it?”
A faintly drawn smile flooded his heart. Although Dohyun quickly removed his hand, the touch lingered. Feeling like he could hear his own heartbeat in his ears, Wooyeon stammered and pursed his lips.
“Senior, also…?”
His face flushed hotly. The heat on his head made it hard to recall what he had seen until now. Instead of easing the tension, his entire body tensed in a different way this time.
“Good luck with the exam.”
Wooyeon barely uttered those words and bowed his head. Before turning his gaze away, Dohyun seemed to have a surprised expression, but Wooyeon couldn’t even pay attention to that. His heart was beating so fast that if he relaxed for a moment, pheromones might pour out.
If he intended to relieve tension, it was a failure. No, if the intention was to distract him and eliminate worries about the exam, it was a success. Until the professor came in and distributed the exam papers, Wooyeon’s mind was filled only with thoughts of Dohyun.
***
“Ugh, exams are finally over…!”
Garam, with a gleaming face, almost burst into the club room but hesitated upon entering. The subtly subdued atmosphere pricked her skin, which made her pause. As she closed her mouth, Dohyun and Wooyeon were sitting across from each other, facing a table.
Dohyun, with a somewhat apologetic expression, turned to look at Garam. His silence suggested that something had indeed happened. Garam looked at Wooyeon, who seemed on the verge of tears.
“What is it? … Are you trying to build military discipline?”
Dohyun’s face twisted into a frown. With a puzzled expression, he opened his mouth, his voice tinged with irritation. In response to the brief question “Am I crazy?” Garam playfully scratched her cheek.
“If it’s not that, then why is the atmosphere like this? Did something happen?”
Garam slowly entered the club room. Instead of sitting next to Dohyun, she changed her course and sat next
to Wooyeon. As soon as she sat down, Dohyun, looking at Garam, pursed his lips.
“Ugh, the kid turned into a deflated balloon.”
Wooyeon weakly looked at Garam. His normally round eyes seemed damp and gloomy today. Garam
softened her expression, feeling like Wooyeon might burst into tears.
“Okay, tell your Noona. Is it Kim Dohyun? Or that yellow head from back then?”
“Noona….”
Wooyeon hesitated to speak. Even with a full display of hesitation, Garam patiently waited for him to continue. Soon, with both hands covering his face, Wooyeon mumbled with a voice full of moisture.
“I messed up the last exam….”
Wooyeon had been in this state since the moment he received the exam paper. Until then, he had been
immersed in the excitement of his feelings for Dohyun, but as soon as he read the questions, he absentmindedly lost focus. Not because of Dohyun, but just because the questions were difficult.
They were nothing like the quizzes they had during the lectures. Although he had memorized all the concepts and interpreted the questions perfectly, he ultimately didn’t know what to apply. Once he felt the difficulty, he got confused with other concepts, and in the end, everything he had memorized flew away.
“It told me to change the features and make another phoneme, but I don’t know what’s what. And in the meantime, I got confused with accidental gaps and other things…”
Garam listened absentmindedly to what Wooyeon was saying. Whether it was about random gaps or whatever, as far as Garam knew, Wooyeon was just a junior in front of her. Though she clearly remembered studying English Phonology, apart from receiving a D+ grade, she couldn’t recall anything else.
“Ah… I see…”
Garam hesitated, refraining from patting his shoulder and withdrew her hand uncertainly. Dohyun, feeling awkward under her gaze as if questioning what to do with him, awkwardly shifted his gaze. It was evident
that he, too, couldn’t find a way to comfort Wooyeon and remained seated quietly.
“Still, Wooyeon, if it was difficult for you, it must have been difficult for others too…”
“Senior said he did well.”
Garam glared at Dohyun with a stern gaze. ‘Why did you do that, you idiot.’ With that look, Dohyun subtly
avoided eye contact. Actually, Dohyun had been consistently attending the lectures since his freshman year, so it was inevitable that he performed better than Wooyeon.
How much time had passed? Garam, who had been trying to comfort Wooyeon, finally gave up. Wooyeon
tried to pretend to be okay, but instead, he looked even more pitiful. Eventually, just as Garam was about to
sit in a dignified posture, someone knocked on the club room door.
“Oh, you’re all here? The exams are over, though…”
Seongyu showed the exact same reaction Garam had earlier. He came in enthusiastically but stopped talking
as soon as he entered. The awkward presence of the seniors and the appearance of the junior who seemed
like he was about to cry. Seongyu decisively took a step back.
“…If you’re building military discipline, I’ll leave.”
TL/N Let’s interact a lil bit-
Q: Do you think Dohyun has recognized Wooyeon? Or does D just like him-?