Alpha Trauma [Novel] - Chapter 29

“Hey! Juniors!”
It was a surprisingly impeccable timing. The noise was so loud that it made the bar tremble, and, unintentionally, Wooyeon grabbed onto Dohyun’s sleeve. When he discreetly moved to the side and tilted his head, a huge man, like a bear, appeared.
“Hey, it’s been a while, everyone!”
“Senior, it’s been a while!”
“Hyung, I can’t forget the drinking games we used to play together.”
“Yeah, yeah. I knew that’s why I came.”
Similar in height to Dohyun but appearing twice as bulky, the man was not overweight, but his imposing figure made him seem gigantic. Despite that, his eyes were gentle, not giving off a scary impression compared to his size.
“Park Sungjae, you’re too loud.”
Behind him was a petite woman. Her hair barely reached her shoulders, and her expressionless face exuded a cold image. Wooyeon realized instantly that she was ‘Minjeong Noona’ as she was standing beside Garam. “They’re both Betas.”
The tense shoulders, which had stiffened with anxiety, relaxed. I was worried that if they were Alphas, I wouldn’t like them, and if they were Omegas, it would unnecessarily bother me. Fortunately, both of them turned out to be Betas. The two who were engaged in a lively, one-sided bickering suddenly noticed Dohyun and approached cheerfully in our direction.
“Hey, Kim Dohyun! The senior came for the youngest’s birthday, and you didn’t even show up…”
The man laughed heartily, his eyes widening. His pretty double eyelids slowly shifted to Wooyeon. Wooyeon, still absentmindedly glancing, snapped his attention when the woman also looked at him, suddenly becoming aware.
At some point, he had been holding onto Dohyun’s clothes. Feeling awkward, he quickly let go, but faint handprints were left on the stiff fabric of Dohyun’s shirt. Wooyeon couldn’t offer an apology properly, neither unfolding the clothes nor ignoring the situation, so he awkwardly apologized.
“I’m sorry for the handprints…”
“It’s okay.”
Dohyun nonchalantly replied and stood up. Then, he approached the man, grabbing his arm in a friendly
manner.
“Hyung, why does it seem like you’ve gained weight? Didn’t you say you lost weight while studying?”
“…Hey, I lost more than 5kg.”
The man retorted quickly. Dohyun, jokingly dismissing him, squeezed him into the crowd. The problem was the woman standing there with an unimpressed expression. Wooyeon clearly heard her mutter, though it was a small voice.
“Thief.”
Although it was a soft voice, it rang clear in Wooyeon’s ears. Dohyun probably heard it too, but he pretended not to and made space for her. She casually raised the corners of her mouth and lightly touched Dohyun’s
arm.
“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it. Just sit down.”
He said that and took a seat across from Wooyeon. Garam nudged Seongyu aside and quickly sat next to the woman. Dohyun briefly tied his hair at the back, then returned to the seat next to Wooyeon.
As soon as they sat down, a man from the other side gathered people to play a drinking game. Dohyun called a waiter and took care of the soju and beer, and the woman casually asked Dohyun a question.
“How many new recruits this year?”
“Four. There were many applicants, but none of them could write the English title properly.”
“Was there The Miserable Ones written this year too?”
“That happens every year.”
Wooyeon found it strange to use honorifics with the teacher. He had used polite speech when they first met,
but it didn’t feel like this. Now, it was as if he was really the youngest.
“Unnie… Are you doing well?”
“I’m doing well. Did you do well on your midterms?”
“…Let’s not talk about that, okay?”
Garam meekly tucked her hair behind her ears. Seongyu seemed surprised at her demure appearance.
Dohyun, casually, placed a glass of soju and beer in front of the woman.
She raised one eyebrow with an expressionless face.
“Did you call me to make a shandy for you?”
“Why would I call you? With Sungjae Hyung, the payment is enough.”
“Does Park Sungjae know that?”
“He’ll probably find out tomorrow morning.”
The woman’s eyes squinted as if finding it amusing. Even though she was openly threatening to break someone’s back, she didn’t seem willing to share that information with the man.
“Well… Park Sungjae will handle that.”
The woman who held the soju bottle skillfully began making shandy. Pouring the soju, then the beer, she used chopsticks to stir, creating a perfect blend without overflowing, showing the skill of someone who had done this more than a few times.
Then, the woman handed the perfectly mixed shandy to Wooyeon.
“You look young, what’s your name?”
“”
Wooyeon was taken aback, not expecting her to address him directly. He hadn’t thought she would talk to him first. Trying to take the drink she offered, Dohyun unexpectedly reached out and took it.
“This is Seon Wooyeon. It’s not a foreign name, just Seon, last name Wooyeon.”
Having answered that way, Dohyun took a sip from the glass. Just like during parties, he gulped down the contents. The woman commented, “That’s not yours,” but he didn’t seem to care.
“As expected, the shandy Noona made tastes good.”
His teasing smile was charmingly mischievous. It seemed the woman also felt that way, as she chuckled and lightly stuck out her tongue. After a while, she grabbed the soju bottle again and subtly gestured to
Wooyeon.
“A freshman, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You look quite young.”
“I guess so. I’m twenty.”
“You weren’t like that when you were twenty.”
“…Are you swearing at me now?”
Wooyeon, holding a glass of water, closed his mouth clumsily. It was fine if she stayed next to him, but it felt awkward for her to talk about him like he was absent. Moreover, the atmosphere inexplicably felt friendly.
“Unnie, make me a shandy too.”
“Do you think I’m a machine for making shandies?”
“Oh, I’m curious too…”
“Jeez, even the freshmen now.”
The woman quickly became friendly with Seongyu. Despite her expressionless face and cold tone, it was surprising that she was not unlikable. She swiftly made two shandies, handed one to Garam and Seongyu,
and then smiled while glancing at Wooyeon.
“Would you like one too?”
“Noona.”
Dohyun called her softly. The woman turned her gaze slowly, then looked back at Wooyeon.
“I’m not forcing you, so if you don’t want it, feel free to say. Can’t you handle alcohol?”
“No.”
Wooyeon answered straight away without looking at Dohyun. He could feel Dohyun turning to look at him. When the woman offered him an unused beer glass, she raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Have a drink, please give me one too.”
It was half an order, but that was fine. He didn’t want to drink, and he had never tried a shandy, but he also didn’t want to just sit there quietly. The subtle atmosphere of exclusion felt strange even to Wooyeon.
“Just taste it. I won’t force you to drink a lot; someone might be watching.”
She laughed lightly as she made the shandy again. The amount she handed him this time was about half of
the first glass. Wooyeon received the beer glass and, like Dohyun did earlier, took a sip in one go.
“”
Suddenly, expressions crossed. Unlike Dohyun, who furrowed his brow, Wooyeon looked at the beer glass
with a surprised expression. Emptying the glass once and then glancing at the woman across, Wooyeon, slow
to shift his gaze, was boldly asked by the woman.
“Is it delicious?”
Wooyeon nodded his head as if enchanted. He had tried soju at parties, but the mix with beer masked the
taste of alcohol completely. The initial coolness and the nutty aftertaste made it tastier than any other drink
Wooyeon had tried.
“… How did you do that?”
“Just a skill acquired from working.”
The woman smirked and took Wooyeon’s glass again. Then, with a raised lip, she muttered like talking to
herself.
“Uh-oh, the rookie is falling for shandy.”
Dohyun sighed and stood up from his seat. Wooyeon, absorbed in the shandy, didn’t notice him looking at
him. With a complicated expression, Dohyun swept his hair with one hand.
“I’ll smoke a cigarette and be back.”
Wooyeon only looked that way after he turned around. Seeing him walk away without turning back
somehow left an inexplicable sense of regret. Hmph, the teasing woman spoke with a fake cough.
“Garam.”
“Yes, yes?”
With mischievous eyes, the woman placed a shandy in front of Wooyeon. The calm voice flowed from her lips
that still formed a smile.
“Go smoke with him.”
***
It took exactly 30 minutes for the form of address to the woman to change to ‘Noona,’ and for Wooyeon to
open up to her.
“So, did you mess up the exam?”
“Yeah… I really didn’t know anything.”
“That must’ve been disappointing.”
The woman who introduced herself as Kim Minjeong somehow created a comfortable atmosphere. Even without saying much, she took the lead in the conversation, and despite not smiling much, Wooyeon drawn to her. Perhaps because of this, when Wooyeon had consumed about four glasses of the drink she
offered, he began to babble and poured out his own story.
“I should have just skipped English Phonetics.”
“Yeah, how did a freshman end up taking that?”
“Well, I actually registered for it…”
felt
Sometime later, Minjeong found herself sitting next to Wooyeon. Seongyu had disappeared a long time ago,
claiming he would play a drinking game, and Wooyeon, sipping on the shandy he was handed, pouted.
“So, I just decided to take it…”
Minjeong rested her chin on her hand and nodded. Smiling at the adorable way Wooyeon mumbled his
words, she even let out a small laugh. Wooyeon thought that, for some reason, her expressionless face
resembled the teacher.
“So, did you start liking Dohyun?”
Somehow, the conversation shifted to emotions towards Dohyun. Wooyeon made a puzzled expression as if
saying, ‘Did I say such a thing?’ Minjeong, however, nodded as if she understood. Even if he didn’t remember
saying it, Minjeong would have noticed.
“But the teacher doesn’t like me…”
“The teacher?”
As Minjeong was about to ask, a faint pheromone could be sensed. Wooyeon slowly raised his head and,
seeing Dohyun approaching, touched his index finger to his lips.
“That’s a secret.”
“What’s the secret?”
The one asking was not Minjeong but Dohyun. Though he was quite far away a moment ago, he approached
in the blink of an eye. Wooyeon blinked slowly and lowered his head, avoiding eye contact.
“It’s nothing.”
Dohyun raised his eyebrows subtly. From eyes to nose, from nose to mouth. Scrutinizing Wooyeon meticulously, he quickly turned to look at Garam. Garam covered her mouth and opened her eyes wide as if
they were about to pop out.
“…This is crazy.”
Muttering so, Dohyun immediately unbuttoned his shirt. Leaving only a thin undershirt, he took off the shirt,
and Minjeong furrowed her brows as she watched. Dohyun put the shirt on Wooyeon’s head and explained to Minjeong.
“He is a dominant.”