It seemed Choi Iwon's new relationship had really come as a shock. Judging by the fact that he'd completely lost his senses and hit on an Alpha.
Still, since he had been the one to approach first, he had to clean up the mess. Seonwoo forced the corners of his stiff lips into a smile.
"Ah, I remember now. The lighter... Did you really come back that day?"
Hyeonchae nodded.
His expressionless face looked cold at first glance, but the emotion hidden beneath his half-lowered lashes was anything but.
I've never seen anything good come from dragging out conversations in situations like this...
Yet the emotions churning inside those pale eyes were so intense that Seonwoo couldn't pretend not to notice. Letting out a quiet sigh, he finally asked about the one thing he'd planned to ignore.
"Were you the one who took me home that night?"
"..."
He had worked up the courage to ask, yet for some reason the man frowned slightly, his lips jutting out ever so faintly in dissatisfaction. The expression, drawn across such an unbelievably beautiful face, made Seonwoo doubt his own eyes.
Is he... pouting?
"Hyeonchae. Eun Hyeonchae. That's my name. And you said we'd speak casually."
Listening, almost spellbound, to the calm, gentle correction, Seonwoo suddenly snapped back to his senses.
"Ah, right. I remember now. Hyeonchae, I never got to thank you for that night."
"You did."
"Hm?"
"You... thanked me for taking you home."
Why is that so important?
Finally tearing his eyes away from those lips that had been quietly chattering ever since, Seonwoo rubbed his forehead.
Get a grip, Nam Seonwoo. How can someone that big possibly be cute?
"Well, that's a relief then. But I'd rather you didn't come looking for me like this again."
"...Why?"
"That night was a mistake. And I don't plan on seeing you again."
Ah, I really should get going.
Just as Seonwoo checked the time and turned to leave, a disappointed voice stopped him.
"A mistake? What was the mistake?"
"..."
"You were the one... who made the first move."
Staring at Hyeonchae for a moment, Seonwoo let out a small laugh.
"I don't date Alphas. You're just so pretty that I got confused."
* * *
Leaving Eun Hyeonchae alone in the empty classroom, Seonwoo headed to his lecture.
The professor had already started teaching when his phone vibrated. Checking the text from an unknown number, Seonwoo couldn't help laughing in disbelief.
He looks so quiet, but he's completely insane.
[You promised to buy me a drink.]
Sneaking a glance toward the front of the room, Seonwoo typed a reply while avoiding the professor's attention.
[I don't buy drinks for Alphas I don't know.]
After blocking the number, Seonwoo looked back toward the front with the innocent expression of a model student.
And just like that, the little incident came to an end.
* * *
Since Seonwoo rarely participated in club activities, even the freshman welcome party felt like a chore.
Especially since one of the new members made things uncomfortable.
"Senior, you're coming to the welcome party, right?"
"If I have time."
"Wow, that's definitely a rejection."
"You're trying to skip it again, aren't you? We rented Banquet Hall 3 this time, so there's plenty of room. Please come, okay?"
"Hahaha... if I have time."
No matter how persistently the juniors begged, Seonwoo only smiled his way through it. He even told Jinhyeong, the club secretary, to remove his name from the attendance list.
But when the day of the welcome party finally arrived, all it took was Iwon casually saying, "See you later," for Seonwoo to postpone his prior plans and head to Banquet Hall 3.
"Seonwoo!!"
"Nam Seonwoo? What brought you here?"
Since he arrived a little early, the club members decorating the hall welcomed him enthusiastically. Watching everyone busily preparing, Seonwoo set his bag down and asked,
"What should I do?"
"Oh! A volunteer worker! Go grab the banner from the club room."
"Senior, there's a waiting room in the back. You can leave your bag there!"
"Eunjae, I don't think we have enough pens. Can you buy some?"
"Ah, unnie, I still haven't finished the printing, so..."
"I'll go. Pens, the banner... Anything else?"
"One more box of drinks!"
Taking in requests from every direction, Seonwoo tossed his bag into the waiting room and decided to start with the farthest errand first.
Other than Schuphur, which recruited freshmen during the second semester, most clubs weren't active yet, so the building housing the club rooms was eerily quiet.
Walking while checking his chat with Iwon—who still hadn't replied even after Seonwoo had texted that he'd arrived—he froze the moment he reached the club room door.
Apparently, the building hadn't only felt deserted to him.
Heavy breathing and a chaotic mix of pheromones drifted through the slightly opened door.
Seonwoo instinctively hid behind the wall and held his breath.
"..."
Even though he'd never received it himself, the pheromone was painfully familiar.
He'd seen countless lovers by Iwon's side over the years, but he'd never stumbled upon something like this before.
His heart, which he'd thought had long since grown numb after nearly a decade, pounded so violently it felt ready to burst.
He had absolutely no immunity to this.
Helplessly chewing at his lip until it split open, Seonwoo finally clenched his fist only after tasting blood.
"...Is it hard? I told you no one's coming."
At the sound of that familiar low voice, he immediately turned around and fled the building.
"Here. Pens and drinks. Eat some ice cream while you're working."
"Woo!! Everyone! Seonwoo bought ice cream! Grab one!"
The moment Seonwoo set the box down, everyone rushed over as though they'd been waiting for it.
While rummaging through the box, Hyeongjun frowned.
"Nam Seonwoo, where's the banner?"
"Sorry. I forgot."
"Hey! You just didn't go because it was too far, did you? How do you forget only the banner? You do all the juniors' errands... If you had brought the banner instead of wasting time buying ice cream just to manage your image, you could've gone back and forth three times..."
Seonwoo shoved an ice cream straight into Hyeongjun's mouth.
"I was worried it'd melt. I'll grab the banner before we start."
"...Hmph. Then you're hanging it up too."
"Sure."
He nodded absentmindedly when Hyeongjun suddenly looked behind him.
"Huh?"
Turning as well, Seonwoo met Iwon's eyes just as he entered the banquet hall.
A long banner rested against Iwon's side.
"Hyeongjun! The president brought the banner!"
"Hyeongjun! Hurry up and hang it!"
"Damn it, Nam Seonwoo!"
With everyone calling for him, Hyeongjun had no choice but to head for the stage to hang the banner.
Watching him leave with a grin, Seonwoo suddenly saw a pair of feet stop in front of him.
...He still wasn't ready to face Choi Iwon.
A gentle voice fell from above him.
"When did you get here?"
Without realizing it, Seonwoo inhaled sharply.
He could no longer smell their pheromones, but somehow it still felt as though Iwon's and Heejun's scents lingered in his nose.
You never used to be like this. What if someone had seen you...? Did you really like Heejun that much?
"Nam Seonwoo. What's wrong with your lip?"
Iwon reached out and pulled away the hand Seonwoo had been unconsciously rubbing against his mouth.
Only then did Seonwoo come back to himself and look up.
"Ah... right. What did you say?"
"You're bleeding. I told you to carry lip balm since your lips always crack. Did you come straight from class? What were you doing?"
"What was I doing? Running errands after I got here... Choi Iwon, hurry up and eat some ice cream before it melts."
Changing the subject naturally, Seonwoo slipped away.
As club president, Iwon also had countless things to do and was immediately called elsewhere, so Seonwoo's awkwardness went unnoticed.
The banquet hall turned out surprisingly nice after dozens of people worked together to prepare it.
As the scheduled time drew near, freshmen gradually began filing inside and taking their seats.
Once the hall became crowded, Seonwoo quietly slipped up to the second floor and hid in the shadows, looking down below.
Neither Choi Iwon nor Jin Heejun was anywhere in sight yet.
Absentmindedly tapping the railing with his index finger, he wondered when would be the best time to leave.
I've shown my face already, so leaving now wouldn't really matter... But if Iwon finds out, he'll definitely worry. Maybe it's better to leave after the event ends but before the after-party starts.
Either way, he had no intention of attending the after-party.
He wasn't in the mood to laugh and drink with everyone while they were all tipsy, and watching Choi Iwon fuss over Jin Heejun sounded a hundred times worse than just going to Liberty.
Realizing he'd unconsciously frowned, Seonwoo let out a helpless sigh and rubbed the space between his brows.
Getting upset over something that hasn't even happened yet.
How pathetic.
Thinking it would be better to leave before anyone noticed his mood, he was just about to turn away from the first floor when a commotion suddenly erupted below.
Curious at the murmuring—which sounded different from cheering—Seonwoo looked down.
Then he saw a face he could hardly believe.
Wearing a blue freshman name tag, Eun Hyeonchae had just walked into the banquet hall.
"What? Why is he..."
Hyeonchae stopped walking and slowly scanned the room.
His eyes wandered as though searching for someone before finally reaching the second floor.
Their gazes met.
Hyeonchae immediately turned around.
Seeing him leave the banquet hall, a sense of foreboding washed over Seonwoo. He looked toward the door, and only a few seconds later it flew open.
Apparently having run upstairs, Hyeonchae silently caught his breath before finally speaking.
"...Hello."
"...Yeah. Hi."
Thunk.
Hyeonchae stepped fully onto the second floor, and the door closed behind him.
The bright light from the hallway disappeared, leaving only the dim lighting from the banquet hall to illuminate the two of them.
Unable to endure the silence, Seonwoo forced a smile.
"I didn't expect to see you here... I guess you're interested in skiing?"
"No."
Hyeonchae denied it immediately.
The answer was short, but Seonwoo didn't need to hear the rest to understand that it wasn't skiing he was interested in.
Pretending not to notice, Seonwoo changed the subject.
"You don't have to actually join. The training camp is a lot tougher than you'd think."
"You blocked my number."
"...Mm..."
It's been a long time since someone left me this speechless.
Looking thoroughly awkward, Seonwoo moistened his lower lip.
Watching him, Hyeonchae continued.
"You won't buy me a drink. You won't meet me. You'll keep avoiding me. Because I'm an Alpha you don't know."
"...Yeah."
"So I'm joining."
Before Seonwoo could even respond, brilliant light flooded the dim hallway.
Standing in the open doorway was Iwon, looking completely stunned.
"Eun Hyeonchae? What are you doing here?"
The one most shocked to hear Hyeonchae's name come out of Iwon's mouth was Seonwoo.
While his mind raced, trying to understand what was happening, Hyeonchae—who hadn't spared Iwon even a glance—walked past Seonwoo and whispered quietly,
"Then I'm not an Alpha you don't know anymore. Please unblock my number."
The problem isn't that I don't know you. The problem is that you're an Alpha.
Watching the door close behind him, Seonwoo muttered in disbelief.
As soon as Hyeonchae left, Iwon hurried over.
"Nam Seonwoo, you know Eun Hyeonchae?"
"...I do now. He's a junior."
"What?"
The thing Seonwoo had thought would be nothing more than a small incident turned out to be anything but.