Wooyeon knew how much the three of them worried about him. He knew he hadn’t messed up enough to become this depressed, and if he had to be critical, he also knew his mid-term exam scores would turn out well.
However, knowing all this didn’t change the results of the final exam. Dohyun had promised to show him a movie if he did well on the exam, so there was no reason left to ask for a movie anymore. He felt more upset about losing time with Dohyun rather than ruining the hard work he put into studying.
“Wooyeon, cheer up. You can make up for it during the final exams.”
Garam led the disheartened Wooyeon and gathered the club members. They reserved a pub for an after-party and comforted Wooyeon by telling him to have a drink and shake it off. Wooyeon said out of courtesy, ‘I’m okay now,’ but was headlocked by Seongyu, who told him not to lie.
“Come on, let’s drink together. If you don’t want to drink, then don’t.”
Wooyeon nodded as he toyed with a small soju glass. Garam filled his glass with soju. As they raised their glasses, other club members nearby joined in.
“What’s this? I’m left out of the toast.”
“Hey, me too!”
“Me too!”
The toasting celebration spread like waves, naturally reaching where Dohyun was. Wooyeon, a little away from them, felt Dohyun looking in their direction.
“Kim Dohyun! Don’t you have a word to say as the club president?”
“Oh, a toast!”
“Senior, you’re cool! Please say something!”
“…Looks like you all had a drink before coming here.”
Even though no one had taken a sip, the atmosphere felt intoxicated. Dohyun, seemingly familiar with such club members, raised his soju glass. Ironically, the toast came from Garam, not Dohyun.
“To the English Classics! Got it? To the English Classics!”
“For the English Classics!”
After clinking glasses with Garam, Wooyeon put down his soju glass. He was reluctant to drink due to the memory of his previous mistake. Garam, seeing him put down the glass, playfully scolded others without imposing any restrictions on Wooyeon.
“Hey, look at these guys leaving without toasting.”
“Oh, Noona, cut it out. You’re acting like Jinsang Hyung.”
“Wow… How can you say such a thing…”
Garam began mimicking the returning student with a hurt look on her face. Seongyu trembled, telling her to stop, but she didn’t. The way she raised the bottle, asking where the sky-like senior’s glass would avoid, was truly the embodiment of a returning student.
Wooyeon let out a vacant laugh, leaning against the wall. During the opening ceremony, it was just awkward, and during the club gathering, it was just annoying. Now, he felt nothing but a sense of distraction. However, despite that, Dohyun’s figure, a bit distant, was vividly in his line of sight.
“…so…”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
As soon as Dohyun entered the drinking party, he took the center seat before anyone else. After the group formed around him, Wooyeon had no choice but to sit in a corner with Seongyu. If Garam hadn’t come this way, he might have avoided the awkward situation he faced during the club meeting.
“…”
After listening to his juniors for a while, Dohyun smiled and raised the bottle. After filling his juniors’ glasses and his own glass, he naturally made a toast. The moment Wooyeon turned his head away, feeling his stomach twist, he saw Dohyun’s characteristic affectionate smile.
“Who wants to play a drinking game?”
An inexplicable discomfort surged through him. It wasn’t the usual excitement, but something more intense. No matter how close he felt to Dohyun, it became evident once again that he was just one of the juniors.
“Do you want to play a drinking game, Wooyeon?”
Garam cheerfully twisted the cap of a soju bottle and asked, catching Wooyeon off guard as he was chewing the inside of his cheek.
“A drinking game?”
“Yeah, if you’re playing, Noona will make you a kkakdugi.”
“What? Why are you favoring Wooyeon!”
“Hey, you guys don’t know. If he takes a penalty shot, we’ll have to close up the business here today.”
Although he really wanted to drink, he couldn’t forget the incident when he swore in English. It would have been nice to drink in moderation, but unfortunately, Wooyeon still lacked that ability.
“Really, do I have to drink?”
“Well then. Just drink water.”
Garam happily nodded and brought a large water bottle. Since the incident with the returning student had spread, there were no club members opposing it.
“Let’s open the bottle cap!”
Starting with Garam’s words, the bottle cap went around, passing from one person to the next. Wooyeon carefully observed Garam’s actions and, following suit, flicked the cap with her finger. The cap smoothly made its way to Seongyu’s turn, where it cleanly snapped off.
“Oh, Seongyu got caught? Take a refreshing one shot.”
“Huh? Wasn’t it my turn to make someone drink?”
“What do I care? You got caught.”
Seongyu made a bewildered face but obediently drank the soju. No matter how much he insisted, it seemed they had already predicted how his fate would turn out. Wooyeon learned the misconception that this is what drinking games are supposed to be.
Other games continued endlessly. Wooyeon remained more sober than anyone else but consumed more water than anyone else. At first, club members doubted Wooyeon’s skills, but later they couldn’t help but admire him sincerely.
“It’s a talent not to be able to do this…”
“Well, you might not be good at drinking games.”
“Yeah, Wooyeon, you’re good-looking, so it’s okay.”
Wooyeon drank, feeling confused about whether to be happy or sad. Still, even though it was his second drinking game, it was still challenging to adapt. The rules were varied, and each game had a different theme song. In addition, incorporating gestures made his head feel like it was about to explode.
“Moon Garam.”
As they exceeded three bottles of consumed alcohol, Dohyun approached behind Garam. Pointing at one of the juniors with chopsticks, Garam playfully leaned her head back.
“What?”
Although the question was directed at Garam, Wooyeon felt the tension rising. Wooyeon gripped the chopsticks, stiffening his face. The pheromones that were distant just moments ago were now dangerously close.
“Move down a bit. Seniors are here.”
Despite the atmosphere being so charged, Dohyun’s voice was calm. The soothing voice tickled the inside of Wooyeon’s teeth.
“What? Come by yourself.”
“Minjeong Noona is here too.”
Garam stood up abruptly as soon as the conversation ended. After spitting out some curses, she hastily tidied up her appearance. She even let down her loosely tied hair, neatly tucking it behind her ears.
“Hey, am I okay?”
Even under the dim lighting, her tense face was clearly visible. Dohyun glanced at Garam with indifference and replied in a nonchalant tone.
“Do you want an honest answer?”
“No, just shut up.”
As if not expecting much, Garam leaped across the chair. Her exit from the bar, with her hair fluttering, seemed triumphant. Wooyeon, still watching her retreating figure with narrowed eyes, turned away when Dohyun looked at him.
“….”
He felt a pang of disappointment. Dohyun would drift away again, and he wouldn’t return until this drinking session was over. Curiosity about who ‘Minjeong Noona’ was mixed with an inexplicable sense of resentment. Images of him talking with other juniors suddenly flashed in his mind, and then a soft voice reached his ears.
“Have you had a lot to drink?”
Dohyun was observing him attentively. From the top of his head to his ears, he scrutinized him thoroughly before casually crossing over to his seat, the very seat Garam had occupied a moment ago.
“….Is it alcohol?”
“We played a drinking game.”
Dohyun picked up a shot glass and sniffed it slightly as if confirming whether it was alcohol or water. Wooyeon replied, slightly dazed.
“It’s water. Garam Noona ordered kkakdugi for me.”
“Kkakdugi ?”
A thin laugh escaped him. He handed back the shot glass, saying, “Fortunately,” with a mumbled sigh of relief. It seemed genuinely comforting, and Wooyeon, without realizing it, blurted out.
“Are you afraid I’ll swear in English?”
Dohyun didn’t respond, but his gaze took on a subtle glint. It was as if he was saying, ‘Sure, why not?’ Without any clear intention, Dohyun mumbled vaguely.
“I’m worried you might get drunk.”
The word ‘worried’ tickled his stomach. The fact that Dohyun sat next to him and checked the shot glass, all of it was considered ‘worry.’ Dohyun probably spoke without much thought, but it made him feel strangely excited, like slurping down a bowl of kimchi soup.
“But Hyung, who is Minjeong Noona?”
While Wooyeon was squirming, Seongyu, who was across from him, asked. The seniors, judging by their nonchalant attitudes, seemed to be familiar with this person. Dohyun nodded briefly in response.
“She’s a senior who graduated from the club.”
“Wow, how much older is she?”
“Probably a year above me…”
Wooyeon discreetly admired Dohyun’s profile. With a complexion that showed no signs of change and a perfectly composed demeanor, it was hard to believe he had consumed any alcohol. Dohyun reassured Seongyu, saying they were good seniors.
“They’re good seniors.”
His expression was genuinely pleasant. It differed from the forced smile Wooyeon perceived as insincere. The moment he saw the smoothly contoured lips forming a gentle line, a prickling sensation ran down his throat, making him flinch.
“…Why seniors?”
Wooyeon masked his tangled emotions with a neutral expression. Dohyun rolled his eyes and looked at Wooyeon.
“We have one more coming. The former club president.”
The mention of the ‘former club president’ reminded Wooyeon of what Garam had mentioned last time. The one who was called the ‘Management God’ and supposedly revived the dying club.
“Is the Management God coming?”
“That guy…”
It was an innocent question, but Dohyun’s expression changed. He frowned slightly, but his expression softened as if he had never done that before. It was a very unnatural smile.
“Why, curious about how he looks?”
Wooyeon raised his head without much thought. Garam talked about him being handsome or emitting a certain radiance, but Wooyeon wasn’t particularly interested. Moreover, if he was the partner of the teaching assistant, then isn’t he the owner of those intense pheromones?
“Well, he’s just an Alpha anyway…”
At Wooyeon’s words, Dohyun’s lips twitched slightly. And just as he was about to say something, the entrance of the bar became noisy. He sighed, commenting on his consistently reliable brother, and turned his head toward the direction where the sound came from.
“It looks like he’s here.”
I smell jealous 😍😍😍😍😍😍
I really hope he’ll misunderstood that wooyeon is interesting in ” the management god ” and behave out of jealousy 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Omggg, Taegyeom is hereee
Me too
Waiting for dohyun to shower in vinegar 🤭
It’s pretty cool reading this from the other side of things. You can still tell that Dohyun still does not like Taegyeom and it’s hilarious. I’m wondering why Dohyun is so collected and subtle with the MC but was very upfront with the other omega he liked.
Ooops. No idea why it posted in this thread
lol i love taegyeom’s and dohyun’s relationship 😭 they barely tolerate each other
Plssss begging to see some jealousy
TAEGYEOM IS HEREEEEEE
omfg are we getting a lesbian side couple with Minjeong? Let’s goooo~ 😍
AHHHH Taegyeom!!!! My baby is here!!!