Wooyeon was nestled in Dohyun’s arms for a while. The dry scent of pheromones and the faint smell of fabric softener gently melted the lump of tension in his heart. Dohyun gently stroked his back and waist, occasionally hesitating to touch his hair but then stopping.
By the time they returned to the club room, quite some time had passed. Wooyeon was surprised to realize how long he had been nestled there and blushed when he realized that his pheromones had mixed with Dohyun’s. Because of the wind that was making his ears turn red, he had to habitually press his earlobes.
“Anyway, the festival will be like that. Don’t think about opening a bar, try planning something else.”
The teaching assistant provided various guidelines related to the festival to be held in May. Although alcohol sales had been banned on campus for quite some time, they mentioned that there would be stricter inspections this year. Garam expressed disappointment at not being able to open a bar.
“Oh, Wooyeon.”
“Yes?”
Wooyeon, who had been sitting on the sofa absentmindedly, suddenly lifted his head. The edge of his cheek was pink from the aftermath of the hug earlier. The teaching assistant spoke to Wooyeon with a smile.
“You did well on the exam.”
“Oh, really….”
Garam glanced at Wooyeon with an awkward expression. Perhaps she remembered how down Wooyeon had been after messing up the English phonology exam. Although Wooyeon also remembered his promise with Dohyun, he nodded quietly to avoid showing his disappointment.
“You worked hard.”
“Yeah, if you keep it up, you can even aim for a scholarship with your final exams.”
The teaching assistant said so and got up to leave, promising to check in later. Seeing the faintly smiling face, Wooyeon calmed his somewhat disappointed heart. Even though he messed up in one subject, it was clear that his grades were not bad, to say the least.
As soon as the door closed with a click, Garam sat down on the opposite side of Wooyeon as if she had been waiting. There was a subtly heavy atmosphere among the four people sitting on the sofa. Although no one opened their mouth, it was clear who had to speak.
“…First.”
Wooyeon glanced at the three people in turn as he tentatively started the conversation. Unlike Dohyun, who remained silent with closed lips, Garam and Seongyu looked tense. Seeing their expressions, Wooyeon couldn’t help but smile a little.
“The presentation was good. The professor also praised me for doing a good job.”
Even though it wasn’t her own business, she could be so proactive. Since entering college and meeting them, Wooyeon learned that there were various types of kindness in people.
“Kang Junseong probably won’t have any scores. The professor told us to report together, but I won’t go again.”
“He didn’t say anything?”
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.
“He got angry… but that’s it. There’s nothing we can do anyway.”
“Oh… Thank god.”
The two sighed deeply as if sincerely relieved. Watching them rubbing their chests, Wooyeon shifted his gaze to the table. He could feel Dohyun’s examining him with his calm eyes.
“Thanks to everyone’s help. I’m grateful.”
In just two days, they managed to complete an assignment that the professor praised highly. It was something that wouldn’t have been possible without Dohyun, as well as Garam and Seongyu. If Wooyeon had been in their shoes, would he have actively helped them? Thinking about how bothersome that might have been, he couldn’t help but feel grateful.
“Oh, no need for thanks.”
“Yeah, it’s just the natural thing to do.”
Garam waved her hand openly with a happy face. Seongyu, on the other hand, was rubbing his nose awkwardly. Only Dohyun nodded quietly in agreement.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“… “
Wooyeon kept his head bowed deeply and gnawed at the inside of his cheek. Just like how he felt when he received messages from his teammates, his throat felt hot and agitated. Even though he had calmed down once in Dohyun’s arms. The tangled emotions that had begun to lump up again swirled small and round inside him.
“Yeah, you’ve worked hard. Group projects are really the worst thing in the world.”
“It really is. I have a group project too….”
He couldn’t hear what they were saying anymore. The overwhelming emotions suddenly surged up uncontrollably within Wooyeon. From his neck to his throat, from his throat to his nose, and finally from his nose to his eyes. At the same time, something fell onto the back of his clenched hand.
“….”
“….”
Wooyeon felt the surroundings quieting down as he clenched his teeth. He closed his eyes tightly and held his breath, but there was no way to stop the emotions that had already started flowing. Drop by drop, tears flowed silently down his hands and thighs.
“Just a moment….”
Wooyeon, who was slow to stop crying, got up from his slouched position. His intention was to slip away to a place where no one’s eyes could reach him, even if just for a moment of relief. However, before he could even stand up completely, a gentle voice called out to him.
“Come here.”
Wooyeon looked towards Dohyun with his eyes widened. Dohyun, who had one hand outstretched like earlier in the hallway, was gazing at Wooyeon intently. He waited patiently for Wooyeon to come, then lightly beckoned with his hand.
“Hurry.”
As if collapsing, Wooyeon landed in Dohyun’s embrace. As he rested his face on Dohyun’s shoulder and buried it in his shoulder, the sound of a faint sigh escaped him. Dohyun firmly held Wooyeon’s body and gently stroked his dry back.
“Why are you trying to go somewhere while crying?”
A soft voice whispered in his ear. In an instant, sorrow surged up like igniting a fuse. The tears that had been suppressed burst out in the blink of an eye, and Wooyeon grabbed Dohyun’s clothes without realizing it.
“Sob….”
He didn’t want to sob, but his shoulders shook. His vision blurred and his breath stopped around his chin. While he was crying out his tears, Garam, who had regained her composure, suddenly got up from her seat.
“Why, why are you crying, Wooyeon!”
Garam paced around in confusion, saying that she would scold whoever made him cry and asking him to calm down. With a demeanor that seemed to need reassurance more than anyone else, she couldn’t bring herself to touch Wooyeon, feeling too overwhelmed herself.
Meanwhile, the anxious Seongyu brought tissues and handed them to Dohyun. Dohyun subtly gestured towards the table and adjusted his embrace. Sobbing like a child, Wooyeon nestled deeper into his arms.
“What’s wrong, are you okay?”
Seongyu asked with a worried voice, but Wooyeon couldn’t answer. He didn’t even know why he was crying. Was it because of the struggle with Junseong, or unknowingly accumulating stress? Or maybe the concern of the three people had weakened his hardened heart.
One thing was certain; the hot stone in his heart had melted even more this time. Under the concerned gazes of the three, Wooyeon cried his heart out in Dohyun’s arms just like he did when he was sixteen.
***
After a very long time, Wooyeon finally managed to stop crying. When he lifted his head, his pale face was completely red from crying. Dohyun wiped away the tears with his thumb, tidied up his disheveled bangs, and then asked if he had cried enough.
Naturally, the forgotten study session was completely abandoned. Only Dohyun remembered, but he suggested taking a day off since the midterm exams were over. He packed up first and, as usual, grabbed Wooyeon’s bag as a hostage.
‘I’ll take you home.’
“My head hurts.”
“Your head is fine, but your eyes hurt.”
Wooyeon sat in the passenger seat of Dohyun’s car, leaning his head against the window. His eyes were puffy and sore from unexpectedly crying so much. It was fortunate that it was afternoon; if it were at night, a goldfish would have been asking to be friends with him by tomorrow morning.
“It’s fortunate that only one of them hurts.”
Dohyun, jokingly, turned towards Wooyeon’s apartment. Thanks to coming to the study session once before, he found the way without asking for directions. As Wooyeon lightly dabbed at his warm eyes, a thought came to him, recalling what he had heard from Garam last time.
“…I heard from Garam Noona.”
From the moment he got into the car, he remembered the conversation he had heard from Garam during MT. The conversation about being interrogated just for sitting in the passenger seat. Wooyeon glanced at Dohyun’s profile and asked as if it had suddenly occurred to him.
“I heard you don’t like having someone in the passenger seat.”
Dohyun slightly raised the corner of his mouth as he continued to gaze ahead. On the other hand, his eyes were slightly furrowed, making it ambiguous whether he was smiling or not. Leaving a subtle gap, Dohyun slowly opened his mouth.
“I don’t let just anyone sit there.”
Did that mean he was not just ‘anyone’? Wooyeon regretted that they couldn’t sit facing each other while he was driving. If he had carefully scrutinized his expression, he might have been able to confirm what that meant. Of course, even if he had confirmed, the possibility of it being fulfilled would be slim.
“So….”
Dohyun, who had been silent, glanced at Wooyeon for a moment. Wooyeon, who had been admiring Dohyun until then, blushed fiercely when their eyes met. How long would this go on? Every time their eyes met, his heart pounded.
“Is there a movie you want to see?”
Dohyun brought up a new topic in a casual tone. Wooyeon blinked in surprise. A movie? It was a sudden topic change, considering they had been talking about the passenger seat until now. Whether Dohyun knew or not about Wooyeon’s confusion, he merely rolled his eyes.
“Yoonwoo Hyung said that.”
Wooyeon widened his eyes with a look of disbelief. Because of the remnants of his crying, his eyes were still swollen. Dohyun, who stopped the car at the signal, leaned his wrist on the steering wheel and turned his head slightly.
“He said you did well on the exam.”
His voice was so sweet that made him melt. Hearing those words directly, Wooyeon felt as if he had just eaten honey.
As Wooyeon’s anticipation swelled, Dohyun’s mood lifted, and he smiled slightly.
“I’ll show you a movie.”
It felt like all the disappointment he had felt up until now was being washed away. The failure in English phonology and the struggles with group projects, all melted away as if it had never happened. When Dohyun asked when would be good, Wooyeon didn’t hesitate and replied.
Right away, right now.
Tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, whenever was fine for him.
This book is so cute I love it 💜 I hope it never gets dropped
awwwww my heart is fluttering the way Dohyun heals Wooyeon is so gentle and kind i can arrange them a grandiose wedding right now for real. I just wanna protect Wooyeon at all cost and Dohyun how can this man be so tender and considerate. Will be waiting for the next chapters thank you so much for your work💖 This novel literally light up my day.
dohyun really has me kicking my legs and giggling 😭 he’s a keeper wooyeon MAKE A MOVE
Thanks for the chapter that was a relief for Wooyeon
MYGOSH… THIS IS REALLY GOLD FR
Nooo, i caught up lol
Ty so much for the translation! Im so excited 🥲