Chapter 12: Midday Campus

The campus parking lot was used mostly by graduate students and faculty members.
With fuel prices skyrocketing without mercy, not to mention the maintenance costs and outrageously expensive parking fees, there were simply too many burdensome factors for an undergraduate to shoulder.

Kwon Mu-yeol climbed into the passenger seat and adjusted it to fit his body, touching and looking around everywhere as if fascinated.
The space in the back seat was a little tight, but Kwon Woojin buckled his seatbelt without complaint and sat patiently.

The car, still holding onto its new-car smell, gleamed slick and polished.
The imported car Chairman Woo had bought as a gift looked nothing like something an eighty-year-old man would choose—its design was smooth and sexy.

“Hey, this is a convertible, right?”

“Probably.”

“That’s insane. The chairman’s got great taste! Seon-kyung, let’s open it just once.”

Woo Seon-kyung hesitated, clearly unenthusiastic, and didn’t answer right away.

As expected, Kwon Mu-yeol started whining beside him like a puppy.
Annoyed by the sight, Seon-kyung finally pressed the button.

The dark gray imported car dismantled itself as if transforming, the roof opening smoothly.
When the Kwon brothers let out celebratory cheers, Seon-kyung laughed in disbelief and slowly stepped on the accelerator.

He regretted it the moment they exited the parking structure.

This time, he really couldn’t handle all the eyes on them.

The car couldn’t go very fast, and to make matters worse, it was lunchtime, so the campus was packed with people.
The car crawling along wasn’t much faster than pedestrians walking beside it.

This wasn’t LA—it was a university in Seoul, and here they were in an open-top car.
It was practically the same as shouting, I’m an attention seeker! Please look at me!

Seon-kyung irritably jabbed at the button again and again.
But the roof couldn’t be closed while driving.
It was his first time opening it too, so he hadn’t known.

Kwon Mu-yeol laughed awkwardly, saying he hadn’t expected this.
Kwon Woojin, sitting in the back seat, seemed unconcerned and leisurely enjoyed the spring breeze blowing in.

Still squinting ahead, Seon-kyung flicked his finger without taking his eyes off the road.

“Open that.”

“Huh? Oh—yeah. What do you want? Need something?”

“There should be sunglasses. Take them out.”

At the instruction, Kwon Mu-yeol hurriedly opened the console box.
He opened a leather case and carefully handed over the glasses.

Putting the sunglasses on his small, pale face made Seon-kyung look even more striking.
His appearance still stood out, but blocking people’s gazes made him feel a bit more at ease.

Brushing his bangs back irritably as the wind tossed them around, Seon-kyung loosened his grip on the wheel.
The car curved around the pond in front of the main building.

They had just barely made it down to the main gate when—

Kwon Woojin, who had been sitting quietly in the back, suddenly turned his head and urgently tapped the driver’s seat.

“Huh? Wait—Seon-kyung, wait! Pull over for a second!”

Unable to ignore him, Seon-kyung pulled the car over close to the curb.
Unfortunately, it was right in front of the main gate—the busiest area for foot traffic.
Since they were stopped anyway, he reached for the button to close the roof.

Before he could press it, Kwon Woojin, still strapped in by his seatbelt, leaned his head far out of the car and shouted,

“Han Ji-seok!”

The three syllables shouted from the open car echoed in all directions.

It was loud enough that even the owner of the name, walking along with earphones in, stopped in his tracks.

The man turned around with a startled expression.
When he spotted Kwon Woojin, he stepped closer to the road.

“Why are you here? It’s your day off.”

“I just thought I’d study.”

What a nice voice.

Seon-kyung couldn’t help the honest assessment as the soft, low tone settled pleasantly in his ears.
That man’s voice was like an instrument—comfortable and deep, like a contrabass.

Before he knew it, the man called Han Ji-seok was standing right next to the car, talking with Kwon Woojin.

Seon-kyung had been about to press the button again, but when their conversation started, he paused.
Closing the roof in the middle of that felt rude, so he decided to wait.

Resting his arm on the window and lightly tapping the steering wheel, Seon-kyung glanced at the side mirror.
The man’s upper body was reflected in the small mirror.

A shirt and slacks.
Nothing flashy—just neat and simple.
But even through the clothes, his broad, straight shoulders, solid chest, and lean waist were unmistakable.

An alpha.

He instinctively recognized the man’s trait.

Beneath the rolled-up sleeves of his beige shirt, sinewy forearms were visible.
His hands, too, were large.

Seon-kyung found himself envying arms that masculine.
Would they even suit me?
He subtly compared them to his own.

There weren’t even visible tendons, let alone muscles.
Pale and slender—undeniably an omega’s arms.

Thank goodness for the sunglasses.
Without worrying about being obvious, Seon-kyung stole glances at the man’s appearance.
Unfortunately, the mirror only showed him down to the jaw.
Turning around to check his face directly felt like too much of a blow to his pride.

“You don’t even have class, and you came to campus just to study? That’s seriously unhinged.”

“And where are you headed at this hour?”

“My younger brother’s giving me a ride, so I thought I’d swing by home for a bit.”

“Younger brother? Oh, the one who just enrolled?”

Han Ji-seok paused and turned his head, apparently trying to confirm who Kwon Woojin’s brother was.

Woojin’s actual younger brother was sitting in the passenger seat, but there was no way Ji-seok would know that detail.
The alpha’s gaze landed briefly on Seon-kyung’s side profile as he held the steering wheel.

Seon-kyung knew there was no intention behind it—just simple curiosity.
The look didn’t linger long.

Even so, his left cheek prickled for no reason.
Pretending to rest his chin on his hand, Seon-kyung covered part of his face with his palm.

“Seon-kyung, sorry, but I should get out.

This is a friend I don’t get to see often—I can’t just leave him like this.

I’ll treat you to something good next time.”

“It’s fine. See you later.”

“Sorry! I’m going. Mu-yeol, tell Mom I’ll be home for dinner!”

“I don’t care—tell her yourself!”

The brothers’ brief bickering ended there, and Kwon Woojin climbed out of the car.

The moment he did, Mu-yeol pressed the button repeatedly as if he’d been waiting for it.
With a grand mechanical sound, the roof slowly rose back into place.

While waiting for the ceiling to reassemble, Seon-kyung glanced at the rearview mirror.
He could see Kwon Woojin and Han Ji-seok walking back toward the school.
Both were so tall that they stood out even at a glance.

“Is it because I had coffee?”

“Huh?”

“No—nothing.”

Forcing himself to ignore how much faster his heart was beating than usual, Seon-kyung shifted gears.
The imported car that had drawn attention in every possible way quickly exited through the main gate.

***

It had already been three weeks since Seon-kyung started attending the university.

Midterms had finally begun.
Since he was auditing the courses, Seon-kyung didn’t need to take exams and was enjoying a much more relaxed week than everyone else.

The East Asian painting lecture that had originally been scheduled as a double period was canceled due to exams.
In effect, it became a self-declared day off.

After leaving the humanities building, Seon-kyung was about to head home when he suddenly remembered something he’d been putting off.

‘You have to come visit at least once, okay?’

His maternal uncle worked at Korea University’s law school.
A full professor, if he remembered correctly.
When he heard that Seon-kyung had started studying art history at Korea University, he’d insisted Seon-kyung stop by anytime.

Since they were on the same campus, Seon-kyung had assumed it would be easy to visit whenever he wanted.
Somehow, though, he’d kept postponing it.

Should I go today while I’m thinking about it?

He didn’t have anything else to do afterward, and he was feeling bored anyway.

Pulling up the campus map on an app, Seon-kyung searched for the graduate school buildings.
Finding the way was easier than expected.

When he arrived in front of the law building, Seon-kyung put his hands on his hips and took a moment to catch his breath.
It had been a long time since he’d walked this much.
His breathing came short, his chest heaving slightly.

“Is this really the same school? Why is everything so far apart?”

He’d seriously underestimated the size of Korea University.

The tiny map showing only buildings and intersections was vastly different from the actual campus.
The law building was far from the humanities complex, and a gentle uphill slope stretched on endlessly.
It took a full twenty minutes to pass five academic buildings while following the deceptively simple map.

He’d expected something gloomy and old, but the law building was surprisingly sleek and clean.

The five-story building had a three-dimensional structure bent into an L-shape, and its front wall was packed tightly with transparent glass windows.
It felt more like a newly built government office than a school.

Since the law school heavily influenced the university’s image, it seemed the school spared no expense here.

Inside, Seon-kyung looked for the directory in the first-floor lobby.
The professors’ offices were listed as being on the third floor.
Calling his uncle would’ve been the easiest solution, but Seon-kyung decided to just head up and see.

Luckily, he spotted his uncle’s name on the floor guide.

Professor Go Jong-hwan, Room 308.

‘Looks like I found it.’

A familiar ID photo and name were posted on the office door.
Seeing the red arrow pointing to In Office, Seon-kyung lightly knocked.

“Yes, come in.”

A languid voice answered from inside.