Chapter 13: We’re going to get Close.

[Hello, sunbae.]

[I’m heading up now.]

Even though it was just a message, his heart thudded heavily—thump, thump—in his chest.
As if trying to steady his nerves, Yooha tightened his grip on his phone, and before long, it vibrated again.

[Shin Joowon: Okay, see you in a bit^^]

[Yes.]

He replied a little faster this time, but only the unread count disappeared, and no further reply came.

Only then did Yooha slowly take a deep breath, send a message to Woo-tae as well, and slip his phone back into his pocket.

“Hoo…….”

He had done nothing but sit there exchanging messages, so why did his chest feel so tightly constricted?

Maybe this pounding wasn’t because of Shin Joowon’s messages, but because of the pressure of attending a department event for the first time in his life.

Yooha patted his chest gently, trying to shake off the tension.

By the time he noticed, the elevator had arrived on the sixth floor and came to a stop.

Yooha held down the open button until everyone standing closer to the doors had gotten off, then stepped out last at a slightly slower pace.

Seeing that most of those who exited ahead of him were heading toward the First Grand Lecture Hall, they must have been from the same class.

Yooha followed behind the clustered groups, trailing awkwardly without anyone beside him.

Not wanting to draw attention by entering through the front, he walked a bit farther, intending to go around to the back entrance—only for someone to grab his shoulder with a gentle grip.

Startled, he turned around, and a now-familiar face came into view.

“Hey, Yooha. Where are you going? You can go in over there.”

The one smiling brightly was none other than Shin Joowon.

There were three or four other people around him who looked like his group.
Among them all, Shin Joowon stood out the most—tall enough that he would catch the eye anywhere.

“Ah… hello, sunbae. I was… going to use the back entrance….”

“The back entrance?”

Shin Joowon echoed, glancing toward the rear with a puzzled look.
As he tilted his head and looked back at Yooha, someone standing behind him spoke up.

“Joowon, you know him? I’ve never seen him before.”

“He’s a junior from our class. I haven’t known him long either.”

Answering casually, Shin Joowon turned to Yooha and smiled.

At that single remark, everyone’s gaze shifted to Yooha, and his face flushed bright red as his eyes darted around uneasily.

Then Shin Joowon took another step forward, closing the distance between them.

A strange, subtle scent brushed Yooha’s nose, and he flinched, shoulders tensing.

It wasn’t just the scent itself.
An invisible, piercing presence burrowed into his skin, stabbing at his body like needles and freezing him in place.

It was an omega’s instinctive reaction upon sensing an alpha’s pheromones.

“It’s cold. Let’s go inside.”

Shin Joowon murmured softly in a pleasant voice, gesturing toward the auditorium entrance with his chin.

Turning away without hesitation, he led the way inside, his group following one by one.

Left alone in the hallway for a moment, Yooha rubbed his arms, the sensation of Shin Joowon’s pheromones sweeping over him still vivid.

His own pheromones were faint to begin with, and he was taking suppressants, so Shin Joowon probably hadn’t noticed—but he still couldn’t shake the worry and hesitated to go in.

Only after brushing off his clothes and vigorously rubbing his palms over his nape and wrists, as if erasing any trace, did Yooha finally enter the auditorium.

Several people were already seated inside.
Thankfully, none of the faces that made him uncomfortable were there yet.

As he looked around the scattered empty seats, wondering where to sit, Yooha noticed someone waving at him.

“Yooha, over here. Come this way.”

Recognizing the signal, Yooha hurried over to Shin Joowon.

He tried his best to ignore the curious, puzzled looks clinging to him and focused only on Shin Joowon.

Thinking that Shin Joowon was the only person he could rely on in this moment made everything else blur into the background, leaving only him vividly in focus.

“Sit here.”

“Thank you….”

The seat Shin Joowon indicated wasn’t in the same row as his group, but the row directly behind them.
As Yooha sat down clutching his bag to his chest, Shin Joowon took the seat beside him.

Yooha, who had assumed Shin Joowon would sit in the front with his group, couldn’t hide his surprise and widened his eyes.

“What’s this, Shin Joowon? You said you haven’t known him long, but you look pretty close.”

One of the men seated in the front row turned around, unable to suppress his curiosity.

Already tense enough to keep his knees pressed tightly together, Yooha flinched again and snapped his head toward Shin Joowon at his reply.

“We’re going to get close.”

Those words casually reignited a hope Yooha had long given up on—a hope that he might someday have a friend.

Someone who understood him, showed him consideration, didn’t grow impatient, and kept talking to him—and now even said they planned to get close….

It might have been empty words.

It might have been nothing more than a light joke.

But it was more than enough to make Yooha’s chest churn.

“……”

Shin Joowon watched Yooha, who was staring blankly at him with wide, unfocused eyes.

His eyes tilted slightly upward, making him resemble a cat more than a puppy, yet his overall impression was gentle—like a kitten that would melt at the slightest touch.

Judging by appearances alone, he seemed far removed from cunning or calculation.

But appearances meant nothing.

After all, even Shin Joowon himself lived a hypocritical life, pretending to be upright and decent in public.

There was no guarantee anyone else wasn’t the same.

“Don’t you want to be close with me?”

Sneering inwardly at Yooha’s apparent innocence, Shin Joowon asked with an equally insincere smile.

Afraid he might misunderstand his slow reaction, Yooha hurriedly shook his head.

“No, it’s not that… I just didn’t realize you thought of it that way….”

“You thought I didn’t like you or something?”

Leaning a little closer, Shin Joowon lowered his voice as if whispering in his ear.

He lightly tapped the back of Yooha’s hand with his fingertips, letting out a soft, pleasant laugh.

Seeing Yooha’s ears and nape growing redder by the second, Shin Joowon swallowed the sneer threatening to surface and pulled back.

“Let’s sit together at the after-party too.”

“Yes….”

He looked so innocent that it was hard to read his true intentions, but like anyone else, once alcohol was involved, his nature would surely show.

The intent was already obvious, but there was no harm in confirming it.

Shin Joowon planned to watch what kind of person Jin Yooha became at the after-party—how much of his true self he would reveal once his guard was down.

Carefully concealing his own intentions, Shin Joowon spoke only words Yooha would find tempting.

By now, Yooha’s cheeks were flushed with heat.
Imagining the day those cheeks would redden with humiliation instead, Shin Joowon smiled elegantly.

Yooha kept his eyes fixed on the back of his hand, biting his lip over and over.

The skin where Shin Joowon’s fingers had touched burned, leaving him unable to do anything else.

Just like the day Shin Joowon had grabbed and released his wrist, it felt as if he’d been burned all over again.

****

The barbecue restaurant they went to for the after-party after the opening general meeting was already packed with people.

Perhaps because he’d worked part-time at places like this before, Yooha’s first thought was that the staff must be having a hard time as he looked around blankly.

He recognized faces of classmates he wasn’t close to, and hurriedly averted his gaze.

Shin Joowon, who came in late after stepping out for a cigarette, approached Yooha, who had been standing awkwardly, unsure where to sit despite having arrived much earlier.

He swallowed the mocking laugh that nearly escaped at the sight and scanned the restaurant.

Somewhere relatively quiet would be best….

Tables filled with loud, chatty people were too noisy, and the ones with his own classmates—who seemed subtly curious about Yooha—were at the top of his list to avoid.

Tonight, he alone needed to observe Jin Yooha, and Jin Yooha needed to talk only with him.

A place that still fit the drinking atmosphere but allowed for conversation….

As he searched carefully, Shin Joowon spotted a corner table against the wall.

Two young-looking men sat side by side, whispering to each other—freshmen, judging by how unfamiliar they seemed with this kind of setting.

Freshmen usually found seniors intimidating, so they likely wouldn’t talk much.

They’d also have trouble butting into a conversation between him and Jin Yooha, making that table perfect.

“Let’s go over there.”

Without hesitation, Yooha followed as Shin Joowon led the way.

The two freshmen already seated there widened their eyes in surprise when they saw who sat across from them.

“Is it okay if we sit here?”

“Yes, yes….”

Even though he’d already sat down, Shin Joowon asked with a bright smile, as if politely seeking permission.

The two across from them fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden addition of two seniors.

Yooha, too, remained silent, unable to hide his awkwardness.

If a platter of meat hadn’t been set on the table just then, the silence might have stretched on endlessly.

“Ah, I’ll do it.”

Spotting the tongs in front of him, Yooha picked them up without hesitation.
Habit kicked in the moment he saw the meat and the grill—his hands moved before he could think.

He laid the meat onto the heated grill with practiced ease.

The freshmen across from him fidgeted nervously, while Shin Joowon observed Yooha with quiet interest.

He must’ve worked a lot of barbecue jobs.

It wasn’t particularly useful information, but learning one more thing about Jin Yooha couldn’t hurt, so Shin Joowon filed it away in his memory.