Chapter 18: Raum, Secured

At Woo Seon-kyung’s confident reply, the looks in the group members’ eyes wavered.
That wasn’t just empty bravado.
If it’s them, they might actually be able to get it.
As a strange sense of expectation rippled through the group, Woo Seon-kyung calmly pulled out their phone.

From the contacts list, they tapped a familiar name and typed out a message.

[Is it possible to get four tickets for the special exhibition?
Not VIP—just regular tickets.]

It hadn’t even been a few minutes after sending the message when a call came in from the chief curator.

Woo Seon-kyung lowered the ringtone as much as possible and answered.

“Yes.”

–Hello, this is Kim Juwon.
–What date would you like the tickets for?

“Just a moment.”

Seon-kyung lowered the phone to their chest.

“What date works for you guys?”

“Are you serious?!
Just like that?”

“If you don’t want to, we can go somewhere else—”

“No!
This is amazing!
We have to go!”

“Pick a date already!
I’m fine with anything!
I can even skip class!”

“Wait, are weekends okay too?
Ah—no, is that asking too much?”

The excited group members were in such a frenzy among themselves that they couldn’t settle on anything.

Watching them in silence, Seon-kyung let out a small snort of laughter and made the decision on their own.

“Would open tickets be okay?”

–Yes.
–I’ll prepare them and send them to Seongbuk-dong today.

“Thank you.”

The call ended after exchanging only the essentials.

As Seon-kyung casually placed the phone back on the table, the eyes fixed on them were anything but ordinary.

Acting as though it were no big deal, Seon-kyung lifted the mug in front of them and took a sip of the lukewarm tea.

“So the location’s decided now, right?
What else do we need to figure out?”

“Woo Seon-kyung, seriously, who are you?
Do you… have some kind of connection to Raum Gallery?”

“How does a single phone call magically produce tickets like that?”

The interrogation continued while Seon-kyung hid their expression behind the mug.

Should I say it, or not?
They hesitated for a moment.

Revealing that they were from a chaebol family wouldn’t be difficult.
But the pros and cons were painfully clear.

Once people learned about their family background, the way they treated them changed.
They tried desperately to curry favor, put them on a pedestal, or turned into followers without rhyme or reason.

The downside was the unwanted attention that came with it.

Whether eating, attending class, or even just sitting there breathing, dozens of eyes would cling to them.
Becoming casual gossip was a given, and every trivial action turned into fodder for rumors.
It was suffocating—but since they were born this way, there was no one to blame.

Thankfully, after living like this for twenty years, they’d built up some resistance.

Yeah… it’s still a bit too early.

“My grandfather invested quite a lot.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie.
Seon-kyung shrugged casually as they spoke.

***

Once the destination was decided, the meeting gained momentum.
The group quickly divided roles and set a date for visiting the exhibition.

Taking everyone’s class schedules and personal plans into account, they settled on Friday at 4 p.m.

Woo Seon-kyung was officially exempted from the presentation and PPT creation in recognition of securing the Raum Gallery tickets.
They were finally experiencing the legendary free ride everyone talked about.

Hong Jaeyoung, who had mentioned having a part-time job, left first.
With the meeting more or less wrapped up, the remaining members began packing up as well.

Before leaving, Yoon Bom stopped Seon-kyung.
Saying they’d need to stay in touch for the assignment, they asked for Seon-kyung’s number.
There was no real reason to refuse, so Seon-kyung readily entered their contact information into the class rep’s phone.

“See you on Friday.”

Having successfully gotten Seon-kyung’s number, Yoon Bom waved as if they truly had nothing left to do and disappeared.

That left just the two of them.

When Seon-kyung turned slightly, Ahn Seokhyeon—who had stayed beside them to the very end—flashed a bright smile, showing their teeth.

“Seon-kyung, are you heading home?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m gonna stop by the club room.
You drive, right?
Which parking lot did you park in?”

The student hall where Seokhyeon’s club was located and the parking building where Seon-kyung had left their car were right next to each other.
During the short walk together, Seokhyeon chattered nonstop like a sparrow.

“How do you not take midterms?
Is that just how auditors are?”

“It’s not that I don’t take them.
I can’t.
I’m not eligible.”

“Still… hiiiing, I’m jealous.
School would be so much more bearable without exams.”

Seokhyeon kept babbling without pause.

They talked about how many people were in their club, how harsh the seniors were with discipline, and even how awful a recent blind date had been.

Their emotions were so vivid that joy, sadness, and excitement all fit into a single breath of speech.

Since Seokhyeon was doing all the talking, Seon-kyung only had to listen.
It was comfortable—but for people who had only exchanged names today, the information being shared was way too personal.

At the same time, it felt strangely fascinating—and unfamiliar—that someone could open up so freely.

“You must feel comfortable around me.”

“Yeah!
There are only two male omegas in our department—me and you.”

There weren’t exactly few omegas on campus, but most of them were concentrated in the arts departments.
So much so that people joked the fine arts and music buildings didn’t even need air fresheners.

But in the humanities—and especially in art history—omegas were rare.
Across all years combined, there were only five.
And among them, only Ahn Seokhyeon and Woo Seon-kyung were male omegas.

“Honestly, I wanted to get close to you from the moment I first saw you.”

“You have lots of friends though.
Why me?”

“Because you’re pretty!
I’ve never seen someone as pretty as you, Seon-kyung!”

Like an excited child, Seokhyeon bounced in place, emphasizing that it wasn’t flattery—it was sincere.

Being told they were pretty still hadn’t become something Seon-kyung could get used to.
Not knowing how to respond, they stayed quiet.

No matter how you looked at it, wasn’t that a strange thing to say to a guy?
When Seon-kyung frowned to show their discomfort, Seokhyeon just smiled sheepishly again.
The smile was so pure and free of malice that it only made things more exasperating.

“…I really don’t know what I’m supposed to say.”

At the sigh-like murmur, Seokhyeon moved closer again.
Trying to match Seon-kyung’s long strides, their steps bounced awkwardly.

“I’m not joking.
Watching you from the side, I kept wanting to approach you.
You just seemed… special.
Sure, your looks are part of it, but especially your vibe.
Even when you’re always alone, you never look lonely.
It’s like your self-esteem is really high.
You actually shine.
I think that’s why I noticed you more.”

“You’re plenty special too.
There’s no need to compare yourself to others.”

“Hmm… that’s true, but still.
It feels like a waste.
If I were you, I wouldn’t be going to school so quietly.”

“If you weren’t quiet, what would you do?”

“Well… I’d probably date every handsome alpha at least once?”

“What?”

That’s all you’d do?
At the pathetic answer, Seon-kyung’s gaze sharpened.

“Why, what’s wrong with that?!
Do you even know how high the alpha quality at Hanguk University is?
People at other schools talk about it!”

“As if.
I’ve never heard that.”

“You don’t even know Han Ji-seok?”

For a moment, a clean-cut face flashed through Seon-kyung’s mind.

A common name?
Probably.
There was no way a university this big wouldn’t have at least one person with the same name.

“…What department?”

“A grad student!
Second year at law school.
Sexy major, right?”

But somehow, the Han Ji-seok Seon-kyung was thinking of and the one Seokhyeon mentioned felt like the same person.

“See?
You do know him.
You’ve seen his face.”

“Why are you acting proud?
Do you have something going on with him?”

“No, it’s not like that, but you keep pretending you don’t know him…”

Scolded, Seokhyeon replied in a deflated voice and kicked at the ground for no reason.
They lagged behind briefly, scraping the ground with the toe of their shoe like a sulking child, but Seon-kyung didn’t wait.

Seokhyeon quickly closed the gap again, perking up as if they’d never been down at all.
The baby bird started chirping once more.

“So what?
There’s probably no one at Hanguk University who doesn’t know Han Ji-seok.
Dominant alpha, good looks, great personality, future guaranteed.
And his family’s loaded!
Apparently his father’s the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Doesn’t he have everything?”

“…His personality didn’t seem that great.”

“What are you talking about?!
Senior Ji-seok is so kind!”

Seon-kyung recalled the rude man who had barged into the restroom and stripped off his shirt without permission.

‘It was my mistake too, so I was trying to take responsibility.’

That was kindness?
Breaking in on an omega excited by his pheromones and stripping off his clothes under the guise of helping?

If he did that for just anyone, it was a pretty cheap kind of kindness.
And Seon-kyung couldn’t understand Seokhyeon for idolizing someone like that either.

But there was no need to show it.
Seon-kyung nodded halfheartedly.

“Yeah, well… if that’s your type.
Good luck.”

“There’s nothing to try.
He only dates female omegas anyway.
Still, if I were you, I’d enjoy myself more.
If you’re ever interested, come hang out at our club room!
I’ll introduce you to lots of people!”

“Sure.
I’ll see.”

By the time they finished talking, they had already reached the parking building.

***

Friday—the promised day—arrived.

Even though there was still plenty of time before they were supposed to meet, eager faces began gathering one by one in front of the gallery’s main entrance.

Everyone thought they’d be the first to arrive, and when they saw someone who’d gotten there even earlier, they laughed and raised their fingers.
That was how excited they were.

In their hands were pamphlets already worn ragged from being flipped through so many times.
Of course, they’d set aside clean copies for safekeeping.

They even marveled at how, as expected of a place with money, even free promotional pamphlets were printed on such luxurious paper.
With flushed expressions, the group chatted about what they were most excited to see in the exhibition.

“Why isn’t Woo Seon-kyung here yet?
They haven’t even read the group chat.”

“They’re not… not coming, right?”

If the sponsor didn’t show up, there was no way to get inside.

No way.
The group craned their necks and stared helplessly at the winding marble steps leading up to the entrance.

They waited, hearts aching, for that flawless, handsome face to finally appear from below.