– This time ……got first place.
– Well, of course. How could betas like us win?
He didn’t go to school and wandered around the playground. Those words saying it was pointless anyway felt like they were crushing him. That was the extent of his delinquency. As the days of absence increased, he hung out with bad kids from the neighborhood and even put cigarettes to his lips.
The day he came home reeking of cigarette smoke, he got severely scolded. There was no hitting, just a big scolding, but back then he hated his dad so much. Why did you give birth to me like this, he resented, saying there’s no value in this world unless you’re an alpha or omega, so why did you bother having a useless beta child?
Suddenly it started raining in his dream. He could hear Nari’s crying. Even though he wasn’t at the accident scene, rough noise came as if he had been there. The smell of the hospital, the smell of blood, and the smell of incense filled his nasal passages.
The dream continued without context, with the timeline all jumbled up.
Screech, crash! His whole body began to soak in cold sweat. His chest felt hot as if clenched and he couldn’t breathe. His lips trembled violently. He wanted to cry but no tears came out. As if someone was covering both his eyes and blocking his mouth. His body wouldn’t move.
– ……Taking into consideration the defendant’s deep reflection……considering the defendant’s age and social position…….
He heard the voice of the old judge he could never forget even in death. The appearance of the young man who had been picking at his ears was far from reflecting, but the clothes and watch he wore were clearly expensive at a glance. Social position? Two people died.
He saw flames burning in red. Was it the day of the cremation? His heart felt like it was burning up at the incomprehensible scene.
“……Heueuk!”
Woojae opened his bloodshot red eyes in the darkness. Tears welled up continuously. When he opened his mouth, a heart-wrenching sound flowed out. Outside was still pitch dark. Woojae trembled his lips with open eyes. His face contorted wildly. The pain the dream gave was so vivid that his breathing kept getting rough. Because it wasn’t a simple dream but held the past as it was, Woojae swallowed harsh breaths and closed his eyes again. He could faintly hear Minwook snoring.
It was something that had passed. And although Woojae didn’t realize it, it was also a dream he had quite often. When morning came and he woke up, he couldn’t remember it. He just speculated whether he’d tossed and turned at night based on his swollen eyes.
It was that familiar an occurrence.
***
He only found out there had been unexpected salvation when he went to the security office to pay for the keys. It was because of what the security guard said as he came out holding two card keys.
“That student’s friend paid for it instead. Said it was lost because of him, so don’t take money from student Woojae.”
“What?”
“That, the youngest of Gyesu Group, right? That student, you know. Room 2710! You two must be close. Take your keys here.”
“No, why would he……”
Flustered, unable to continue speaking, something suddenly rested on his shoulder. When he turned his head, it was a man’s hand. The thick knuckles and protruding veins contrasted with the smooth skin, allowing him to recognize the owner just by looking at the hand.
“We’re friends, so I can do that much.”
“Hey!”
Strength went into the hand embracing his shoulder. Woojae bit his lip at the warm body heat he could feel even through his clothes.
“It’s true you lost it because you were distracted because of me. If you’re really grateful, let’s go eat ‘Jacob’ again next time.”
The eyes that met were so affectionate he turned his head away again. What kind of friend looks at someone with those eyes? Woojae tried hard to press down his lips to calm the ticklish feeling and lightly punched Sajun’s shoulder with his fist.
“Hey, put it on my tab. I’ll pay you back later.”
“The amount is too small for that.”
He really speaks so easily, as befits a young master.
“Have you ever earned money? How is 200,000 won small?”
200,000 won was money you’d have to work two days to earn at a day labor part-time job that paid 100,000 won a day. And how tired would you be after that? Moreover, Minwook had even lent him the key money first. He’d made a fuss saying he’d pay it back when Minwook said he’d just give it to him, so he’d borrowed it.
He didn’t need to receive it from Gye Sajun, but he hadn’t expected him to make the first move like this. Thinking he should transfer the money back to Minwook, Woojae revised the target he needed to repay the debt to as Gye Sajun. As he dragged him toward the dorm cafeteria, making him trudge along, Sajun broke his thoughts from beside him.
“You’ll pay it back soon anyway.”
“……I will.”
Since it was only 200,000 won, it wouldn’t take long. He could give it to him as soon as he had some spare money, or if it was urgent, he could pay back even a few tens of thousands of won in installments. Of course, Sajun wouldn’t be in a hurry for that money. At Woojae’s answer, Sajun frowned slightly as if somewhat displeased, thinking something.
“Hmm……”
He even let out a groan close to a sigh whose meaning was unclear. What’s with him? As they got closer to the cafeteria, an appetite-stimulating smell began to waft. His stomach naturally growled. Thanks to that, he could forget Sajun’s subtle expression.
It was just when the second lecture had ended. Since he had a brief gap, he was about to go to the department office. His clothes were grabbed by Jang Yeonju.
“Where are you going?”
“To the department office.”
“Do you have to go right now?”
“Not necessarily.”
Woojae checked the time. The department office part-time job was a maximum of 50 hours per month. Teaching Assistant Im waved his hand saying he didn’t need to fill that up, but there was no particular reason for Woojae to head to the department office during his free time.
Going to the dorm was a waste of time, and it was the only place where he didn’t have to receive stares. The work was just errands that Teaching Assistant Im asked him to do, and it was a space where he could study without disturbance. Because Woojae was a beta different from the genetically superior new humans, he had to achieve grades through effort.
“I was going to study.”
“Then do it with me. I have to do an assignment too.”
The lobby at this time was quiet. Eventually, having to write a report but caught by Yeonju who said she was bored, he ended up planting his butt in the lobby. He couldn’t understand why she was bored when writing a report, but even if he sat in the department office he’d just end up doing errands, so he followed Yeonju’s wishes.
Yeonju, who said she couldn’t write because she’d been playing all night despite staying up, was drinking coffee one after another. Woojae also took out his notes from his bag and read them several times. It was to prepare for midterms. He could see Yeonju looking at her laptop half-heartedly. She seemed to be having a terribly hard time concentrating.
“Can’t I pay the fee in installments?”
Woojae talked about the problem he’d been worrying about all this time. Fortunately, since Yeonju was managing the payment of fees related to the MT, there was no need to make pitiful requests to others. At least Yeonju didn’t treat him with hostility or look at him strangely. Of course, being with Yeonju made the subtle stares feel even more intense. Woojae tried hard to ignore those eyes.
“Installments, why?”
Yeonju fiddled with a cigarette pack. She looked like she wanted to smoke right away. Watching her openly express her smoking urge indoors, Woojae added.
“My bank account hurts to pay it all at once.”
It was as good as saying he had no money. No need to try to hide it. Although he was doing three part-time jobs, to pay for Nari’s tuition that went out every month, an expenditure of 1.5 million won at once was painful. At those words, Yeonju frowned and answered.
“You already paid.”
“What are you talking about?”
At the unexpected answer, Woojae couldn’t hide his confusion. Already paid? Unless he had the mysterious habit of transferring money in his sleep, such a thing couldn’t have happened. Where would there be a crazy person who wakes up from sleep, enters a transfer password, and sends money? Moreover, since he was someone who suffered from money going out, there was no way such a sleeping habit would develop. But Yeonju frowned.
“It’s deposited under your name?”
“Someone must have put it in wrong!”
“There’s no one in our department with a name similar to yours. What mistake…… Here, look at this.”
Yeonju fiddled with her phone for a moment, then showed him the transfer list of the account where the fees were paid. A record of 1.5 million won deposited precisely under the name ‘Go Woojae’ entered Woojae’s eyes. Among several names was his own name. Who on earth paid the fee under his name?
Woojae thought of Minwook, but no matter how wide Minwook’s connections were, there was no way he would have found out the account number for the Liberal Arts MT and secretly paid under his name. Even if he liked to meddle, still. Minwook, who knew he hated being indebted to others, wouldn’t have done that.
“Can’t you find out who put this in?”
“Why. Should I post a notice?”
The answer tinged with laughter ultimately meant it was impossible to find the person who transferred the money. What kind of notice would he post anyway? ‘Looking for the person who paid money under my name’? Just thinking about it for a moment, it was utterly pathetic. He’d be lucky not to be ridiculed. Considering his position, it was even more so.
Just then, someone touched Woojae’s shoulder from behind. It wasn’t Gye Sajun. It was lighter and more unpleasant than him. At the appearance of an unfamiliar hand, Woojae raised his head to check the hand’s owner.
