I’d been spending several days healing at home while hugging Do Jihoon tightly.
Then before I knew it, the new semester suddenly arrived.
“…Why do I already not want to go to school? Hng.”
“Today’s the first day of classes. Stop being lazy and get up and wash.”
“Okayyy. Doji, should we wash together?”
“…No. Hurry up and go in.”
“Alrighty. Then should we wash together tonight?”
“…….”
Humans are creatures of regret, after all. They say human greed has no end and that people repeat the same mistakes.
It had already been almost a month since the last time we’d done it.
That somewhat intense night with Do Jihoon had long since faded from memory. The only thing left was this body of mine, completely wound up with pent-up desire.
But the problem was—this bastard Do Jihoon was so damn timid! He just wouldn’t touch me at all!
Damn it, this guy didn’t understand the concept of moderation. He was completely hopeless. Totally hopeless.
I tried to calm my anger while thinking about the class I’d registered for this semester, “Love and Relationships.”
“Doji. I’m already excited for Love and Relationships.”
This course was famous for allowing alphas and omegas—men and women—to legally go on dates as part of the class. Even though it was a huge lecture with a capacity of 150 students, it was notoriously harder to register for than any other course.
But Yeon Yuri, blessed with golden hands, had successfully grabbed two spots in that class.
The jealous looks from my single classmates were just a bonus.
A few days ago, Gyeong Bae-hyun sunbae had told me about this golden piece of information without asking for anything in return. In return for securing me and Doji some dating time, I generously gifted him Royce chocolates. Sunbae said he had chosen his junior well and proceeded to vigorously ruffle my hair.
“Yuri, let’s go.”
“Okey.”
The semester started on Monday.
Love and Relationships was on Thursday.
I was really looking forward to that day.
***
I had a very happy week.
I bragged to my classmates, got treated to meals when meeting Gyeong Bae-hyun sunbae’s friends, and welcomed the new semester full of hope.
On top of that, except for Friday—which was my day off—I had matched at least one class with Do Jihoon from Monday to Thursday. That meant the time we spent together increased even more.
It was an incredibly, incredibly happy first week after the semester started.
Unfortunately, though, there was a rule in this world.
The Law of Conservation of Misfortune.
It was the ridiculous idea that every person had a fixed amount of unhappiness in their lifetime, so if you were happy for a while, you’d have to be miserable later to balance it out.
But somehow… it seemed like that saying was true.
After orientation week ended, Thursday—the day I’d been waiting for—finally arrived.
After happily eating lunch with Do Jihoon, I entered the Love and Relationships lecture hall.
“…….”
And then I faced a truly horrifying fact.
“I forgot to mention this last week, but starting this year we’re planning to change the lecture format.”
The kindly-looking female professor spoke with a warm smile as she casually unleashed hell.
“Until last year, students were allowed to pair up with someone they wanted and spend time learning about the opposite sex together. However, after reviewing many of the course evaluations, we realized that students weren’t satisfied with that style.”
This sounded extremely ominous.
“Therefore, starting this year, the teaching assistants will randomly assign partners while considering traits and gender.”
It was like a bolt from the blue.
With great difficulty, I slowly turned my head to look at Do Jihoon.
His expression wasn’t any different from mine. His eyes were completely unfocused, like his soul had just been sucked out by a vacuum cleaner.
“The pairs are displayed on the screen. I’ll give you twenty minutes, so please check and find your partner before taking your seats.”
After throwing that bombshell at the students, the professor calmly left the lecture hall.
The surrounding students were just as confused. Murmuring voices rose everywhere.
“Shouldn’t she have told us this during orientation week? I bet she waited until this week so a bunch of people wouldn’t drop the class.”
“Is Professor Kang crazy? I signed up for this to take it with someone I’m flirting with…”
“I don’t know. I’m satisfied. Better than getting stuck as a third wheel in their little couples’ league.”
“True. And apparently until last year the gender ratio was off, so there were tons of male-male and female-female pairs.”
“…Hearing that makes it sound kind of okay actually.”
All kinds of unnecessary information flashed through my mind.
Damn it. I’d wanted to catch two rabbits at once—sweet lovey-dovey dating with Do Jihoon and an A+ grade.
Looks like my greed had been too big.
It felt like Buddha himself was testing me to reinforce the philosophy of non-attachment.
With trembling hands, I checked the screen. My eyes searched desperately for the name Do Jihoon.
I prayed that next to that name would be Yeon Yuri.
But when I finally found Do Jihoon—
The name written beside his made my face instantly twist.
My spine felt cold.
Do Jihoon — Ha Min-young
“Yuri… your…”
Do Jihoon’s face looked just as grim as mine when I glanced at him.
He stiffened completely before speaking.
“…Your partner.”
Right.
I had been so focused on finding Do Jihoon’s name that I hadn’t looked for my own.
I searched again for Yeon Yuri.
And when I found it—
I was completely speechless.
Yeon Yuri — Ki Tae-young
“…….”
Seriously. How could life be like this?
Of all people, Ha Min-young and Ki Tae-young had to sign up for this class.
“Doji. With odds like this, we might as well buy lottery tickets.”
“…That’s not funny at all, Yuri.”
“Yeah….”
I was still holding Do Jihoon’s hand tightly.
I didn’t have the courage to look around the room and search for Ki Tae-young or Ha Min-young.
“…Junior?”
While I was blankly staring into space, a voice that sounded both familiar and awkward spoke up.
I had forgotten that they could find us too.
Do Jihoon’s hand tightened around mine.
“…Hello, sunbae.”
Ki Tae-young was looking at us with an expression that mixed confusion and disbelief.
“Do Jihoon! You signed up for this class too?”
A familiar peppermint scent drifted through the air.
With difficulty, I turned my stiff neck toward the source of the pheromones.
There stood a small, cute-looking omega smiling brightly at Do Jihoon.
It was a complete and utter chaotic disaster.
***
Fortunately, the first class ended simply with partners exchanging phone numbers and asking about each other’s profiles.
As soon as class ended, I hurriedly dragged Do Jihoon outside and collapsed onto a wooden bench in front of the building.
Looking at Do Jihoon glowing even brighter under the sunlight, I spoke solemnly.
“Doji. Let’s drop this class.”
“Drop?”
Do Jihoon asked.
“Yeah. Both you and me. If there’s a god in this world, he wouldn’t do this to us.”
I sniffled.
“This damn class can only be solved by dropping it.”
Do Jihoon quietly listened to everything I said. After thinking for a moment, he tilted his head slightly.
“…If I remember correctly, you registered exactly the minimum number of credits.”
My ribs hurt.
“…That’s true.”
“Then we don’t have a choice. You can’t drop it. You can’t go below the minimum credits. I don’t think your sister would let that slide.”
“…….”
Do Jihoon was the bastard who had pulled off a GPA above 4.0 last semester.
Because of that, his maximum credit limit had increased, and he had registered for 22 credits. Dropping one three-credit class wouldn’t cause him any problems.
But I had registered exactly the minimum—16 credits.
If I dropped this class, I’d be taking only 13 credits. And since I’d also taken 16 credits in the first semester, I would inevitably have to take a seasonal semester class.
I had a mountain of plans to travel around with Do Jihoon during winter.
Taking seasonal classes was something I absolutely had to avoid.
Seeing how depressed I looked, Do Jihoon tried to comfort me.
“If you hate it that much, I’ll drop it. Then it’ll be fine, right?”
“…But you don’t like it either.”
I felt miserable.
I hated being stuck in a situation where nothing could be solved.
“I told you before—it can’t be helped. It’s fine. I don’t mind.”
With my head lowered, I sank deep into thought.
I spent a long time considering what the best option would be.
Then I reached a conclusion.
“Doji. Just take the class too. It feels weird if only I’m the one taking it.”
“Will you really be okay?”
“Yeah. A class is just a class—no misunderstandings, okay~?”
I said it while swaying rhythmically.
Do Jihoon let out a breathy laugh.
If we hadn’t been outside, I would’ve grabbed those pretty cheeks of his and showered him with kisses. But since I was a refined intellectual, I settled for hugging my Doji tightly instead.
“Alright. I trust you too. Let’s do that.”
“Good, good. Let’s successfully get an A+.”
“Yeah. But don’t get too close with that sunbae.”
“You should worry about yourself. The moment you get home, I might just drown you in my pheromones.”
“That’s actually a good idea. You’d better be prepared too.”
We bickered playfully while looking at each other.
