The Clear-Eyed Lunatic and the High-Grade Alpha

“Hey guys, you don’t mind if Senior Ji-ha sits with us, right?”

“Huh?”

“I guess it’s fine.”

Dae-eon, feeling a bit bad for Seon Ji-ha sitting all alone, brought him over to the table where Oh Dong-chol, Kim Ye-jun, and Jung Yoon-ki were seated. Ji-ha was still gripping Dae-eon’s wrist tightly.

Kim Ye-jun stood up and dragged over an empty chair. Once a spot was cleared, Ji-ha immediately plopped down right next to Dae-eon. Jung Yoon-ki watched the scene in silence.

“Oh, looks like all the top students of our department are here.”

“Senior Ji-ha, did you get a perfect score again? How about you, Yoon-ki?”

Dong-chol, who was always obsessed with grades, casually threw out the topic. Ji-ha gave a silent nod, while Yoon-ki replied softly.

“I’m not entirely sure yet……”

“How can you be so sure, Senior? The results aren’t even out.”

When Dong-chol pressed him, Ji-ha looked at Dae-eon instead of answering. Only when Dae-eon blinked at him, encouraging him to speak, did he finally open his mouth. His voice was as quiet as a mosquito.

“……Because there wasn’t a single question I didn’t know……”

“Wow, the confidence.”

“I didn’t know a single question.”

“That’s because you didn’t study, Ye-jun.”

“I did! I even went to the study cafe because you kept nagging me!”

Dong-chol immediately fired back. “When did I nag?! I only asked because I thought you were going to bomb the exams! And you left for a PC cafe after less than an hour! You ditched me!”

“I told you to come with me!”

“I told you I hate the smell of cigarettes in those places!”

While the two bickered, Dae-eon glanced under the table. Ji-ha was still holding onto his wrist. At this rate, he’d be holding it for the entire night. Dae-eon tried to shake his hand off gently—shake, shake.

Ji-ha blinked, and then… gripped even harder.

Dae-eon sent a signal with his eyes: Senior, let go. I need to drink.

Ji-ha interpreted it as: ……Hold me tighter?

Ji-ha tentatively moved his fingers and interlaced them with Dae-eon’s. Even the easy-going Dae-eon was startled this time. As his shoulders jumped, Jung Yoon-ki, sitting on his other side, glanced over.

“Dae-eon? Is something wrong?”

“Ah, uh…… it’s nothing.”

“Want me to pour you a glass?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Dae-eon held his glass with his right hand while desperately trying to pry his left hand free. The more he struggled, the stronger Ji-ha’s grip became. Dae-eon hadn’t realized how strong the man was despite his size, and he winced.

Yoon-ki suddenly spoke up.

“You know, Dae-eon.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you perhaps……”

Just as Yoon-ki was about to say something, the wooden table shook violently. An Alpha senior from another table had appeared with a loud thud. It was only 8:00 PM, but his face was already beet-red.

“Well, look at this. All the hard-to-see faces of our department are gathered here.”

The four freshmen stiffened.

“Especially Jung Yoon-ki. Hey, why didn’t you come out when I asked you to drink last time? Do you think I’m a joke? Huh?”

His target was Yoon-ki. The drunk Alpha smirked at Yoon-ki with greasy eyes and shoved an empty glass toward him.

“Hey. Pour me a drink.”

“Senior, I think you’ve had enough.”

Scrape.

The first one to stand up was Dae-eon. He nudged Ji-ha’s hand away under the table and pushed back his chair.

Dong-chol was too high-strung to handle this flexibly, Ye-jun was the type to mind his own business, and Ji-ha…… well, he wasn’t exactly reliable in social situations. Dae-eon, being the most sociable, snatched the bottle from Yoon-ki’s hand and poured the senior a drink with a bright smile.

“Let your cute junior Dae-eon pour you one, Senior!”

“Oh, for f***’s sake.”

The senior’s face twisted. He took the glass Dae-eon had filled and splashed the alcohol onto the floor.

“Why the hell is a Recessive Omega pouring me a drink? It’s bad luck. Get lost. Jung Yoon-ki, you do it.”

“……”

“What? Is the precious Dominant Omega too good to pour a drink for an Alpha? Huh?”

The chill from their table began to spread throughout the entire pub. Most people in Hansim Pocha were from their department, and they began to watch the scene with contempt for the drunken senior. A few Student Council members hurried over.

“Senior, you’re drunk. Let’s go back to our table. Let the freshmen be, okay?”

“Hey, call a taxi. He’s wasted.”

“F***! Let me go!”

The senior shook off the Student Council members so violently that they stumbled into other tables. He continued to glare at Yoon-ki.

“Hey! Jung Yoon-ki! This s*** is happening because of you. Is pouring a single glass that hard for you? Huh?”

Yoon-ki’s face turned red as the entire pub stared. He bit his lip, unable to say a word. That’s when it happened.

“Hey.”

“……? What?”

“Hey, you piece of s***.”

Dae-eon leaned on the table with both hands, staring the man down. His eyes were cold.

“What did you just say to a ‘Recessive Omega’? Huh? Piece of s***? F***ing what?!”

Dae-eon kicked his chair back and walked around the table until he was standing right in front of the senior. Then, he raised his hand.

And he poured it. The entire bottle of soju, right over the man’s head.

“How does the drink a ‘Recessive Omega’ pours taste? Pretty damn good, right?”

The man’s eyes widened as the alcohol soaked his hair. He looked like a wet seaweed. Dae-eon gave him a wide, bright smile.

“Don’t be shy, Senior! Drink up!”

“You crazy b***ard……!”

“Hey! Stop him! Someone stop that guy!”

“Aaaah!”

The man lunged at him with a clenched fist. Some people pulled out their phones to record, while seniors rushed to intervene. Through it all, Dae-eon just chuckled.

Yoon-ki, Dong-chol, and Ye-jun watched in pure shock—they had never seen this side of Dae-eon before.

Thwack!

The Alpha’s fist connected with Dae-eon’s face. Despite his head snapping back from the impact, Dae-eon kept laughing. He looked like a complete madman.

But Dae-eon wasn’t drunk. He wasn’t the type to get drunk off a few sips. He was just a Beta who was sick and tired of an Alpha looking down on others because they were “Dominant” or “Recessive.”

“Alpha? Recessive Omega? Bullsh**. Why don’t you release your pheromones? I’ll tell you exactly how much they stink. Huh?”

“You little s***, what did you say?!”

“I wasn’t done. Whoa, wait—is this rotting smell your pheromones? It’s disgusting. Aren’t you embarrassed to call yourself an Alpha with a scent like this?”

Every word was a critical hit. The senior lunged again, but his second punch never reached Dae-eon.

Because Seon Ji-ha had finally stood up.

Ji-ha grabbed the man by his collar and slammed him into the floor. Before anyone could react, he began to beat him.

Thud. Crack. Thud……

It was a brutal, one-sided assault. Ji-ha didn’t hold back. His thick glasses flew off and shattered on the floor as he moved. The only sound in the pub was the rhythm of his fists. No one dared to stop him.

Ji-ha looked like a terrifying, emotionless machine.

“Senior.”

“……Dae-eon?”

“Senior, that’s enough. You’re going to kill him.”

The fists, which had been falling with mechanical speed and strength, stopped instantly. Ji-ha, still pinned on top of the Alpha, slowly turned his head.

Without his glasses, his sharp, predatory eyes were fully revealed. Dae-eon held out a hand to him. Ji-ha wiped the blood from his brow with his arm, took Dae-eon’s hand, and stood up.

The Alpha’s nose was completely crushed. Someone from the student group muttered in horror, “M-madman…… what do we do?”

Seon Ji-ha, the one who had caused the carnage, stood quietly next to Dae-eon. He hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol. Instead, he gripped Dae-eon’s hand tightly and whispered:

“You know…… Dae-eon.”

“Yes?”

“Right now, in here…… there are no pheromones.”

He said this while standing in a room thick with the stench of terror and rage.