A Savior Lost in Memory

“Hey, what took you so long?”

“Sorry. I ran into Senior Seon Ji-ha again right outside.”

“Huh?”

Oh Dong-chol, who had already claimed a spot in the sprawling lecture hall, waved me over. I hurried toward him and took a seat.

Fortunately, the professor hadn’t arrived yet. Just as Dong-chol was about to grill me further about my encounter with Seon Ji-ha, Kim Ye-jun—who had been facedown on his desk—propped himself up and cut in.

“Are you actually close with that senior?”

“When did you even get here, Ye-jun? You said in the group chat you were heading to the PC cafe.”

“I was going to, but I heard they’re doing a surprise attendance check today.”

Ye-jun shrugged, mentioning a senior he knew had given him a heads-up. Unlike Ye-jun, who acted like a sneaky opportunist by only showing up on check-in days, Oh Dong-chol—who meticulously took notes for every class—gave him a look of mild distaste.

Naturally, the spotlight shifted back to me. Kim Ye-jun had a habit of never letting go of a topic once his curiosity was piqued.

“So, are you two close or what?”

“It’s not like that. We just had… some business.”

“What kind of business?”

Having inadvertently made myself a target by being vague, I scratched my head. It felt uncomfortable to discuss someone else’s dynamic, even if I was a Beta.

“He dropped something, so I just picked it up for him.”

“What? Is this a green light I smell?”

“Whoa, seriously? For real? Dae-eon, is there something going on between you and Senior Seon Ji-ha? Even at lunch, you two were acting weird.”

True to form, Oh Dong-chol reacted with his usual fuss, acting as if he’d just heard the gossip of the century. Meanwhile, Kim Ye-jun, the one who started the fire, had already lost interest and slumped back down. I waved my hands frantically to dismiss the idea.

“There’s nothing going on. How can you even say that after seeing us together earlier?”

“Fair enough. When you two made eye contact, it was so awkward it made me cringe.”

“Dong-chol, you’re such a drama queen.”

“Hmph. Like you’re any better, Ye-jun?”

The two of them resumed their usual bickering. Having narrowly escaped the misunderstanding, I let out a sigh of relief and turned my head. That was when a familiar figure caught my eye.

The plaid shirt, the horn-rimmed glasses, and those long bangs.

Seon Ji-ha had taken a seat not far from where our trio was sitting. Only then did I remember that this elective was one that several upperclassmen also attended. If I’d run into him right outside the door, I should have realized he was coming here.

“Still, isn’t it a bit much to ship Dae-eon with that senior?”

“Why? He’s a top student.”

“I don’t care how smart he is, that fashion is just…”

As Dong-chol’s mouth ran wild, I dug my elbow into his ribs. The reaction was instantaneous.

“Ow! Hey, what was that for?!”

Instead of answering, I tilted my chin toward the back of Seon Ji-ha’s head, just a couple of rows in front of us. Dong-chol turned with an annoyed expression, only to freeze the moment he saw him. He clamped his mouth shut. Our eyes met in a silent panic.

‘Did he hear us…?’

Neither of us spoke, but we were thinking the exact same thing. Kim Ye-jun, the catalyst for the whole mess, was already fast asleep.

“Alright, I’ll start calling attendance.”

As the professor began the roll call, Dong-chol and I kept our heads low, constantly glancing at Seon Ji-ha. He, however, didn’t turn around once during the entire two-hour lecture.

“He definitely heard us, right…?”

“It would be weirder if he didn’t at that distance.”

“Should I go and apologize?”

Dong-chol asked in a frantic whisper, shifting his weight from side to side. Class had just ended, and everyone was busy packing up. While Dong-chol and I hovered, eyeing Seon Ji-ha as he tucked his notes away, Ye-jun spoke up with total indifference.

“Apologize for what? Just leave it. Who cares if he heard?”

“This is why you have no friends, Ye-jun.”

“I have more friends than you.”

While those two started their second round of bickering, I watched Seon Ji-ha exit the room. Unable to stand the guilt any longer, I followed him out.

Dong-chol looked like he wanted to come along, but I signaled that I’d handle it myself. It would look even more ridiculous if we both went running after him to apologize like a pair of scolded puppies.

“Gosh, he walks fast.”

Dashing out late, I increased my pace to catch up with Seon Ji-ha, who was already far ahead. Once the gap narrowed, I called out his name.

“Senior Seon Ji-ha!”

There was no response. In fact, it felt like his pace actually quickened. I felt a surge of dread—is he ignoring me because he’s angry?

But since I’d already come this far, I couldn’t turn back. I lunged forward and grabbed his sleeve. Seon Ji-ha came to a dead halt and turned around.

He was wearing earphones. The old-fashioned kind with white wires that had long since gone out of style.

“……?”

“Um, Senior.”

Seon Ji-ha looked at me with a puzzled expression as he pulled one earphone out.

“About earlier… in the classroom…. I’m so sorry.”

“……For what?”

“……You didn’t hear?”

Wait, how could he not hear? We were so close!

At that moment, my eyes fell on the earphone he had just pulled out. If he’d been wearing those before the lecture started, it was perfectly natural that he hadn’t heard a thing. Realization hit me, and my expression shifted to one of sheer misery.

“It’s just… my friend said something weird…. I was worried your feelings might be hurt….”

“……I didn’t hear anything……”

“Ah. Right. Of course….”

‘I’ve made a complete fool of myself.’

As the atmosphere turned thick with awkwardness, I clenched my fists. I realized too late that being too nice could be a curse.

“Still, I felt like I should apologize just in case. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“M-Maybe we could grab a meal together sometime?”

I cursed my mouth for moving independently of my brain. While apologizing only with words felt insufficient, the idea of having a meal with a stranger was even more uncomfortable.

I carefully gauged his reaction; he looked just as troubled as I felt. I opened and closed my mouth, on the verge of taking back the offer, when he spoke first.

“I’ve been quite busy lately……”

“Ah, right! You’re busy! Then don’t worry about it!”

“But if it’s alright… instead of a meal, could you help me with something…?”

I was busy mentally celebrating the fact that he was ‘busy,’ but I froze at his follow-up.

‘Ah, damn it.’

Was he going to dump an assignment on me? It was a plausible guess. What else would a senior who seemed to care about nothing but studying ask for?

However, born with the soul of a chronic ‘Yes-Man,’ I found myself blurting out:

“What is it? I’ll help!”

“T-Thank you. I’m actually looking for someone….”

“A person? Who?”

Looking for someone. I figured that was better than doing his homework. At least, that’s what I thought.

“It’s the person who… bought this for me last week.”

“This? What is it?”

“The one you picked up for me earlier. This….”

Seon Ji-ha reached into his black backpack. What he pulled out was the very thing I had handed back to him earlier: [My-Cycle: For Alpha Omegas].

“Oh. Someone bought that for you?”

“Yes….”

“But you don’t know who it was?”

How is that possible?

If they bought it for him, he should have seen their face. I thought it was that simple. Since it was such a common brand of suppressants, I didn’t immediately connect it to my own actions from the previous week.

“At the time, I… well… my cyc…”

“Sorry? What was that?”

“Cyc…”

Why did this man talk in so many ellipses? I waited patiently. After all, I had agreed to help him out of guilt for the comments he hadn’t even heard.

“I was in the middle of a Rut… so, I don’t remember very well……”

“Ah, you were in your cycle. Wait…? You were in heat? Last week?”

“Yes.”

The moment he mentioned the cycle, a memory flashed through my mind.

‘You shouldn’t be going into heat in a place like this.’

‘When you wake up, take the medicine and go home. Okay?’

The two boxes of suppressants—one for Omegas and one for Alphas—that I’d bought because I was terrified the man would die of a fever. The brand I had purchased back then was definitely ‘My-Cycle.’ I felt goosebumps erupt along my arms.

“W-Were you an Alpha Omega?”

“Pardon?”

“No! Nothing!”

I had bought him the Omega suppressants just in case, but I had been certain he was an Alpha. Apparently not. I looked at the box in his hand again, feeling dazed. Then, I asked:

“But why are you looking for that person?”

“Ah….”

The tips of Seon Ji-ha’s ears turned crimson. He hesitated for a moment, then gave a shy smile. The key point here was that he smiled shyly.

“I think… I fell in love at first sight….”

‘But you said you didn’t even remember them……?’