ETP Ch 4

Seongyeon waited, but contrary to his expectations, the professor didn’t call roll.

After waiting for the initial flurry of activity to die down, the professor simply began the lecture.

Confused, Seongyeon looked around.

What? Was attendance already taken? How? Questions piled up.

The professor showed no signs of calling out names, and the students, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, opened their textbooks and began taking notes on their tablets.

Having attended online university, in-person lectures were something Seongyeon had only heard about; a world apart from his own experience. Moreover, current university lectures were far more technologically advanced than what he was used to.

While Seongyeon had dutifully opened his textbook, both the professor and the students were focused on the lecture using their tablets.

Regretting bringing only pens and a notebook, Seongyeon flipped through the pages uselessly. The pace of the lecture was impossible to keep up with using handwritten notes.

For the entire 50-minute first period, Seongyeon felt like a fifth wheel.

I should have brought a laptop! He grumbled inwardly, staring at his pristine, unmarked textbook.

On top of that, he still hadn’t taken attendance. Instead of filling the gap in Bokseung’s attendance record, he was about to create a bigger one.

Panicking, Seongyeon turned to his side. The fragrant man was still there.

After several glances, Seongyeon made up his mind.

Even if he couldn’t follow the lecture, he absolutely had to take attendance. To do that, he needed to ask another student. And next to him was the fragrant man, who used a lovely cologne. They say people who smell good are never bad people.

Therefore, asking the fragrant man was his best option.

Having employed this flawless logic, Bokseung’s white hand tapped the desk next to him.

“Excuse me.”

The fragrant man, who had been staring straight ahead with an indifferent expression, turned his head at the sound.

Oh, this student is handsomely pretty! Seongyeon exclaimed inwardly, meeting the man’s gaze.

His dark eyebrows were neatly shaped against his fair skin, his nose sleek and high. His oval-shaped jawline was perfect, and his lips were so red they looked like they were stained with rose petals.

His large eyes, a clear, sparkling black, seemed to gather all the light in the world.

Is this what they call “handsome-pretty”?

As Seongyeon recalled some current slang, he noticed the fragrant man staring intently at him and quickly collected himself. Getting straight to the point, he asked,

“Hello, excuse me for bothering you, but could you tell me how to take attendance here?”

His question, beginning with the formal language ingrained in him from his professional life, finally softened into Bokseung’s gentle tone, ending with a polite “yo?”

The fragrant man tilted his head.

The gesture seemed to convey, “What are you, clueless?” Seongyeon felt a pang of embarrassment, but the fragrant man, regardless of his inner thoughts, politely explained the attendance procedure.

“Go to the university app, click on Student Support, then Attendance. Once you log in, the current lecture will show up. Click on the lecture, then click ‘Attend.’“

Wow, even his voice is nice. Seongyeon admired the fragrant man’s quiet yet husky voice.

The fragrant man glanced at Bokseung’s phone, as if prompting him to hurry up. Seongyeon quickly nodded and picked up his phone, searching for the university app.

Fortunately, it was automatically logged in, making it easy to take attendance.

So this is how they do it these days. Another new discovery.

Seongyeon, having already opened the app, explored its features. From Bokseung’s cute student ID photo to the cafeteria menu, it had everything.

It was a whole new world! Bokseung’s eyes sparkled as he navigated the app.

“Oh, this is amazing!”

Hwang Yoohyun, the fragrant man, chuckled inwardly, watching Bokseung navigate the app with strange exclamations.

Kim Bokseung was acting as if they were strangers, but they had already met in another liberal arts class during the first semester.

Moreover, they had even been in the same group for a project.

For someone like himself, who usually had a poor memory for faces, to remember him so clearly, there was no way Kim Bokseung could have forgotten him.

This wasn’t unfounded arrogance on Hwang Yoohyun’s part. As a dominant Alpha and the third-generation heir to one of Korea’s top conglomerates, everything about him naturally attracted attention.

Anyone who had ever met him, no matter how long ago, remembered the name “Hwang Yoohyun,” whether for good or bad reasons.

Yet, Kim Bokseung was blatantly ignoring him. “Excuse me for bothering you?” What a ridiculous greeting.

Yoohyun, conveniently forgetting that he hadn’t acknowledged Bokseung either, looked dumbfounded.

He found it even more ludicrous because he was used to people approaching him.

Meanwhile, Seongyeon, completely oblivious to the man’s inner thoughts, felt genuinely grateful for his kindness.

Believing he had successfully taken attendance thanks to the fragrant man, Seongyeon decided to employ one of his social skills: “Repaying kindness with coffee.”

“Thank you so much. I couldn’t remember how to take attendance today! I’m so grateful, would you mind if I bought you a coffee?”

“What?” 

Bokseung’s brazen coffee invitation hung in the air.

Yoohyun frowned, looking at the small junior beside him. It was clearly a ploy.

Ignoring Yoohyun’s reaction, Seongyeon quickly purchased a coffee coupon and held out his phone. The break was approaching quickly; he had to send the coupon as fast as possible.

However, the fragrant man simply stared blankly at the phone screen, seemingly not understanding what it meant.

Seongyeon held out his phone again.

Since they weren’t personally acquainted, going to the cafe together would be awkward. In such situations, a coffee coupon was always the best solution.

So why was he hesitating?

The impatient 30-year-old Lee Seongyeon briefly resurfaced.

“I’m definitely not asking for your contact information. You just need to enter it here once so I can send you the coffee coupon.” 

Bokseung explained quickly, his face innocent.

Hwang Yoohyun, with an even more displeased expression, looked back at the phone screen, as if verifying Bokseung’s words.

A few seconds of silence passed. Seeing Bokseung’s arm tremble slightly as he held out the phone, Yoohyun sighed briefly and entered his number.

Simultaneously, a coffee coupon arrived in Yoohyun’s inbox.

“Thank you so much again!” 

Bokseung turned back to the front, his face devoid of any lingering interest.

Yoohyun stared at the coffee coupon in his message app and let out a hollow laugh.

What the hell?

He, who usually only gave out his app ID to avoid unwanted attention, had so easily given out his number.

Even if Kim Bokseung claimed it wasn’t his contact information, there were ways to trace it back. And this brazen kid might use it to bother him.

The thought that he might have to change his number again because of this recent lapse in judgment soured his mood.

Actually, he was mostly annoyed that he had seemingly lost to a 4,500 won coffee coupon.

🍑‧₊ ⋆˙

“So, I’ll randomly assign groups and post them on the app by this weekend. Please check the group assignments, and next week, we’ll start the lecture with group activities. Class dismissed.”

The professor left the lecture hall after the final announcement. Despite the mention of group projects, the students in the room were all smiles.

Aren’t group projects supposed to be the worst?

Seongyeon recalled some online horror stories about group projects. The cheerful atmosphere in the lecture hall, completely opposite to what he knew, deepened his confusion.

Thinking he’d have to carefully review the syllabus when he got home, Seongyeon finished packing up.

When he glanced to his side, the fragrant man was already gone. He felt a little disappointed, as he had intended to say goodbye.

Leaving the lecture hall, Seongyeon checked Bokseung’s schedule again. He had a two-hour break before his afternoon class.

He wanted to go home and get his tablet, but then remembered he hadn’t charged it.

It would just be extra baggage.

Seongyeon decided to prioritize lunch.

“Cafeteria, cafeteria, delicious cafeteria.” 

A strange melody unconsciously escaped his lips, brimming with anticipation. He remembered Bokseung bragging about the good cafeteria food, and his mouth watered.

Especially since, as he’d seen earlier, today’s menu was pork cutlet, one of Seongyeon’s favorite dishes, one he could eat three times a week.

Once again using the map app to find the cafeteria, Seongyeon marveled at the sheer size of the campus while paying for his meal ticket.

A short while later, settled at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, Seongyeon looked down at his tray. It held a thick pork cutlet, soup, and salad – a perfect Western-style set meal.

Perfect! This was the peak of happiness since entering Bokseung’s body.

Just as Seongyeon took a bite of the savory, pepper-dusted soup, beaming,

“Kim Bokseung!”

A large hand landed on his shoulder as his name was called from right beside him. Bokseung’s body froze mid-cutlet-cutting.