CDCN Chapter 12

Yang-hwi’s eyes widened at the unexpected response. Then he burst out laughing.

“Him?”

It was the most absurd thing he’d ever heard.

Cha Jin-geon, so kind he’d even be nice to a stalker? Sure, sometimes Jin-geon’s pheromones felt dangerously overwhelming to human dignity, but that wasn’t intentional. And if we’re talking dangerous, wouldn’t a wolf beastman be the real threat?

Yang-hwi snorted, and Min Ki-hyeok frowned, narrowing his eyes.

“You always act like you know everything about Cha Jin-geon.”

“That’s because I know him inside and out…”

‘Oh, Min Ki-hyeok doesn’t know I was a stalker, does he?’

Yang-hwi shut his mouth. As Ki-hyeok looked at him expectantly, Yang-hwi slung an arm around his shoulder and changed the subject.

“We were in the same class all through high school, so I’d know that much. He’s not dangerous. And during the group project, he was just giving everything. I don’t get what’s supposed to be dangerous about him. You two were childhood friends, right? Did you maybe fight as kids and lose or something?”

“…As if I’d care about something like that.”

Min Ki-hyeok sighed, exasperated. But his slightly delayed response tipped Yang-hwi off.

‘So they did fight at some point?’

It was surprising that the indifferent Min Ki-hyeok and the good-natured Cha Jin-geon had clashed.

‘Is that why things couldn’t follow the original story?’

“Anyway, listen to me. It doesn’t hurt to be cautious. If possible, avoid being alone with him.”

“We’re only meeting this once, so there’s no need for more. Let’s drop it. I’m hungry. Let’s grab lunch.”

Yang-hwi cut him off with a vague acknowledgment and pushed Min Ki-hyeok’s shoulder. Ki-hyeok, looking somehow exhausted, pressed his eyes and followed as Yang-hwi nudged him along.

* * *

After finishing his last exam, Yang-hwi stood in front of a bulletin board plastered with club flyers, chugging coffee.

No longer needing to avoid Cha Jin-geon, Yang-hwi was ready to dive into college life.

His first step was joining a club. Before being transmigrated, he loved hiking. Working as a PD, he’d managed to keep going thanks to weekend hikes that built his stamina. So, he wanted to join a hiking club.

But as he looked at the hiking club’s poster on the board, Yang-hwi’s expression turned odd.

The club’s name was “UP AND GO,” nicknamed the “Upgo” club. It seemed named with the idea of climbing toward mountain peaks… but the poster was a sight.

In the center was a mountain, with a person in hiking gear smiling broadly and pointing toward the summit. That much was fine, but the key detail was that the smiling person was being carried on someone else’s back—while wearing a leg cast.

At the summit, another person leaning on crutches, supported by someone else, held a flag, teary-eyed but beaming brightly.

“Is this saying I should join prepared to die?”

Yang-hwi’s face scrunched up. No matter how positively he tried to interpret it, the poster sent a different message.

Everyone else seemed to agree—unlike the other tattered flyers, the hiking club’s poster was pristine, as if touching it might curse you. The paper looked stiff and untouched.

Yang-hwi turned his gaze elsewhere.

There’s got to be more than one hiking club at this university.

But after scouring every corner, he found no other hiking club flyers. Worse, a list of campus clubs tucked in a corner confirmed “Upgo” was the only hiking club.

“That’s my only option?”

He wasn’t thrilled… Muttering to himself, Yang-hwi decided to examine the poster more closely.

Maybe there was a reason he hadn’t noticed—a reason for this godawful design he’d never have approved. Perhaps the “Upgo” club made it this way to scare off new members.

At the bottom of the poster, Yang-hwi spotted tiny text.

[Always recruiting. We welcome students who want to feel deep, heartfelt camaraderie! Even if you’re injured, we’ll carry you to the summit together!]

“Ha! Who’d join after reading this?”

He couldn’t help but laugh.

‘Who on earth made this poster? I’m curious about what’s going on in their head. Putting the most important message in tiny print and slapping a misleading image front and center—did they want the club to fail?’

Still, after reading the text, Yang-hwi roughly got the image’s intent.

In short, it’s saying they’ll take responsibility and stick together to the end, even if someone gets hurt.

The club itself seemed genuinely passionate about hiking, which Yang-hwi liked. But he figured he’d need to check it out to know for sure. He noted the application form and the clubroom’s location on the poster, then turned away.

* * *

Spotting the “UP AND GO” sign, Yang-hwi raised his hand to knock but paused. The clubroom was quite noisy.

‘Did I come at a bad time? Should I call and come back later?’

He briefly thought they might be in a meeting, but listening closely, he realized they weren’t. A woman’s voice complained, “We even put up a poster boy, so why are so few people joining?” Then came a retort, “That’s because you keep rejecting everyone who shows up, Noona.” It sounded like casual chatter.

Yang-hwi knocked lightly twice and turned the handle. As the door creaked open, he stepped inside and said, “Is this the hiking…”

“Yang-hwi?”

A familiar voice made him look up. Cha Jin-geon was perched on the edge of a desk, leaning casually. He looked slightly surprised but soon stood and smiled warmly.

“Cha Jin-geon? Uh, is this…?”

Yang-hwi felt a moment of panic.

‘Did I walk into the wrong room? Why’s he here? I thought Jin-geon wasn’t in any clubs.’

Thinking he’d mistaken the room, Yang-hwi hesitated and started to step back out. Just then, someone grabbed his hand and yanked him inside. It was the woman he’d seen beside Jin-geon, holding someone by the collar when he first entered.

Before he could react, she dragged him to the center of the room and snatched the application form from his hand. Grabbing both his hands, she grinned.

“Accepted!”

“…Huh?”

“You’re here for the hiking club, right?”

“Yeah, but…”

“Then you’re accepted. Welcome to the club. I’m Si Yoon-ah, a fourth-year in business administration and the club president. Just call me Yoon-ah Noona. So, what’s our cute new member’s department and name?”

“Korean literature, second year… Hold on. I need to think.”

Caught up in Yoon-ah’s pace, Yang-hwi almost spilled his info. He slipped his hands free and took a step back. If Jin-geon and even Lee Se-jin, who’d been grabbed by the collar earlier, were in this club, joining might need a second thought.

“Hiking gear support.”

Yoon-ah’s low voice made him pause. It was tempting, but there were plenty of affordable, practical hiking clothes these days. It wasn’t enticing enough to outweigh being in the same club as Jin-geon.

“Plus, we’ll cover hiking equipment, and you’re exempt from club fees as long as I’m president. How’s that?”

With her hands on her hips, Yoon-ah smiled confidently, as if saying, “You can’t resist this.”

“Where do I sign?”

It’d be better to avoid Jin-geon, but his body barely reacted to him anymore, so why bother dodging him? Yang-hwi had decided to start a new life—why should Jin-geon stop him from enjoying hiking?

Yang-hwi could hike without joining a club, but he rationalized it to himself. The promise of gear support was strong enough to erase any resolve to avoid Cha Jin-geon from his mind.

“Yeah, just read it and fill in the blanks…”

“Wow, that’s blatant favoritism.”

“Noona, isn’t that too much?”

“Yeah, I just joined too!”

Yoon-ah’s generous offer drew jeers from all around. One person, who’d joined just ten minutes ago, grumbled about the unfairness.

But Yoon-ah didn’t bat an eye. Instead, she raised her voice.

“Hey! Then maybe try being a bit cuter!”

Cute…?

Yang-hwi knew she meant him, but he pretended not to hear. He must’ve misheard.

Despite the ongoing complaints, Yoon-ah waved them off like swatting flies. Then she continued explaining to Yang-hwi kindly.

“Go Yang-hwi? Pretty name. So, maybe…”

Her eyes sparkled excessively as she read his name, clearly assuming he was a beastman. But Yang-hwi had no intention of meeting her expectations.

He circled “human” in the race section, shattering her hopes.

“…A human, huh. Still cute, so you’re in!”

Though briefly disappointed, she quickly brushed it off, slung an arm around Yang-hwi’s shoulder, and winked. Caught off guard by Yoon-ah’s bold physicality, he barely registered her ruffling his hair and telling him to finish filling out the form before she marched over to Lee Se-jin, who was still jeering, and covered his mouth to shut him up.

Stunned, Yang-hwi looked up and locked eyes with Jin-geon. It seemed Jin-geon had been watching him the whole time.

Jin-geon picked up an application form from the table, walked over, pulled up a chair, and sat beside Yang-hwi.

“You’re joining, Yang-hwi? Then I’ll join too.”