* * *

What had been the point of punishing those boys if it meant hurting the people who truly cared for Jungin?

“…I’m sorry. I made a mistake.”

He had been alone since birth, and so he hadn’t realized his pain could hurt, burden, or sadden others.

‘I regret it…’

The tears streaming down his cheeks weren’t from pain but from regret for the others.

He wanted to stop crying so as not to sadden them further, but he was so grateful and sorry that he couldn’t hold back.

“Promise you’ll tell us if something like this happens again, okay?”

“Yes, I will. I really will…”

With his face swollen, Jungin burst into a small laugh as he nodded, amused by his own reflection in the mirror.

“Are you a pufferfish?”

Startled by the voice beside him, he turned his head to see Ki Beomhyeon, who had been watching him with a smirk.

“…Why are you still here?”

Hadn’t he gone home?

Beomhyeon poked Jungin’s swollen cheek, chuckling.

“Well, it didn’t pop.”

“Hey!”

Jungin yelled, covering his cheek, irritated. Beomhyeon, despite his appearance, had a mischievous side.

As he tried to avoid Beomhyeon’s hand, a memory came back of how he’d tricked Beomhyeon and gone to see Park Hyuntae at school earlier.

He remembered how furious Beomhyeon’s face had been when he arrived with his brothers.

Fully aware of his mistake, Jungin hesitated, glancing at Beomhyeon.

“Um… you were really mad, right? I’m sorry… and thank you for helping.”

With Beomhyeon’s help, things had moved quickly in dealing with those responsible.

When Jungin thanked him again, Beomhyeon simply nodded as if it was nothing.

“Hey, are you hungry?”

Just then, Jungseo squeezed between Jungin and Beomhyeon, taking a seat.

Now that he thought about it, he was a bit hungry.

But where was his phone? He’d been searching for it for a while now.

“Hyung, have you seen my phone?”

“Well, um… maybe?”

His brother’s answer was vague.

Just as Jungin was about to ask again, his other brother, Jung-woo, handed him something.

“Jungin, your favorite yogurt.”

In a small wooden bowl was yogurt, topped with vibrant fruit. Apparently, Jungin had loved yogurt.

“Oh, thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”

As he scooped up the yogurt with both hands, Jungin thought, ‘Why did Jungin hate these kind brothers so much?’

It didn’t make sense.

The Jungin he knew always said home felt like a prison and that he wanted to escape his brothers’ harassment.

But from what he’d seen, the brothers’ actions were far from bullying.

Even if they had changed suddenly, their behavior felt completely natural.

‘Whose words can I believe…?’

Sighing deeply, Jungin slowly closed his eyes and worried about when his own body might wake up.

Jungjin had told him his original body was badly injured and would take a long time to recover.

‘But… it’s been too long already…’

He was getting used to living as Jungin.

Soon, he worried he might begin wanting to stay.

Clenching his lips, Jungin shook his head, deciding to visit the hospital soon.

Just as he finished the last of his yogurt, a voice broke in.

“Sweetheart, let’s withdraw from school. Your recovery hasn’t been smooth since the accident, and you can study from home.”

“No!”

“Jungin?”

“I want to keep going to school. I didn’t do anything wrong, so why should I have to leave…?”

Clenching his lips tightly, Jungin remembered what he hadn’t yet mentioned about his homeroom teacher, and hesitated before finally speaking up.

“Actually… my teacher… bullied me too.”

He didn’t have concrete evidence or witnesses to prove he was being harassed.

But Jungin was certain that these people would be on his side, so he started sharing the things he had been through, slowly, even though it was difficult.

“They ignored me when I was locked in the bathroom. As soon as I transferred here, they embarrassed me in front of everyone, blaming me for things I didn’t even do.”

Is this what it feels like to “tattle”? Once he started speaking, the stories he’d kept in his heart poured out without end.

“They humiliated me for things I didn’t even do… Even made me clean the auditorium alone when I was late from the hospital… It was really hard for me.”

Jungin told his brothers about other things, like being forced to run errands during lunch, or how he was given difficult questions in class and slapped on the hand when he got them wrong.

“And I can’t be sure about this, but…”

“Go on.”

“I was walking by, and a flowerpot came flying down at me… from the third floor.”

“What? That psycho!”

The youngest brother slammed his hand on the table in outrage, his face twisted with anger.

“I didn’t actually see the teacher’s face, but he was wearing the same clothes, and the flowerpot fell right near the third-year teachers’ office. There was dust all over the area, like something had been placed on his desk.”

Jungseo, visibly furious, stood up like he was ready to grab their homeroom teacher by the collar.

“I won’t let this jerk get away with this. How dare he—”

“Jungseo, sit down. Jungin hasn’t finished speaking.”

“You want me to sit back down after hearing all that? How many times do we have to just sit back?”

Jungin looked over at Jungjin, who was listening to him with a serious expression.

Does he think I’m lying about something so ridiculous?

He almost regretted bringing up the flowerpot, worried it might be too unbelievable.

He nervously picked at the skin next to his thumbnail until Jungjin’s stern voice broke the silence.

“If it’s reached this point, maybe we should take action rather than talk. What do you think?”

Uh…? Why’s he looking at Ki Beomhyeon now?

What could he possibly do…?

Jungin’s heart warmed at how they believed him, even if it was only for a moment.

Watching the eldest brother turn to Ki Beomhyeon, he quickly interjected.

“Why bring him into this… all of a sudden?”

“I’ll let Mr. Yoon know. We’ll discuss the details tomorrow.”

“Yes, thanks.”

Why is he suddenly talking about me while looking at Ki Beomhyeon? What’s he planning to do?

For some reason, the image of the men in black suits who always seemed to be near Ki Beomhyeon came to mind.

He wouldn’t go so far as to kill anyone… right?

‘I mean, I want revenge, but not like that…’

Jungin sighed heavily, overwhelmed by what he was imagining.

But even without evidence, the others all believed his words completely.

It was… comforting, somehow.

He felt warmed by their trust.

But he also felt a little guilty, knowing he wasn’t the real Jungin they thought he was.

“Hey.”

“…”

“Jungin!”

“Huh?”

Lost in thought, Jungin looked up as someone’s hand rested on his shoulder.

“What’s on your mind?”

Jungseo studied Jungin’s face with concern.

‘Oh, he was talking to me.’

Jungin let out a small, embarrassed laugh and shook his head as if to say it was nothing.

“We were asking about tomorrow. If it’s because of that jerk of a homeroom teacher, you don’t have to go. We’ll handle things for you.”

“No. I still want to go.”

His brothers looked a little deflated.

He felt a bit sorry, but he still wanted to go to school.

Sure, he’d been tormented up to now, but not anymore.

And he was curious to see how people would react.

“Anyway, Ki Beomhyeon will be with me, so don’t worry.”

Jungin giggled as he hugged Ki Beomhyeon around the waist.

Who would dare come near me with someone as strong as him beside me?

* * *