* * *
Today was Jungin’s first day of going to school as Lee Jungin.
Even though he had gone to the same elementary, middle, and high schools as Jungin, he hadn’t seen him since Jungin suddenly transferred schools in his first year of high school.
When Jungin had asked why, what was the answer again?
‘He said he needed to find someone important?’
They’d still met a few times after that, but whenever the topic of school came up, Jungin seemed uncomfortable, so he’d never pressed for details.
‘Nothing strange is going to happen… right?’
A vague sense of unease gripped him, but Jungin shook his head, dismissing the thought.
‘Inseong High is a prestigious private school for kids from wealthy families. Nothing weird is going to happen.’
Jungjin, who had set down his newspaper, looked at him warmly as he rubbed his cheek absentmindedly.
“I’ll take you. We can leave at 8:30.”
“Okay…”
Although he wanted to go alone, it was the first day, after all.
Jungin’s eyes softened as he watched his eldest brother elegantly sip his coffee.
But something felt off.
Why were his other brothers just sitting quietly?
“Hyung, I have to go to school too. Can I hitch a ride?”
“You’ll be bored on the way back, right? Let’s go together.”
As expected, their voices chimed in unison. Jungin couldn’t help but smile at how predictable they were.
Meanwhile, Jungjin’s face grew darker—his coffee must’ve been bitter.
But Jungin, peeling off the band-aid from his arm, just ignored him and went back upstairs to get ready for school.
“No matter how many times I see it, I just can’t get used to this…”
Although he’d been friends with Jungin for four years, Jungin wasn’t the type to flaunt his body, and since they’d only met at school, Jungin had never seen him like this before.
But now, whether it was changing clothes or showering, there was no avoiding it.
And every time, the unfamiliar sight of Jungin’s body felt strange.
“So this is why people kept calling him an omega.”
Jungin knew it was rude to scrutinize someone else’s body so closely, but he couldn’t help it.
Even though all he did was wash up, it felt like Jungin’s body was glowing.
Jungin had been admiring the smooth, hairless skin for so long that he didn’t realize how much time had passed.
Snapping out of it, he rushed out of the bathroom and put on the uniform Jungwoo had left for him.
It fit perfectly, as if it had been custom-made for Jungin’s body.
Having always worn hand-me-down uniforms, slipping into a brand-new one felt special.
Even the fabric felt luxurious.
Satisfied with the soft texture against his fingertips, Jungin stepped out of his room.
“…Jungin.”
His brothers, now gathered on the second floor, were watching him as usual.
Feeling awkward under their intense stares, Jungin scratched the back of his head, and the brothers began whispering among themselves just loud enough for him to hear.
“Doesn’t he look extra pretty today?”
“Yeah. What if someone tries to kidnap him?”
“We’ll kill them.”
“I’ll put everything I have on the line and make sure their life ends right there.”
‘Why do their conversations always end like this?’ Jungin sighed and adjusted his bag, pretending not to hear.
“Hey, squirt. Come here.”
Jungseo returned from his room, handing Jungin a pair of glasses he had never seen before.
One of the things Jungin liked best about being in this body was the good eyesight, so the sudden gift of glasses made no sense.
“These were yours.”
“Glasses? I—no, ‘he’ had good eyesight.”
Jungin had never seen the guy wear glasses before.
“They’re just for fashion. Try them on.”
Since Jungseo took the effort to carefully put them on him, Jungin reluctantly complied, figuring there must be a reason.
Fashion glasses were all the rage these days, so wearing them wasn’t a bad idea.
Maybe it was about projecting a smart image, considering Jungin’s family background.
Curious about how he looked, Jungin moved toward a mirror, but a stranger stared back at him.
“What is this?”
It took him a while to realize that the person in the mirror was Lee Jungin.
His eyes had shrunk to the size of beans.
And those thick, black-rimmed glasses—something that might’ve been trendy 20 years ago—were enough to dull even Jungin’s striking appearance.
“Why do you even own something like this?”
“Those were yours.”
“No, I mean, why did I ever wear something like ‘this’?”
Unable to hold back his frustration, Jungin completely forgot that he was supposed to be pretending to be Lee Jungin and asked the question.
After giving it some thought, Jungwoo finally opened his mouth.
“It must’ve been hard for you to go around because you were too pretty. You’d get followed around sometimes, right?”
“Our little one definitely has a striking appearance. If you stopped a random passerby and asked, they’d all agree.”
Jungwoo and Jungseo were having a serious discussion about Lee Jungin’s face.
Wait, was that really why he had to wear this? The custom-made glasses worked like a charm.
Even though he was looking at an unfamiliar face, he could still see his brothers’ satisfied expressions through the mirror.
Hah, what’s with those smug faces?
Even if the three of them were pleased, he had no desire to go out wearing this just because he’d become Lee Jungin.
As he clenched the glasses with the intention of breaking them, his brothers all stopped him, their lips parting in protest.
“You said it was annoying when random people would talk to you. Why not just wear them?”
“Yeah, little one. Didn’t you say you hated when people stared at you?”
Sure, Lee Jungin was objectively pretty, but wasn’t this overkill?
“Here, take this card.”
A card?
While he was seriously wondering if Lee Jungin had narcissism, the mention of a card snapped him out of his thoughts.
“If you need anything from now on, just buy it with this. Didn’t your older brother tell you not to worry about spending money on things you want?”
Jungjin handed over a matte black card that gleamed more than any card he’d ever seen.
It almost looked like it was made of gold.
Seeing Jungin’s eyes light up, the other brothers also handed him things they’d brought with them.
“You might need some cash too, so take this.”
“If things get stressful, you can have a smoke—”
“Do you have a death wish, Jungseo?”
“You crazy bastard.”
One by one, his brothers pulled out cards, cash, and… well, things, from their pockets and handed them over.
Money.
The cash alone from his second brother seemed like it would amount to at least 500,000 won. (around 375 USD)
With that kind of money, he could cover a month’s worth of food for his younger siblings at the orphanage.
Having lived indulgently by himself for over a week, he suddenly thought of the siblings who were probably still struggling.
Since he’d be starting school today, he might have a chance to sneak back to the orphanage soon.
Maybe then, he could treat them to some meat and buy them new clothes.
Should he just close his eyes and accept all of this… just this once?
“I only have to wear the glasses…?”
“They’re just worried about you. Our youngest is just too pretty.”
In reality, it wasn’t that Lee Jungin wanted to wear these glasses—it was more like he’d been forced to wear them because of his brothers’ overprotectiveness.
Yeah, that seemed more likely.
Sighing inwardly, Jungin reluctantly gathered up the card, cash, and the glasses.
“But what time is it now?”
Watching Jungseo get hit by their second brother, he asked the question.
Jungseo, rubbing his sore head, glanced down at the watch on his wrist.
“Little one.”
Jungseo’s twisted grin made Jungin nervous.
He waited anxiously, his eyes shaking, for Jungseo to speak, and then he felt an arm wrap around his neck as Jungseo whispered in his ear.
“Uh oh. You’re late as hell on your first day.”
On Jungseo’s phone, the time showed less than 20 minutes until 9 o’clock.
Hastily pushing Jungseo’s arm off, Jungin slung his bag over his shoulder and shouted.
“I can’t be late on the first day!”
“I heard you couldn’t make it because of a car accident.”
By the time he was discharged from the hospital, the school term had long since begun.
Jungin followed the new homeroom teacher, who handed him his class number and schedule.
“You don’t remember much?”
“Yes, they said it’s a side effect of the accident… I’m sorry.”
“Honestly, you’re… whatever. Just shut up and follow me.”
It was clear from his sharp tone and cold gaze that the homeroom teacher didn’t like him.
‘Why? Was Lee Jungin a troublemaker at school?’
Even though he wasn’t particularly friendly, he didn’t seem like the type to cause problems.
If anything, he was quick to pick up on things and had gotten along fine in school.
Confused by the outright hostility, Jungin followed the teacher and soon arrived at the classroom.
* * *
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Nice
Thanks
Nicee
ty
So rude 😒