Sole Omega in an Alpha Family chapter 9

* * *

Class 5 of the third year.

Jungin looked up at the class sign where he would be for the foreseeable future, but his attention was soon drawn to a voice ahead.

“Just don’t come looking for trouble like last year and keep a low profile.

The kids have their reasons, so maybe you should try working on your attitude.”

Jungin frowned behind his glasses as he mulled over the teacher’s cryptic words.

Following the man into the classroom, he stepped forward at the sound of the door.

“Everyone, listen up.”

The teacher’s effort to get the students’ attention by smacking the attendance book on the desk was admirable, but the kids ignored him.

“Quiet down! What are you doing not coming in yet, Lee Jungin?”

As soon as his name was mentioned, the students who had been ignoring the teacher now turned their attention to him.

“From today, he’s back, so keep that in mind. Lee Jungin, go take the empty seat over there.”

As expected, this man really disliked him.

Sighing internally, Jungin headed toward the seat the teacher pointed out.

“Ah!”

He almost tripped over a foot that had suddenly jutted out.

Regaining his balance, Jungin quickly scanned the floor, but the offending foot had already disappeared as if nothing had happened.

His heart pounding with anxiety, Jungin sat down and furrowed his brow at the strange sense of déjà vu he’d felt since stepping into the school.

Then, from somewhere nearby, someone snickered.

Snapping his head in that direction, Jungin locked eyes with a group of kids laughing amongst themselves.

Even though their gazes met, they blatantly ignored him, sneering.

“Loser.”

The boy at the center of the group said it loudly enough for Jungin to hear. Laughter erupted from the others.

‘Are they talking about me?’

“Look at him walking around like he’s proud of that face. If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to show it.”

Even though it was obvious the boy was talking about him, Jungin couldn’t pretend he didn’t know.

“Forget it. You can’t expect much from a parasite like him.”

“Right, isn’t he the son of a mistress?”

By now, Jungin had a pretty good idea of how Lee Jungin had been treated at this school.

The more he listened, the more his lips tightened.

“His bag is a Imited edition. Did he sell himself like his mother to buy it? I heard his mom tried to seduce Chairman Lee during his rut.”

Although the comments weren’t technically directed at him, the conversation had become so disgusting that Jungin’s fingers trembled.

“How did he even think of coming back to school?”

“Right? What a loser.”

“Ugh, something smells like trash. Does anyone know who it is?”

The kids cackled amongst themselves, saying whatever they wanted.

Grinding his teeth, Jungin looked up, and within 30 minutes of being at school, he already understood the situation surrounding Lee Jungin.

It seemed that Lee Jungin had been the target of bullying.

Considering how blatant their insults and disregard were, he must have kept quiet all this time.

‘Goddammit…’

He felt awful.

No, beyond awful.

Clenching his lips so tightly that he could taste blood, Jungin closed his eyes and began to think.

‘How can I get revenge?’

There was a need to find out what kind of treatment Lee Jungin had been receiving and what the situation was.

‘First, let’s get a grasp of the situation.’

Hoo, he let out a long sigh internally and lifted his eyelids.

Just then, the bell signaling the start of the first period rang throughout the room.

Jungin adjusted his glasses, which had been irritating him to death since earlier, and took out his tablet from his bag.

This was something that Jungwoo hyung had prepared for him, saying that here, classes weren’t done with textbooks but with electronic devices.

The world had certainly improved, but it was something I couldn’t have even imagined when I lived in the orphanage in the redevelopment area.

Fortunately, I had secretly learned how to use this thing in my room, or else I might not have been able to attend class.

‘But… English for the first class?’

He frowned as he looked at the timetable pinned beside the blackboard.

He wasn’t bad at studying, but English was the one subject he struggled with the most, as it was hard to study on his own.

Besides, thinking about how these kids had been exposed to English so easily from a young age, going back and forth overseas, made him a little nervous.

Letting out a quiet sigh, he placed his fingerprint on the round button below the screen.

‘Zing’, with a small vibration, the lock was released, and he navigated through the brightened screen to click on the textbook file he had downloaded in advance.

“You, over there, you’re a face I haven’t seen before. Your name is… Lee Jungin?”

Sigh…

He had purposely kept his head down to avoid drawing attention, but the teacher pointed directly at him and called him out.

“Lee Jungin.”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Let’s hear your voice properly. Read the next sentence.”

The situation was getting worse by the minute.

Grammar was one thing, but speaking…

Squinting his eyes, Jungin stood up with a resigned expression.

Yeah. It’s not like my life depended on this.

And these glasses, at least, made it easier to act brazenly.

Jungin started reading the next sentence the teacher had pointed out slowly.

Even though his body had changed, it seemed like his original self was still in his mind because a somewhat rustic accent slipped between his lips.

He was annoyed by the giggling voices throughout the reading, but he hadn’t misread any of the sentences.

Letting out a short breath, Jungin tilted his head and asked.

“Should I continue reading?”

He asked, looking at the English teacher, who seemed to have forgotten what she had asked him to do, showing no response.

“Oh, no. That’s fine. You did well. Next-”

The teacher awkwardly smiled, diverting her gaze from Jungin, and began interpreting the sentence.

Watching her, Jungin rubbed the back of his neck, which had heated up, thinking that maybe he should have pretended to be sick and stayed home longer.

If he had, Jungin’s brothers would probably have welcomed it.

Strangely, unlike the boy’s words, his brothers were overwhelmingly kind to me.

Though I couldn’t ask them directly, one thing was certain: either Jungin had lied to me, or his brothers’ attitudes had changed because of the “car accident.”

‘Sigh… I don’t care. It’s not like this will matter to me once I return.’

Jungin brushed off the uneasy feeling and focused on the class.

As soon as the teacher said that the lesson would end there for today, the bell signaling break time rang.

After turning off the overheated tablet, he checked the next class on the timetable.

‘Sigh… PE, huh.’

Though he found physical activity bothersome, Jungin stood up to change into his gym clothes, as only ten minutes had been given.

“Ah.”

At that moment, someone intentionally bumped into his shoulder as they passed by.

Barely managing to regain his balance, Jungin turned around to see a large boy smirking at him.

If it were me before, I would’ve picked a fight right away, but in Jungin’s body, it was impossible.

Even though he had different mothers, half of his genes were the same as his brothers’, yet Jungin’s body was much weaker compared to theirs.

That was the only part he didn’t like, so he bit his lip, grabbed his gym clothes, and left the classroom.

He was surprised for a moment by the luxurious restroom that looked more like one from a high-end department store.

Just as he was about to change into his gym clothes, his phone, which had been in his pocket, vibrated slightly, and his oldest brother’s name appeared on the screen.

[Jungin, how’s school?]

[If it’s too hard, you can come back. I’ll pick you up.]

A small laugh escaped as he read the messages that had been sent in quick succession.

Family was still nice, I suppose.

Having someone worry about you like this.

The tension that had gripped him since stepping foot in school, surrounded by blatant stares, suddenly loosened.

Seeing Jungjin’s message had relaxed him.

[I’m fine.]

Was that too stiff?

[I’m fineㅎ]

He added a playful “ㅎ” at the end and placed his phone on the sink stand. (ㅎ= heh or a chuckle)

Feeling a bit embarrassed, he tousled his hair.

Just as he was about to finish undressing, he heard someone enter the restroom.

* * *