* * *
“Hey, did you hear that kid’s pronunciation earlier?”
“Who? Lee Jungin? Yeah, it was hilarious.”
“I mean, what would you expect? It’s not like they taught anything to an illegitimate child. Judging by the fact that they didn’t even send him abroad, the situation is pretty obvious.”
So, has Jungin been hearing things like this all along?
What’s wrong with being an illegitimate child? It’s not even his fault.
As his clenched fists began to tremble, Jungin was about to open the door.
“Hey, do you think he was abandoned at an orphanage?”
“What? How do you know that?”
“Ah, my mom’s friend goes to the same aesthetic clinic as Mrs. Lee. I heard Mr. Lee found out about Jungin at his biological mom’s funeral. That’s when he took him in.”
“Wow, so an illegitimate child they didn’t even know about suddenly showed up? That must’ve caused a huge stir.”
He knew that part.
After all, he had first met Jungin at the orphanage.
How on earth was the Lee Hyun Group managing their rumors that this kid had to hear stuff like this at school?
A bitter feeling crept in.
He suddenly remembered the sad expression on the boy’s face when he said he didn’t want to go home.
“And that’s why he always hides away at those parties, right?”
“Really? How does he act?”
“Mrs. Jang throws a fit, right out in the open. It’s hilarious. And she still brings him to every event. Maybe she’s doing it just to spite Mr. Lee?”
This was why people needed to be careful about what they said around kids.
The stuff you say without thinking ends up being repeated like this.
Bang—
Unable to listen any longer, Jungin burst through the door.
“Whoa! What the hell? Was that you, Jungin?”
The boy wearing a name tag that read ‘Im Jungsoo’ widened his eyes when he saw Jungin and yelled.
It seemed like he realized he had crossed the line with his words.
“You know me?”
“H-how long were you standing there?”
“Longer than you, dumbass.”
Jungsoo’s face contorted at the insult.
The boy next to him raised his chin, looking at Jungin with a shameless expression.
“So what are you going to do about it? You illegitimate bastard.”
“I’m going to tell.”
“What?”
The Hyun Group was ranked among the top five conglomerates in South Korea.
I didn’t know how great their families were, but based on their surprised expressions, they probably weren’t as high up.
It was a bit childish to act like this, but they started it.
“I’m going to tell my brothers everything you said.”
As expected, their eyes darted around in panic, and Jungin smirked.
Just as he was about to contact his brothers, a heavy pain struck his jaw.
“F’cking bastard. An illegitimate child, acting all cocky. Who do you think you are?”
‘Did they just hit me?’
Jungin’s head felt numb from the pain on his face.
As he blinked in a daze, Im Jungsoo, who had twisted his lips into a sneer, snatched the phone from Jungin’s hand.
“Give it back.”
“I don’t want to.”
Smirking mockingly, Im Jungsoo pushed hard against Jungin’s shoulders and said, “Hey, cut the lies. As if you’d really tattle to your brothers.”
“Ugh.”
The pressure on his shoulders increased as they forced Jungin into the furthest bathroom stall.
He tried to shake off the hands pressing down on him, but his weak body failed each time.
“Hey, you guys, open this door!”
No matter how hard he tried to open the door, it wouldn’t budge, as if they had done something from outside.
Just when Jungin thought he was in the worst situation, a cold bucket of water poured down on him, as if mocking his misery.
“You should’ve stayed locked up in the storage room like usual. Why did you bother coming to school, huh?”
“Damn it, open this door!”
“Think about how we feel having to see your face. Reflect on it for a bit, Lee Jungin.”
With a loud thud, the voices of the boys faded into the distance.
Water dripped from his soaked hair, and in the still-unbroken chill of the weather, his body temperature started to drop rapidly.
‘If only I had my phone, I could contact someone…’
He had no choice but to wait until someone came into the restroom.
Leaning against the toilet lid, Jungin let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha… this is ridiculous.”
What had he done to deserve this?
He had just been discharged from the hospital, and this was the welcome he got.
He’d briefly thought about keeping this quiet, but now a brilliant plan was forming in his head.
“Fine, just wait and see, you idiots. Achoo.”
But revenge could wait.
First, he needed to get out of here.
The cold wind blowing in from somewhere—probably from the window those jerks had left open—was making him shiver.
While Jungin was huddled up, he heard footsteps approaching. He lifted his head.
“Class isn’t over yet… Oh, is it a teacher?”
There was no time to wonder whether it was a student or a teacher.
He had to ask for help before the person walked away.
Jungin banged on the bathroom door and shouted,
“Hey! Someone’s trapped in here! Please help!”
He heard footsteps stop suddenly.
Phew, they must’ve heard me.
If I stayed trapped here any longer, I could’ve been in big trouble.
Jungin let out a sigh of relief as the footsteps approached.
“It seems like someone blocked the door from outside. Could you help me open it—”
But before he could finish speaking, he heard the footsteps retreat.
As the sound grew more distant, Jungin suddenly remembered a cold truth he’d been ignoring.
No one here would help him.
Because for some reason, they all hated him.
To them, Lee Jungin was just an easy target to mess with.
“Wait! There’s someone in here!”
Grinding his teeth, Jungin pounded on the door until his knuckles turned red, but the footsteps had disappeared completely.
With no response coming, he slumped down.
“Shit…”
The helplessness of not being able to do anything hit him hard.
He sat on the toilet, biting his lip in frustration.
Who knows how much time had passed when the bell finally rang, signaling the break.
“Haa…”
Yet, despite the bell, no one came to the restroom.
It felt as though everyone knew what was happening but chose to ignore it.
“Cough, cough…”
All that talk about killing them seemed pointless now.
His frail body was already giving in.
His chest hurt as the coughing fit overwhelmed him, making his vision blur.
After being left wet and exposed to the cold for so long, his body was now burning up.
The heat in his breath was searing his lips.
“Hah, ugh…”
If he stayed here any longer, he’d end up back in the hospital.
Jungin realized he couldn’t wait any longer and stood up, scanning his surroundings.
“Cough, if I cImb over to the next stall…”
With no other options, he decided to put his plan into action.
He stepped onto the toilet, trying to cImb over to the next stall, but his limbs trembled more than expected from the height.
“Damn it…”
Gritting his teeth and forcing strength into his shaking legs, he carefully grabbed the divider and moved his body over. But as he shifted his last foot, he slipped and tumbled down, a sharp pain radiating from his twisted ankle.
“Ugh.”
Jungin had always wanted to wear a new school uniform and nice shoes, but now everything was a complete mess.
“Those bastards…”
Suddenly, a wave of hot anger surged up from within.
Clenching his teeth, he stood up and threw the mop that had blocked his bathroom stall onto the floor.
Jungin picked up his soaked shirt and retrieved his phone from the trash can.
* * *
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Thanks
Poor jungin🥲
ty
Bruh if the brothers found him in that state wouldn’t it be worse for those guys? Stupid as heck
I like it
Looks promising
Disappointed w the brothers. Whats the use acting all affectionate w their fake brother now. :/