Sole Omega in an Alpha Family chapter 25

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After paying, Jungin hopped into a taxi.

“Please take me to Haengbok Orphanage,” he said.

Ten minutes later, the taxi pulled up in front of the orphanage, which looked rusted and eerie, as though no one had been maintaining it.

The place seemed far from “happy.”

“Still the same…” he muttered as he stepped out, carrying bags of snacks, and slowly walked inside.

Soon, kids playing on the swing he had built for them noticed him and began shouting.

“Look! An angel!”

“Is that a real angel? Does that mean Haneul is going to heaven?”

“Idiot! Only dead people go to heaven, that’s what our teacher said!”

“Yoomin, Chiyoung, don’t fight with each other,” he gently scolded.

Yoomin and Chiyoung, always fighting over something, continued their bickering.

Jungin, familiar with their antics, placed a hand on each of their heads, separating them.

Chiyoung looked up at him in awe. “Whoa, how do you know our names, Angel?”

“Do I look like an angel?” Jungin asked, smiling.

“Yes! You totally look like an angel!” Chiyoung exclaimed.

“Yeah, so pretty!” Yoomin added.

They had reached the age where kisses were once refused out of shyness, but now they just hid behind their blushes.

Watching them glance shyly at each other, Jungin couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’m not an angel, but I’m a friend of Choi… well, Choi Jungin.”

“Jungin? Our older brother? He’s not here right now!”

“Yeah! The headmaster said he went to another country to study!”

Jungin’s thoughts darkened. ‘I must’ve been at the hospital, which is why the director made up such a story.’

The children, who had been excitedly chatting, began to grow quiet.

Their expressions twisted little by little, and one by one, starting with the youngest, they began to cry bitterly.

“Waaah, our Hyung left us behind. Waaah!”

“Oppa promised to play with Yena, but he left without even saying a word. I hate him!”

“Still, I want to see him. Waaah, bring him back!”

Jungin knelt to calm them.

“Hey, kids, don’t cry. Look, your brother bought all your favorite snacks. Let’s stop crying, okay?”

As he tried to soothe the crying children, a hand tapped his shoulder.

Startled, he turned to find the smell of alcohol and stale cigarettes filling the air.

Even the children, who had been sobbing moments earlier, quickly wiped away their tears, nervously glancing at the man behind him.

“Who… hic… made these kids cry, huh? Hic!” the man slurred.

Jungin felt a wave of nausea rise as the man hiccuped and pretended to care for the children with hypocritical concern.

“When someone speaks to you, you should… hic… answer!” the man barked, his eyes greedily scanning Jungin, lingering for a moment on the box of snacks he was holding.

It was as if he were calculating how much money Jungin had, trying to see if there was anything he could take.

Sighing, Jungin finally spoke. “I’m a friend of Choi Jungin.”

“Choi Jungin?” the man repeated, surprised for a moment, then continued, “You go to one of those fancy private schools for rich kids, huh? That scumbag Jungin had a friend like you? Well, if you’re going to a private school, you must have money. So… how about donating to our orphanage?”

The man’s true nature had quickly shown the moment Jungin mentioned being a friend.

Jungin shut his eyes tightly, imagining how many others had probably been treated this way before him.

“You kids, do you know what time it is? Go inside, wash up, and get to bed,” the man ordered.

The children hurried inside as the man grinned, revealing yellowed teeth.

“Now, let’s talk more about what I mentioned earlier—”

“I’ve heard a lot about the orphanage kids from Jungin. I just remembered them suddenly and came by to share some snacks. Now that I’ve seen them, I’ll be on my way,” Jungin said, trying to keep his composure as unpleasant memories flooded back.

The man’s expression soured as his true colors fully emerged.

“As if that punk would have any real friends.”

Jungin turned his back and quickly walked away from the orphanage, the man’s muttered words following him.

“That bastard Jungin should just die so I can collect the insurance money. Useless piece of trash.”

The words cut like a knife.

Jungin had never expected love from that man, but hearing someone wish for his death made his chest ache.

His eyes filled with tears.

Jungin began walking aimlessly, the sky now pitch black.

His phone had died, and he didn’t know where he was or even who he was anymore—he just felt lost.

Rain began to fall, lightly at first, then more heavily, soaking him to the bone.

His body shivered in the cold as his lips turned blue.

It hadn’t been long since he’d recovered from a serious cold, and here he was again.

The real Lee Jungin would be furious if he knew.

“Well, then hurry up and come back,” he muttered.

He didn’t enjoy living like this either.

Why had Lee Jungin switched bodies with him?

He wasn’t even sure it was truly Lee Jungin, but the note left on the laptop haunted his thoughts.

“What am I supposed to do?” he whispered.

Each day was mentally exhausting, torn between growing attached to the brothers and the fear of leaving at any moment.

He sat at a bus stop, taking shelter from the rain, staring blankly as droplets fell from the sky.

The sound of tires screeching against the pavement suddenly jolted him from his thoughts.

When he turned his head, Jungjin was already hurrying toward him.

Startled by the cold expression in Jungjin’s eyes, Jungin bit his lip as a hand gripped his shoulder tightly.

“Lee Jungin!”

“…Ah.”

“Why are you out here so late, with no contact? What’s going on?”

The pressure on Jungin’s shoulder was painful, as if it would shatter.

The angry look on his brother’s face genuinely scared him.

“What’s been going on with you lately, huh?”

“…Hic…sniff.”

“Lee Jungin!”

He couldn’t breathe. His body trembled uncontrollably for reasons he didn’t understand, and tears streamed down his face.

“Stop it, Hyung! You’re scaring him!”

“Let go of me, Lee Jungwoo.”

Next to Jungin, Jungwoo grabbed their older brother’s hand, trying to pull him away, but Jungjin brushed him off with a cold voice.

“Why are you doing this? Are you messing with us? This isn’t the first time. Do you even think about how worried we get when you do this?”

Only then did Jungin realize what was happening.

He had told the driver he’d be home late, just stopping by the orphanage for a bit, but time had gotten away from him.

“Why did you lie? Why is your phone off? Are you running away?”

“…”

“What’s your problem? I’m asking you!”

Usually, Jungin would have owned up to his mistake, made it right, or played along to smooth things over.

But now, he didn’t know anymore.

‘I don’t even know who I am anymore… or why I have to live like this.’

“Lee Jungin.”

“I’m not Lee Jungin.”

The grip on his shoulder tightened.

The cold gaze looking down at him was unbearable.

‘It’s over. I’ve ruined everything.’

“I’m not Lee Jungin… I’m not!”

The once warm, caring eyes that had looked at him were now cold.

Maybe this happened because someone like him had taken over Jungin’s body.

Just like the director said, maybe he was born unlucky.

Jungin looked back and forth between Jungjin and Jungwoo, who stared at him in shock, and finally spoke through trembling lips.

“I’m not your brother…”

“Jungin!”

“You know it, too. I’m not him… I’m not Lee Jungin!”

The sharp pain that had been throbbing in his chest grew unbearable, as if someone were tearing his heart apart.

His vision went white, and his face turned pale.

Everyone shouted in shock as they saw him struggling to breathe.

“Jungin!”

“Kid!”

That was the last thing he heard before everything went black.

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