Sole Omega in an Alpha Family chapter 18

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“Jungin.”

“Mmm…”

“Baby, wake up, okay?”

In the midst of a dark, dream-filled sleep, a noisy conversation reached his ears.

What’s going on so early in the morning…?

He slowly opened his heavy eyelids to find three brothers hanging around the bed.

‘Oh no. My heat pack, my lip balm…!’

Suddenly remembering all the things he’d prepared to act like he had a cold, Jungin tried to sit up, but a sharp headache made him wince.

“Are you okay, baby?”

His throat, which had been a little sore since yesterday, was now completely hoarse.

His mind was hazy, his body heavy, and his throat stung—sure signs that the start of a nasty cold was taking over his body.

‘Cough cough’

“We can’t let this go. We’re going to the hospital right now.”

“No, I’m fine… ‘cough’.”

As Jungin coughed so hard it felt like his lungs were tearing apart, he looked up at his brothers’ serious faces and blinked.

He hadn’t planned on actually getting sick, but somehow his plan seemed to be working.

Glancing at each of his brothers with serious expressions, Jungin barely managed to suppress a smirk.

Although everyone knew that Jungin was always prone to little illnesses, he hadn’t expected to catch a cold so quickly just from being out in the damp weather yesterday.

And the pain was no joke.

“How can you say you’re fine? Your fever’s over 38°C. Jungwoo, get the car ready now.”

As the eldest brother turned to grab his coat, Jungin tightly grabbed his sleeve, biting his lip and shaking his head.

If he ended up at the hospital, all his efforts would go to waste, and any plans for revenge would crumble.

Even if he ended up with the flu, going to the hospital was not an option.

“I want to go to school. I want to go to school…”

Maybe it was the fever, but tears started flowing easily without much effort.

The youngest, frail sibling, begging to go to school, was bound to sway his brothers if he pushed just a little more.

Look, even the second brother’s eyes were already wavering.

Jungin, fighting to keep his smile in check, wiped his tears with his sleeve until his eyes stung.

And when he added a few dramatic sobs for good measure, he heard a long sigh from above.

“Baby, even if you’re stubborn, some things just aren’t possible. How can you go to school in this condition?”

“Yeah, Jungin. You can’t even stand up straight. Let’s take care of your health first, and then you can go to school. Okay?”

It’s hard, isn’t it, to turn down the pleas of someone they care so much about.

But I’m not as weak as they think.

Relaxing the tension in his lips, Jungin cImbed out of bed and walked around the room as if to prove a point.

His mind was clear.

Though he stumbled a bit, still groggy from sleep, he stubbornly circled the room, looking at each of his brothers.

“I’m only coughing… ‘cough’, but I’m not tired at all. I haven’t been to school in a while… ‘cough cough’, so I don’t want to miss it again…”

“Jungin…”

“Even the teacher keeps scolding me for missing so much… ‘cough cough’.”

Even as he coughed, he casually threw in a mention of his homeroom teacher.

It was good to plant the idea early.

When his brothers eventually found out the truth, the impact would be even greater.

“Who’s scolding you?”

“…No one, it’s just… what I thought… ‘cough cough’.”

But noticing how sensitive Jungjin was to the topic, Jungin quickly changed the subject.

He couldn’t let his brother catch on too soon.

Turning his gaze, he looked longingly at the school uniform hanging in the room, then back at his brothers, who sighed deeply.

Sniffling, he took a deep breath.

“Phew… Jungin, do you really want to go to school that badly?”

“Yeah…”

Jungwoo gently stroked Jungin’s hair as he quietly looked at Jungjin.

Beside them, Jungseo also exchanged a silent message with a glance.

It was almost as if they were saying, “He really wants to go to school, so let’s let him.”

Jungin, who found amusement in how things were going according to his wishes, smiled softly before looking up at Jungjin and parting his lips.

“If I get really sick at school, I’ll call you, hyung.”

Jungjin’s eyes flickered at Jungin’s final words.

He let out a deep sigh, as though he had no other choice, and replied, “If Dr. Choi says it’s okay.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, hyung!”

As Jungin beamed with a bright smile, all three of them felt a pang in their hearts.

It had been so long since they’d seen their little brother smile so brightly.

They regretted not being able to protect that smile all this time.

While everyone was lost in their thoughts, Jungin, who had started to take off his pajamas, asked them, “Are you guys just going to keep standing there watching while I change?”

Yesterday, he’d noticed bruises on his back.

They were probably from when that Bastard threw him against the wall.

He knew exactly how his brothers would react if they found out, so he decided to hide it for now.

“I… I need to go to the hospital… cough…”

“Alright. If you can’t stand on your own, call one of us. Okay?”

Jungin nodded quietly, and Jungseo grabbed the red-rimmed glasses from the desk before leading the others out of the room.

Once the door clicked shut, Jungin hurriedly changed out of his pajamas and into his school uniform.

As he caught a gImpse of his reflection in the mirror, he noticed bruises on his arms, shoulders, and legs that he hadn’t seen the day before.

He thought to himself that he would have to be extra careful not to let his brothers find out.

“Don’t my hyungs ever get tired of me…?”

Jungin had been to the hospital several times now, and each time, his brothers had gone with him, no matter where it was or what they were doing.

“Oof…”

Suddenly, a memory flashed in his mind.

It was so vivid, like someone scolding him, telling him not to be a nuisance.

The face wasn’t clear, but the feeling was real.

“Ugh…”

The more Jungin tried to recall the memory, the more intense his headache became.

Clutching his head, he stared at his reflection in the mirror.

‘…Was it one of the three of them?’

It must have been one of them who used to torment him, but he couldn’t figure out who.

Could one of them be pretending to care for him while secretly resenting him?

Shaken by the sudden memory, Jungin bit his lower lip.

Knock, knock.

“Jungin, are you done getting dressed?”

“Why are you rushing him?” another voice asked.

“I’m just worried he might be hurt.”

But their voices were so gentle, so full of concern, that it made Jungin almost envious.

Jungin quickly composed himself and opened the door. “I’m done.”

“Here, your glasses.”

The warm feelings from moments before quickly faded.

Despite knowing he wasn’t feeling well, his youngest brother still insisted on him wearing his glasses.

Jungin shot a sharp look at Jungseo, who responded with a wounded expression, lowering his eyes in mock hurt.

“Kiddo, I’ve said this before, but the glasses are to prevent those idiots at school from bothering you, not to make things harder for you—”

“Aren’t you going to school?”

“Hyung, isn’t our little brother’s health more important right now?”

Come to think of it, when do these guys even work?

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