Sole Omega in an Alpha Family chapter 22

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“Are you okay, Jungin?”

“Hey, you’re gonna draw attention like this. I heard Park Hyuntae came to school today too.”

“Sorry about earlier….”

It had already been over a week since I returned to school.

In that time, the bullying had only gotten worse, especially after Park Hyuntae showed up, turning the harassment even more vicious.

“You couldn’t do anything about it. I’m fine.”

Park Hyuntae, the second son of Seongmin Group, wasn’t as influential as the Hyun Group, but his family still held significant power.

As the son of a Seongmin Group vice president, Woohyun couldn’t help but be wary of him.

Still, Jungin’s deadline was approaching, and he had collected plenty of evidence by now.

He hadn’t said a word about it to anyone at home, so it would be interesting to see how his brothers reacted when they eventually found out.

“Should I buy you something to eat?”

Earlier, some kids had thrown cigarette butts and spit into Jungin’s lunch tray in the cafeteria, so he hadn’t been able to eat properly.

He had prepared a triangle kimbap from the convenience store that morning, but cold food never tasted good. Maybe he should start bringing a packed lunch from tomorrow…

“It’s fine—”

Before he could finish, something wet hit the back of his head.

The sour smell of dampness and milk filled the air as the liquid trickled down his hair.

“Hey, does it smell like a wet rag around here?”

“What, you mean Jungin?”

Park Hyuntae, grinning with a split-lipped smile, stood there with his friends, staring at him.

“Oh, there you are. Did you enjoy your lunch?”

“Wow. Park Hyuntae, you’re such a kind soul, hah!”

Even though they knew Jungin hadn’t eaten, their mocking voices showed how much they enjoyed the situation.

“Why aren’t you answering? And Ji Woohyun, why are you standing next to him?”

Damn it… Of all times, Hyuntae had to show up when Jungin was with Woohyun.

If Hyuntae found out Woohyun had been helping Jungin, he’d definitely retaliate.

Panicking, Jungin pulled out some money from his pocket and handed it to Woohyun.

“Here, take this….”

Woohyun widened his eyes, but he seemed to catch on and accepted the money.

“What’s this? Hah, Ji Woohyun, are you extorting him too? This is hilarious! How much did you get?”

Park Hyuntae swaggered over, snatching the 50,000-won bill from Woohyun’s hand and frowning.

“What? Only 50,000 won? Is this loser hiding the rest somewhere?”

Glancing at Jungin, Hyuntae smirked and signaled to his friends.

“Hey, strip him down. Let’s hit him once for every 1,000 won we find.”

The price had really gone up. It used to be one hit per 10 won.

Jungin let out a small sigh and pretended to be scared, his voice trembling.

“P-Please, don’t…”

“Puh-lease~”

Damn it… What should he do?

Actually… Jungin had two 50,000-won bills hidden in his socks.

It was his emergency stash, in case something like this happened again.

“Hey, let’s see what a bastard born out of wedlock looks like. Why aren’t you holding him down, big guy?”

A burly guy with a massive build approached at the mention of “muscle-bound.”

Wow, even on Jungin’s best day, he couldn’t possibly beat this guy.

Is he really a high schooler?

No way he hasn’t repeated like ten years, right?

“Damn, I’d rather die than get caught here…”

Jungin quickly scanned the area, his eyes darting around to see if there was a brick or something nearby.

But then, in the distance, he noticed smoke rising.

“Idiot.”

Park Hyuntae, standing next to him, muttered with a smirk, just loud enough for him to hear.

Then he kicked between the guy’s legs and took off running in a hurry.

“Ahh! Damn it! Why aren’t you catching that bastard?!”

Without hesitation, Hyuntae slammed the red button, and the school was filled with blaring sirens.

“What the hell did you just say to me?”

Hyuntae, who had somehow caught up, grabbed Jungin’s arm roughly, spinning him around with a menacing tone.

His eyes glared murderously through thick glasses, as if he was about to tear him apart.

“I called you an idiot.”

“You wanna die? You must really be insane.”

As Jungin opened his mouth again, Hyuntae raised his hand, moving toward him.

Just then, Jiwoo Hyun approached, grabbing Hyuntae’s wrist to stop him.

“Hey, Hyuntae, come on, hitting him is too much—”

“Let go of me! Who the hell do you think you’re stopping, you punk?!”

The shouting, along with the school sirens, was overwhelming.

Then a security guard, who had been patrolling the grounds, spotted them and shouted loudly.

“What’s going on over there, students? Did you guys pull the fire alarm?”

“Damn it…”

Knowing it would only cause more trouble if he got involved, Hyuntae glared fiercely at Jungin, grinding his teeth.

“I’ll deal with you later.”

He spat on the ground near Jungin’s feet, swiped his hair back in frustration, and stormed off.

Luckily, the rest of the day passed without any further incidents.

After changing into the clothes he had prepared in advance, Jungin headed home.

Feeling worn out, he frowned and muttered to himself.

“Am I gonna catch a cold again at this rate?”

Every day at school was a constant source of stress, wearing down his energy rapidly.

His body hadn’t fully recovered since he’d caught a bad cold recently, making things even worse.

Jungin quickly left through the main gate and dozed off in the car until they arrived home.

When he got out, the garage was empty, and the living room was quiet.

“Are my brothers running late today…? Oh right, Junseo-hyung said he had plans.”

But what struck him as odd was that neither the housekeeper nor the chauffeur was around either.

With no sign of anyone, Jungin tilted his head as he looked around the silent house.

There seemed to be some food set on the dining table, but he had no appetite or energy to eat.

Letting out a sigh, he headed upstairs to wash up and go to bed early.

After a warm shower, he changed into his pajamas and sat on his bed, pulling up one of his legs.

“Ugh…”

The calf he had been struck on by his homeroom teacher throbbed painfully.

Wincing, he examined the reddened skin, just as the door suddenly burst open with a loud crash.

“Hey, kid!”

Ah! I almost got caught.

Startled, Jungin quickly pulled down his pajama pants and stood up as his brother strode over.

“I heard there was a fire at your school. Are you hurt anywhere? Come here, let me check.”

“No, I’m fine. And didn’t I tell you to stop barging in like that?”

His heart was still racing from the shock.

He shoved his brother’s shoulder and scowled, but his brother just sighed and started to nag.

“Kid, you could be a bit nicer with your words. I ditched my plans because I was worried about you.”

Oh right, wasn’t he supposed to be in Jecheon or somewhere, not coming back until the weekend?

Did he really come back because he was worried about Jungin?

Jungin squinted up at him, seeing genuine concern in his eyes as he inspected him carefully.

Though, thankfully, the pajamas were covering his injury, so he couldn’t see the bruise.

“Hyung, I have a mock exam tomorrow. I need to study, so if you’ve confirmed I’m okay, could you leave now?”

“Really? You’re sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”

“Yeah… you can still make it to your plans. I’m fine, really.”

“Forget it. I’ll just make us some food. Study while I whip up a mean kimchi stew.”

As his brother ruffled his hair and turned to leave, Jungin sighed deeply.

‘I can’t let myself get too attached…’

Obviously, they were worried about Lee Jungin, their younger brother, not him, Choi Jungin.

But every time he received their concern and attention, it made his chest ache.

Feeling oddly heavy-hearted today, Jungin squeezed his eyes shut and got up to sit at his desk.

“They said school finishes early tomorrow… Maybe I should visit the orphanage.”

He hadn’t been back in a while, mostly because he couldn’t stand the sight of the director.

But he was starting to worry about his younger siblings.

Were they doing okay? Was the director siphoning off donations again and blowing them on horse racing?

He hadn’t spent much of the allowance he got from his brothers.

Since they covered all his basic needs, there was no reason to use personal spending money.

Planning to bring some snacks or ice cream for the kids when he visited, he dug out the money he had saved and tucked it deep into his bag.

Thinking about seeing the kids again after so long lightened his mood a bit.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled out last year’s and the year before’s mock exam papers and began solving them quickly.

Despite his exhaustion, it seemed his daily studying routine was paying off, as he breezed through the questions.

Knock knock—

“Hey, kiddo, can I come in?”

Hearing the voice on the other side of the tightly closed door, he couldn’t help but smile.

After barging in earlier without asking, now his brother was suddenly tiptoeing around him.

Suppressing a laugh, he shook his head and wiped away the grin on his face before opening the door.

The delicious smell from the kitchen hit his nose, and he swallowed, grabbing his brother’s outstretched hand.

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