* * *

“You…”

“A thief, huh? What have you been up to…?”

Wait… Why are they mad?

He looked down, realizing he was still hugging Ki Beomhyeon’s waist, the focus of his brothers’ narrowed eyes.

Could they seriously be mad just because I hugged him?

When he let go, their expressions softened slightly.

Then, hugging him again, he noticed their faces turn dark once more.

After repeating this a few times, he decided he should probably stop teasing them.

“Rest assured, I won’t let Jungin out of my sight.”

What’s up with him? Ki Beomhyeon wrapped his arm firmly around Jungin’s shoulders.

He tried to pull away, but Ki Beomhyeon only tightened his hold.

“Where did you put that bat, Jungseo?”

“You think that’ll be enough?”

The others, towering figures themselves, each rose, looking around for things they could use as weapons.

Oh, great, I knew this would happen! Ki Beomhyeon has a way of rubbing them the wrong way.

“You’d better run!”

They looked like they were about to explode.

How could they go from laughing together one minute to looking ready to kill each other?

Though he knew they were dominant alphas, even in front of them, Ki Beomhyeon didn’t look fazed at all.

Other people trembled when his brothers simply furrowed their brows…

Maybe I should mess with him a bit less from now on…

Jungin quickly threw his arms wide to block them.

“Stop laughing and get out of here if you don’t want to die!”

“Hey!”

“Stay back!”

His brothers looked at him in shock, their eyes wide and teary, like they couldn’t believe he was standing in their way.

Jungseo, in particular, looked enraged.

“Are you kidding me, kid? After everything we did to raise you, this is how you treat us?”

“Oh, whatever! I just don’t want any violence, that’s all! If you come one step closer, I’m not holding back either.”

“Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it?”

Without thinking, Jungin yelled, “I’ll just leave and go with Ki Beomhyeon!”

He remembered Ki Beomhyeon’s place was spacious when he last visited.

There had to be a spare room or two, and the food was amazing.

Surely, he wouldn’t mind letting me stay a night or two…

Lost in thought, he squared his shoulders, only to hear a laugh behind him.

Really?

While I’m defending you against these three, you laugh?

Jungin glared at Ki Beomhyeon, feeling slighted.

Ki Beomhyeon tilted his head back, laughing openly, a sight Jungin hadn’t seen before.

“Fine, let’s go then.”

“Enough. Stop joking around and leave. I’ll be at school tomorrow, so meet me out front if you want, or don’t!”

Though he swatted away the outstretched hand forcefully, he felt an odd sting himself.

Seeing his brothers momentarily speechless, slumped on the couch and holding their foreheads in shock, he felt a pang of guilt and ushered Ki Beomhyeon out.

“Guys, you know I was just kidding, right? Anyway, I have school tomorrow, so I’m heading to bed early. Thanks for everything today!”

With a playful air kiss to the exhausted group, Jungin bounded up the stairs.

“Hey, I mean this seriously.”

“Don’t.”

“Why not? Can’t I start high school again? Isn’t there some law in Korea that lets you redo it?”

As he reached the top, Jungin couldn’t help but laugh at the silly conversation trailing up from downstairs.

The next morning, he woke up early, got ready, and headed down to find a few unfamiliar faces.

“Who are you?”

“Hello, I’m Yoo Seong-yeon, the new butler. Please, feel free to call me Butler Yoo.”

Where did the old butler go…? It wasn’t just the new butler; it seemed several other staff members had been replaced.

What happened…?

Curious, Jungin headed to the kitchen.

“Morning, guys.”

“You’re up early.”

“In your uniform and everything. Are you really sure about going?”

One of his brothers plucked an eyelash off Jungin’s cheek and asked.

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

“But the bullies haven’t faced any real consequences yet… They’ll still be at school.”

“Hey, kiddo, take this.”

Last time, they’d given him glasses with fake lenses that made his eyes look huge. What kind are these?

Jungin eyed the glasses his brother offered with suspicion.

“They’re not weird this time. They just record… in real-time.”

These do? There wasn’t even a visible camera.

“There’s a button on the right. Just turn it off in the bathroom or while changing, but keep it on otherwise. We’ll worry less if you do.”

Surprisingly, Jungin nodded at the reasonable explanation and put on the glasses.

This time, he checked the mirror to make sure his eyes weren’t distorted.

Surrounded by his brothers, Jungin enjoyed a hearty breakfast, then stood up to leave.

“See you, guys. The driver’s outside, right?”

“I wish I could take you myself.”

“You’re all busy. I’ll be fine, really. Plus, I’ve got this.”

He tapped the glasses his older brother had given him and smiled.

They tousled his hair, accepting his assurance.

It was finally time to leave, so Jungin adjusted his sneakers and headed out, only to be stopped by Jungwoo.

“Hm? You need something?”

“Here, your phone.”

“Thanks! See you later!”

Jungin barely registered his brother’s words as he dashed to the front door, deciding they could talk later.

Heading down the steps, he spotted a familiar car parked at the gate.

“Good morning, sir!”

“Good morning, young master.”

Phew. At least I’m not running late.

Catching his breath after a quick jog, he leaned back in his seat.

“Ah, I should text Ki Beomhyeon.”

Since they planned to meet by the school gates, a message saying he’d be there in about 10 minutes should be fine.

Turning on his phone to send the message, he was surprised by the flood of notifications.

“What’s all this?”

As soon as his screen lit up, his phone buzzed continuously with messages from every imaginable social media app.

Rrrr… Rrrr… Rrrr…

“…What’s going on?”

“Is something wrong, sir?”

Even the usually reserved driver looked back in the rearview mirror at the phone vibrating nonstop.

“No… just some spam, I think.”

Jungin quickly muted his phone and let out a sigh of relief.

‘Finally, peace.’

His hands tingled from all the messages that had come in.

Most were on KakaoTalk, but messages also poured in from accounts he didn’t even know he had, like on Intagram or Faceook.

He checked KakaoTalk and glanced at the first message.

Kim Wooseung? Never heard of him.

The profile picture showed a boy who’d sneered at him, calling him “dirty” on his first day of school.

Why’s he messaging me all of a sudden?

Afraid of a bullying report, maybe?

As annoying as it had been, he hadn’t thought it worth his time back then, though he did wonder if Wooseung had some tiny amount of remorse.

[Lee Jungin, I’m really sorry.]

[I don’t know what got into me then… I was just so jealous. If you see this, please respond ㅠㅠ]

Guess this has to do with yesterday’s events.

While he’d like nothing more than to report everyone involved, Wooseung’s apology seemed genuine enough to forgive, at least a little.

Jungin replied with a simple ‘no problem’ and skimmed the other messages, finding they all said much the same.

Did the whole class get sent a memo?

After scrolling through a sea of apologies, he grew tired.

He didn’t even recognize most of these names or faces, so he replied nonchalantly before stopping entirely once the flood of messages got to be too much.

* * *