* * *

The child was happy.

Even though the sound of shattering glass and his parents’ fights seeped through the tightly closed door every day, he convinced himself he was happy because at least he had parents.

[Child…]

Until the day his grandmother came and told him his parents had passed away.

[Child. Jungin.]

[Take me with you. I don’t care if I have to become a shaman or get teased as a fortuneteller’s grandson. Just take me!]

His grandmother took him to a wretched orphanage.

Having lived in this neighborhood since birth, the child knew what kind of place it was and how the children there were treated.

[Grandma is sorry, child.]

[I hate you! You have me, so why are you leaving me here?]

Unable to bear the cruel fate surrounding her beloved grandchild, the grandmother turned a blind eye.

Taking him would mean the death of the child she cherished more than her own life.

Because it was the curse God bestowed upon me for betraying Him.

The old man severed all ties with his family for his entire life, fearing that the wrath of the enraged God might extend to his bloodline.

But in the end, God devoured his daughter and her husband.

With a satisfied face and those gleaming crimson eyes, it was clear as day who His next target would be.

“Live well, my child.”

The child’s eyes trembled violently as they watched the grandmother’s retreating figure.

He wasn’t someone who deserved this kind of treatment. He couldn’t live in this wretched pit.

“Jungin, say hello. These are your Cloud Class friends.”

“Oh! Teacher, his name is Jungin too?”

“That’s right. We now have two Jungins in our class.”

The boy’s expression twisted with rage.

He was infuriated by being equated with the boy in this place.

Clenching his teeth, he raised his head, and his gaze fell on someone shyly smiling at the teacher’s words.

“Jungin! His name is Jungin too! Choi Jungin!”

“Wow… That’s just like me. I’m Lee Jungin, isn’t that amazing?”

As Jungin blushed and smiled sweetly, the other children flocked around him.

It was obvious to anyone—Jungin was the center of attention here.

Everyone moved to gain his favor.

The boy, who had been sharp and perceptive since childhood, immediately understood.

‘What makes you so happy, huh? How can you laugh like that when you’re just a penniless orphan? What’s there to be so cheerful about? I’m living in hell, and you’re smiling so brightly all by yourself.’

When the boy saw Lee Jungin grinning as if a flower had bloomed in this filthy, mold-ridden building, he felt something inside him crumble.

That was his first meeting with Lee Jungin.

---

In the corner, sitting alone and hugging his knees, Lee Jungin was quietly sobbing.

The boy approached him.

“What are you doing here?”

“Jungin…”

Seeing his red, swollen eyes, the boy, who shared the same name, age, and even birthday as him, asked, “Why are you crying here?”

“Jungin, I… I heard I have a dad.”

“A dad?”

“Yeah… So now I have to go to his house, but there are a lot of strangers there, and I’m scared…”

The boy had overheard the whispers of the teachers.

How, at the funeral of Lee Jungin’s biological mother just a few days ago, a huge limousine had arrived with the chairman of a major corporation.

How they speculated that Jungin might be the chairman’s child.

‘Hyun Group? So Jungin is an illegitimate child of Hyun Group?’

‘Who cares if he’s illegitimate? The chairman himself came to take him. Maybe they’ll even support the orphanage now. Hyun Group is one of the biggest companies in the country. We’re bound to get something out of it, right?’

They had the same name and the same age, so why did that boy always get the best of everything?

The pretty face, the teachers’ kind words, the attention of everyone—it all belonged to Lee Jungin.

And now, even a wealthy family… The boy was consumed by jealousy.

He wanted everything Jungin had—the delicate face, the special Omega traits, and even Jungin’s family.

As he looked down at the sobbing Jungin with eyes blazing with envy, he dug his nails so deeply into his palm that blood seeped out.

“But isn’t it better to go there than stay here?”

“I don’t want to. I like my friends, and I don’t want to leave the teachers either…”

“But you’re a young master now.”

‘And I’m just a beggar.’

Swallowing the bitter words, the boy clenched his teeth and lowered his head.

Everyone knew the orphanage’s finances were in dire straits because the director always came home drunk.

Even though he knew being the heir of a conglomerate would be better than living in an orphanage where he could be abandoned at any moment, he hated those lying lips of Jungin’s.

“Stop pretending to be nice. It’s disgusting.”

“Huh?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Even though he had heard, Jungin just kept pretending to be kind.

Unable to bear his transparent gaze, the boy turned his head sharply as someone called for him.

He left the room, his chest prickling.

When he came to, there was a clear mark of blood on his palm where his nails had dug in.

The sting from the torn skin burned.

“Jungin.”

At the sound of his name, the boy quickly hid his hand behind his back.

Letting out a long sigh, the teacher continued, “Jungin, your grandmother is here to see you.”

“…Grandmother?”

“She’s waiting at the front gate. Go see her.”

“…Okay.”

His grandmother smelled of poverty.

Before anyone else could see her shabby appearance, he wanted to hide her.

Why did she keep coming to see him after abandoning him here?

Running quickly to the front gate, the boy grabbed his grandmother’s arm and dragged her to a corner.

“Why are you here! I told you it’s embarrassing! You’re not even going to take me with you, so why do you keep coming?”

Staring at her frayed, worn sleeves, he scrunched his face.

“Damn it. Why can’t I be a young master? Why are my mom and dad dead?”

Bursting into tears, the boy shouted in a voice choked with sobs, biting his lip.

“I want to be a young master too! I don’t want to live in this garbage heap anymore. I want to wear nice clothes and live in a palace too!”

“Don’t cry, my child… If you cry, your head will hurt.”

“How long… How much longer do I have to live here?”

It had already been three years since he came to this place.

The adults who visited the orphanage to adopt always took the younger children, never older ones like him.

He knew he would be stuck here forever, and that knowledge only deepened his anxiety, anger, and jealousy.

When he shook off his grandmother’s wrinkled hand, his eyes caught sight of the large car pulling into the orphanage.

His teeth clenched.

Lee Jungin was surely about to leave this wretched place in that fancy car.

He’d be loved even more, basking in all the attention.

Just imagining it made tears stream down the boy’s face.

Shoving his grandmother’s hand away, his face red with rage, he shouted, “I’d rather die than live like a beggar!”

* * *