By Zephyria 
“Congratulations on passing.”
Upon hearing the news of their acceptance, Shin-woo was the first to run over and stroke Jeong-min and Yeong-min’s heads. Was it because he had awakened as an Alpha? In a few months, Shin-woo had grown more than a hand-span taller, his shoulders had broadened, and his voice had deepened. And he had become… so handsome that one couldn’t take their eyes off him.
“Shin-woo hyung, I heard you’re an Alpha?”
Jeong-min asked Shin-woo during a meal to celebrate their acceptance. Shin-woo scratched his cheek.
“Yeah. That’s how it turned out. You guys will awaken soon too.”
Jeong-min’s heart raced at Shin-woo’s gentle smile.
“How… do you think we’ll awaken?”
“Well… only God knows that.”
“Still, you must feel something.”
“Hmm…. I think… Yeong-min will be an Omega, and I think you, Jeong-min, will be an Alpha.”
At the sound of his voice as he spoke with a smile, Jeong-min’s hand, which was cutting a steak, stopped.
“Ah, no way! I hate Omegas. I want to be an Alpha. But Jeong-min does seem like an Alpha.”
As even Yeong-min agreed, Jeong-min’s chest tightened, but he tried his best to stay calm and swallowed hard. A few seconds later, moving his hand slowly, Jeong-min shook his head.
“No, I’ll be an Omega.”
“Really? How do you know?”
Because that’s what I’m hoping for.
I’ll be an Omega, hyung. And I’ll be your Omega.
“Right, it would be nice if Jeong-min were an Omega too. You’d definitely be popular.”
“Eh? Shin-woo hyung! What about me? Me?”
Yeong-min asked, pressing his body close to Shin-woo. Then, Shin-woo stroked Yeong-min’s hair with an even gentler smile.
“You, you’ll be popular too.”
They were the same words, but the hidden meaning felt different. Jeong-min organized his thoughts, which kept turning negative. Yes, it’s okay. Nothing has been decided yet.
“Shin-woo hyung.”
“Yeah?”
After entering high school, Shin-woo often came to their house to help Yeong-min, who was struggling with classes that were more overwhelming than expected. Watching Yeong-min, who fell fast asleep after only 30 minutes of studying, with a pathetic look, Jeong-min studied hard according to what Shin-woo taught him. While doing so, he spent a little bit of time with Shin-woo and secretly asked things he was curious about.
“Are you going to marry an Omega, hyung?”
“Hmm… I guess that’s how it’ll be?”
Those of the same trait instinctively felt a repulsion toward each other and couldn’t marry, and while they could occasionally marry a Beta, almost no couples lasted long. Therefore, it had become a law of nature in this world that Alphas and Omegas inevitably married. The only issue was whether they were male or female.
“Even if they’re a man… that’s okay, right?”
At Jeong-min’s question, Shin-woo glanced at Yeong-min. Even knowing that gaze, Jeong-min tried to ignore it. If a man was okay… then he also… he also had hope.
“Of course. If it’s an Omega I love, it doesn’t matter if they’re a man or a woman.”
Thank goodness. He didn’t specifically say Yeong-min, right? No, he couldn’t. Because Yeong-min hadn’t awakened yet.
“Th-then, what are your family plans, hyung?”
“Family plans?”
“Yeah! Ah, how many children.”
“Family plans already? Hmm, I’ve never thought about it… but I like big families. The more children, the better. Three as a baseline?”
“That many?”
“I’m an only child. That’s why I was so envious of you guys.”
“There’s nothing good about it.”
“You can complain like that because you have Yeong-min. I’m really envious of you two.”
Three… no, he wants more than that. Then let’s think of five. Then he’d have to have children for at least 10 years? They said it’s better to have them while young. So, uh… if I start in my early 20s, 10 years… I’ll be over 30. That’s okay. I don’t have anything I want to do anyway. Yes, I’d rather have hyung’s children. Five. Five… it’ll be crowded and chaotic, but it’ll be great.
Because hyung will definitely be a good father.
“Why are you grinning like that?”
Shin-woo asked while stroking Jeong-min’s head.
“It’s nothing, Shin-woo hyung.”
I won’t hand hyung over to Yeong-min. Hyung is my Alpha. I’ll definitely become an Omega and have many of hyung’s children. I’ll make hyung’s dream come true.
Jeong-min decided. He believed God would decide the same.
As they adjusted to high school and the day of awakening approached, physical changes began to occur in the twins.
Young-min’s lines became softer and more delicate, while Jeong-min’s grew thicker. Young-min’s height stopped at 170 cm, but Jeong-min broke past 176 cm and continued to grow. Jeong-min found this terrifying. Shin-woo was 184 cm, and he feared he might surpass him.
He felt that even if he became an Omega, it would be useless if he were too tall and masculine. Thinking that he needed to be a pretty man like Young-min, he secretly went on diets, worked out to shape his body, and focused on skincare. It got to the point where Young-min even borrowed Jeong-min’s cosmetics.
That was how much Jeong-min groomed himself. Since the school was liberal and allowed students to style their hair as they pleased, he found a style that suited him well and took his supplements diligently. However, he avoided drinking milk or anything that might make him grow taller; instead, he lifted heavy weights to try and suppress his surging height.
Perhaps thanks to that, his height stopped at 180 cm. While he felt relieved, he still loathed himself for having grown so grotesquely. The cute image of his childhood was gone, replaced by a fully grown young man in the mirror. On the other hand, Young-min had grown up truly beautiful, retaining his cute appearance, his pretty voice… and his loveliness.
How could they be so different despite being twins…? Jeong-min’s sighs only grew more frequent. He decided that once he awakened as an Omega, he would have to take even better care of himself. He also thought he should learn cooking and various household chores. He had heard that Shin-woo’s ideal type was a “wise mother and good wife.” Since Shin-woo would earn all the money, he wanted a partner who would warmly support him and the home.
Young-min couldn’t cook and had no manual dexterity at all. That was the only thing Jeong-min could boast about. Jeong-min was good at sewing and could cook quite well. Although there were three housekeepers at home, he had been frequenting the kitchen since middle school, making various things with them, and the housekeepers always praised him for having very deft hands.
That was one of Jeong-min’s greatest points of pride and joy. All the preparations were complete. All he needed now was for the awakening fever to hit, Jeong-min thought. Then, he believed Shin-woo hyung would see him in a different light.
However, as the years passed, neither twin awakened. While the family and Young-min weren’t worried at all, Jeong-min was anxious. He wondered why the awakening fever wouldn’t come. Eventually, he reached a point where he was researching the topic by scouring books in the school library. It would be truly disastrous if he ended up becoming a Beta.
No, would that be better than an Alpha? A Beta… maybe being a Beta would be better…
“Hello.”
Someone knocked on the desk and greeted Jeong-min, who was reading in the library. When Jeong-min looked up, a male student he had never seen before was standing there.
He was a handsome student, the kind who would make every girl in the library stare. He greeted Jeong-min with a smile.
“Ah, hello.”
“Is this seat taken? May I sit here?”
He’s polite. But why here…?
Looking closer, the only empty spot was the seat next to Jeong-min.
“Ah, yes…”
Jeong-min moved his bag from the chair, and the boy… no, the handsome student thanked him, sat down, and took a book out of his bag.
A first-year textbook… Only then did Jeong-min realize the boy before him was his Hubae. It felt like only yesterday that he had entered this school, and he marveled at how time flew now that he already had Hubaes.
“Shin Jeong-min… Sunbae, right?”
“Pardon?”
Jeong-min was startled when the Hubae spoke his name. Did they know each other? He searched his memory, but the face was completely unfamiliar.
“Ah, you probably don’t know me. But I know you. I’ve been your Hubae since elementary, middle, and now high school.”
“Ah, really? I’m sorry.”
“Please speak comfortably. I’m your Hubae, after all.”
“Ah… okay… I will.”
“And it’s only natural that you don’t know me. It’s also natural that I know you. You, Shin Yeong-min Sunbae, and Yu Shin-woo Sunbae are really famous. Did you not know that every student looked up to you three as the ‘Three Musketeers’?”
He didn’t know. The time the three of them spent together was so blissful that he hadn’t paid attention to how others saw them. He had even felt resentful that there was a one-year age gap between them.
“A lot of people were interested. I was one of them.”
“Is that so…? I didn’t know.”
No matter how much the boy claimed to know him, he was still a stranger to Jeong-min. For some reason, it felt uncomfortable. Jeong-min closed his book and stood up.
“My name is Kim Ju-hwan, Jeong-min Sunbae.”