By Zephyria 
As Jeong-min was about to leave without a word, the Hubae suddenly introduced himself. When Jeong-min stopped and looked at him, the boy gave a slight smile and then immediately returned to a face that looked as if he had lost interest, immersing himself in the book he had borrowed. Thinking he was an unpleasant fellow, Jeong-min left the library.
The next day, Jeong-min found out why Kim Ju-hwan had greeted him. He was the only son of a joint investor in a new business his father had started.
Jeong-min and Young-min’s father was the head of a conglomerate that ranked among the top ten companies in South Korea.
His wife was Jeong-min and Young-min’s mother, but they were well aware that she was not the legal wife. Young-min was oblivious to such things, but Jeong-min was not. In their vast house, their father returned once a week, and their mother lived her life always longing for him.
Then, in the year Jeong-min and Young-min turned ten, the father divorced his legal wife. And then came the half-siblings they met at a family gathering…
Those siblings were strange and frightening, but fortunately, they didn’t hate the twins. They simply looked at them with endless pity, as if saying, ‘What sin did you commit to be born this way…?’
The older brothers were all in their twenties, and some were in their thirties. Jeong-min thought he would never get close to them, but fortunately, they maintained a good relationship through frequent visits. After the brothers married and became independent, the twins and their mother were able to officially move into that house.
Their mother was a brazen woman, but she was also a woman who knew what she had done. Because of this, she could never hold her head high before the siblings. When she moved in, she voluntarily signed a pledge stating she would not touch the assets, and the twins also signed pledges that they would not interfere with management rights. Thanks to this, they were able to avoid minimal friction. In a way, the twins’ mother was a clever woman.
Jeong-min had discovered that his mother was the second wife before he had fully matured, and the shock was great. However, the reason he couldn’t hate his father was that even if he only came home once a week, he was always kind to the mother and the children.
Later, he heard two shocking things from his older brothers. One was that the father’s legal wife also had a long-term lover, and that this had been agreed upon before the marriage. The other was that the father had never once praised the older brothers.
They said they had never even seen him smile at home… On the other hand, Jeong-min and Young-min were always praised by their father, and since they had memories of their father hugging them and smiling while enjoying one day of the week, Jeong-min was shocked.
What the father loved most was introducing and boasting about Jeong-min and Young-min to people he knew. Thanks to this, from a young age, they were very accustomed to standing before strange middle-aged men, introducing themselves and greeting them.
This time, assuming that his father calling him was for the same reason, Jeong-min went down, only to be surprised to see a face he had already met—and one that had left a bad impression—standing next to a handsome middle-aged man.
“Wow, he’s totally handsome.”
Young-min, who was walking down the stairs, whispered to Jeong-min upon seeing the boy in the drawing room.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I think he’s handsomer than Shin-woo hyung.”
Young-min made a fuss, but Jeong-min flatly disagreed. No matter what, he was less handsome than Shin-woo hyung. Shin-woo hyung’s face was like a sculpture, carved with the utmost care by a master, but that face was too… no, anyway, he’s less handsome than Shin-woo hyung. Snorting inwardly, Jeong-min descended the stairs and greeted the stranger alongside his father.
“Hello. I’m Shin Jeong-min.”
“Hello. I’m Shin Yeong-min.”
“Oh my, it’s truly an honor to meet the twins Chairman Shin boasts about so much. Nice to meet you.”
Once the greetings were over and they sat on the sofa, Chairman Shin laughed heartily and began boasting about his twin sons again.
“Come to think of it, Kim Ju-hwan is in the same high school as you two.”
“Wow, really?”
Young-min said with a bright smile. Kim Ju-hwan nodded.
“Yes, not only that, but I was in the same elementary and middle schools as both Sunbaes. Though you probably didn’t know.”
“Whoa—I didn’t know. That’s crazy.”
Watching Young-min repeatedly exclaim “crazy,” Jeong-min sighed. Why was he showing such an exaggerated amount of interest? Jeong-min felt like getting up and studying just one more page. However, his father didn’t help. He simply said, “The adults have things to discuss, so you kids go out and play.” Even though they weren’t kids anymore.
“Yes! I understand! Leave Ju-hwan to us and please talk! Ju-hwan! Let’s go!”
“Okay.”
Judging by the high pitch of his voice, it seemed Young-min was the most excited of all. Young-min took Ju-hwan’s hand, pulled him up, and led him up to the second floor. Jeong-min also greeted the fathers and carefully stood up, following them with heavy steps. He planned to let the two of them play while he studied.
“Jeong-min, let’s go to your room!”
“What? Why my room? You have your own room.”
“We always went to your room whenever Shin-woo hyung came. Why are you being like this all of a sudden?”
Young-min stuck out his tongue and led Ju-hwan into Jeong-min’s room. Seeing the neatly organized room, Ju-hwan looked somewhat impressed.
“Jeong-min Sunbae’s room is really tidy.”
“Right? He’s so annoying. Sometimes, even when the housekeeper offers to clean, he sweeps and wipes it himself. It’s not like he has OCD or anything.”
Young-min badmouthed Jeong-min while arbitrarily seating Ju-hwan on the sofa in the room. Whether the two of them talked or not, Jeong-min sat at his desk and continued the studying he had been doing.
“What are you doing? Let’s sit here and talk~ Let’s play together~!”
Young-min was making a scene, leaning back on the sofa. Knowing that his stubbornness wouldn’t break unless he joined in, and that it would be impossible to study in such an atmosphere, Jeong-min put down his pen.
“If you want to talk, bring some tea or fruit. How can you welcome a guest like this?”
“Ah, right. I have to tell the housekeeper!”
Young-min skipped out of the room. Only then did peace return to the room, and Jeong-min brushed back his hair.
“Yeong-min Sunbae is cute.”
Jeong-min felt annoyed by Ju-hwan’s admiring comment. How could he call him cute when he barely knew him?
“Ah, but Jeong-min Sunbae is also cute.”
Jeong-min’s mood worsened further. The words, delivered as if giving alms, only increased his antipathy toward Ju-hwan.
“Why should I have to hear things like that from you?”
“I was just speaking honestly… I apologize if I offended you.”
Why does a first-year high schooler talk like that? He’s like an old man. Everything about Kim Ju-hwan began to irritate him.
“Wow, Ju-hwan, you haven’t manifested yet either, right?”
Young-min asked while eating the fruit and Superstar Oranges the housekeeper had brought. Ju-hwan nodded.
“Yes. But I heard there’s a high probability I’ll become an Alpha.”
“You can know that?”
“Ah, it’s probably not commercialized yet. Our group researches and manufactures medical devices and such. So, we occasionally test with machines that are still in the experimental stage.”
“Can we try it too?”
Young-min’s eyes sparkled. Jeong-min hesitated. You can tell if you’ll be an Alpha or an Omega? He was curious, but…
“Jeong-min, aren’t you curious?”
“No, not really.”
“Whyyy~~?”
“It’s no fun if you know in advance. I’ll wait.”
“I think it would be great… you can prepare in advance. Then Ju-hwan, can I get a test early?”
“Hmm, probably not. Since it’s not commercialized yet… I’ll let you know when it is. Of course, you Sunbaes might awaken before then.”
“I see~”
Young-min seemed to lose interest quickly and went back to munching on a strawberry. After that, trivial and boring conversations flowed. Since it wasn’t an atmosphere conducive to studying, Jeong-min leaned his back against the bed and thought about other things. For example… preparations for when he became an Omega… and so on.
✽✽✽
After Ju-hwan visited Jeong-min and Young-min’s house, he encountered him more often. One reason was Young-min, who frequently invited Ju-hwan over or sought him out at school.
For a while, Shin-woo couldn’t play with the twins due to student council work, and Ju-hwan had filled that void. Naturally, Jeong-min was dissatisfied, and that dissatisfaction soon turned into unpleasantness, leading him to decide that he would no longer be present whenever Young-min and Ju-hwan were together.
However, as if fate were playing a cruel joke, as soon as he made that resolution, Shin-woo was freed from the student council and came home for the first time in a while to see Young-min and Jeong-min, and Ju-hwan was there.
Shin-woo looked quite bewildered to see Young-min clinging tightly to Ju-hwan’s side.
“Uh… who is this?”
“Wow, Shin-woo hyung, you don’t know? He’s a big star at our school these days. Kim Ju-hwan! He’s a first-year.”
Young-min spoke with a fuss, as if he were the president of Ju-hwan’s fan club, wondering how Shin-woo could not know him. However, Shin-woo seemed more concerned with Young-min’s hand than his words. Young-min’s hand was linked through Ju-hwan’s arm.
Seeing Shin-woo frown, Jeong-min’s heart throbbed. He hated that Shin-woo looked at Young-min that way, and he hated that he felt upset and jealous seeing it. What did hyung have to lose? With that thought, Jeong-min linked his own arm with Shin-woo’s. Shin-woo looked at Jeong-min, surprised.
“Hyung, sit down. What are you doing? Showing off how tall you are?”
“Did it look like that?”
“Yeah.”