Correction Chapter 3

“Jungmin, Youngmin. Come on, say hello. This is Auntie Eunjeong, Mommy’s friend, and this is her son, Shinwoo.”

The three-minute-apart twins were identical. Their fair skin and rosy cheeks made them look like a pair of peaches. Their light brown eyes and jet-black hair only amplified their loveliness.

As if aware of their charm, the two boys blinked their star-like eyes, looking up at the slightly older boy named Shinwoo.

“Shinwoo, these are your younger brothers. The one with the blue button is Jungmin, and the one with the green button is Youngmin.”

“Hello. I’m Shin Jungmin.”

Being the older brother by three minutes, and always called first, Jungmin bowed to his mother’s friend and her son. Youngmin, who had been spacing out, only bowed deeply, his head almost touching the floor, after his mother nudged him.

“H-hello. I’m Youngmin.”

Youngmin’s cap, pulled low over his eyes, fell to the floor. Unsure what to do, he remained bowed, looking at Jungmin. Jungmin smiled gently, placed his own cap on Youngmin’s head, and picked up the fallen one. As he was about to put it back on, Shinwoo stepped forward.

“No, it’s dirty. Wait.”

Youngmin hated dirty things, but Jungmin didn’t mind. It hadn’t fallen in mud; it was the clean floor of a well-maintained cafe. How dirty could it be? But Shinwoo took the cap from Jungmin’s hand, dusted it off, and placed it back on Jungmin’s head. Jungmin stared blankly at Shinwoo. Shinwoo gazed into Jungmin’s eyes for a long moment before turning to Youngmin.

“Your eyes are so pretty. Like stars.”

At his poetic words, both Jungmin and Youngmin blinked.

“Oh my, Shinwoo, you’re quite the charmer.”

“Just like his father. He acts exactly the same way Shinwoo’s dad does with me.”

The two mothers giggled, finding their children adorable. Youngmin smiled because his mother was smiling, and Shinwoo scratched his head, seemingly embarrassed. Jungmin stared intently at him.

Shinwoo had complimented their eyes, but Jungmin disagreed. He thought Shinwoo’s eyes were far prettier.

Clear, double-lidded eyes. They seemed to reflect his upright character.

And despite being only a year older, he was a head taller than the twins and much more imposing.

Although twins, Youngmin had been born frail, while Jungmin was healthy. Because of this, Youngmin had always been the center of the family’s attention, and Jungmin learned early on to suppress his own pain and discomfort, always yielding to his younger brother. Just as he was growing tired of always having to act mature and brotherly as the elder twin, it felt like he finally had an older brother figure to rely on. Jungmin liked that. And Youngmin seemed to like Shinwoo too. From then on, the three were always together. They had to be.

Not only was there a connection between their parents—their mothers were friends, and their fathers business partners—but Shinwoo and the twins also got along incredibly well. Shinwoo, being an only child, adored the twins, and the twins were delighted to have such a reliable older brother figure. Where the twins were energetic and mischievous, Shinwoo was calm and steady, often mediating their quarrels, creating a perfect balance.

Growing up together like that, they naturally attended the same elementary and middle schools, getting along like brothers and friends.

Or so they thought. They were oblivious to the fact that their relationship was slowly fracturing.

Jungmin was the first to sense it. Or perhaps, even now, he was the only one aware of it. After Shinwoo started high school and the twins were preparing for their entrance exams, the three of them met even more frequently. Jungmin and Youngmin found studying tedious, but they worked hard, wanting to attend the same private high school as Shinwoo. And Shinwoo was helping them study.

“Oh dear…”

“Hmm? Shinwoo hyung, what’s wrong?”

Jungmin, who had been working on math problems, looked up at Shinwoo’s sigh and saw Youngmin dozing off. Jungmin nudged Shinwoo’s arm with his pen.

“Hey, Shin Youngmin, wake up. Shinwoo hyung is taking time out of his day to tutor us… How can you sleep?”

“Mmm…”

Instead of waking up, Youngmin simply slumped over his desk.

“Seriously. Ha…”

Jungmin felt bad for Shinwoo. He knew Shinwoo was taking time out of his busy midterms schedule to tutor them.

He stopped poking Youngmin with his pen, about to properly wake him up, when Shinwoo stopped him.

“Leave him be.”

“But… Shinwoo hyung…”

“He must be tired.”

“Could he be more tired than you?”

“It’s okay. Let him sleep.”

“Hyung, you’re too soft on Youngmin.”

“Haha. Am I?”

He wanted to reply, “Yes, you are. You’re especially soft on Youngmin,” but he didn’t. Something bitter was rising inside him.

Youngmin’s health had improved after elementary school, but perhaps due to his sickly childhood, he had become spoiled. So both Jungmin and Shinwoo indulged him and catered to his whims. Jungmin understood it as his brotherly duty, but he wondered what Shinwoo’s excuse was. He was always lenient with Youngmin, doing everything he asked and always prioritizing him.

“I’m going to the restroom.”

“Okay.”

Feeling a sharp pang in his chest, Jungmin got up and headed for the restroom. He took deep breaths and looked at himself in the mirror. He smoothed his hair and adjusted his clothes. He didn’t want to appear disheveled. He always wanted to look presentable in front of Shinwoo. Come to think of it, it’s getting late. Should I order some coffee?

“Shinwoo hyung, coff…”

He stopped dead in his tracks as he exited the restroom.

Youngmin was asleep at the table on the terrace, and Shinwoo was looking at him with an expression of fondness. Shinwoo’s long fingers gently stroked Youngmin’s soft hair. Jungmin felt his heart stop. And then another heart started beating in its place.

It was love.

This first encounter with the emotion left Jungmin confused. It was sad, joyful, and a bottomless pit all at once. Seeing Shinwoo made his heart race and ache.

Why did he have to realize it then? He should never have realized it. If he hadn’t, perhaps all three of them—himself, Shinwoo, and Youngmin—would have been happier. But the Pandora’s Box he had opened couldn’t be closed.

With the emergence of love came increased observation, which led to another realization.

Shinwoo spent more time looking at Youngmin than at him. The number of times he made eye contact with Youngmin, the number of times he spoke to him, was almost double. This realization made Jungmin’s shoulders slump.

Yet, Jungmin told himself it wasn’t love. He had to believe it wasn’t. It was between two men. What hope was there for love between two people of the same sex? Maybe if it were between an alpha and an omega…

Then one day, Youngmin threw aside his homework, lay down on the floor, munched on some snacks, and said,

“What do you think we’ll be?”

“What do you mean?”

Confused by the question, Jungmin stopped his homework and looked at Youngmin.

“You know, alphas, omegas, betas. What do you think we’ll present as? We’ll be presenting soon.”

“Ah…”

He hadn’t thought about it. With an alpha father and an omega mother, the probability of the twins being betas was extremely low.

“Jungmin, what do you want to be?”

“I… I don’t care.”

Oh, right! They could present. He had never considered it before. He had simply assumed he would continue living a normal life.

“I see. I want to be an omega.”

Jungmin was surprised to hear Youngmin state his desire so clearly. It was the first time.

“Why? Why do you want to be an omega?”

As far as Jungmin knew, omegas could get pregnant regardless of the other person’s sex and had to endure heats, which he heard were difficult.

“I want to have babies. And, if I’m lucky, I could even marry Shinwoo hyung!”

At the words “marry Shinwoo hyung,” Jungmin’s heart plummeted.

“What? What are you talking about? Shinwoo hyung is a man…”

“Don’t be so naive. Omegas and alphas can marry. Man or woman doesn’t matter.”

“Shinwoo hyung… is an alpha?”

“Huh? You didn’t know? He was sick a few months ago. It was because of his presentation. He presented as an alpha.”

He had never heard anything about it. Jungmin was confused as to why Youngmin knew this important fact and he didn’t.

“How did you know?”

“How do you think I knew? Shinwoo hyung told me.”

He told Youngmin? Why didn’t he tell me? As expected, Shinwoo hyung likes Youngmin, doesn’t he? And does Youngmin like Shinwoo hyung too? Otherwise, he wouldn’t be talking about marriage and omegas.

He wanted to ask Youngmin how he felt about Shinwoo hyung, but fear held him back. If Youngmin liked Shinwoo too, he wouldn’t know what to do with his own feelings. Jungmin felt tormented and suffocated. But there was nothing he could do.

Still only a third-year middle school student, overwhelmed by this sudden surge of emotions, Jungmin buried himself in his studies.

And then, both Youngmin and Jungmin were accepted into the same high school as Shinwoo.