Correction Chapter 6

Only then did Shinwoo smile and stroke Jungmin’s hair.

‘Ah, it’s been a while since hyung stroked my hair.’

Jungmin wanted to applaud himself for not growing any taller. If he had, Shinwoo wouldn’t be stroking his hair like this.

“Kim Joohwan… I think I’ve heard of him. Isn’t he the son of the CEO of Kal Front?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

As if he remembered Joohwan, Shinwoo spoke about his background, and Joohwan nodded.

“You. You’re an Alpha, right?”

While drinking a cup of tea, Shinwoo cautiously asked Joohwan. At the unexpected words, both Jungmin and Youngmin were surprised and looked back and forth between Joohwan and Shinwoo. Joohwan slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

“Yes.”

At Joohwan’s confident, assertive, and resolute answer, the air suddenly grew heavy. It was Youngmin who broke the silence. He clung even closer to Joohwan.

“Really? Are you really an Alpha?”

“Yes.”

Youngmin spoke excitedly, but Jungmin was dumbfounded. No, beyond being dumbfounded, he was angry.

“Kim Joohwan.”

When Jungmin called his name in a low voice, Kim Joohwan briefly put on an expressionless face before putting on a soft, pleasant smile. Now that he sees it, that smile, it was a fake smile.

“Yes, sunbae.”

“You said you hadn’t presented yet? Didn’t you say you just tested with your company’s machine?”

“Oh? That’s right! You did!”

Youngmin looked at Kim Joohwan, surprised as if he had just realized it. He scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.

“Actually, I presented too early. My parents thought it wouldn’t be good if it became public, so they told me to hide the fact that I presented as an Alpha if possible. Since the two sunbaes haven’t presented yet, I lied…but I guess Shinwoo sunbae presented as an Alpha, so you knew right away.”

It’s a lie. It’s such a ridiculous lie. That guy hid it on purpose. There was no need to ask ‘Why?’. He could tell just by looking at his face. It was done out of ‘disregard’ and ‘amusement’. Jungmin’s mood soured instantly.

He wanted to argue that it was nonsense, but he was so put off by Kim Joohwan that he didn’t want to. On the other hand, Youngmin’s face was filled with excitement. As if his affection had greatly increased, he stuck even closer to Kim Joohwan and spoke.

“Wow – when did you present? You can tell us! We won’t tell anyone!”

“Alright. Then I’ll trust only you, sunbaes. Please don’t tell my father that I told you. I’ll really get in trouble.”

“Don’t worry!”

“I presented in my first year of middle school.”

“Gasp – That’s so early! Wow, I’m envious! That’s really amazing.”

“Yes, they said it was the youngest presentation.”

“That’s incredible. Really.”

Youngmin initiated more intimate physical contact with Kim Joohwan. He stroked his arm and continued to exclaim in amazement.

“It’s amazing that there are two such precious Alphas here… truly amazing.”

Jungmin glanced at Shinwoo. Sure enough, the closer Youngmin got to Joohwan, the darker Shinwoo’s expression became.

“You’re not just any Alpha, are you?”

Yet, Shinwoo forced a smile and asked again.

Not just any Alpha?

“Yes, I’m a Dominant Alpha.”

“A-MA-ZING!!”

Youngmin shouted, “That Dominant Alpha, the one that belongs to the 0.5% of Alphas?!” He was making a fuss, saying he finally understood why Joohwan seemed to sparkle. But Jungmin didn’t care whether Joohwan was a Dominant Alpha or a Recessive Alpha. He was only concerned about Shinwoo.

Jungmin had learned something while reading books about Alphas and Omegas these past few days because he hadn’t presented yet. Dominant Alphas, as rare as they are, are powerful. Especially in the world of Alphas, they are the superior breed. It was said that even if one is inevitably an Alpha, they feel inferior to Dominant Alphas, lower their heads, and feel an inapproachable strength.

Omegas are intensely attracted to Dominant Alphas, while Recessive and regular Alphas feel an intense sense of defeat towards Dominant Alphas. Is Shinwoo feeling that now? Jungmin was worried about Shinwoo.

“Ah, Shinwoo hyung. Can you look at this math problem I got wrong?”

Jungmin grabbed Shinwoo’s arm and said with a bright smile.

“Shin Jungmin, do you really have to talk about that at such an interesting time?”

Youngmin said with a fed-up expression.

“You stay out of it, Youngmin. The exam is important to me right now. Don’t you think so too, Shinwoo hyung? Right? Shinwoo hyung!”

Jungmin continued to pester Shinwoo, holding onto his arm. He wanted to tell him not to look at them, to look at him instead.

Meanwhile, he felt someone’s gaze. Glancing over, he saw Kim Joohwan looking at him.

‘What? Why is he staring? So annoying.’

Jungmin ignored his gaze and looked only at Shinwoo.

“Shinwoo hyung! Huh? Please help me with my math. I really don’t know why I got it wrong.”

“How did you get it wrong?”

Finally, Shinwoo looked at him. Jungmin felt relieved inside.

“I’m asking you because I don’t know.”

“Alright, let me see.”

Shinwoo finally got up. Even as they were walking to the room, Shinwoo kept glancing back at Youngmin. Every time he did, Jungmin pulled him closer.

‘Hyung, don’t look at Youngmin. Look at me. Look at me, hyung.’

Jungmin held Shinwoo’s arm tightly, hoping that Shinwoo would hold his hand back someday.

✽✽✽

The presentation fever didn’t come even after the first semester of their second year. At this point, not only Jungmin and Youngmin but also their family started to worry about the twins. Their mother suggested that they get tested to see if there was a problem, even though it was unlikely.

Jungmin was terrified, but Youngmin wanted it, so he agreed. Because of this, Jungmin had no choice but to go along. It was an unfortunate case of being twins.

The family doctor, who faced the twins after they missed school and completed various tests, carefully examined the charts and said there were no particular abnormalities.

“It just seems to be a bit late. You’re both very healthy.”

At the doctor’s words, the twins and their parents were relieved. Youngmin said, “So, we’re done now?” and ran out, saying he had an appointment, and the parents also returned to work. On the other hand, Jungmin pretended to leave, then returned to the doctor and cautiously asked.

“Excuse me… Doctor.”

“Yes, Jungmin.”

“Is there a way to know in advance whether I’ll be an Omega or an Alpha?”

Because the machine Kim Joohwan mentioned might be commercially available now.

He had no doubt that he would be an Omega. But he couldn’t help but consider the worst-case scenario. Until the day he presented as an Omega, this worst-case scenario would continue to reside as anxiety deep in Jungmin’s heart.

“Well. Currently, there’s no way to know.”

“I see.”

“Don’t worry. Whether you’re an Alpha or an Omega, you’re still Jungmin.”

If someone else had heard it, it would have been comforting. But not for Jungmin. It was only important for Jungmin to be an Omega. If he wasn’t an Omega, he wasn’t needed.

Jungmin thanked the doctor and left the hospital. He could have gone back home, but he didn’t want to. Since it was just the beginning of lunchtime at school, he told his mother and headed to school. His unsettled feelings could only be resolved by studying.

When he arrived at school, it was still the middle of lunchtime. He peeked into Shinwoo’s classroom because he wanted to see him, and Shinwoo, who was chatting with his friends, saw Jungmin and came out to the hallway.

“I thought you were taking the day off?”

“Yeah, but I came anyway.”

“Such a diligent guy.”

Shinwoo ruffled Jungmin’s hair. Jungmin told him to stop, but he didn’t push his hand away because he didn’t dislike the touch.

“But where’s Youngmin?”

He had to ask… he just had to.

“Youngmin said he was just skipping school.”

“How can you two be so different when you’re twins?”

I know, right? That’s why I sometimes envy Youngmin. I envy Youngmin, who receives hyung’s love and attention. If I had continued to be the same as Youngmin, would hyung have looked at me?

“There’s 10 minutes left of lunchtime. Do you have time for a can of cola?”

“Of course.”

“Okay. I’ll buy you one.”

Jungmin was really happy to be alone with Shinwoo after a long time. They bought two cans of cola from the store and went up to the rooftop, enjoying the quiet time while looking at the sky.

“Why did you go to the hospital?”

“Uh… we haven’t presented yet. Mom and Dad seemed worried. So, I had a thorough checkup.”

“Really? Nothing wrong, right?”

“No, they said I’m too healthy? They said I’ll present soon.”

“Haha. You guys presenting. I’m curious.”

“What? You sound just like Dad. You’re only one year older than us.”

“That’s true… I’m only one year older than you guys, but why do you feel so young?”

Because Shinwoo sounded like an old man, Jungmin lightly hit his shoulder and drank his cola. The cool sensation going down his throat cleared up his stuffy feelings a little.