Chapter 15 - I Want To Protect Gabriel

“Why on earth would a third-generation conglomerate come to an ordinary school like Abraham Lincoln Middle School? There’s even an international middle school in the next neighborhood over.”

“Don’t tell me! Is it to boost his grades easily?”

“A conglomerate family wouldn’t do something so petty. There must be some circumstances.”

No matter how much he’d told the teachers and Henry to keep their mouths shut, it seemed he couldn’t stop the talk from spreading among the teachers themselves.

And so the rumors spread uncontrollably, and what was essentially fanfiction borrowing the name Gabriel was circulating throughout Abraham Lincoln Middle School in various versions.

“You know what? I heard he lost the succession battle and is hiding among commoners.”

“No way. With Gabriel’s personality, it makes more sense that he deliberately came out on his own because he didn’t want to be involved with a conglomerate family.”

Surprisingly, one of them was fairly close to the truth.

‘If word gets out that I’m adopted on top of this, it’ll be even more of a headache.’

Just moments ago, I’d brushed off the awkward apologies from classmates who said they were ‘sorry for daring to act friendly.’ I let out a deep sigh.

After the incident broke, the only one left around me was Jayden.

“Just leave them be. In a few days, everyone will adapt and talk to you like nothing happened.”

“Jayden. How did you figure out my family background right away? And back in elementary school, too.”

“Your aunt comes out on the news sometimes. As the BK Pharmaceutical CEO and direct family member of the group. So when I went to your house to hang out, I recognized it right away.”

It’s nothing new, but this bastard Jayden—he seems like a thoughtless playboy, yet he’s sharp as a tack.

“Seeing how the class only just found out, I guess it’s true what they say about kids these days not watching the news. The future of the USA  is dark, so dark.”

It was strangely irritating that this guy who lives for games and soccer every day has so much random knowledge.

‘Normally, wouldn’t such an unusual character appear in a novel or something… Huh?’

I felt a sense of déjà vu.

Didn’t he actually appear in a novel? A name similar to ‘Jayden’?

[…! I’m sorry, because of me…!]

I think there was. Or maybe not.

After 10 years, even the novel’s content had become hazy, so I could only speculate.

And so, when it was time to leave school, just as I was ignoring the chattering Jayden and walking out through the school’s main gate—

“Gabrieeeeeeel!”

Something charged forward and slammed into my waist.

“Kugh.”

The strong impact knocked the breath out of me for a moment.

Not just the impact of the charge, but suddenly a heavy weight seemed to press down on my entire body with crushing pressure.

I felt a different type of pain from the stench of an omega.

As if I’d climbed to the top of some high mountain, as if I’d sunk to the bottom of the deep sea, I began to suffocate as though there wasn’t enough oxygen.

‘…An alpha?!’

It was a typical alpha’s pheromones. And an extremely powerful one at that.

If I hadn’t taken my medicine beforehand, I would have already collapsed from respiratory distress.

“I missed you, Brother!”

Thinking I’d been attacked by some alpha beast, I hurriedly lifted my head to see brilliant golden fur. Or more precisely, hair.

“You…”

A friendly voice calling me ‘brother.’ And blond hair.

What had pounced on me wasn’t some giant alpha beast.

“Long time no see!”

“…”

“I came straight from the airport as soon as I returned to Washington today! I missed you so much, Brother!”

“…”

“Brother?”

“…Who are you?”

“What do you mean who am I! It’s obviously me!”

A beautiful boy with a somehow familiar face waved his hand at me cheerfully.

Though he seemed to be about twice the size I remembered…

“Ta-da! The man Harper has returned from Spain as a dominant alpha!”

“No, seriously, who are you?”

* * *

Who is Harper?

He was honest, energetic, and bright, but went through endless terrible incidents and gradually became more depressed, unwillingly became pregnant and even had a miscarriage, and ultimately lost his own life—truly a man of tragic fate… or rather, he was a ‘dominant omega.’

With blond hair and green eyes, a pitiful appearance, short stature, androgynous features, and a herbivorous beautiful boy style like a baby hamster… I think the novel definitely described him that way.

“Ahaha! I got totally tall, right? I’m about the same height as Brother now!”

That’s beyond a large golden retriever…

He’s close to a male lion.

Does it make sense for a first-year middle schooler to be that tall? He even seems bigger than I was back then.

Harper plopped down heavily in my room’s chair and spread his arms, starting to show off his body.

“My shoulders got broad too, right? My face looks like my dad’s now!”

That dad was definitely not his pretty father but the stylish father who runs an IT company in Spain.

I’d never met him in person, but from photos I’d seen, he was a handsome blond Westerner who could slap a Hollywood actor’s cheeks eighteen times. His height was probably about 2 meters.

“These days I think I’m even growing a beard! And leg hair…”

“No, no. Wait a minute. Harper.”

“Hm?”

Anyway, I raised the objection I’d been wanting to raise for a while.

“Why aren’t you an omega?”

“Whaat?”

At that, Harper blatantly showed his displeasure and stuck out his lips.

“Even brother looked at me with those eyes? Perverted alpha!”

“N-no…”

“Were you the type to assume someone’s secondary gender based on appearance too, brother? I’m totally disappointed.”

“Th-that’s not it. Your fortune said you’d become an omega…”

“What the hell are you talking about? Brother looks cool but sometimes says weird things.”

Harper laughed triumphantly with a “Hmph” and asked me with a suggestive expression.

“Or what? Do you wish I were an omega?”

“That’s not… it.”

“To begin with, the one who made me a dominant alpha was you, Brother.”

…What? This is news to me.

As I looked at him with that expression, Harper shrugged his shoulders.

“This makes me bring up old memories again. It was long ago, back when I was still weak enough to drink strawberryvery milk.”

And then he began launching into a flashback on his own…

* * *

“Harper.”

“Yeah? Brother?”

“You need to become strong.”

“Huh? Okay.”

“You have to live resiliently.”

“Resili…ent? I don’t know what that means, but okay.”

“It means to live strong and cool.”

Gabriel frequently grabbed young Harper and rattled off words like these.

“You need to become strong enough to beat down any weird alpha bastards.”

“Alpha bastards…?”

From that point on, Harper began to be captivated by a strange sense of elation.

From a young age, Harper received attention because of his appearance, drew notice because of his appearance, and faced prejudice because of his appearance.

‘You’re a foreigner but why do you only speak English and can’t speak Spanish? That’s weird.’

‘You’re actually a girl, right? Your legs look like they’d break if someone flicked them.’

‘When you become an omega later, wanna pair up with me?’

He was sick and tired of all this, but influenced by his gentle omega father, he couldn’t clearly express his own opinion.

Because everyone around him constantly talked as if it were a foregone conclusion that ‘you will become an omega,’ he unconsciously resigned himself to thinking that he too would become an omega like his father and live the life of a modest housewife…

The only time Harper could clearly express his opinion was when he was in front of his neighbor brother, who looked at him without prejudice and always listened to him seriously.

But then…

That very neighbor brother he respected and relied on, Gabriel, said:

Beat down alphas.

“C-can I become strong too, Gabriel? Can I beat an alpha…?”

“There’s nothing you can’t do in this world. Either try it or don’t. It’s one or the other.”

Gabriel speaking with the sunset at his back hadn’t manifested his gender yet, but he was already an alpha among alphas.

That’s a true manly man!

Harper was deeply moved.

And so Harper came to harbor an admiration for a ‘cool and strong manly man’ like Gabriel!

“Washington Children’s Taekwondo Competition gold medal! Harper!”

“National Children’s Hapkido Championship first place! Harper!”

“Washington Children’s Kendo King Selection Competition winner! Harper!”

“National Children’s Triathlon Competition gold medal! Harper!”

“Harper! Harper! Harper! Harper!”

After devoting himself to training without missing a single day, Harper overcame his small stature and became physically unmatched among his peers.

“Brother! I won another medal!”

“Oh, yeah… Good job…”

Whenever Harper showed off a new medal, Gabriel made a subtle expression that was hard to tell if it was happy or sad, but anyway, he sincerely congratulated him and patted his head, so Harper was completely satisfied.

“Ahhh, it’s a crazy American!”

“I’m not American! I’m Spanish mixed-race!”

“Ruuuun!”

Thanks to that, he could overwhelm with superior force even the mischievous teasing and bullying from the little brats who manifested as alphas early on.

“Hello! Is Gabriel there?”

That day too, Harper came to the neighbor’s door bundled up with today’s heroic tales.

But the one who came out to greet him wasn’t Gabriel but the neighbor's uncle.

“Oh my, it seems Harper hasn’t heard yet.”

“What?”

“Gabriel’s been hospitalized.”

Harper, who rushed to visit him, felt his heart shake greatly when he saw Gabriel lying in bed with a haggard face.

It was only natural that Gabriel, whom he admired endlessly, manifested as an alpha.

But seeing him lying sick and groaning… that was absolutely not natural.

‘This is the first time I’ve seen Brother look weak.’

He didn’t know exactly what illness it was, but according to the neighbor uncle's explanation, it seemed he’d developed a chronic condition he’d have to live with for life.

So Harper was sad and regretful, but also… one corner of his heart began to pound.

‘Gabriel can become weak too…’

The brother he thought was a healthy and strong manly man was actually a fragile and weak person.

He’d become a vulnerable existence in need of protection, like a child…!

What Harper felt then wasn’t disappointment or disillusionment.

‘I want to protect Gabriel!’

What bloomed in little Harper’s heart was a ‘protective instinct’!

‘I want to become an alpha much stronger and cooler than Gabriel!’

* * *

“And as I kept telling myself that while living, I really ended up becoming a dominant alpha! Ahaha!”

What the hell is that? That’s scary.