Blood Shield
…I need to return the gym uniform. I should head over to the second-year classrooms. Which class was that guy in again…?
Cha-heon, who had started his morning with three demerit points, set his bag down in class and immediately went up to the second-year floor, glancing around. In his hand he carried a shopping bag with the neatly ironed gym clothes, but it only then occurred to him that he had no idea which class Baek Yu-gyeong was in.
…This is a little awkward.
He felt a faint prick of guilt for not even knowing the class of the guy who claimed to like him and clung to him so persistently.
…Come to think of it, Yu-gyeong really is a bit different.
Watching him so closely for the sake of “reforming” him, Cha-heon had begun to wonder whether that warm, affectionate manner might be an act. It wasn’t directed only at him, either—Yu-gyeong looked after the kids around him in general. Especially out on the field, he seemed popular with the girls, and it clearly wasn’t just because he was handsome.
In the original story he had given off a rather cold impression, and even among the teachers he hadn’t exactly been considered a model student.
…Yet the way he had behaved yesterday, he never did anything he was told not to and listened well.
Comparing the two versions made everything unnecessarily complicated, so Cha-heon raked a hand through his hair. He was standing there at a loss when the conversation of some male students passing down the hallway drifted over to him.
“Hey, hey—I heard Baek Ha-gyeong, Baek Yu-gyeong’s little brother, is back? They’re saying he’s insanely good-looking and the girls are going crazy.”
“Holy shit… If he’s Yu-gyeong’s brother, doesn’t that make him another filthy-rich young master? Even if Yu-gyeong pretends otherwise, everything he carries is designer.”
“Yeah, the one who was only here for a bit in first year before he went abroad.”
“What, what? Which class is he in?”
“Class 4, I think?”
Cha-heon overheard them and headed that way.
Perfect. If it’s the little brother, he’ll know which class the older one is in.
Any random second-year he grabbed on the street would probably have told him, but that simple solution never occurred to Cha-heon; he simply set off toward wherever Ha-gyeong was supposed to be.
Class 4, Year 2.
Kim Seong-un found Baek Yu-gyeong of Class 8 uncomfortable. Part of it was having once witnessed Yu-gyeong beating someone up behind closed doors, but the bigger reason was the incident with Min Ha-seong and the name tag Shin Cha-heon had returned.
When Min Ha-seong finally came back to school a few days later, he had taken the name tag with trembling hands, mumbled a shy thank-you, and bowed his head low. That image still lingered.
…Ugh, what a bastard. How badly must he have tormented him? All sweet and kind in front, then that behind the scenes.
Seeing such a fragile-looking student reduced to that state made Seong-un feel sorry for him. He had no intention of jumping in and fighting, but he still managed a scrap of pity.
“Hey, your brother… that, uh, Baek Yu-gyeong—”
Kim Seong-un brought up Yu-gyeong without thinking and then hastily clamped his mouth shut.
He had a shallow acquaintance with Baek Ha-gyeong from the brief period they had shared a class in first year. Mid-conversation, looking at Ha-gyeong—who somewhat resembled Yu-gyeong—he had automatically recalled the Min Ha-seong affair. Ha-gyeong had a good personality and, for an Alpha, got along well with Betas too, so Seong-un actually rather liked him.
Ha-gyeong, who had been chatting with the others nearby, turned at the familiar name. He curved his eyes into a pretty smile and tilted his head slightly.
“What about hyung?”
“No, sorry.”
“Hm? Seong-un, why are you walking on eggshells? Did hyung do something mean to you?”
“No, it wasn’t like that… Ah, never mind.”
“Hmm… You’re watching Yu-gyeong hyung’s face? Did he actually threaten you?”
“Threaten… not quite.”
Kim Seong-un muttered and looked away.
If he carelessly spilled something that sounded like trash-talking Baek Yu-gyeong in front of Baek Ha-gyeong and Yu-gyeong ever found out, he was finished.
Ha-gyeong studied Seong-un with a peculiar gaze, then tapped the desk with his fingers.
A brief silence fell. Lowering his eyes, Ha-gyeong murmured with a bitter expression,
“Mmm… I’m sorry.”
“Huh? Why are you suddenly apologizing, Baek Ha-gyeong?”
“Yu-gyeong hyung… he’s been on Father’s bad side for a while. So he’s got a twisted streak, and he might have taken it out on you.”
“Ah…?”
“Growing up without a mom left him a little short on manners sometimes… Anyway, don’t worry about it too much. At home almost nobody pays him any attention.”
The moment Ha-gyeong finished speaking, another Alpha boy beside him twisted his face and clapped his palms together.
“Whoa, fuck, I felt that too. No wonder.”
“So he’s taking that out on us here? Is he crazy?”
Ha-gyeong gauged the mood of the kids around him and casually added,
“He’s always been like that. Still, don’t talk about him that harshly. Be nice to our Yu-gyeong hyung. He’s pitiful.”
“Whoa, Baek Ha-gyeong is so nice.”
“Honestly, doesn’t Baek Yu-gyeong give off kind of a creepy vibe?”
That single remark was all it took for the dam to burst; complaints began spilling out from every direction.
“Yeah, that guy’s a total girl-chaser. Acts all kind only to the girls, then picks fights with us.”
“Did you see how he brushed himself off like he’d touched something filthy after we bumped into each other last time?”
“You got that too? Damn… that feels so shitty.”
“But Ha-gyeong, why do you even call Baek Yu-gyeong ‘hyung’? Even if you were born later, you’re still the Alpha, right?”
“Nah, family’s family. Whoever’s born first is hyung.”
While the class atmosphere grew noisy around the desk where Baek Ha-gyeong sat,
“Hey.”
A voice cut cleanly across the uproar from the opposite side of the room.
At some point Cha-heon had leaned against the classroom doorframe, scowling at them.
He had been about to step inside when his eyes met those of a large boy who had half-risen from a chair by the window overlooking the hallway.
……? That kendo club guy—no, the student council disciplinary committee? Anyway, the friend who gifted me three demerit points… Was he about to step in? I think I heard his voice just now…
…What a truly admirable kid.
See? That guy’s a stickler for the rules, isn’t he?
He had thought the boy would grow into someone important, and here he was proving himself a praiseworthy student. Cha-heon gave that handsome face a quick once-over, snorted a quiet laugh, and stepped forward.
It would be fine if that student intervened, but matters like this were better resolved by an adult rather than left to clumsy student handling. Cha-heon himself didn’t care if relationships soured, but that boy still had to live with these people in the same class.
He quietly took stock of the classroom mood. Among the faces of the boys surrounding Baek Ha-gyeong was one that looked strangely familiar.
Casting back through his memory, he recognized one of the kids he had beaten up before. When Cha-heon locked eyes with him and smiled coldly, the student flinched and retreated a step.
It’s never just one of them… Looks like a little pack of thugs. Birds of a feather, no doubt.
Cha-heon scanned them with chilled eyes before settling his gaze on Ha-gyeong.
“If several of you gang up like that, isn’t that school violence? If you’re going to talk behind someone’s back, do it somewhere no one can hear you. Don’t just openly spill that kind of talk in the middle of class and create a weird atmosphere.”
Who would have thought that coming to find Baek Ha-gyeong would land him right in the middle of the boy he presumed was Ha-gyeong trash-talking Baek Yu-gyeong?
Talking behind someone’s back would be better—this is basically stirring people up.
When Cha-heon glared with a frightening expression, Ha-gyeong beamed as if he had spotted an idol, waved, and crinkled his eyes. Unlike Yu-gyeong’s, his deep wheat-colored irises folded in half and sparkled.
“Ah! So you’re that senior—Shin Cha-heon, right?”
“You know me?”
“I’ve heard a lot about you. They say Yu-gyeong hyung likes you sooo much.”
“…Judging by the way you were talking a minute ago, I doubt Baek Yu-gyeong told you that himself.”
“I’m just very interested. Brothers talk a lot, you know.”
Cha-heon let out a snort of disbelief at Baek Ha-gyeong’s shameless reply.
Sure they do.
Does he take me for a complete idiot?
What brother who “talks a lot” trash-talks his sibling this creepily, you high-school punk?
Even amid the chaotic classroom atmosphere, the boy sat alone in the center, smiling calmly—it felt utterly out of place. Thinking that, Cha-heon studied Baek Ha-gyeong.
Neat brown hair, and beneath it features that, if you looked carefully, resembled Yu-gyeong’s yet somehow felt a touch more delicate and pretty.
…He’s handsome, all right.
Seen separately they didn’t look especially alike, but once he thought of Baek Yu-gyeong, the younger-brother impression came through.
From the conversation he had unintentionally overheard, this seemed to be the son of the stepmother… and the two brothers appeared to get along terribly. Ha-gyeong had let slip words of pity, but they had clearly not been well-intentioned; he had almost certainly done it on purpose.
…This kid’s sharp.
Cunning was the better word.
“More importantly, senior, aren’t you also just hanging around our Yu-gyeong hyung because you feel sorry for him?”
“No.”
When Cha-heon answered flatly, Baek Ha-gyeong giggled like a child who had heard something amusing and gave a light wave of his hand.
“Aww, come on. Sticking that close can’t be pure goodwill—I figured you secretly pitied him. Or maybe not? Haven’t you heard about Yu-gyeong hyung’s situation?”
…I’m not the one following him around; that guy is the one who clings to me.
He was dying to protest, but this didn’t seem like the moment for excuses. Carefully gauging the classroom atmosphere, Cha-heon still listened to Ha-gyeong and replied,
“Even if what you just said counts as ‘his situation,’ is that really enough to call a situation?”
Cha-heon answered indifferently and then fixed his gaze on the boys who had been snickering earlier.
“And you guys—I shouldn’t say this, but honestly… Is he lacking in looks or lacking in grades? You fail on both counts, so what exactly makes you so great that you can run your mouths?”
One of the boys who had been enthusiastically bad-mouthing Yu-gyeong earlier bristled when their eyes met and charged forward.
“You finished talking ju—”
“No, I can keep going. If you’re so mad, hit me. Come here.”
Cha-heon cut him off and took a step closer; the student flinched back again.
The one I hit last time.
…One down, for now.
What mattered now was seizing control of the mood again. Not with logic.
If I just let this slide, the atmosphere will keep going this way. I need to call it out and completely flip it.
He had zero desire to launch this kind of attack against young students, but precisely because they were kids, failing to correct them properly now could lead to bigger trouble later.
Baek Ha-gyeong’s gaze landed squarely on him. Ha-gyeong looked Cha-heon up and down as if he had witnessed something miraculous, then still managed a bright smile and even clapped.
“Waaah, is this that ‘blood shield’ thing? I saw it online, but I never thought I’d witness it in real life.”
“Right—you lived abroad and just came back, didn’t you? Lucky you, getting field-experience learning the second you set foot on home soil.”
When Cha-heon answered lightly, as if the jab hadn’t landed at all, Ha-gyeong’s eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second. Then he smoothed his expression again and smiled. A bright, cheerful voice flowed from his throat.
“Could it be~ that you’re dating Yu-gyeong hyung? The way you talk, you two seem pretty close.”
“…Hah.”
“It’d be pretty unfair if you did that without realizing it’s a rotten rope… Ah, but Yu-gyeong hyung is good-looking, so maybe it was fine? Or is he just not good enough? Do you have to boost him up that hard by taking his side?”
“Unbelievable… This is the first time someone’s words have been so vulgar that I genuinely have no idea how to respond and don’t even want to associate with them.”
“Aww, the vulgar one is hyung. If you’re trying to improve your circumstances, want me to introduce you to another handsome, rich hyung? An Omega as pretty as you would definitely have takers.”
The moment Ha-gyeong finished, short bursts of laughter rippled through the surrounding students. Humiliating words and gazes that bordered on harassment raked over Cha-heon’s body.
…Wow, this kid really knows how to talk. In one breath he turned me into some gold-digger clinging to rich guys.
Cha-heon briefly marveled at Ha-gyeong’s skill with words, then frowned at being exposed to such blatant stares for the first time.