HIS 2

Life at the orphanage was brutal, and naturally, stronger children became the leaders. Jiwoo was small and weak, so he had been thoroughly powerless, relying on Jiyeon, who was the same age, to endure the days. He often took beatings in Jiyeon’s place, and she would cry on his behalf. That was how they survived until middle school. 

Eventually, they were pushed out during one of the orphanage’s factional fights, practically thrown out together.

What followed was a predictable story. The two of them lived through difficult times together, side by side. Jiyeon was family, friend, and even something like a lover all at once. She was the only person Jiwoo could truly rely on. Moreover, on the day Jiwoo told her he was gay, Jiyeon revealed she wrote 19+ BL novels for a living…

Come to think of it, the scenes of Joon’s hardships in the orphanage were like their own story. It dramatically emphasized the unnecessary suffering that Joon had endured when he should have been living with everything provided in this wealthy family. 

In any case, now was still just before the novel begins, so what Jiwoo needed to do first was to meet the male lead, Daniel Grey, and reveal that he and Joon had been switched. Then, since he had no real ties to this house, he would leave…

Ah! So, would the novel end before it even starts?

Jiwoo looked around the study and picked up a book placed next to his textbooks. Since the novel mixed this stuff about alphas and omegas, he felt the need to learn about it. According to the book, there were a lot of hormones involved and men could get pregnant. For some reason, Jiyeon had set the side omega Jiwoo as a recessive omega, so he could get pregnant too, but from his experience so far, there didn’t seem to be anything particularly different.

The only notable thing was that whenever he entered the study, he smelled something refreshing and crisp. The scent reminded him of wood and fresh grass, like entering a forest, and it always put him in a good mood.

However, every time Joon came into the study, his cheeks flushed red. Why did even this world have hierarchies? Anyway, it seems that while the scent was just a pleasant aroma to Jiwoo as a recessive, it stirred up something deeper in dominant omegas like Joon. Daniel and Joon were top-tier, and he was stuck at the bottom. What made the most convincing explanation was that while this scent felt like a faint air freshener to him, it hit Joon like someone had sprayed perfume right next to him. 

“What should I do?”

He would have to face Daniel Grey soon, and leave this house… Which meant he probably wouldn’t be able to continue his studies. With this frail body, I needed to think about what kind of work I could possibly do. Although his long list of past part-time jobs proved there wasn’t much he didn’t know how to do, he definitely wouldn’t be able to do manual labor jobs that offered high pay now. He had to find something suitable for this body.

“What do I even want to do?”

Jiwoo, still lying on the sofa, put the book down on the floor and held up a teddy bear to his eye level. He was muttering to himself when he was suddenly startled by a sound, dropping the teddy bear onto his face.

The bear’s hard plastic nose landed right on his own, which was painful, but without time to think about that, he quickly jumped to his feet.

“Ah… Um… That…”

The world was unfair. Jiyeon always said that. The world isn’t fair, and God clearly plays favorites… She used to say that while chewing dried squid, looking at actors on TV, then turning to him like she was staring at a dried anchovy. She’d say celebrities were sculpted with His both hands, while Jiwoo was just roughly rubbed with God’s foot.

Jiyeon was the god of her BL novels, and she definitely showed divine favoritism to an extreme. The male lead standing at the door was perfect by any standard. He was wearing a dark gray three-piece suit, with his hair neatly slicked back and one hand in his pocket. With each step he took toward Jiwoo, his previously calm heart began to pound fiercely.

Why did she set the side omega’s height at not even 170, but the male lead over 190 cm? Well, since the main uke’s height was 180, the heights of the main characters would be a perfect match…

“Is there something you want to do?”

As Jiwoo sat on the sofa, turning his head to follow Daniel’s movements until his neck reached its limit. At that moment, as he watched Daniel walk past him toward the large desk, Jiwoo awkwardly raised one hand and scratched his head. For a brief moment, he wished he were the main omega. I wish I could be loved by a man like that too… 

“Lee Jiwoo. I don’t like asking the same question twice.”

Hey, you jerk… It’s not that you don’t like repeating yourself, it’s just that you don’t like me. Jiwoo clearly remembered how fondly Daniel adored and doted on Joon. Whatever Joon did, Daniel liked it, even if he had to repeat something a million times. A gentle seme, a considerate seme, a dreamy seme, but only to him. Anyway, he was crazy about Joon.

Then a thought flashed through Jiwoo’s mind. That’s it. This was the opportunity to put an end to this novel before it even starts. He had always been thinking about this moment: being alone in a private space with Daniel.

“I’m not the Lee Jiwoo you’re looking for, Mr. Gray. When you brought me from the orphanage as a child, I was switched with the real Lee Jiwoo by mistake because we had the same name. It seems the orphanage got confused. I was too young to know and only found out recently. Thank you for taking care of me all this time. I’ll leave this house as soon as possible and find a place to stay, and once I get a part-time job, I’ll pay back little by little everything–”

Jiwoo quickly stood up, politely clasped his hands together in front of him, and bowed slightly, eyes fixed on the gray slippers Daniel was wearing as he spoke quickly through what he’d prepared. But midway, he started trailing off, sensing something strange.

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

He glanced up, only to find Daniel looking down at him with his arms crossed and his expression hardened.

“No, what I mean is, I’m not that Lee Jiwoo…”

“What exactly is going on inside that little head of yours? I turned a blind eye to your awful temper and bratty behavior, and now you’re coming up with new ways to mess with me with such words?”

Jiwoo opened his mouth to speak, but then stopped. That’s right. He hadn’t fully considered Daniel’s perception of him. Whatever Jiwoo did, it was bound to be interpreted as another headache by Daniel. If this side omega had always caused drama to catch Daniel’s attention… Then, yeah, it made sense that he would think that way. 

“Should we do a DNA test again?”

“I’ve brought the tea.”

Startled, Jiwoo turned at the sudden overlap of his own words with Joon’s voice. At some point, Joon had entered the room, pushing a tray with a perfectly arranged tea set. And with his arrival, the atmosphere, which had been as tense as thin ice about to crack, began to melt like a soft spring breeze.

“Lee Jiwoo. Don’t even think about causing trouble again. I overlooked things before because you were a minor, but now that you’re legally an adult, I won’t let anything slide again.”

Yes, let’s do that. Now that you two have met, this humble person should quietly slip away. With Daniel’s warning ringing behind him, Jiwoo quickly slipped out of the study. It was strange, he hadn’t expected that Daniel would completely ignore what he said. He thought his words were quite impactful and expected at least some reaction…. Maybe say “Oh, is that so? Leave now” and then proceed to look for the real Jiwoo…

Well, if that’s the case, I had to find another way. I needed to think. I had to remember how Jiyeon unfolded the story, and recall the upcoming episodes… But why was every part either irrational or headed straight toward an R-rated plot no matter which path you chose? What was so good about misunderstandings, miscommunications, disappearing, frustrating developments, or some radical twist like “I’m your father!!”?

Even worse, Jiwoo barely escaped the study for a moment due to how things were developing, before Joon dragged him back. Apparently, running off mid-conversation was rude and unacceptable, so now he had to sit there again, forced to drink a cup of tea. Why was the situation unfolding like this?

This refined tea was Daniel and Joon’s preference, while Jiwoo liked sweet and soft things.

“Joon. Is there anything uncomfortable?”

He had deliberately stepped out to give them space to talk, but they’d called him back just to make him sit there like a decoration…

“No. Thank you for your concern.”

“Has Jiwoo caused any problems?”

“No, sir. Jiwoo wanted this season’s limited edition goose padding, but I couldn’t find it… I’m looking into other high-quality options. And the backpack he wanted should be available soon.”

Ah… So this was how the plot moved forward.

Jiwoo wanted to grab some popcorn. With the two main characters together, it really felt like a live drama was playing out before his eyes. Their looks matched perfectly, and their height difference was ideal… Everything was pleasing to the eye. 

Our main lead, Daniel Grey, had a history of lavish affairs. He had only dated omegas, regardless of gender, and every one of them was tall and slender, either model-level attractive or actual models and celebrities. Oh! And come to think of it, they all had blonde hair and blue eyes, didn’t they? 

Moreover, he never dated for long, but during his relationships, he was overflowing with consideration for his partners. He would buy them whatever gifts they wanted as long as they didn’t exceed 50 million won.

That was why Joon, the main love interest, had buried his feelings and endured alone for so long. He only stopped when Daniel proposed marriage to the fake version of Lee Jiwoo, supposedly fulfilling their childhood promise. It was unclear whether the timing of the wedding preparations marked the start of their relationship or if they had already begun dating by then.